Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge Beginner Guide

Guide: mh-wilds · Published · 3,297 words · 17 min read

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Quick Answer: Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge is a story milestone where beginners should focus on learning weapon basics, upgrading early gear, managing healing items, and following the main path before worrying about advanced builds.

Monster Hunter Wilds is a 2025 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom, and it released worldwide on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on February 28, 2025, with cross-platform play support Source.

What Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge Means for New Players

Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge is a natural “wake-up call” moment for new hunters because it pushes you from basic story momentum into the real rhythm of the game: tracking monsters, reading behavior, and staying stocked without wasting resources. If you just rushed through the opening scenes, this is usually the point where the game starts asking whether you understand your weapon, your healing loop, and how to prepare before leaving camp.

For beginners, the important thing is not the chapter title itself but what it represents. By the time you reach this part of the story, you should already be comfortable doing three things consistently: checking your loadout, crafting or restocking essentials, and finishing hunts without panic-spending every item you own. That matters because Monster Hunter is not a game where raw aggression alone carries you. Even early hunts reward patience, positioning, and knowing when to disengage.

This chapter is also where many newcomers make a classic mistake: they treat the main story like a straight line of missions instead of a training ground. The safer mindset is to use this stage to build habits. For example, if you are using a Great Sword, you should already be practicing small openings against a monster’s side or hind legs rather than charging every swing. If you are using Dual Blades, you should be paying attention to stamina and not dashing yourself into exhaustion. If you are trying a ranged weapon, you should be learning where safe space exists during monster attacks, not simply standing far away and hoping for the best.

Think of Chapter 1 - 5 as the point where the game asks you to “graduate” from curiosity to competence. You do not need a perfect build yet. You do need a reliable routine. That means a sensible item pouch, enough healing, a weapon you understand, and the discipline to stop assuming the hunt will forgive avoidable mistakes. If you can already beat a couple of the early story monsters while returning to camp with most of your supplies intact, you are on the right track.

First-Hour Checklist

Your first hour should be spent setting up comfort, not chasing damage, because a stable early routine makes every later hunt easier. New players often want to sprint into the next cutscene, but the fastest way to improve is to slow down long enough to make sure your fundamentals are handled.

Do these actions first

  • Check your weapon and stick with one option for now. Try a few basics in the training area or during low-risk encounters, then commit to one weapon type for the opening hours. If you swap constantly, you delay muscle memory.
  • Talk to every major hub NPC that appears relevant to hunting. In Monster Hunter, early story progress often unlocks systems quietly, so it pays to interact with quest givers, smithing services, and item support as soon as they become available.
  • Set up your item pouch with healing and utility. Carry your core recovery items, a way to sharpen or maintain weapon performance if your weapon needs it, and any basic utility tools the game has introduced.
  • Check your map and camp functions. Learn where you can restock, where important route markers sit, and how to return to a safe point when a hunt turns bad.
  • Run at least one hunt or combat tutorial deliberately. Do not auto-pilot it. Spend that first session learning one monster’s attack rhythm and your weapon’s one or two safest punish windows.
  • Upgrade or craft one early armor piece if materials allow it. Even a small defensive improvement helps, especially if you are still taking unnecessary hits.
  • Spend your first rewards on function, not fashion. Early progress is about stability and survivability, so resist the temptation to hoard everything “just in case” while wearing underpowered gear.

A smart first-hour route

A simple first-hour route usually looks like this:

  1. Finish the opening story prompts and tutorial hand-holding.
  2. Explore your hub enough to locate the forge, quest board, and item management tools.
  3. Equip one weapon and one armor set you understand.
  4. Accept an early hunt or story mission.
  5. Observe how the target moves before chasing damage.
  6. After the hunt, restock and review what caused any cart or near-failure.

That last step is the most important. Beginners often only ask, “Did I win?” You should ask, “What made me lose health, and did I spend an item because I positioned badly?” That habit turns every hunt into a lesson.

What not to do in the first hour

  • Do not hoard all your materials without crafting anything useful.
  • Do not equip a weapon you barely understand just because its number looks bigger.
  • Do not ignore healing item restocking after a successful hunt.
  • Do not rush into multiplayer before you know the basics of your own weapon.
  • Do not assume you need advanced combo knowledge immediately.

If you build the right loop in the first hour, Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge becomes much easier to handle because the chapter is demanding consistency more than raw skill. A steady hunter with ordinary gear usually outperforms a reckless hunter with stronger gear.

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Resource Priority Order

You should spend early resources on survival, consistency, and one reliable weapon path before anything else. Beginners often waste the opening stretch on cosmetic upgrades, random weapon experiments, or stockpiling materials they could have already turned into a smoother hunt experience.

Best early priorities

Priority Spend on Why it matters early Example of a good use
1 Healing and basic survival items Lets you recover from mistakes and keep learning Restocking healing after every hunt
2 One main weapon path Builds muscle memory and keeps upgrades focused Upgrading a single Great Sword or Bow line
3 Core armor upgrades Reduces the cost of learning new monsters Reinforcing a set you already wear often
4 Utility crafting materials Improves comfort and hunt consistency Making tools or support items you actually use
5 Experimental side gear Helpful later, but not urgent Trying a second weapon after you have a main

What to hoard

Hoard materials that are clearly scarce or tied to stronger progression, especially if they are used in multiple important crafts later. If a monster part, rare drop, or special node seems important, keep at least some of it until you know which weapon or armor line you want to support. This is especially true when you are still undecided between a few weapon families.

Examples of smart hoarding habits:

  • Keep rare monster parts until you know whether they complete a weapon upgrade or an armor skill you actually want.
  • Save currency when the next obvious purchase is a weapon or set upgrade rather than a decorative side option.
  • Hold onto monster-specific drops from early story targets until you can compare their upgrade trees.
  • Keep a reserve of healing and crafting materials instead of burning everything on repeated experimentation.

What to spend immediately

Spend early resources immediately if they directly reduce friction during hunts. That means healing supplies, basic restocking, and gear upgrades that keep you alive long enough to learn. If you are consistently fainting to one monster, the fix is often not “play better” in a vague sense. It is usually one of these concrete actions:

  • Upgrade armor for more forgiveness.
  • Bring more healing.
  • Stop using an unfamiliar weapon against a new target.
  • Craft the item that counteracts the problem you keep facing.

For example, if you are fighting a fast monster and keep losing track of its position, you will get more value from a comfort-focused setup than from saving every material for a theoretical late-game build. If your current weapon leaves you locked in long animations, spending on a simpler alternative can be a better short-term investment than forcing the issue.

What to delay

Delay anything that does not improve your success rate in the next few hunts. That includes broad weapon experimentation, non-essential cosmetics, and complex build chasing before you understand your preferred playstyle. It is very easy for new hunters to confuse “having options” with “making progress,” but the game rewards focused commitment early on.

A good rule is simple: if a purchase or craft does not help you survive, heal, or finish hunts more cleanly, it is probably not first-priority material in Chapter 1 - 5. Once you are stable, then you can branch out with better confidence. Until then, keep your spending boring and practical.

Common Mistakes

Common mistakes in Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge usually come from trying to play like an action game instead of a methodical hunt, and each one has a straightforward fix.

Mistake 1: Swapping weapons too often

Players do this because every weapon looks fun, and the game makes experimentation tempting. The problem is that switching too much prevents you from learning spacing, timing, and recovery windows.

Fix: Pick one weapon for the story opening and stay with it for several hunts. If you want to test another one, do it in a low-stakes environment first, then return to your main choice. Good early examples are committing to Sword and Shield for comfort, Long Sword for timing practice, or Bow if you want safer distance.

Mistake 2: Ignoring healing restocks after every hunt

Players skip restocking because they assume they “barely used anything,” then enter the next mission underprepared. This becomes costly when a monster lands an unexpected combo.

Fix: Make restocking part of your post-hunt routine. After every successful mission, refill healing items, check whether anything broke your flow, and confirm your pouch is ready for the next target. If you had to drink repeatedly during a hunt, that is a signal to resupply immediately.

Mistake 3: Chasing damage instead of positioning

New hunters often stand too close for too long or overcommit to attacks because the weapon’s animations feel powerful. The result is getting hit during recovery or missing the monster’s actual opening.

Fix: Learn one safe punish pattern for your weapon. For example, use Great Sword only after a monster finishes a long attack, use Dual Blades in short bursts, and use Hammer near safe head openings instead of trying to force every swing. If you miss an opening, reset rather than mashing through.

Mistake 4: Spending rare materials too early

Players panic-craft because they want immediate power and do not want to “waste time.” That often leads to investing in a weapon branch or armor piece that gets replaced soon after.

Fix: Check whether a craft is a temporary bridge or a long-term upgrade. If you are unsure, hold the rare part until you see at least one or two future options. A good habit is to upgrade one main weapon line and one dependable armor set before branching out.

Mistake 5: Fighting every monster the same way

Beginners sometimes assume every hunt can be solved by the same basic loop. In reality, a slow heavy hitter, a skittish flyer, and an aggressive rushdown monster demand different patience levels.

Fix: Watch the monster before attacking. If it keeps moving and punishing commitment, shorten your combos. If it pauses often, take bigger openings. If it attacks in bursts, survive the burst first and attack after. Examples of this mindset include respecting a fast charging beast, waiting out a sweeping tail attack, or choosing safer side angles against a large brute.

Mistake 6: Neglecting item utility

Players think healing is all they need because it is the most obvious survival tool. That creates avoidable friction, especially when the game gives you other useful support items early.

Fix: Use utility items as soon as the situation calls for them. If a hunt gives you a way to improve mobility, control, or comfort, build the habit of using it instead of saving it “for later.” The goal is not to finish with a full pouch; the goal is to hunt efficiently.

Mistake 7: Treating a faint as a total failure

A lot of newcomers panic after one cart and start playing worse because they feel behind. That mindset leads to greed, rushed damage, and a second mistake.

Fix: After a faint, slow down, reassess, and finish the hunt cleanly. One cart is a lesson, not a collapse. If a specific attack keeps knocking you out, you now know exactly what to study next.

Pro Tips

Pro tips matter in the beginner phase because small habits compound, and Monster Hunter rewards quiet efficiency more than flashy improvisation.

Tip 1: Learn one monster by its “pause points”

Every monster has moments where it pauses, turns, or resets after a commitment, and those are your safest openings. When you notice a brute ending a charge, a flyer landing, or a fast monster finishing a swipe combo, that is your cue to step in with a controlled punish rather than a full greedy rotation.

Tip 2: Use the camera as a defensive tool

The camera is not just for viewing the fight; it is part of your defense. If you lose the monster for even a second, you are more likely to eat a surprise hit. Keep the target centered often, especially against agile enemies or when fighting near terrain clutter.

Tip 3: Carry a “reset mindset” for bad positioning

If you end up cornered, do not insist on finishing your combo. Roll out, re-center, and re-engage from a safer angle. This is especially useful with slower weapons like Great Sword or Hammer, where one bad commitment can lead to a hard punish.

Tip 4: Test your weapon on a small opening first

When a monster exposes itself, use your shortest safe attack first instead of your longest move. If the opening is real and stable, then you can extend the punish. This keeps you from whiffing a huge animation into a counterattack.

Tip 5: Keep one “comfort” loadout and one “learning” loadout

A comfort loadout is the setup you trust when you just want to clear content cleanly. A learning loadout is the one you use while practicing a new weapon or a tougher monster. Even if the game’s exact equipment labels differ, the principle stays the same: do not force every hunt to be a lab experiment.

Tip 6: Revisit earlier hunts if you feel stuck

If a later story target feels overwhelming, go back to an earlier hunt or an easier monster and practice cleaner execution. Fighting a familiar enemy while focusing on healing discipline, spacing, and sharper punish timing is often more valuable than brute-forcing a new target repeatedly.

Tip 7: Watch for repeated damage sources, not just big hits

A lot of beginner damage comes from the same habit over and over: lingering in range too long, attacking from the wrong angle, or standing up too early after being knocked down. Fixing a repeated mistake usually improves hunt success more than changing gear.

Graduation Threshold

You are out of the beginner phase when you can enter a hunt with a clear plan, survive mistakes without burning all your resources, and finish a fight while understanding why you won or lost. That is the real benchmark, not a specific rank or chapter title.

A beginner has usually graduated from the opening stage when these things are true:

  • You can choose your main weapon without constantly second-guessing it.
  • You know what your healing and support items are for.
  • You can identify when a monster is unsafe to pressure.
  • You restock and upgrade as routine instead of as a reaction to disaster.
  • You can clear story hunts without feeling like every mistake is random.

In practical terms, Monster Hunter Wilds Chapter 1 - 5 Beyond the Deluge is often the moment where you should notice a shift from “I am surviving because the game is helping me” to “I am surviving because I understand the fight.” That does not mean you need perfection. It means you should start seeing patterns in monster behavior and using your tools deliberately.

Here are three signs that you are ready to move beyond beginner habits:

Sign What it looks like in play Why it matters
You heal before panic You use recovery after taking a manageable hit, not after nearly fainting Prevents snowballing damage
You know your safe moves You can name one reliable opening for your chosen weapon Improves consistency
You prepare before hunts You restock and organize without reminders Saves time and failures

Examples of this graduation in action include handling a fast monster without emptying your healing pouch, finishing a hunt with a clear understanding of what attack got you, and upgrading gear based on actual need instead of guesswork. Once you reach that level, the game opens up much more cleanly because you are no longer learning everything at once.

If you are moving past the Chapter 1 - 5 learning phase, these next guides are the most useful follow-ups.

Sources

See also

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