Skip To...
The ‘Chained Arkveld’ quest in Monster Hunter Wilds beta has filtered many Hunters. It’s no surprise considering said monster is this entry’s flagship, it has a 20-minute time limit, and we’re only armed with basic gear. However, that doesn’t mean that this challenge is restricted only for speedrunners to complete! Practice and ample preparation from our guide should help you and your friends drive out the White Wraith from Windward Plains once and for all.
1. Don’t Forget To Eat a Meal and Stock Up on Items
Any Monster Hunter player, new or returning, should know that cooking a Meal is an essential part of any hunt. It not only increases your Health and Stamina but also applies various passive buffs to help you out during quests.
However, this time around, you’ll need to collect additional consumable ingredients to complete your Meals. For the ‘Chained Arkveld’ quest during the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, thankfully the game already provided some of the said ingredients.
Head inside the Camp, select the ‘Grill a Meal’ option in the ‘BBQ Menu,’ and pick ‘Custom Meal.’ You can mix and match several choices, but my personal pick is Meat + Droolshroom + Eastern Honey. It gives you +50 Health, +150 Stamina, but more importantly +2 Attack and Black Belt and Medic buffs. Which reduces stamina use while dodging and increases healing item effects.
While you’re in a Camp, don’t forget to stock up on Mega Potions, Flash Bombs, Traps, and other hunting items that will make your life easier.
2. Armor Sets Aren’t Just for Show
Another thing you should do while prepping is mixing up your armor sets. Sure, the Monster Hunter Wilds beta only provides you with a small tease, but they’re still useful for the Arkveld quest.
If you’re not sure what armor to choose, we have some examples. Wearing any 3-piece Doshaguma armor set will give you Fortify, increasing attack and damage with every cart. Meanwhile, pieces of Hope armor should give you 3 levels of Divine Blessing to randomly reduce damage taken.
3. Always Utilize Vine Traps During The First Phases
During the early phase, Arkveld will roam around the savanna area of Windward Plains. If it goes under a tree, you should find a Vine Trap hanging about. You can tug it down with a Slinger or let Arkveld’s rampage activate said environmental trap. For that reason, you should always lure Arkveld so it fights under the trees and gets caught in the trap.
There is also a huge rock you can pull down to damage Arkveld in the place where it fights a Rey Dau.
4. Shock and Pitfall Traps Are Your Friends
Speaking of traps, they don’t just come from the environment alone. You should also bring and put down the Shock and Pitfall Traps provided in the Camp. If you’re playing solo or duo, your Palico can also drop them for you. Yes, Arkveld can be trapped because it is not an Elder Dragon.
That means you can also end the quest by capturing Arkveld instead of killing it! Doing so should cut down your hunting time by a few minutes. After all, when the quest has a strict 20-minute time limit, every second counts.
Just keep in mind that monsters will build up resistance against traps. The more often they’re trapped, the shorter the trap durations will be.
5. Arkveld Running Away Equals Free Damage with Sneak Attacks
Tired of Arkveld flying away every couple of minutes? It might be a blessing in disguise. Monster Hunter Wilds added a new contextual button to deal extra damage to unsuspecting monsters. Simply get close to a monster that has just moved to a new area — not from the front, obviously– and press B/O/Right Click.
Bam, you’ll perform a special Sneak Attack animation and deal massive damage against the target. It gets better during online play as your friends can start wailing on it while the animation plays. Of course, you cannot perform Sneak Attack once a monster has spotted you and begun fighting. But it’s repeatable every time they move to a different area.
6. Throwing Knives are Actually Useful This Time
In earlier entries, Throwing Knives are used to easily inflict status ailments during hunts. But by the fifth generation, the field item seems to have lost its purpose. Not in Monster Hunter Wilds though, oh no.
We suggest you arm the unlimited use Knife before you start fighting Arkveld since it has a dangerous unblockable grapple move. Arkveld will perform a short backflip and throw its chains to its front. If you get hit by the chains, you’ll get grabbed, no matter if you’re guarding or not.
This is where the Throwing Knife will save your butt from a 2-hit-KO combo. Once Arkveld’s chains grab you, aim your Slinger at its face marked by a wound glow and shoot the Knife away. The monster will reel in pain and let you go. Works every time.
Don’t forget that you can also shoot any Slinger ammo with an unsheathed weapon. Simply hold LT/L2 and click Left Thumbstick. You can quickly cancel Arkveld’s moves with Flash Bombs this way.
7. Clear the Head for Blunt/KO Weapons if You’re Playing Multiplayer
It goes without saying that blunt weapons should always aim at monsters’ heads. But considering the strict quest time limit, it becomes imperative to maximize damage during any downtime. The best way to create those moments is by letting Hammer, Hunting Horn, or Charge Blade and Bowguns inflict Stun/KO as often as they can.
If your weapons cannot inflict KO, then give Hammer players priority. Try not to accidentally flinch them. Step out of the way and slash at its chains instead. Getting three KOs while other players focus on a wound should cut down your hunting time.
8. Keep Wounds Unbroken for Bonus Damage
In Monster Hunter Wilds, attacking a monster’s body parts will eventually inflict a ‘wound.’ This can be quickly broken with Focus Attacks to stagger said monster. However, there is a benefit to keeping wounds active for longer.
Body parts that have a wound on them actually receive more damage from standard attacks. In time, the wound will be broken through normal attacks anyway. With that in mind, you should be focusing your effort to damage one spot. For Arkveld, aiming at its chains seems like the most effective way to maximize wound damage.
9. Some Arkveld’s Chain Attacks You Should Memorize
The Monster Hunter Wilds flagship monster Arkveld has quite a few chain-related tricks up its sleeve. Some can be easily avoided, but these are ones you need to be careful of:
- When enraged, its chain attacks will be covered with red explosive energy.
- Red-colored energy one-armed slam is the trigger for a Power Clash.
- It will stand on two legs, charge its chains upward, and then stab them to the ground. Arkveld will perform a powerful explosive attack that explodes three times consecutively. Standing right under its head is actually safe during this attack.
- If it stands on two legs and slams all of its arms and chains forward, it’ll be followed by one massive explosion.
- A quick backflip is a trigger for the unblockable grab. Anyone not in front of it but got hit by the chain will flinch. Shoot a Knife or Flash Bomb at its face to get away safely if you’re grabbed.
10. Joining in Rey Dau and Arkveld’s Turf War Isn’t a Really Good Idea
When they said, “Let them fight,” in the 2014 Godzilla movie, they’re not just saying that as a cool catchphrase. Unsurprisingly, jumping into a fight between two giant monsters can be hazardous to your health. After all, unlike in Monster Hunter World and Rise, Turf War finishers can damage you this time.
Arkveld and Rey Dau’s Turf War always ends with a huge blinding explosion that will eat 90% of your HP. Even blocking it with a Lance or Gunlance will leave your full health at 50%. Not to mention that Rey Dau often follows up the spectacle with additional electric blasts at the downed Arkveld.
If you really need to sneak in one or two hits, always keep an eye on the Rey Dau as well. Make sure it’s not preparing to shoot its lightning railgun in your general direction.
11. The Best/Easiest Weapon to Clear the Arkveld Quest With
If you’re still having trouble against Arkveld quest in Monster Hunter Wilds, then you might need to use a Lance or Long Sword. These two weapons are currently considered to be the best weapon to beat Arkveld.
Lance comes with quick stabs and counters that let you put in as much offense as you can. As long as you can time Perfect Guard against roars and weaker attacks, there is always a window for damage. Long Sword basically works the same; except you play around with parries and invincibility frames.
Of course, you still need to familiarize yourself with both the weapons and Arkveld’s movesets. Nevertheless, if you’re really dying to beat Arkveld during the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, these two weapons can be an effective alternative.
