Slaying the massive beasts in Monster Hunter Wilds is a matter of skill, patience, and most importantly, the best weapon. Though learning the patterns of monster attacks is vital, having an effective, maxed-out powerful weapon makes a world of difference. Monster Hunter Wilds has a more complex weapon upgrade system compared to most RPGSs. The weapon upgrade system in Monster Hunter Wilds allows you to customize your gear based on what monsters you have slain.

What this means is that you’ll need to carefully select your upgrade path, gather the right materials, and make strategic decisions on which route to take. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know on the weapon upgrade system in Monster Hunter Wild and how to maximize your upgrades.

How to Upgrade Weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds

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Compared to previous games in the series, Monster Hunter Wilds makes it easier to upgrade weapons by the addition of Gemma, the Smithy. Rather than having to return to a central hub each time you want an upgrade, you can now go to see Gemma at any base camp, making it much simpler to upgrade your equipment during an ongoing expedition.

To upgrade your weapon, do the following:

1. Go to a base camp and speak to Gemma, the Smithy.
2. Select "Forge/Upgrade Weapons" from the menu.
3. Select the weapon to upgrade to display the weapon tree.
4. Select an upgrade path based on what you can choose from.
5. Check what materials you need and make sure you have them.
6. Pay Zenny and complete the upgrade.

Every weapon starts out as one of two generic types:

• Metal (Expedition) Weapons – High durability and well-rounded stats.
• Bone Weapons – Raw attack power but poor durability.

After choosing your base weapon, you’ll see a branching upgrade tree. Each upgrade path is tied to a specific monster, meaning your weapon’s stats, affinities, and elemental effects will reflect the creature it’s made from.

For example, weapons made from Zinogre parts gain Thunder Element and increased affinity while weapons upgraded with Rathalos materials get Fire Element and stronger base damage. In contrast to a usual level-up system, when you take an upgrade path, you're stuck— at least for that particular weapon. If you want to check how another upgrade path is going to work, you'll have to create a new base weapon and level it up on the new path. This system makes you try out a variety of different weapons instead of leveling up just one.

How the Upgrade Tree Works

The Monster Hunter Wilds upgrade tree is unlike typical RPG upgrade systems. Instead of a linear progression, each weapon has branching paths. These branches allow you to customize your weapon to the monsters you're hunting and your playstyle.

Each upgrade tree displays the monster it's related to, the materials required for the upgrade, the cost in Zenny and the stat increases, affinities, and elemental properties Some of the weapons come with second-string upgrades, which require rare materials of higher-rank versions of the same creature. These better upgrades bring huge improvements and are a necessity for endgame raids.

Where to Get Weapon Upgrade Materials

For you to carry out weapon upgrades, you will need some monster materials. While initial crafting materials naturally occur in the environment, most second-string upgrades require hunting a particular animal and butchering it for parts.

Here's how to acquire weapon upgrade materials efficiently:

1. Open Upgrade Menu Every weapon upgrade will provide you with the materials required. The menu will show you if you’re missing anything and which monster you can get it from. This makes it easy to find what you need for your upgrades.

2. Prioritize Breaking Monster Parts Destruction of a monster's weak spots—horns, tails, wings—will have a better success rate in getting you rare drops. There are certain materials, such as plates and gems, that can only be obtained by breaking a specific body part.

3. Carve the Monster After a Hunt After slaying a monster, always carve its body for additional resources. Some of the best weapon upgrades need low drop-rate resources, so hunting the same monster over and over again might be necessary.

4. Complete Optional Tasks Many Optional Tasks and side quests reward you with hard-to-find upgrade materials. Completing them is a great way to stock up on resources without needing to repeat-kill the same monster repeatedly.

5. Hunt High-Rank Monsters

The highest level weapon upgrades need materials from higher-rank monsters. Higher-rank monsters yield better items, so avoid maxing out your weapon upgrades near the start of the game.

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While there is so much to love about Monster Hunter Wilds solo, the real fun comes when you bring friends together to hunt large monsters in a group. If you want the best multiplayer experience online, then ScalaCube should be your first choice. ScalaCube offers stable server hosting with low latency and great performance, ensuring a lag-free co-op experience. Their easy setup allows players to host a private hunting lobby where friends can join without any disconnect issues. Scalacube gives you 24/7 uptime so your server is always up, low-latency servers for lag-free online play and easy customization options to suit your server expenses. ScalaCube is an excellent solution for maintaining your multiplayer gaming sessions stable and enjoyable.

FAQs

Can I reverse a weapon upgrade in Monster Hunter Wilds?

No, once you upgrade a weapon along a specific line, you cannot revert. However, you can craft the starting version of the weapon and then upgrade it down another branch if you want to experiment with multiple paths.

What if I do not have the materials required for an upgrade?

If you’re missing materials, the upgrade menu will show where to find them. You’ll need to hunt the required monster or gather the necessary resources before proceeding with the upgrade.

Are there any weapons that don’t follow the standard upgrade tree?

Yes, some special weapons—often from event quests or rare drops—may have unique upgrade paths. These typically require exclusive materials and offer powerful bonuses.

Conclusion

Learning how to upgrade weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds is an important step to killing the game's strongest monsters. Choosing the right upgrade path, farming the correct materials, and trying our different weapons will allow you to inflict maximum damage and efficiency in battle.