This week, Capcom released a detailed analysis of Monster Hunter Wilds’ play data. Bearing the official-sounding name of “The Forbidden Lands White Paper 1,” the Japanese-language report covers player activities after MHW’s April 4 update, and reveals that Hunters have very strong preferences when it comes to the in-game food.
As well as adding new quests and monsters, Monster Hunter Wilds’ free April 4 update introduced the Grand Hub, an area where players can gather and meet up. The Grand Hub also has a canteen, where you can exchange Meal Vouchers for dishes from each region of The Forbidden Lands. Eating a hearty meal in Monster Hunter Wilds gives you various buffs depending on the dish, so the Grand Hub and Meal Vouchers provide a quick way to get your character ready before setting off on quests with other players (without having to trek out to a specific region to eat a particular cuisine). Meal Vouchers can pop up as daily login bonuses or as Arena quest rewards.
As reported by Automaton Japan, the Forbidden Lands White Paper 1 revealed usage data for each of the four regional Meal Vouchers. Spring Kunafa Cuisine was the most popular by far, accounting for a staggering 87.8% of voucher usage. This was distantly followed by Fresh Sild Cuisine (8.2%), Colorful Suja Cuisine (3.5%) and Hot Azuz Cuisine (with only 0.5%).
The report gives a major reason for the Spring Kunafa Cuisine voucher’s landslide victory. Five of these vouchers were given out to players at the time of the April 4 update, and it seems many players used up these freebies. Spring Kunafa Cuisine vouchers have a chance to give one of three buffs, and the report suggests that the Defender Meal (Hi) buff is likely popular with players taking on tough quests as it greatly reduces damage from monster attacks.
An equal number of these regional meal tickets have not been distributed though, which is thought to be why Sild, Suja, and Azuz lag behind so significantly. The data on the Pick-a-Meal Voucher usage gives a much clearer picture of which dishes players actually like and dislike.
As the name suggests, Pick-a-Meal Vouchers allow the player to choose a dish from any region. When using these vouchers, players’ top pick was Hot Azuz Cuisine at 41.3%, followed by Colorful Suja Cuisine (28.3%), Spring Kunafa Cuisine (19%) and Fresh Sild Cuisine (12%).
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapons Tier List
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapons Tier List
The white paper suggests that players chose to chow down on Azuz dishes due to the Tumbler Meal (Hi) buff, which greatly improves evasion. It notes that performing successful Discerning Dodges is particularly important for bow users as it fills up the Trick Arrow Gauge. The second most popular, Colorful Suja Cuisine, is well-suited to offensive players looking to max out their rewards, as bonuses from this cuisine include Caprice Meal (Hi), which ups your attack damage at random intervals, and Exploiter Meal, which increases the rewards you get from destroying monster wounds (you also get the chance to watch your character dig into some huge sushi rolls).
Although players are likely choosing which meals to eat based on the buffs that they give, the Pick-a-Meal coupon usage data has attracted some amusement from players as it seems to suggest that Sild Cuisine is unpopular. Most of the food in Monster Hunter Wilds looks mouth-wateringly delicious, with Kunafa’s banquet cutscene even making some players so hungry that Nepalese restaurants in Japan sold out of cheese naan.
However, due to Sild’s location in the barren ruins of Wyveria, the food is very simple and includes unripe-looking fruits and vegetables, such as white tomatoes and raw garlic bulbs. This stands in stark contrast to the indulgent feasts of the other regions, with the Sild cuisine being deemed “unappetizing” in comparison by players, such as in the following Reddit thread.
It seems that Capcom will release future “White Papers” on Monster Hunter Wilds, so it will be interesting to see if people’s in-game eating habits change in the future. Monster Hunter Wilds just got a new update on May 28, which even adds Street Fighter’s Akuma to the game — here’s what’s new in Version 1.011.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
