If you’ve spent any time wandering the sun-scorched canyons of Monster Hunter Wilds’ opening region, you’ve probably run into the anxious researcher Aida loitering outside the first outpost, fretting over a missing research sample. I swear, I walked past her three times before I noticed the blue exclamation mark over her head the first time I played. Her request, Monster Hunter Wilds Aida's Apprehension, is one of the first side quests you’ll unlock that ties directly to the region’s endemic life lore, and it’s easy to miss if you’re rushing to hunt your first large monster. I skipped this quest on my first playthrough to chase a Rathian, and I regretted it almost immediately when I found out I missed out on a free craftable charm that cuts down on gathering time for the first 10 hours of the game. This guide breaks down every step of the quest, so you don’t make the same mistake I did.
How to Unlock Monster Hunter Wilds Aida's Apprehension
You’ll unlock this quest immediately after completing the first tutorial hunt, where you take down the Kulu-Ya-Ku that’s been stealing supplies from the outpost. Aida stands right next to the main supply crate by the outpost entrance, so she’s hard to miss if you’re not immediately sprinting toward the main quest marker pointing west. She’ll give you a quick lore dump about her team’s work tracking monster migration patterns using bioluminescent moss, before asking you to retrieve the scattered samples and clear their research site of hostile monsters.
You don’t need to have unlocked any specific gear or items to start this quest, just the standard gathering knife you get at the start of the game and whatever weapon you used for the Kulu-Ya-Ku hunt works perfectly. One thing to note: if you already explored the northern canyon before picking up the quest, any moss samples you collected earlier won’t count toward the quest objective. You’ll have to gather new samples after you accept the request, so don’t waste time trying to turn in old ones.
There’s no time limit for this quest either, so you can take as long as you need to complete it, even if you stop to hunt a random large monster that spawns along the way. That makes it a perfect low-pressure side quest to knock out before you dive into the more challenging main story hunts.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough for Completing the Quest
The quest has two core objectives: collect 5 intact glowing moss samples from the northern canyon, and clear the research site of any hostile monsters so Aida’s team can return to their work. You can tackle these objectives in any order, but I recommend collecting the moss first, so you don’t have to backtrack after fighting the large monster at the research site. The whole process takes 10 minutes at most, even if you’re taking your time to explore.
- Head north from the outpost, sticking to the left side of the canyon to avoid the roaming Rhenoplos herd that spawns between 7AM and 3PM in-game time. These guys will charge you on sight and can one-shot you if you’re still wearing starter armor, so sneaking past is way easier than fighting them.
- Look for glowing blue-green patches on shaded rock faces between the two small water pools in the northern canyon. Each patch gives one intact moss sample if you gather it without being interrupted by a monster attack.
- Once you have all 5 samples, head to the marked research camp at the far north of the canyon, where you’ll find a lone Great Jaggi patrolling the perimeter. You’ll see the broken research crate right next to the camp tent.
- Defeat the Great Jaggi to clear the site, then interact with the broken research crate to confirm the area is safe for Aida’s team to return. You don’t have to collect any extra materials from the crate, just interact with it once to complete the second objective.
The Great Jaggi here is a bit weaker than the one you fight later in the main quest, it only has 1200 HP instead of 1800, so even if you’re still using the starter weapon, you can take it down in 3-4 minutes. If you get swarmed by regular Jaggi while fighting the Great Jaggi, use a dung pod to scatter them so you don’t get stun-locked by multiple attacks at once. If it’s raining in the canyon, the moss samples will glow twice as bright, so it’s even easier to spot them from 50 meters away, no scoutflies needed.
All Rewards for Completing Aida's Apprehension
The rewards for this quest are way better than you’d expect for such a short, early-game side request, and that’s exactly why it’s worth taking the time to complete it. First, you’ll get the standard base rewards: 1200 zenny, 3 regular potions, 2 mega potions, and 5 extra dung pods. Those are all useful early game, but the real star of the reward pool is the Gathering Pro Charm.
This charm gives you a 15% chance to get double items every time you gather any endemic life, mining outcrop, or bone pile. I used this charm up until I hit HR 4, and it saved me hours of grinding for bone and ore materials that I needed for my Anjanath long sword. You can’t get this charm anywhere else in the early game, so skipping this quest means you’ll have to spend way more time gathering materials for your first armor and weapon upgrades.
You’ll also get +20 reputation with the research team faction. Once you hit 100 total reputation with them, you’ll unlock 20% discounts on all items at the outpost shop, including potions, traps, and ammo. Completing this quest also unlocks a follow-up request from Aida when you reach the second forest region later in the game. That follow-up quest gives you the Research Booster Charm, which increases the rate at which you unlock monster research levels by 20%, making it way easier to fill out your monster guide and get rare part drops from hunts.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During the Quest
Even though this quest is pretty straightforward, I’ve seen a ton of players make the same avoidable mistakes that waste time or make the quest harder than it needs to be. The first mistake is rushing straight to the research site without collecting the moss samples first. I did this on my second playthrough, and I had to backtrack all the way across the canyon to collect the samples after I killed the Great Jaggi, which added an extra 5 minutes to the quest. Don’t forget that moss samples only spawn on shaded rock faces, so you won’t find them on sun-exposed cliffs, so you can skip those entirely when you’re searching.
Another common mistake is trying to fight the Rhenoplos herd instead of sneaking past them. They have super high defense for early game, and their charge attacks deal massive damage, so fighting them is a waste of time and resources. Just crouch and walk along the left canyon wall, and they won’t even notice you. I also see a lot of players try to gather moss samples while being chased by small Jaggi, but if you get hit mid-gather, you won’t get the sample, so it’s better to kill any nearby small monsters before you start gathering.
The most annoying mistake I’ve made is leaving the quest area before interacting with the broken research crate. I collected all the samples and killed the Great Jaggi, then fast traveled back to the outpost immediately, and the quest didn’t count. I had to run all the way back to the research site just to click the crate, which wasted 15 minutes of my playtime. Don’t make that mistake, just interact with the crate before you fast travel back, and you’ll be fine.
Monster Hunter Wilds Aida's Apprehension is one of those small, easy-to-miss side quests that punches way above its weight when it comes to useful rewards. Even if you’re the type of player who only cares about hunting big monsters, taking 10 minutes out of your playthrough to knock this quest out will make the rest of your early game grind far less frustrating. I recommend doing it right after you finish the first tutorial hunt, before you move on to the next main quest objective, so you can start benefiting from the Gathering Pro Charm as early as possible. If you run into any snags while completing the quest, just drop a comment below and I’ll help you out.