Honestly, playing Monster Hunter Wilds over the last few months has been a bit of a rollercoaster. One minute you're marveling at the scale of the Windward Plains, and the next, your frame rate decides to take a vacation. Capcom just dropped a series of updates, culminating in the January 2026 patches, and there is a lot to unpack.
If you've been following the drama, you know the PC version has been... well, "wonky" is a nice way to put it. But the latest Capcom Monster Hunter Wilds patch notes finally address some of the weirdest bugs we’ve seen in years. I’m talking about "thousands of DLC checks" weird.
The January 7 Update and the Gogmazios Fixes
Let’s start with the immediate stuff. Version 1.040.03.00 (which shows up as update 1.040.050 on your console) went live right at the start of January. This wasn't a massive content drop—that was Title Update 4 back in December—but it was a vital "clean-up" patch.
Most of the focus here was on Support Hunters. If you've been tackling the massive Elder Dragon Gogmazios, you know the pain of Fabius. He’s the Support Hunter who is supposed to help you survive Gog’s "supernova" style special attack. Before this patch, Fabius had a nasty habit of standing in the wrong spot or getting flinch-locked by your own attacks.
Capcom basically sat Fabius down for a performance review. They’ve now given all Support Hunters the Shock Absorber skill. This means you won’t accidentally knock him out of his guard animation when you're frantically trying to hit the monster. He also now pings the map with a guild icon when he's ready to shield you. It makes the fight much less of a "where is that Felyne?!" simulator.
Bug Fixes You Might Have Missed
- Pendants and Decorations: There was a frustrating bug where restarting the game would reset your Seikret decorations and pendants to default. That's fixed.
- Hunting Horn Echo Bubbles: Some players were seeing red bubbles regardless of the effect. Now the visual cues actually match the buffs.
- Barrel Bowling: Points were occasionally vanishing into the ether. Now they actually count when you hit targets with explosions.
The PC Performance Scandal: DLC vs. FPS
Now, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the cat in the hub.
Earlier this month, a technical wizard in the community named de_Tylmarande noticed something bizarre. They found that people who owned all the cosmetic DLC were getting better frame rates than those who didn't. Naturally, the internet went nuclear. People thought Capcom had literally paywalled performance.
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It turns out the truth is even stranger. The game doesn't run better because you bought DLC; it runs worse because it's constantly checking to see if you own it.
Digital Foundry did a deep dive into this and confirmed that when you're in a hub area near a Support Desk Felyne, the game code performs thousands of checks per second. It’s looking for those Gemma costumes and weapon skins you might or might not have. If you don't own them, the CPU works harder to verify the "missing" licenses.
Does the New Patch Fix This?
Capcom has been somewhat quiet about the specific "DLC check" wording, but they did announce Patch Ver.1.040.03.01, scheduled for January 27, 2026.
The official line is that this patch includes "optimization improvements for Steam-specific processes and options to reduce processing load." Translation? They’re finally fixing the CPU-sapping background checks.
For those of us on mid-range hardware (looking at you, RTX 4060 and Ryzen 3600 users), this is massive. Community mods like "Less DLC Checks" already showed that blocking these requests could boost performance by up to 25% in hub areas. Having an official fix means we won't have to rely on third-party scripts just to walk through base camp without a slideshow.
Weapon Balance: The Shift in the Meta
If you’re more interested in the "hunting" part of Monster Hunter, the Capcom Monster Hunter Wilds patch notes from Title Update 4 (and the subsequent hotfixes) have fundamentally shifted how some weapons feel.
Capcom is clearly trying to move away from "braindead" playstyles. Take the Charge Blade. There’s been a heated debate between the "SAED-spam" crowd and the "Savage Axe" enthusiasts. The latest tweaks have made Axe mode significantly more viable by adding more moves to the pool that can trigger bonus damage.
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Major Skill Buffs
The skill Guard Up got a massive shot in the arm. It used to just let you block unblockable attacks. Now, it adds a flat damage reduction—up to 80% at level three—regardless of what kind of attack you’re blocking. This makes the "tank" playstyle for Lance and Gunlance users feel legitimate again.
Then there's Flare. Most people ignored it at launch. It was just too inconsistent. But after the recent buffs, it’s looking like a top-tier pick for specific builds.
Weapon-Specific Tweaks
- Great Sword: They fixed a bug with the Perfect Guard and gave a slight damage bump to the basic charged combo. Simple, but effective.
- Insect Glaive: Capcom finally listened to the complaints about the "busy" controls. You no longer have to hold down as many buttons simultaneously to manage Focus Mode and Kinsect gathering.
- Switch Axe: You can now chain a dodge immediately after a Finisher, which was a huge "death trap" animation before.
What’s Coming in February 2026?
We aren't done yet. Capcom has already teased Version 1.041, which is slated for mid-February.
This is the big one for visual fidelity. They are planning to introduce Arch-Tempered Arkveld, which is going to be a nightmare for anyone who hasn't mastered the new Focus Slash mechanics. But more importantly, the February update will introduce LOD (Level of Detail) upgrades for 3D models.
The goal is to reduce the GPU load by swapping out high-poly models for lower-resolution versions when objects are further from the camera. It’s a standard game dev trick, but Wilds has been surprisingly heavy on the GPU because it was trying to render too much detail at a distance.
Actionable Tips for Hunters Right Now
If you're jumping back in today, don't just wait for the next patch. There are things you can do to fix your experience immediately.
Check your CPU settings.
A new "CPU" tab was added to the Options menu recently. If you're struggling with stuttering, turn down the Endemic Life Display Count and Players Displayed in Lobby. These two settings alone can save your processor from a meltdown in the busy hub areas.
Update your drivers.
If you're on an AMD card, the latest Radeon drivers (specifically the ones released in mid-January) fixed a major stability issue that was causing the game to crash during Inclemency events.
Optimize your Seikret.
Don't forget that the Seikret can now speed up again automatically after an evasion. If you haven't practiced the "auto-evade into sprint" combo, go to the training grounds. It makes navigating the maps during a hunt significantly faster.
Monitor the DLC situation.
If you're on PC and the January 27 patch hasn't dropped yet, you might want to look into the REFramework and the "Less DLC Checks" mod. Just be careful—Capcom has warned that mods aren't officially supported and could break your save if a major update changes the file structure.
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The road for Monster Hunter Wilds has been a bit rocky, but with the January 2026 updates, it feels like we’re finally getting the polished experience we expected at launch. Whether you're here for the Gogmazios grind or just want to see your frame rate hit 60, these changes are a step in the right direction. Keep an eye on the official Monster Hunter social accounts for the specific timing of the Steam optimization patch late this month.