Monster Hunter 4 Advanced Hunting Tips – Don’t Forget to Eat

Once you have the basics down for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, it’s time to move on to more advanced hunting tips. There are a lot of little things you can do in Monster Hunter that will have a big impact on how the game plays out. You can certainly make it through fights and expeditions without these useful strategies, but you’ll get more from the experience and have a much easier time with monster battles if you follow a few of these advanced tips and tricks.

Choose the Right Weapon

There are a wide variety of weapons in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. You have everything from slow and heavy weapons to a lightweight sword and shield to ranged weaponry. Against normal monsters it doesn’t matter what kind of weapon you use. The enemies don’t inflict much damage and you can generally take out a group without much to worry about. However, when you start engaging the larger monsters, it can be far more difficult to defeat them if you don’t bring the proper weaponry.

You may have trouble determining which weapon to use before you first engage an enemy, but there are some helpful hints to determine which weapon to take hunting. If you’re up against a flying enemy, ranged weaponry generally works the best. If you’re going up against an enemy that travels in packs with smaller monsters, take a heavier weapon to quickly take out the tinier creatures. It’s important to have an equipment set for every weapon type so you can quickly change before you go on a hunt.

Gather to Combine and Craft

Any time you leave a village, you’ll encounter places where you can mine for ores, enemies that drop various items, plants that can be picked and bugs to catch. It’s important to gather as many of these items as you can. You have a limited amount of inventory space while on a hunt, so make sure you’re constantly checking your combo list to determine if you can make any new items. It’s also important to check in with the Smith in town so you know what items you need to upgrade or craft new gear. That will give you a better idea of what you can discard should you run out of inventory space.

At first glance, some of the items you find out in the field may seem useless. However, it’s best to hold on to as much as you can because many of the items you collect with have a use later on in the game. If you’re coming back from early hunting quests and don’t have a full inventory, you didn’t spend enough time gathering. Once you’re back in the village you can store most of the items you collect in your item box to conserve inventory space.

Never Miss a Meal

You should always have a meal before you venture out on a hunt. There should almost always be a place where you can eat no matter where you’ve traveled to. Eating boosts your stats, and also the stats of your feline friend who accompanies you. The stat boosts vary depending on what you eat, how fresh the ingredients are and how it’s prepared, but you’ll always get some benefit from eating before you go on a hunt. Remember that meals are not saved when you save your progress, so make sure to only eat before  heading out to get the most out of every meal.

Expedition Readiness

When you go on an expedition, you won’t have the same supplies or knowledge of the area as you have on normal hunting quests. This means that you need to be prepared for anything while you’re in the field. Items that restore health and stamina should be a top priority, but it’s also important to have paintballs so you can mark targets in case they flee, and anything you need to setup traps if you’re looking to capture the monsters you encounter.

While it’s important to be prepared, you also have a limited amount of inventory space. This is especially troublesome early in the game because you want to bring back as many items as you can in order to craft and upgrade gear down the road. Take the bare essentials the first time you go on an expedition in a new area. Once you have an idea of the terrain and enemies you’ll be facing, you’ll know if you need to bring any extra provisions on future expeditions in that area.

Always Check for Upgrades

The Smith should be your best friend in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. You need him to upgrade and craft new weapons and armor for you. It doesn’t matter how skilled you may be, if you don’t have good gear you’ll have trouble slaying and trapping more powerful monsters. You need to spend money to buy or upgrade gear, but you also need the correct items. If a new weapon requires a specific type of ore to craft, you won’t be able to make that weapon without the ore.

Check in with the Smith so you know what items you need to get your next upgrade or new weapon, and how many of those items you need to acquire. This gives you a good idea of what to look for while on a quest or expedition. While it’s important to gather as many items as you can, due to your limited inventory space you need some way to prioritize. Checking in with the Smith and making note of the items required for your next upgrade or new weapon is a great way to prioritize what you gather in the field.

Don’t forget to adjust your equipment sets when you receive new gear. It’s important to note that you can’t wear every piece of armor with every weapon. Some armor won’t go with specific weaponry, so focus on your weapon first, then pick up armor that accompanies it well. You can always bring along more healing items, but it’s not as easy to raise your attack damage.