Your adventures as a Monster Rider in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin will take you all over the continent. In your travels, you will quickly be introduced to Bottle Caps. That may sound like disposable trash, but Bottle Caps are actually one of the most influential items in the game. Where can you find them, and, more importantly, what are they good for? We’ve got all the answers you need in this guide to Bottle Caps.
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What are Bottle Caps?
Bottle Caps are a collectible currency. They are first introduced in the Secrets of the Everden quest, near the start of the game in Mahana Village. You are asked to look into a mysterious feline who has arrived in the village. When you speak to this visitor, he explains his shop is called Melnyx Inc., and that he deals exclusively in Bottle Caps.
Where can you find bottle caps?
Knowing what you can buy is useless unless you have the Bottle Caps to spend. Unlike zenny, which you receive in abundance from battles or selling materials and ingredients, Bottle Caps can be tough to find. The primary method is raiding one of the many Everdens. These special caves contain a number of red treasure chests. Inside of the red treasure chests, you will always find Bottle Caps.
Each Everden has a set number of red chests, many of which require using the overworld abilities of the monstie you are riding. If you have not acquired the requisite ability then you will have to return later. You will get a message from Navirou, your feline travel buddy, once you have cleaned all of the red chests out of an Everden.
The other way to get Bottle Caps is through quests. Only a small number of quests reward you with Bottle Caps, but they are out there. When you accept a quest, check the reward tab to see. Theses quests tend not to award a lot of Bottle Caps, but the small handful can be the difference between splurging on that fancy new armor or continuing to fight in outdated gear.
How should you spend your Bottle Caps?
Melynx Inc. carries a selection different from other stores, with unique weapons, armor, talismans, and other oddities.
The weapons and armor are at a higher level than other equipment available at the start of the game. You can accelerate your gear quality by many hours with just a few purchases. This isn’t worth quite as much later in the game, as you build more sets tailored to your specific playstyle, but it is a great way to get ahead at the beginning.
Blueprints are even more helpful. These allow you to permanently upgrade your stables, increasing the number of monsties you can keep. You will find very quickly that storage space for monsties is limited, especially when you start storing extra versions of monsters that contain excellent genes that can be passed on to future companions.
The items sold at Melnyx Inc. are one of a kind, and powerful. Some will permanently increase the stats of one of your monsties, or give them an additional slot for genes. Others unlock fun new cosmetic items, or add crafting recipes, allowing you to create poison knives, shock traps, and more.
