In the Monster Hunter series, players have many tools to hunt, capture, and kill monsters. Monster Hunter: Rise adds some new twists to the intricate gameplay mechanics and demands high-reflex combat for which the series is known.
With this guide, you’ll learn how to capture monsters in the latest installment of the Monster Hunter franchise. There will be a secret tip at the end, so take notes!
Capturing monsters in Monster Hunter: Rise is the best way to speed up hunts. But it would be best to prepare before capturing these vicious monsters.
The Tools
Shock Traps
Shock traps are consumable items you can craft by combining a thunder bug and a trap tool. When a monster gets within the trap’s range, it will be electrocuted for a few seconds. During this time, it is vulnerable to attacks and capture.
Thunder-element monsters have a high resistance to this trap. In the rare event that they are affected, the duration of the effect is half what it would normally be with other monsters. You should use the shock trap wisely and economically because you can only carry one at a time.
Pitfall Traps
Pitfall traps are consumable items crafted by combining a net and a trap tool. While the shock trap deploys almost instantly, the pitfall trap takes a few more seconds to set up.
Except for airborne wyverns, you can snare most monsters with pitfall traps. As with shock traps, you can only carry one pitfall trap at a time, so be smart about deploying this trap.
Tranq Bombs and Ammo
Tranq bombs are must-have items for a successful capture quest. You can buy these from the merchant in Kamura village for 180z while tranq ammo costs 45z each. From time to time, there is a sale on the market that slashes the cost of tranq bombs and ammo in half. If you come home from a hunt and find these items on sale, buy them in bulk and send them to your box for future hunts.
Read: How to Craft Layered Armor in Monster Hunter Rise
Bowgun users can craft Tranq Ammo by combining a Tranq Bomb and Normal Ammo. You can carry a maximum of eight tranq bombs and eight tranq ammo simultaneously. If you’re running low on cash, you can always craft a tranq bomb by combining a Sleep Herb and a Parashroom.
The Hunt
Now that you’ve crafted your traps and bombs, it’s time for the hunt when you find your quarry, slice, and dice away at the monster until you’ve inflicted enough damage to weaken it.
Once it’s weakened, be careful not to cause more damage, or you might kill the monster. Monster Hunter: Rise has made it much easier for hunters to know when a monster is weakened.
You’ll know the monster is weakened when it flees from you, limping and practically crying. A blue icon will appear at the top right corner of your screen, indicating that the monster is ripe for capturing.
Read: How to Unlock the Weapon Tree in Monster Hunter Rise
You can either wait for the monster to flee and sleep somewhere on the map or block its escape. You can prevent it from fleeing by blinding it or placing the trap in its path. The latter is a little tricky because it requires you to immediately jump in front of the fleeing monster and place the trap.
The monster will be immune to blinding or traps in the few seconds right after it starts limping. It will also be moving too fast to keep up with. They often enter caves or escape via routes that are inaccessible to hunters.
It’s best to let it escape and sleep for a while. Use this opportunity to drink potions, refill depleted stamina, sharpen dull weapons, and check your inventory. You can easily locate the wounded monster on the map, so you don’t have trouble tracking it down again.
The Capture
Once you’re ready, go where the dying monster is sleeping and recovering from its wounds. You can place a shock trap beside it, strike it once, and wait for the monster to trigger the trap. While it’s immobilized, hit it with one or two tranq bombs, which should be enough.
It’s worth noting that a conscious and hostile monster can still be captured as long as the blue icon is still showing. Find the right spot and place your chosen trap.
If you’re using the pitfall trap, you will need a few seconds more to place it. Stand behind the trap and let the monster charge at you. When the monster triggers the trap, shower it with tranq bombs or shoot it with tranq ammo, then savor the glory of a successful capture mission!
Trap Limitations
Shock traps, pitfall traps, and even flash bombs are all effective tools—but use them carefully. Overuse of traps will increase a monster’s resistance to the effects of these tools. Monsters can eventually become invulnerable and uncapturable. Spamming traps to make the game easier isn’t an option.
Some advice for new players: Don’t attempt to subdue Elder Dragons and Apex Monsters with traps! They are immune, so don’t waste your time and resources deploying traps against these overpowered brutes. Instead, hack and slash at them as best as you can.
The flash bomb works against most Elder Dragons and Apex Monsters. But repeatedly blinding them will give them immunity to it. When using traps, you should remember that small monsters can’t trigger them, so you don’t have to worry about a group of Jagras tripping your trap while hunting for bigger games. If multiple large monsters are near the one you’re tracing, that’s another story.
Secret Tip!
As we pointed out earlier in this guide, you can only carry one shock trap and one pitfall trap at any time. So what should you do when you’ve used up all your traps, and the monster is nowhere near limping? Luckily, there’s a workaround that also works with multiple other consumables.
You can carry two trap tools and two thunder bugs or nets to craft extra shock or pitfall traps mid-hunt.
This is how you successfully capture a monster in Monster Hunter: Rise. Now use these tips to capture the monsters plaguing Kamura Village!
