Monster Hunter World guide: Assigned quests, investigations, bounties and expeditions

Monster Hunter: World has a ton going on. From the crowded HUD to the innumerable crafting items to the giant, roaming monsters, it’s hard to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing at any given point. Understanding your options, though, will help you filter out the distractions and decide what to do next.

In this guide, we’ll talk about the four main activities you can undertake while exploring Monster Hunter: World. These four activities form the core of the gameplay. An assigned quest has more going than an investigation quest. A bounty has a goal, while an expedition is open-ended. They’re all interlinked and interwoven. You’ll take them on at different points (or at the same time) and for different reasons.

Assigned quests

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Assigned quests are your main story missions. They’re hard to miss, mostly because there’s always someone yelling at you about starting the next one. The quest-giver or start point is marked with a big red icon, and you’ll have a tracker in the top right corner of your HUD. Assigned quests are how you do your job as a hunter of monsters for the Commission and progress through the game. These quests open up new areas, introduce new monsters and unlock new gear and content for vendors.

Check out our Monster Hunter: World assigned quests guide for a more in-depth look.

Investigation quests

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Any time you’re out in the world, you’ll find things like footprints, mucus, skidmarks or feathers. Examining these monster-leavings as you pass will do two things: earn you research points and unlock new investigation quests. Investigation quests are a sort of themed mini-quest you undertake for the resource center that have a specific, monster-related goal like “hunt one of these,” “capture one of those” or “slay 10 of that.” In addition to anything you pick up or carve off of monsters over the course of your investigation quest, you’ll get additional — usually rare, useful or valuable — items as a reward.

Check out our Monster Hunter: World investigation quests guide for a more in-depth look.

Bounties

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Generally, bounties are like investigation quests, but for the collectible crafting materials that you find all over Monster Hunter: World. You get to keep everything you collect while completing bounties. While it’s always useful to collect items, completing bounties by visiting the resource center after you’ve met the requirement gives you something much more useful — armor spheres. Use armor spheres at the workshop to upgrade and improve your armor.

Check out our Monster Hunter: World bounties guide for a more in-depth look.

Expeditions

Expedition is just a fancy way of saying “not in the city.” You leave on an expedition any time you leave the city through one of the gates or when you wander off after completing an investigation quest. Expeditions are about exploration, practice and collecting stuff. There’s no goal and no success or failure in an expedition. It’s the term for when you’re out in the open worth without having posted a quest.

Check out our Monster Hunter: World expeditions guide for a more in-depth look.