As you play throughMonster Hunter Stories, you’ll very quickly notice some areas of the world you can’t access quite yet. Whether it’s ivy you can’t climb, rocks you can’t break, or water you can’t enter, there are roadblocks to be solved with your Monsties' riding actions.
Each of your Monsties will know up to two Monstie riding actions, and each one offers a unique new ability you can use out in the world to help better explore and find what you’re looking for. You’ll need to keep the right Monsties in your party in certain areas to help navigate.
Monster Riding Actions, Explained
As you select your Monsties and check their status inMonster Hunter Stories, you’ll notice thateach monster has one or two “Riding Actions"listed in their information. Each monster will have at least one Riding Action, while others will occasionally have two.
Which one they’ll use depends on the situation. You can use these abilities toreach new areas of the map, which are often the home to plenty of resourcesand hidden Poogies, as well assimplify your hunting expeditionswith abilities like ones that help locate monsters or their nests.
If you have a Monstie in your party who can handle an environmental block, but they’re not your active monster, Navirou will ask if you’d like to switch out when you interact with the environment that requires their ability. You’ll swap immediately if you agree. This makes them your lead Monstie, so be mindful in battles!
In the table below, you’ll find a list ofdifferent Monster Abilities, descriptions ofwhat they dowhen used in exploration, and a list ofmonsters that may know this ability.
Pings the area and highlights nearby bugs on your map.
Barroth
Dash
Allows you to run in a relatively straight line at much higher speeds. You can choose to stop when you’d like, or you’ll stop when you hit a wall.
Tigrex
Fly
Take to the skies and reach higher areas in your environment than with jump.
Rathian
Ground Dive
Stand in highlighted rock formations and dig your way underground, often for resources and Poogies.
Arzuros
Ivy Climb
Skitters up sections of hanging ivy to allow you to climb to cliffside platforms too high to jump.
Jump
Your Monstie will leap off the ground and be able to access areas too high for your Rider on their own.
Velocidrome
Monster Call
If there’s a monster nearbyyou’d like to fight, mimic its cry to call it over to you to begin the battle.
Pings the area and highlights nearby monsters on your map.
Pings the area and highlights nearby mushrooms on your map.
Pings the area and highlightsnearby Monster Denson your map.
Plant Search
Pings the area and highlights nearby flowers and plant life on your map.
Popo
Roar
Scares off weaker monsters to avoid unwanted battles as you pass through, but might aggro stronger monsters - use at your own risk!
Red Khezu
Rock Breaker
Smashes rocks, enabling passage through previously inaccessible areas. You’ll see these rocks often in monster dens, offering access to plenty of good resources before moving into the egg nest itself.
Yian Kut-Ku
Stealth
Become temporarily invisible to sneak past monsters, provided they haven’t already seen you.
Shrouded Nercylla
Swim
Crosses bodies of water, able to battle the monsters within while crossing.
Royal Ludroth
Zamtrios
Color variants of these monsters most often have the same Monster Abilities, plus the stat boost that comes with the rarer colorway.
