You remember that feeling. You've just spent forty minutes sweating against a Level 140 Apex Rajang. Your hands are literally shaking. Then, you see it in the rewards screen—a glowing, Beshackled Weapon. You appraise it, holding your breath, hoping for that perfect combination of raw damage, sharpness, and a natural Purple gauge. Most of the time? It’s garbage. But when that one-in-a-thousand monster hunter relic weapons drop actually hits? Nothing else in the franchise even comes close to that high.
Honestly, the relic system in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (MH4U) remains one of the most polarizing features Capcom ever programmed. Some people loathe the RNG. Others, like me, find the crafted weapon paths in modern games like Rise or World a bit too predictable. Relics represented a time when the "best" gear wasn't just something you farmed materials for; it was something you unearthed like a digital archaeologist.
The Brutal Reality of the Guild Quest System
To understand why monster hunter relic weapons matter, you have to look at the Guild Quest system. This wasn't your standard quest board. You had to "register" quests found in the Everwood, and as you cleared them, they leveled up. By the time a quest hit Level 140, the monsters were hitting like freight trains. We're talking one-shots from a stray hip-check.
The payoff was the loot table. Relics were basically randomized versions of existing weapon models, often with glowing effects or colors you couldn't get anywhere else. A "Sea-Wielding" Great Sword that looked like the Type 41 Wyvern Wing but glowed neon purple? That was the ultimate status symbol in the Val Habar gathering hub.
But it wasn't just about looks. The math was terrifying. A perfect relic could possess a raw attack value that made the strongest crafted weapons—like the Cera Cymmetry or the Akantor Broadsword—look like literal toothpicks. We are talking about Great Swords hitting 1728 raw with natural Purple sharpness. It broke the game. And that’s exactly why people spent thousands of hours farming them.
What Actually Makes a Relic "God-Tier"?
Most players think it’s just about the attack power. It's not. A truly elite relic needed a "Perfect Roll" across five or six different variables simultaneously. If one was off, the whole thing was basically vendor trash.
First, you had the Raw Damage. Each weapon class had specific tiers. For a Hammer, you were looking for that elusive 1872 raw. If you got 1700, it was good, but it wasn't the one. Then came the Sharpness. You wanted the "Pattern 4" or "Pattern 8" sharpness, which provided a sliver of Purple or a massive chunk of White that could be extended with the Sharpness+1 skill.
Then there's the Element or Status. Unlike crafted weapons where element is fixed, relics could have absurdly high hidden elements. But here’s the kicker: the element could be "Awaken" required, meaning you had to sacrifice armor skills just to use it. If you found a Max Raw Great Sword but it had 750 Fire damage that required Awakening? You’d probably cry.
Don't forget the Slots. Relics often came with pre-installed decorations that you could not remove. These were usually "combined" skills like Edgemaster (Honed Blade) or Readiness. If your weapon came with +5 Edgemaster, it changed your entire armor building philosophy. It meant you could mix and match Raging Brachydios and Grand Divine Ire parts to create a set that shouldn't exist.
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Why Capcom Moved Away from Pure RNG
If you look at Monster Hunter World: Iceborne or Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, the relic system is dead. We have Safi’jiiva "Awakened" weapons and Kulve Taroth "Kjarr" weapons, which are sort of like Relic-Lite. They give you some RNG, but the stats are mostly fixed.
Why the change? Because the original monster hunter relic weapons system was, frankly, disrespectful of a player's time if they had bad luck. You could play for 500 hours and never see a Max Raw weapon for your main class. I knew hunters who had incredible Long Swords but didn't know how to use them, while their main Charge Blade remained a mediocre crafted version.
The community was split. Proponents argued it gave the game infinite replayability. Critics argued it turned a skill-based action game into a slot machine. When Capcom introduced the "Qurio Augmenting" in Sunbreak, they found a middle ground—you take a fixed weapon and gamble on the upgrades. It’s safer. It’s more "fair." But it lacks that "Holy Grail" feeling of seeing a Beshackled Fragment turn into a weapon that outclasses everything in the game's code.
The Math of the Grind: Odds and Ends
Let’s get nerdy for a second. The odds of getting a "Perfect" relic are statistically astronomical. You need:
- The right weapon type (1 in 14).
- The right weapon skin (varies by monster bias).
- The highest Raw tier (roughly 1 in 10 for Beshackled).
- The best sharpness pattern.
- A usable element/status roll.
- Max slots or a high-level composite jewel.
When you multiply those probabilities, you're looking at odds thinner than a Kirin’s patience. This led to the rise of "Hame" runs. If you played MH4U online, you saw these rooms constantly. Two Heavy Bowgunners with the Gravios Gigacannon, one Light Bowgunner for status lock, and a fourth player for extra DPS. They would trap-lock an Apex Zinogre and kill it in under three minutes. It wasn't "hunting" in the traditional sense; it was industrial-scale mining.
Specific Relic Skins You Should Know
If you're going back to play MH4U on a 3DS or an emulator, you need to know which monsters drop which skins. It’s not random. The "Bias" system determines your loot.
- Sea-Wielding / Type 41: Usually comes from Rathalos or Tigrex bias quests.
- Flash / Epitaph Blade: Look for Elder Dragon quests like Teostra or Shagaru Magala.
- Chameleos / Grandshamshir: Often tied to specific Treasure Room maps.
There's something nostalgic about those skins. Seeing a Hunter in full Star Knight armor wielding a glowing, relic version of the Jawblade just feels right. It represents the peak of the handheld era's complexity.
How to Optimize Your Relic Farm Today
If you are currently diving back into the older titles, don't just farm anything. You need to be efficient. Focus on "Double Monster" quests. A quest with a Rajang and a second, easier monster (like a Velocidrome) actually gives better rewards than a single Rajang quest. The game calculates the difficulty based on the "main" monster but gives bonus slots for the second one.
Also, pay attention to the map layout. A Level 140 quest is useless if the monster spawns three areas away from the base camp and you have to climb vines for two minutes every time you faint. You want a "flat" map—Area 1 or Area 2 spawns are the gold standard.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Hunter
While the specific monster hunter relic weapons system is currently benched in the latest entries, the lessons remain. Here is how to handle high-RNG endgame systems in any Monster Hunter title:
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- Prioritize "Good Enough" over "Perfect": In MH4U, a "Sea-Level" relic (one tier below Max Raw) still beats every crafted weapon. Don't burn out looking for a 1 in 10,000 drop when a 1 in 100 drop already makes you a god.
- Learn the Table Biases: Whether it’s MH4U relics or Sunbreak talismans, stop guessing. Use community spreadsheets to find out which monsters or "melts" actually produce the skills you need.
- Embrace the "Hame" (but don't rely on it): Learning to speed-farm is a skill, but don't let it ruin the fun of the actual hunt. If the grind becomes a chore, go back to using your crafted weapons for a bit.
- Armor Compatibility: A relic is only as good as the set you build around it. If your relic has a +5 Edge Lore jewel stuck in it, you need to calculate your armor pieces to ensure you aren't wasting those points. Use tools like Athena's ASS (Armor Set Searcher)—it’s old school, but it still works perfectly for these legacy titles.
The legacy of relics lives on in the way we talk about "The Grind." They were the ultimate "just one more hunt" motivator. Even if we never see that exact system again, the thrill of the unidentified loot screen is a core part of what makes this series the king of the genre.
If you're hunting for that perfect glow, stay patient. The RNG gods are fickle, but the reward is a weapon that feels like it was forged specifically for you. That’s something no crafting menu can ever truly replicate.
Next time you're staring at a rewards screen, remember: the stats matter, but the story of how you survived that Apex Rajang to get the weapon matters more. Keep your sharpness high and your carts low.
Go check your Guild Quest list. See if you have a Treasure Room bias. It might be time to head back into the Everwood. One more run won't hurt, right?