Guide
Monster Hunter Outlanders Buddies Guide: Palico, Rutaco and Trillan
Your buddies in Monster Hunter Outlanders explained: how Palico, Rutaco and Trillan support your hunts, and how to hunt well alongside your companions.
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Buddies in Monster Hunter Outlanders are the companions who hunt beside you in Aesoland: Palico, Rutaco and Trillan. They are more than decoration. A buddy changes how a monster divides its attention, creates openings you could never make alone, and turns solo hunting from a lonely test into a partnership. This guide explains what buddies do for you, how the three companions differ in spirit, and how to hunt well alongside them from your very first expeditions.
What buddies actually do on a hunt
A buddy's biggest gift is attention. Every moment a monster spends watching, chasing or swatting at your companion is a moment it is not watching you, and experienced hunters build their whole rhythm around that trade: heal while the monster is turned away, reposition while it is distracted, strike while it is committed elsewhere. Buddies also contribute in the fight itself and make exploration feel alive, which matters in a game built around long, manual hunts with no auto-combat to lean on.
Meet Palico, Rutaco and Trillan
The three buddies give every hunter a choice of company. Palico carries the classic companion spirit that long time fans of the series will recognise instantly, the loyal partner at your side in camp and combat alike. Rutaco and Trillan round out the trio with their own personalities, so your hunting party feels like yours rather than a default. Spend time with each companion as you unlock your options, and notice which presence you enjoy hunting beside; you will spend many hours together across Aesoland.
| Buddy | Best understood as |
|---|---|
| Palico | The classic hunting companion, at home in every kind of hunt |
| Rutaco | A field partner whose company suits active, mobile hunting |
| Trillan | A distinctive companion who completes the buddy trio |
Hunting well with a buddy
Good buddy play is mostly awareness. Glance at your companion before you commit to a long attack sequence, because their position tells you where the monster's attention is likely to go next. When your buddy draws the monster, use the gift properly: top up your health, sharpen your plan, or move to a stronger position instead of wasting the opening on a rushed swing. And return the favour: when the monster turns on your buddy hard, your aggression can pull its attention back and share the danger fairly.
Buddies for solo hunters
If you mostly hunt alone, your buddy is your squad. Solo play in MH Outlanders is fully supported, and companions are a large part of why it feels fair: they split the monster's focus, buy you recovery moments, and keep hunts dynamic instead of repetitive. Solo hunters should treat buddy choice as seriously as weapon choice. That discipline pays off most against radiant targets, as our guide to Radiant Species and Radiantite in Monster Hunter Outlanders explains in full. When you later step into group play, the habits transfer directly, as our Monster Hunter Outlanders co-op guide to 4-player hunts shows when it explains how real teammates divide the same attention you and your buddy share.
Buddies in co-op hunts
In a 4-player squad, companions add another layer of life and chaos management to the field. With four hunters and their buddies in play, the monster's attention is constantly negotiated, and squads that communicate can steer it deliberately. Even in company, keep reading your own buddy's position; it remains your most reliable personal signal in a crowded fight. Nowhere is that signal worth more than in our Ruger Aidal guide to the Radiant Elder Dragon, the hunt where attention management decides everything. Hunters organising regular squads will also want the Monster Hunter Outlanders guilds guide explained for regular hunting groups, because guilds are where fixed squads usually live.
A partnership worth building
One more thing to understand early: a buddy is not a bonus feature bolted onto a solo game, but a core part of how hunts in Aesoland are balanced.
Treat your buddy as a long term partner, not a tutorial accessory. The hunters who get the most from Palico, Rutaco and Trillan are the ones who plan around them, protect them, and build their hunting rhythm on shared attention. Do that, and every hunt in Aesoland, from your first exploration to the radiant hunts ahead, becomes a duet instead of a solo performance with background noise. That partnership is Monster Hunter Outlanders at its most charming, and it never stops mattering as hunts grow harder.
Quick Answers
Who are the buddies in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
The buddies are Palico, Rutaco and Trillan, the companions who hunt beside you, support you in combat and help draw a monster's attention.
Do buddies help in combat in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Yes. Buddies support you during hunts and, just as importantly, divide the monster's attention, which creates openings to heal, reposition and attack.
Are buddies useful for solo players in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Very. For solo hunters a buddy acts like a small squad, splitting the monster's focus and making long manual hunts feel fair and manageable.
Which buddy should I choose in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Spend time with each of Palico, Rutaco and Trillan and hunt with the companion whose company and support style you enjoy most over several hunts.
Conclusion
A good buddy turns a lonely hunt into a partnership, and Aesoland is better faced with company. Learn what Palico, Rutaco and Trillan each bring, hunt in a way that lets them help, and build the partnership hunt by hunt. Solo or in a squad, the hunters who use their buddies well simply last longer out there.