Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list
Who to pull, who to build and which weapon to give your own hunter. This Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list combines the three most detailed launch rankings into one clear list, with notes wherever they disagree.
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Quick answer
- Best adventurer: Midori (Long Sword, Fire). She is at or near the top of every launch ranking.
- Also top tier: Pepper (Heavy Bowgun, Water) and Luka (Bow, Thunder). Luka can be obtained for free.
- Best weapon for your Fated Adventurer: Heavy Bowgun, with Charge Blade close behind if you are willing to learn it.
- Best reroll target: Midori, then Pepper or Arkaya.
- Safe to skip pulling for: Luka and Pyro, because you get them without spending contracts.
How this Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list works
Monster Hunter Outlanders launched on October 29, 2026, and the first rankings appeared within days. They do not agree on everything, so instead of adding a fourth opinion we compared three detailed public lists — GameWith's adventurer and weapon rankings, LDShop's character list and GrindNStrat's weapon list — and placed each adventurer where the evidence lines up. Where one list ranks someone very differently, the table says so.
Two things to keep in mind. First, this Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list is for the launch version — the first balance patch or a new featured banner can move things around. Second, tiers matter less than you think in early story content: gear crafted from monster materials, elemental weakness and how comfortable you are with a weapon all change your results more than a single tier.
Monster Hunter Outlanders adventurer tier list
Adventurers are the characters you recruit from banners. Each one uses a fixed weapon and element and fills a role in your squad. Characters inside the same tier are not ranked against each other.
| Tier | Adventurer | Weapon | Element | Where others rank them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Midori | Long Sword | Fire | Top tier on all three lists |
| S | Pepper | Heavy Bowgun | Water | SSS on GameWith, A on LDShop (provisional) |
| S | Luka | Bow | Thunder | SS on GameWith, S on LDShop — and free |
| A | Arkaya | Lance | Dragon | SS on GameWith, A on LDShop |
| A | Haze | Dual Blades | Thunder | SS on GameWith, A on LDShop |
| A | Madelyn | Bow | Water | S on both lists |
| B | Pyro | Great Sword | Dragon | S on GameWith, A on LDShop — free |
| B | Keres | Dual Blades | Dragon | S on GameWith, B on LDShop |
| B | Rhodes | Hammer | Ice | S on GameWith, B on LDShop |
| B | Luxheart | Great Sword | Thunder | A on both lists |
| C | Raya | Dual Blades | Fire | A on GameWith, B on LDShop |
| C | Ryunosuke | Long Sword | Fire | A on GameWith, B on LDShop |
| C | Ouyang Varen | Lance | Water | B on both lists |
S tier: Midori, Pepper and Luka
Midori is the easiest recommendation in the game. Her Long Sword fills its Spirit Gauge quickly, a perfectly timed input triggers Moment of Insight for extra damage, and Perfect Evade lets her dodge through attacks that would knock other hunters down. She is strong on day one and stays strong as fights get harder.
Pepper brings control that few others offer: her ultimate paralyses the monster and makes it take more damage, which helps the whole squad. She is mobile for a Heavy Bowgun user and has both a Perfect Guard and good evasion. LDShop holds her a tier lower for now, which is why she is the most likely S-tier pick to move after more testing.
Luka combines ranged pressure with excellent mobility. Because you can get her without pulling, she is the best free character in this Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list and a strong reason not to panic if your early pulls go badly.
A tier: Arkaya, Haze and Madelyn
Arkaya turns Resolve into shielded Lance attacks and protects the squad in long hunts. Haze is a fast Dual Blades fighter whose Archdemon Mode keeps pressure up; LDShop calls her placement provisional. Madelyn is the support pick: her spore mechanics add damage and help keep the team alive, so she is worth building if you play in co-op.
B and C tiers
Pyro rewards well-timed heavy Great Sword attacks and is free, so build him if you need a Dragon damage dealer. Keres and Rhodes are ranked highly by GameWith but lower elsewhere — Rhodes is worth it if you want the Hammer, the only weapon that can stun. Raya is guaranteed in the tutorial 10-pull, so everyone has her; she is a practical early Dual Blades user but falls off later.
Best weapon for your Fated Adventurer
Your own hunter, the Fated Adventurer, can switch between the weapon types instead of being locked to one, so this half of the Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list ranks weapons rather than characters. The two weapon rankings agree on the top and bottom but differ in the middle:
| Tier | Weapon | Why | GameWith / GrindNStrat |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Heavy Bowgun | Fights at any range, uses every ammo type, and Perfect Guards reload it | SS / S |
| S | Charge Blade | Safe sword mode plus a high-damage axe mode; hard to master, very strong on large monsters | S / S |
| A | Bow | Slide Shot keeps you mobile while hitting weak points; watch your stamina | S / A |
| A | Dual Blades | Many hits and great mobility up close; Demon Mode drains stamina fast | S / A |
| A | Long Sword | Simple moveset, forgiving Foresight Slash; damage depends on gauge level | A / S |
| A | Lance | The best defence in the game, but slow and lower damage | S / B |
| B | Great Sword | Highest single-hit damage and great for part breaks, but slow with big openings | A / A |
| B | Hammer | The only weapon that can stun; needs head targeting and setup | B / B |
Weapons and armour are crafted from monster materials, not pulled from banners, so you can try every weapon type for free. Pick the one that feels right and put your Zenny into upgrading it rather than spreading resources across all eight.
Reroll tier list
If you want to restart for a better opening, these are the characters worth resetting for. The list is shorter than the main Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list because free characters are not worth rerolling for.
| Reroll tier | Adventurers |
|---|---|
| SS | Midori |
| S | Pepper, Arkaya |
| A | Keres |
| B | Rhodes |
| C (not worth a reroll) | Luka, Pyro (both free), Luxheart, Ryunosuke |
- Log in with a guest account and create your hunter.
- Clear the tutorial (choosing the Heavy Bowgun speeds this up) until you craft the Kulu-Ya-Ku set and unlock Recruitment.
- Claim your mail, including the 200 Rutacoin Download Center reward, and redeem every active code for extra Rutacoins.
- Pull on the beginner and featured banners, then exchange Rutacoins for more contracts.
- Not happy? Delete the account in Settings › Privacy and start again. The first run takes about 20–30 minutes; later runs are faster because you can skip the tutorial.
The ideal start is Midori plus Pepper. Any limited character or strong SSR is good enough — the featured banner SSR rate is only 0.6%, so do not burn an evening chasing a perfect account.
Building a team
A good squad mixes roles: one main damage dealer, one disruptor who controls the monster, and one support who keeps the team alive. A simple launch team from this Monster Hunter Outlanders tier list is Midori + Pepper + Madelyn, or Luka + Pyro + Madelyn if you are fully free to play.
Element matters too. Matching your damage dealer to the monster's weakness is worth more than a tier, and SR adventurers who share an element with your best SSR can trigger a Resonance bonus — a good reason to keep a few SRs levelled instead of ignoring them.