Potentially Mis-translated, Poor Man’s MH4U Palico Guide:
you get what you pay for
Main vs. Sub:
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Main Palico
o Created when starting a new file. Name, voice, and appearance cannot be
changed after creation.
o Exclusive Leadership Forte that takes on the forte/skills of 1st Stingers.
Sub Palico
o Hired from story progressions, scouting, and DLC.
o Permanent forte and skills. (Generated randomly)
o Max number of skills:
 Quest: 3
 Meownster Hunter: 1
 Casting Machine: 1
Multiplayer combinations
o 1 human, 0-2 Palico (Main + Sub)
o 2 human, 0-2 Palico (Main only)
o 3-4 humans, 0 Palico
Stat formula:
o Max level = 30
o Lv1 base stats: 26 attack / 24 defense
o Level up: +5 attack / +4 defense (ex: Lv20 would be 121/100)
o Base x Forte modifier ± Palico skill modifier + Equipment x Hunter skill
 Hunter skill = TeamPlayer or Commander, and is a x1.1 modifier
Unlocks:
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Palico housing capacity:
o 10: Start
o 20: Reach Sunsnug island
o 30-50: Caravan quests / Villager requests
Wild Palico + Casting Machine: Complete “Wild Palico Panic” (Caravan ☆4)
o aka “Pink Stink”
Meownster Hunter: Complete “Meownster Hunter Havoc”(Caravan ☆4)
o aka “An Ice Surprise”
New fortes (Stamina, Launching): Reach Caravan High Rank
Enthusiasm:
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In general, enthusiasm affects these areas (higher is better):
o Frequency of attacks
o Frequency of gathering
o Health recovery speed while recovering
o Chance of skills activating for the casting machine
o Chance of skills activating during Meownster Hunter
Actions that raise enthusiasm
o Choose fresh ingredients during meals (visible after you begin a quest)
o Place the Palico in reserve, or have them rest
Actions that lower enthusiasm
o Get carted during a quest
o Place the Palico in training
o A skill activates for the Casting Machine
o Go on a Meownster Hunter adventure (reduces enthusiasm to 1)
Skill activation rate based on enthusiasm
How to Scout:
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Scout from felyne dens during quests
o Every time you go on a quest, a scout-able Palico will appear inside the map’s
felyne den area. Visit the den and talk to the Palico to scout it.
 You can rename the Palico during quest results if you decide to hire.
 You keep any equipment the wild Palico was wearing.
 The level of the wild Palico correlates to your progression in-game.
 Scouting this way is also possible during online play (MH4G)
o The forte of the wild Palico depends on the map you visit
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Before Reaching Caravan High Rank:
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After Reaching Caravan High Rank:
o Where each shape represents the forte encounter chance for that map:
 ☆ = High chance
 〇 = Average chance
 × = Does not appear
o Note: Healing drops to 〇 at best after you reach Caravan High Rank, so you may
want to scout many of them while you still have ☆ available.
Scout during expeditions.
o Sometimes wild Palico will be part of an expedition. Check the expedition
summary before you go to see if one will appear.
Scout at Sunsnug island (event only)
o I forgot the name, but can be hired after one of the first quests after reaching
Cheeko Sands. (healing forte)
o Vittles, Humphrey, and Nueve can be hired after unlocking the Meownster
Hunter mini-game. They stay at the island even if you dismiss them, and they can
be re-hired.
o They cannot be distributed via Street Pass.
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Scout from DLC
o If available, you can scout DLC Palicos from the download menu. Similar to the
Mewonster Hunters, they can be re-hired after being dismissed. (Level gets
reset).
Scout from Street Pass
o You can exchange Palico via street pass. The Palico you set will never disappear.
Equipment:
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Separated into three categories: Weapon, Head, and Body. Weapon and Head pieces
are the most important, because they affect your Palico’s enemy priority and damage
type.
Obtained by either forging, or hiring a wild Palico that has equipment equipped.
Scraps (materials needed to forge equipment)
o Scraps have different ranks. Example
 Low rank: Humble Scrap
 High Rank: Humble Scrap+
o How to obtain
 Meownster Hunter
 Casting Machine
o Progress through the story to unlock higher rank scraps.
Weapon
o Weapon type advantages
 Blunt = KO, drain stamina
 Cut = slice off enemy parts. (ex: tails)
o Ranged, Affinity, and Element
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(´・ω・｀)
Armor
o Target priority for head piece:
 Small only
 Small First
 Balanced
 Large First
 Large only
o Discuss with your Palico’s forte and skills what priority would work best for them.
Or if you don’t care to spend time thinking, go for Small First. It provides good,
basic support where you can focus more on large monsters.
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Equipment / Forge list:
o Check Kiranico or something, ain’t nobody got time for that.
Meownster Hunter:
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Routes
o Routes change when you clear or fail a quest. Abandoning won’t work.
o Unlock higher ranked routes by progressing through the game.
o Elder dragons can appear on the far square.
 Chance = number of unlocked elder dragons / 300
Monsters
o Unlock different monsters by progressing through the game.
o Certain monsters may appear after winning against specific monsters, like how
expedition and guild quests work. A square with a ☆ increases the chance of
getting said monster.
Monster List by route (red name = high rank routes only):
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o What’s that, the chart is too small? Zoom in or something.
Rewards
o General scrap rewards like Humble and Handsome. Maps may differ?
o If a square has a ☆, it adds 1 scrap to that square’s rewards if you win. The
added scrap’s rarity is not guaranteed to be anything special.
Battles
o Color weakness:
 Blue → Yellow → Red → Blue
 Might help to think of them as pokemon types:
 Blue: Ice
 Yellow: Ground
 Red: Fire
o Attack strength based on size:
 4 Small == 2 Large == 1 Extra Large
Winning Strategy
o Scout Palicos with strong Mewonster Hunter skills. In particular:
 Unreal Blocking
 Melee, Ranged, Bomb Onslaught
o Level up said Palicos, and move them to Reserve when ready
o Save your game by sleeping on the bed
o Play Mewonster Hunter, and memorize your Palico selection and the monster’s
attack pattern.
 If you lost, quit the game without saving. Load your file again and play
Meownster Hunter again with the same setup. The monster attack
patterns will be the same.
 If you still can’t win, try changing your Mewonster Hunter group.
 And if you STILL can’t win, you probably need to level up your Palicos
Misc. Tips
o Quickly renew routes by completing:
 Caravan 1☆ “A Winning Combination” – turn in 1 mega potion
 Caravan 1☆ “Steak Your Ground” – turn in 1 well done steak
Extra Palico knowledge:
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You can make your Palico gather by crouching > wait for palicos to crouch > stand up >
wait for Palicos to get up > see if Palicos gather after they look around twice. Repeat.
Send a map signal to have your Palicos come towards you.
Palicos gain bonus exp if their skills activate during a casting machine use.
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Palico exp varies between monsters. Deviljho, Dah’ren Mohran, and Dalamadur are
worth some of the highest exp.
Forte Skills:
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The best I can do while being lazy:
o http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/55239/t2099177-ace-palico-fortes-more/
Rough translation of level 4 skills (only available to Main Palico):
o Fighting: Strengthened multi-critical hit attack. More attacks.
o Protection: Guard against attacks that normally wouldn’t be possible to block.
o Support: Palico recovery is strengthened, max speed.
o Healing: Palico drops better items when it retreats.
o Bombing: Charges at a monster while carrying a large barrel bomb+ while in rage.
o Stealing: Stealing attacks are strengthened, improving chance to obtaining item.
o Treasure: Special gathering is strengthened, and gathers multiple times in a row.
o Stamina: Endless stamina effect lasts longer?
o Launching: Palico stays in launching position for a longer amount of time.
Fortes:
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Leadership
o Exclusive to Main Palico. Kicks Sub Palico into shape If they’re slacking.
o Can gain a temporary boost to attack when attacked by monsters.
o Has a straight line charge attack.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Palico takes a certain amount of damage.
o Panic conditions:
 Does not go into panic.
o HP 105, x1.0 Attack, x1.0 Defense, Recovers at <= 20% hp
Fighting
o Excels at attacking.
o Increases the team’s attack with demon horn.
o Can attack with a flurry of critical hits, or throw a piercing boomerang that
continues to hit multiple times. Good against monsters with large bodies.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster gets tired or KO’d
 Hunter takes a certain amount of damage
 Hunter gets pinned down
o Panic conditions:
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 Monster goes into rage
 Monster travels by air or underground
o HP 100, x1.4 Attack, x1.0 Defense, Recovers at <= 20% hp
Protection
o Excels at defense skills and defense stats.
o Can provoke monsters to draw attention to the Palico, and can defend against
attacks that Palico normally wouldn’t be able to defend against.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Hunter takes a certain amount of damage
 Large monsters moves into the air
 Two large monsters appear in the same area
o Panic conditions:
 Palico (self) takes a certain amount of damage
o HP 100, x0.8 Attack, x1.4 Defense, Recovers at <= 30% hp
Support
o Supports the hunter in many various ways.
o Can lay down shock traps, throw dung bombs when you’re pinned down, lets
you know when a monster is tired or ready to be captured, etc.
o Possible Reports:
 Monster location (psychoserum)
 Who the monster is going to attack
 When the monster is ready to be captured
 When a paint ball effect is about to expire.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Palico takes a certain amount of damage
o Panic conditions:
 Hunter takes a certain amount of damage
 Hunter gets pinned down
o HP 110, x1.0 Attack, x1.0 Defense, Recovers at <= 30% hp
Healing
o Excels at recovery skills.
o Drops herbs, first-aid potions, and life powders when retreating.
o Retreats at set intervals even if hp hasn’t dropped below threshold.
o Cures poison and stink status the moment it’s inflicted.
o Blows health horns more often when you drop below a certain amount. Healing
effect can be as strong as a mega potion or so depending on the skill.
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o Herbal Medicine and First-aid potion+ replace herbs and first-aid potion with one
of the skills.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Monster travels by air or underground
 Palico takes a certain amount of damage
o Panic conditions:
 Large monster goes into rage
 Two large monsters appear in the same area
o HP 100, x0.8 Attack, x1.2 Defense, Recovers at <= 30% hp
Bombing
o This palico replaced every thesaurus entry for “attack” with “bomb”.
o Lays down barrel bombs over traps set by another Palico.
o Throws extra powerful bombs when in rage.
o Take care not to be blown up if you’re a blade master weapon class.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Hunter takes a certain amount of damage
 Hunter gets pinned down
o Panic conditions:
 Large monster goes into rage
o HP 100, x1.2 Attack, x1.0 Defense, Recovers at <=20% hp
Stealing
o Uses ranged attacks and steals materials from monsters.
o Main mode of attack is its boomerang.
o When you see a “!”, followed by the Palico charging in for a melee attack, it
means the Palico is attempting a steal. If the attack hits, it’s a success.
o Stolen materials can be of the same rank as the quest’s rank. (ex: High rank
material from high rank monster)
o Can steal multiple times from the same target.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Palico takes a certain amount of damage
 Monster gets tired or KO’d
 Hunter gets pinned down
o Panic conditions:
 Two large monsters appear in the same area
o HP 110, x0.8 Attack, x0.8 Defense, Recovers at <=20% hp
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Treasure
o Loves to gather. Good at gathering. That’s all it’s good at.
o Doesn’t attack monsters.
o Can take home twice as many items as other fortes (excluding Stealing forte).
o Can detect gathering nodes from a greater distance.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Monster travels underground
 Hunter gets pinned down
o Panic conditions:
 Does not go into panic
o HP 120, x1.0 Attack, x1.0 Defense, Recovers at <=30% hp
Stamina
o Steals stamina from monsters with its attacks.
o Spinning attack can heal the Palico’s own hp.
o Once the Palico has stolen a certain amount of stamina, it lets out a shout that
gives the hunter a similar effect as drinking a dash juice.
o Its stamina draining attacks have a little bit of stun element, so it may sometimes
KO monsters even with a cutting weapon.
o Forte skill activation:
 Palico takes a certain amount of damage
 Monster becomes tired or KO’d
 Two large monsters appear in the same area
 Hunter takes a certain amount of damage
 Hunter gets pinned down
o Panic conditions:
 Monster goes into rage
 Monster travels by air
o (Stat information not available)
Launching
o Helps hunters with mounting attacks.
o Palico attacks contribute toward reaching the next mounting threshold.
o When the Palico sends a signal and has a paw print effect, you can jump off of
the Palico.
o The benefit is that you can perform a jump no matter where you’re located or
what weapon you have equipped. However, you can’t choose where the skill
activates, or move it once it’s activated, and your Palico doesn’t attack while it’s
in position, so there are some shortcomings to it.
o Forte skill activation:
 Monster goes into rage
 Monster becomes tired
 Monster travels by air
 Two large monsters appear in the same area
o Panic conditions
 Monster travels underground
Sub Palico Skills:
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Credit to http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/55239/t2099177-ace-palico-fortes-more/
for some of the English names and descriptions.
Wild Palico skills are randomly generated at time of scouting.
o Combat skills have a point system. Each skill is worth 1-3 points.
 (See chart on next page)
o Maximums for Combat skills:
 6 points total
 3 skills
o Impossible combat skill combinations:
 Block Boost + Big Block Boost
 Slacking Recovery + Slackproof
 Multiple (Status) Edge skills
 Multiple (Element) Synergy skills
o Meownster Hunter and Casting Machine skills are obtained at random.
 Sometimes a Palico won’t have these skills at all.
Team Attacks:
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Wrath of Meow:
o Palicos summon a tank and shoot at monsters while riding on it.
o Levels of the Palicos are added together, and the higher the total, the stronger and
longer lasting the tank will become. The colors are based on Rathalos species.
 One source says 4-6 shots based on color, another one just says 5.
o Attack and Defense of the Palicos are added together to form the tank’s stats.
 Attack = the tank’s damage
 Defense = tank’s resistance
o Shots can have the same effect as sound bombs.
o Often activates when the monster becomes tired or KO’d
Purrtuoso:
o Palicos play music together to heal hunters and Palicos.
o May also increase max HP and Stamina
o Palico levels are added together, and the higher the total, the stronger the healing
effect will be.
o When both Palicos have high enthusiasm, the healing effect is even stronger.
o Palicos are invulnerable while playing music, so it will never fail once activated.
o Often activates when a hunter gets pinned down or when a monster rages.
Flying Bomb
o Palicos fly at a monster and stun it.
o Palico levels are added together, and the higher the total, the longer the stun effect
will last.
o When both Palicos have high enthusiasm, the stun effect will last even longer.
o Can miss vs. fast monsters.
o Often activates when a monster rages or moves into the air?
o When used against supersize monsters, the Palicos are only able to make the
monster flinch. (Though it can still down Dah’ren Mohran during the final stage)
Team attack related skills
o (Element) synergy:
 WoM: Adds (Element) to shots
 P: Increases Hunter’s (Element) resistance by 30 for 3 minutes.
 FB: Lowers the monster’s (Element) resistance by 20 for 3 minutes.
o Team Attack Redux:
 WoM: If the tank gets destroyed while it still has ammo, WoM will re-activate
once immediately.
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P: If the Hunter’s max HP or max stamina hasn’t reached the limit, P will reactivate once immediately.
 FB: Will re-activate once immediately if the attack misses the monster.
Team Attack Haste:
 WoM: Fires two shots at a time.
 P: Shortens the musical performance time.
 FB: Speeds up flying speed.
合体技強化術 (Strengthen Team Attack?)
 ^ someone should look up the English name for that
 WoM: x1.1 damage for fired shots.
 P: Adds Defense+25 for Hunter for 3 minutes.
 FB: Also lowers all elemental resistances by 5 for 3 minutes.
Team Attack Boost
 WoM: Adds a spread effect to shots landed (X1.2 radius and damage).
 P: Adds a regen effect (heals 20-30 HP for somewhere around a few to 10 or
so times over time)
 FB: Adds a tripping effect.
Team Signal
 Signal for a team attack. 6 minute cool-down per use.
DLC Palicos:
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None as of 2/21/2015.
Credits:
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http://www61.atwiki.jp/3dsmh4g/
http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/55239/t2099177-ace-palico-fortes-more/
http://wikiwiki.jp/nenaiko/?%A5%AA%A5%C8%A5%E2%2F%B9%E7%C2%CE%B5%BB
http://ryogakucx.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-93.html
http://kiranico.com/en/mh4u/item
Just realized I forgot to include Casting Machine Scraps like Ludroth. Oh well.
Thanks for reading through this bullet point mess. I hope it’s somewhat useful for Palico enthusiasts
and general hunters alike. There’s also a guild card award for winning against every monster in
Meownster Hunter.
Some inaccuracies may be present, but I made a decent effort to translate and fact-check what I
could. See you over at http://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/!