Core Story Progression Strategy
Assigned Quests Should be Handled First
In contrast with the older games, which had “Key Quests” that one needed to complete in order to progress through the story, MHW progresses its story through Assigned Quests. Use the roadmap below in order to effectively finish the entire campaign and get all of its Iceborne features.
Speedrun Tip: Equip Defender Gear
Armor pieces from the Defender Armor set obtained during the December 2019 update are very powerful, making it easy to complete the base game and reach the endgame content meant for Iceborne.
Story Roadmap
Assigned Quest ★1
| 1 | Clear the Tutorial. |
| 2 | Clear Assigned Quest ★1, Jagras of the Ancient Forest.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 2。
→ Unlock the Smithy. |
Assigned Quest ★2
| 1 | Clear Assigned Quest ★3 Urgent: Pukei Pukei Hunt.
→ Unlock Wildspire Wastes. |
| 2 |
Clear The Best Kind of Quest. |
| 3 | Clear Sinister Shadows In The Swamp.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 4.
→ Unlock the ability to manage Kinsects at the Smithy. |
| 4 | Receive the Ghillie Mantle at the Botanical Research Center. |
| 5 |
Clear the quest Flying Sparks: Tobi Kadachi.
→The Canteen will level up.
→ Unlock Botanical Research. |
Assigned Quest ★4
| 1 | Clear Assigned Quest★4 The Encroaching Anjanath.
→Achieve Hunter Rank 5.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades. |
| 2 | Clear One For The History Books. |
| 3 | Receive the Health Booster. |
| 4 | Investigate the Great Ravine.
→ Unlock Coral Highlands. |
| 5 | Go to the Research Base and speak to the Third Fleet Master. |
| 6 | Investigate the Coral Highlands and encoutner the Tzitzi-ya-ku.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 6. |
| 7 |
Clear the quest Ballooning Problems.
→ Achiee Hunter Rank 7.
→ Unlock Rotten Vale. |
| 8 | Investigate the Rotten Vale and encounter Great Girros and Rado |
| 9 | Obtain the quest Radobaan Roadblock and clear it.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 8. |
Assigned Quest ★5
| 1 |
Clear Assigned Quest ★5 The Embodiment of Legiana.
→Achieve Hunter Rank 9.
→ Unlock the Tailraider Safari.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades. |
| 2 | Clear the quest Into The Bowels of The Flame.
→ Unlock the Elder Melder. |
| 3 | Go on an investigation in the Go on an investigation in the Ancient Forest and search for a First Wyverian. |
| 4 |
Clear the quests A Fiery Throne Atop The Forest and Horned Tyrant Below The Sands.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 10.
→ Learn more about the Zorah Magdoros from a First Wyverian. |
Assigned Quest ★6
| 1 |
Clear Assigned Quest ★6 A Colossal Task.
→ The amount of locations the Tailraider Safari has access to increases.
→ Gain the ability to dye your equipment from the Change Appearance menu.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades.
→ Unlock Item Melding at the Elder Melder. |
| 2 | Go on an investigation in Wildspire Waste.
→ Return to base once you’ve found the Rathian tracks and Pukei-Pukei.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 11. |
| 3 | Clear the quest Invader in the Waste. |
| 4 | Fill up the Rathian tracks gauge to 50% through investigation or free quests. |
| 5 | Clear the quest Tickled Pink.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 12.
→ The Canteen will level up. |
| 6 | Completely fill the Rathian tracks gauge. |
| 7 | Speak to the Chief Ecologist at the Ecological Research Center to receive Assigned Quest ★7, Old World Monster In The New World. |
Assigned Quest ★7
| 1 | Clear Assigned Quest ★7 Old World Monster In The New World.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades. |
| 2 | Head to the Everstream.
→ Elder’s Recess will be added to your map. |
| 3 | Find Uragaan, Lavasioth, and Dodogama in Elder’s Recess.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 13. |
| 4 | Begin searching for traces of Nergigante. |
| 5 | Speak to the Ecological Research Center crew.
→ Assigned Quest ★8, A Wound and a Thirst , will be unlocked. |
Assigned Quest ★8
| 1 | Clear Assigned Quest ★8, A Wound and a Thirst.
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 14.
→ The amount of locations the Tailraider Safari has access to increases.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades. |
| 2 | Speak to the Commander to receive a request to search for traces of an Elder Dragon.
・Ancient Forest → Kushala Daora tracks
・Wildspire Waste → Teostra tracks
・Rotten Vale → Vaal Hazak tracks |
| 3 | Complete the following quests:
Kushala Daora, Dragon of Steel
Teostra the Infernal
Hellish Fiend Vaal Hazak
→ Achieve Hunter Rank 15. |
| 4 | Clear Assigned Quest ★9, Land of Convergence
→ View the ending.
→Unlock the Hunter Rank cap.
→ Gain the ability to equip two Specialized Tools at a time.
→ Unlock the next level of equipment upgrades.
→ Unlock more equipment dyes. |
Post-Game Outline
After completing the game, you can continue to enhance your Hunter Rank, improve your gear, and face some of the more challenging conventional parts of the game.