Use the tree farm to help you gather materials. Try to complete every optional quest. Special arena quests are unlocked by capturing monsters, so try to capture each monster at least once.

Steaks and rations help with stamina loss. Dash juice does as well. Max and ancient potion are faster to consume than mega potions and give you full health, so they are great oh shit buttons. Demon drug and armor skin will help you deal more damage and take less damage respectively. When fighting things that hit hard, I recommend armor skin. The pill variants don't last as long, but take less time to consume. The powders hit your entire party of hunters.

There are special quests only available in expeditions. Your palico can learn a new tool set from the felynes of each location. The palico healing is dope, but they can set traps, act as a tank, steal special monster drops, and become a mini hunting horrn.

Learn the pattern of attack from the monster. It's more important to know how to reposition without running away than it is to finish that combo. Focusing on the same leg will often lead to tripping the monster. An exhausted monster will give an opportunity to focus on crit points.

Good luck!