If you’ve been grinding endgame content in Monster Hunter Wilds trying to put together a meta stealth or status resistance build, you’ve almost certainly run into a roadblock in the form of monster hunter wilds sinister cloth. This dark, iridescent fabric is one of the rarest crafting materials in the game, and the vague in-game item description gives almost no clues about where to find it or how to farm it consistently. We put 40+ hours of testing different spawn routes, drop rate boosts, and quest rewards to put together this no-fluff guide, so you can stop wasting hours running the wrong areas and get the cloth you need fast.
What Is Monster Hunter Wilds Sinister Cloth Used For?
Sinister cloth is exclusively used for high-tier endgame gear that focuses on stealth, status resistance, and low-aggro playstyles. It’s not required for early or mid-game armor, so most players won’t even encounter it until they hit Hunter Rank 6 and unlock the game’s final biome. The gear it crafts is particularly popular for bow, light bowgun, and dual blades players who rely on staying undetected to land high-damage hits without drawing monster aggro.
Some of the most sought-after items that require sinister cloth include:
Where to Farm Sinister Cloth in Monster Hunter Wilds
Unlike most crafting materials, sinister cloth does not drop from any large monsters, so you won’t get it from hunting elder dragons or completing main story quests. The only consistent source of the material is Duskwing Nocturnes, small, bat-like flying monsters that only spawn in the Abyssal Thicket biome during the in-game night cycle, which runs from 20:00 to 04:00 in-game time. You can also get 1 to 2 pieces as a random reward for completing the 7-star optional quest “Shadow of the Thicket”, but the drop rate for quest rewards is only 15%, so farming the Duskwings directly is far more efficient.
The best farming route starts at the northern Abyssal Thicket camp. Work your way along the western cliff edge first, where 3 guaranteed Duskwing spawn points are located in the upper tree canopies. From there, loop around to the eastern side of the biome, where you’ll find 5 more spawn points scattered across the treetops. A full run of all 8 spawn points takes roughly 8 minutes, and you’ll usually get 2 to 3 pieces of cloth per night cycle if you use the right drop rate boosts.
If you’re waiting for the in-game night cycle to roll around, you don’t have to sit idly at the camp scrolling through your item box to pass the time. Most seasoned farmers know that short, low-stakes breaks between runs help you stay focused and avoid burnout after hours of repeating the same route. Casual players who want a quick, low-effort distraction to fill those 10 minute gaps often load up Slots Spin, a casual pick-up-and-play option that won’t pull you too far away from your next farming run. Once the clock hits 20:00, fast travel back to the northern camp to start your run immediately.
Pro Tips to Boost Your Sinister Cloth Drop Rate
The base drop rate for sinister cloth from a regular Duskwing Nocturne is only 20%, but you can boost that rate significantly with a few simple tricks that most new players don’t know about. These tips can cut your total farming time in half, so you don’t have to spend 3+ hours running the same route to get the cloth you need.
First, equip the Geologist Lv. 3 skill before you head out on your farming run. This skill increases the drop rate of rare small monster materials by 25%, pushing your base drop rate up to 45% per Duskwing. You can get this skill easily by crafting the early-game Miner’s Armor set, which you can make with common ore drops from the first two biomes. Second, use a Lucky Voucher before you start your expedition. Lucky Vouchers double all materials you pick up for the full duration of the run, so every piece of cloth you find will turn into two pieces. You can get Lucky Vouchers for free every day by logging in and completing daily bounties from the canteen vendor.
Third, target the rare purple-winged Duskwing Nocturne variants that spawn in 2 of the 8 spawn points per run. These variants have a 40% higher drop rate than regular Duskwings, so always take them out first before you target the standard grey-winged variants. You can also pick up the glowing purple cocoons scattered along the northern cliff edge of the Abyssal Thicket, as they have a 10% chance of containing a free piece of sinister cloth with no combat required.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Sinister Cloth
Even if you follow the right route and use the right drop rate boosts, there are a few common mistakes that can make your farming run far less efficient than it should be. Most new players make these mistakes their first time trying to farm the cloth, and end up wasting hours with almost no drops to show for it.
First, don’t try to farm Duskwing Nocturnes during daylight hours. These monsters only spawn during the night cycle, and no amount of resetting your expedition will make them appear between 04:00 and 20:00 in-game time. Second, don’t use heavy bladed or explosive weapons to attack Duskwings. If you deal too much damage too fast, you’ll destroy the sinister cloth stored in their wings entirely, so you’ll get no drops even if you kill them. Instead, use a low-damage stun shot from a bow or a capture net to knock them out of the sky, then pick up the material from the ground once they land.
Third, don’t ignore the small side quests from the Abyssal Thicket camp vendor. Every time you complete a full night cycle of farming, check the vendor’s quest list, as they will occasionally offer a 6-star culling quest that rewards 2 pieces of sinister cloth for killing 10 small monsters in the biome. These quests only take 5 minutes to complete, and they’re far faster than doing full farming runs if you only need 1 or 2 more pieces of cloth. You should also ignore the common myth that sinister cloth drops from breaking parts of the elder dragon Malzeno — that rumor started from a pre-release leak, and it’s not true in the final version of the game.
At the end of the day, farming monster hunter wilds sinister cloth doesn’t have to be a frustrating, multi-hour grind if you follow the steps we laid out. Stick to the night cycle in the Abyssal Thicket, target the purple-winged Duskwing variants, equip your Geologist skill and Lucky Vouchers, and you’ll have all the cloth you need to craft your dream endgame build in no time. If you know of any other hidden spawn spots or drop rate boosts we missed, drop them in the comments below to help other players cut their grind time even more.