How to mount monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds

Wondering how to mount monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds? It's likely you've mounted a monster in MH Wilds by accident at some point, but then can't work out how you did it. Alternatively, maybe you saw another Hunter mount a monster and want to know how they managed it. With that being the case, we'll explain how to repeat the process, why it sometimes won't work, what the advantages are, and more besides. Here's how you can mount monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, climb onto their backs, and stab away to your heart's content.

How to mount in MH Wilds

To mount a monster in MH Wilds, you need to leap onto its back from an elevated position while hitting it with a jump attack with any of the Monster Hunter Wilds weapons. However, there's an invisible meter attached to each monster that builds up to this ability, so you can't do it over and over. If that meter isn't full, jump attacks will simply be that.

This element isn't tutorialized in-game, but as far as the community understands it right now, you build up the meter for mounting in MH Wilds by hitting the enemy with the same kind of jump attacks that would allow you to mount it.

Simple enough, but it does build slowly though - don't expect to mount the same monster more than twice in a single hunt. It also goes without saying that melee-focused players using weapons like the Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword will likely land these special attacks more often.

Mounting explained

Once you're on a monster and mounting it in MH Wilds, things get a little complicated. Here's how it works:

• You can reposition yourself along its body with the analog stick to move around.
• You can perform light and heavy knife attacks on the section of the body you're holding onto with Circle and Triangle (PS5), or B and Y (Xbox).
• You can also hit it with your equipped weapon using R1/RB.
• If the monster tries to shake you off, the screen will darken. Press R2/RT to brace yourself and hold on, or move quickly to a new section of body. Either should let you hold on.
• Once you've damaged a section of the monster's body for long enough, it will open a wound. Hit the wounded area with either a Weapon Attack or Heavy Knife Attack to do massive damage with a finisher and dismount.

One thing I've personally noticed is that there really isn't much need to use a knife attack - just rely on the weapon and your R1/RB strikes, they're more powerful. This is also a good time for any other players to attack - the monster can still hurt them as it thrashes around, but it won't be doing any major moves while it's mounted.

Want to learn more gameplay essentials? Discover how to capture Monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, or find out how to get the very best Monster Hunter Wilds armor!

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