Best Way to Farm Tranq Bombs, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps in Monster Hunter: Wilds
Why capturing monsters is important
Capturing monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds (MH Wilds) is an essential skill every hunter should master. Unlike simply slaying a monster, capturing ends the fight sooner, offers greater rewards, and significantly boosts your chances of acquiring rare materials critical for crafting powerful gear.
Signs a monster is ready for capture
Knowing when a monster is ready for capture is crucial. Common signs include:
- Limping away from combat.
- Heavy drooling or visibly exhausted behavior.
- Retreating to their nest to rest.
- A skull icon appearing on the mini-map (if tracking is active).
- Your Palicoes verbally indicating the monster looks weak.
How to capture a Monster in MH Wilds
When a monster is weakened, first set your trap (Shock or Pitfall) in its path. Once the monster triggers and is immobilized by the trap, quickly approach its head and throw two Tranq Bombs before it can escape. Alternatively, you can throw or shoot two Tranqs at the monster first and then lure it into your trap. However, this second method carries a risk of missing with your traps. For the safest and most reliable approach, always trap first.
Items needed for capturing monsters
Three key items make monster capturing possible: Tranq Bombs, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps.
- Tranq bombs (Sleep Herb + Parashroom): These are throwable tranquilizers used to put a monster to sleep. However, Tranq Bombs alone won't immobilize a monster. They must be used in combination with traps for successful capturing. Tranq Bombs can also be turned into Tranq Ammo and Tranq Blade for different weapon types.
- Shock traps (Trap Tool + Thunderbug Capacitor): These quick-setup electric traps immobilize most monsters for a brief period, usually around 8-10 seconds. Their rapid deployment makes them perfect for capturing fast or aggressive monsters on the fly.
- Pitfall traps (Trap Tool + Net): Slightly slower to deploy, Pitfall Traps create a hidden pit that traps monsters for a longer duration compared to Shock Traps. Crucially, Pitfall Traps can capture monsters immune to electric-based traps, such as Rey Dau and Gypceros, making them invaluable for specific hunts. Pitfall Traps are crafted from Trap Tool and Net, with the Net itself crafted from Ivy and Spider Web.
Choosing between shock traps and pitfall traps
When deciding between Shock and Pitfall traps, consider your prey carefully. If speed and versatility are your priorities, Shock Traps offer the quickest option as Pitfall traps take longer to set up. However, when hunting specific monster that are resistant or immune to electricity, Pitfall Traps are your only option.
How to effectively farm Tranq Bombs, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps in MH Wilds
1. Maximizing your farming efficiency
Before setting out to farm, you'll want to maximize the amount of materials you can gather per run. Specifically, you're aiming to collect Sleep Herbs, Parashrooms, Ivy, Spider Webs, and Thunderbugs. Remember, Trap Tools can be infinitely purchased at your base camp, so there's no need to farm these.
To optimize your gathering efficiency, you'll want the Botanist skill at Level 4. Here's how the Botanist skill enhances your material collection:
- Level 1: Gather one extra consumable herb per collection.
- Level 2: Additionally, gather one extra consumable fruit, nut, or seed per collection.
- Level 3: Additionally, gather one extra consumable insect per collection.
- Level 4: Additionally, gather one extra consumable mushroom per collection.
Having Botanist Level 4 directly increases your yields of Sleep Herbs, Parashrooms, Ivy, and Spider Webs. Without the skill active, you normally collect:
- 2x Sleep Herbs
- 2x Parashrooms
- 2x Ivy
- 1x Spider Web
With Botanist Level 4, you’ll gain an additional +1 item per gather, significantly boosting your overall material yield each time you farm.
2. How to best farm Tranq Bombs
Tranq Bombs are crafted from two items: Sleeping Herbs and Parashrooms. To farm these items effectively, you will need access to both Windward Plains and the Scarlet Forest.
To farm Sleeping Herbs, set up a pop-up camp at “Area 10: Southeast.” Be careful when setting up here, as large monsters often patrol the area and can destroy your camp. Once you arrive at Area 10: Southeast, you will find three different Sleeping Herb plants available for farming. To the left of the pop-up camp is a small cliff overlooking the river; head to the edge of the cliff where you will see two Sleeping Herb plants that you can easily obtain using your grappling hook. After collecting these, head north to grab the final Sleeping Herb.
In the Scarlet Forest, set up a pop-up camp at “Area 8: South Campsite.” Just outside the camp, you will find three Parashrooms. Once you collect these shrooms, quickly return to Windward Plains to farm more Sleeping Herbs, and repeat the process.
This method is the fastest way to farm materials for Tranq Bombs. Each run takes about one to one and a half minutes and yields 9 Sleeping Herbs and 9 Parashrooms, which is enough to craft 9 Tranq Bombs. Remember that the collectible items have a cooldown time of over 10 minutes, but leaving the area—such as moving from Windward Plains to the Scarlet Forest—will reset the timer.
3. How to best farm Shock Traps
Shock Traps are easier to farm because the Trap Tool component required to make them can be purchased from a vendor at Base Camp, meaning you only need to farm Thunderbugs. Thunderbugs are scattered throughout Windward Plains, but they are most commonly found in Area 1 near Base Camp. Leave Base Camp and ride into Area 1 to start collecting the bugs using your grappling hook.
Alternatively, for an even more efficient run, you can increase the number of Thunderbugs by venturing into Windward Plains when Rey Dau is present and a huge sandstorm is occurring. During a sandstorm, the number of Thunderbugs essentially doubles, and Great Thunderbugs also appear; catching them automatically grants you a Shock Trap.
This run takes about 5-7 minutes, and you can collect around 8 Thunderbugs in a regular run or over 15 during a sandstorm.
4. How to best farm Pitfall Traps
Pitfall Traps are more complicated to farm than Shock Traps because you need to gather two crafting items—Spider Web and Ivy—instead of one. The best way to farm Ivy is to head to the Scarlet Forest and set up a pop-up camp at “Area 18: West.” Just outside the camp, you will find two Ivy plants, which yield a total of 6 Ivies.
For Spider Webs, there are two methods available in the Scarlet Forest. The first method is to set up a pop-up camp at “Area 7: Bower of the Great Tree Campsite” and then head straight to the spider den to collect 3 Spider Webs. The second method is to start from Base Camp and take the long way to the spider den; along the way, you can collect an additional 2 Spider Webs, making for a total haul of 5 Spider Webs (or 10 Webs total with Level 3 Botanist skill).
This run lasts about 3–5 minutes, and you can obtain 6 Pitfall Traps (Option 1) or 6 Pitfall Traps along with 4 extra Spider Webs left over (Option 2).
Happy Hunting!
By following the tips provided in this guide, you can optimize your farming runs, making the most of your time and resources. Whether you’re farming for Sleep Herbs, Parashrooms, Thunderbugs, Ivy, or Spider Webs, each run can yield valuable materials that will keep you well-stocked for future hunts. Remember to use your Botanist skill to maximize your yield, and always adapt your strategy based on the monster you're hunting. With practice, you’ll be capturing monsters like a seasoned pro, securing rare materials, and enhancing your gear to take on even the toughest challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds. Happy hunting!
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Patrick Yu is a Senior Project Manager at Level Interactive and has 8 years of experience writing business, legal, lifestyle, gaming, and technology articles. He is a significant contributor to Acer Corner and is currently based in Taipei, Taiwan.
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