The Strongest Talisman Effects In Monster Hunter Wilds

After half a decade in development, Monster Hunter Wilds delivers the gameplay that made the series a worldwide success — but not all at once. To truly get the game to open up, you have to complete the story first — and even then, you won’t have all the mechanics unlocked from the start.

One interesting gimmick that pops up several hours into the campaign is the use of talismans. These are charms that provide small boosts to your hunter and their equipment, but they can be upgraded to be viable for much longer. If you’re new to the series, it’s best to know which ones to equip beforehand because crafting doesn’t come free in Monster Hunter Wilds. Here are the talismans you should be planning for.

8

Guard Charm

Effect: Iron Skin

The further you progress, the more Monster Hunter Wilds becomes about prevention rather than cure. Rather than rushing to craft the Defence Charm, we advise you to scroll down and pick the Guard Charm instead. Your armour sets are more than sufficient for base defence: preventing status effects will be much more important in the longer run.

The Guard Charm gives your hunter the Iron Skin skill, which prevents status effects that reduce your defence. As you upgrade it, it gets a higher activation chance until it finally nullifies defence ailments entirely.

7

Fire Charm

Effect: Fire Resistance

Just like you can use elemental attacks against monsters, they can use them against you. Fire is among the most annoying, as it steadily decreases your HP and restricts your movement. You can use a Cool Drink or roll around, or you can equip an elemental charm to counteract its effects.

All the elemental charms have their own, well, charm — but the Fire Charm is the one you’ll need first. The fire resistance it grants is priceless for the high-temperature battles awaiting you in the Oilwell Basin.

6

Glutton’s Charm

Effect: Speed Eating

Hunger is one of the many mechanics in Monster Hunter Wilds that you have to keep an eye on: meals also provide you with stat boosts, as well as occasional mouthwatering cutscenes if you prepare them in your tent or on your portable BBQ grill. A hungry hunter has low stamina, making them worse at combat.

If you’re in a hurry or need to prevent hunger mid-fight, you can eat the meat you’ve accrued in your loadout. For that, you should have the Glutton’s Charm equipped so you won’t get hit while scarfing down that steak.

5

Botany Charm

Effect: Botanist

If you really try, you can ignore crafting for the Low Rank quests — though why you’d make the game harder for yourself, we don’t know. Once you’re in High Rank, however, you need crafting. You won’t get far without the right items in your loadout. And to do that, you should take advantage of the Botany Charm.

This talisman gives you the Botanist skill, increasing the amount of Herbs you pick up. Given that some Herbs can only be found in specific areas, increasing their quantity will prove to be a lifesaver in the long run.

4

Speed Heal Charm

Effect: Speed Healing

Potions don’t work the same way in Monster Hunter Wilds as they do in most action RPGs. Given that the game is largely about tactics, healing items are slow to work. No matter how much space you create, you’ll likely get hit before your hunter has drunk their fill. If that happens, the potion gets knocked out of their hand, and they stop healing.

To prevent that, equip the Speed Heal charm. This makes your hunter heal faster, so they can chug down potions before the monster ruins it for them. The more you upgrade this charm, the faster you can drink.

3

Stun Charm

Effect: Stun Resistance

If you get hit multiple times in a short time, your hunter will get stunned. This will make them fall over and render them inactive for a short time, translating to a long window of opportunity for monsters. Being stunned can take you from full health back to camp in a matter of seconds.

If you’ve got the Stun Charm equipped, you’ll get stunned much less often. Even better, if you upgrade this charm to the maximum, your hunter won’t be able to get stunned at all.

2

Intimidator Charm

Effect: Intimidator

Getting engaged by monsters while you’re out gathering materials is no fun. It can also put you at a massive disadvantage when you’re engaging monsters: if they hit you before you’ve eaten a meal or sent out your SOS flare, that’s a huge window of opportunity lost.

You can equip the Intimidator Charm to prevent that frustration, which gives you the eponymous skill. This skill discourages monsters from engaging you, with its aggression-reducing effects stacking as you upgrade this talisman.

1

Friendship Charm

Effect: Wide Range

You’re missing out if you play Monster Hunter Wilds for solo hunts. A lot of the series’ appeal revolves around its online multiplayer. In such cases, you’ll need to cooperate to bring down monsters because they have more HP to accommodate more hunters.

The Friendship Charm will make you a team favourite, because it lets your healing and stat-boosting items affect other allies near you. If you use a potion, they’ll receive some health as well. It’s the best possible way to act as a support for your team without being relegated entirely to a non-combat role.