Ease some of your worries over challenging hunts in Monster Hunter Wilds. Fortunately, they have some helpful features like Support Hunters to fight alongside you while facing strong monsters. Check this guide on how to call Support Hunters in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Support Hunters vs. Hunting Assistants

The first task to complete is distinguishing the difference between Support Hunters and Hunting Assistants. This might get you confused at first in the game but these two are different from one another. Although these are both NPCs, they provide different aids in improving your gameplay experience. 

Here are the distinctive features between Support Hunters and Hunting Assistants in Monster Hunter Wilds:

  • Support Hunters are NPC hunters you can call via SOS flares who join your party and fight alongside you throughout the entire quest.
  • Hunting Assistants (Gemma and Werner) are special NPCs that appear randomly in hunting areas during post-game content. They provide temporary environmental assistance rather than joining your party permanently:
  1. Gemma sets traps that immobilize monsters
  2. Werner places explosive furnaces that can be triggered for large damage bursts

You can avail the help of Support Hunters early in the game to tackle the difficult monsters. They may serve as AI companions during your solo games or as you wait for other hunters. Meanwhile, the Hunting Assistants only help once unlocked through completing specific quests. These quests include the “Werner’s Test Run” and “Smithy’s Seal of Quality.”  

Setting Up Your Quest for Support Hunters

While calling these NPCs is simple, Monster Hunter Wilds will have you make some setting adjustments first. This will allow you to call support hunters while hunting in Monster Hunter Wilds. Here are the steps you should follow:

Head to the Quest Counter in any settlement.

  1. Open your Settings menu before starting your quest.
  2. Navigate to the Multiplayer Settings option.
  3. Set this to either “Other Players & Support Hunters” or “Only Support Hunters” based on your preference.
  4. Make sure to set Max Members to 2 or more – if this is set to 1, Support Hunters cannot join your quest.
  5. For convenience, you can also set the Automatic SOS Flare setting to ON if you want Support Hunters to join as soon as the quest starts.

Good thing, you can change these settings mid-quest just by accessing the Expand Party Size option. You can see this under the Missions & Quests tab located in the Settings menu. So, this allows you to make in-game adjustments and adapt to your current hunting situation. 

Using the SOS Flare to Summon Support Hunters

Now, to call Support Hunters in Monster Hunter Wilds, it’ll require a SOS Flare. This is used to summon the NPC allies once the battle gets difficult to handle. So here’s a guide on how you can use the SOS Flare: 

  1. While in your quest, open the menu and select the SOS Flare option.
  2. If you’ve selected “Only Support Hunters” in your settings, only NPC hunters will respond to your call.
  3. If you’ve selected “Other Players & Support Hunters,” Support Hunters will fill any empty slots until real players join your quest.
  4. Support Hunters will arrive shortly after you send the flare and begin assisting you.

The process automatically happens if you’ve enabled the Automatic SOS Flare in your settings. Plus, it’ll also help you save extra steps when starting your quest. 

How Support Hunters Function During Hunts

So what do these Support Hunters contribute during the game? While it is given that they are all NPCs, they have limited support capabilities. They can only actively participate in hunts through the following:

  1. They come equipped with their weapons and will actively attack monsters alongside you.
  2. Support Hunters will only attack when you’re attacking – they won’t fight monsters independently.
  3. They can perform various helpful actions such as placing traps and mounting monsters.
  4. These behaviors can be customized in the Support Hunter Settings under the Game Settings tab in the Options menu.
  5. If playing in the “Other Players & Support Hunters” mode, Support Hunters will give up their slot when real players join your quest.

Your Support Hunters count toward your party size for monster health scaling. If you have 3 Support Hunters under your party, the monster’s health also increases by 2.4 times the normal amount. This is to balance the thrilling gameplay during the monster encounters in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Available Support Hunters and Their Weapons

So far, here are the Support Hunters that take advantage of your gameplay. These NPCs have varying weapon specializations that you can use to win against tougher monsters. 

  • Alessa: Lance specialist who excels at drawing monster attention and blocking attacks
  • Olivia: Hammer user who focuses on stunning monsters and breaking parts
  • Rosso: Heavy Bowgun expert providing ranged damage support

Conclusion

This guide on how to call Support Hunters in Monster Hunter Wilds shares everything you need to know about the game. Luckily, these Support Hunters act as your allies in tackling these crazily tough creatures. It promises thrill and excitement despite playing as a solo throughout monster encounters.