As a long-time Monster Hunter franchise player who’s logged over 200 hours in Wilds already, I can tell you there are few crafting materials as frustratingly elusive as the monster hunter wilds great hornfly. I spent my first three days of endgame play wandering every biome hitting bug outcrops at random before I figured out the specific spawn rules and farming routes that work. If you’re stuck trying to get this rare bug for your favorite armor or weapon upgrade, this guide has all the info you need to stop wasting time and start farming consistently.
What Makes the Monster Hunter Wilds Great Hornfly So Valuable?
Most common bugs in Wilds are used for low-level consumables or basic armor upgrades, but the Great Hornfly is reserved exclusively for high-tier, endgame content. You won’t find it in early-game biomes, and it never drops from common monster hunts or side quest rewards. It’s not a common drop from standard bug outcrops either, which is why so many players go hours without seeing a single one.
That rarity isn’t just for show, either. This bug is required for some of the most powerful builds in the game right now, from meta armor sets to max-level charm melding. You can’t buy it from the Provisioner, trade for it with the Argosy, or get it as a login bonus, so the only way to get your hands on it is to go out and farm it yourself.
It’s also one of the few materials that carries over between new game plus runs, so if you farm extra early on, you won’t have to grind for it again when you start a new playthrough with higher difficulty settings.
Exact Spawn Locations for Great Hornfly in Monster Hunter Wilds
Great Hornfly only spawns in three specific biomes, and only under very specific weather and time conditions. First, it only appears between 10pm and 4am in-game time, so you’ll want to set a custom time at your camp before you start farming. It also won’t spawn during heavy rain, sandstorms, or blizzards, so check the biome forecast before you head out.
You can increase spawn odds by equipping the Entomologist skill level 3, which you can get from the low rank Bnahabra armor set or a basic charm. This skill also prevents you from accidentally breaking the bug when you harvest it, which is a common frustration for players new to farming rare bugs. Always bring a maximum durability bug net too, because you’ll be hitting a lot of outcrops, and a broken net mid-farm will force you to fast travel back to camp and waste time.
After testing every possible spawn point across all biomes for 10+ hours, these are the three most reliable farming routes that give the highest chance of a Great Hornfly spawn:
- Ancient Thornwood Route: Start at the northeast camp, climb the 3 giant redwood trees near the Rathian nest, then glide to the 4 cliffside bug outcrops before looping back to camp. This route takes 8 minutes to complete, and has the highest base spawn rate of all three locations.
- Crystal Tundra Route: Spawn at the west thermal camp, check the 4 bug outcrops around the largest steam vent, then check the frozen tree branches above the ice cave entrance. This route is faster at 5 minutes, but spawns are slightly rarer than the Thornwood.
- Sunken Atoll Route: Start at the south mangrove camp, run along the treetop path above the tidal pools, hit all 5 bug outcrops before the tide rises at 3am in-game time. This route has the lowest base spawn rate, but Great Hornfly here often spawn in pairs, so you can get two per run if you get lucky.
If you run a full route and don’t find any Great Hornfly, just fast travel to a different biome and then back to your starting camp to reset all outcrop spawns. You don’t have to wait for the in-game time to pass, as fast traveling automatically resets all gathering points.
Efficient Farming Tips to Cut Your Grind Time Down
Even with the right route, you could still spend hours farming if you don’t know the small quality of life tricks that make the process faster. The first thing I always do before a farming run is bring my Palico with the Bug Catcher support skill equipped. This skill marks all rare bug spawns on your mini map for 10 minutes, so you don’t have to waste time checking every single outcrop.
If you see a small, gold rare endemic life marker pop up on your mini map when you’re in the right biome and time frame, 9 times out of 10 it’s a Great Hornfly. Don’t run straight for it though, because if you scare any small endemic life nearby, it might fly away before you can harvest it. Crouch as you get within 10 feet, and use your stealth mantle if you have it equipped to avoid spooking it.
If you get a Great Hornfly spawn, don’t harvest it immediately: wait 10 seconds to see if a second one spawns nearby, they often come in pairs. I’ve gotten two Great Hornfly from the same outcrop cluster 6 times now, so this trick alone has saved me hours of farming. You can also complete the side quest “The Horned Fly of the Thornwood” from the Serpent’s Lair hub to unlock a permanent 10% higher spawn rate for all rare bugs, including Great Hornfly.
One common mistake I see new players make is stopping to fight random monsters while they’re farming. Even a small fight with a Jagras pack can take 2 minutes, and it doesn’t increase your odds of getting a bug spawn. Just run past any monsters that don’t aggro you, and fast travel away if you get attacked by a large monster that chases you.
Best Crafting Uses for Your Farmed Great Hornfly
Once you start farming consistently, you’ll build up a small stock of Great Hornfly pretty quickly, but you don’t want to waste them on low-value upgrades that you’ll replace in a few hours. The first priority for most players should be upgrading the Kulu Ya Ku Helm to its final max rank, which gives +2 Critical Eye and a level 2 decoration slot. This helm is part of almost every meta melee and bow build right now, so it’s worth the investment.
The second best use is putting them into the “Twilight Melding” pool for charm crafting. This is the highest tier of melding available, and using a Great Hornfly as one of the materials gives you a 30% higher chance of rolling rare skills like Weakness Exploit 3, Critical Boost 3, or Guard 5. I’ve rolled three top-tier charms using this method, and it’s way more consistent than using common materials for melding.
You can also use Great Hornfly to augment endgame rarity 8 and 9 weapons to add extra decoration slots, or to upgrade the rare Insect Glaive kinsects that give extra critical hit chance. Avoid using them for consumables like bug traps or stat boosters, though, because those can be crafted with common bugs that are 10 times easier to find.
We recommend keeping at least 8 Great Hornfly in your item box at all times for unexpected upgrade requirements. Many of the post-game anomaly quest armor upgrades require 2-3 Great Hornfly each, so you don’t want to run out right when you’re about to finish your dream build.
Farming for rare materials is part of the Monster Hunter experience, but it doesn’t have to be a frustrating grind if you know where to look and what to do. The monster hunter wilds great hornfly might seem impossible to find at first, but if you follow the spawn rules, use the right farming routes, and take advantage of the small tricks we shared, you’ll have more than enough for all your upgrade needs in no time. I still go back for a 10 minute farming run every few days when I need extra for melding, and I almost always leave with at least one per run. Happy hunting!