Monster Hunter Stories 2: How To Craft Heart Restoring Items

For every battle, you only have three hearts before you’re knocked out in Monster Hunter Stories 2. Unlike Pokemon, you can’t just swap out your Monsties until they’ve all been defeated. Instead, you have three hearts — every time a Monstie (or your character) gets knocked out, you’ll lose a heart. Lose all three and it’s battle over. It works just like the main Monster Hunter entries, where you’ll get three spawns before failing a mission. But, in Monster Hunter Stories 2, you can keep yourself fighting longer with items that restore your lost hearts.

There are two revive items — Ancient Potions and Vital Essence. Both items can be earned around the mid-point of the game, and they’re absolutely required if you’re planning on doing any of the end-game content. Later battles against monsters can be pretty intense, and they can sometimes knock out your Monsties before you can even react with a heal. When that time comes, you’ll want to be stocked up on heart restoring items. Here’s how to unlock the recipes permanently.

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How To Craft Vital Essence

To start crafting plenty of revive potions that restore hearts, you’ll need to reach the fourth major location — the town of Lulucion.

How To Unlock Vital Essence Recipe: In Lulucion, travel to the south part of town and talk to the Purrsevering Felyne on the platform above the Layered Armor vendor. This felyne will give you a sub-quest called “A Test of Purr-severence“. Complete it to earn x2 Vital Essence items, and the crafting recipe for Vital Essence.

Once you acquire the crafting recipe for Vital Essence, you’ll be able to permanently combine items and make as many as you want. Vital Essence restore +1 Heart.

Vital Essence Crafting Recipe:
- To craft Vital Essence, you need to combine: 5 Raw Meat, 3 Toadstools, 3 Girthy Garlic

Raw Meat are common items you’ll get from battles. Toadstools are common toadstools find when picked mushroom resources in any area on the map. Look for little buried roots on the ground to get Girthy Garlic — this is a rare material, so you can use the Gathering Prayer that the Prayer Pot to increase your chances of finding them.

How To Craft Ancient Potion

Ancient Potion is the more powerful (and harder to craft) of the two heart revive potions. You can also find this recipe in Lulucion.

How To Unlock The Ancient Potion: Also in Lulucion, next to the Layered Armor vendor, talk to the Sloppy Artisan and take the “Secret Dealings” sub-quest. This quest will reward you x1 Ancient Potion and the Ancient Potion recipe.

Ancient Potion doesn’t just give you +1 Heart, it also restores you health and gives you healing over time. That makes Ancient Potion one of the most valuable items you can get.

Ancient Potion Crafting Recipe:
- To craft Ancient Potion, combine the following items: 1 Kelbi Horn, 1 Immunizer

Kelbi Horns are easy to find — return to the starting area beach and find the little green creatures. You don’t fight them — when they run away, they’ll drop Kelbi Horns. Immunizer is an alternate potion you can craft or purchase separately. By this point in the game, you should have at least a few in your inventory.

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