Monster Hunter Wilds patch 1.021 adds endgame grind—but introduces a nasty crash

Monster Hunter Wilds’ big “fix” update just broke the hunt

I love Monster Hunter Wilds, which is why this latest stumble hurts. Patch 1.021 was pitched as the first meaningful step toward stabilizing performance and fleshing out a thin endgame loop. Instead, it’s sparked a crash that can kick you out when you faint and return to camp or fast travel under certain conditions. Capcom has acknowledged the issue and says a fix is coming, but for PC players already frustrated by stutters and inconsistent frame times, this is salt in the wound.

• New nine-star tempered monsters unlock at HR 100, plus Glowing Stones that roll into random talismans-a fresh grind with serious RNG.
• Weapon balance passes hit most of the roster; Lance, Insect Glaive, and both Bowguns see the biggest shifts.
• A crash can occur when you faint and return to camp or fast travel during quests; Capcom is working on a fix and will require updating before online play continues.
• PC sentiment remains rough-recent Steam reviews sit deep in the red, and performance improvements won’t meaningfully arrive until a later title update.

Breaking down the update: good ideas, rough landing

On paper, 1.021 tries to do two smart things. First, it widens the endgame target range with nine-star tempered monsters at HR 100. That’s classic MH: stretch your mastery, learn nastier movesets, and push optimized builds. Second, it injects a new progression hook with Glowing Stones that convert into randomly rolled talismans. If you lived through Monster Hunter Rise’s talisman lottery or World’s deco grind, you know the deal-RNG can keep you playing, but the line between “compelling chase” and “slot machine fatigue” is thin.

The weapon changes could shake up the meta in interesting ways. Lance and Insect Glaive needed love in Wilds’ flow, and any thoughtful tweaks to Bowguns always ripple across group play given how much they influence part breaks and stagger thresholds. We’ll need a stable client to parse the real winners and losers, but this is the kind of systemic attention players have been asking for.

The crash and the PC performance elephant in the room

Capcom says the crash is happening “on all platforms,” but the timing is brutal for PC. Wilds’ performance woes have been a steady drumbeat since launch, and the recent Steam sentiment—about 50% positive overall, with a far uglier recent slice—reflects that. The studio has publicly said it’s aware of CPU strain concerns and plans to tackle load reduction carefully to avoid collateral damage. The key phrase there is “proceed with caution,” which is understandable from an engineering standpoint but frustrating when the player experience is already rough.

We’ve seen Capcom turn things around before with post-launch support—the World and Rise eras both evolved substantially across title updates—but PC optimization isn’t a “patch notes and prayers” problem. It needs targeted options, measurable gains, and trust. If the next meaningful CPU and GPU improvements won’t land until a later title update, Wilds risks bleeding more PC players in the meantime.

Is the new grind actually worth it?

I’m of two minds on Glowing Stones. As someone who no-lifed tempered elders in World and spent an embarrassing number of hours melding in Rise, I get the appeal of a rolling chase. RNG can make every hunt feel potentially important. But RNG also needs guardrails—pity systems, targeted crafts, or layered progression—so your 20th stone doesn’t feel like you wasted an evening. If 1.021’s talismans can enable new build creativity rather than just chasing god-rolls with microscopic odds, great. If not, it’s just another lever to pull until Title Update 3 arrives.

The HR 100 gate on nine-star tempered monsters is a double-edged sword. It preserves aspirational difficulty, but it also limits fresh activities to the players already at the ceiling—precisely the crowd most sensitive to stability or balance hiccups. Dropping a crash bug into that audience is the worst possible rollout.

What players should do right now

Until Capcom’s hotfix hits—and the studio says you’ll need to update before continuing online—consider keeping your hunts low-stakes. Shorter quests, fewer back-to-back carts, and maybe parking those HR 100 tempered marathons for a moment can reduce the pain if you hit the crash. If you’re primarily on PC and already annoyed by stutter, there’s no shame in waiting out the patch window before diving back into the hardest content.

On Capcom’s side, the path forward is clear: urgent stability fix, transparent performance roadmap with player-facing toggles, and real data that shows CPU/GPU improvements in the wild. Players will forgive a bad week. They won’t forgive feeling like unpaid QA for months.

Looking ahead

There’s a promising update buried under the chaos. More tempered hunts and a shakeup to crafting could extend Wilds’ life, and the weapon passes suggest the team is listening. But the best balance patch in the world doesn’t matter if your game crashes on a cart. Fix that first; then we can talk about whether the new talisman grind is a clever carrot or just recycled RNG.

TL;DR

Patch 1.021 adds high-rank tempered hunts and a talisman RNG loop, with notable weapon tweaks—but a crash tied to fainting/fast travel derails the rollout. Capcom says a fix and future performance improvements are coming; until then, PC players might want to stick to low-stakes hunts or wait it out.