There is a great deal that players need to know to fully grasp and understand the world of Monster Hunter Rise, sometimes the little details like the yellow box icons can get lost in the full scope of things. While there are several different types of yellow boxes throughout the different menus and UIs, the ones we're talking about are the yellow boxes listed under the Materials section of Hunter's Notes.
They can be a bit confusing as they are never explained throughout the gameplay. Although a small detail that most players would likely overlook, knowing what these boxes mean can help in specific circumstances. As with that knowledge, the player can be more certain about what they wish to do next.
What the Little Yellow Boxes are for in Monster Hunter Rise
As the boxes sit in the Materials section of Hunter's Notes, they have to do with the materials that a player can collect. Specifically, using this menu is helpful right before harvesting from any monster that the player has downed. This is because the yellow boxes are a loose indicator of how likely a certain material will spawn from the monster the player is about to carve into.
The interesting thing is that they aren't necessarily high or low indicators with a full red-yellow-green spectrum. Instead, the yellow box simply indicates that the material has a different percentage chance of dropping than it normally does. Meaning that it can show up both when a material is very unlikely to show up or when something is much more likely to pop up. Having this knowledge can make a big impact on those who wish to use the information.
This means that players will better be able to identify what is a safer or weaker bet based on whether or not it has yellow boxes at all. While this may be frustrating for optimistic players, and bring down their spirits, it can also help unsure players branch out and try something different. One type of monster may be very unlikely to spawn a certain item, while the other monster is a safer bet due to knowing for sure what type of materials it will drop. However, because it simply means that it isn't the usual drop rate for something, doesn't mean that a player should waste a ton of time and energy on something that doesn't have the drop likelihood that they imagined.
Monster Hunter Rise is available on Nintendo Switch, and PC.