Palico 101: Your Palicos

Master Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's Palico system! Learn about Felyne Companion roles like Support, Fighting, Healing, and more, plus Palico stats and skills.

In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Felyne Companions, known as Palicos, fight alongside you. Unlike in previous titles, you can fully customize your first Palico and name it. After progressing, you can recruit up to twenty or thirty additional Palicos.

Palicos specialize in various roles: Support, Fighting, Bombing, Protection, Healing, Stealing, Treasure, Stamina, and Launching. Later, Stamina and Launching types become available.

• Support Felynes focus on healing you with their horn, setting traps, and at higher levels, detecting monsters. They do minimal damage.
• Fighting Felynes are offensive, targeting small monsters, large monsters, or a mix. Equip them with the best weapons for maximum effectiveness.
• Bombing Felynes throw bombs. While they don't harm you, their explosions can knock you back, interrupting your attacks on vulnerable monsters. It's generally advised to avoid these.
• Protection Felynes use their horn to buff your and your other Palico's defense. These buffs are often not very noticeable.
• Healing Felynes exclusively focus on healing you, offering more potent healing and maximum health increases than Support Felynes. Equip them with defensive armor.
• Stealing Felynes use Boomerangs and can steal materials directly from monsters. They are useful for players seeking bonus materials, with a rare chance of acquiring very rare items.
• Treasure Felynes excel at gathering, with skills to speed up the collection process. They are most useful during harvest tours or gathering quests.
• Stamina Felynes boost your Stamina usage, temporarily erasing stamina depletion. They are highly recommended for weapons that consume a lot of stamina, like Dual Blades.
• Launching Felynes assist with jumps and make monsters more vulnerable to mounting. They are beneficial for Insect Glaive users or players who enjoy mounting. A successful mount might be boosted by their cheer.

Palicos have three main stats that grow with experience: Health, Attack, and Defense. These can also be influenced by weapons and armor.

Enthusiasm ranges from one to five paws, affecting their performance in quests and Meownster Hunter. Keep Enthusiasm high by letting Palicos rest.

Each Palico has a unique Team Attack, such as the healing-oriented 'Purrtuoso' or the offensive 'Rath-of-Meow'.

Palicos have a Target preference: Small, Large, or Balanced, indicating which monsters they prioritize attacking.

Beyond Team Attacks, Palicos possess numerous other skills that aid in quests and Palico-exclusive missions.