Our advice
- Our paper advice: clear the launch events, spend the free recruits, and treat Luka as your first strong pick. Put real money in only after featured pity is confirmed and you know which Adventurer you want.
- A limited banner is not the same as a top pick. Midori headlines the first featured recruitment but sits in B on our main list, so we would not chase Midori with paid recruits on day one.
Is Monster Hunter Outlanders gacha?, step by step
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Claim the launch event rewards first
Event missions after launch hand out recruitment items for more than 400 recruits, and the launch events also bring two SSR Adventurers, Luka and Pyro. Luka sits in S on our main list, so clear these missions before you spend anything.
Step 1: the launch events give items for more than 400 recruits, plus Luka and Pyro. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List -
Learn the two recruitment types
Featured recruitment uses featured contracts, and the first one raises the chance for Midori, a limited SSR. Rotating recruitment uses standard contracts and boosts one standard SSR at a time, starting with Rhodes. Keep the two contract types apart when you plan.
Step 2: featured contracts go to the featured recruitment, standard contracts to the rotating one. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List -
Choose targets from the tier list
Check where a boosted Adventurer ranks before you recruit. On our main list, Rhodes is A tier and Midori is B tier, while Arkaya and Madelyn hold S. The preview does not say when other SSR Adventurers get a boosted rotation.
Step 3: check where a boosted Adventurer ranks before you spend contracts on them. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List -
Read the rates screen before spending money
The official launch preview leaves rates out, but the in-game rates screen shows a 0.6% base rate for an SSR Adventurer. The starter banner guarantees an SSR Adventurer within 50 pulls, and its 10-pull is 20% off. Pity on the featured recruitment is not confirmed yet, so until it is, we would spend only free recruitment items there and hold real money back.
Step 4: the rates screen shows a 0.6% SSR rate, but featured pity is not confirmed, so hold real money for now. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List
Where people get stuck
Recruiting on the featured banner without checking the tier list
A limited SSR is not automatically a top pick. Midori sits in B on our list, so decide whether the kit suits you before spending featured contracts.
Assuming the featured recruitment has a confirmed pity count
Only the starter banner has a confirmed guarantee: the in-game rates screen shows an SSR Adventurer within 50 pulls there. No pity number for the featured recruitment is confirmed yet, so plan as if there is none and treat figures quoted elsewhere with caution.
Skipping the launch event missions
A new player who clears them walks away with two free SSR Adventurers and enough items for over 400 recruits, so finish them before deciding whether to spend anything at all.
How recruitment works at launch
Adventurers in Monster Hunter Outlanders come in two rarity grades, SSR and SR, and you get them through recruitment. The official launch preview describes two kinds at launch.
The featured recruitment uses featured contracts and raises the chance for one limited SSR. The first one is Midori. The rotating recruitment uses standard contracts and boosts one standard SSR at a time; the first rotation features Rhodes.
On top of that, event missions after launch hand out recruitment items for more than 400 recruits, and the launch events bring two SSR Adventurers, Luka and Pyro, to the squad. Our Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list puts Luka in S and Pyro in A, so the free picks are strong ones.
What the official preview leaves out
The preview does not list recruitment rates or pity, but the in-game rates screen does. It shows a 0.6% base rate for an SSR Adventurer, and it shows that the starter banner guarantees an SSR Adventurer within 50 pulls, with its 10-pull at 20% off. Pity on the featured recruitment is still not confirmed, so we give no number for it. The preview also does not say how many featured contracts the free items cover, or when the rotation moves on from Rhodes. We do not guess at any of these. If you see a featured pity count quoted somewhere, check whether it comes from the game itself.
Free to play or pay to win?
The game is free to download with in-app purchases. That is all the official material says about spending, so we will not call it pay to win or free-friendly yet.
What we can say on paper: a free player starts with Luka, one of our S picks, and Pyro, an A pick, plus a large stack of recruits. That is enough to build a working squad of one Adventurer you control and three AI squadmates. For which of the free picks to start with, see our best Adventurers for beginners.
Is Monster Hunter Outlanders gacha?: FAQ
Is Monster Hunter Outlanders a gacha game?
Yes, Monster Hunter Outlanders is a gacha game: Adventurers are recruited in two rarity grades, SSR and SR, through featured and rotating recruitment. The game itself is free to download with in-app purchases.
Is Monster Hunter Outlanders pay to win?
We cannot answer that yet. The official sources only say the game is free to download with in-app purchases, and the in-game rates screen shows a 0.6% SSR Adventurer rate and a 50-pull guarantee on the starter banner, but pity on the featured recruitment is not confirmed. On paper, the free launch rewards already include Luka, an S pick on our list, but how much spending matters will only show once featured pity is confirmed and players report back.
What are the gacha rates in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
In Monster Hunter Outlanders, the in-game rates screen shows a 0.6% base rate for an SSR Adventurer, and the starter banner guarantees an SSR Adventurer within 50 pulls. The starter banner's 10-pull is also 20% off. The official launch preview does not list these numbers, and pity on the featured recruitment is not confirmed yet, so we give no number for it.
Can you play Monster Hunter Outlanders free to play?
Yes, Monster Hunter Outlanders is free to download, and the launch events hand out items for more than 400 recruits plus the SSR Adventurers Luka and Pyro. That gives a free player a solid start without spending.
What is the difference between featured and standard contracts?
Featured contracts are used on the featured recruitment, which raises the chance for a limited SSR, Midori at launch. Standard contracts are used on the rotating recruitment, which boosts one standard SSR at a time, starting with Rhodes.
Who is on the first featured recruitment?
Midori is the target: featured contracts spent there have a better shot at this limited SSR than usual. Midori is a Long Sword Assault and sits in B on our main tier list.
Which Adventurers do you get for free at launch?
The launch events bring Luka and Pyro, both SSR. Luka is S tier and Pyro is A tier on our main list, so the free picks already cover strong ranged and melee damage.