Ivy is an interesting material in Monster Hunter World. Most players will only need a little bit of it while others may need to spend some serious time farming for the stuff. Unfortunately, it can be a little tricky to find if the player doesn’t know where to look.
For players that find themselves needing mass amounts of Ivy, there are five locations to gather it naturally and three sources that can satisfy a player's needs without having to harvest it. For players wanting to know exactly what Ivy is and how to get it, here’s what you need to know.
9 Nets And Smokebombs
Ivy is only used to craft two things; Nets and Smokebombs. A unit of Ivy combined with a unit of Spider Web will create a Net. This Net can then be used to craft a Pitfall Trap to trap larger monsters for various questlines, events, challenges, or unique playthroughs.
Ivy when combined with a Smokenut will produce a Smokebomb. Smokebombs allow the player to hide from monsters to recover health, sharpen weapons, or reload weapons. Its handy to have a few Smokebombs on hand to provide the player a brief respite in tough fights.
8 Ancient Forest
The Ancient Forest is the first and arguably easiest place to obtain Ivy from. Ivy is located in Areas 11, 13, and 15 in the Ancient Forest. The most convenient of these locations by far will be Area 11. This is because the Northeast Camp is located in this Area.
Each Ivy plant will yield two units of Ivy when harvested. Given the number of plants located across three Areas this makes the Ancient Forest the most abundant source of Ivy in the game. It’s also arguably the safest.
7 Wildspire Waste
There are a few Ivy plants in the Wildspire Waste. They’re located exclusively in Area 5 which is the dead center of the map. Players should consider using either the Southwest Camp in Area 1 or the Central Camp in Area 6 to start.
This is good area if players need to gather other items as well like Boulder Bone that are found commonly here. Otherwise it’s better to go to Ancient Forest to do all Ivy harvesting.
6 Coral Highlands
Coral Highlands is a solid choice after Ancient Forest due to the fact that there are two places to get Ivy. Ivy plants can be found in both Area 6 and Area 11. If the player plans on harvesting in Area 6 than operating out of the Southern Camp in Area 1 make sense. If the player is looking to harvest in Area 11 then the Northeast Camp in Area 12 is better.
Having the Ropelift from the quest Shortcut to Happiness cuts down on travel time quite a bit. Unless the player also needs Coral Bone or Coral Crystal than Ancient Forest is better.
5 Rotten Vale
The Rotten Vale has Ivy exclusively in Area 2. This makes Area 1 the best staging point due to the Southeast Camp located there. It’s not a long trek and can make for a quick harvest run for players that can survive the horrors of the Rotten Vale.
There is a surprising amount of Ivy plants in Area 2, but generally speaking its not the best biome to farm in. Unless the player is looking for things like Forgotten Fossils or Warped Bone then Ancient Forest is going to be a better choice.
4 Elder’s Recess
Ivy can be found in Elder’s Recess specifically Area 1. This is convenient as the Southern Camp is also located in Area 1 making it a good staging point. This area is also devoid of environmental hazards making it safer than the rest of the region.
If the player is only harvesting Ivy then the Elder’s Recess can make a surprisingly good option. This is of course assuming the player refuses to go to Ancient Forest for whatever reason. There’s always the risk of running into a powerful monster en route so players should keep that in mind.
3 The Argosy
An alternative method for gathering Ivy is to employ The Argosy. The Argosy is a trade ship the player gains access to after the Zorah Magdaros quests. It can be sent out to gather items periodically and cut down on the amount of items players have to grind.
Players can send The Argosy out to gather Material Bundles to get Ivy. Players should not however that he can be sent out to gather a Consumable Bundle which often includes Nets. If players are gathering Ivy for Nets this is a better way to do it as it bypasses the need for Spider Webs.
2 Tailraider Safari
Another way to get Ivy is to send the Tailraider Safari out. This method involves sending Palicos via the Housekeeper at the Research Base to collect various items. They can be sent to specific destinations to gather items. It’s important to improve their Gathering stat as this will increase the amount and likelihood they’ll bring Ivy back.
It will never produce a steady stream of Ivy but the player should receive a few units here and there. Players should note that the Tailraider Safari is better spent gathering unique materials that can only be obtained through them, namely the Tailraider Voucher and the Sinister cloth. They also have the chance to bring Nets back bypassing the need for Ivy if used in this way.
1 Botanical Research Center
By far the best way to secure mass amounts of Ivy is to cultivate them with the Botanical Researchers. Up to four plants can be researched at a time and the harvest box can be expanded up to 50 slots. Players can direct the NPCs to cultivate Ivy, complete a few quests or other activities, and come back to have 50 slots worth of Ivy.
What makes this method really handy is that the Botanical Research Center can also cultivate Smokenuts and Spider Webs. This results in an entirely passive model where two Ivy plants, one Smokenut, and one Spider Web are cultivated while the player is doing other things. For players who need a large amount doing this while harvesting in Ancient Forest can quickly build up quite the stash.