One of the few endemic life achievements in Monster Hunter Wilds has you looking for an elusive squid with no information on where it is or what it looks like. It’s a challenging task, not only because the creature is tough to find, but it also requires luck in the weather conditions.
While you can find the giant squid early on, catching it might not be possible until you reach High Rank and go through several side quests to unlock high-tier fishing gear.
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Where to find a Goliath Squid in MH Wilds – Giant squid location
The giant squid in Monster Hunter Wilds refers to the Goliath Squid, an aquatic creature that can only be found in the forest at the top of the map in Area 17 during the day or night and when it’s raining heavily in the forest. Rain is random, so come back to the area after a few missions to see if it’s raining. If it is, you can make your way to the top—so long as you have what you need.
You’ll complete the Monster (Squid) Hunter Achievement by catching the giant squid.
The squid can be distinguished from other aquatic animals due to its massive size and the glow-in-the-dark patterns on its body that allow any hunter to notice it. It’s a fairly rare spawn, even without meeting the previous conditions, and it took us several hours to find one for ourselves. It’s easier to spot at night, but you can find it during the day if you focus.
As the Goliath Squid is a big fish, you’ll be placed into a minigame if you hook one. Move your joystick in the direction the fish is moving until it stops, then spin the joystick around to reel it in. Repeat until you catch it. If at any time the line breaks, the fish will flee, and you’ll need to hope another spawns before the rain stops to have a chance at catching one again.
How to catch a Goliath Squid in Monster Hunter Wilds
To catch the Goliath Squid, you need to have the Bait Tentacle Jig unlocked, one of the many baits you can get from Kanya in the Forest Base Camp in Area 1. She’ll offer a bunch of fishing side quests over time to catch fish in different locales. You get different baits to help you catch rarer aquatic life by completing each mission.
The Tentacle Jig is rewarded after catching a Whopper and is the only bait to which the Goliath Squid appears to react. We tried other baits to get its attention but didn’t have much luck until we used the Tentacle Jig bait.
For an extra tip, there is a Camp you can set up at the top of the Forest map near Area 17 that’ll make it easier for you to reach the top without having to climb the mountain all the time. Also, be on the lookout for monsters who might climb up randomly. If you’re trying to catch the squid and a Rathian appears behind you, it’ll knock you out of the fishing animation and lose you the squid in the process.
A lot of luck is involved, and you might need to climb to High-Rank level 15 to even get the mission to get the Tentacle Jig bait in the first place. Still, at least you know where it is now and won’t need to run around aimlessly for 12 hours in all the different biomes trying to figure out where it was like we did.
Published: Feb 28, 2025 5:20 PM UTC