Patch 1.021 Brings High-Rank Challenges and Massive Weapon Tweaks to Monster Hunter Wilds

Capcom has released Patch 1.021 for Monster Hunter Wilds on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The update file size is 3GB on PS5, 2GB on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and 6GB on PC when the high-resolution texture pack is also downloaded. Capcom has confirmed that a crashing issue remains in the game and is in the process of being fixed through a separate patch.

In a Director’s Letter, game director Yuya Tokuda stated that endgame content originally planned for Title Update 3 in September has been moved forward. Players at Hunter Rank 100 or higher can now access nine-star high-difficulty quests featuring tempered versions of nine monsters: Rey Dau, Uth Duna, Nu Udra, Jin Dahaad, Gore Magala, Arkveld, Mizutsune, Lagiacrus, and Seregios. Regular and tempered versions of Rey Dau and Nu Udra will also appear in the Wounded Hollow at HR 100 or higher. The appearance rate of monsters at HR 100 or higher has been adjusted, and the appearance rate of standard monsters has been slightly increased.

The update adds a new appraisal item, the Glowing Stone, which can be obtained as a reward from nine-star monster quests. When appraised, it yields a talisman with random skill attributes – a gameplay-only reward system in which the skills are determined by chance. In previous Monster Hunter titles, producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said in 2018 that there were “absolutely no plans” to sell random gear through loot boxes or microtransactions, citing the potential influence on team harmony. The talisman system in Monster Hunter Wilds is similarly based on random generation, but there is no real-money transaction involved.

The armor upgrade limit has been increased for armor of rarity 5 and above. Players can now hide or show specific ammo and coatings in the Ammo/Coatings Bar, configure this through the Ammo Pouch and Coating Pouch, use a new Recoil Aim Assist option, and mark weapons, armor, and talismans as Favorites. Favoriting adds a star icon, allows sorting and rearranging by favorites, and shows a confirmation message if attempting to sell or use the item as melding material. An option to sort by Favorites has been added to the Equipment Box, Decoration Box, and Artian Materials Box. Directional input responsiveness on the World Map has been improved. The Melding Pot now has a feature related to Appraised Talismans.

Weapon changes in the patch are extensive. Sword & Shield Counter Slash raw damage has been increased. The Charge Blade now applies enhanced phial damage while in Power Axe Mode, with raw damage increased for Axe: Element Discharge I and II and for multi-hit attacks in Power Axe Mode. Light Bowgun elemental ammo raw damage has been slightly increased for Flaming, Water, Thunder, Freeze, and Dragon ammo, with increased recovery speed for the Rapid Fire Gauge when using Exhaust, Poison, Paralysis, or Sleep ammo. Heavy Bowgun raw damage for Wyvernblast Ignition and Wyverncounter Ignition has been increased, scaling during Ignition Mode ST I and ST II improved, and chaining into Guard after firing Spread Ammo made faster.

Weapons, including Great Sword, Long Sword, Dual Blades, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Insect Glaive, and Bow, have received adjustments to chaining windows, damage scaling, movement speed, hitboxes, and guard behavior, as specified in the patch notes. Underwater hunting now allows chaining into an evade from ascending or descending, and using items during vertical movement.

Bug fixes address issues such as Focus Strikes failing under certain conditions, wounds being difficult to cause when mounted on specific monsters, and improper removal of the wet status when retrying Arena Quests. Fixes also cover system crashes triggered by certain item bar actions, network crashes caused by disconnects before gesture animations finished, and incorrect challenge quest ranking messages. Additional fixes address shrine fragments not activating from direct attacks, Photo Mode scoutfly effect toggles, missing voice lines, and text errors.

Additional changes include increasing meal effect durations from Portable BBQ Grill meals, Meal Invitations, and Canteen meals; adjusting set bonus skills Bubbly Dance, War Cry, Powerhouse, Burst Boost, Affinity Sliding, Shock Absorber, and Ballistics; and updating Support Hunter performance for Alessa and Fabius. Seikret mounts now turn 180 degrees faster, have an adjusted dismount timing window after evasion, and improved input timing for opening the map after mounting.

Tokuda confirmed that improving stability is a priority. Title Update 3 will add improvements for NPCs and Seikret mounts in relation to texture loading. Title Update 4, planned for winter, will focus on CPU load reduction.

Community response has been mixed. Players welcome the earlier arrival of tempered monsters and expanded weapon adjustments, though at the same time, they have criticized the difficulty and drop rates of the new nine-star tempered quests, reporting frequent quest failures and low chances of obtaining desired talismans. Certain players view the appraisal mechanic as part of an “endgame grinding system,” whereas others express frustration over the amount of repetition required.

A hotfix for Patch 1.021 is planned to address current issues, and additional content updates are in development. For now, players have access to new monsters, adjusted weapons, and system improvements introduced with this patch.

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