Monster Hunter Wilds launches Title Update 4 and brings the first Elder Dragon – All information and patch notes in the overview

Complete Patch Notes for Title Update 4 in Monster Hunter Wilds

Here you will find the complete overview of the patch notes for Title Update 4 on December 16, 2025.

Important Innovations and Changes

Monsters

• The combat-hardened Jin Dahaad has been added. (Available in a future event quest.)
• The Gogmazios has been added. Reach JR 100+ to unlock a side quest for Gogmazios.
• Additional hardened 9★ monsters (Doshaguma etc.) are being added as event quests.
• The hardened Rathalos (9★) now roams the Crimson Forest, the Oil Spring Basin, and the Claw Rift at Hunter Rank 100+.
• The minimum quest time for quests with 2+ targets has been increased, resulting in quests now taking longer. Existing stored investigations with a lower quest time than the new minimum time will be adjusted accordingly.

Players

• Additional helper hunters have been added: Griffin (Great Sword), Nightmist (Light Bowgun), and Nadia. The new helper hunters can join quests after completing the main quest “Hunter’s Pride”. Nadia is only available during a limited-time seasonal event (certain quests excluded).

Story Progress

• The side quest “An Ancient Resting Place” has been added. (This mission is available after completing the main mission “The First Cry” and reaching JR 100.)
• The side quest “Ghosts Know No Tomorrow” has been added. (This mission is available after completing the side quest “An Ancient Resting Place”.)

Bases and Facilities

• A new Festival of Harmony will take place from December 19, 2025 to January 14, 2026.
• The following features will be temporarily modified during the Festival of Harmony: the clothing of field experts, Saikrii decorations, the Diva’s song list, decorations in the Great Site, the menu in the canteen, barrel bowling, and barrel bowling bombs.
• The Diva’s song list in the Great Site has been updated.
• There are now new pin setups in barrel bowling.
• Gogma-Artian weapons can now be improved and enhanced at the smithy.
• High-rank armor can now be refined at the smithy.
• The default listing in the weapon selection list under “Strengthen Artian Weapons” in the smithy menu has been updated, and new sorting criteria have been added as well as existing ones adjusted.
• New sorting criteria have been added to the weapon selection list under “Dismantle Artian Weapons” in the smithy menu and existing ones adjusted.
• The refinement points of certain monster materials when refining armor balls and ores at the refinery have been increased.
• New sorting options for the following categories have been added at the quest board:
  • Investigations: Most Attempts Remaining / Least Attempts Remaining
  • Lobby Member Quests: No Passcode / Newly Started Quests / Open Slots
• The listing of completed side quests under the “Recommended” sorting option for optional quests at the quest board has been adjusted.
• The listing of quests under emergency marker quests, lobby member quests, and connection member quests at the quest board has been adjusted, so that quests with the acceptance setting “Auto” are listed first to better distinguish from quests with “Manual”.
• A quick access option “Recently Played Quest” has been added to the quest menu.
• The options menu in the quest menu has been removed. Settings can now be opened directly via a platform-specific key command.
• The summary when starting a field exploration or saving an investigation via the map has been updated to include a “Start Exploration” prompt, and corresponding tooltip symbols have been adjusted.
• A feature has been added to remind players to use Super Luck Coupons when starting a quest via a chat message. (This notification can be toggled on and off through the quest settings.)
• An option has been added to the training area to restore default settings.
• When opening the “Customize Shortcut Menu” screen via the start menu, the used input device is now automatically detected by the game and the window for the corresponding device (controller vs. keyboard) opens.
• The display of monster icons, bonus rewards, and quest difficulty has been optimized for the following event environmental descriptions:
  • Monster attacks on settlements
  • Multiple quest objectives
  • Packs quests

System

• CPU/GPU optimization for all hardware through:
  • Application of frame distribution, collision detection check, and reduction of the number of simultaneous effects to optimize processing time.
  • Reduction of overall load by eliminating unnecessary processing.
  • Implementation of 100+ improvements for players, monsters, Saikrii, Palicos, NPCs, UI, effects, gimmicks, and more.
• The character can now be moved and the camera controlled when a message about a communication error is displayed. (Depending on the setting under “Control with Open Menu”, character movement is still disabled.)
• The hunter friends list now shows players based on their last login.
• Emergency marker quests now also include combat-hardened monsters as targets. Note: These will be listed separately from ordinary monsters.
• The following event quests can now also be accepted in offline mode:
  • A Silent Thunder (Combat-hardened Rey Dau)
  • Firmly Rooted (Combat-hardened Uth Duna)
  • Cursed Shadowflame (Combat-hardened Nu Udra)
  • Planetes Protocol (Epic)
• A crafting round can now produce 2 dragon ammo.

Miscellaneous

• Adjustments have been made to prevent players from being moved by field experts while in photo mode.

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Bug Fixes and Balance Adjustments

Bases and Facilities

• The sorting of armor by ability now also highlights the individual armor pieces that possess that ability.
• The sorting option “Equipment Abilities” in the equipment chest now only shows available abilities of equipment in your possession.
• Equipment appearance sets now include an option to register the current hairstyle data.
• Filter options for α- and β-versions of decorative armor have been added to the equipment appearance menu.

Monsters

• A bug has been fixed that prevented the Jin Dahaad quest from spawning when players switch areas while the Jin Dahaad notification (when the Jin Dahaad moves from the Ice Shards Cliffs to Frost Peak) appears before the area switch of the Jin Dahaad was fully completed.
• A bug has been fixed that caused focus attacks on the Miaudraw to not be properly recorded for the combo counter.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the break animation for the veil of Uth Duna to be interrupted by another action, causing the veil to remain.
• A bug has been fixed where canceling the “Unleashed” status of Arkveld during certain actions failed and instead restored the damage required to cancel the status. (In the “Unleashed” state, Arkveld’s blades sweep over a wider area.)

Players – General

• The maximum possible elemental value for player status has been increased.
• The damage reaction when perfectly blocking an attack with low damage reaction has been reduced.
• After perfectly blocking a powerful attack with sword & shield, great sword, lance, gunlance, energy blade and heavy bowgun, players can now transition more quickly into certain actions.
• A bug has been fixed that reduced the reach of the grappling hook when a net was equipped.
• A bug has been fixed which displayed insufficient information when a large monster grabbed the player.
• A bug has been fixed which allowed players to move significantly faster during certain actions.
• A bug has been fixed in which players could take damage from Jin Dahaad’s ultimate attack if they used “Blackest Night” behind a giant ice boulder.
• A bug has been fixed where players could take damage from the Palicos’ water gun reaction while carrying a barrel bowling bomb.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players from sprinting when executing certain inputs during the pumpkin head gesture.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented the water gun gesture from being performed when Omega’s sword or Omega’s staff was equipped.
• A bug has been fixed where players thanked helpers inappropriately after an action.
• A bug has been fixed where the Fender collaboration gesture was not properly displayed to other players in online play.
• A bug has been fixed where the longsword was not sheathed properly during the battle-ready pose (extra).
• A bug has been fixed that caused the player’s hairstyle to disappear for a short time when the pumpkin head gesture was interrupted under certain conditions.

Great Sword

• The base damage and elemental scaling of “Charged Slash”, “Strong Charged Slash”, and “True Charged Slash” have been increased.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players from blocking again if they performed a directional input after a perfect block.

Long Sword

• It now takes longer for the special sheath to automatically cancel when the player stays in the special sheath.
• The Momentum Release Strike no longer hits captured monsters.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players from drawing their weapon when no directional input was made after a Momentum Release Strike.

Sword & Shield

• The hit zone of “Perfect Rush” has been adjusted to facilitate landing some attacks.
• The base damage of “Forward Slash” has been increased.
• “Forward Slash” now transitions more seamlessly into “Cross Slash”.
• Perfect blocking can now transition slightly faster into normal blocking.
• Perfect blocking can now transition slightly faster into “Cross Slash”.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the behavior of “Side Step Slash” in focus mode to differ depending on the control type used.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players from executing basic actions when drawing their weapon from a standstill.

Dual Blades

• “Focus: Tide Turn” and “Tide Drill” now consume less weapon sharpness.
• Adjustments have been made to ensure that the Demon Bonus Mode remains active even when the weapon is sheathed.
• Players can now exit Demon Mode while moving after executing a Demon Dodge in Demon Bonus Mode.
• A bug has been fixed that caused “Focus: Tide Turn” to cancel when bouncing off certain monster parts.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players using Directional Control Type 2 from moving in the intended direction after dodging in Demon Mode.

Hammer

• During a follow-up spinning press, directional inputs can now be made to increase the movement distance of the attack.
• A bug has been fixed that caused certain parts of “Focus Strike: Earthquake” to deal fixed base damage.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the overhead strike to be canceled when using Directional Control Type 2 while players moved in certain directions.

Hunting Horn

• The base damage of “Presentation Tactic” has been slightly increased.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the timing of activation for presentation effects and attacks to shift when players performed certain actions.

Lance

• The base damage of “High Thrust III” and “Medium Thrust I, II, and III” has been increased.
• The base damage of “Counter Pierce” and “Double Counter Thrust” has been increased.
• The base damage and elemental scaling of “Triple Thrust” has been increased.
• Perfect blocking can now transition faster into other attacks.
• The damage reduction rate for large damage reactions when blocking or perfectly blocking has been increased. Note: The damage reduction rate due to “Blocking High” applies to attacks that can be blocked due to the ability effect.
• A bug has been fixed that caused “Jump Thrust” from a standstill not to be executed in the intended direction when using Directional Control Type 2.

Gunlance

• The Wyrmstake Cannon has been adjusted to facilitate hits.
• Attacks with the Wyrmstake Cannon in focus mode have been adjusted to facilitate firing in the direction of the reticle.
• The damage reduction rate for large damage reactions when blocking or perfectly blocking has been increased. Note: The damage reduction rate due to “Blocking High” applies to attacks that can be blocked due to the ability effect.
• A bug has been fixed that caused Wyrmstake shots to disappear when the Wyrmstake Cannon hit another player.

Morph Axe

• “Sword: Counter Upward Slash” can now transition into a Side Step.
• The invincibility against knockbacks when executing “Sword: Counter Upward Slash” has been increased, and the attack can now quickly transition into a dodge.
• Players can now dodge while charging “Unbridled Slash” and “Full Unleashed Slash”.
• Players can now quickly transition into dodging after executing a Zero-Sum Release fatal strike.
• “Focus: Morph Combo” has been adjusted to facilitate hits on wounds and weak points.
• The base damage of “Focus: Morph Combo” has been increased.
• The base damage of the following attacks has been increased: Overhead Slash, Sword: Right Upward Slash, Sword: Left Upward Slash, and Sword: Skyward Whirl.
• The base damage of “Unbridled Slash” has been increased.
• The elemental scaling of multiple hits and the base damage of elemental release and zero-sum release have been increased.
• The base damage of “Axe: Spiral Barrage Slash” has been increased.
• The base damage of the following attacks has been increased: Sword: Downward Retreat Slash, Sword: Morph Double Slash, and Axe: Morph Upward Double Slash.
• The base damage of “Sword: Morph Strike” after dodging in sword mode has been increased.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the values on the status screen for Dragon Extract, Poison Extract, Paralysis Extract, and Fatigue Extract to be displayed higher than the maximum possible value. (This does not change the actual function, only the displayed numbers.)

Energy Blade

• Hit stops occurring during multiple hits in Power Axe mode have been reduced. Note: “Hit stops” are visual effects where players temporarily freeze or are slowed down when an attack hits a monster.
• During “Axe: Morph Strike”, the time window for utilizing block points or executing Perfect Blocks has been extended, and actions are now triggered earlier.
• The base damage of “Wild Axe Slash” has been increased.
• “Axe: Element Release” and other attacks now transition faster into actions such as “Axe: Morph Strike”.
• The first hit of “Axe: Element Release II” now transitions into “Axe: Morph Strike”.
• “Focus: Double Butcher” can now transition into “Axe: Morph Strike”.
• “Focus: Double Butcher” can now transition faster into other actions.
• A bug has been fixed that caused “Axe: Element Release II” to not transition into “Axe: Enhanced Element Release” with certain inputs.
• A bug has been fixed that caused a delay when blocking before the player turned in the intended direction.
• A bug has been fixed where the button assignment display in certain “Sword: Morph Strike” combos deviated from the actual inputs.

Insect Glaive

• Players can now execute a Descending Slash with short button inputs. The charge level increases based on previous attacks. Note: With the right timing, you can execute a Descending Slash with △+○ (PS5) / Y+B (Xbox) / Standard Left- + Right-click (PC).
• The base damage of “Side Step Slash” and “Side Step Slash Combo” as well as the attack speed after collecting all three extracts have been increased.
• The player is no longer knocked back after performing an Upward Circular Slash.
• “Jumping Strike”/”Strong Jumping Strike” can now transition into a “Descending Slash”/”Strong Descending Slash”.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented certain charged attacks in focus mode from transitioning into a Descending Slash, even when they were fully charged.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the Kinsect to behave unusually when performing “Focus Attack: Jump Thrust” with certain monsters, such as Nu Udra.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the Kinsect to not move anymore when it hit edges in certain terrains.

Light Bowgun

• The recovery of the rapid fire bar for “Focus Explosion: Eagle Strike” has been significantly increased.
• The responsiveness of “Tracker Shot” has been improved, making it easier to perform dodges or other shots after firing.
• The responsiveness of “Rapid Tracker Shot” has been improved, making it easier to perform dodges or other shots after firing.
• “Barrageshot” now transitions more easily into “Rapid Tracker Shot”.
• Explosions from sticky ammo now refill the rapid fire bar.
• The base damage of “Wyvern Explosion” has been increased and the cooldown significantly reduced.
• It is now easier to transition into basic actions after a Wyvern explosion.
• The base damage of normal ammo has been increased.
• The base damage of Tracker Shot with normal ammo has been increased.
• The fire rate of Rapid Tracker Shot with normal ammo has been increased.
• The base damage of the last shot in Rapid Tracker Shot with normal ammo has been increased.
• The number of shots from Rapid Tracker Shot with piercing ammo has been increased.
• The fire rate of Rapid Tracker Shot with shotgun ammo has been increased.
• The base damage and elemental values of Rapid Tracker Shot with elemental ammo (excluding dragon ammo) have been increased.
• The fire rate of Rapid Tracker Shot with elemental ammo (excluding dragon ammo) has been increased.
• The fire rate of Rapid Tracker Shot with dragon ammo has been increased.
• Dragon ammo has shorter hit distances and hits monsters with higher probability.
• The maximum range of dragon ammo has been increased.
• The fire rate of Rapid Tracker Shot has increased when using poison ammo, paralysis ammo, and sleep ammo.
• The amount of rapid fire bar consumed by rapid fire ammo has been reduced.
• A bug has been fixed that caused players to move diagonally much slower than intended while aiming.

Heavy Bowgun

• “Wyvern Counter Ignition” now refills the ignition bar upon a successful counterattack.
• The player is no longer knocked back when firing “Wyvern Counter Ignition”.
• The responsiveness of “Wyvern Counter Ignition” between loading and firing the attack has been improved.
• “Wyvern Counter Ignition” now transitions more easily into other actions after firing.
• Players can now transition into a block or side step with “Wyvern Explosion Ignition” or “Focus: Wyvern Howl”. The dodging movement when preparing or after firing these actions has also been changed to a side step.
• The amount of ignition bar consumed by “Wyvern Explosion Ignition” has been reduced.
• The base and fire damage of “Wyvern Explosion Ignition” have been increased.
• “Wyvern Explosion Ignition” now transitions faster into blocking, dodging, and other actions after performing.
• The base damage and the maximum hit count of “Wyvern Spike Ignition” have been increased.
• The base damage of “Wyvern Heart Ignition” has been increased.
• “Focus: Wyvern Howl” now refills the ignition bar when weak points are hit or wounds are destroyed.
• The responsiveness of “Focus: Wyvern Howl” between loading and firing the attack has been improved.
• “Focus: Wyvern Howl” now transitions more easily into other actions after firing.
• The base damage of “Focus: Wyvern Howl” has been increased.
• Dragon ammo has shorter hit distances and hits monsters with higher probability.
• The maximum range of dragon ammo has been increased.
• The damage multiplier scaling for Ignition mode Special I and II has been increased. (Affects Wyvern Spike Ignition, Wyvern Heart Ignition, and Focus: Wyvern Howl.)
• A bug has been fixed that caused players’ actions during “Robust Blocking” to become unpredictable under certain conditions.

Bow

• The base damage of “Dragon Slayer” and “Parabola Shot” has been increased.
• The base damage of target marking and fuse arrows has been increased.
• The base damage and elemental scaling of “Charged Shot”, “Power Shot”, “Power Rapid Shot”, and “Thousand Dragons” have been increased.
• The base damage scaling of “Power Coating” and “Piercing Coating” has been increased.
• The speed of applying coatings has been increased.
• Players can now load a target marking arrow after a charged side step.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the damage scaling and effects of the part destroyer ability not to display correctly when multiple wounds or weak points were destroyed simultaneously with “Focus: Hailstorm”.
• A bug has been fixed that caused stamina to not recover normally under certain conditions during a backward skilled dodge.

Abilities

• Blocking High: Now also reduces damage taken when blocking, regardless of the attack. Details: Reduces damage taken while blocking and allows blocking of unblockable attacks.
  • Level 1: Reduces damage taken by 10% and an additional 20% when the condition is met.
  • Level 2: Reduces damage taken by 20% and an additional 30% when the condition is met.
  • Level 3: Reduces damage taken by 30% and an additional 50% when the condition is met.
• Charging: Now also increases the damage of charged hammer attacks.
• Ballistics: Now also increases the base damage of shots at level 3 from critical range.
• Elemental Absorption: The cooldown between activations of the ability has been reduced.
• Bloody Mess: The activation rate and effect strength have been increased.
• Bloody Mess: Upon activation, the ability causes additional damage even if a monster part has exceeded its wound limit.
• Bloody Mess: A bug has been fixed that caused the notification for activation of the ability to not display in high-rank quests when bonus damage was triggered (after sufficient value was accumulated).
• Bind Counter (set bonus ability): The effect duration has been increased.
• Flawless Armor (set bonus ability): The effect strength has been increased.
• Protein Beast (set bonus ability): The effect duration and effect strength at level 2 have been increased.
• Evil Blood (set bonus ability): The cooldown between activations of the ability has been reduced and effect strength increased.
• Vengeance (set bonus ability): The cooldown between activations of the ability has been reduced and effect strength increased.
• White Flame Flood: The cooldown between activations of the ability has been reduced and effect strength increased (when used in conjunction with the set bonus ability “Vengeance”).
• The following weapon actions have been added for each weapon to the actions that can trigger bonus damage abilities:
  • Long Sword: Momentum Thrust, Momentum Helm Breaker, Momentum Blade II
  • Hammer: Charged Upward Swing, Mighty Charged Upward Swing, Mighty Forward Impact
  • Lance: Triple Thrust
  • Gunlance: Wyrmstake Cannon, Full Wyrmstake Explosion, Full Wyrmstake Multiple Explosion
  • Energy Blade: Sword: Concentrated Element Slash, Axe: Enhanced Element Release, Axe: Super Enhanced Element Release
  • Insect Glaive: Descending Thrust, Strong Descending Thrust, Descending Slash, Strong Descending Slash
  • Heavy Bowgun: Wyvern Heart Ignition, Wyvern Spike Ignition
  • Bow: Thousand Dragons, Piercing Coating for normal and target marking arrows, Power Shot (not possible with Piercing Coating), Power Rapid Shot (not possible with Piercing Coating), Swallow Shot (not possible with Piercing Coating)
• Bind Counter (set bonus ability): A bug has been fixed that caused the activation of the ability to unintentionally continue after resetting a challenge quest.
• Bubbling Dance (set bonus ability): A bug has been fixed that caused the number of dodges required for activation of the ability not to reset during challenge quests.

Helper Hunters

• The attack power of Olivia, Rosso, Mina, and Kai has been slightly increased when the quest guidance is JR 50 or higher.
• The reaction of helper hunters has been improved if players do not perform attacks for a certain period: Helpers are less likely to stop their attacks, and they also return to the fight faster after the player resumes their attacks.
• A bug has been fixed that caused helper hunters to lose health and become unconscious even after completing a quest.
• A bug has been fixed that caused helper hunters to be put on standby near a trap placed for a Nerscylla clone (while hunting Omega Planetes) even if the trap had no effect.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented helper hunters from attacking Omega Planetes in certain situations, even when standing next to it.
• A bug has been fixed that caused Mina to target body parts that were out of range on certain monsters.
• A bug has been fixed that caused a monster not to enter a power struggle after Rosso successfully triggered it.
• A bug has been fixed that caused system messages not to display correctly when the host player received melody effects from Kai’s performances.
• A bug has been fixed that caused helper hunters to inadvertently and repeatedly use Blitz Capsules or traps.
• A bug has been fixed that caused weapon and slinging ammunition to disappear inadvertently when hitting a helper hunter sitting on a Saikrii.

Saikrii

• When riding a Saikrii and attempting to use an object, the use of the object will not be canceled even if the Saikrii performs an automatic dodge at the same time.
• The Saikrii can now accelerate faster after an automatic dodge.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the Saikrii to be summoned again inadvertently when the player jumped off the Saikrii without inputting anything.

Miscellaneous – System

• Limited-time plunder quests in the categories “Research Assistance: Monsters,” “Research Assistance: Fishing,” and “Research Assistance: Beasts” have been adjusted to grant more armor balls.
• A bug has been fixed that allowed certain lobbies whose joining was restricted to lobby ID search to still be entered via “Search for Hunter Friends”.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented players from posting or joining quests in online lobbies after the crossplay settings were changed from “Disable” to “Enable” on the title screen.
• A bug has been fixed that caused a chat message to display stating that a seasonal event was “ending soon” despite there being sufficient time left.
• The hunting group member list now displays the name of the current hunting group in the header.
• Players can now send hunting friendship requests via the hunting group member list.
• The procedure for editing and deleting widgets in the hunter profile has been slightly adjusted.
• The confirmation window that appeared when exiting the editing of widgets in the hunter profile has been removed.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the “Equipment Sets” widget in the hunter profile to incorrectly display enhancement bonuses for Artian weapons.
• A confirmation window now appears when leaving the hunter profile.
• A confirmation window has been added to the “Reset Widgets” function in the hunter profile (to prevent accidental resets).
• In addition to the currently possessed amount, the save data selection screen now also shows the maximum number of character and Palico editing vouchers that players can have.
• A new text has been added at the end of each helper hunter profile that briefly explains the strengths of the respective hunter.
• The in-game tips for Lagiacrus have been moved to the “Tips” category under Tutorials and Tips from “Hunting” to “Lagiacrus”.
• When using the “Take All” function with Nata’s material procurement function, the names and quantities of all objects players receive are now displayed.
• The confirmation window displayed when selecting an object for material procurement has been removed.
• The confirmation window for stock items has been added with an option to remove items from the bag.
• The menu “Native Beasts” under “Ecological Research” now displays the current number of caught beasts as well as their limit.
• The symbols have been adjusted so that parts removed from monsters (e.g., tails) are now easier to find outside of combat.
• The red wave effect on the health bar (the effect triggered when health reaches a critical level) is now disabled when the “Health Bar Warning” option is set to “Do Not Display”.
• The option “Hide Other Saikrii” has been given a new setting “Hide During Battle”.
• A new option “Pie Menu Selection Type” has been added.
• The text and symbols displayed in the fishing control have been adjusted.

Field Expert

• Field experts now avoid getting too close to large monsters.

Palico

• A bug has been fixed that caused the Palico to cancel support actions while players performed certain actions, such as a focus attack with a bow.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the Palico to continue glowing during the “Hokus Palicosus” gesture with certain inputs.
• A bug has been fixed that caused your Palico to get stuck at the entrance to area 17 in the Oil Spring Basin and unable to follow you down.

Miscellaneous

• A bug has been fixed that caused some spoken text lines to not trigger correctly.
• Various text issues have been resolved.
• Some minor bugs have been fixed.