Monster Hunter Wilds Focus Mode Guide

The Focus Mode is a new combat mechanic introduced in Monster Hunter Wilds, and this detailed guide explains all aspects of it.

Monster Hunter Wilds has made significant improvements over its past iterations. Almost every weapon has a new exclusive mechanic, that further improves the already existing dynamic combat. The Focus Mode is a new combat element that has been introduced to the game. This special mechanic is available to all weapons, and it helps greatly during combat against all monsters.

The Focus Mode encourages the idea of “tenderizing” a wound in a monster, which can then be exploited to deal a massive amount of damage. Since this is a new mechanic, veteran hunters might also struggle to understand it initially. In this guide, we will explain the Focus Mode in Monster Hunter Wilds, and how you can use this to your advantage during fights.

What is the Focus Mode in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Monster Hunter Wilds Focus Mode gives you a crosshair and highlights the weak spots of the monster. — Focus Mode gives you a crosshair and highlights the weak spots of the monster (Image via Capcom)

The Focus Mode has two functions in Monster Hunter Wilds:

It highlights the injured or weakened area(s) of a monster’s body.
It allows you to change the direction of your attack.

Although you can use these two functions individually, combining them is how you can get the maximum value out of the Focus Mode. The execution is simple – use the Focus Mode to look at the injured areas, and then direct your attack at that spot. At the same time, you can also use the crosshair feature only to give a direction to your attacks.

Attacking weak spots of monsters does more damage in Monster Hunter Wilds. — Left: Attacking weak point || Right: Attacking normally (Image via Capcom)

When you enter the Focus Mode in Monster Hunter Wilds, you will first and foremost see a crosshair. You can direct your attack to a particular spot or in a general direction by aiming your crosshair in the desired direction. Secondly, if you have dealt significant damage to the monster, the Focus Mode will highlight the injury with a red glow. Once you see this glow, you can aim the crosshair at this spot and unleash an attack. Hitting an injured area will deal more damage than normal attacks.

How To Play With Friends in Monster Hunter Wilds

What is Focus Strike in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Focus Strike in Monster Hunter Wilds ends in a special attack with a special animation. — Focus Strike for Dual Blades ends with the Demon Flight attack (Image via Capcom)

If you hit an injured area of a monster while in Focus Mode, the attack becomes a Focus Strike. Using Focus Strike on a wound will make it explode and deal massive damage. If you execute a Focus Strike, it will translate to a special move with a special animation. However, this weakened area is either destroyed or resets that wound after using this special attack.

You can tenderize this same area by repeatedly hitting it and eventually using Focus Strike. This is a great way to target specific parts of a monster if you are trying to farm them for crafting purposes.

Monster Hunter Wilds Dual Blades: Weapon Guide

How Does Focus Strike Work for Each Weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Your gameplay style in MonHun titles is determined by the weapon that you wield. As such, Focus Strike’s effect for each weapon is different in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Weapon	What Focus Strike Does
Greatsword	A drag-and-slash attack from the first weak point that has a slight knockback effect on the monster.
Longsword	Raises the longsword and does a very fast slash down and up, in a “V” pattern.
Sword and Shield	Latches on to the targetted wound dealing some damage and then does a shield upper-cut followed by a shield slam.
Dual Blades	Latches on to the point of contact, dealing two dash strikes, before swinging around and executing a Demon Flight full body attack.
Hammer	A spinning attack that hits thrice, followed by a last semi upper-cut that has a knockback effect.
Hunting Horn	A spinning attack that hits thrice, followed by a last semi-upper-cut that has a knockback effect.
Lance	Shield bash that continues to a ram, followed by a massive lance attack.
Gunlance	A continuous spinning lance attack that ends in a small gunfire explosion.
Switch Axe	Five axe swings, followed by one sword attack at close range.
Charge Blade	Three sword lunges that ends in axe-mode where the blade spins to deal massive damage.
Insect Glaive	Singular poke damage with glaive followed by a projectile insect shot.
Light Bowgun	Singular charged shot to injured area.
Heavy Bowgun	Singular charged shot to the injured area.
Bow	Shoots an arrow into the air that rains a flurry of arrows on the monster. Next, charges an attack that shoots multiple arrows to hit all weak points of the monster.