Building a powerful team in Monster Hunter Outlanders is about more than just choosing four characters with high damage. You need to understand how each Adventurer’s abilities work together, which elemental combinations are worth using, and what kind of support your squad needs to survive difficult monster encounters. A good team should have enough damage to take down enemies quickly while also providing useful buffs, healing, shields, or crowd control when things get difficult.
If you’re wondering which characters you should use together, I’ve put together this guide covering the best team compositions currently available in Monster Hunter Outlanders. We’ll go through the strongest Fire, Water, Thunder, Dragon, and Ice teams, along with a Free-to-Play team that you can use while progressing through the game.
I’ll also explain the role of every Adventurer, why I recommend each combination, and how you should approach combat with these teams. This should make it easier to decide which characters deserve your resources instead of randomly switching between different Adventurers.
Personally, I would start with the Fire team if you have the required characters, as Midori offers excellent damage potential when supported by other Fire Adventurers. However, not everyone will have access to every character, so I’ve included alternative compositions that can work just as well depending on your available roster.
Monster Hunter Outlanders Best Teams – Best LineUp Comp
Before getting into the individual team explanations, here’s a quick overview of the compositions I recommend.
| Team | Main DPS | Sub DPS | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Team | Midori | Fated Adventurer (Fire) | Raya, Ryunosuke |
| Water Team | Pepper | Ouyang Varen, Fated Adventurer (Water) | Madelyn |
| Thunder Team | Luka | Luxheart, Fated Adventurer (Thunder) | Arkaya |
| Dragon Team | Pyro | Keres, Fated Adventurer (Dragon) | Arkaya |
| Ice Team | Rhodes | Fated Adventurer (Ice), Pepper | Madelyn |
| Free-to-Play Team | Fated Adventurer (Fire) | Raya, Ouyang Varen | Madelyn |
Each team has a different purpose. Some focus on dealing as much elemental damage as possible, while others combine damage dealers with characters who can control monsters or keep the squad alive.
If you’re still learning the combat system, I recommend paying attention to the support characters. They can make a bigger difference than you might expect, especially during longer hunts.
Best Fire Team – Midori Fire Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Midori
- Sub DPS: Fated Adventurer (Fire)
- Support: Raya
- Support: Ryunosuke
The Fire team is my first recommendation if you have access to Midori. It’s currently one of the strongest team compositions because it combines her impressive burst damage with several abilities that help the entire squad perform better.
The main idea behind this composition is to build around Midori and take advantage of Fire-focused team synergy. Having multiple Fire characters also helps improve Part Break Efficiency, making this team particularly effective when you’re trying to break monster parts while dealing heavy damage.
The Fated Adventurer provides another source of Fire damage, while Raya and Ryunosuke handle the support side of the composition.
Character Roles and Abilities
Midori – Main DPS
Midori is the character you’ll rely on for most of your damage. Her Rupture mechanic allows her to deal powerful attacks, and her parry ability gives her another way to punish monsters during combat.
I recommend learning her attack timing instead of simply using abilities whenever they’re available. Good timing will help you get much more value from her kit.
Fated Adventurer (Fire) – Sub DPS
The Fated Adventurer provides additional Fire damage and helps strengthen the team’s offensive output.
Since this character can use different weapons and elements, you can adjust their setup depending on what your team needs. For this composition, I recommend keeping them focused on Fire damage to complement Midori.
Raya – Support
Raya is important because of her traps and monster suppression abilities. She can disrupt enemies and create openings for Midori to deal damage.
Her Fiery Inhibitor Insight is also useful because it increases the Fire damage monsters receive.
Ryunosuke – Support
Ryunosuke provides several useful benefits, including healing, Fire damage buffs, and status ailment immunity.
These abilities help the team maintain its offensive pressure while providing additional protection during difficult encounters.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
Start by using Raya’s traps and suppression abilities to control the monster. Once you have an opening, focus on dealing damage with Midori.
Use the Fated Adventurer as your additional damage source and take advantage of Ryunosuke’s buffs to improve the team’s overall performance.
Don’t forget about Midori’s parry mechanic. Learning when to use it can make a noticeable difference in your damage output.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Excellent Fire damage synergy.
- Midori provides powerful burst damage.
- Raya helps control monsters.
- Ryunosuke provides healing and useful buffs.
- Strong Part Break Efficiency.
Best Water Team – Pepper Ranged Damage Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Pepper
- Sub DPS: Ouyang Varen
- Sub DPS: Fated Adventurer (Water)
- Support: Madelyn
If you prefer ranged combat, I would recommend building around Pepper. This Water composition focuses on dealing damage from a distance while maintaining good survivability through Madelyn’s healing.
Pepper is the main damage dealer, and her airborne combos are the biggest reason to use her. They allow her to attack monsters while avoiding certain ground-based attacks, making her a comfortable character to play against aggressive enemies.
Ouyang Varen and the Fated Adventurer provide additional damage, while Madelyn keeps the squad healthy.
Character Roles and Abilities
Pepper – Main DPS
Pepper is responsible for most of the team’s damage. Her airborne combos allow her to maintain offensive pressure while staying away from certain monster attacks.
Her Ultimate is also useful because it can apply Paralysis, giving the rest of your team an opportunity to attack.
Ouyang Varen – Sub DPS
Ouyang Varen provides additional Water damage and helps increase the team’s overall offensive output.
His enhanced skill damage depends on maintaining Sharpness stacks, so you’ll need to pay attention to his combat requirements instead of attacking without a plan.
Fated Adventurer (Water) – Sub DPS
The Fated Adventurer provides another source of Water damage and gives the team additional flexibility.
Since this character can adapt to different weapons and classes, you can adjust their setup depending on your preferred combat style.
Madelyn – Support
Madelyn is the team’s main source of healing. Her abilities make it easier to survive longer encounters, particularly when you’re still learning how to avoid monster attacks.
She also provides additional Water damage support, making her a useful addition to this composition.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
I would focus on Pepper’s airborne combos as your main source of damage. Try to maintain a safe position and avoid wasting stamina when you don’t need to.
Use Ouyang Varen and the Fated Adventurer to provide additional damage, while Madelyn keeps everyone healthy.
One thing I recommend is not becoming too aggressive with Ouyang Varen. Maintaining his Sharpness stacks is important if you want to get the most out of his abilities.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Pepper offers comfortable ranged combat.
- Airborne combos provide useful defensive options.
- Multiple sources of Water damage.
- Madelyn provides reliable healing.
- Good choice for players who prefer staying at range.
Best Thunder Team – Luka Lightning Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Luka
- Sub DPS: Luxheart
- Sub DPS: Fated Adventurer (Thunder)
- Support: Arkaya
The Thunder team is a great option if you enjoy ranged damage and controlling monsters during combat. Luka is the main damage dealer, and his Bow allows him to deal Piercing damage while maintaining some distance from enemies.
One of the biggest advantages of this composition is that Luka can be unlocked relatively early. This makes the team a practical option for players who want to build around a strong damage dealer without waiting too long.
Luxheart provides additional utility through Daze, while Arkaya gives the entire squad more survivability through his shields.
Character Roles and Abilities
Luka – Main DPS
Luka is the primary damage dealer. His Lightning Bow provides excellent damage potential, particularly when you maintain proper positioning and manage stamina.
I recommend learning how to balance attacking and repositioning. Running out of stamina at the wrong moment can leave you vulnerable to incoming attacks.
Luxheart – Sub DPS
Luxheart is included mainly for his Daze abilities.
His Squadmate Skill and Ultimate can apply Daze to monsters, allowing your team to take advantage of additional damage opportunities.
He also works well with the Dazzling Display Insight, which increases the damage monsters receive while Dazed.
Fated Adventurer (Thunder) – Sub DPS
The Fated Adventurer provides another source of Thunder damage and helps maintain offensive pressure.
You can also experiment with different weapon setups depending on how you want to play this character.
Arkaya – Support
Arkaya provides stackable shields that improve the team’s survivability.
His Ultimate also grants Affinity to the squad, making him useful for both defensive and offensive support.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
I recommend using Luxheart’s Daze abilities to create opportunities for Luka to deal damage.
Once the monster is controlled, focus on using Luka’s Bow attacks while maintaining enough stamina to dodge incoming moves.
Arkaya’s shields provide additional protection, allowing you to spend more time attacking without constantly worrying about taking damage.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Luka provides excellent Lightning damage.
- Luxheart offers useful Daze effects.
- Dazzling Display can improve damage against Dazed monsters.
- Arkaya provides shields and Affinity.
- Good balance between damage and survivability.
Best Dragon Team – Pyro and Keres Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Pyro
- Sub DPS: Keres
- Sub DPS: Fated Adventurer (Dragon)
- Support: Arkaya
The Dragon team is a more aggressive composition, and it’s particularly interesting if you enjoy mastering combat mechanics rather than relying on straightforward attacks.
Pyro is the Main DPS here, but getting the most out of him requires practice. His damage potential is extremely high when you successfully parry monster attacks and use Fortifying Slash at the correct moment.
Keres is an excellent teammate because her abilities focus on increasing Dragon damage. She also has an aggressive playstyle that allows her to contribute considerable damage while disrupting enemies.
Character Roles and Abilities
Pyro – Main DPS
Pyro is responsible for the team’s main damage output.
His Fortifying Slash and parry mechanics are extremely important. You need to understand monster attack patterns and time your defensive actions correctly to maximize his damage.
Keres – Sub DPS
Keres provides valuable Dragon damage bonuses, making her an important part of this composition.
Her Evasive Fang is another useful ability because it allows her to become invulnerable during its execution.
Fated Adventurer (Dragon) – Sub DPS
The Fated Adventurer provides additional Dragon damage as long as you have a Dragon weapon equipped.
This helps the team maintain its elemental focus while providing another source of damage.
Arkaya – Support
Arkaya helps the team survive through his stackable shields.
Since Pyro and Keres both benefit from an aggressive approach, having additional protection is extremely useful.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
The most important thing is learning Pyro’s parry timing. Don’t rush into attacks without understanding the monster’s movements.
Use Keres to provide additional Dragon damage and take advantage of her invulnerability opportunities. The Fated Adventurer adds more elemental damage, while Arkaya keeps the team protected.
This composition rewards players who understand monster attack patterns, so I wouldn’t recommend it as your first team if you’re completely new to the combat system.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Strong Dragon damage synergy.
- Keres increases Dragon damage.
- Pyro has excellent damage potential.
- Arkaya provides additional protection.
- Great for aggressive players who enjoy parry mechanics.
Best Ice Team – Rhodes and Fated Adventurer Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Rhodes
- Sub DPS: Fated Adventurer (Ice)
- Sub DPS: Pepper
- Support: Madelyn
Building a dedicated Ice team is a little more difficult because the available character options are limited. Currently, Rhodes and the Fated Adventurer are the main choices for Ice damage.
Because of this, you’ll need to use characters from other elements to fill the remaining slots.
I recommend Rhodes as the Main DPS because of his Hammer attacks and mobility. He can also provide useful Stun opportunities, which help create openings for the rest of the squad.
Pepper is included as another damage dealer, while Madelyn provides healing and improves the team’s survivability.
Character Roles and Abilities
Rhodes – Main DPS
Rhodes is the main damage dealer and provides the team’s primary Ice damage.
His Skating Charge state gives him additional mobility for a Hammer user, while his attacks can provide useful Stun opportunities.
I recommend focusing on monster head attacks whenever possible to get the most out of his weapon.
Fated Adventurer (Ice) – Sub DPS
The Fated Adventurer provides another source of Ice damage.
Since there aren’t many Ice Adventurers currently available, this character is particularly important when building around the element.
Pepper – Sub DPS
Pepper adds ranged damage to the team through her airborne combos.
This is useful because Rhodes generally needs to stay closer to monsters, while Pepper gives you another way to maintain damage from a distance.
Madelyn – Support
Madelyn provides healing and helps the team survive longer encounters.
Her support is particularly useful when you’re learning to manage Rhodes’ slower Hammer attacks and positioning.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
Focus on Rhodes and the Fated Adventurer for your main Ice damage.
Try to target monster heads with Rhodes and take advantage of his Stun opportunities. Pepper can provide additional damage from a distance, while Madelyn handles healing.
One important thing to remember is that you don’t have to keep Pepper and Madelyn in every Ice team. Since the available Ice characters are limited, you can replace these two slots depending on the monster’s elemental weakness.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Makes use of the available Ice Adventurers.
- Rhodes provides useful Stun opportunities.
- Fated Adventurer adds another source of Ice damage.
- Pepper offers ranged damage.
- Madelyn improves team survivability.
Best Free-to-Play Team – Fated Adventurer Composition
Team Members:
- Main DPS: Fated Adventurer (Fire)
- Sub DPS: Raya
- Sub DPS: Ouyang Varen
- Support: Madelyn
If you’re just starting Monster Hunter Outlanders and don’t have many Adventurers unlocked, I recommend building around the Fated Adventurer.
One of the biggest advantages of this character is flexibility. You can use different weapons, elements, and adventure classes, allowing you to adjust your build based on the content you’re playing.
For this team, I recommend using Fire because many of the current monsters are weak to this element. Raya is another important addition because her traps and suppression abilities can help control enemies during combat.
Ouyang Varen provides additional Water damage, while Madelyn handles healing and provides Water damage support.
Character Roles and Abilities
Fated Adventurer (Fire) – Main DPS
The Fated Adventurer is your primary damage dealer.
Since the character can use different weapons, you have plenty of options when choosing your preferred combat style. For this composition, I recommend using Fire to take advantage of the current elemental matchups.
Raya – Sub DPS
Raya provides traps and monster suppression, helping create openings for the Fated Adventurer to deal damage.
Her Fire damage support also makes her a useful addition to this team.
Ouyang Varen – Sub DPS
Ouyang Varen adds another damage source through his Water abilities.
His enhanced skill damage requires maintaining Sharpness stacks, so make sure you’re paying attention to his mechanics during combat.
Madelyn – Support
Madelyn provides healing and additional Water damage support.
Her abilities help the team survive longer encounters, making her particularly useful when you’re still progressing through the early stages of the game.
How I Recommend Playing This Team
Start by using Raya’s traps and suppression abilities to control the monster.
Once you have an opening, switch your focus to the Fated Adventurer and use Fire damage to take advantage of the monster’s weakness.
Ouyang Varen provides additional damage, while Madelyn keeps the team healthy.
As you progress, you’ll unlock more Adventurers, including Luxheart, Ryunosuke, Luka, Pyro, and Haze. You can experiment with these characters and replace existing team members depending on the monster you’re fighting.
Why This Team Is Worth Using:
- Built around the flexible Fated Adventurer.
- Doesn’t require a full team of specialized characters.
- Raya provides useful monster suppression.
- Madelyn offers healing support.
- Easy to adjust as you unlock more Adventurers.
How to Choose the Right Team for Different Monsters
You don’t always need to use the same four characters for every hunt. In fact, I recommend adjusting your team depending on the monster you’re fighting.
Here are a few things I would consider before starting an encounter.
Focus on Elemental Weaknesses
Elemental weaknesses are important when building your squad. If a monster is vulnerable to Fire, using Midori and other Fire-focused characters can give you a noticeable advantage.
The same applies to Water, Thunder, Dragon, and Ice teams. Don’t blindly use one composition against every enemy when you have better elemental options available.
Keep at Least One Reliable Support Character
I wouldn’t recommend filling every slot with damage dealers.
Characters like Arkaya and Madelyn provide useful support that can make difficult hunts much easier. Arkaya is a good choice when you need shields, while Madelyn is useful when you want additional healing.
Build Around Your Strongest Character
If you have Midori, consider building a Fire team around her. If you have Luka, you can start experimenting with Thunder compositions.
The idea is to choose teammates who improve your Main DPS rather than simply selecting four powerful characters without considering their abilities.
Don’t Ignore Monster Control
Abilities like Daze, Paralysis, traps, and Stun can create valuable damage opportunities.
For example, Luxheart can help control monsters through Daze, Pepper can apply Paralysis, and Rhodes can provide Stun through Hammer attacks.
These abilities are especially useful when fighting aggressive monsters that don’t give you many opportunities to attack.
Choosing the right team in Monster Hunter Outlanders can make a huge difference in how comfortably you progress through the game. While the Fire team built around Midori is my top recommendation, the other elemental compositions also have plenty of potential.
If you’re just starting out, I would focus on developing the Fated Adventurer and pairing them with reliable support characters like Madelyn or Arkaya. Once you unlock more Adventurers, you can start building specialized teams around different elements.
My biggest advice is to avoid investing in characters simply because they’re popular or have high damage. Think about how their abilities work together, pay attention to monster weaknesses, and make sure your squad has enough support to handle difficult encounters.
Experiment with different combinations until you find a team that matches your playstyle. Sometimes a well-balanced team with good synergy will perform much better than a squad made up of four powerful characters who don’t complement each other.