Like a Chacha, I'm just goin' with the flow. On that note, here is a quick and dirty guide to help beginning players progress through the offline mode of Monster Hunter Tri.
While I concentrate mainly on listing key missions that allow you to progress through the game, I also list all the quests and features unlocked by a specific task. Since this is based on the Japanese version, I added the names of the quests in Japanese as well. This list encompasses 1-star to 4-star missions, ending with the Lagiacruz (or Ragiakurusu) hunt. With the MH3 Wikia shaping up nicely and the American version of the game out soon, I have a feeling other guides will start pouring out much faster than I can work on this, quite frankly, so this is all I plan to cover with this flowchart at this point.
Also, although this is primarily a flowchart, I add a few pointers based on my experience to help out beginners (for MH3, I decided to play as a gunner so the tips will be gunner-heavy). Still, I don't consider myself a Monster Hunter strategy expert so please don't think of these pointers as gospel.
Quests with an (*) are ones you must clear to advance the story.
A. Give 1 piece of raw meat to the Village Elder's son at Moga Forest.
Just kill an Aptonoth (it's the large, lumbering dinosaur-type creature), harvest its meat, and head to the base camp east of Area 2 on Solitary Island/Moga Forest.
Result:
1. Delivery Request appears: [キャンプを修理] (Camp Repair)
2. Blacksmith becomes accessible
3. Resource Shed becomes accessible (that's where the village elder's son stands up on high)
4. General store gets new items.
B. Clear the [キャンプを修理] (Camp Repair) Delivery Request
To do this, you're asked to acquire the necessary resources to repair the camp by amassing 30 points via monster kills. Just go through the different areas and hunt monsters. I easily amassed more than 30 points by the time I cleared one of the areas of Jaggis (the velociraptor-like dinosaurs). Report back to the Village Chief's son and deposit your points.
Result:
1. Delivery Request appears: [武具加工のお勉強] (Blacksmith Lesson)
C. Clear the [武具加工のお勉強] (Blacksmith Lesson) Delivery Request
Once you unlock this quest, a yellow thought bubble appears on top of the blacksmith. He'll give you a pickaxe and request that you acquire a piece of iron ore for him. Exit the village and the chief tells you that your best bet to get iron ore is Area 4. But he says it's kind of dark so you can acquire a torch by gathering by the, um, torch just left of where you're currently standing. Being the genius that I am, I went "Torch-smorch, how dark can this place possibly be?" and just ran off. As a result, I ended up groping around in the dark in Area 4 while looking at my pickaxe icon for the first sign that I reached a spot that can be mined. The lesson: Don't be an idiot like me. Get the freaking torch.
Result:
1. Farm and Mushroom area both reach Level 1
2. Third option for Resource Shed, [資源化] now accessible.
D. Sunfish Hunt
Once you clear the Blacksmith event, you will be asked to hunt a [マンボウ] or Sunfish. Exit the village and you'll get more details again. Your target will be at Area 11. This basically serves as a tutorial for swimming. There's several control options but the basic thing to remember is that the B button lets you dive, the Z button lets you swim faster (just watch that stamina bar) and using the Wiimote directional button or cross allows you to adjust the camera view. The latter is important because you basically move toward the direction that the camera is facing.
Result:
1. Quest Counter opens for business. The 1-star Quest [孤島のキノコ集め](Solitary Island Mushroom Gathering*) becomes available.
2. Resource Shed first option, [モガの森の情報] (Moga Forest Info) becomes accessible.
3. New item additions to General Store and Weapons Shop.
E. Clear the [孤島のキノコ集め] 1-star Quest
It's Mario time. Well, sort of. Basically, you just need to collect 5 Special Mushrooms [特産キノコ] which you should be able to complete just from the gathering spots in the second area. You can also earn bonuses by collecting one Select Mushroom [厳選キノコ] and two Ripe(?) Mushrooms [熟成キノコ]. Once you have the necessary shrooms, just place them inside the red chest in your camp. By the way, once you accept a quest, you'll need to go to the dock on the left of the Quest Counter, not to the right of the town like you've been doing up to this point.
Result:
1. Unlocks the [ケルビの角を納品せよ] (Deliver the Kelbi Horn) Quest.
2. Unlocks the [目指せ釣り名人！] (Aim to be a Fishing Master!) Quest.
3. Unlocks the [ジャギィの群れを狩れ] (Hunt the Jaggi Pack*) 1-star Quest.
4. Unlocks the [美味になるキモを求めて] (Seeking Delicious Livers*) 1-star Quest.
5. Unlocks the [孤島の海中探索] (Solitary Island Underwater Exploration)
Quest.
F. Clear the [美味になるキモを求めて] (Seeking Delicious Livers) 1-star Quest
This mission requires you to get three monster livers. Yum. To acquire them, carve up some of the aquatic Epioth that like to hang out in areas 10 and 11. Just be on the lookout for a certain unwanted guest.
Result:
1. First hunting ship [団長] "Danchou" (Level 1) becomes available. (Talk to the fishmonger lady at the port)
G. Clear the [ジャギィの群れを狩れ] (Hunt the Jaggi Pack) 1-star Quest
Another simple mission. You'll need to hunt down five Jagginoth's to clear this quest (they're the larger lizards with droopy ears a la Jar Jar Binks. That's enough to make meesa wanna kill dem). While you're at it, make sure you kill 10 Jaggies before you slay the last Jagginoth in order to get bonus rewards.
Result:
1. Urgent Quest [水生獣ルドロスを狩れ] (Hunt the Rudoroth Water Beasts*) appears.
2. Delivery Mission [キノコ箱の増設] (Expand the Mushroom Box) appears.
H. Clear the [水生獣ルドロスを狩れ] (Hunt the Rudoroth Water Beasts) Urgent Quest
No they're not red-nosed reindeers. Rudoroth (or Rudorosu) look like Komodo Dragons on a sugar rush. Just head to the water area and you'll find them in no time (you know it's them because a cut scene shows up). Eliminate six of Rudoroth and you'll go down in history (snicker). Once you get rid of the first group that appears on land, dive underwater to find more of them.
Result:
1. The 2-star Quest [オルタロスの性質を学べ] (Learn the Ortarosu's Habits) appears.
2. The 2-star Quest [竜骨結晶を採掘せよ!] (Mine the Crystallized Monster Bone!) appears.
3. The 2-star Delivery Quest [砂原のキモ納品依頼] (Desert Plain Livers) appears.
4. The 2-star Quest [牙むく群れの長を狩れ] (Hunt the Leader of the Pack*) appears.
5. Trading Ship becomes usable.
6. Level 1 cooking station becomes available (near Quest Counter)
7. Delivery Quest [虫箱新入荷] (New Insect Box Delivery) appears.
I. Clear the [牙むく群れの長を狩れ] (Hunt the Leader of the Pack*) quest
I don't always hunt Jaggis. But when I do, I prefer Dosjaggis. Stay thirsty my friends (Sorry, I just couldn't resist). This will be your first boss-type mission so get ready for a little change of pace. The Dosjaggi itself isn't exactly tough. But depending on how many Jaggis end up supporting it, this can get a bit annoying. For gunners, using Pellet S Lv1 [LV1 散弾] ammo helps with crowd control and lets you hit the boss at the same time. I was also able to "break" the Dosjaggi's head using Crag S Lv1 [LV1 徹甲榴弾] ammo.
Like in previous Monster Hunter games, boss-type monsters will run away to different areas when they sustain enough damage. Once seriously injured, it will also flee to sleep in its nest at Area 6 (at least that's where I always find it).
Result:
1. The 2-star Quest [ドスジャギィを捕まえろ！] (Capture the Dosjaggi*) appears.
2. The Dosjaggi can now appear at Moga Forest.
3. The delivery quest [畑をパワーUP!] (Power up the Field) appears.
J. Clear the [ドスジャギィを捕まえろ！] (Capture the Dosjaggie) quest
Unlike the Dosjaggi hunting quest where you can kill the overgrown lizard, your goal this time is to capture the Dosjaggi alive so you can, um, kill it later — but for better monster shwag. The key to trapping a monster is to damage it to the point where it shows signs of significant weakening (e.g. staggering, limping, sleeping). You can then spring a trap (e.g. Pitfall Trap [落とし穴] or Shock Trap [シビレ罠]) to hold the monster in place so you can hit it with Tranq Bombs [捕獲用麻酔玉] or Tranq S ammo [
捕獲用麻酔弾]. About two Tranq hits is all you need for capture.
If you have a hard time tracking monsters and figuring out if they're ready to be captured, you can make your life easier via a couple of things. One is by wearing Hunter Armor. This particular armor has auto-tracking, meaning you don't have to use paintballs or paint ammo to mark a monster so you can track it on the map. If you want the blacksmith to forge either the full Hunter (i.e. close-combat fighters) or Gunner (i.e. long-range fighter) sets of this armor, you will need:
大地の結晶x5 (mine from rocks via pickaxe)
鉄鉱石x7 (mine from rocks via pickaxe)
氷結晶x2 (mine via pickaxe from Desert Area 6)
ジャギィの鱗x4 (carve from Jaggi)
暖かい毛皮x2 (carve from Kelbi)
竜骨【小】x3 (collect from bone gathering areas)
The Hunter Set consists of: ハンターヘルム, ハンターメイル, ハンターアーム, ハンターフォールド and ハンターグリーヴ.
The Gunner Set consists of: ハンターキャップ, ハンターレジスト, ハンターガード, ハンターコート and ハンターレギンス.
Make sure you match the right pieces for whatever set you pick to get its full benefits.
I also recommend attaching five Perceive Jewels [
観察珠] (one for each of your five armor pieces) to your armor set. You can have the blacksmith make the gems for you as long as you have enough Gigi Poison Needles (
ギィギの毒針x10, carved from the blue sharp-toothed slugs in the desert area) and Suiko Jewels (
水光原珠x5, mined via pickaxe in Moga Forest/Solitary Island). This will activate the Perceive skill, which lets you know when a monster is ready to be captured (symbolized by a marked monster's icon flashing or changing color on the map).
For this mission you will get a complimentary Shock Trap and a few Tranq Bombs from the blue supply box at your base camp. You also get a flash bomb which can immobilize the Dosjaggi long enough for you to set a trap right next to it.
Result:
1. Urgent Quest, [奇面族を救出せよ!] (Protect the Strange Masked Tribesman) appears.
K. Clear the [奇面族を救出せよ!] (Protect the Strange Masked Tribesman) quest
For this mission, your goal is to protect the masked Chacha child from the monsters that he seems to keep running into. The little green monster will basically pop up in three areas and you have to slay the monsters attacking it before he bites the dust. Save him and you'll end up with a new Robin to your Batman (or Batgirl) as the Chacha can now join you in missions. Your new buddy only has his basic skill set at this point but just the fact that it can occasionally attract monsters away from you makes the Chacha a great asset for solo hunters.
Result:
1. 3-star quest [リノプロスの暴走！] (Out of Control Rinopros) now available.
2. 3-star quest [草食竜の卵を探せ！] (Herbivorous Dinosaur Egg Search) now available.
Quick tip: The egg is in Area 7 of the Desert Map by that tall tree-looking thing. For your first egg delivery, the route back is: 7-10-8-4-1-Base Camp. For your second delivery, the route is: 7-10-8-4-3-2-1-Base Camp. A good combo here is maxing out your stamina bar with the free meat rations from the blue box in camp and equipping the "Rokkurakku" [ロックラック] armor set. The latter comes with three pieces and activates the Backpacking skill, which makes running around monsters a lot easier, especially on the second egg delivery. To make the whole set, you'll need:
なめらかな皮x4 (carve from Gigi, jellyfish or large catfish)
甲虫の腹袋x4 (carve from Ortaros ants. Especially easy for gunners, who just need to hit insects once with a Poison S Lv1 or LV1
毒弾 to make them carvable after they die)
ジャギィの皮x3 (carve from Jaggi)
ジャギィの鱗x5 (carve from Jaggi)
モンスターの体液x2 (carve from Ortaros, Bunahabura flying bugs, or Gigi)
3. 3-star quest [水没林の虫退治！] (Submerged Forest Insect Extermination) now available.
4. 3-star quest [水没林の水生獣を狩れ！] (Hunt the Water Beasts of the Submerged Woods) now available.
5. Key Quest [彩鳥・クルペッコの狩猟！] (Colorful Quelpeco Bird Hunt*) now available.
* Once you wrap up several 3-star quests, you will trigger an event with the blacksmith who will now be able to forge a slash axe/switch axe or whatever it's called.
L. Finish 15 Quests
Result:
1. Second cat appears on Farm.
M. Finish the Key Quest [彩鳥・クルペッコの狩猟！] (Colorful Quelpeco Bird Hunt)
Hey, look, an overgrown Bird of Paradise. The Quelpeco itself isn't too bad but you'll also be dealing with a Dosjaggi and its minions throughout this stage as well. With your Chacha running interference, though, you should be able to get some extra breathing room and focus on the Quelpeco for the most part. Sadly, you don't get a free trap this time so you'll need to bring your own pitfall trap if you want to get one of the subquest bonuses. Otherwise, just finish the bird off if you're only interested in getting the stage done.
Result:
1. 3-star quest [トリックスターを捕まえろ] (Catch the Trickster) appears.
2. The Key Quest [ロアルドロスを狩猟せよ！] (Hunt the Roaldros*) appears.
3. Quelpeco can now appear at Moga Forest.
4. Delivery quest [ふさふさのお面] (Tuft Mask) appears.
N. Finish the Key Quest [ロアルドロスを狩猟せよ！] (Hunt the Roaldros)
I had the misfortune of this battle starting off in two underwater areas in a row, which I'm not too fond off since it makes the fight drag on longer for me.
The lion-lizard-looking Roaldros is weak against fire, in case you're curious. I'm not exactly the most skilled monster hunter out there but my basic strategy as a gunner for this battle revolved around two things: Using Pierce S Lv1 [LV1貫通弾] ammo underwater (aimed at either the head or mane) and Flaming S [火炎弾] ammo on land. At this point I was still using the basic light bowgun with the frame upgraded to level 4 (attack power 96).
Since I started the battle in two underwater maps, I used a lot of Pierce shells (about 40+) before the Roaldros finally moved to land. At that point, I was three Rudoroth kills short of satisfying the 5-kill subquest requirement so I ended up using a few Pellet S Lv1 [LV1散弾] shots so I could hit the Rudoroth but still damage the Roaldros at the same time. Once the small fry monsters were gone, I pumped about 20 Flaming S shots at the Roaldros before it became weak enough to capture with a pitfall trap.
Having to reload every time I fired one Flaming S shot was a bit of a pain but this mission actually ended up being a lot easier than I thought. Get ready for some happy townsfolk when you get back. This also the point when I started seeing the "Rioreia" dragon appear randomly during monster hunting quests at Moga Forest.
Result:
1. Key Quest [土砂竜・ボルボロス！] (Sand Dragon Borboros*) appears.
2. 3-star quest [ロアルドロス捕獲作戦！] (Roaldros Capture Strategy) appears.
3. Roaldros can now appear in Moga Forest.
4. Delivery quest [虫箱を強化せよ！] (Upgrade the Insect Box) appears.
5. Second hunting ship [赤槍] "Akayari" or "Red Lance" (Level 1) appears.
O. Finish the Key Quest [土砂竜・ボルボロス！] (Sand Dragon Borboros)
Another surprisingly easy mission, at least for gunners. Being the genius that I am, I brought along Water ammo with my regular array of bullets and realized that, um, my stock light bowgun set can't fire them. Brilliant! So I basically relied on my basic supply of Pellet LV1, Pierce LV1 and Normal LV2 ammo.
Gunners who actually remember to bring a bowgun set that can use Water ammo (e.g. by mixing in Roaldros gun parts) can use those when the Borboros is covered in mud then switch to Flaming ammo once the monster is mud-free. Oh yeah, I happened to use a paralyzing trap in the mud, and the thing became practically invisible. So if you use one, make sure you don't lose track of it so you don't end up running around the "x" on your map like a fool (unlike a certain, um, guide writer) while trying to set up the Borboros to step on it. Pitfall traps, on the other hand, can be seen just fine.
My only experiencing meleeing this thing is at the Coliseum, with my fastest results coming via a slash/switch axe. If you stay relatively close and bob-and-weave, it should go down quicker since it won't do that running charge too much (i.e. you don't have to waste time chasing after it). The only caveat, of course, is if you have a Chacha with you that runs far away and the monster decides to charge at it. By the way, melee hunters can actually hide underneath the hind legs and just wail away with their weapon when the monster does that mud-dandruff-looking attack.
Result:
1. Urgent Quest [灯魚竜・チャナガブル！] (Giant Anglerfish Chanagable*) appears
2. Delivery quest [肉焼き器のお面] (Barbecue Grill Mask) appears
P. Finish the Urgent Quest [灯魚竜・チャナガブル！] (Giant Anglerfish Chanagable).
I actually ran out of time on my first try here, believe it or not, so methinks my original light bowgun's due for an update. Based on stuff I had available in my box, I mulled several options but ultimately decided on this combination: level 4 light bowgun frame, heavy bowgun barrel (for extra power and range plus a Shield effect, which helps against that annoying flash attack), and light bowgun stock (to help offset the heavy barrel's weight a bit and also get two gem slots for extra effects). The extra weight means I couldn't run as fast as I did with my pure light bowgun but it's still fast enough.
During my first try, I was mostly using Level 1 ammo with the exception of the Normal LV2 shot. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I also decided to bring Level 3 normal ammo and level 2 Pellet and Pierce shots. I'm loaded for freaking bear, or giant mutant catfish, now.
The only drawback with the bowgun set I used was the slow reload, which leaves less room for error. Otherwise, you should be able to see this thing's attacks a mile away. About the only attack that can be a pain is that darn light flash, which dizzies you and makes you easy prey for a nice chomp if you're caught offguard.
Start the fight by bringing Frog bait [釣りカエル] and casting it by that grassy area by the riverbank on Area 4. You'll actually end up hooking the Chanagable. Not only does this allow you to fulfill one of the subquests for the mission, this also flips the monster right next to you, allowing you to unload on it. For gunners, you can also try to stay low when fighting underwater in case it does that vacuum attack. If you stop and stand on the ground even from a reasonably close distance once it starts sucking, the whirlpool actually goes above your head, leaving you free to pump a ton of lead (or whatever it is your ammo's made of) on its purdy face.
Result:
1. 4-star quest [青き集団、バギィ討伐！] (Supress the Baggi Pack*) unlocked
2. 4-star quest [群れを統べるドスバギィ！] (Leader of the Pack, Dosbaggi*) unlocked
3. 4-star quest [極寒の地の採掘依頼] (Extreme Cold Mining Request*) unlocked
4. 4-star quest [土砂竜と群れ長の狩猟！] (Hunt the Sand Dragon and Leader of the Pack*) unlocked
5. 4-star quest [砂原の採取ツアー] (Desert Plain Gathering Tour) unlocked
6. 4-star quest [水没林の採取ツアー] (Submerged Forest Gathering Tour) unlocked
7. Delivery Quest [最強のキノコ畑] and [もっとハチミツを] appears.
8. Trading ship can now gain access to items from the Dragon Tribe homeland
9. Cooking station reaches level 2
10. New items available at general store
11. New items available at weapon store
Note 1: Finish two of the first four missions (i.e. Missions 1-4 above) and your first Lagiacruz mission [ラギアクルスに挑め！] appears.
Note 2: Finish some missions once you unlock the 4-star quests and the blacksmith will tell you that Long Swords can now be forged.
Note 3: Once you have 25 quests under your belt, you'll get a third cat in your farm.
Q. Finish the Urgent Quest [ラギアクルスに挑め！] (Challenge the Lagiacruz)
Guess this is the appetizer to your main course later on. Pattern-wise, the Lagia is like an overgrown Roaldros, with that extra lightning field attack thrown in (i.e. the one where lightning surrounds its whole body). The latter is more an issue for melee fighters since gunners should be a pretty safe distance away. In terms of elements, the only one that does decent damage is fire, and only to its back (where the crystals are) and its chest. Normal weapons actually do more damage, particularly on the head and chest area. While blades and hammers can do anywhere from OK to significant damage depending on the body part, bowgun users should concentrate on hitting the head and chest (and the back crystals if you have fire ammo). I recommend Pierce-type bullets. Also, since it's easy to run out of bullets, make sure you bring a healthy stock of ammo, along with some materials for creating bullets should your run out.
Result:
1. 4-star quest [女王・リオレイアの狩猟] (Hunt the Queen, Rioreia) appears
2. 4-star quest [暗闇にうごめく猛毒！] (Squirming Deadly Poison in the Darkness) appears
3. Third hunting ship [黒槍] "Kuroyari" or "Black Lance" (Level 1) appears
R. Finish the [女王・リオレイアの狩猟] (Hunt the Queen, Rioreia) quest
Result:
1. 4-star quest [陸の女王、捕獲作戦！] (Land Queen Capture Strategy) appears
2. 4-star quest [飛竜の卵の納品] (Wyvern Egg Delivery) appears
3. Urgent quest [ラギアクルスを仕留めろ！] (Take Down the Lagiacruz) appears
4. Delivery quest [ランプのお面] (The Lamp Mask) appears.
