Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Team at a glance
| Tier | Adventurers | Type | Weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Madelyn | Support | Bow |
| S | Arkaya | Support | Lance |
| A | Luka | Assault | Bow |
| A | Ouyang Varen | Assault | Lance |
| A | Haze | Support | Dual Blades |
| A | Pepper | Disruptor | Heavy Bowgun |
| B | Pyro | Assault | Great Sword |
| B | Keres | Disruptor | Dual Blades |
| B | Rhodes | Assault | Hammer |
| B | Luxheart | Disruptor | Great Sword |
| B | Ryunosuke | Support | Long Sword |
| C | Midori | Assault | Long Sword |
| C | Raya | Disruptor | Dual Blades |
Where each class lands in our co-op ranking
Our take
- These squad builds are paper plans drawn from the official profiles. We have not hunted with them yet. Servers opened on October 28, 2026 at 22:00 UTC (October 29 in Asia), and now that the game is live we will report back.
- If your group agrees on one rule, make it this: pick a monster part and stay on it. The Co-Op Skill fails unless the others hit the same part, so focus matters more than flashy combos.
How we rank Monster Hunter Outlanders adventurers
- Team value
- How much a kit does for the other three squad members: AI squadmates when you play solo, and, as we expect online, other players. A stated ally boost earns full marks, and so does a squad-wide shield seen in the closed beta tests.
- Co-Op Skill fit
- The Co-Op Skill draws on one shared energy pool, and once a hunter fires it, the rest must strike the same monster part. Kits that can stay on one part, from range or behind a guard, score higher on paper.
- Coverage
- A squad gets more from four slots when the classes do not all overlap. We ask whether an Adventurer fills a gap among Assault, Disruptor and Support; the roster has 5, 4 and 4 of each.
Adventurers per class you can build a squad from
Why each adventurer is in its tier
S The picks almost every squad of four should want, whatever the hunt.
Madelyn is the only Adventurer whose official profile says the kit lifts nearby allies. Certain skills plant Spores that can be detonated for damage and a boost to Madelyn and teammates close by, and medicines add more support. Arkaya joins on closed beta evidence: in the closed beta tests, every squad member gained Arkaya's shield too. Testers there report low personal damage, which matters less for team value. Now that the game is live, we will recheck the shield.
A Strong squad members that shine when the rest of the team covers their gaps.
Four picks, each strong in co-op for a different reason. Luka and Pepper add ranged pressure, Ouyang Varen holds a guard up front, and Haze offers parries and a follow-up slash. None of them lifts or shields allies on paper, which keeps all four below Madelyn and Arkaya.
- Luka: A Bow with very high mobility lets Luka keep firing at the part the squad picked; Thunder Coating arrows pierce through targets.
- Ouyang Varen: A front-line Lance whose strong guard should let Ouyang Varen hold one part steadily; Impetus adds thrust damage.
- Haze: Listed as Support, but the card shows no ally buff. Haze earns A for Archdemon Mode parries and a Crimson Fang Slash follow-up.
- Pepper: Powerful Heavy Bowgun shots give the squad firepower from range, and midair rapid fire adds burst once Pepper goes airborne.
B Useful in a squad, but someone in the same class covers the team better.
All five bring damage, yet none adds something a squad cannot get from a classmate higher up. Pyro and Rhodes hit hard after slow setup, Keres and Luxheart deal damage with nothing listed for teammates, and Ryunosuke is a Support whose profile only strengthens Ryunosuke's own Spirit Blade attacks. On paper, Madelyn, Arkaya and the A tier give a team more.
- Pyro: Very high burst damage, but Pyro must endure attacks to build it, so the payoff is hard to line up with the rest of the squad.
- Keres: Relentless Dual Blades combos and enhanced follow-ups add damage, though Pepper offers the squad more as a Disruptor.
- Rhodes: Charged swings store energy that Rhodes spends on a large explosion; strong, but slower to set up than the A-tier Assaults.
- Luxheart: Heat-driven stance changes and a firework-like barrage give Luxheart damage, but the profile lists nothing for teammates.
- Ryunosuke: Officially a Support, but the payoff is personal: eating in certain stances leads to Well-fed and stronger Spirit Blade attacks.
C Fits narrow squad plans or specific hunts; other picks do more for a team.
Midori and Raya are built around their own movement. Midori relies on graceful evasion and a faster Spirit Gauge, Raya trades stamina for Demon Gauge, and neither profile mentions anything for the rest of the squad. Agile solo kits may also drift off the part a Co-Op Skill needs, so we expect them to fit only specific hunts.
- Midori: The evasive style and quicker Spirit Gauge are personal tools for Midori, with nothing on the card for the other three hunters.
- Raya: Raya burns stamina for faster Demon Gauge and dodges with agility, but the card offers the squad nothing extra.
Full notes on the Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Team
How we built these squads
Start with how a squad works. You control one Adventurer, either your own Fated Adventurer or any Adventurer you have unlocked, and three more fight beside you as automatically controlled squadmates. In solo play, each build below is one Adventurer you control plus three AI squadmates, so pick the one you enjoy playing and let the other three cover what it lacks. In online co-op we expect each player to control their own Adventurer, but no source confirms that yet, so treat the builds there as expected line-ups.
One tester also reports that each class has a squadmate skill that only works for the three Adventurers you are not controlling. If that holds at launch, who you control changes what the squad gets, and we will add it to the builds.
Every build below opens with Madelyn, for one reason: across all 13 official profiles, Madelyn is the only one that states a boost for nearby allies. That leaves three slots. We fill them by asking two things. Can this hunter stay on the part a Co-Op Skill needs? And does the class mix leave a gap?
The Co-Op Skill is the main team mechanic we can read from the official material. The whole squad feeds one energy pool, and after one Adventurer fires the skill, everyone else has to land hits on the same monster part. A squad that scatters across the monster wastes it. So we lean on bows, a strong guard and steady Lance pressure, and we flag kits that move around a lot.
Three squads to try
These are paper plans. We will confirm or change them after hands-on hunts.
Balanced: Madelyn, Arkaya, Luka and one melee Assault
Classes: Support, Support, Assault, Assault. Arkaya holds the front with a Lance and a shield that covered the whole squad in the closed beta tests, Luka adds mobile Bow fire, and the fourth slot takes a melee Assault such as Ouyang Varen. There is no Disruptor, so swap Luka for Pepper if your group wants one.
Front line: Madelyn, Ouyang Varen, Pyro and Keres
Classes: Support, Assault, Assault, Disruptor. Three melee hunters crowd one part while Madelyn backs them with medicines and Spores. Ouyang Varen guards, Pyro builds burst by taking hits, and Keres keeps combos going. We expect this squad to need the most practice, since Pyro trades safety for power.
Pyro and Keres are both B tier on this page, and we keep them here on purpose. This build is for groups that want three melee hunters pressing one monster part for the Co-Op Skill, and it accepts lower team value to get that. If you would rather field higher-tier picks, swap Keres for Haze (A) and Pyro for Arkaya (S).
Mostly ranged: Madelyn, Luka, Pepper and Arkaya
Classes: Support, Assault, Disruptor, Support. Three shooters stay back and Arkaya is the only melee anchor, so it is not fully ranged. Arkaya’s squad shield, as seen in the closed beta tests, would also cover the three shooters. We expect ranged hunters to find it easier to keep hitting one part, which suits the Co-Op Skill.
Where Buddies fit
The official site shows 3 Buddy types with their own classes: Palico (Assault), Rutaco (Disruptor) and Trillan (Support). The material we use does not explain what they do in a fight, so this page ranks Adventurers only.
Before you queue
Cross-server play is off at launch, so friends on North America, Japan and Europe servers cannot group up across regions. Pick one region together. For solo picks, see our tier list and the beginner list; how we rank explains the tier rules, and Haze has a full profile page.
Who this adventurer tier list is for
New players
New to squads? Control Madelyn or Luka yourself, stay at range, let three AI squadmates fill the other slots, and hit whatever part the squad is already striking when a Co-Op Skill starts.
Experienced players
Online groups can run the three builds below with one Adventurer per player, as we expect co-op to work, and swap the fourth slot per hunt. Check early that Arkaya's squad shield works at launch as it did in the closed beta tests.
Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Team changes
No changes since this list was first published.
Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Team FAQ
Sources
Official sources we checked facts against, all on Oct 28, 2026. The writing and the rankings are our own.