Hey hunters,
How’s the hunting?
Welcome to our next instalment of the Return to World community blog! In this week’s post we’re going to be delving into a number of firsts new hunters in Monster Hunter: World will experience - your first hunting location, making your first armour set and weapon, then of course, facing your first Large Monster!
Before we get into that though, just a quick reminder that Steam’s The Game Awards sale ends on December 21st, meaning you only have a couple of days from the time of this post to get World at its lowest ever price on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/582010/Monster_Hunter_World/
Now with that out of the way, it’s time to set out into the Ancient Forest…
Hunting Locations – The Ancient Forest
Welcome to the Ancient Forest, a lush, greenery filled area that’s as dense as it is tall and brimming with life – from endemic creatures and small monsters, like the Jagras, to a variety of powerful large monsters that lurk in the undergrowth and treetop canopies under the watchful gaze of the King of the Skies…
Heading out from camp!
Stepping out from your camp, you’ll emerge onto the Ancient Forest’s shoreline, giving you the options to travel further along down the coast, head into the surrounding forest or even start your approach to the huge tree that dwarfs the surrounding area.
Talking of exploring and gathering items, it’s definitely worth grabbing anything you come by, but keep a special lookout for:
- Herbs – To craft Potions that heal you!
- Honey – Combine with Potions to make Mega Potions, offering much greater healing!
- Bone Piles – To aid in crafting and upgrading your gear!
- Mining Outcrops – To also aid in crafting and upgrading your gear!
Of course, there’s even more for you to forage and find out there, and if you find your bag full, you can always return to camp to deposit your items for later use.
Talking of your camp, you’re not limited to just the one! The Ancient Forest has four total camps you can make use of, including your starting one.
In order to use the other three, first you’ll need to find the suitable spaces and then rebuild them. That’s where your exploration comes in! The verticality of this region hides many secrets, both above and below you – look out for hidden pathways to crawl through on the ground, as well as potential hideaways up in the branches!
Once you’ve found one of these spaces, you’ll get a notification that a camp can be built. Then you’ll want to head back to Astera and select “Complete Deliveries” at the Resource Center, giving you the option to trade materials for a new, permanent camp to be built. (Which requires resources from the area, so if you’ve been stocking up as you’ve been exploring you’ll probably be able to complete the request immediately!)
Once built, you’ll have a new spawn location you can use when starting a quest in the Ancient Forest, or fast travel to when you’re already there, helping you quickly move through the area!
You’ll be visiting and returning to the Ancient Forest frequently during your questing through the New World, so investing some time unlocking these camps will pay off in the long run, but there’s no pressure, discover them at your own pace!
Your First Large Monster – Great Jagras
You’ve been gathering materials, taking down small monsters and settling into the Ancient Forest, but now the time has come for your first major test as a hunter, to hunt Great Jagras!
Now returning and more experienced hunters will be very familiar with Great Jagras and its pack already, so feel free to share your tips for new hunters in the comments section!
For those of you that are new to Monster Hunter, or still tackling this Urgent Quest, here’s a few suggestions of our own too help you slay your target!
Hunt Preparation
Equipment
Your starting leather armour may fit nicely, but it won’t provide much protection from damage! Visit Astera’s Smithy and consider forging yourself some Bone Armor, and possibly even upgrade your weapon, for example, upgrading the Hunter’s Knife Sword and Shield to level two only takes two iron ores! Increasing your defensive and offensive stats will make a big difference, and if you’ve been seeking out both Mining Outcrops and Bone Piles in the Ancient Forest, you should have enough materials to cover your needs here!
With over fourteen different weapon types to choose from, don’t be shy on trying out a range of different weapons! You never know when you’ll find your new favourite!
Items
Despite how nimble you feel, there’s a good chance that you’ll be taking some knocks from Great Jagras, so stocking up on healing items will be a big help! If you’ve been collecting honey, you’ll be able to craft some Mega Potions, allowing you to bring both a stack of 10 Potions and 10 Mega Potions in your item pouch. Don’t be afraid to use your Mega Potions, you’ll be able to make plenty more!
Eat a meal
Before heading out into the hunt, make sure your belly is full! Head over to the canteen and pay the Meowscular Chef a visit to cook yourself up some tasty buffs, including increased HP, Stamina and other useful effects.
Know Your Monster
Great Jagras is a bright yellow monster that commands a pack of smaller Jagras, even summoning them mid-battle at times!
It primarily attacks by biting, charging and swiping at hunters and prey alike, so prepare to evade to the side or block at a moment’s notice. Luckily for us, the Great Jagras isn’t the quickest of monsters, so look out for tells it’s about to strike so you can move to safety.
This monster may be glutenous, but it will absolutely punish a hunter’s greed!
Check out your Hunter Notes to get key information on any Large Monsters you face!
When fighting Great Jagras, it may be safer to fight it from the side and the rear, but you’ll deal a lot more damage by aiming for its weak spots, which consist of its head, stomach and front claws, so try to position yourself in such a way that you can hit those areas, without leaving yourself too vulnerable to attack!
And remember, don’t be disheartened if you don’t succeed first time. Taking on Large Monsters is a learning experience, with carting being part of that journey - we’ve all been there! Besides, it makes your victory all the sweeter!
If you’re feeling like you’d like a little extra help to get you across the line, you can also try using the free and optional “Guardian Armor”, which will give you a solid defence along with useful skills and a Guild approved look!
Once you’ve triumphed over Great Jagras you’ll be able to start crafting Great Jagras armour and weapons at the Smithy! Make sure to check it out to see if there’s any skills or defensive / offensive gains that catch your gaze!
If you find you’re missing a few materials, you can simply repeat the quest and take on Great Jagras again! It’s great practice for what lays ahead, plus you’ll end up being able to make yourself plenty of gear.
Return to World Livestream
The Community Team also took on Great Jagras in their first “Return to World” livestream, so if you’d like to see them in action, you can do so here:
Our next community livestream is on Thursday, 21st December at 9am PT / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET, so whether you want to watch, chat or play with us, you can find us on our official channels below:
Monster Hunter Twitch
Monster Hunter YouTube
Quest Complete – We’ll see you next time!
That wraps up our latest post!
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, we hope you find these tips and info helpful, we’ll be back again soon with our next post.
See you in the hunt!
- Monster Hunter Community Team