Monster Hunter Rise [MHR]: Complete Controls Guide for Nintendo Switch

Looking to replicate the global success of Monster Hunter: World, Monster Hunter Rise delivers the epic, beast-battling action exclusively to the Nintendo Switch.

Building on the formula of World, Rise features vast open maps, news ways to traverse the environments, plenty of monsters to track, and a new feature known as Wyvern Riding.

While every hunt is unique, with different weapons being better-suited to certain monsters, there are many base actions and techniques that every player must learn to master the challenges of Monster Hunter Rise.

Here, we’re going through all of the Monster Hunter Rise controls that you need to know to play the Switch game.

In this MH Rise controls guide, the left and right analogues of any Nintendo Switch controller layout are listed as (L) and (R), with the d-pad buttons shown as Up, Right, Down, and Left. Pressing either analogue to activate its button is shown as L3 or R3. Single Joy-Con controls are not supported by this game.

Monster Hunter Rise basic controls list

When you’re between quests and setting up your character, these controls will help you to prepare for the next mission.

Monster Hunter Rise quest controls

When you’re out in the wilds of Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll have a huge range of controls to use. It’s important to note the ones that you can and can’t use when your weapon is drawn.

Monster Hunter Rise Wirebug controls

The Wirebug feature is key to the next phase represented by Monster Hunter Rise, being used to traverse the world and initiate the Wyvern Riding mechanic.

Monster Hunter Rise Wyvern Riding controls

Once you’ve applied enough damage to a large monster via Wirebug jumping attacks, Silkbind moves, by using certain Endemic life, or by letting another monster attack, they’ll enter a mountable state. In this state, you can use the Wyvern Riding controls shown below.

Monster Hunter Rise Palamute controls

Along with your trusty Palico, you’ll now be accompanied on your quests by a Palamute. Your canine companion will attack your foes, and you can ride them to get around the area quicker.

Monster Hunter Rise Great Sword controls

Here are the Great Sword controls that you need to utilise the gigantic blades and their charged attacks.

Monster Hunter Rise Long Sword controls

Featuring Spirit Blade attacks, dodges, and counter-attacks, the Long Sword controls offer a more tactical way to engage in melee combat.

Monster Hunter Rise Sword & Shield controls

The Sword & Shield controls offer equal-part defence and offence, with the shields of this weapon class offering a way to block a substantial amount of damage and be used as a weapon.

Monster Hunter Rise Dual Blades controls

With the Dual Blades controls at your disposal, you can quickly cut up any monster, with the class’ Demon Mode further enhancing your speed in attack.

Monster Hunter Rise Hammer controls

Very much the brutish weapon class of Monster Hunter Rise, the hammer controls give you a few different ways to smash your foes.

Monster Hunter Rise Hunting Horn controls

The Hunting Horn controls peg the class as a support weapon to apply buffs to your party, but there are still plenty of ways for the horns to deal damage.

Monster Hunter Rise Lance controls

This weapon class is the next step in defensive gameplay from the Sword & Shield class, with the Lance controls giving you several ways to remain mobile, keep your guard up, and work on the counter.

Monster Hunter Rise Gunlance controls

The Gunlance controls offer you a way to perform ranged and melee attacks, with the unique class giving you a balance between the two.

Monster Hunter Rise Switch Axe controls

The Switch Axe class of weapons allows you to morph between two modes: an Axe Mode and a Sword Mode. The Axe Mode controls offer big heavy hits while the Sword Mode is the faster of the two.

Monster Hunter Rise Charge Blade controls

Like the Switch Axe, the Charge Blade can be used in Sword Mode or Axe Mode, with each mode capable of morphing from one to the other to deal substantial damage.

Monster Hunter Rise Insect Glaive controls

The Insect Glaive weapons allow you to buff your character and go airborne for the fight through the use of the Kinsect controls.

Monster Hunter Rise Light Bowgun controls

A multipurpose long-range weapon, the Light Bowgun controls are best used when you aim-in first, unless you wish to use the melee attack.

Monster Hunter Rise Heavy Bowgun controls

The Heavy Bowgun offers more of a punch than the Light Bowgun, but its controls are very much the same, offering long-ranged attacks and a range of ammunition compatibility.

Monster Hunter Rise Bow controls

The Bow class of weapons offer more mobility than the Bowguns and utilises a range of coatings to adapt the weaponry for the hunt at hand.

How to pause Monster Hunter Rise

Bringing up the menu (+) doesn’t pause your quest in Monster Hunter Rise. However, if you scroll across (Left/Right) to the cogs part of the menu, you can select ‘Pause Game’ to freeze the game.

How to heal in Monster Hunter Rise

To heal in Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll need to access your items bar, scroll across to any of your healing items, and then use the item. First, you’ll need to sheathe your weapon by pressing Y.

So, hold down L to access your equipped items – seen at the bottom right of the screen – and press Y and A to scroll through your items. Then, release L to make the targeted item your active item.

Once it’s set-up and you can see the healing item (likely a Potion or Mega Potion) selected in the bottom right of the screen, press Y to use it and heal your Hunter.

Alternatively, you can walk through the healing sack of a Vigorwasp or find a Green Spiribird – both of which are endemic creatures that grant health boosts.

How to recover the stamina bar in Monster Hunter Rise

Your stamina bar is the yellow bar underneath your green health bar in the top left of the screen. Over the course of a quest, your stamina bar will decrease in its maximum capacity, but it can easily be replenished by eating food.

Steak is the go-to food of Monster Hunter Rise, but if you don’t have any in your inventory, you’ll need to find some in the wild. If you need to top-up your stamina bar, you can hunt some Bombadgy to get raw meat and then cook it on your BBQ Spit.

To cook raw meat, you’ll need to select the BBQ Spit from your item scroll (hold L to open, Y and A to scroll), and then press Y to start cooking. As your character turns the spit, some music will play: you’ll need to pull the food (press A) from the fire before it burns, but not so soon that it’s still raw.

When you start to turn the spit, the handle is at the top. From there, wait for your character to turn the handle three and three-quarters of the way around and then press A to remove. From raw meat, this will give you a well-done steak, which fully restores your stamina.

How to craft items while on a quest in Monster Hunter Rise

If you run out of ammunition, health potions, bombs, or most other items that you’d use on a quest, you can check your Crafting List to see if you have the materials to craft more.

To do this, press + to open the menu and then select ‘Crafting List.’ On the next page, you can use the d-pad buttons to navigate between all of the items. By hovering over each item, you can see what resources you need to craft it and if you have the items available.

With this being available, but there being a cap on how many of each item you can take on a quest, it can be useful to take the raw crafting materials so that you can make more on the go.

How to capture a monster in Monster Hunter Rise

While it’s a lot easier to simply kill the target monster, you can also capture them. Some investigation quests will task you with capturing certain monsters, but you can also capture them to get more bonuses at the end of the hunt.

The easiest way to capture a large monster is to stun them with a Shock Trap and then pelt them with Tranq Bombs. To craft a Shock Trap, you’ll need to combine one Trap Tool with one Thunderbug. For a Tranq Bomb, you need ten Sleep Herbs and ten Parashrooms.

To capture a monster in Monster Hunter Rise, you need to reduce its health to the point that it’s on its last legs. You’ll be able to see this as the monster will limp away from conflict, being noticeably weakened.

At this point, you can either give chase, try to get ahead, and then place the Shock Trap in its path and hope that it walks through. Alternatively, you can track it, hope that it goes to sleep in its nest or elsewhere, and then set the Shock Trap on the monster while it sleeps.

When the monster enters the Shock Trap, you’ll then have a few seconds to tranquilise the beast. So, quickly swap your items (hold L, use Y and A to scroll) to the Tranq Bombs, and then throw several of them at the monster until it goes to sleep.

Once asleep and wrapped in the electricity of the trap, you will have successfully captured the monster.

How to sharpen your blade in Monster Hunter Rise

Under your stamina bar is a multi-coloured bar which represents your weapon’s sharpness. As you use your weapon, its sharpness will degrade, causing it to deal less damage per hit.

So, whenever it drops towards midway, and you’re not in the middle of a battle, you’ll want to sharpen your weapon.

To do this, scroll through your items bar (hold L and use A and Y to navigate) until you reach the Whetstone, release L, and then press Y to use the Whetstone. Sharpening your weapon takes a few seconds, so it’s best to use the Whetstone between encounters.

How to swap equipment on a quest in Monster Hunter Rise

If you’ve turned up to a quest to find that your equipment or armour isn’t suited to the task, you can change your equipment in the Tent. As shown above, the Tent is the large structure found at your base camp. By entering the Tent (A), you can find the ‘Manage Equipment’ option in the Item Box.

How to fast travel in Monster Hunter Rise

To fast travel around a quest area in Monster Hunter Rise, hold – to open the map, press A to activate the fast travel option, hover over the location that you want to fast travel to, and then press A again to confirm the fast travel.

There’s a lot to the Monster Hunter Rise controls, creating an expansive gameplay experience; the controls above should help you to navigate the quests and get to grips with your weapon of choice.

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