Monster Hunter: World may be a little overwhelming for new players. When you first create your character, you will then be put in Astera, which is the hub area in which everything is done. When you are first spawned in, you might not have any idea what to do or where to go. It is necessary to understand what each of the areas is beforehand so you can easily get around later in the game. As you play, you will get to know the hub very well.
What are all the different locations around Astera?:
- Smithy
- Armory
- Canteen
- Quest Board/Handler
- Resource Center
- Ecological Research
- Botanical Research
- Provisions Stockpile
- Melder Pot
- The Argosy
- Your Room
- Training Area
- Gathering Hub
What is Astera?
Astera is a base built primarily out of wood, some taken from the very ships that brought the Research Commission to the New World. It sits below a waterfall between the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Waste. Astera is more of a base than a village, built to support the Hunters and researchers as they explore the New World and its ecology. It is built in three primary tiers.
Winding stairs and a waterwheel-powered series of chain pulleys serve to move people and supplies from one tier to the other quickly. The Tradeyard is the ground floor, containing docks, supply caches, research “offices”, a meeting area, and an Ancient Tree. Some of the former ships also serve as bunks for hunters new to the area.
The second tier contains the Workshop, where weapons and equipment are developed, and the Canteen, which serves food. lodging for veteran New World hunters can also be found here, as can a training area. Each area is helpful in aiding you in your quest.
Smithy
The Smithy is a workshop designed to answer all equipment-related needs, the Smithy may be the most vital of facilities for any hunter. At the Smithy, Hunters can use Materials to create new Weapons and Armor. In addition, the Smithy allows Hunters to set Decorations into Equipment, configure Kinsects and Bowgun Modifications, and apply Augmentations and Upgrades to their equipment. This is the area you will be spending most of your time.
From looking at new weapons and armor to upgrading your already used gear, this place is very important. If you are lost and want to know where certain things are, then open up your map and you can find them easily. The Smithy is at the top of the large staircase and it is in a giant room with a counter and massive kiln.
Armory
The Armory is a very overlooked area. It is in the same room as the Smithy. It is a little counter next to the Smithy counter and it is actually pretty helpful. This area offers optional quests you can complete for Specialized Tools to help you in-game. These items include Boosters and Mantles which give you a bonus when used during a quest. Some of them are difficult to get, but there are a bunch to get when you first start the game.
Canteen
The Canteen provides hunters with the nourishment they need before departing on a hunt. Eating a meal at the Canteen can bestow any number of useful powerups. Meals eaten at the canteen provide temporary bonuses to your health, stamina, and may provide food skills. It offers two services – the purchase of Meals made from in-house ingredients, and an Oven Roasting service that turns meat and ingredients from the player’s inventory into snacks that can be eaten during a hunt. Make sure to always eat a meal before entering a quest
Quest Board/Handler
There are 3 ways to accept quests in Astera, besides the Gathering Hub, and they are the 2 Quest Boards and the Handler. The first Quest Board in the Tradeyard behind where you first spawn. The Second one is outside of the Smithy building. It is on the opposite side of your Equipment Box. The Handler is also another way to accept Quests and she is sitting at one of the tables in the Canteen.
Here are all the different assignments that you can choose from:
Assigned – Story quests that progress you through the main narrative of Monster Hunter: World. These are all one-time completion quests and once done are grayed out and can not be revisited.
Optional – Non-essential quests that assist NPCs around Astera. These can be repeated indefinitely.
Investigations – Special quests that can be completed only a limited number of times. The investigations are acquired by either killing or capturing a monster, breaking monster parts, or investigating monster traces.
Events – Event quests are repeatable but can only be participated in during the time which they are live.
Special Assignments – Special Assignments are unique quests that unlock special DLC, and were introduced in March 2018 with the launch of the Deviljho monster. These quests are basically just like Assigned, but it is the new DLC content that has been released.
Resource Center
The Resource Center oversees researcher requests and manages the resources needed for investigations and deliveries. There are 3 different menus when you talk to the NPC, and they all play a major role in different things. It is very easy to find. Once you spawn in, look to your left and there will be 3 NPCs sitting there. Walk up to them and talk to open the menu.
Here are the 3 menus you can view:
Bounties menu – Here you can view and select Registered Bounties from a random pool, their Critical Bounties obtained by members of the Research Commission throughout the story, and their Limited Bounties, which refresh every few days. Only five Registered Bounties can be taken at one time, and the pool refreshes after every Quest.
Investigations menu – Here you can view, register, and remove the Investigations they have unlocked while out in the field. Up to fifty Investigations can be registered to appear in the Quest selection menu, and up to 250 can be stored at the Resource Center.
Deliveries menu – Here you can view and complete pending Deliveries given to them by various members of the Research Commission throughout the story and during special events.
Ecological Research
Ecological Research is very important for the research of different monsters. This area helps you archive any information the Hunter gathers on by taking down Monsters and gathering their tracks. This will add information to the Monster Field Guide. Gathering a Monster’s tracks will also increase the Scoutfly level for that Monster, making it easier to track on successive hunts.
In addition, special Quests will be issued by the members of Ecological research throughout the Story from the Chief Biologist, Smart Biologist, and Impatient Biologist. They will ask the Hunter to hunt or capture specific Monsters in order to study them, as well as encounter the legendary Kirin. In addition, the Lynian Researcher will guide the Hunter in studying the Grimalkynes and Gajalaka.
Botanical Research
Botanical Research is very important if you want to grow the needed materials and organics. It lets you manage the culture, the harvest box, and the fertilizers. Once an item is gathered in the field, it’s possible to cultivate it and produce items while out questing. Some items have to be unlocked via Optional Quests to be cultivated. You can have up to 4 items cultivating and expand the harvest box up to 50 slots.
To grow organics faster, you will need Fertilizers. Fertilizers allow for more items to be cultivated, faster culture, and extending current fertilization duration. You can only fertilize once between each quest. The Growth Up effect means that items requiring more than 1 quest to be cultivated will be cultivated faster, it has no effect otherwise.
Provisions Stockpile
Provisions Stockpile is basically the shop where you can go to buy necessary materials. From here you can get items to make traps, potions, upgrade materials, and much more. You can also sell your items to get yourself some more Zenny. To find it, just look for the guy standing on the rafter in the Tradeyard. Go up to him and then talk to him to either buy or sell your items.
Melder Pot
The Melder Pot is another very important thing to learn how to use because you can use not-needed items to Meld rarer items. You might be looking for a specific monster gem, but no matter how many times you fight it, you can never seem to get it. All you have to do is go to the giant pot with the lady stirring it and Meld yourself that Gem. Keep in mind that you can only Meld certain Gems so make sure to look at the list before wasting time with redoing the quests over and over.
The Argosy
The Argosy is a ship that sails between the Old World and the New World hauling whatever material is called for. It is basically a ship that you can buy whatever you choose them to haul. When you talk to the Captain of the ship, there will be 3 different item types you can tell him to haul. They are Trade-in Items, Material Items, and Consumable Items. Once it says the Argosy is in, you can then use Research Points to buy whatever you want. Whatever you chose for him to haul, that is what you can buy so keep in mind.
Your Room
Your Room is a place for you to just chill and send out your Tailraider Safaris. These are when you can use Research Points to send out Palicos to a specific area to loot monsters and organics around the area and bring it back to you. You can also place animals that you captured down in your room if you want to. In Iceborne, your room is massive and is way more customizable than Astera’s Rooms.
Training Area
The Training Area can be accessed from your map, room, or lifts in Astera. This area is important for new players to try out their weapons to learn how to use them. If you are new, there are a lot of combos that you need to learn, so I would go directly to the Training Room to determine what weapon you want to use and which upgrade line you want to go down first. Just head up to the Training Area if you want to practice with your weapon.
Gathering Hub
The Gathering Hub allows all Hunters in a Session to appear in the same place. Hunters can interact with Gestures, Chat, and the Arm Wrestling tables found there. The Gathering Hub also has an Item Box and Provisions Stockpile next to the Quest Counter, where Hunters can manage their Items and Equipment. The Canteen of the Gathering Hub can seat all Hunters in a Session and allows Hunters to perform special Gestures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Astera is a huge Hub area that you can explore. There is stuff that I am learning even though I have played the game for a very long time. It amazes me to see a world full of life made by the developers. When you are walking through Astera, it just feels alive. I hope you understand where to go in the Hub area now. Happy Hunting!