The game may be called ”Monster Hunter”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a monster killer. Sure, most of the beasts you hunt will probably end up on the wrong side of alive, but it doesn’t have to be so, and in some cases you’ll be specifically instructed to capture a monster instead of killing it. This page will provide a guide for capturing monsters, including what traps you need and the pros and cons of capturing instead of killing monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds.

How to Capture Monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds: To capture a monster you must wound it until it’s nearly defeated, then catch it with a Shock Trap and quickly drop Tranq Bombs near it before it escapes the Shock Trap. If a quest requires that you capture a monster, you will be furnished with an EZ Shock Trap and EZ Tranq Bombs.

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How to Capture Monsters¶

Killing monsters is easy enough, in theory (in practice… well, depends on the monster, depends on the hunter), but capturing them takes a bit more work. Or a bit less, depends on how you view things. Before you can even think about capturing a monster, you must weaken it to the point where it’s almost defeated, and while there are no health bars for monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, there still several ways to tell when a monster is almost done.

• An accompanying NPC (support hunters, etc.) will usually say something when a monster’s health falls low enough - “this fight’s almost over!”, or something along those lines.
• The monster will start limping - this is usually notable when it’s fleeing for the last time
• The monster returns to its home den. This varies depending on the monster, but after a few hunts you’ll learn where they like to go to lick their wounds.
• The monster will try to sleep off its wounds (not the same as inflicting the monster with the sleep debilitation - only voluntary naps count!)

Once you’ve achieved this, rejoice! The fight should be effectively over, provided you’re prepared. Just follow the monster back to its den and place a Shock Trap, then lure the monster into it (if it’s asleep, put a Shock Trap right next to it and give it a good smack to wake it up!). When the monster is in the throes of the shock trap, run right up next to it and start throwing Tranq Bombs on the ground near its head. Assuming the monster is weak enough, once the Shock Trap has affected it it should only take two Tranq Bombs to put the monster down. The hunt will end and you’ll get your rewards - great success!

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(1 of 2) To capture a monster, beat it up until it’s almost defeated, then lure it into a Shock Trap,

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To capture a monster, beat it up until it’s almost defeated, then lure it into a Shock Trap, (left), once it triggers the Shock Trap, run up to it and drop Tranq Bombs near it before it recovers! (right)

Of course, if you don’t have a Shock Trap or Tranq Bombs, you’re probably not capturing anything. You can craft Shock Traps by combining a Trap Tool and a Thunderbug Capacitor together - the Trap Tool can be purchased via the Provisions Stockpile in base camps (100z each) while Thunderbug Capacitors come from catching Thunderbugs (they’re marked with a yellow beetle icon on the map - there are plenty of them in the plains region). To craft a Tranq Bomb you will need a Sleep Herb and a Parashroom (marked by a blue herb icon and a yellow mushroom icon on the map, respectively), both of which can be found in the forest biome, but Sleep Herbs are more common in the cliffs region.

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(1 of 3) Craft Shock Traps by combining a Trap Tool and a Thunderbug Capacitor,

Capturing vs Killing¶

Now that you know how to capture monsters, the next question is… why bother? Most of the time you won’t need to - the assignment Lured by Abundance is the first time you’ll be tasked with capturing anything, and that’s after the credits for the main story have rolled! Nothing is stopping you from capturing monsters on your own, however, and the biggest reason to do so is simply to spare yourself the hassle of finishing the fight. Granted, you can’t capture a monster until it’s almost defeated, but that last bit of health can be dangerous and capturing a weakened monster is all but an automatic win. Plus you need to capture a whopping 50 monsters for the achievement/trophy Capture Pro. On the negative side, you have to spend time and effort gathering the resources for the traps you need, and you obviously can’t carve up a captured monster, forfeiting a few materials. If you’re looking for a very rare material, carving it out of the monster’s carcass can give a low chance of getting it - and while the odds aren’t on your side, three extra materials from carving is better than nothing.