Monster Hunter Wilds NPC SOS Flare Changes the Game in a Great Way

When Monster Hunter World came out, the SOS Flare ended up being a helpful means of quickly connecting with fellow hunters to request help in the must of a hunt. With Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom kicked the concept up a notch by also allowing NPC hunters to be called in for an assist when you send up an SOS Flare. During my preview session at Capcom headquarters in Osaka playing the upcoming game, only NPCs were available as allies, and I found them to be much more valuable and capable than I expected in this early, not-final build.

From my experience, SOS Flares were available at any time. This meant I could banish my Palico, an all-black fellow with white fur pattern that resembled a mustache around his mouth, in favor of some NPC hunters joining the fray. The implementation of the SOS Flare in Monster Hunter Wilds was quite familiar to Monster Hunter World, with players able to pull up the option in the wheel in the midst of exploration, sending up a flare, dismissing their Palico, and then waiting for the cavalry to arrive. I did this both during story hunts, as well as during more general ones outside the campaign. 

A thing I found fun about this is that it doesn’t mean the NPCs immediately show up. Rather, it feels more natural. First, you need to send up the flare. This means finding a few seconds of peace, as monster attacks can and will interrupt it. (However, in this build I did find that the animation period during which the flare shoots up did let me “dodge” some attacks.) While your Palico will immediately bounce, it takes some time for the other characters to arrive. It feels like they’re actually trying to find their way to your location and show up, and then they’ll take a second to prepare and get in position. It isn’t a major gap. I never needed to wait more than a minute or so for these NPCs to arrive. But it does still force you to stay alive, keep cool, and continue all on your own for a bit.

Image via Capcom

Once they are there and start fighting, I feel like the SOS Flare experience with Monster Hunter Wilds NPC hunters honestly didn’t feel all that different from taking on an SOS Flare request with actual people in Monster Hunter World. Yes, with real folks you can engage in some coordination and see certain sorts of combos and moves that indicate their awareness and expertise. But in this early, preview build of Monster Hunter Wilds, my virtual allies held their own! They made good choices! I’d sometimes even find myself healed, at a point when I’d probably have considered doing so myself, because one of them saw I was getting low on health.

What I also loved is how it also wasn’t just about getting extra, immediate assistance during a quest. Summoning NPC allies in Monster Hunter Wilds with the SOS Flare also helped these characters sort of flesh out the story. They were known individuals! The Ace Team members Olivia and Rosso would appear! These people would interject comments as they’d fight alongside me. Sometimes, if it happened during a story quest, it seemed like it actually pertained to what was going on during the campaign. 

Basically, I really liked what I saw when it came to summoning NPC hunters to the fight with an SOS Flare in Monster Hunter Wilds. Sure, it might change and be adjusted at launch. And yes, I do think I would turn to actual humans when I could, because I like that diversity and experience. But I think this could be a great and very viable option for people who can’t call upon others online or want to go solo with an occasional hand sometimes if the early build is any indication.

Monster Hunter Wilds will come to the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 28, 2025. People who pre-order get the Guild Knight Set layered armor and Hope Charm.

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