In this Monster Hunter Stories Beginners Guide, we will give you all the information you will ever need when starting out with this game. Whether you are on Android, iOS, or 3DS, our guide will surely help you when you start your journey. Heck! Some of these tips can even be used later in the game.
Monster Hunter Stories Beginners Guide
Monster Hunter Stories is a spin-off series and has finally arrived on Android and iOS. It looks stunning and has great mechanics.
However, this game can get quite confusing for long-term Monster Hunter fans because you focus on taming and befriending Monsties in this game instead of fighting them.
Utilizing the power of mysterious Kinship Stones, Riders are able to communicate and bond with monsters. It is basically Pokemon with a Monster Hunter theme. Gotta catch ‘em all!
Explore and Collect
Do not just take on main quests and follow that linear path. Take a detour. Go everywhere. Leave no stone unturned. Just explore everything. You will find stuff that will greatly help you on your journey.
Like all RPGs, Monster Hunter Stories has a great thought out map. It is only fair that you also explore this map, to honor the developers. Collect everything. Leave nothing behind. And do not sell stuff that might seem useless at first.
Do not sell all the stuff that you seem to acquire very easily. Keep at least 50 pieces per item of each item. They will be needed in further quests and ultimately save your time farming for these items later on in the game.
Do the Side Quests As Well
Do not just do the Story Quests aka the Main Quests; be sure to accept all the Side Quests too. Some of these will help you understand the world of Monster Hunter better while most will give you tons of free XP and items.
You can accept a side quest again and again. Use this mechanic to easily farm for XP and items. Some of these even unlock things like some higher rarity monsters do not appear until you trigger specific side quests.
Keep the Monsters for Genes
Do not rush to release monsters. You will find many monsters early in the game and even mid game and sometimes you will get two or even three of these monsters. Do not release them.
When you move forward in the story of the game, you will unlock the ability to extract Genes from monsters using a feature called Rite of Channeling. A monster is consumed in the process though.
You can use this feature to train your Monsties to high-level. Doing so will give them skills that they cannot learn otherwise. Some of the secret skills you may acquire are:
- Max HP Up
- Ice Damage Up
- Fire Damage Up
- Water Damage Up
- Dragon Damage Up
- Thunder Damage Up
- Power Attack Damage Up
- Speed Attack Damage Up
- Technical Attack Damage Up
Ride Monsties to Save Time
The maps in Monster Hunter Stories are big, especially the plains. It can take quite a considerable amount of time just trying to reach from one end of the plain to another.
To counter this, the game has a mechanic where you can ride your early Monstie. You will save a considerable amount of time just riding your favorite Monstie.
Steal Eggs
Yep, we are going to become an Oviraptor! If you do not know what an Oviraptor is… it is a Dinosaur used to steal eggs from egg-laying dinosaurs. And we’re going to do that too!
In order to tame a Monstie, you will need to steal it when it is still an egg and take it back to Navi.
Navi will tell you whether the egg has the potential to become a good Monstie, with the more the compliments he gives the egg, the more you will want to take it back.
Do note that you cannot pick up items while holding an egg. So be sure to clear the Monster Dens before beginning your egg-stealing journey.
Rest As Much As Possible
As a long time Final Fantasy player, I cannot stress how precious your Potions are. Try to use as little of these potions as possible but do use them when you are in a pinch.
If you are low on HP after a fight, fast-travel to one of your several homes using Catavan. You will heal all your Monsties free. Of course, it will cost you precious time but if you are near these homes, it will be a good idea to frequent.
Learn Monsties, Their Strengths, and Their Weaknesses
Monster Hunter Stories follows the generic rock-paper-scissors tactic. One beats the other while is weaker to the final one. So be sure to learn what attacks the enemies are weaker too and what kind of attacks they do use.
Preparing in advance will save your team a lot of potions and essence. And save as much as possible. You never know when you might encounter a Monstie that you will not be able to defeat. The tactic works this way:
- Speed beats Power
- Power beats Technical
- Technical beats Speed
Go for Weapon Combos
In Monster Hunter Stories, you can unlock and use various weapon combos that will help you defeat enemies faster and land more damage. We have compiled a list of attacks you need to do to trigger a combo, for each weapon:
- Hammer: Power-Power-Power, Power-Speed-Technical, Power-Technical-Speed
- Hunting Horn: Changes depending on weapon Melodies, you can check in Rider Menu
- Great Sword: Power-Power-Technical, Technical-Technical-Speed, Speed-Speed-Power
- Sword and Shield: Speed-Speed-Speed, Speed-Technical-Power, Speed-Power-Technical
Do Surprise Attacks
If you are a fan of ARPGs, you will understand that when you are in the open-world, you can approach monsters while they are not alert and launch a free attack.
In Monster Hunter Stories, you can also launch surprise attacks. In order to launch a Surprise Attack, you will need to approach a Monstie while it is sleeping or facing the other direction and then trigger combat.
You will get a free turn and maybe even do extra damage to the Monstie.
Try to Use Kinship Moves Frequently (or Not)
Kinship moves are special moves in Monster Hunter Stories. You should use them as frequently as possible, as their bonus will reset after each battle and not carry over to the next battle.
Also, you should be aware that the sooner you launch a Kinship attack, the sooner you will be able to launch another. So do not just keep it stacked away until the last second.
However, if you do wish to not use Kinship moves frequently, you should know that when you do mount your Monstie, you will gain your Monstie’s stats and that would make your team a very strong one.
You are also immune to status effects while mounted. Therefore, if you fight a monster that relies on status effects, this tactic will help you a lot. This is one of the most complex tips for a Beginners Guide, but I felt that I had to include this, no matter what.
And that is all for our for Monster Hunter Stories Beginners Guide. Be sure to let us know in the comments section if you have anything new for our guide.
