Patch 1.041 is Monster Hunter Wilds’ biggest send-off before the DLC era, packing in a permanent Arch-Tempered Arkveld event, new 10-star Arch-Tempered hunts, a Monster Hunter Stories 3 collaboration side mission, chunky performance optimizations, expanded offline event access, and a sweeping round of quality-of-life and bug fixes. It’s a hefty download, and an even heftier to-do list for hunters ready to close out the base game with a bang.
Let’s start with the headliners. Capcom’s thrown down the gauntlet by promoting Arkveld to Arch-Tempered status as a permanent event quest, and it’s clearly meant to be your final exam. If you’ve been itching for endgame pacing, the patch also unlocks multiple 10-star hunts featuring Arch-Tempered variants of Rey Dau, Uth Duna, Nu Udra, and Jin Dahaad. These aren’t one-and-done time-limited trials either; the new quests are sticking around, excellent for dialing in builds and helping friends climb into proper endgame gear without fear of missing the window.
The crossover energy continues with a special Monster Hunter Stories 3 side mission, A Royal Request, which pops once you’re HR 9 or higher. It’s a smart send-off: a lore-flavored bite that nudges you back into the loop with unique rewards without overcomplicating the meta. Alongside it, Love for a Hero adds a character-driven detour after finishing Ghosts Pay No Heed to Tomorrow. It’s a nice shake-up for the late-game rhythm, especially if you’ve been living in the assignment queue.
On the gear front, expect fresh equipment, pendants, and a valuable new appraisal path: Timeworn Charms. These appraisal items roll from quest rewards and increase your odds at high-rarity talismans when used. Importantly, nothing about existing talisman attributes has changed—this is an acquisition boost, not a stat rebalance. If you’ve been chasing that one perfect skill combination for weeks, Timeworn Charms are your new obsession.
Endgame crafters also get a bump with a Melding Pot upgrade that accepts Gogma materials, opening more routes to finish your dream setups. Meanwhile, the Ingredient Center gains a post-HR 9 feature that periodically spits out random ingredients, a subtle but welcome nudge to keep you cooking with better buffs without a dozen loading screens between harvest runs.
Out in the world, the team expanded Pop-Up Camp capacity across the Windward Plains, Scarlet Forest, and Oilwell Basin. Once you’ve cleared Germination, chat with the Pop-Up Camp Meowster or the Support Desk to unlock the higher limits. If you enjoy high-tempo farming or multi-monster routes, this is a meaningful difference-maker—fewer long treks, more action.
Barrel Bowling got a mini-rework that actually makes it… kind of great? You can retry immediately from the results screen, spend 10 vouchers at once to instantly claim the full reward batch, and toss your second barrel while the first is still scoring. The Blossom Barrel Bomb now behaves differently from the standard Large Barrel Bomb, and new pin patterns have been added, so it’s worth relearning your muscle memory. Overall, the minigame feels less clunky and more like a quick dopamine machine between hunts.
Performance and stability took center stage too. Internally, the game now better scales 3D model LODs, precaches repeatable effects, and optimizes both monster and endemic life spawning. The result is lower CPU/GPU load and smoother hunts, especially when chaos breaks loose and a dozen particle effects are firing at once. PC users and console performance mode players should notice fewer dips in heated moments.
A big accessibility and convenience pass snuck in as well:
- Event quests now communicate offline status more clearly on the accept and join screens.
- The Quest Counter remembers the last departure point for “Quest Last Played.”
- The SOS Flare search results list has a new Refresh button.
- Thai has been added as a text language, and Latin American Spanish joins the voice language options.
- Favorited Items Safeguard can lock confirmations to prevent burning prized items by mistake.
- Shared loadouts and Smithy screens got smart shortcuts to reduce menu labyrinths.
- Approaching Werner or Gemma is clearer visually, helping you stop mixing them up with their tools in the field.
- Nine formerly online-only permanent event quests are now fully playable offline, and nearly thirty material-yielding event quests have been made permanent and offline as well.
Even the Handler got some love, with adjustments to stop them nudging you mid-hunt and an option to hide them completely during quests if you prefer a cleaner HUD and fewer interruptions.
If you’re stepping into Arch-Tempered Arkveld or the new 10-star rotations, preparation is everything:
- Rethink resistances: These fights punish single-minded offense. Slot in skills that stabilize your sustain—think sustained healing, stagger resistance, and situational elemental coverage tied to each monster’s nastiest tricks.
- Sharpen your social play: Coordinated interrupts during big AOEs can be the difference between a clean win and a triple-cart. Bring builds that complement your team, not just your weapon.
- Exploit Timeworn Charms: Run target quests that yield the most appraisal rolls per hour. It’s not a sprint; it’s a pipeline. Build a charm-farming loop around your comfort hunts.
- Camps matter: With expanded Pop-Up Camps, rework your routes. Place fast restock points ahead of arenas known for attrition phases to turn wipes into recoveries.
The bug fix list is long and quietly crucial. Turf wars now resolve consistently across players, monster weak points and arena transitions behave more predictably, and multiple issues tied to Gogmazios and Jin Dahaad encounters have been cleaned up to prevent softlocks and odd edge cases. Weapon-specific fixes cover Sword and Shield item behavior, a Dual Blades aerial Focus Strike quirk on Gogmazios, and an unintended elemental display on certain bowguns. Skill icons show correct effects, traps are less finicky in the Windward Plains, and a rare double-spawn of Elderbreaker cannons during Gogmazios has been squashed.
Support Hunters saw major polish, with better positioning during huge AOEs, correct target priorities in multi-monster chaos, and smarter behavior during set-piece moments like Delta Attacks. They’ll also make fewer questionable choices like carving at the worst times or drifting off angles during shield phases.
Cosmetics and UI got their share of TLC too: decoration pattern thickness now adjusts correctly for the Whitewing Caparison, voice lines trigger more reliably, dangling text issues were corrected, and if you’ve been drowning in add-ons, startup load times should be noticeably faster after this update. Reinforcement logic for Artian and Gogma Artian weapons also received a fix to prevent unintended performance spikes from bonus combinations.
There’s also a fresh special environment quest waiting if you’ve cleared the trio of existing ones and proved yourself against Arch-Tempered Arkveld at 10-star difficulty. Treat it as a mastery lap—something to validate all the work you’ve put into charms, camps, and team coordination.
One understated win here is the commitment to permanence. Making more event quests always-available and playable offline isn’t just convenient; it respects your time. If you took a break or you’re onboarding friends, you won’t be punished by a rotating calendar. It’s a philosophy shift that makes Wilds feel more evergreen as it hands the baton to the upcoming DLC.
If you’re deciding where to start:
- Clear A Royal Request for the collab rewards and warm-up.
- Slot a charm-farming loop using Timeworn Charms.
- Set up new Pop-Up Camps and rebuild your hunt routes.
- Take on Arch-Tempered Arkveld with a team that can interrupt, heal, and control space.
- Knock out the new 10-star hunts, then chase the special environment quest for the capstone challenge.
Patch 1.041 doesn’t reinvent Monster Hunter Wilds, but it absolutely finalizes it. It brings the challenge ceiling up, cleans the foundation, and widens the on-ramp for returning hunters just in time for the DLC cycle. Whether you’re min-maxing talismans, speedrunning new routes, or just here for some collab-flavored fun before the expansion, this patch has something to keep you sharpening. Now get out there—Arkveld isn’t going to temper itself.
