How to Play Monster Hunter Wilds With Friends

Want to know how to play Monster Hunter Wilds with friends? While you can always go online and hope for the best with your random companions, a lot of us like jumping in to fight massive creatures with friends. Monster Hunter Wilds makes this easier than ever before, but the systems do take some getting used to. So, we’re going to break it all down for you.

How to Unlock Multiplayer in Monster Hunter Wilds

Before you get to inviting your friends, how do you even unlock multiplayer in Monster Hunter Wilds? Well, thankfully, it’s pretty easy. All you need to do is play through the first hunt and once it’s all said and done, you’ll get a pop-up telling you not only that multiplayer is unlocked, but also how to do it. Monster Hunter Wilds uses a lobby system, which means that up to 100 players can be in a lobby, but not necessarily in the same instance. So, how do you then play Monster Hunter Wilds with friends?

How to Play Monster Hunter Wilds With Friends

There are a few easy ways to pay with friends. The first is that when one of you has loaded into the game, they just need to grab the lobby code, send it over to their friend, and they can then search for it. You’ll also want to add each other as friends in the game itself, which is great because this allows you to play across different platforms really easily.

You can choose the lobby you want to join as you’re starting your game, and can either choose to join the recommended lobby, or search for one if you know which one your friends are in. You can see the lobby code at the top of the menu screen in-game.

Once you’re both in the same instance, you’ll want to form a link party. One of you will have to create it and then send an invite to the other player or players you want in the party. Just remember you can only have four people in a party. Once you’ve done that, Monster Hunter Wilds will automatically send an in-game notification to the other players whenever someone begins a quest.

To form a link party, you’ll need to go to the communication tab in your options, then select Invite a Friend. You’ll then be able to choose friends on the same platform as you, or those you’ve befriended in the game. You can also create a link to share with your friends too. It’s generally wise to make friends with your friends in Monster Hunter Wilds though. Head to your Hunter Profile in the Info tab and you’ll see your code in the top left.

All anyone else needs to do from there is choose to join it. You’ll be presented with a chance to do so immediately or prep first. You can also head on over to Alma and choose to join the quest from there too. The link party system even works with story missions, which means that you’ll get an invitation to join the player on their quest the instant they can be joined, so they won’t even have to worry about the SOS flare.

How to Fire an SOS Flare in Monster Hunter Wilds

All you need to do to fire an SOS flare in Monster Hunter Wilds is to hold the left bumper, push up on the D-Pad, and then hold down on the right analog stick. This’ll allow your hunter to shoot an SOS flare into the air to receive support. Interestingly, this will initially summon in some NPC hunters to assist you, and they’re actually very strong this time around. It’ll also let anyone in your lobby join you if they’re searching for it, or those in a party with you too.

You can only fire the flare on actual missions, which means that if you’re just wandering around trying to find a fight, you’ll have to wait until you get the “Missions Start” pop-up before you can do it. That can take a little bit of time in a fight, but you can always just start a mission by selecting the monster on the map first.