The Guiding Lands is a crucial endgame area in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. It’s designed to provide a long-lasting challenge and a place to acquire unique materials. If you’re wondering How To Unlock Guiding Lands and make the most of it, this guide is for you.
What are the Guiding Lands?
The Guiding Lands is a post-story expedition area accessible after you defeat the final boss in Iceborne. This special island consists of four distinct regions, each mirroring zones from the main game:
- Forest Region: Resembling the Ancient Forest.
- Wildspire Region: Similar to the Wildspire Waste.
- Coral Region: Based on the Coral Highlands.
- Rotted Region: Reminiscent of the Rotten Vale.
These interconnected regions allow monsters from different environments to interact. Each region has its own level, raised by tracking and hunting monsters, up to Level 7. Your Master Rank (MR) gates your region levels, making MR increases essential for Guiding Lands progression. Raising one region’s level can lower others, making it difficult to max them all simultaneously. You can invite other players to your Guiding Lands or join theirs, with the island reflecting the host’s progress.
Gaining Access: How to Unlock the Guiding Lands
Your initial Guiding Lands visit is part of a post-campaign event. After that, access it via the “Guiding Lands” option on the quest board. The board previews monsters likely to appear on each visit. Multiple players can explore the Guiding Lands together, with the host’s progress dictating the island’s state.
Why Visit the Guiding Lands?
There are two main reasons: monster unlocks and exclusive materials.
Unlocking Monsters
Leveling up regions attracts new monsters, including those absent from the original World maps. Some key monsters unlocked in the Guiding Lands include:
- Zinogre: Appears after a special cutscene during your first visit. Tracks initially appear as question marks. Regularly appears in the Forest Region at Level 3.
Zinogre in Monster Hunter World Iceborne Guiding Lands Forest Region
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Yian Garuga: Regularly appears in the Forest Region at Level 3. Its Assigned Quest may appear around Master Rank 39.
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Scarred Garuga: This tempered Yian Garuga appears in the Forest Region at Level 6, unlocked after reaching Master Rank 69. It may appear via an investigation or as a question mark on the quest board.
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Gold Rathian: Can appear in the Wildspire Region at Level 6.
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Silver Rathalos: Can appear in the Coral Region at Level 6.
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Brute Tigrex: Appears in the Rotted Region at Level 6.
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Ruiner Nergigante: Starts appearing once you reach Master Rank 99.
To trigger the appearance of these special monsters at Level 6 or 7, leave and re-enter the Guiding Lands after leveling up a region. Check the Resource Center for Investigations. If none appear, complete a quest and revisit the Guiding Lands to see if a question mark appears on the Monster List. Repeat if necessary.
Gathering Exclusive Materials
The Guiding Lands is the primary source for materials needed to upgrade Master Rank weapons and augment them.
Materials and Monsters
Each region offers specific monster drops, essential for weapon upgrades and augmentations. The types of monsters that appear depend on the region’s level. Monster bones found in bone gathering areas are also crucial for augmenting. Equip your Palico with the Plunderblade to increase your chances of getting monster drops.
Tips for Leveling Regions
Leveling and re-leveling regions can be tedious. Here are some tips to optimize the process:
- Team Up: Coordinate with friends, each focusing on leveling a specific region. The player with the leveled region can host Guiding Lands sessions for targeted hunts.
- Unlock Investigations: Gather tracks and break monster parts to unlock Investigations. This allows you to hunt monsters even when their region levels are down. Note that monsters hunted via Investigations do not drop special Guiding Lands materials, so prioritize gathering those when the region is leveled up. Scarred Garuga is an exception and does not have its own special armor.
- Lure Monsters: Look for “Signs of a Turf War” or special tracks in the Guiding Lands. Completing these allows you to lure specific monsters.
- Utilize Campsites: Take advantage of the extra campsite in Area 3 of the Guiding Lands, located just north of the number “3” on your map.
Understanding how to unlock Guiding Lands is the first step. By following these tips, you can efficiently level regions, unlock monsters, and acquire the materials needed to enhance your gear.
