Investigations are a type of free-roam Quest in Monster Hunter World (MHW). Players will take on these activities to advance their characters and gather useful materials.
How it works
Killing, capturing, breaking monster parts and investigating monster traces have a random chance to grant an also random investigation.
Killing small monsters gives a slaying investigation related to this specific species.
The large monster investigations however are unpredictable, even though it seems to be related to the monsters threat level. There are 3 threat levels and you unlock investigations of the same level as what triggered it.
Example: Investigating a Barroth (threat level 1) footprint will give a threat level 1 investigation. If the Barroth is tempered then the investigation will be too.
Threat Level 1
- Great Jagras*
- Kulu-Ya-Ku*
- Pukei-Pukei
- Barroth
- Jyuratodus
- Tobi-Kadachi
- Anjanath
- Rathian
- Tzitzi-Ya-Ku*
- Paolumu
- Great Girros*
- Radobaan
- Dodogama*
- (Master Rank)Pink Rathian
- Coral Pukei-Pukei
- Viper Tobi-Kadachi
- Nightshade Paolumu
- Beotodus
- Banbaro
* = Can't be tempered
Threat Level 2
- Rathalos
- Azure Rathalos
- (High Rank)Pink Rathian
- Diablos
- Black Diablos
- Legiana
- Odogaron
- Lavasioth
- Uragaan
- Bazelgeuse
- Deviljho
- Yian Garuga*
- Shrieking Legiana
- Ebony Odogaron
- Barioth
- Nargacuga
- Glavenus
- Acidic Glavenus
- Tigrex
- Brute Tigrex
- Brachydios
- Fulgur Anjanath
- Zinogre
- Scarred Yian Garuga(Can only be tempered)
* = Can't be tempered
Informations
Each investigation has a random number of attempts(from 3 to 8) and random conditions:
- Time limit:
- Low Rank & High Rank: 15, 30 and 50 minutes.
- Master Rank: 20, 35, 50 minutes.
- Faint limit: 1 to 5 allowed
- Max player limit: 2 or 4 players
- Objective: Hunt or Capture(Elder Dragon and small monster investigations are always gonna be Slay investigations)
The zenny reward is based on the targets species and number and can randomly be doubled. You can use a daily voucher to double the zenny reward again.
In addition, each investigation has a number of bonus reward slots, colored in bronze, silver or gold. The number of bonus slots seems to be random, ranging from 2 to 5. But there is a correlation between the quests conditions and the slots color, harsher conditions generally means more gold slots. The slots color seems to indicate different drop rate, but not a different loot table (i.e: a gem can drop in a bronze slot, but is more likely to drop in a gold one)
After completing the Land of Convergence quest, investigations can have Tempered targets. Tempered investigations rewards the player with decorations in each bonus reward slot (purple), often Streamstone Shard/Streamstone/Gleaming Streamstone (respectively from threat level 1 / 2 / 3 investigations) and very rarely augment materials as quest reward. In Master Rank, tempered investigations will only award decorations since augment materials are obtained from Guiding Lands.
Tips & Notes
Threat Level 2 Tempered Investigations Farming Method
If you get a Tempered Bazelgeuse investigation (Elder's Recess), you can use it to farm other Threat Level 2 tempered investigations easily. Take skills enhancing your movement and stamina, you are going to run/climb a lot but not fight.
The Bazelgeuse should spawn in its nest in sector 4, so start from Eastern Camp (8) and climb all the way up to get 4-5 investigation points.
Then follow this direction : Sector 4 > 9 > fast-travel to Southern Camp (1) > 7 > fast-travel to Eastern Camp (8) > 4 > 9 > ...
Look at your map to understand the Bazelgeuse pathing and where to look for footprints/scales. It should always leave the sector as soon as you enter it, just be sure to not engage it so it can refresh the footprints.
The Bazelgeuse will sometimes need to eat and go in Sector 11 or sleep in sector 4, just wait for it to leave, get the investigations points and go back to the usual pathing.
I was getting an average of 1 investigation per cycle, which is more than 20 in 50 minutes.
Likewise, if you get a Tempered Diablos or Black Diablos investigation, you can use them to farm other Threat Level 2 tempered investigations. At this point, you want to go into the cave where they can be found, and wait, every 5 to 10 minutes or so, they will leave the cave to eat, and it is at this time where you can walk around and grab all the footprints they leave behind. You will easily farm multiple investigations (around 2 or 3 per round of pickups, although can be higher or lower depending on your luck) per quest.
Anonymous
- Anonymous
pssst, just in case anyone else needs to hear this: NON-tempered, large-monster investigations DON'T take threat level into account. the page is reeally general, as if it matters for all investigations and not just tempered ones, but it does not. non-tempered targets are completely random, up to 3, limited ONLY by what monsters can spawn in the area you got the investigation in(because the investigation will always be for the same area). so. in case anyone else who read this page was picking up prints and wondering why they weren't getting what they were looking for, there you go. hopefully this will save some time for someone else
Also, for the Time Limit, they aren't exclusive to that said above.
Low Rank AND High Rank Investigations can have 15, 30, 50 minutes as the Time Limit.
I haven't reached Master Rank yet, thus my analysis does not include those.
I have noted, though, that you won't see investigations that don't have Bronze rewards with more than 5 maximum attempts, and any investigation containing Bronze rewards, even when also containing Gold ones, can reach 8 maximum attempts.
That means maximum attempts *are* linked to the rewards, directly or indirectly, and they aren't all just random.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
from when on are you able to do level 3 threat investigations (not tempered)?
- Anonymous
Just curious, but do you still generate investigation while *on* an investigation (particularly small monster slaying)? I'm not sure if I should grind through my investigations to dry them up or if I'll be forced to just delete them all.
- Anonymous
Do you get multiple attempts for an investigation even if you complete it? Or do I just have a lot of the same quest
- Anonymous
So, I have a tempered investigation for Odogaron. I've been following and farming footprints and even after 15 minutes I've not gotten a single investigation. Nothing. What's up?
- Anonymous
"After completing the Land of Convergence quest, investigations can have Tempered targets." I started finding tempered target traces and unlocking their investigations after fighting Nergigante.
- Anonymous
Remember to read all the tutorials. A lot of questions are being asked here that could have been answered by the tutorial notes. Save yourself the trouble of coming here, posting, and waiting for a reply by reading them.
I've been farming rathian and capturing her in high rank in a lot of kinda ways that must help me get rubies but the rathian investigation just won't pop out in high rank
- Anonymous
If I reach the 250 cap on investigations what happens? Do I get no new ones or are old ones overwritten?
- Anonymous
Anyone having an issue getting investigation after the new ff event patch? Tried farming temp nergigante for 3 hours didn’t get a single investigation
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I can not unlock a investigation-level 6 for Rodoban. I am still killing him, looking for traces but in the supply depot I received only investigate for the great girros. Why? I do not understand.
Why does it list "Remaining Attempts"?
And why doesn't the Investigation disappear once I've beaten it?
- Anonymous
Some of the investigations say something like "upsurge: bone piles" or "flourish: herb gathering" or something like that. What does this mean? Are those nodes increased during the investigation?
- Anonymous
How do you know which are high rank and which are low rank investigations from the screen?
- Anonymous
Why are there so many of the same investigation quests? I've been farming rathian and capturing her in high rank in a lot of kinda ways that must help me get rubies but the rathian investigation just won't pop out in high rank.....this is blowing my mind
- Anonymous
What's the difference between investigations and expeditions?
This page should just explain how investigations works since they are randomly generated, it's impossible to make a list.
- Anonymous
How do you unlock these? I've always made sure to investigate things like monster tracks, but I'm in the Rotten Vale, and the Investigations category is still greyed out.
If you're farming for streamstones from tempered investigations, always go for quests with more difficult conditions (less faints, players, time limit). This has a huge impact on the likelihood of streamstones actually dropping
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