How Does Item Trade Work in Monster Hunter Wilds?

As you reach different villages and people in the Forgotten Lands of Monster Hunter Wilds, you’ll unlock the ability to use the Item Trade feature to get some needed ingredients and materials. Some of them are impossible or difficult to find otherwise! There’s even a quality of life adjustment that comes when Chapter 4 begins that makes it possible to more easily swap stuff, and it helps ensure Nata remains relevant in Monster Hunter Wilds.

How do I take part in Item Trade in Monster Hunter Wilds?

The whole Item Trade process is incredibly easy. First, you visit an NPC on the map who is designated as a trader. They will have an icon next to their name in town, and they’ll appear on the map with a special symbol. Once you start to get into the postgame, say Chapter 4, you’ll also see special notifications on the map when that NPC’s stock updates.

Here are two screenshots I took showing what the Item Trader map icon looks like at the Cliffs region and how that changes with a little “update” note when more items are available. 

When you talk to an NPC trader, there will be about three items in the list. For example, one person might offer you three Fluffy Eggs that you could use for cooking meals. However, you’d need to have one Dragonscale Vase picked up from a gathering point on your journey to trade for that. You’d also only be able to make that trade up to two times. Or if you wanted five Max Potions, you’d need to have a Wyvernsprout ready. 

How does Village Intermediary Nata work in Monster Hunter Wilds? 

Once Nata decides what he’d like to do in the future during the Monster Hunter Wilds campaign in Chapter 4, his role at Base Camps becomes Village Intermediary. This means he essentially becomes an Item Trade hub. If you talk to him, two options come up. One is Item Trade, and the other is Festival Shares.

First, you’ll always find Nata at your Base Camp near your tent. Typically, he’ll be sitting outside it, often with Alma. Here’s a screenshot I took showing him in his usual spot. Like other important NPCs and Item Traders, his name now has his title and an icon next to it.

If you select the Item Trade option, then a list of all NPCs who act as traders in every region appears. You can browse their available stock and “purchase” through Nata, rather than fast traveling or heading to that specific person. 

The Festival Shares is essentially an opportunity to get free items. When time passes, a festival or event might happen. You can then talk to Nata to get free materials or items as a gift. So as an example, one of the Firespring Festival Shares items would be some Specklite that you could use when crafting.

Here’s how both of those. sections look in-game:

Monster Hunter Wilds is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.