For those looking to be the best slayer of beasts in Monster Hunter World, you’re going to want to master every facet of hunting. This not only includes the actual combat but tracking these beasts through the wilderness as well. Outside of simply learning where your target resides, following the tracks of an animal has added benefits. These passive buffs are tied to not only what monsters you find, but the Scout Fly / Research level of that creature.
Every major large monster has a scout fly level attached to it that will gradually increase as you look through that creature’s tracks. There are multiple types of tracks, with the most common being the footsteps of a particular monster. These will always be created as a monster roams through their set movement path. Your Scout Flies will highlight the tracks and then all you have to do is go up and interact with it. You’ll automatically receive 5 points for investigating tracks and add progress to that creatures Scout Fly level.
Keep in mind you don’t have to usually stop and examine the tracks, so you can simply mash the interact button while you run across them to gather points. The other way to gain points towards your Scout Fly and Research level is by examining larger markings, mud patches, or corpses left behind. These are a little rarer and will typically award you double the amount of points. As you earn more points you’ll fill up a progress bar that will level up your knowledge.
This can include what elements a monster is weak too, what items it can drop, where its weak points are, and some basic information about the creature’s behavior. All of this is important and you should spend the time learning about these monsters before you go out and hunt for one. Knowing that you can knock off the mud armor of a Jyuratodus with water or your Slinger can save you a lot of headaches. Always research your monsters when out in the field, even if you aren’t hunting one.
Scout Fly levels can also help when it comes to actually finding a beast in the wild. Each monster’s Scout Fly rank is broken up into three separate passives. These are:
- Level 1: Scout Fly guidance to the next track.
- Level 2: Scout Fly guidance to the monster’s location.
- Level 3: Monsters destination and status displayed in real time on your map.
While these levels aren’t as useful for the main campaign, they are critical for when you are farming materials. Speaking of farming, a quick way to increase your level is to open up an Exhibition and literally just follow a monster around inspecting its tracks. Sure it might be boring, but this is an efficient way to quickly level up a specific creature. Remember, smaller monsters cannot be researched so don’t spend time tracking a herd of small time monsters. Always strive to improve your Research level when playing Monster Hunter World.
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