How Does Frenzy Work in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Among the many status ailments in Monster Hunter Wilds, Frenzy is the one that acts most like a double-edged sword. It’s a lot less straightforward compared to others, and while it can be detrimental, it can also be very beneficial to some players.

Frenzy isn’t always present in every Monster Hunter game, but when it is, it presents players with a somewhat risky tactic for speeding up their hunts. For those who haven’t encountered this ailment yet, here’s a quick overview of what it does, how to cure it, and how to take advantage of it.

The Player Hitting A Weakness & The Field Guide For A Monster

Monster Hunter Wilds: Weakness Exploit Explained

Hitting a monster’s weakness will deal more damage than usual in Monster Hunter Wilds, and Weakness Exploit will only further increase that damage.

What is Frenzy in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Frenzy is an abnormal status effect that can affect players when hunting a Gore Magala or other Frenzied monsters. It prevents players from naturally recovering health by completely preventing red health from appearing when hit. Additionally, any hunter affected by Frenzy will take additional damage from monsters.

Unlike effects like Burning or Paralysis, Frenzy takes time before it actually does anything to a player. If you get afflicted with Frenzy, you’ll see an icon with a meter pop up above your health bar. That meter will fill over time, and it’ll fill faster if you get hit by another Frenzy-inducing attack. Once the meter is full, only then will you feel Frenzy’s effects.

How to Cure Frenzy

Frenzy works a bit differently compared to other status ailments in MH Wilds. It has two stages, and as such, it can be removed two different ways.

The first phase is when players first get infected with Frenzy. As long as it hasn’t fully affected them yet, it can be cleansed by attacking monsters. During this phase, Frenzy cannot be cleansed any other way, but the status buildup can be delayed by eating a Nulberry.

The second phase begins when a hunter is fully infected by Frenzy. At this point, it can be cleansed by eating a Nulberry or using any other cleansing effect (such as Purewasps).

Ideally, players should try to cleanse Frenzy during the first phase, as doing so will increase their Affinity for a short duration.

Antivirus Armor Skill

There’s an armor skill called Antivirus that makes Frenzy’s first phase easier to cleanse. Additionally, it increases the amount of Affinity gained after the status effect is cleansed, making it an excellent skill to have for crit-based builds.

Normally, Antivirus is only useful against Frenzied monsters. However, if you’re wearing four pieces of the Gore Magala armor set, you’ll get the Black Eclipse skill, which reads:

Black Eclipse I: Infects you with Frenzy when fighting large monsters.
Black Eclipse II: Infects you with Frenzy and raises Attack when fighting large monsters. Attack Power increases upon recovery.

Aggressive players using weapons like the Dual Blades or Switch Axe in MH Wilds can make excellent use of Frenzy and the Gore Magala armor.