In the unforgiving wilderness of Monster Hunter Wilds, survival is not only dependent on your fighting skills, but also on your cooking abilities. Cooking the appropriate meal prior to a hunt can be the difference between victory and a humiliating cart. From increasing your attack and defense to healing and stamina, the food you cook gives you essential buffs that can turn the tide of even the toughest battles. This book will look at some of the best meal combinations, identifying the most important ingredients and what they can do for you, to have you prepared for whatever the wilderness has in store.
Best Food to prepare in MH Wilds
You can prepare meals either at your tent in base camp or with the portable BBQ grill you get early on for cooking in the wild. Every meal has three key parts: a ration, additional ingredients, and a finishing touch. While the finishing touch is optional, it adds extra buffs, so if you have the ingredients, it’s always worth including!
Black Belt Meal
Managing your stamina is just as important as managing your health in Monster Hunter Wilds. No matter how full your hunter’s belly is, tough battles will drain your stamina fast. That’s where the Black Belt Meal comes in handy. By adding a Delishroom to your meal, you unlock a skill that reduces stamina depletion when performing actions like evading or using stamina-heavy moves. Unlike some other buffs, this one isn’t random, it stays active the whole time your meal effects last.
Here’s a well-balanced meal to keep your stamina in check:
- Main ingredient: Veggie — boosts elemental resistance
- Additional ingredient: Delishroom — slows down stamina drain during evades and other actions
- Finishing touch: Eastern Honey — increases healing
The Black Belt Meal is a must if you use stamina-reliant weapons like the bow or even great swords, which often require quick repositioning. The veggie and honey round things out by giving you extra elemental protection and a healing boost, so you’re covered in more ways than one.
With this meal, you’ll spend less time worrying about burning through stamina and more time staying in the fight.
Defender Meal
If you’re the kind of hunter who charges straight into battle, soaking up hits while your squadmates target weak spots or set traps, the Defender Meal is your best friend. The secret ingredient here is Kunafa Cheese — in low rank, it sometimes reduces damage taken, and in high rank, it kicks in more often. Sure, it’s a bit random, but hey, some protection is better than none!
Here’s a solid meal to prep before diving into dangerous biomes:
- Main ingredient: Fish — boosts your defense
- Additional ingredient: Kunafa Cheese — occasionally lowers damage taken
- Finishing touch: Monster Chili — not only negates extreme climate effects but also boosts defense in hot or cold areas
With this meal, you’re stacking defense buffs from all sides. It’s perfect for heading into harsh environments like the Oilwell Basin or Iceshard Cliffs, giving you that extra layer of protection so you can focus on keeping the monsters busy, and your team safe.
Caprice Meal
In Monster Hunter Wilds, eggs aren’t just a great source of protein, they’re also a secret weapon for boosting your attack power. Adding a fluffy or airy egg to your meal unlocks the Caprice Meal skill, which randomly increases your attack power the more you keep striking. It’s perfect for aggressive hunters who love to stay on the offensive.
Here’s a meal to supercharge your damage output:
- Main ingredient: Meat — gives a solid attack boost
- Additional ingredient: Egg — adds random attack boosts during combos
- Finishing touch: Wild Herb — reduces the effects of various ailments, keeping you in the fight longer
The Caprice Meal works best with fast-hitting weapons like dual blades since more attacks mean more chances to trigger the boost. If you’re up against a water-type monster like Uth Duna, consider swapping the wild herb for Jeweled Mullet Roe, it boosts your attack when you’re wet, giving you an extra edge in battle.
Medic Meal
In Monster Hunter Wilds, healing is just as crucial as attacking or dodging. Sure, having a stash of mega potions is a must before any hunt, but did you know you can make them even more effective? That’s where the Medic Meal comes in.
This meal uses Eastern Honey to boost the amount of health you recover, and it’s not just limited to potions, it enhances all forms of healing.
Here’s a simple but powerful recipe to prepare before a tough fight:
- Main ingredient: Fish — for a solid defense boost
- Additional ingredient: Sild Garlic — grants a one-time protection against fainting
- Finishing touch: Eastern Honey — increases healing efficiency
If you’re gearing up for a battle where the odds feel stacked against you, this meal helps take the edge off. You’ll spend less time worrying about getting carted and more time focusing on taking down your target.
Moxie Meal
Some battles in Monster Hunter Wilds feel like a losing fight before they even begin, that’s where the Moxie Meal comes in. Powered by garlic, this meal gives you a second wind by preventing your hunter from fainting once. It’s a simple yet powerful skill, perfect for when you want a safety net without overthinking your meal prep.
Here’s a solid Moxie Meal to keep you standing:
- Main ingredient: Fish — boosts your defense
- Additional ingredient: Garlic — prevents fainting once
- Finishing touch: Wild Herb — reduces the effects of various ailments
While garlic is the star of the show, remember the effect only works once. So it’s still smart to boost your defense and stay aware of any ailments the monster you’re facing might throw at you.
With this meal, you’ll have an extra layer of protection, just enough to survive a nasty hit and keep on fighting.
