If you’re diving into this epic new title, you’re likely wondering Monster Hunter Wilds how to play campaign with friends in the most efficient way. The thrill of chasing massive beasts is always better when shared with your squad. Capcom has designed the co-op experience with accessibility in mind, letting players join each other’s story progress and team up for exploration. Whether you’re new or returning, navigating the multiplayer systems doesn’t need to be a hassle. From lobby setup to synced campaign quests, it’s all smoother than ever. Once you master the invite flow and understand the session rules, multiplayer hunting becomes second nature. Let’s explore how to get started, stay connected, and dominate campaign mode together in MH Wilds.
Multiplayer in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds builds on the co-op legacy of the franchise while introducing richer campaign integration and more seamless multiplayer experiences. Long-time players know how thrilling it is to share the hunt, explore biomes, or take down massive beasts with your closest friends. The latest title promises even tighter integration between solo and co-op progress.
Multiplayer in Monster Hunter Wilds is not just a feature — it is a core gameplay pillar. The developers have emphasized smoother matchmaking, lobby access, and more flexible story missions with co-op enabled from earlier points in the game. Understanding how to start a session, join friends, and progress through campaign together is essential if you want to make the most of this powerful hunting RPG.
How the Campaign System Works in Monster Hunter Wilds
Unlike earlier entries where story quests had to be completed solo until a cutscene was finished, Monster Hunter Wilds opens the campaign experience for co-op much earlier. However, story beats and progression structure still influence when friends can join together. While not every mission is accessible immediately, most can be tackled with a team after initial introductions and short onboarding quests.
Players can now engage with cinematic missions, explore large-scale biomes, and craft gear together from the very beginning. To make it work smoothly, players need to understand the basics of session lobbies, friend invites, SOS flares, and co-op quest scaling. Monster Hunter Wilds is designed to allow multiple friends to sync up easily for continuous story play, but it still helps to know the limits and settings available.
Step-by-Step Guide to Playing Campaign With Friends
Step 1: Complete the Introductory Solo Segment
When first launching the game, players are introduced to basic controls, exploration, and early NPC interactions. This onboarding phase lasts roughly 15–30 minutes and ensures players understand gear crafting, movement, and combat before opening up co-op functions. Players must complete this intro alone.
After this, multiplayer features unlock. You’ll receive a tutorial on how to open your lobby or join others. Once that’s done, you’re ready to invite friends into your world or join theirs.
Step 2: Set Up a Multiplayer Session
Players can create a private lobby, invite-only room, or use open matchmaking. For campaign play with friends, it’s best to use a private lobby or squad room. Here’s how to do it:
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Access the main menu or pause menu.
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Select “Create Multiplayer Session.”
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Choose “Private Lobby” and set a passcode.
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Share the lobby ID or friend invite link.
Your friends must then go to “Join Lobby” and enter your ID or accept your invite directly.
Step 3: Progress Story Quests Together
Once in a party, head to the quest board or story menu. Highlight the main quest (story chapter) and select “Join With Party.” If the quest features important cutscenes, only the host might play the scene, while others wait or join after it’s completed.
If your friend hasn’t unlocked that part of the story, they’ll get a message saying they’re not eligible. In such cases, everyone should sync up by replaying previous missions together to ensure all progress is aligned.
Campaign missions scale based on the number of players. With two hunters, monster health increases slightly. With four, expect tougher fights. This ensures balance without making multiplayer too easy.
Step 4: Use SOS Signal for Late Joins
In certain missions, especially urgent story hunts, players can still trigger an SOS signal to call in friends mid-quest. This works well if your friend logs in late or if you want help halfway through a monster encounter. Here’s how:
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Open the in-game menu mid-mission.
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Select “Fire SOS Flare.”
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Friends can then join via the “Respond to SOS” option in the main menu.
This mechanic makes campaign progression flexible even if friends are on different schedules.
Step 5: Communicate and Coordinate Strategy
Monster Hunter Wilds features in-game voice chat and text chat options. Players can mark targets, ping the map, or assign roles (e.g., trap setter, attacker, support) before a hunt. Running through campaign missions together requires strong synergy, especially when facing new monsters with complex behavior.
Equip complementary gear. For example, one player might use a heavy blade while another focuses on ranged support. Having one healer and one tank-style hunter can be a great combo for tricky boss fights during story mode.
Step 6: Camp, Explore, and Craft Together
Outside of hunts, players can gather herbs, ores, monster materials, and side-quest items while roaming together. Monster Hunter Wilds allows seamless zone exploration without mission limits. Everyone can interact with NPCs, upgrade gear at base, and prep for the next campaign phase.
Crafting stations, merchant stalls, and training zones are accessible simultaneously to all co-op players in a lobby. You can even test weapons together before launching a major campaign arc.
How Monster Hunter Wilds Improves Multiplayer Over Previous Games
Monster Hunter World and Rise laid the foundation for co-op RPG experiences. But Monster Hunter Wilds makes it more integrated and less restrictive.
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Cutscenes don’t block co-op progression.
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Players can stay in one lobby across multiple missions.
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Quick join from the menu without disbanding parties.
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Support for squad-based lobbies with pre-set friends.
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Full world exploration in co-op, not just mission areas.
These upgrades result in a campaign that truly feels like a shared journey, not just a solo game with occasional team-up options.
While reading about upgrades in Monster Hunter, you might enjoy this deep-dive on another action title’s power mechanic: How to Upgrade Runic Attacks God of War Ragnarok.
Tips to Maximize Fun While Playing the Campaign With Friends
Synchronize Progress
Always ensure everyone in your group has completed the same set of campaign quests. Otherwise, story missions will be locked out for some. Try setting a shared progression schedule.
Share Loot and Help Craft Gear
Trade items when allowed, help farm materials, and guide newer players through boss tactics. It makes for a better co-op experience.
Use Squad Boards and Decorations
Unlocking squad boards gives your team a shared space to plan missions. You can even decorate it, post messages, and set up party-wide bonuses.
Set Difficulty Scaling Expectations
The more friends join, the stronger the enemies. Make sure everyone is ready with proper gear and healing items.
Use Discord or Voice for Better Teamwork
In intense fights, real-time communication helps. Use Discord or voice chat to call out monster behavior or healing needs.
Future Updates and Campaign Co-op Modes
Capcom plans to add seasonal co-op challenges, event hunts, and new campaign chapters. These will require strong coordination, so keeping your squad together and upgrading gear will be essential.
Developers have hinted at:
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8-player siege-style co-op events
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Shared expedition raids
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Dynamic world events tied to weather and time of day
These additions promise to expand the co-op experience beyond the base campaign.
Co-op Strategy for Boss Hunts in Campaign Mode
Some campaign missions in Monster Hunter Wilds involve cinematic boss battles that are not only visually stunning but mechanically intense. These bosses often feature area-clearing attacks, dynamic arenas, or elemental mechanics that require coordinated movement and planning. Unlike standard hunts, these fights carry heavier narrative consequences and usually unlock significant upgrades or story arcs.
In campaign co-op, players must assign specific tasks. One might focus on status effects like poison or paralysis, while another maintains aggro. Damage dealers target weak points while a support role monitors health bars and buffs. Items like trap bombs, flash pods, and status coatings become essential tools for orchestrating these fights.
Understanding a monster’s pattern is key, but coordinating interrupt attacks or executing synchronized traps adds an extra layer of satisfaction. You can’t button-mash your way through a cinematic boss. Campaign co-op challenges you to think, act, and succeed as one unit.
Leveling Gear and Stats as a Team
The gear upgrade loop plays a massive role in Monster Hunter Wilds’ campaign. As the story progresses, stronger monsters appear with rare drop materials needed for tiered armor sets and weapon upgrades. Since enemies scale with team size, gathering enough resources becomes more efficient in co-op.
What’s exciting is that the game now allows crafting stations to be used concurrently. There’s no waiting in line. Players can view one another’s loadouts, see which parts are missing, and schedule side hunts accordingly.
Vitality upgrades are essential too. These are unlocked through hidden side quests or regional NPCs. Friends can help you reach these areas faster by sharing map data and triggering zone events together. For instance, one hunter might draw enemy attention while another collects a rare herb or ore. It adds a sense of teamwork even outside battle.
Syncing Side Quests and Shared Progress
Side quests often carry substantial benefits: special armor blueprints, consumable upgrades, fast-travel unlocks, or companion gear. The good news? Side quests in Monster Hunter Wilds sync across co-op lobbies.
If one player accepts a side quest, all members can contribute. However, completion credit depends on participation. This encourages full team involvement, rather than one player doing all the legwork.
To manage this efficiently:
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Use the Squad Bulletin Board to assign side quests.
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Mark priority quests as “Group Critical.”
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Divide tasks — one gathers, one fights, one explores.
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Regroup after 15–20 minutes and complete together.
Side quests also allow relaxed gameplay, breaking up the intensity of story battles. Your group can roam, discover secret biomes, unlock emotes, or find cosmetics — all while remaining in campaign mode.
Free Roaming With Friends Between Campaign Chapters
Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t confine co-op to just missions. Between campaign chapters, players can engage in free-roam exploration across connected biomes. These maps evolve based on campaign progress, seasonal changes, and player interaction.
During exploration:
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Track wildlife behavior to find hidden dens or materials.
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Trigger rare monster spawns by disturbing ecosystems.
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Find shrines, ruins, or relics tied to lore.
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Upgrade gear using open-world loot.
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Help new players explore areas they haven’t unlocked solo.
Since campaign progress is party-synced, all players can benefit from discoveries made during exploration. Free roam also allows for casual bonding — fishing, cooking, or testing weapons in open terrain.
Using Relics, Talismans, and Co-Op Buffs
Talismans and relics return in Monster Hunter Wilds but now offer co-op aura effects. These passive abilities activate when party members stay within a certain range or complete actions in synergy. For example:
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“Guardian’s Blessing” activates when players block attacks for one another.
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“Hunt Synergy” boosts damage when three players land a hit within two seconds.
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“Relic Echo” boosts gathering speed for the entire team after defeating a large monster.
Equipping complementary relics can transform average groups into tactical strike teams. Before starting a campaign segment, visit your base and compare relic loadouts. Sharing buffs is key in longer campaign battles.
Monster Behavior in Multiplayer Campaign
In solo campaign, monsters behave more predictably. In multiplayer, however, the AI adjusts dynamically. Larger teams cause monsters to use multi-targeting attacks, area-denial patterns, and combo chains that require spacing. Some creatures even summon adds (smaller monsters) to split the team’s focus.
Additionally, monsters shift aggression between players based on threat levels, damage dealt, or items used. You’ll notice that a player using a loud weapon or flashy attack gets targeted more. Understanding this allows teams to designate aggro tanks or distraction roles.
Environment interaction becomes critical. Triggering rockslides, geysers, or collapsing terrain can give your team the edge. Communicate early and watch for prompts. These small details can turn a tough campaign boss into a triumphant victory.
Unlocking Co-Op Specific Rewards
Campaigns in Monster Hunter Wilds now include co-op-only rewards. These are designed to encourage team play and include:
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Co-op Hunter Medals
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Squad Emblems
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Multi-Kill Bonuses
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Shared Crafting Recipes
Players can unlock these by completing chapters together, achieving synchronized finishers, or maintaining a 100% team survival rate. These unlockables appear in your profile and grant cosmetic and gameplay perks.
Even better, some rare monster drops now require dual execution. For example, a tail sever might require two players using slicing weapons simultaneously. These mini-challenges reward planning, skill, and cooperation.
Managing Player Disconnections and Rejoins
No multiplayer game is immune to connectivity issues. Thankfully, Monster Hunter Wilds introduces seamless reconnects. If a friend disconnects mid-quest:
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They can rejoin the same hunt within two minutes.
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Progress is saved on the server side.
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They spawn back with full loadout and pre-used items.
If reconnection fails, the remaining players can complete the quest. Rewards scale based on contribution. Once reconnected, the disconnected player gets partial materials and maintains story progression.
This ensures that disconnections don’t ruin co-op sessions. It’s also great for players on mobile hotspots or unstable Wi-Fi.
How Cross-Play Affects Campaign Co-Op
Cross-play is officially supported in Monster Hunter Wilds. Players on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation can hunt together. However, campaign syncing works slightly differently:
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Story progress is tracked per platform account.
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Cross-platform friends must have matching campaign status.
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Loadouts and saves are separate unless you link via Capcom ID.
To make campaign co-op smoother across platforms:
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Use a shared Capcom account for squad invites.
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Avoid platform-exclusive gear to ensure fairness.
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Set party roles before starting each chapter.
With cross-play, the community becomes larger, and campaign co-op matchmaking gets faster. Expect new friends, broader strategies, and unique builds from different ecosystems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Monster Hunter Wilds beginner friendly?
Yes, Monster Hunter Wilds is designed to be approachable for newcomers. It introduces smoother tutorials, better UI for gear management, and more intuitive onboarding for hunts and crafting systems.
Q: Does Monster Hunter Wilds have a story?
Absolutely. The game features a full campaign with narrative-driven quests and character development. The story weaves through lush biomes and complex monster interactions.
Q: Will there be Crossplay in Monster Hunter Wilds?
Capcom has hinted at expanding multiplayer accessibility. While full crossplay hasn’t been officially confirmed, the community expects support across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Q: How will multiplayer work in MH Wilds?
Multiplayer lets you join friends via lobby IDs, squad lobbies, or friend invites. You can co-op story quests, expeditions, and side content as long as your progress aligns.
Q: What is the best weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds?
The choice depends on your playstyle. However, the Great Sword, Insect Glaive, and Long Sword remain top picks due to their balance of power and mobility.
Q: Will weather play a role in Wilds?
Yes, dynamic weather systems affect monster behavior and visibility. Rainstorms, sandstorms, and temperature changes may impact your tactics and available paths.
Q: What is the difference between MH Wilds lobby and online single player?
An MH Wilds lobby allows multiple players to connect and team up, while online single player simply uses the internet for updates and leaderboards without multiplayer interaction.
Q: Is Monster Hunter Wilds better than World?
Many fans already consider Wilds an upgrade due to improved visuals, deeper combat mechanics, and seamless biome transitions. However, preference still plays a big role.
Q: Is it possible to solo Monster Hunter Wilds?
Yes, solo play is entirely viable. The AI companions and adjusted monster difficulty make it enjoyable and rewarding even without friends.
Q: Can you co-op Monster Hunter World Story?
Yes, but both players must view the main story cutscenes individually before teaming up. Monster Hunter Wilds improves this by allowing synced progress from the start.
Q: Can I play Outer Wilds with a friend?
No, Outer Wilds is a single-player exploration game and does not support co-op gameplay.
Q: Can you play The Hunter: Call of the Wild with your friends?
Yes, that game features robust multiplayer, allowing players to hunt together in shared open worlds.
Q: Will Monster Hunter Wilds have a story mode?
Definitely. Story mode is central to the experience, complete with cinematic cutscenes, lore, and character arcs that unfold throughout the game.
Q: How to make a squad lobby in Monster Hunter Wilds?
From the main menu, access Multiplayer → Create Lobby → Set as Squad Lobby. Share the lobby ID with friends to invite them easily.
Q: How many players in Monster Hunter Wilds co-op?
Up to four players can team up in a single co-op session. Larger social hubs may accommodate more for gathering, trading, or chatting.
Q: How does Wilds handle multiplayer quests?
Quests can be shared once all party members meet the eligibility. You’ll see shared objectives, monster scaling, and synced completion for those on the same progress level.
Q: Can you play Monster Hunter Wilds story mode with friends?
Yes, Monster Hunter Wilds allows full campaign co-op, meaning you can progress through story missions alongside your friends without separate cutscene restrictions.
Q: How to play with friends in Monster Hunter Wilds Reddit?
Reddit users typically post lobby IDs or coordinate times via r/MonsterHunterWilds. Join threads marked for co-op or squad recruitment for quick matchmaking.
Q: Can you free roam with friends in Monster Hunter Wilds?
Yes, expedition mode allows you to explore zones freely, gather resources, and hunt minor creatures together without strict objectives or timers.
