Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Starter Weapons and Companions

Start your journey in Monster Hunter Outlanders by equipping the Bow or the Long Sword, and pair your hunter with Luka or Keres. Mobile touch controls create camera friction during close-range fights. Choosing gear with built-in spacing, reactive counters, and reliable companion support prevents early faints while you learn monster movement patterns.

Recommended Starter Weapons

Your opening weapon choice determines how forgiving hunts feel while you adjust to touchscreen targeting and evasion timings.

1. Bow (Safest Ranged Option)

The Bow removes the need to trade hits in close melee range. Staying at mid-range keeps startup animations for lunges and tail swipes fully visible on mobile screens.

• Key Mechanics: Continuous charge shots and sidestep slides maintain steady damage while dodging danger zones.
• Failure Point: Chaining consecutive dash shots drains your stamina bar quickly, leaving you unable to roll when a monster leaps. Keep enough stamina in reserve to perform two defensive rolls.

2. Long Sword (Safest Melee Option)

The Long Sword provides extended reach combined with a reactive defensive toolkit, making it the most forgiving melee weapon for beginners.

• Key Mechanics: Regular attacks poke weak spots to charge the Spirit Gauge, which transitions directly into defensive counters like Foresight Slash. Successfully landing counters negates incoming monster hitboxes and levels up your Spirit Gauge.
• Failure Point: Counter windows require precise timing. Mistiming a counter against multi-hit attack strings leaves your hunter locked in animation recovery.

Secondary Melee Alternatives: Dual Blades and Greatsword

If you prefer higher risk or distinct playstyles, consider these specialized alternatives:

• Dual Blades: Demon Mode grants fast attack animations and rapid repositioning rolls. However, Demon Mode continuously drains stamina, making you vulnerable if a monster targets you while your stamina bar is empty.
• Greatsword: Delivers high single-hit burst damage and quick part staggers through charged overhead slashes. Because its movement speed is slow, you must use shoulder tackles to absorb incoming hits with hyper armor rather than attempting to roll away mid-charge.

Best Early Companions to Support Your Hunts

Companions draw monster aggression and maintain steady pressure, giving you breathing room to heal, sharpen weapons, or reposition.

• Luka: A ranged companion wielding a bow. Luka stays on the perimeter to deal continuous damage, rarely getting knocked down by sweeping ground attacks.
• Keres: A frontline melee specialist. Keres engages directly and draws target attention, creating openings for you to attack monster weak spots from behind.
• Midori: A squad utility asset who stabilizes team health. Midori is most effective during multi-monster expeditions where you need to ration healing consumables across back-to-back fights.

Pairing Hunters with Companions

Match your companion to cover your weapon's inherent weaknesses:

• Melee Hunters (Long Sword, Greatsword, Dual Blades): Bring Luka or Midori to ensure continuous ranged damage and health stabilization while monsters focus on you.
• Ranged Hunters (Bow): Bring Keres to establish a physical frontline buffer that absorbs monster charges and keeps threats away from your hunter.

Starter Weapons and Companions Comparison

Next Actions: Establishing Early Combat Habits

Apply these two mechanical habits during your opening story hunts:

1. Cap Offensive Stamina Consumption at 50 Percent: Never spend your entire stamina gauge on attacks. Whether sliding into Bow shots or executing Dual Blade flurry attacks, always retain at least two dodges' worth of stamina to react to sudden charges.
2. Exploit Companion Aggro Angles: Monsters turn toward whichever target deals recent burst damage or stands in their direct vision cone. When a monster turns to face Keres or Luka, immediately sprint to its exposed flanks or tail to break parts and sever hitboxes without drawing counterattacks.