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Monster Hunter Outlanders Buddy Guide - How to Get, Progression and More
Alex Carter
Alex Carter
2026-10-31

Hunters, ready to build a stronger team and take on tougher monsters? Your Buddies can deal damage, distract enemies, heal your team, and boost your Adventurers, so choosing the right companion can make every hunt easier. This Monster Hunter Outlanders Buddy guide covers the three Buddy types, how to get free companions, upgrade tips, and the best ways to build a balanced team. Let's find out which Buddies are worth your time and how to get the most out of them!

Monster Hunter Outlanders Buddy Guide

Building a strong team takes time, especially when you're experimenting with different combinations or managing multiple accounts. If you're planning to reroll or keep several accounts for farming, OSLink can make things easier with its multi-instance and synchronization features. You can run and control multiple Monster Hunter Outlanders sessions simultaneously, making repetitive tasks and account management less of a hassle.

What Are Buddies in Monster Hunter Outlanders?

Buddies are companions that support your Adventurers during combat, exploration, and gathering. Each type has a different role, from dealing damage and controlling enemies to providing healing and buffs. Choosing a Buddy that complements your team can make hunts much easier. Here's a quick comparison of the three Buddy types available in Monster Hunter Outlanders.

Buddy Type

Class

Main Specialty

Recommended Adventurers

Palico

Palico

Assault

Weapon skills, damage, and aggro support

Pyro, Midori, Luka, Ouyang Varen

Rutaco

Rutaco

Disruptor

Tools, Radiantite structures, and enemy control

Keres, Raya, Pepper

Trillan

Trillan

Support

Healing, buffs, and team assistance

Arkaya, Madelyn

Palico – Assault Buddy

Palicos are familiar companions for Monster Hunter fans. They specialize in weapons and items, helping deal damage while drawing monster aggro during combat. This makes them a good fit for aggressive teams that need additional offensive support.

They pair well with Assault Adventurers such as Pyro, Midori, Luka, and Ouyang Varen, allowing you to build a team focused on dealing damage and creating more opportunities to attack.

Palico – Assault Buddy

Best for: Players who want offensive support and additional opportunities to land powerful attacks.

Rutaco – Disruptor Buddy

Rutacos are monkey-like creatures native to Aesoland. They use tools and Radiantite to build structures that control and disrupt enemies, providing useful battlefield support during hunts.

Pairing a Rutaco with Disruptor Adventurers such as Keres, Raya, or Pepper can further strengthen a team focused on enemy control. Rather than relying entirely on damage, this combination gives you more ways to interrupt enemies and manage combat situations.

Rutaco – Disruptor Buddy

Best for: Players who prefer battlefield control, enemy disruption, and additional combat utility.

Trillan – Support Buddy

Trillans are feathered creatures resembling owls or eagles, native to Aesoland. They use their voices to provide healing, buffs, and other support effects, helping your team stay alive during longer and more challenging hunts.

They work particularly well with Support Adventurers such as Arkaya and Madelyn. If your team already has enough damage but struggles with survivability, a Trillan can provide the additional support it needs.

Trillan – Support Buddy

Best for: Players who want reliable healing, buffs, and better team survivability.

Monster Hunter Outlanders Buddy Progression and Training

Developing your Buddies is important as you progress through Monster Hunter Outlanders and face stronger monsters. Leveling, ascension, skill training, and equipment all contribute to their effectiveness during hunts. Here's how to approach each part of Buddy progression.

1. Level Up Your Main Buddies

Start by leveling the Buddies you use most often. Increasing their levels improves their combat contribution and helps them keep up with stronger monsters.

Buddy progression includes level caps, with further development through ascension. You should also pay attention to the materials required for each upgrade. Material and quest icons can help direct you to relevant farming locations, making it easier to collect the resources you need.

Level Up Your Main Buddies

2. Ascend Buddies After Reaching Their Level Cap

Once a Buddy reaches its current level cap, ascension allows you to continue developing it. This process is connected to broader progression requirements, including Proof of Mastery.

Proof of Mastery is also relevant to Adventurer progression and story advancement, making it an important part of developing your main team. Rather than investing in every companion, prioritize the Buddies you rely on most. You can always develop additional companions later when your team needs different roles or abilities.

3. Improve Buddy Skills Through Training

Buddy training allows you to improve their abilities and make their combat effects more useful. Different skills provide different advantages, including passive bombs that deal percentage-based elemental damage, barrage cannons, and Inspiration buffs that increase Adventurer attack when monsters are weakened or affected by abnormal statuses. Other available effects include attack boosts and affinity improvements.

When choosing which skills to prioritize, consider your team's overall strategy. Damage-focused lineups can benefit from offensive Buddy abilities, while teams that need additional utility may benefit more from buffs and support effects. Focus on skills that complement your main weapon and Adventurer rather than investing in every available upgrade.

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4. Craft Buddy Armor and Gear

Buddies can also equip crafted armor and gear to improve their survivability. Monster carves and scrap materials can be used to prepare defensive equipment, helping your companions withstand attacks during tougher encounters.

However, your own equipment should remain the priority, especially during the early game. Upgrading your main hunter's weapons and armor, along with securing useful set bonuses, generally provides greater value than immediately investing resources in Buddy equipment.

Once your main gear is in good condition, you can use surplus materials to improve your companions. This becomes increasingly useful when facing powerful monsters, including Elder Dragons, where keeping your entire team alive becomes more challenging.

Best Tips for Choosing and Using Buddies

Choosing the right Buddy involves more than picking a companion with useful abilities. You also need to consider your Adventurers, weapon setup, and the challenges you're facing. These tips can help you make better use of your Buddies during different hunts.

Best Tips for Choosing and Using Buddies

1. Choose Buddies That Fill Your Team's Missing Roles

A balanced team can handle more combat situations. Assault Buddies provide additional damage, Disruptor Buddies offer battlefield control, and Support Buddies help with healing and buffs. Instead of choosing companions that perform similar roles, consider what your current lineup needs most.

  • Need more damage? Choose a Palico for additional offensive support.

  • Need better control? Use a Rutaco to disrupt enemies.

  • Need healing and buffs? Pick a Trillan to improve team survivability.

2. Take Advantage of Buddy and Adventurer Synergies

Buddy and Adventurer combinations can provide useful combat benefits. Your Fated Adventurer's Buddy skill offers buffs based on the companion you equip, while certain Adventurers, such as Ryunosuke, can further enhance Buddy performance.

Before settling on a team, consider how each companion's abilities complement your Adventurer.

  • Check class synergies: Match your Buddy's role with your Adventurer's combat style.

  • Review Buddy skills: Look for effects that complement your main Adventurer.

  • Compare combinations: Consider how different abilities work together before committing to a team setup.

3. Use Buddy Aggro to Create Attack Opportunities

Some Buddies can draw monster attention, giving you opportunities to attack or reposition. This is particularly useful when using weapons that require more time to execute attacks, such as Great Sword and Heavy Bowgun.

Rather than immediately attacking whenever you get close, pay attention to where the monster is focusing.

  • Wait for an opening: Let your Buddy distract the monster before committing to a heavy attack.

  • Watch the monster's movements: Don't assume you're completely safe just because its attention is elsewhere.

  • Make the most of the distraction: Use the opportunity to land charged attacks or reposition yourself.

4. Adjust Your Buddy Based on the Hunt

Not every monster requires the same team setup. Some encounters may demand additional damage, while others are easier to manage with battlefield control or healing support.

Adjust Your Buddy Based on the Hunt

For example, a Trillan can be particularly useful when you're struggling to survive longer encounters. Meanwhile, a Palico may be a better choice when you need additional offensive pressure. Consider the monster's attacks and your team's weaknesses before choosing your companion.

5. Coordinate Buddy Roles During Co-op Hunts

Co-op hunts allow up to four players to participate in a session, making team coordination important. Rather than having everyone rely on the same type of support, try to distribute Buddy roles across your team.

  • Distribute roles: Combine Assault damage, Disruptor control, and Support utility.

  • Cover team weaknesses: Choose Buddies that provide abilities your team currently lacks.

  • Adapt to the hunt: Adjust your companion choices based on the monster and your teammates' setups.

Conclusion

And that's how to make the most of your Buddies in Monster Hunter Outlanders! Focus on companions that complement your Adventurers, upgrade their useful skills, and save resources for the ones that best suit your team. If you're managing multiple accounts or farming materials, OSLink lets you run multiple game instances and synchronize actions, making it easier to manage your accounts and explore different team combinations without handling each session separately. Good luck building your dream team, hunters!

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