Monster Hunter World: How to capture monsters

Sometimes fighting isn't the right option.

Rathalos roaring at player in Monster Hunter World
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Monster Hunter: World has a lot of monsters and while many players like myself have a thirst for blood that makes you want to go hunting, sometimes you’re better off capturing them.

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Capturing monsters is a great way to increase research and it’s not all that different from hunting them down in the wild. It’s only really the end of the fight that changes, but before you set out to do it you’ll need to be prepared. So you can catch the monsters of Monster Hunter World like they’re Pokémon, here is what you need to know.

How to capture monsters in Monster Hunter: World

Player at supply chest in Monster Hunter World
First, you need to be prepared. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Capturing monsters in Monster Hunter: World can be quite easy, or extremely difficult depending on what you’re trying to catch, however, the process remains the same for all.

Typically if you’re undertaking an investigation that tasks you with capturing a particular monster then you’ll be given the required supplies for the task once you arrive in the zone. Check out the supply box and take what you need. If you aren’t given these items then you’ll need two key things: a trap and tranquillizers.

Traps, as the name suggests, will pin down a monster to one location, while lobbing tranquillizer bombs at them will put them to sleep giving you an opening to capture. Here is the process to follow once you have all the supplies:

  • Start battling with your monster target.
  • Once they are in a critical state they will begin to slowly retreat and that is your opportunity to go for the capture (Make sure you don’t deal too much damage in this state or you could accidentally kill the creature).
  • Follow the monster until it stops to rest.
  • Set your trap near the monster.
  • Once the trap has been triggered tranquilize the monster and with any luck, it should be captured.

This is the general process to capture any monster in Monster Hunter World. That said, for those you’ll encounter later in the story, you may be better off swapping out tranq bombs for tranq ammo instead, depending on your weapon of choice.

Author
Image of Ryan Galloway
Ryan Galloway
Ryan is a Senior Staff Writer for Dot Esports who has been working at GAMURS since 2020. He covers a wide variety of titles from across the gaming space, with a focus on Pokémon. He boasts a degree in Journalism from Murdoch University. Email: ryan@dotesports.com