Working out how long Monster Hunter Wilds is depends on the sort of player you are. This game is all about the grind, and you’ll be able to play it for hundreds of hours if you’d like to — but there are only so many quests for you to complete and only so monsters to unlock, which you’ll do in both the standard and High Rank parts of the game.
In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, we’ll walk you through how long it takes to beat (according to our various playtime estimates) and how many chapters there are to help give you a framework to work towards.
How long is Monster Hunter Wilds?
The first part of the story in Monster Hunter Wilds — reaching the credits and unlocking High Rank — is anywhere between 12 to 20 hours, but that number can vary wildly (even outside of our wide estimation) based on your skill level and familiarity with the franchise.
To complete every chapter and see the entire story to its conclusion, then that’s between 30 and 40 hours total to hunt through the main campaign, climb the Hunter Ranks in High Rank, and stop getting new story quests.
To give you some wider context on how it can vary, if you’re consistently clearing hunts in 15 minutes or so, without failing or fainting, you’ll come in pretty close to the 15-hour mark to see those initial credits — if you’re just focusing on story content. If you find yourself struggling a bit more, or you’re taking your time with exploration, or with familiarizing yourself with some of the game’s more archaic systems, you’ll likely find yourself brushing against or past that 20-hour mark.
The High Rank structure is looser, which we’ll explain more of in the next section.
How many chapters is Monster Hunter Wilds?
There are six chapters in Monster Hunter Wilds, but know each chapter’s progress isn’t weighted the same. That’s because after seeing the credits upon completing Chapter 3 and entering High Rank, Wilds takes on a less story-focused format, and is more about familiarizing yourself with the grind.
As such, this is where you’re going to spend the bulk of your playtime. Each main story quest will unlock a new monster or type of monster (like Tempered or Frenzied), but you’ll need to grind your hunter rank several levels in order to unlock each new story quest after you see the credits.
At this point, you can and will go multiple hours between story missions and new monster sightings, so make sure to complete side quests as you go, as they’ll give you a boost to your hunter rank and unlock some new features like layered armor, Palico upgrades, and Artian weapons.
