Locations — Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Wiki Guide
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Wiki Guide
By Clayton Petras, Casey DeFreitas, rothco, +1.1k more
updated
There are five known maps in Monster Hunter World, plus one main town, Astera. Here, you’ll find an index listing every area and their exclusive items.
Astera
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Your headquarters in Monster Hunter: World, Astera will be where you do everything from accepting quests, to crafting armor, to getting drunk with your friends in the gathering hub. Here you’ll find a handy list of all the things you can do in Astera.
| Accepting Quests |
| The Cantina |
| The Workshop |
| The Gathering Hub |
| Your Room |
Ancient Forest
Home to a variety of flora, fauna, and monsters, this lush green prehistoric-esque forest houses many of Monster Hunter World’s beasties. It features vines that can be used to trap monsters, as well as other plants that can double as weapons. Many monsters have been spotted here including Anjanath and the dreaded flagship Rathalos.
| Main Monsters |
| Great Jagras | Pukei-Pukei | Tobi-Kadachi | Anjanath | Rathalos |
| Exclusive Items |
| Ancient Bone | |
| Ancient Forest Details |
Click here for more information on the Ancient Forest
Wildspire Waste
A vast desert with swampy plains created from the water runoff of the Ancient Forest, Wildspire Waste is a brutal environment. Ant mounds dot the landscape that some monsters like Diablos call home. Hunters who venture into this landscape of sandy dunes, large cliffs, and swamps will need to harden themselves to the elements just as the monsters who call this place home have.
| Main Monsters |
| Jyuratodus | Barroth | Rathian | Diablos |
| Exclusive Items |
| Boulder Bone | Earth Crystal |
| Wildspire Waste Details |
Click here to learn more about the Wildspire Waste
Coral Highlands
One of Monster Hunter’s more visual striking new maps, the Coral Highlands exist as if an undersea reef were stripped of its water and none of its beauty.
A vast landscape like that of the ocean floor Many species of coral lay across a vast landscape of steep cliffs and dangerous depths. Monsters like Paolumu and Legiana call this ominous beauty home.
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| Main Monsters |
| Jyuratodus | Barroth | Rathian | Diablos |
| Exclusive Items |
| Coral Bone | Coral Crystal |
| Coral Highlands Details |
Click here to learn more about the Coral Highlands
Rotten Vale
A disgusting marsh of the dead rotting corpses of other monsters, the Rotten Vale looks to be home to some of the more adaptive monsters or those who just don’t care (looking at you Odogaron). It features bones and corpses everywhere, leaving a poisonous gas in the air that can drain the health of hunters. Fortunately, a few quick-fire projectiles will temporarily leave the area breathable for the fight.
| Main Monsters |
| Great Girros | Radobaan | Odogaron |
| Exclusive Items |
| Warped Bone |
|
Click here to learn more about the Rotten Vale
Elder’s Recess
Elder’s Recess is a volcanic region covered in either lava or crystals. You’ll need a Cool Drink to traverse the hotter areas here.
| Main Monsters |
| Dodogama | Lavasioth | Uragaan | Elder Dragons |
| Exclusive Items |
| Unknown Skull |
|
Click here to learn more about Elder’s Recess
Up Next: Astera
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How to Get Every Palico Gadget — Tailraiders, and Gajalaka Guide
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In This Wiki Guide
Monster Hunter World
Capcom
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Monster Hunter World Palico upgrades — Palico Gadgets, Palico armour, and how to get a second Palico Tailraider
In Monster Hunter World Palicos are your feline hunting companions that will accompany you throughout your adventure when playing solo or in a two-player game.
They can offering offensive and defensive assistance in battle, and will also occasionally gather items while you’re out in the field. Like your character, it’s possible to upgrade them and kit them out with new abilities — though it’ll take some unlocking — as well as the ability to recruit second Palicos temporarily, known as Tailraiders.
Elsewhere, our Monster Hunter World tips can help you decide when to farm, what to forage and what to do between hunts, and our Monster Hunter World walkthrough and guide can help with main quest and story progress.
On this page:
- How to Palicos and Tailraiders work in Monster Hunter World?
- Palico armour and Palico upgrades explained
- How to unlock new Palico Gadgets
How to Palicos and Tailraiders work in Monster Hunter World?
Palicos are far simpler to use in Monster Hunter World than in earlier series games. Previously, you’d have a main companion Palico and an entire squadron of other cats to train and upgrade.
In Monster Hunter World, though, you’re limited to just one — the one you customise at the start of the game — and much of its levelling and upgrading is done automatically.
Note you can disable (and later re-enable) your Palico if you’re rather go it entirely alone. Use the ‘Palico Status’ option displayed when speaking to it in your room at base or inside a tent at a campsite while out on an expedition or quest.
Also, when you play online with more then two people in a hunt, Palicos will be subbed out for additional players.
What are Tailraiders?
While you can can only take one Palico out on a quest or expedition, it’s possible to temporarily bolster your numbers during solo play by enlisting Palicos and other other wild cats, known as Grimalkynes, found in the field. It’s even possible to enlist the help of small wild animals later on.
Grimalkynes each have specialised abilities, such as trap deployment, and will unlock for temporary employment once you’ve found the Grimalkynes settlement (and completed a connected task) in each area.
Our Grimalkynes and Doodles page goes into more depth on how to recruit the different varieties available.
Additionally, each time you unlock a new Grimlakyne settlement, your Palico will gain access to a new gadget and learn the ability to converse with — and eventually recruit — small animals such as the Jagras for battle.
In order to enlist another cat, simply approach it and wait for your Palico to engage it in conversation. It’s worth doing this during hunts to give you an extra edge in battle.
Palicos in the field are pulled from an in-game pool, and sometimes from friends and hunters you’ve exchanged Guild Cards with.
How to exchange Guild Cards
Exchanging Guild Cards with other players will increase the pool of Palicos that can appear out in the field for temporary recruitment.
You can send a Guild Card to another hunter at the Gathering Hub or in a Hunting Party during a multiplayer session. Simply call up your Info menu, select the Guild Card option, choose Send, then select your intended recipient.
To receive a Guild Card that’s been sent to you, just use the Receive option. The Guild Card List sub-menu keeps track of all the cards you’ve acquired during your adventures.
Palico armour and Palico upgrades explained
Although basic levelling and upgrading of your Palico is now automatic in Monster Hunter World, and happens immediately after successfully completing a quest or expedition, you do have at least some control over the basic progression and functionality of your Palico.
Palico level benefits
Like your Hunter Rank, the more quests and activities you complete the higher your Palico’s level increases.
Palico armour and Palico weapons
You can change a Palico’s armour and primary weapon, and construct new equipment at the Smithy. As with your own armour, each equipment piece imbues your Palico with different strengths and weaknesses — adjusting core defence, for instance, or increasing or decreasing its immunity to fire, water, electricity, ice, and dragon elemental attacks.
Palico weapons and armour have notable limitations compared to your own, however:
- Palico outfits only come in two pieces — helms and chests.
- Weapons behave a little differently too. Despite their wide variety of fancy names (Space, Hammer, Arrow, Lute, Bow, Mace, etc), each is essentially a basic melee weapon with two sub-categories: blunt or severing. Additionally, each weapon has two core stats: an attack damage value, and sometimes an elemental damage value.
- Unlike your own equipment, Palico weapons and armour cannot be upgraded. Instead, the only way to adjust and improve your companion’s equipment stats is to craft new items. Like your own. Palico weapons and armour require materials to craft, with tougher monsters and rarer materials invariably making better armour.
- Palico equipment also costs a number of Research Points to craft, rather than the money used to make your own. Research Points are accrued by completing research activities throughout the game — be that completing specific quests or investigating monster detritus out in the field — so it’s vital your pay your scientific dues.
Palico status boosts
Palicos, like hunters, can gain a temporary stat boost by eating a meal at the canteen prior to embarking on a quest or expedition.
Each available meal can imbue different effects on your Palico, meaning that it’s worth taking time to investigate your options and pick the most appropriate boost for the task ahead.
Unlike hunters, however, food offers no skill benefits to Palicos and can only affect two possible stats: health and stamina. Any potential stat gains from a meal are displayed in the Meal Effects box at the top of the canteen menu, to the right of the hunter column.
Iceborne has arrived! Here’s how to start Monster Hunter World Iceborne and beat the first monster, Beotodus. Once you get settled into the world, learn about Layered Armour in Monster Hunter World and the various side-quests available — including Surveyor Set missions, Boaboa quests and finding Pearlspring Macaque locations.
And, when you’re ready to take it on, Shara Ishvalda.
If you’re crafting, then learning where to find rare materials such as Purecrystal and Monster Slogbone is useful.
Been away from Monster Hunter for a while and need a refresher? Our pages on weapon changes and types, how to join friends and Squads in multiplayer plus how to capture monsters and mount monsters can help.
How to unlock new Palico Gadgets
Arguably the most important customisable element of your Palico is its gadget type. Gadgets can be equipped in your room or in a campsite tent, and are essentially specialised support skills, used in combat in conjunction with a Palico’s weapon.
There are six gadget types in Monster Hunter World — Vigorwasp Spray, Flashfly Cage, Coral Orchestra, Shieldspire, Plunderblade, and Meowlotov Cocktail — and each offers distinct benefits that can have a dramatic impact on your success in battle.
However, at the start of the game, you’ll only have access to the Vigorwasp Spray.
To unlock additional gadgets, you’ll need to locate the Grimlakyne settlement in each area, and complete the connected quest.
Our Grimalkynes and Doodles page breaks down the specific steps on how to get these.
| Location | Grimalkyne | Palico Gadget | Tailraider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Forest | Bugtrapper | Flashfly Cage | Jagras |
| Wildspire Waste | Protector | Shieldspire | Kestadon |
| Coral Highland | Trooper | Coral Orchestra | Shamos |
| Rotten Vale | Plunderer | Plunderblade | Girros |
| Elder’s Recess | Gajalaka | Meowlotov | Gastodon |
To acquire the Meowlotov Cocktail, you’ll first need to unlock all five other gadgets, and reach the Elder’s Recess. With that done, speak to the Lyrian Researcher in Astera to begin the relevant quest to find the Gajalakas.
Palico Gadgets explained in detail:
- Vigorwasp Spray — Equip a Palico with Vigorwasp Spray and it will intermittently detonate a vitality bug near you or your team, immediately replenishing a hunter’s health.
- Flashfly Cage — can be struck to cause a burst of light, temporarily stunning your target.
- Shieldspire are shields fashioned to resemble a face, and will aggro a monster when used. The shield can also protect your Palico from harm.
- Coral Orchestra functions much like a hunting horn, and can grant boosts to your attack, defence, and so on.
- Plunderblade lets your Palico carve off additional monster parts — even rare ones — from a down creature, beyond your usual limit.
- Meowlotov Cocktail is a throwable area-of-effect fire bomb.
How to upgrade Palico Gadgets
Palico Gadgets are upgraded automatically through use, and currently equipped gadgets will see their Proficiency stat increase at the end of a quest.
The higher a gadget’s Proficiency, the more effective it is, and the more functionality it can gain.
An upgraded Vigorwasp Spray, for instance, can heal more health, while a higher Proficiency Flashfly Cage can stun a monster for longer. A high level Plunderblade can carve more, better, quality parts, and an upgraded Meowlotov Cocktail features a wider blast radius and can do increased damage.
How to get all Palico Devices in Monster Hunter: World
In Monster Hunter: World each player has a faithful partner and helper, the role of which is played by the cute and friendly cat Paliko. As you progress through the game, it will be possible to improve it by finding special Devices for it that give it new abilities. In total, you can find 6 such tools. In this guide, we will tell you how to unlock these devices, as well as change and power them up.
How to change Palico devices
Head to your house in Astera and talk to your cat there.
If you do not want to interrupt the hunt or quest, then you can simply enter the tent located in the camp. In any case, after talking to your companion, go to Manage Palico > Change Palico Equipment, and then notice the second item from the bottom in the left column — this is the device your cat is currently using.
By default, your Palico will have Wasp Healing Spray installed, but you can change it to any other device it has.
How to increase the treatment of devices with Palico
The increase in the treatment of devices with your satellite is carried out automatically. You just need to equip the Palico with the ability you need and take on a new quest, expedition or hunt. Over time, the level of this parameter will increase.
Initially, these abilities will be passive skills, meaning Palico will use them from time to time to help you in combat. However, when you upgrade skills to level 5, they will go into the active category, that is, you will be able to choose when to use them.
At level 10, you will get an additional ability altogether.
Note: All devices can only be obtained in expedition mode (free play). You will not be able to get them during the passage of the quest.
How to unlock all of Palico’s abilities
Wasp Healing Spray
Wasp honey based device that restores the hunter’s health. The effectiveness of the gadget grows as the Palico’s handling level increases.
This ability is unlocked automatically almost at the very beginning of the game. At 5th level, you can use this skill whenever you want. At level 10, you will be able to create a healing wasp in a certain place and use it later. It is recommended to use this skill before the battle with the monster, so that you always have an extra heal in reserve.
Flashfly Cage
This is an insect cage that can be used to stop monsters. Depending on which insects are locked in the cage, the efficiency of the cage changes. The duration of its effects is also affected by the level of handling it.
To open it, you need to befriend the Grimalkins from the Bug Hunter clan. Its representatives live in the Ancient Forest. In order to uncover their location, you will need to look for green «Doodles» throughout the location (a kind of monster footprints). However, you can immediately go to the location that we marked with a green circle on the map and approach the cat on a large tree. She will try to get away from you, so try to keep up with her. When she gets tired of playing cat and mouse, she will take you to her tribe and they will give Palico a new device.
Shieldspire
Massive shield that protects the hero from enemy attacks. It can also be used to provoke monsters and draw their attention to you. The effectiveness of protection increases with the level of circulation.
It can be opened after becoming friendly with the Grimalkins of the Protector clan. You will again have to either collect Doodles all over the map, or just head to the place we marked in the above screenshot.
After reaching the right place, talk to the cat in the cave. He will give you a new quest «Cultural Exchange: Wilderness». To complete it, you will need to catch three Defenders. They will be marked on the map with special icons, so finding them will not be a problem. But to catch these animals will not be easy. We advise you to put on the mantle of disguise on the hero so that they do not notice him. Then get closer to them and use the trapping net. Next, return to Grimalkin in the cave and talk to him. The quest will end here, and your Palico will receive a new device.
Coral Orchestra
A unique tool that is able to apply several different buffs to the hero, thereby increasing his attack power, stability or defense. The effect of them increases with the increase in the level of circulation.
To open it, you will need to befriend the Grimalkin of the Nomad clan in the Coral Highlands. As before, you have to collect Doodles throughout the location to find the habitat of the seals.
However, you can just look at the screenshot above and go to the area marked with a circle. There you will meet three cats moving on Shamos. They will attack you and you will have to fight them. After dealing with the monsters, talk to the natives — they will show you the location of their cave.
Head to the Grimalkin cave and talk to one of the cats. As a result, you will receive a new task «Restless Nomads», for which you will need to kill or capture two Qiqi-ya-ku. As soon as you deal with the monsters, your hero will be automatically transferred to the cat camp, where your Palico will receive a new device.
Plunderblade
Plunderer’s invention that grabs items from monsters during an attack. The number of stolen items per use increases with the level of circulation. This is a great passive skill that increases the loot of the monsters you hunt. It can help you improve weapons or equipment, as it will significantly speed up the extraction of the necessary resources.
If you want to unlock this ability, you will need to befriend the Grimalkins of the Thieves clan in the Rotten Vale. Note that you will have to progress through the story first before you can reach the lower levels of the region. For this reason, you are unlikely to be able to get the device when you first visit the location.
After completing the necessary conditions, head to the location marked by us in the screenshot above. There you will find one cat who will immediately run away as soon as he sees you and hide in the nearby rocks. Follow him to the rocks and then place some raw meat on the ground (obtained from local monsters). Several Grimalkins will come out of their hiding place and thank you for the food by giving Palico a new device.
Meowlotov Cocktail
A powerful bomb that deals significant damage to the enemy. The Palico can support combustion with its oil slinger. The strength of the explosion increases with the level of circulation.
To open it, you need to befriend the Grimalkins of the Gajalaka clan who live in the Elder’s Recess.
This quest, in fact, begins back in Aster by talking to the Lynian Researcher, standing in front of the Ecological Research Center. Before he gives you this task, you will need to do the following:
- Obtain all other 5 Palico abilities/gadgets.
- Reach the Hiding of the Ancients.
Next, the researcher will ask you to complete an assignment called «Cultural Exchange: Linguistics of Gajalak». To do this, you will need to collect 10 Gajalak Footprints. They are found only on high-ranking cards (from 6 stars and above). They can mostly be found near their respective Grimalkins (small red furry Wookies wearing masks).
Go on an expedition and study the map carefully. The footprints you need are like a green glowing slime that you need to interact with (in the game it is called Gayalak Doodles). Flies will help you in detecting these objects. Unfortunately, you cannot use the same footprint twice, so you will have to find 10 unique Karakul.
After collecting the required number of traces, return to the researcher in Astera to complete the mission.
After that, you can take on the passage of the new quest «Cultural Exchange: Linguistics of Gayalak II.» You will need to find the Gayalak settlement. Go to the Hiding of the Ancients at night (you will not be able to complete the task during the day). Talk to the Researcher at the appointed place (see the screenshot above).
Linian will ask you to infiltrate the Gajalak camp without catching anyone’s eyes. The easiest way to do this is to put on a camouflage robe on your hero. Run the entire camp to the end, and then talk to the leader of the seals, who will give your Palico the last device.
Game of the Year, 17th place — Monster Hunter World — DTF Games
Monsters and cats.
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Tell someone a year ago that Monster Hunter World would turn out to be a really good game, succeed outside of Japan, and then triumphantly come out on PC — they would not have believed it.
And there were indeed reasons to doubt. Firstly, MH is still a Japanese series.
It is known in the West, but it has not yet got rid of the niche status. Secondly, the game trailers and videos were not very impressive: not that they were bad, they just did not “sell” the new game to newcomers. And then came the beta, which the players took cool. In general, there were few reasons to hope for a hit.
Well, then World still came out and turned out to be a good game. Moreover, it became the most successful game in the history of Capcom, then it got to the PC — and there it showed the most successful result on Steam in terms of the number of simultaneous players.
Just think about it: 215k players at launch, a game in a series that’s never been seen on PC and is not easy to learn for newbies. Even Dark Souls 3 had much more modest performance. Even now, in terms of the number of players online, MHW can be compared with Rust. If that’s not a huge success, then I don’t know what is.
And the more interesting it is to try to understand why exactly the game took off.
What made even a PC-audience unaccustomed to the series immediately imbued? I think the point is that we don’t have many really good and expensive «complex» games. Games that you need to study for a long time, that don’t bring you everything on a silver platter, but make you really pump your personal skill, but at the same time constantly surprise you with some new mechanics.
For clarity, you can compare World with some kind of survival game — the principles here are distant, but similar. We run around the world, looking for resources, crafting useful things, creating weapons, hunting. But if in a conditional survival game it’s enough to learn the initial rules, and then you can just entertain yourself, then in MHW you constantly find something new.
Once you have explored the starting world a bit, defeated the first big monster, you find the next one. And you need your own approach to it, you have to learn everything anew. And then he came to another location — and there again everything is different, both the landscape and the monsters.
And then it turns out that the hero knows how to make traps — this also needs to be mastered, a whole science. And then there are gadgets. And there are 14 types of weapons here — all absolutely unique, with their own attacks, combos, speed and everything else. You should try each to decide which is more convenient.
There is, for example, a sword that transforms into an axe. There is a huge bagpipe (or is it still a horn?), which imposes buffs on allies. And there is a glaive with which you can control insects and jump high (if anything, we had a guide). The rules and features of «monhan» cannot be understood even in a few days — in this game you need to sit and figure it out for a long time.
But all this would be useless if the World was not addictive. Why fancy systems if you don’t want to use them? So, here’s what you want. In my text, I somehow compared killing a monster in MHW with killing a particularly difficult boss in Dark Souls. A better analogy for those who are not familiar with the series has not appeared since then.
The feeling is really very similar: you forge good weapons, stock up on food, potions and gadgets, explore the location, come up with tactics, call for help if needed. And then for half an hour you furiously «stab» the boss. Maybe not on the first try, but he still gives in. And you joyfully rip off the skin, claws and other good things from it and run to check what can be crafted from it and, most importantly, who to hunt next.
It turns out a very simple and understandable gameplay loop. You seem to be engaged in grinding, but the game is so complex and knows how to surprise so well that you seem to not notice the routine. Just catch the rhythm, learn, improve.
On more serious monsters, you can already go to read guides, chat with other hunters, come up with some of your own tactics. To be honest, this has been lacking in games for a long time — and Monster Hunter World satisfies this hunger well. It’s not a perfect game — newcomers will still have difficulty learning, an awkward interface, and a strange online part — but if you look at the big picture, there are no questions left.
