Welcome back, Riders! Whether you’re deep into Monster Hunter Stories 2 or just scratching the surface, there’s always something new to uncover. This guide highlights 10 lesser-known tricks and details—some surprisingly powerful, others just plain fun—that can enhance your gameplay in creative ways. From clever escapes to endgame optimization, let’s dive into the secrets.
1. Evade Monsters with the Menu Trick
Stealing eggs from a nest only to be caught by an angry, waking monster? There’s a way to escape unscathed—especially useful in online co-op. When a monster is about to engage, open your menu at the last moment. While the menu is up, your character is essentially immune to contact. Wait until it passes, then exit the menu and make a break for it.
This is even more effective with a co-op partner giving you the signal when it’s safe to move. As a backup option, you can also grab another egg just before the monster attacks, which gives you a brief invulnerability window, but it only works once.
2. Unlock Super Modes Using Element-Clad Genes
Some monsters, like Rajang, display awesome visual transformations during kinship moves, but these modes are normally temporary. Want your Monstie to look like that during normal combat? Use element-clad genes.
These genes—Fireclad, Thunderclad, Iceclad, etc.—trigger special appearances and enhance damage. For example, giving Rajang the Thunderclad gene from Zinogre lets him enter his lightning-charged state in regular fights, dealing extra Thunder damage and looking supercharged for three turns.
3. Yes, You Can Remove Ena From Your Party
You probably know that you can change your story companions by speaking to them near the village exits. What’s surprising is that you can also remove Ena from your party by talking to her directly in the same area.
Why would you do this? That’s up to you—but it’s possible. Removing her also removes her monster mount from your group, which may affect immersion, but the option is there.
4. Discover Hidden Duo Kinship Attacks
There are more kinship animations than you think—some are special duo kinships exclusive to co-op play. If you and your partner use specific monster pairings (like two Aptonoth), you might trigger a unique, often hilarious joint attack.
Instead of a generic two-monster charge, you might see something wild, like spinning Beyblade-style collisions. These are still being discovered, and it appears they fall into categories based on monster type. More info is sure to come as players experiment.
5. Layered Armor Customization: Cheap & Stylish
Want to look good without sacrificing your stats? Head to Lulucion to access the layered armor smith. He lets you craft appearances based on sets you’ve already crafted—so to save resources, craft low-rank versions of armor sets first, then convert them into layered armor.
Once crafted, you can customize these at any home chest in any hub. Stories 2 even lets you color armor with more detail than the main series—though it has fewer total color options. Still, the visual variety is huge, and it’s a cheap way to personalize your hunter.
6. Expeditions Are a Goldmine (Literally)
Expeditions aren’t just for leveling unused Monsties. They’re one of the best sources of charms, nutriments, spheres, and gear. With enough bottle caps, you can upgrade to six expedition slots via the Melynx Inc. vendor.
To get the best results:
- Match the recommended elements for each mission to raise the success rate.
- Don’t send out parties with below 70% success rate.
- Focus on Treasure Hunter missions at endgame for superior rewards.
This system runs in the background, letting you passively gather valuable resources every time you play.
7. Melynx Inc.’s Secret Endgame Tabs
In post-story content, Melynx Inc. becomes even more valuable. Beyond the stable and expedition upgrades, a second item tab appears.
Here you can trade bottle caps for:
- Expedition tickets for rare monsters like Deviants and Elder Dragons
- Palamute tickets for top-tier genes
- Nutriments and Stimulants (permanent stat boosts or gene slot unlockers)
- Talismans (randomized stat gear for your hunter)
These tickets and items are endgame essentials, especially for fine-tuning your team.
8. Advanced Prayer Pot Mechanics
The Prayer Pot is more than just a buff machine. Here’s what you need to know:
- Prayers and Charms of the same type won’t stack; only the stronger one applies.
- Prayers are unlocked up to level 8, but all prayer effects scale with the pot’s level, so maxing it to level 20 is still worthwhile.
- You can get Charms from quests, expeditions, chests, and the daily Lunar Luck roll.
Ideally, aim to keep a Finding Charm or Finding Prayer active when hunting eggs. These buffs raise the odds of rare genes, helping you build stronger Monsties over time.
9. Passive Genes Don’t Stack Their Effects
If you’ve been trying to stack small, medium, and large versions of a passive gene—stop. Only the highest value applies.
Let’s say you equip four Critical Eye genes: one small, one medium, one large, and one XL. Only the XL will actually affect your Monstie. However, you can still use multiple versions for Bingo bonuses, even if their actual passive effects don’t stack. It’s worth doing in the short term if you’re short on ideal genes, but know that it’s a temporary solution.
10. You Can Use Nutriments on Yourself
Most players use Nutriments to boost their Monsties’ stats permanently. But did you know you can also use them on yourself? This includes:
- Vitality: Adds max HP
- Strength: Increases element attack
- Defense: Increases element resistance
Since your rider is guaranteed to be part of every fight, there’s no reason to hoard these items. You can use 10 of each type per character, so don’t forget to power yourself up!
Final Thoughts
Whether it’s exploiting invincibility frames to escape monsters or unlocking secret kinship animations, Monster Hunter Stories 2 is filled with hidden mechanics and delightful details. These 10 tips scratch the surface of what’s possible if you’re curious and willing to experiment.
Make sure to keep your expeditions rolling, your Prayer Pot maxed, and your Melynx trades active, especially in the postgame. And above all—keep discovering. There’s always more waiting to be found in the world of Stories.
My Gaming Tutorials 
Leave a comment