How to raise Kinsects in Monster Hunter Wilds

Monster Hunter Wilds raising Kinsects - Beetle hunter posing.

Raising Kinsects in Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the brand new mechanics that Insect Glaive players will have to contend with. Rather than simply purchasing the bug you want from the shop, you can now "raise" the two basic Kinsects into a selection of three types each, and then upgrade those three types into an additional two.

Yes, that means there are 20 Kinsect options overall in Wilds, though admittedly only 12 of those are of the highest rarity. Raising Kinsects costs monster materials, and since your bug pal is being upgraded, you won't be able to see all of the available options unless you make one of every single Kinsect. Lucky for you I did just that. Here I'll explain how to unlock raising Kinsects and provide a table with every Kinsect evolution lower down.

Raising Kinsects in Monster Hunter Wilds

Raising evolves your current Kinsect at the cost of materials (Image credit: Capcom)

You can raise your first Kinsects after you defeat The Black Flame (Nu Udra) in the Oilwell Basin in chapter two. Just speak to Gemma the smithy, select the Manage Kinsects option, and then choose Raising Kinsects. This first set of upgrades lets you raise the Mauldrone or Culldrone—depending on which you buy—into three different Kinsects respectively at the cost of monster materials. I'll lay out the options in the section below.

Note that when you raise a Kinsect it becomes its new form, so you no longer have access to its previous one. You can, however, buy more Culldrones and Mauldrones from Gemma and also raise those.

The next level for raising Kinsects unlocks when you reach High Rank and beat Yian Kut-Ku. Speak to Gemma the smithy again and you'll see that you can now raise your upgraded Kinsect into two further types. Each of the three Kinsects that the Mauldrone or Culldrone evolve into have two further upgrade options which are also listed below. However, these are more expensive and require extra monster materials. This is the final level of Kinsect evolution.

All Kinsects in Monster Hunter Wilds

Each Kinsect has its own unique stat distribution and Kinsect Bonuses (Image credit: Capcom)

It's worth noting that Kinsect stats will increase based on the Kinsect Level of the glaive you have equipped. That said, this stat distribution remains the same—a Monarch Alucanid, for example, will always have the highest power.

Rarity two Kinsect stats

These rarity two Kinsects have the same two Kinsect bonuses—Kinsect Boost: Harvest Extract and Attack Boost: Weak Point Focus.

Rarity four Kinsect stats

This is the max rarity for raising Kinsects, so these are your final options. These Kinsects also each have unique Kinsect bonus combos.