Monster Hunter Wilds beta multiplayer guide: How to hunt with your buddies

In Monster Hunter Wilds, nobody hunts alone. Not unless you want to, anyway. Multiplayer has always been a Monster Hunter mainstay, although connecting with friends still carries some lingering clunkiness from the series' earlier years.

While Wilds has a few options for bringing along hunting partners, wrapping your head around its lobbies, Link Parties, and SOS flares takes some doing. Luckily we're here to serve up a Monster Hunter Wilds multiplayer hunting guide to make those fiddly bits less fiddly. If you want to bring some friends along when you set out to slay any number of fanged beasts, flying wyverns, and various reptiles, here's how to do it.

Worth noting up front, though: You'll need to complete character creation and the initial Chatacabra tutorial hunt before you can mess with multiplayer. Get that out of the way before trying to head online.

How does multiplayer work in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta?

To understand Monster Hunter Wilds multiplayer, you'll need to know two things: lobbies and Link Parties. If you're not playing Wilds solo, you'll be playing in a lobby. In Monster Hunter, lobbies are large online game sessions where hunters can socialize, group up, and join each other's quests on the fly—and in Wilds, lobbies are larger than they've ever been, with up to 100 hunters sharing the same online session. Lobby members can see each other roaming around base camp, and can join each other's quests from the quest counter by talking to Alma.

If that feels a little too public, you also have the option to form a private lobby. These are invite only and have a smaller player cap, but are a good option for hosting larger hunting sessions with a Discord community or something like that.

If you want to play with a small, hunting squad-sized group of friends, however, you'll want to use Link Parties. These are smaller, private groups that exist independent of lobbies. If you invite a friend through Steam, this is what they'll join. At the quest counter, you can join quests posted by Link Party members by selecting "Link Member Quests," making it easy for you and your friends to hunt together once you're partied up. You can even be in the same Link Party while in different lobbies.

To summarize, if you want to invite friends to a hunt in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, follow these steps:

1. While in a public or private lobby, invite your friends through Steam or through the in-game friends system. Once they accept, you'll be in a Link Party. (Make sure they don't have a quest posted in their own game, or they won't get your invite.)
2. Start a quest by either talking to Alma or by attacking a monster in the wilderness until it initiates a quest.
3. Your friends can now join your quest through the "Link Member Quests" menu by talking to Alma.
4. Prep, depart, and hunt! (Unless you started your quest by smacking a monster; just wait for your friend to show up, in that case.)

What's the deal with Environment Links?

If you've got a friend in your link party in the Wilds beta, you've probably noticed the option to invite them to an Environment Link. You've also probably noticed that you don't see your link party buddies while you're roaming around the Windward Plains, and that they disappear once you finish a quest together.

The Environment Link is yet another specific kind of multiplayer connection. An Environment Link lets link party members run around the open wilderness together and initiate expedition quests on the fly. Unfortunately, you'll be limited to whatever monsters happen to appear; you can't post traditional quests while in an Environment Link.

To invite your Link Party to an Environment Link, go to the Communication menu > Link Party > Invite All to Environment Link. When you're ready to go back to traditional quest posting and joining, go back to the same menu and select Disband or Leave Environment Link, depending on whether you're hosting or not.

How do SOS Flares work?

SOS flares act as a kind of multiplayer on-demand option. When you're in a quest by yourself, you can request assistance from other hunters by going to the menu > Missions & Quests > SOS Flare.

Once you've launched your flare, other hunters anywhere—including other lobbies—can respond by visiting the SOS Flare Quest section at the quest counter and searching for quests with flares active. They can specify criteria, like quest rank and target monster, and if your quest is a match, they'll join your quest.

After some time passes, if you've still got open slots in your quest, they'll be filled by AI-controlled "support hunters."

Does the Monster Hunter Wilds beta have crossplay?

Monster Hunter Wilds does have multiplayer crossplay. To play with a friend who's hunting on consoles, you'll need their Hunter ID, which they can find by going to Menu > Communication > Player List > Link Members.

When you've got their ID, you can search for them by going to Menu > Communication > Player List > Hunter ID Search. Once you've found them, you can add them to your in-game friends list, after which you can invite them to your Link Party or search for their lobby when you start up the game.

If you could also use a helping hand fighting some of the the Monster Hunter Wilds beta monsters, read on:

• Monster Hunter Wilds: Doshaguma guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds: Gypceros guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds: Rey Dau guide
• Monster Hunter Wilds: Chatacabra guide