Updated 27 October 2026

Monster Hunter Outlanders beginner guide

Push the story to each day's gate, put every early upgrade into your Fated Adventurer and one squad of four, and hold back Energy until harder content opens. That order covers most of the first week, and the reasons are below.

1. 1

   Claim everything and join a guild on day one

   Launch leaves a pile of rewards waiting, and some of them matter in the first hours, so clear every claim before you start hunting. Join a guild the same day: joining pays out rewards of its own, and an active guild keeps paying through its event quests.

2. 2

   Push the story to each day's gate

   The story stops at a gate each day and opens further the next. Reach that gate before anything else, because story progress is what raises your Proof of Mastery, the game's equivalent of hunter rank, and a higher Proof of Mastery opens harder content with better rewards. Once you're gated for the day, everything else runs at the highest level you have.

3. 3

   Leave the open world until you have the Glider

   You can explore as soon as the story allows, but the Glider unlocks a few days in and makes getting around far quicker. Early exploring on foot is slow for what it gives back.

4. 4

   Build a squad of two Assault, one Disruptor and one Support

   Each class charges another class's Ultimate: an Assault Ultimate charges the Disruptor's, a Disruptor Ultimate charges the Support's, and a Support Ultimate charges the Assault's. Disruptors stun, stagger or topple the monster but take the longest to charge, so a second Assault keeps the chain turning. Your Fated Adventurer can switch class, weapon and element, so it fills whichever slot the squad is missing. For Support, start with Madelyn: she heals the squad, raises its damage and is free.

5. 5

   Do your dailies after you hit the gate

   Two Daily Investigations are posted every day, each naming monsters to track down for the rewards. The ones with special-sized monsters can be hunted in co-op for bonus rewards, so bring other players for those. Running them after the story gate means they run at your highest level.

6. 6

   Save Energy early, but never let it cap

   Energy refills every day. In the first days your content level is low and so are its rewards, so spend only enough to stay under the cap and carry the rest into the harder content the story is about to open.

7. 7

   Upgrade from the Trade Guild Exchange

   Raising your Proof of Mastery opens more of the Trade Guild Exchange, which sells adventurer upgrade materials. Its stock covers your first few adventurers, which is what lets you hold Energy back, and by the time it runs dry you should be farming at a higher level.

8. 8

   Gear four adventurers before anyone else

   Proof of Mastery objectives ask for your first squad to be geared: the Fated Adventurer and three adventurers. Put every early upgrade into those four, starting with the Fated Adventurer. Spreading materials across more of the roster stalls those objectives and your rank with them. Later content needs a second squad, and that's the time to gear one.

Who to build into that first squad is on our Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list, and the best weapons are on the weapon tier list.