Monster Hunter Wilds‘ Title Update 4 is almost live, and even if new monsters are part of the package, this update is really about something much bigger.
Beyond new hunts and high-rank challenges, Capcom is rolling out major CPU and GPU optimizations, a ton of weapon balance changes, and a long list of quality-of-life improvements that should make the game feel faster, smoother, and overall better for everyone.
When Title Update 4 Goes Live
- Release time:
Monday, Dec 15 at 8:00 PM PT
Tuesday, Dec 16 at 4:00 AM GMT - Maintenance period:
Dec 15, 3:50 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Dec 15, 11:50 PM – Dec 16, 4:00 AM GMT
During maintenance, online play will be unavailable, but offline play will still work. Once maintenance ends, you will need to update the game before reconnecting online. Make sure you also have enough free space before the update goes live:
- PS5: ~11 GB
- Xbox Series X|S: ~10 GB
- Steam: ~12 GB
(+ ~9 GB for the High-Resolution Texture Pack)
A Big Focus on Performance and Stability
The biggest takeaway from Title Update 4 is just how much of it is dedicated to performance. Capcom says the update includes over 100 internal optimizations, affecting:
- Player and monster behavior
- Effects and animations
- UI processing
- Collision handling
- Camera and movement stability
In practical terms, this should mean better frame consistency, less unnecessary processing during combat, and fewer hiccups when things get chaotic on screen. Communication error handling has also been improved, allowing movement and camera control to remain usable instead of completely locking up in some situations.
Weapon Buffs for Everyone
This is not a small balance pass. Nearly every weapon type sees improvements, with a strong focus on better chain attacks, faster transitions, and higher raw and elemental damage.
Some of the most important changes include:
- Great Sword: Stronger charged slashes with higher damage output
- Lance & Gunlance: Increased thrust damage and better Perfect Guard chaining
- Dual Blades: Lower sharpness costs, smoother dodging, and more consistent Demon Mode
- Switch Axe, Charge Blade, Insect Glaive: Faster transitions and easier combo flow
- Bowguns & Bow: Faster shots, better damage scaling, and shorter cooldowns
On top of that, elemental damage caps have been raised, Perfect Guard chaining is more forgiving, and many small animation issues have been adjusted. Overall, combat should feel both stronger and more fluid, especially during hunts that can last quite long.
New Monsters and High-Rank Challenges
Of course, it would not be a title update without new hunts. Title Update 4 adds:
- Gogmazios, unlockable via an extra mission for players at HR 100+
- Arch-tempered Jin Dahaad, arriving later as an Event Quest
- New 9★ Tempered Monsters, including Doshaguma
- Tempered Rathalos (9★) now appearing in Scarlet Forest and Oilwell Basin for HR 100+ hunters
Multi-target quests also get adjusted minimum time requirements, affecting some saved investigations.
More Support, Smarter AI
Support Hunters are getting noticeable improvements:
- Buffed stats for HR 50+ content
- Better AI responsiveness and combat behavior
- Fixes for fainting after quests or ignoring certain monsters
Several existing Support Hunters, including Olivia, Rosso, Mina, and Kai, benefit from these changes, and on top of that, new Support Hunters like Griffin, Nightmist, and the limited-time Nadia become available after completing “A Hunter’s Pride.“
Seikret also sees improvements, with better item usage, faster recovery after evasions, and fixes to auto-summon behavior.
Quality-Of-Life Changes
There is a long list of QoL updates, but some of the most impactful include:
- Better quest sorting and filtering at the Quest Counter
- A new “Quest Last Played” shortcut
- Clearer monster icons, rewards, and difficulty indicators
- Improved weapon sorting, reinforcement, and dismantling menus
- Training Area reset options
- Equipment loadouts now save hair design data
- Layered armor filtering by α / β types
A lot of changes that add up quickly when you are playing daily.
Seasonal Event and Smithy Updates
The Winter Festival of Accord runs from December 19, 2025 to January 14, 2026, bringing temporary rewards, music, outfits, and canteen changes.
The Smithy also gets meaningful updates, including:
- Gogma Artian weapon upgrades
- New Transcendent Armor upgrades
- Increased Smelting Points from select monster materials
Important Note for PC Players Using Mods
Capcom has also shared a clear warning for PC players. Title Update 4 includes significant internal processing changes, meaning unofficial mods are not guaranteed to work and may cause crashes or prevent the game from launching. If issues occur, players are advised to:
- Fully uninstall mods
- Verify game file integrity
- Relaunch the game before reconnecting online
For stability, Capcom also recommends:
- NVIDIA GeForce drivers 581.57 or higher
- AMD Radeon drivers 25.9.1 or higher
(Versions 25.10.2 and above may cause issues)
Title Update 4 is going to be one of the most important updates Monster Hunter Wilds has received so far. Between the performance optimizations, widespread weapon buffs, smarter AI, and meaningful QoL improvements, this is the kind of update that makes the entire game feel better to play.
And honestly, that might matter more than any single new monster.
You can read over the complete patch notes on the official website, or check out our latest news for more information!
