How to Raise Rathian Population in MH Stories 3 (A Step Toward Conservation Quest)
A Step Toward Conservation is a side quest in Monster Hunter Stories 3 that involves the Habitat Restoration mechanic, which is all about releasing hatched Monsties back into the wild. By releasing newly-hatched Rathians, MH Stories 3 players will start seeing more of these monsters roaming about in the wilderness, but before this can be done, you’ll need to find a bunch of Rathian eggs first.
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Where to Find Rathian Eggs
After you chase away the first invasive monster in MH Stories 3, you’ll get your first Rathian Egg. Soon after, Rathian Eggs will start appearing inside Monster Dens throughout Azuria. There doesn’t seem to be any restrictions on when or where Rathian eggs appear, but in our case, the ones we used for this quest were all obtained from dens in the general vicinity of the camp in the northeast part of the map.
Getting the right sort of egg involves a bit of luck, but players will eventually find Rathian Eggs if they keep rummaging through egg clutches inside nests. Rudy will tell you if you’ve found one — Rathian Eggs are a dull grey color with green stripes.
Alternatively, once you release a Rathian out into the wild, you can try fighting it. If you manage to make any monster retreat in MH Stories 3, they’ll retreat to their den. Inside, you’ll find a nest or two that’s full of eggs belonging to that specific monster. This guarantees that you’ll get a Rathian Egg.
Monsters have a chance to retreat when you defeat them in combat. You can increase the odds of them retreating by getting an S-rank (avoid getting hit, win Head-to-Heads, perform Double Attacks, etc) and using a Paintball. When using the latter, make sure to throw them at the monster only when they’re low on HP.
How to Release Rathians
Once you’re done collecting enough Rathian Eggs, head back to any campsite, then go to your Stables and hatch the monsters from there. After that, go to the Habitat Restoration menu (accessed via the Camp Menu), then select the Rathians that you want to release. Doing so will increase the Ecosystem Rank for Rathians — once this reaches S-rank, the Step Toward Conservation quest will be complete, and you can talk to the questgiver again to claim your rewards.
Note that whenever you increase the Restoration rank of a monster in a given habitat, rarer variants of them will start appearing, such as the Pink and Dreadqueen variants of Rathians. If you want to start your MH Stories 3 adventure with a strong Monstie, consider releasing different monsters to get a chance at finding mutated variants.