Monster Hunter Wilds All Side Mission Guides: Beginner Guide

Quick Answer: Monster Hunter Wilds All Side Mission Guides should help you clear optional quests efficiently by prioritizing early unlocks, resource management, and quest chains that improve your gear, tools, and long-term progression.

Monster Hunter Wilds is a 2025 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom Source, and it launched worldwide for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S with cross-platform play on February 28, 2025 Source. If you are just starting out, side missions are not “extra content” in the casual sense—they are a progression layer that can quietly unlock better crafting routes, improve your survivability, and make the rest of the campaign smoother.

What Side Missions Do for New Players

Side missions in Monster Hunter Wilds are a beginner’s fastest path to learning the game’s systems without getting hard-stuck on a single story hunt. They commonly introduce you to NPC requests, monster-specific objectives, tool unlocks, and quality-of-life rewards that reduce grind later. For a new player, that means optional quests are often more valuable than they look at first glance, especially if you are still figuring out which weapon class, armor set, or gathering route fits your playstyle.

The main reason beginners should care about Monster Hunter Wilds All Side Mission Guides is simple: side content usually teaches mechanics through practical repetition. For example, one quest may push you to gather a specific material from an early zone, another may ask you to hunt a small monster type you have been ignoring, and another may make you revisit an NPC after a hunt. Those three examples sound minor, but together they teach map literacy, quest routing, and reward pacing. That is the foundation of a strong early game.

Side missions also help with long-term efficiency because they tend to break up the “hunt, carve, return, repeat” loop with targeted rewards. In practice, that means you may get access to ingredients, upgrade materials, or menu unlocks earlier than a player who only follows the main story. If you are the kind of player who wants to avoid backtracking later, these tasks should not be ignored.

For beginner routing, think of side missions as a checklist that converts exploration into progress. While the story can push you forward, optional objectives are where you stabilize your build. If you want to keep your experience clean, consistent, and low-friction, make side missions part of your early-game rhythm instead of leaving them for “later.”

First-Hour Checklist

Your first hour should be spent unlocking systems, testing one weapon, and clearing nearby side objectives before you overcommit to farming. The goal is not to rush damage numbers; it is to create a stable base where every later hunt is easier, safer, and cheaper.

1) Finish the tutorial flow and open every core menu you can

Before you chase your first “real” hunt, make sure you know where the quest board, item box, smithy, map, and equipment menus are. Many beginners lose time because they never learn the route between these menus, then end up re-opening tutorials later. In Monster Hunter Wilds, that matters even more because side missions frequently ask you to check back with an NPC, accept a follow-up, or craft something from a recent hunt.

2) Pick one weapon and stick with it for the opening stretch

Do not bounce between multiple weapon types in the first hour. Choose one weapon that matches your comfort level and use it on a small monster, a gathering run, and your first story target. For example, if you prefer simple spacing, start with a long-reach weapon; if you want a defensive rhythm, try a shielded option; if you like mobility, use a faster weapon that lets you reposition often. The point is to learn one combat loop deeply enough that you can recognize when a side mission target is worth taking on immediately.

3) Clear nearby side missions as soon as they appear

If an NPC gives you a side mission in the early hub or on the field, complete it before you stack three more quests on top of it. Early requests are usually low-risk and often unlock useful follow-ups. A practical pattern is:

• talk to every NPC with a quest marker,
• accept anything that can be completed naturally during your next hunt,
• return immediately after finishing the relevant objective,
• turn in rewards before starting a longer expedition.

4) Gather more than you think you need

Pick up ore, plants, insects, and monster remains whenever they are directly on your route. Beginners commonly ignore gathering because it feels slow, then hit a crafting wall when they need basic consumables or ammo components. If a node is two seconds off your path, take it. If it requires a detour deep into danger, skip it unless it completes a side mission.

5) Craft or restock essential consumables before the next hunt

Your opening loadout should be basic and repeatable: healing items, a stamina-support option if your weapon needs it, and one or two situational tools tied to your weapon choice. If the game offers crafting prompts early, use them. Side missions often become easier when you arrive prepared rather than trying to brute-force every objective.

First-hour action plan

Priority	Action	Why it matters	Example outcome
Highest	Learn menu routes	Saves time and prevents missed hand-ins	You can accept and complete NPC requests quickly
High	Commit to one weapon	Builds muscle memory early	You stop wasting hunts on unfamiliar controls
High	Clear nearby side missions	Unlocks rewards and follow-ups	You get extra progression without extra grind
Medium	Gather on the way	Prevents early crafting shortages	You avoid running out of basic materials
Medium	Restock consumables	Increases hunt stability	You survive mistakes that would otherwise cart you

If you do only one thing in your first hour, make it this: accept side missions, gather while traveling, and return to town frequently enough to keep your inventory and quest log clean. That rhythm is the safest beginner habit in the game.

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Resource Priority Order

Your first resources should go into survivability, core upgrades, and quest unlocks, not into vanity crafting or broad experimentation. Beginners often waste the best early materials by spending them too quickly on multiple side projects, which delays progression and makes later hunts harder than they need to be.

A good rule is to separate resources into three buckets: keep, spend, and defer. “Keep” covers rare monster drops and anything that clearly says it is used for upgrades or special crafting. “Spend” covers basic healing, common gathering items, and early weapon/armor upgrades that directly improve your next hunt. “Defer” covers side branch crafts, cosmetic experiments, and duplicate gear paths you have not tested yet.

What to hoard first

Hoard anything that looks like a limited monster-specific material, especially if it comes from a larger hunt rather than a gathering node. These are the items most likely to gate weapon upgrades, armor improvements, or side mission hand-ins later. Also keep a small reserve of general-purpose materials that your chosen weapon consumes often. For example, if your weapon style uses coatings, ammo, or repeated consumables, do not convert all of those materials into one-off attempts at a new build.

What to spend immediately

Spend common materials on healing, basic defense upgrades, and quality-of-life crafts that reduce failure risk. Early side missions are a perfect place to justify this spending because they often return more value than a random hunt. If a request asks you to defeat a small monster type or gather from a zone you already planned to visit, use that opportunity to equip the tools that keep you alive.

What to craft first

Craft the items that improve your hunt consistency, not the items that look flashy. For most beginners, that means:

• core healing consumables,
• one or two support items tied to your weapon,
• a straightforward weapon upgrade if the materials are cheap,
• early armor pieces that solve obvious defense gaps,
• one utility option for gathering or map travel if your side mission route benefits from it.

Simple spending hierarchy

Resource category	Priority	Spend or hoard?	Beginner rule
Monster-specific drops	Highest	Hoard	Save until you know the upgrade path
Healing and recovery items	Highest	Spend	Keep your hunt uptime high
Common gathering materials	High	Spend selectively	Use them when they unlock a clear benefit
Weapon-specific ammo/coatings/components	High	Hoard a reserve	Do not zero out your stock
Cosmetic or experimental crafts	Low	Defer	Wait until your core build is stable

The beginner mistake here is emotional crafting: you see one promising weapon or armor part and sink everything into it. Instead, invest only when the item will help your next two or three hunts. That is the point at which resources start paying you back.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

New players usually fail in Monster Hunter Wilds because they treat side missions like optional clutter, spend materials too early, or ignore how strongly preparation affects hunt success. The good news is that these problems are easy to fix once you know what is happening.

1) Ignoring side missions until “later”

Beginners do this because side objectives look like filler next to the main story. The fix is to accept and track every nearby request, then complete it during the same route as your next hunt or gathering trip. If an NPC asks for a monster part, a delivery item, or a local hunt, add that to your route immediately instead of making a separate return trip.

2) Spending rare materials on the first shiny upgrade

This happens because new players want visible progress and assume any upgrade is a good upgrade. The fix is to check whether the item improves your core weapon, your main armor set, or a known side mission requirement. If it does not directly strengthen your current loop, keep the material in reserve.

3) Carrying too many unfinished quests at once

Players stack side missions because they fear missing content or think more active quests mean faster progress. In reality, too many open tasks create log clutter and make hand-ins easy to forget. The fix is to keep a short active list: one story target, one or two side missions, and one gathering goal at a time.

4) Fighting every monster as if it were the same threat

Beginners often rely on the same opening pattern against small monsters, apex threats, and quest targets. That works until a monster has a different reach, speed, or opening window. The fix is to identify whether the target is a zoning fight, a punish-after-dodge fight, or a pressure-fight. For example, a mobile small monster teaches movement checks, while a larger target teaches spacing and recovery windows.

5) Forgetting to restock after a successful hunt

The “I survived, so I’m fine” mindset causes avoidable carts later. The fix is to turn restocking into a post-hunt habit: return, deposit materials, repair your loadout, and refill recovery items before taking the next side mission.

6) Hoarding consumables until they become irrelevant

Some beginners save healing items, utility items, or weapon-specific aids for a perfect moment that never comes. The fix is to use low-cost consumables on standard hunts and side mission targets. If an item helps you finish a quest safely, it has already paid for itself.

Common Mistakes

Below is the practical version of the most common newbie errors, with a direct workaround for each one.

• Skipping NPC dialogue too fast — Players do this because they want to get back into combat.
  Fix: Read the reward type before leaving the hub; if the side mission unlocks a follow-up, mark it immediately.

• Completing a hunt without checking for turn-ins — Players assume rewards will stack automatically.
  Fix: Return to every relevant NPC after each side mission chain step and clear the hand-in before starting the next objective.

• Taking every quest from every NPC at once — Players think this is efficient.
  Fix: Keep only the missions you can realistically complete in the current zone or during the current story segment.

• Over-upgrading the wrong gear — Players often invest in gear that looks strong but does not suit their weapon.
  Fix: Upgrade the set that matches your current weapon and playstyle first, especially if it helps you survive one more hit.

• Ignoring map routes and fast returns — Players walk everywhere because the early game feels linear.
  Fix: Learn the shortest loop between camp, quest giver, crafting point, and hunt area; this matters more than raw speed.

Pro Tips

Advanced beginner play in Monster Hunter Wilds is mostly about reducing downtime, increasing quest value, and reading the field faster than other new players. These tips go beyond the obvious “heal when low” advice and help you look like an experienced hunter much earlier.

Tip 1. Treat every side quest as a route optimization problem

When a side mission objective overlaps with a main hunt area, fold both into the same trip. If you need materials from a zone and an NPC hand-in is nearby, do both before returning. This cuts menu churn and keeps your resource loop tight.

Tip 2. Use your first failed hunt as information, not a loss

If a monster or side mission target carts you early, study what caused the failure: range, timing, overcommitting, or running out of healing. That tells you whether you need a different weapon rhythm, more defense, or a more conservative route.

Tip 3. Keep one “safe” loadout and one “test” loadout

Your safe loadout is the gear you trust for side missions and progression hunts. Your test loadout is where you experiment with a new weapon, skill setup, or item package. Switching between them prevents one risky experiment from ruining your progression pace.

Tip 4. Return to NPCs after major hunt completions

Some side quest chains only progress after a meaningful milestone, not after every random action. If a questline seems stalled, go back to the hub and talk to the relevant NPC again. Many beginner missable rewards come from this simple check.

Tip 5. Use early side missions to learn monster behavior

If a side quest asks you to hunt a familiar monster type or repeat a similar objective, use it to practice dodging, positioning, and targeting weak points. Repetition on a controlled quest is much better training than trying to learn a tougher target under pressure.

Tip 6. Bank materials before you explore a new area

Whenever you unlock a new region, deposit your gathered items first. That way, if you get distracted by a side objective or ambushed by a tougher monster, you do not lose the value of a full inventory run.

Graduation Threshold

You are out of the beginner phase when you can finish side missions, main hunts, and resource management without feeling confused by the menu or your own build. In practical terms, this happens when three things are true: you know your weapon’s basic loop, you can restock and regear without help, and you can tell whether a side mission is worth doing immediately or later.

A good milestone is when you stop asking “What should I do next?” every time you return to camp. Instead, you start making routine decisions:

• this NPC quest can be done on my current route,
• this monster is worth hunting for its materials,
• this armor piece is better for my setup than the flashy alternative,
• this gathering trip can wait until after the next story checkpoint.

You are also likely past the beginner stage when you stop losing resources to avoidable errors. If you are no longer forgetting turn-ins, no longer spending rare materials on impulse upgrades, and no longer entering hunts underprepared, you have crossed the line into competent early-game play.

For many players, the real graduation test is consistency. If you can clear multiple side missions in a row without needing to re-learn your controls or abandon your route, you are ready to start thinking about more specialized weapon paths, optimized armor skills, and more focused hunt planning. At that point, the game shifts from “understanding the basics” to “choosing a direction.”

If you want a simple self-check, ask yourself:

• Can I complete a side mission chain without reading the same menu twice?
• Do I know which resources I should keep for upgrades?
• Can I recover after a bad engagement without wasting the whole session?
• Do I understand why I am taking each optional quest?

If the answer is yes to most of those, you are no longer a total beginner.

Related Guides

These are the best next steps once you have the basics down and want to specialize your progression.

• Monster Hunter Wilds Tier List and Best Weapons
• Monster Hunter Wilds Early Game Build Guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds Main Story Walkthrough
• Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon Beginner Guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds Armor Upgrade Guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds Gathering and Crafting Guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds Side Quest Walkthrough

Next-Step Internal Links

If you want to keep progressing efficiently, start with these connected guides:

• monster hunter shining tips for weapon choice and early meta planning
• related guide for armor progression and survivability
• monster hunter three tips for quest routing and campaign completion

FAQ

Are side missions worth doing in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Yes, because they often unlock useful rewards, teach core mechanics, and improve your long-term progression efficiency. For beginners, they are one of the safest ways to build confidence without rushing difficult hunts.

Should I finish every side mission before the main story?

No, but you should prioritize any side mission that gives clear progression value, such as a useful unlock, a needed material, or a quest chain that improves convenience. Use the story to open new options, then clean up nearby side content as you go.

What should I do if a side mission feels too hard?

Step back, restock, upgrade your gear, and return after you have a stronger weapon or better understanding of the target’s pattern. Many early missions are meant to be attempted after some basic preparation, not brute-forced immediately.

Which resources should I save early on?

Save rare monster materials, weapon-specific components, and anything that clearly feeds upgrades. Spend common healing and crafting materials when they help you clear a hunt or complete a side mission safely.

How do I know which side missions to prioritize first?

Choose the ones that unlock follow-ups, improve quality of life, or sit directly on your current travel route. If a mission has no immediate reward and requires a long detour, it can usually wait.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Hunter_Wilds
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Hunter_Wilds

See also

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