Best Adventurers for Solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders 2026

All 13 Adventurers by tier
S Top pick	Strong in almost any solo setup, whether you control them or slot them in as an AI squadmate.
A Strong	Strong solo picks once one condition is met, such as a position, hits taken or squadmates standing close.
B Solid	Workable in a solo squad, but another Adventurer of the same class does the solo job better.
C Niche	A narrow solo pick: a resource trade for the hunter you control and little to add from a squadmate slot.

Best Adventurers for Solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders at a glance

Tier	Adventurers	Type	Weapon
S	Luka	Assault	Bow
S	Arkaya	Support	Lance
S	Ouyang Varen	Assault	Lance
A	Madelyn	Support	Bow
A	Pyro	Assault	Great Sword
A	Pepper	Disruptor	Heavy Bowgun
A	Rhodes	Assault	Hammer
B	Haze	Support	Dual Blades
B	Keres	Disruptor	Dual Blades
B	Midori	Assault	Long Sword
B	Ryunosuke	Support	Long Sword
B	Luxheart	Disruptor	Great Sword
C	Raya	Disruptor	Dual Blades

Illustration of one hunter fighting a monster beside three AI squadmates — Solo play in a full squad: you control one Adventurer while three AI squadmates fight at your side. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List

How each class lands in our solo ranking

Assault 2S 2A 1B

Disruptor 1A 2B 1C

Support 1S 1A 2B

Assault takes two of the three solo S spots, and Pepper is the only Disruptor above B. Chart by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List, from this ranking

Our take

Our day-one solo setup: control Luka, who comes free through the launch events, and fill the three squadmate slots with Arkaya, Madelyn and Ouyang Varen once you have them unlocked.
Hold off on hunting with no squadmates until you read monster attacks well. With empty slots, a shield or buff that could cover four Adventurers covers only the one you control.

How we rank Monster Hunter Outlanders adventurers

Self-sufficiency: How much the Adventurer you control does through its own kit: damage that shows up without waiting on a squadmate, and a loop that keeps running however the AI plays.
Safety as the controlled hunter: You steer one Adventurer, and no source says how AI squadmates react to your mistakes. Range, a strong guard and high mobility score here, because they make a misread cost less.
AI squadmate value: What the kit adds from one of the three squadmate slots, on paper. Effects that reach the whole squad score highest. How well the AI plays each kit is not confirmed yet, so we do not guess at it.

Why each adventurer is in its tier

S Strong in almost any solo setup, whether you control them or slot them in as an AI squadmate.

All three do their job without relying on how the AI plays. Luka keeps distance with very high mobility and piercing arrows, so the Adventurer you control stays out of reach. Ouyang Varen can block what Luka would dodge, which makes the Lance a steady melee choice for the hunter you control. Arkaya earns S here mainly as a squadmate: in the closed beta tests, Arkaya's shield reached every squad member, and that includes the Adventurer you control.

Luka: Very mobile Bow damage from range, and the launch events hand Luka over for free. Our pick for the Adventurer you control.
Arkaya: Best in a squadmate slot: the shield reached the whole squad in the closed beta tests. Testers there report low damage.
Ouyang Varen: A strong guard plus Impetus-powered thrusts. Safe to control yourself and a sturdy melee body in a squadmate slot.

A Strong solo picks once one condition is met, such as a position, hits taken or squadmates standing close.

Each of these four does well solo on paper, but each needs something first. Madelyn's Spore boost only reaches allies close to the detonation, and no source yet says whether AI squadmates stay close. Pyro builds very high burst by taking hits, a risk that sits with you whenever Pyro is the Adventurer you control. Pepper needs to go airborne for rapid fire, and Rhodes has to charge up before the explosion, though Hammer head hits can stun and buy openings.

Madelyn: Medicines and Spore boosts for allies close by. Strong in theory as a squadmate, but AI positioning is still unconfirmed.
Pyro: Very high burst ends solo fights sooner, but Pyro has to take hits to build it. Free through the launch events.
Pepper: Heavy Bowgun shots from a safe distance suit the hunter you control. Rapid fire needs an airborne start first.
Rhodes: Stored energy turns into big explosions, and Hammer head hits can stun. No guard, so a misread costs more with Rhodes in your hands.

B Workable in a solo squad, but another Adventurer of the same class does the solo job better.

These five can handle a solo hunt, yet a classmate covers it with less risk or setup. Haze and Ryunosuke are Supports whose kits list nothing for allies, so Arkaya and Madelyn give a squad more from that class. Keres stays close with Dual Blades and Luxheart juggles Heat stances, where Pepper offers Disruptor damage from range with less to manage. Midori leans on evasion and timing, while Luka and Ouyang Varen give an Assault more safety as the hunter you control.

Haze: Archdemon Mode parries help when attacks come your way, but they only work in some situations and nothing reaches squadmates.
Keres: Relentless close-range combos keep damage up when Keres is in your hands, but there is no guard or ranged option when a hunt goes wrong.
Midori: Evasive Long Sword play with a faster Spirit Gauge. Fine to control, but the payoff rides on timing.
Ryunosuke: Well-fed Spirit Blade attacks hit much harder, but the eating step takes practice and nothing in the kit reaches squadmates.
Luxheart: Heat-driven stance changes and a stored-energy volley. A lot to juggle, with nothing listed for squadmates.

C A narrow solo pick: a resource trade for the hunter you control and little to add from a squadmate slot.

Raya spends stamina to speed up the Demon Gauge, an agile, dodge-heavy style that suits a narrow group of players. The payoff stays with Raya, so a squadmate slot gets little from it, and as the Adventurer you control the stamina trade asks for careful play. Raya suits players who already enjoy that kind of resource juggling.

Raya: Agile dodging helps, but on paper spending stamina for Demon Gauge leaves less in reserve, and nothing reaches squadmates.

Full notes on the Best Adventurers for Solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders

How solo hunting works

On this page, solo means one player with the default three AI squadmates, and the ranking assumes that default. You control one Adventurer, either your custom Fated Adventurer or any Adventurer you have unlocked, and three more fight beside you under automatic control. The custom hero can also take one of those squadmate slots. Squadmates are optional, so you can also empty the slots and face a monster by yourself; that case gets its own section below.

That splits solo play into two questions: who you control, and who fills the other three slots. Our Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list judges overall value for any squad. This page ranks the same 13 Adventurers for the default solo setup, so some of them sit higher or lower here.

Our solo setup: one control pick, three squadmates

On paper, the strongest solo line-up puts Luka in your hands and Arkaya, Madelyn and Ouyang Varen in the squadmate slots. Luka handles damage from range and moves fast enough to stay clear of most trouble. Arkaya brings the shield: in the closed beta tests, every squad member gained it whenever Arkaya did, the Adventurer you control included. Madelyn adds medicines and a Spore boost for allies close by, but no source yet says whether AI squadmates gather near each other, so treat that boost as a bonus rather than a plan. Ouyang Varen adds a guarded Lance up front.

One tester reports that class-based squadmate skills only work for the three Adventurers you are not controlling. If that holds now that the game is live, it is one more reason to keep Support picks such as Arkaya and Madelyn in squadmate slots rather than controlling them yourself.

If you hunt with friends instead of AI squadmates, the Monster Hunter Outlanders best team page covers full line-ups. New players should also look at our best Adventurers for beginners, which ranks the roster by how forgiving each kit is.

Hunting with no squadmates

Everything above assumes the default three AI squadmates. Leaving all three slots empty changes the picture, and what follows is our on-paper reading, not a tested result.

With nobody else in the hunt, we expect every attack to come at the one Adventurer you control. That makes Pyro’s trade of taking hits for burst riskier, since no squadmate shares the monster’s attention. Arkaya’s shield then protects only Arkaya, and Madelyn’s Spore boost reaches only Madelyn, so both Supports lose most of what puts them high on this page. Testers in the closed beta also report low personal damage for Arkaya, which we expect to matter more when no one else is hitting.

Luka and Ouyang Varen should hold their value best, one by staying out of reach and the other by blocking. Rhodes can still end fights quickly, but the Hammer cannot guard. We also expect the Co-Op Skill to drop out, since it needs other squad members to strike the same monster part.

What we will check now that the game is live

The game went live on October 28, 2026 at 22:00 UTC (October 29 in Asia). These are the solo questions we want answered first:

How well AI squadmates play each kit, and whether they stay close enough to catch Madelyn’s Spore boost.
Whether Arkaya’s shield still reaches the whole squad the way it did in the closed beta tests.
How often Rhodes lands head stuns when Rhodes is the Adventurer you control.

Every move up or down will go into the changelog at the bottom of this page, with the date and the reason.

Illustration of a lone hunter facing a monster with no squadmates — True solo: squadmates are optional, so you can face a monster with nobody else in the hunt. Illustration by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List

Who this adventurer tier list is for

New players

New and playing solo? Control Luka, who comes free through the launch events, and keep all three squadmate slots filled. Hunting with no squadmates can wait until you read monster attacks well.

Experienced players

For true solo, Ouyang Varen and Luka have the most built-in safety on paper. Pyro and Rhodes add faster kills for players who can take the extra risk of having no one beside them.

Best Adventurers for Solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders changes

v1.0.9 · Oct 29, 2026

Ryunosuke C → B. With the default three AI squadmates, the eating setup is no harder here than anywhere else; Arkaya and Madelyn simply do the Support job better.
Luxheart C → B. With AI squadmates in the hunt, juggling Heat stances is no riskier than on other lists; Pepper covers Disruptor damage with less to manage.

Best Adventurers for Solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders FAQ

Who is the best Adventurer for solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders?

On paper, Luka is the best Adventurer for solo in Monster Hunter Outlanders: a very mobile Bow user who deals damage from range without depending on how the AI squadmates play. Arkaya and Ouyang Varen share our solo S tier.

Can you play Monster Hunter Outlanders solo?

Yes, you can play Monster Hunter Outlanders solo, either with three automatically controlled squadmates beside the Adventurer you control or with no squadmates at all. One closed beta player also reports finishing the game with the custom hero while SR Adventurers came along as AI squadmates.

Which AI squadmates should I bring solo?

On paper, bring Arkaya, Madelyn and Ouyang Varen as your three AI squadmates. Arkaya's shield reached every squad member in the closed beta tests, Madelyn adds medicines and an ally boost, and Ouyang Varen adds a guarded melee body. Whether AI squadmates stand close enough for Madelyn's boost is not confirmed yet.

Can the Fated Adventurer be an AI squadmate?

Yes. Any unlocked Adventurer can be the one you control, and your custom hero can sit in one of the squadmate slots instead.

Who is best with no squadmates at all?

Luka and Ouyang Varen, on paper. Luka avoids hits with range and mobility, and Ouyang Varen can block them with a strong guard, which we expect to matter most when no squadmate shares the monster's attention.

Do squadmate skills work for the Adventurer I control?

One tester reports that they do not: class-based squadmate skills only work for the three Adventurers you are not controlling. In that report, the Assault skill deals a burst of damage when the monster is suppressed, and the Support skill charges every Adventurer ultimate when skill 3 lands.

Is solo the same as online co-op?

Not quite. Four-player hunts with other players are part of the game, but no source yet says how control works online. We expect each player to control their own Adventurer, which is not confirmed.

Written and reviewed by Monster Hunter Outlanders Tier List Team on Oct 29, 2026. First published Oct 29, 2026. Spot an error? Tell us and we will log the fix on our corrections page.

Sources

Official sources we checked facts against, all on Oct 28, 2026. The writing and the rankings are our own.