If you’ve spent any amount of time tramping through the frosty boreal forests of Monster Hunter Wilds, you’ve probably already had a very loud, very messy run-in with monster hunter wilds doshaguma. That massive, honey-obsessed fanged beast can send even seasoned hunters back to camp in one sloppy, moss-covered swing. I still cringe thinking about my first encounter: I was mid-forage for frost herbs, minding my own business, when I heard that low, guttural growl before it came barreling through the pine trees, covered in sticky honey and clumps of moss. I barely got my greatsword up in time to block its first charge, and even then, it sent me flying 20 feet into a snowbank. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to hunt it successfully, farm its rare drops, and avoid the stupid mistakes I made my first three tries fighting it.
Monster Hunter Wilds Doshaguma: Core Behavior and Weaknesses You Need to Know
Doshaguma makes its home in the northernmost, honey-rich sections of the boreal forest, and it spends almost all of its time either foraging for wild beehives or napping in sun-warmed mossy clearings. It’s usually non-aggressive unless you get too close to its honey stash, but once it’s provoked, it won’t stop chasing you until you leave its territory or take it down. Unlike smaller fanged beasts, it doesn’t call for backup, so you won’t have to worry about adds mid-fight.
Fire is its biggest elemental weakness, followed closely by thunder. Ice and water attacks do almost no damage, so leave your frost bow or water hammer at home for this hunt, you’ll just be wasting your time. Its physical weak points are its unarmored head and front paws, while its moss-covered back is so heavily plated that even high-rank greatsword hits will bounce off if you don’t have enough sharpness. I learned that the hard way during my first hunt, I spent 10 minutes plinking away at its back with a light bowgun before I realized I was only doing 3 damage per hit.
Watch for the visual cue of its fur glistening with fresh honey, that means it’s about to enter its enraged state. When enraged, it moves 30% faster, hits 25% harder, and all of its paw swipes leave sticky honey residue that slows you down for 5 seconds if you get hit. It will also start using its full-body charge attack more often, which can one-shot low-rank hunters even with a full health bar.
Step-by-Step Hunt Strategy for Doshaguma
First, prep correctly before you leave camp. Always bring fire ammo or a fire-infused weapon for this hunt, it cuts down your total hunt time by almost 40% in my experience. You should also pack 2 to 3 jars of regular honey, you can drop them on the ground mid-fight to distract Doshaguma. It will stop mid-attack to eat the honey, giving you a 10-second window to land heavy combos, heal up, or set up traps. That little trick has saved me from more faints than I can count.
During the fight, stay tucked right next to its front shoulder as much as possible. Most of its attacks are wide, forward-facing swipes or charges, so you’ll avoid 90% of its hitboxes if you stay at its side. Don’t stand directly behind it either, it has a fast back kick that can stun you if you’re not paying attention. Listen for its loud snort before it charges, that’s your cue to dive out of the way, not roll. The charge has a much wider hitbox than you’d expect, and rolling often won’t get you far enough away to avoid damage.
When its health drops below 20%, it will limp back to its hidden honey den to rest and heal. That’s the perfect time to set up a shock trap and tranq it to capture it instead of killing it. Capturing gives you way more rare drops, so it’s almost always the better choice unless you’re hunting it for a specific carve-only material.
All Doshaguma Drops and How to Farm Them Efficiently
Most monster hunter wilds doshaguma drops are used to craft high-damage bludgeoning weapons and sturdy mid-rank armor sets, so you’ll probably end up farming it a dozen or more times during your early and mid-game progression. The exact drop rates change slightly between low and high rank, but these are the most common and rare items you can get from it:
- Common drops (low rank): Doshaguma Pelt, Honeyed Claw Shard, Mossy Bone, Boreal Honey
- Rare drops (low rank): Doshaguma Thickhide, Sharp Honeyed Claw, Fanged Beast Heart
- High rank exclusive drops: Doshaguma Gold Pelt, Crystallized Honey Claw, Tempered Fanged Beast Gem
If you’re farming for the ultra-rare Tempered Fanged Beast Gem, the best quest to run is the 7-star investigation quest that has a gold reward bonus for breaking both of Doshaguma’s front claws. Breaking both claws guarantees you at least one claw material, and doubles your chance of getting the gem as a quest reward. Don’t forget to pick up the shiny drops that fall off it during the fight too, those have a 15% chance of being rare materials. I’ve gotten two tempered gems just from picking up shiny drops mid-hunt, without even having to capture the monster.
You can also boost your drop rates by equipping the Geologist skill, which increases the number of shiny drops that fall off monsters during fights, and the Good Luck skill, which boosts your quest reward rare drop odds by 20%. I always run both when I’m farming Doshaguma, and I usually walk away with at least one rare drop per run.
Best Doshaguma Gear Sets Worth Crafting
Doshaguma gear is some of the most useful early to mid-rank gear in the game, especially for melee players who use heavy weapons like hammers, hunting horns, or greatswords. The low-rank Doshaguma Bludgeoner set is my go-to recommendation for new players who are still figuring out their playstyle, it’s easy to craft, has great defense for its rank, and comes with a handful of incredibly useful skills.
The low-rank set gives you the Honeyed Stamina buff, which makes your stamina drain 20% slower when you’re attacking, perfect for long combos with heavy weapons that use a lot of stamina per swing. It also has 20 points of ice resistance, which is super helpful for exploring the higher, frost-covered parts of the boreal map where constant frost damage can drain your health fast. The set’s only real downside is its very low fire resistance, so you won’t want to wear it when hunting fire-based monsters like Rathalos or Teostra, you’ll take extra damage from all their attacks.
The high-rank Doshaguma set is even better, it comes with the Frenzy Resistance skill, which prevents you from getting slowed by honey, tar, or other sticky status effects. That skill is a lifesaver for later hunts against elder dragons that use sticky attacks, and it works in both PvE and PvP if you’re into the game’s arena mode. The high-rank weapons crafted from Doshaguma materials also have some of the highest raw damage stats of any mid-rank bludgeoning weapons, so they’re worth crafting even if you don’t want the full armor set.
At the end of the day, monster hunter wilds doshaguma is one of the most approachable mid-game monsters for new players, as long as you come prepared with the right weapon and know its attack patterns. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a few tries to get the hang of dodging its charges, even experienced hunters get caught off guard by its sudden speed bursts when it’s covered in honey. Once you get the hang of farming it, you’ll have access to some of the most useful early and mid-rank gear in the game, making your later hunts way smoother. If you have any extra tips for taking it down that I missed, feel free to share them in the comments below.