Monster Hunter Wilds: Multiplayer Co-op and SOS Guide

Monster Hunter Wilds features the most refined multiplayer system in the series, with seamless open-zone co-op, an expanded lobby system, cross-platform support, and the new Support Hunter NPC system for solo players who want team-like assistance. Whether you are hunting with friends, responding to SOS flares, or coordinating a full lobby of 16 hunters, this guide covers everything.

The Lobby System

Lobby Types

Monster Hunter Wilds supports lobbies of up to 16 players. This is the persistent social hub where you see other hunters, interact in the Gathering Hub, and form hunting parties.

Private Lobby: Invite-only. You and up to 15 friends. The lobby persists across quests — once together, you stay together until you leave.

Squad Lobby: Persistent lobbies for your Squad (clan/guild). Squad lobbies are always available. Squad members can join at any time without an invitation. Squads can have up to 50 members (16 can be in the lobby at once).

Public Lobby: Open to anyone. Random hunters join based on lobby settings (region, language, hunter rank). Public lobbies are searchable via the Lobby Search function.

Recommended: For playing with friends, create a Squad. The persistent Squad Lobby means you never need to exchange lobby IDs — just join the Squad Lobby from the menu. Squad chat persists across lobbies, so you can coordinate even when not in the same lobby.

Lobby Settings

When creating or searching lobbies:

• Hunter Rank Range: Filter by HR range. Useful for finding similarly progressed hunters.
• Language: Filter by preferred language. Matchmaking prioritizes language settings.
• Quest Preference: Indicate your primary goal (farming, story progression, crown hunting, etc.). The lobby list shows preference icons.
• Region: Regional matchmaking for better connection quality. Cross-region play is supported but may have higher latency.

Link Party — The Core Co-op System

The Link Party is the primary way to play through the story together. It is a persistent party (up to 4 players) that stays connected as you progress through quests.

Creating a Link Party

1. In the lobby, open the Player List (pause menu → Communication → Player List).
2. Select a player and choose "Invite to Link Party."
3. The invited player accepts. The Link Party is formed.
4. The party leader posts quests. All party members receive the quest invite automatically.

Link Party Features

• Persistent Connection: The party stays together until disbanded. No re-inviting after each quest.
• Story Progression Sync: If the party leader posts a story quest, all members progress together. If a member is behind in story, they can still join and progress their own story simultaneously. Caveat: Some cutscene-heavy story quests require each player to view the cutscene first. The game will notify you if a cutscene is pending.
• Shared Expedition: In the open zones, Link Party members see each other as active hunters on the map. You can encounter monsters together in the open world without posting a specific quest.
• Voice Chat: Built-in voice chat for Link Party members (toggle in Options → Audio → Voice Chat). Push-to-talk is recommended.

Environmental Link

The Environmental Link is a special variant of the Link Party that syncs environmental changes:

• If the party leader triggers an environmental event (dam break, rockfall, etc.), all Environmental Link members see it.
• Weather is synced across party members.
• Endemic life respawns are synced.
• This is the preferred Link type for crown hunting and endemic life collection.

SOS Flare System

The SOS Flare is the game's drop-in/drop-out multiplayer feature. Fire an SOS Flare, and other players (random or friends) can join your quest mid-hunt.

How to Fire an SOS Flare

1. During any quest (story, optional, investigation, expedition), open the pause menu.
2. Select "Quest" → "Fire SOS Flare."
3. The flare fires. Your quest becomes visible on the SOS Board for other players.
4. Other players join via the SOS Board or Quest Board.

SOS Flare Settings

Before firing, set your preferences (in the SOS menu):

• Auto-Accept: Any player can join without manual approval. Best for quick, casual hunts.
• Manual Accept: You must approve each join request. Best for difficult hunts where you want to vet players.
• Hunter Rank Restriction: Set a minimum HR. Prevents under-geared players from joining challenging hunts.
• Language Limitation: Restrict to same-language players. Reduces language barrier frustration.
• Support Hunters Only: Fill empty slots with NPC Support Hunters instead of real players. Best when you want team-like help without multiplayer randomness.

Joining SOS Flares

1. Visit the Quest Board or SOS Board in any hub area.
2. Search SOS Flares by quest type, target monster, HR range, and language.
3. Select a quest. Review the quest info (time elapsed, players present, target monster).
4. Join. You load directly into the quest — no need to travel from base.

SOS Flare Best Practices

As the host:

• Fire the flare early: The earlier you fire, the more time other hunters can contribute. Firing with 5 minutes remaining is frustrating for joiners.
• Do not fire if you are about to cart: If you are at risk of failing the quest, do not waste other players' time.
• Communicate: Use the communication wheel or text chat to indicate goals (capture vs. kill, focus on tail, etc.).
• Thank joiners: A quick shoutout or "Thanks!" stamp after the hunt goes a long way.

As a joiner:

• Do not join hunts beyond your skill level: If you are carting to Tempered Arkveld in solo, joining someone else's Tempered Arkveld Investigation and carting three times ruins the hunt for everyone.
• Bring Lifepowder: Heal your teammates. It costs almost nothing and prevents carts.
• Respect the host's goals: If the host wants to capture, do not kill the monster. If the host says "sleep" in chat, stop attacking.
• Do not AFK in camp: If you join an SOS, contribute. Camp-sitters are universally disliked.

Cross-Platform Play

Monster Hunter Wilds supports full cross-platform play between PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).

Enabling Cross-Platform

Cross-platform play is enabled by default. To toggle:

• Options → Game Settings → Cross-Platform Play → On/Off.

Cross-Platform Considerations

• Friend Codes: Monster Hunter Wilds uses a Capcom ID-based friend system for cross-platform. Add friends via Capcom ID, not platform-specific friend lists.
• Voice Chat: Cross-platform voice chat uses the in-game system (not platform party chat). You cannot use PlayStation Party Chat with PC players.
• Text Chat: In-game text chat works across all platforms. Console players should connect a keyboard for efficient communication.
• Performance: Cross-platform matchmaking prioritizes connection quality. You may match with players on any platform if their connection is good.
• Save Data: Cross-platform save data transfer is not supported. Your save is locked to your platform.

Support Hunters (NPC Teammates)

Support Hunters are AI-controlled NPC hunters who join your quest when you do not want to play with real players or when no real players respond to your SOS Flare.

How to Use Support Hunters

1. Fire an SOS Flare and set "Support Hunters Only" in the SOS settings.
2. Alternatively, set "Support Hunters Preferred" — the game fills your party with Support Hunters initially and replaces them with real players if they join later.
3. Support Hunters automatically join your quest. Up to 3 Support Hunters can be present (for a full party of 4).

Support Hunter Behavior

• Combat: Support Hunters attack the monster, but their DPS is deliberately lower than an average player (~50–60%). They maintain status effects (poison, paralysis) and use environmental traps when appropriate.
• Healing: Support Hunters use Lifepowder to heal you and other Support Hunters when HP drops below 40%. They carry antidotes and nullberries and will cure your status effects.
• Mounting: Support Hunters mount monsters and perform successful mounts and knockdowns.
• Trapping: Support Hunters place traps (shock and pitfall) at opportune moments. They will capture the monster if the quest allows capture and the monster is weak.
• No Carting: Support Hunters do not cart. They may be knocked down but never faint. This makes them ideal for difficult quests where real randoms might triple-cart.

Support Hunter Composition

The game assigns Support Hunters with balanced weapon types. A typical composition: one melee DPS, one support weapon (Hunting Horn), and one ranged attacker. This provides a well-rounded team.

When to Use Support Hunters

• Learning a new monster: Support Hunters provide a safe environment to learn patterns without the pressure of ruining someone else's hunt by carting.
• Difficult solo quests: Some quests are balanced for multiplayer HP. Support Hunters provide extra damage without the risk of random joiners carting.
• Offline play: If your internet is unstable, Support Hunters provide a multiplayer-like experience offline.
• Farming: For repetitive farm hunts, Support Hunters are more consistent than random SOS joiners. They do not leave early, do not cart, and do not ignore your capture requests.

Limitations

• Support Hunters are not available for all quests. Certain story quests and event quests restrict NPC companions.
• Support Hunters do not contribute to crown hunting goals (crowns are based on the host's quest only).
• Support Hunters cannot use your Seikret. They navigate on foot, which can delay their arrival in large maps.

Communication Wheel and Custom Shoutouts

The Communication Wheel

The Communication Wheel is a radial menu of preset messages and emotes. Access it by holding the communication button (default: Left Bumper + Right Stick on controllers, or a configurable key on keyboard).

Default Wheel Options:

• "Hello!" / "Goodbye!"
• "Thanks!" / "Sorry..."
• "Capture it!" / "This one's mine!"
• "Good job!" / "Don't give up!"
• Auto-translated to other players' language settings.

Custom Shoutouts

You can create custom text shoutouts for the communication wheel. These are useful for specific tactical calls:

• "Focus tail!" — Remind teammates to target the tail for the cut.
• "Sleep — bombs out!" — Let the team know you are putting the monster to sleep and placing bombs.
• "Mount incoming!" — Let teammates know to prepare for the knockdown damage window.
• "Healing — gather on me!" — Coordinate team healing.
• "My Investigation — please capture!" — Remind SOS joiners of your goals.

Custom shoutouts are configured in Options → Communication → Shoutout Settings.

Auto-Shoutouts

The game includes auto-shoutouts that trigger on specific events:

• When you mount a monster: "I mounted it!"
• When you cart: "Sorry about that..."
• When you heal a teammate: "Healed you up!"
• When you place a trap: "Trap set!"

You can customize or disable auto-shoutouts. Many players customize their cart shoutout to something humorous or self-deprecating ("My armor's just for show, apparently").

Multiplayer Etiquette

The Unwritten Rules

1. Do not triple-cart in someone's Investigation: If you are in someone else's 5-box Tempered Investigation and you cart twice, play extremely safe. The host spent hours finding that Investigation.

2. Wait for the wake-up hit: When a monster is sleeping, the player with the highest single-hit weapon (Great Sword, Hammer, Charge Blade, HBG) gets the wake-up hit. Everyone else places bombs. Do not wake the monster with a weak hit.

3. Flinch Free 1: In multiplayer, always slot Flinch Free 1. Your teammates' attacks stagger you without it. Long Sword and Dual Blade users are constant stagger sources.

4. Hunting Horn goes to the head: The Hunting Horn deals KO damage. Let the HH player focus the head. Other blunt weapons (Hammer, Impact Charge Blade) share head priority. Cutting weapons focus the tail and legs.

5. Capture unless told otherwise: In Investigations, capturing is faster and yields more rewards. If the host does not specify, default to capture. If it is a "Hunt" quest where capture is not allowed, or the host says "kill," then kill.

6. Do not flash mounted monsters: If a teammate mounts the monster, do not use Flash Pods. Flashing knocks the monster down and ends the mount early, wasting the guaranteed knockdown at the end of the mount.

7. Share Investigations: If you find a 5-box Tempered Investigation, post it for your Link Party. Sharing is the core of the multiplayer experience. Rotate who posts to maximize everyone's rewards.

8. Read the room: In SOS hunts, match the host's energy. If they are silent and efficient, be silent and efficient. If they are using shoutouts and emotes, engage. Some hunters prefer the quiet, focused multiplayer experience.

Troubleshooting Common Multiplayer Issues

Connection Errors

• "Failed to join quest": The quest may have filled up (4 players) or the host closed the quest. Refresh the SOS Board and try another.
• "Disconnected from session": Network instability. Check your connection. If using Wi-Fi, switch to wired.
• NAT Type issues: A strict NAT type limits matchmaking. Enable UPnP on your router or manually forward the necessary ports (check Capcom's support page for current port requirements).

Cross-Platform Issues

• Capcom ID sync: Ensure your Capcom ID is linked and verified. Unlinked accounts cannot see cross-platform friends.
• Version mismatch: All platforms must be on the same game version. Title updates release simultaneously across platforms, but if one player has not updated, they cannot join.

Summary

Monster Hunter Wilds' multiplayer is the most accessible in the series. The Link Party system makes co-op story progression seamless. SOS Flares let you drop in and out freely. Support Hunters provide a safety net for solo players. Cross-platform play unites the entire player base. Master these systems, and the Forbidden Lands become a shared hunting ground where every quest is more enjoyable with allies.

Happy hunting — together.