There are a lot of different aspects to Palicos in Monster Hunter Wilds. They level up and gain stat boosts and new abilities which players cannot do. They can get new armor and weapons to make their bodies look wild from a cyborg set to an octopus outfit.

Kanya and Dareel in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds: 7 Early Side Quests You Should Not Skip

Level up your Hunter quickly through these optional hunts and quests.

Palicos have always been fun to mess with in the series and Monster Hunter Wilds adapts them well into the next generation of consoles. However, there are some things players may want to see in future updates. Some ideas could be easy for Capcom to implement while others will be harder and could be saved for the next game. Either way, they are good ideas to jot down.

6 Control Them In Local Co-Op

A Good Way To Get Partners Or Kids Involved

Fighting Congalala with A.I. allies in Monster Hunter Wilds

Every player will get a Palico when they set up their character. Upon starting a mission, the Palico will join and will remain there up until two to three humans join the battleground. If only one extra person joins, then their Palico will come too. Monster Hunter Wilds is hard set on allowing only four characters to go into a mission whether it is a side quest or a main quest doesn’t matter.

Given this concept, it would be a unique idea to allow couch co-op for a Hunter and a Palico to play together. The Palico naturally wouldn’t be as strong offensively or have as many moves, but it would be a fun way to have younger players join in or perhaps a partner more adverse to video games. There have been spinoffs where Palicos have been the focus in the Monster Hunter series like Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village, so the idea isn’t that wild.

5 Don’t Get Rid Of Palicos During Co-Op

Allow At Least One To Remain

Fighting two Ajarakans in Monster Hunter Wilds

If Capcom doesn’t want to program or allow playable Palicos for couch co-op then they can upgrade co-op in another way. Whoever hosts the missions should get to keep their Palico no matter how many players or Support Hunters join the match. It would be good support for the group between deliveries of Vigorwasps or setting traps to catch the titular monsters of Monster Hunter Wilds.

Your Hunter character and facing Uth Duna in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds: 6 Tips For Solo Players

It’s easier now more than ever to play this series alone, so here are some tips for the latest entry.

It would be even better if all four players got to keep their Palicos. This is the next generation of consoles and they are quite capable of displaying that many characters onscreen. Allowing one Palico would be a good settlement even if they were just relegated to a cooldown ability to call in at random.

4 Issue Commands

Go Forth Young Airship Com-meow-ander

Fighting Guardian Ebony Odogaron in Monster Hunter Wilds

Speaking of abilities, that’s a big reason why Palicos are useful in battle. Through leveling up and side missions, Palicos will learn abilities. Vigorwasp Delivery, for example, is how they can heal players with the aforementioned Vigorwasps. They can set traps with Place Paracorn and even take to the skies on a mini-airship via the Rath-from-Above ability.

Palicos will use these abilities randomly with no input from players. Giving players the ability to request these skills, via the cooldown meter idea, would be a brilliant step into adding more strategy to Monster Hunter Wilds and the series. If there is no leeway on the two co-op ideas, then this would be a good compromise to make Palicos more useful in battle.

3 Bring Back Monster Hunter Rise Missions

Give Palicos Something To Do

High Fiving your Palico in Monster Hunter Wilds

Monster Hunter Wilds added a lot of useful changes to the formula like the A.I. Assisted Support Hunters and the Wound system. It’s also a completely open-world experience as players can run from the first area of the game to the last. This is a big leap forward from the last two entries, Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Rise.

However, there is one feature from Monster Hunter Rise that was great and it’s baffling it didn’t return. In the game, players could send their Palicos and Palamutes on missions and reap the rewards for their separate excursions. It was a fun way to gather items and to collect a plethora of cute furry pals. A way to send Palicos away on missions would be a good addition to Monster Hunter Wilds.

2 Get Some Mini-Games In Here

From Fishing To Racing

Cooking a meal in Monster Hunter Wilds

For the past few entries, Palico chefs cooked players delicious meals to boost their stats. Monster Hunter Wilds players can cook meals in their tent instead and while the food looks just as tasty, it’s not as fun to see without the kitty chefs messing around in the kitchen. There’s a way to bring this feature back via mini-games.

Your Hunter and Nata eating food in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds: 7 Best Food Boosts, Ranked

Hunters' mouths will be watering from these tasty dishes that provide valuable food boosts in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Capcom could include a cooking mini-game and have players compete online with other Palicos online. They could include other mini-games as well from racing to fishing. Live service games have added one-off mini-games before like the racing in Destiny, so it’s not a wild suggestion for Monster Hunter Wilds.

1 Add More Customization Options

Capcom’s Legacy

A Palico in Monster Hunter Wilds

There is a wild amount of customization options for Hunters in the game between the player’s direct avatar or their armor. There are now transmogrification options in Monster Hunter Wilds for armor and players can even change the look of their Hunter or Palico mid-game. The starting options for Palicos are lacking compared to the Hunters though.

Monster Hunter: Worlds had a ton of fun crossover costumes from both Capcom and other companies. They were for Hunters and Palicos with the coolest one for Palicos being Mega Man. Crossover costumes and skins seem more likely for Monster Hunter Wilds than Capcom adding more customization options to Palicos directly but one never knows.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Monster Hunter Wilds Tag Page Cover Art
Monster Hunter Wilds
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget
Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
February 28, 2025
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Crude Humor
Developer(s)
Capcom
Publisher(s)
Capcom
Engine
RE Engine
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
Yes, all platforms
Cross Save
No
Franchise
Monster Hunter
Number of Players
1
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
PC Release Date
February 28, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
February 28, 2025
PS5 Release Date
February 28, 2025
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure
X|S Optimized
Yes
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty