Best starter weapon for beginners in Monster Hunter Wilds

These are the best weapons for beginners to try in MHWilds

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

What is the best starting weapon for beginners in Monster Hunter Wilds? If you’re just now learning the sheer number of complex weapons that the Monster Hunter series has grown to offer, then know that it’s very common to feel overwhelmed. The combos, movesets, and systems that each Monster Hunter Wilds weapon employs is pretty dizzying when you’re just getting started. You’re not alone, and we’re here to help.

If you’re struggling to land on one particular weapon to pick as your starting weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds, then hopefully we can help you out with this guide. Below, we’ll walk you through our opinion on the three best weapons for beginners to use, along with our complexity ranking for all 14 weapon types to help you better understand what to expect from each weapon.

Best weapon for beginners in Monster Hunter Wilds

The very best starting weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds is the Sword And Shield , thanks to its extreme mobility and the ease with which you can both dodge and block attacks. But if you’re looking for something that can deal a bit more damage per hit, then the Long Sword and Hammer are also phenomenal weapons that beginners can easily get to grips with.

Below is my rating of all the best beginner weapons from least to most complex, so you have a better idea of how much time you might end up spending to master each weapon. Bear in mind that this is a rough guide, and you might end up being naturally more aligned with particular playstyles, so your mileage may vary.

Below we’ve gone into more detail with the top three best starting weapons for beginners, so you can understand why you might want to start with them.

1. Sword And Shield

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The Sword And Shield is the very best starting weapon for Monster Hunter beginners to use, and in Monster Hunter Wilds the Sword And Shield feels more powerful than it’s ever been in previous games. So this is a great time to use it as your gateway into the Monster Hunter arsenal.

The Sword And Shield is meant to be a balance between pretty much everything. It’s got low range, but good consistent damage, great mobility, the ability to block (and even Power Clash) large monster attacks if you can’t dodge out of the way in time; and the combos, while not as simplistic as the Great Sword or Hammer, are still quite easy to learn.

The key to success with the Sword And Shield is twofold: first, use the Sliding Swipe extremely often to evade attacks and stick to the enemy like glue. Second: use the Backstep + Scaling Slash combo to get up high in the air, after which you’ve a variety of very powerful moves as you’re coming back down to earth. Sometimes it’s hard to aim your attack while you’re in the air, but with practice this will become one of the best and fastest ways to deal damage and also proc your status effects - another real strength of the fast-attacking Sword And Shield.

2. Hammer

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

The Hammer has one of the simplest movesets of any weapon, which makes it an ideal starting point for beginners in Monster Hunter Wilds. But the Great Sword’s skillset is arguably even simpler, and I would not recommend it for new players. What makes the Hammer so beginner-friendly is that even though it’s a big weapon that deals lots of damage, you still have a lot of mobility. The fact that you can run around and dodge while charging up your strongest attacks makes it one of the easiest weapons in the game to master.

The thing that might trip up beginners when using the Hammer is simply getting used to the fairly short range (compared to other large weapons). You have to stay close, and ideally aim for the head, because the Hammer’s blunt damage is fantastic for stunning monsters with repeated head attacks. But the head is also the danger end of most monsters, so it can take a bit of time to understand when you’re safe and when you’re not. But that’s the type of learning of monster movesets that you’ll need to do with any weapon anyway.

The Hammer delivers outrageous damage while the monster is stunned or otherwise occupied, and even while you’re the sole focus of the monster, you maintain more than enough mobility to outmanoeuvre it until the time is right to unleash your strength. It’s a very good starting point into Monster Hunter Wilds which can happily take you to the endgame if you decide you don’t feel like changing things up.

3. Long Sword

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The Long Sword has long been my favourite weapon in Monster Hunter, and the same is true in Wilds. It’s amazingly fast considering the reach that you have even with just the regular attacks, and you’ll quickly find you can deliver a lot of damage to monster parts that are frequently too high to hit for smaller weapons, all while maintaining enough agility to easily dodge out of the way of dangerous attacks.

It’s easy to learn the basics of the Long Sword; the reason it’s not very often mentioned as a good starting weapon is because of its Spirit Gauge, which builds up with attacks but builds up faster if you understand particular sets of attacks which can fast-track your way to a full gauge. Once you’ve maxed out the Spirit Gauge, your attacks all change to become multi-step and more powerful, although to be honest they’re all still quite easy to learn with a bit of practice. The only tricky part is understanding the systems by which you’ll raise or lower your Spirit Gauge.

Despite this, the basics of the Long Sword are simple enough, and the benefits strong enough, that I’d recommend them to any player who’s unsure of which starting weapon to use. It’s great at lopping off tails, it’s swift enough to proc elemental and status effects decently fast, and it strikes a brilliant balance between power and mobility.

That wraps up our guide on the best starting weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, but we’ve plenty more to offer if you need more help with the weapons arsenal, including our guide on the best solo weapon in MHWilds. We’ve also got a Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough and a list of the main quests if you’re stuck on the campaign. Alternatively, you can also head to our guides on how to capture monsters , how to pause and how to get layered armor .

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

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Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

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