Hunter games on consoles. While Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Monster Hunter Generations were fantastic games on the Nintendo 3DS, many were crossing their fingers in the hopes that one day, Monster Hunter would return to home consoles in order to enjoy high-quality hunting once more. Fans knew the series would return soon, but the question was: in what form will it take?
Monster Hunter World is a first in the series in many ways. It is the first true “HD” Monster Hunter that Westerners get to experience (more so than Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on Wii U which was good looking in its own right). It is also the first Monster Hunter game to launch worldwide rather than a localization that would be months later. Launching last month, Monster Hunter World has already sold over 6 million copies, making it an immediate success and showing that the Monster Hunter series can be a part of the mainstream. Many players already have well over 100+ hours put into the game, and we have yet to even get into the additional content with a series favorite in the waiting.
If you have never touched this series, World is the best place to jump in. For everyone else who has stuck with the series, there has been so many fantastic changes and updates done with the game that everyone can’t help but be in awe and proclaim it as the best game in the series. When you look at World as a whole, one can’t help but think of all the ways they improved the game to bring us our first big hit of 2018.
This cutscene alone was enough to get me excited to hunt down Rathalos again.
There are times while you are on the hunt that you have to take a minute and take it all in. Each of the five main locations each offers their own unique location. From a vast forest to a graveyard of monsters, you can’t help but admire the time it took to put these locations together to help make every location feel different from each other. You can even use the environment itself to trap and hunt monsters. It also helps that there is no longer any load times between zones, so you can be able to enjoy the entire location you’re at without getting constant loads. If you ever feel like you need to take a break from monster hunting, go on an expedition and just run around the map to explore the world around you.
2. Let Them Fight. Every Monster For Themselves.
For all the reasons why I love the monsters in World, there is one key feature that I find myself loving the most: it is no longer hunters vs monsters. In the past, if you found two monsters together, they would usually put aside their differences and attack you at the same time. They could hurt each other, but only if the other monster gets in the way. In World, the monsters don’t care for each other at all. It feels like that, unless if there is a Rathian and a Rathalos in the same location, monsters will usually look at each other and wage war until one of them decides to run away. There are even times where monsters can even engage in a “Turf War” where a two will perform a unique action that will end in one of the monsters taking a massive hit.
Watching a Rathalos getting violent is pretty fun when you’re not on the receiving end of it.
Usually, when there is more than one monster in one location, players can use dung pods to fire at the monster and force it to go away. Other players cherish the idea of having monsters in the same location as that can mean that they can target each other. When you have three monsters together in one fight, it can be pure chaos and when the game is at its best. It was something that longtime fans have wanted to see and we finally have it here. Be sure to be on the lookout for possible events that happen in arenas as those can be especially exciting. So if you ever have the chance to initiate a fight between to giant monsters, make like the guy like Godzilla and say, “Let them fight!”
3. Making Hunting Feel Nostalgic and Brand New!
Each game usually introduces new ways to enhance the hunt. While there were no new weapons in Monster Hunter World, current is better than ever! Any of the 14 available weapon types still play the same as ever, but all have new moves attached to them to vastly improve the overall hunting experience. From new charge attacks with the Great Sword to continuously bashing a monster over the head with a hammer, there are so many new possibilities. Even Gunners can now freely move around and fire at monsters, which gives Blademasters aim rather than standing still to attack. Finally, a new ability to slide on hills helps to keep hunters on the move against monsters and adds even more depth to the overall gameplay.
Depending on how you use sliding attacks, they can literally give you the jump on monsters.
Another fantastic change to the gameplay is at times when you mount monsters. Gone is the “fill the meter before the monster knocks you off” gauge and makes the experience feels like a rodeo. The monster will try and shake you off and even ram you against the wall to force you off. These moments can be crazy since you are doing your best to stab the monster into submission while also hopping around on its head, back and tail to weaken it for an attack. All of which pays off towards the end when your hunter delivers a powerful attack that will knock the monster down. Whether a painful hit to the face or even using the Great Sword to cut the tail off, it adds to the fierceness of combat. With so many great changes, it is a game that feels welcoming to both veterans and newcomers.
4. Tools of The Trade
For as great as the weapons are, the developers went an extra mile to not end it there. In a brand new world, we also have brand new tools to help with the hunt that makes the hunt even better than ever! The biggest of these tools are the Scoutflies. Usually, when you found the monster, you tag it with a paintball so that you could follow it wherever it may go. In World, you can now track monsters through footprints and their interactions with the environment. Once you have enough, Scoutflies can then zero in on the monster’s location so that you’re not wasting time trying to start the fight. The flies also serve as great guides too so that you can find your way around the map without getting lost.
Mantle selection can be just as important as Weapons and Armor Pieces
Other tools that also help out are the Slinger and the Mantles. Slingers can launch projectiles at monsters for a variety of effects. While a stone might not do much, it can help when you have a Flash Pod to take down a flying target, or a Bomb Pod to blow up the monster. Slingers can be used even to remount a monster should it knock you off. Meanwhile, Mantles offer that extra buff that can sometimes be the difference between a flawless hunt and getting knocked out. Mantles can help your hunting style or add additional effects so that you’re not affected by status ailments. Through careful use of these tools, you can become an ace hunter in no time!
5. Less Supply Management and More Hunting/Gathering!
This might sound a bit silly, but there was a time when hunter stockpiled pickaxes and bug nets since they can usually break while farming for supplies. This is no longer the case as those supplies are no longer a problem. You can go out into the world and if you found a place to mine for materials, you can do it quick and easy without feeling like you’re losing supplies. The developers made collecting and gathering faster and on-the-go to turn the focus more towards the hunts. If while running you wanted to get some herbs for potions, you can run by one, pick a few up and have them immediately converted to potions for hunts.
Just grab and go!
If you’re not one who cares about gathering resources, then there is one other set of items that can help dictate the pace of a hunt: Whetstones and Potions. Unless if you are using long ranged weapons, keeping your weapons sharp is vital. It required you to have whetstones on standby so that you can sharpen up when you are low. Monster Hunter World changed this so that now, you can sharpen weapons as much as you want. Even the act of drinking potions has helped to improve the overall experience as you are no longer flexing while drinking. You can now keep moving so that if the monster targets you, you can still avoid their attacks. The change to the supplies is a godsend and helps the overall experience, even if you are in need to farm or revitalize yourself.
6. The Ole to Palicos
If you are someone who hunts solo, you know that you have someone covering your back. While the common onlooker will look at a Palico and question why your only backup is a cat with a club, they are more vital than ever during hunts. At the start of the game, Palicos will have an ability that allows them to keep your health up. It can be especially adorable and a godsend to see your Palico floating towards you with a Vigorwasp to get you back to full health and keep you in the hunt. In some ways, your Palico becomes more than just another target for monsters to attack to give you a moment to breathe.
Your partner in crime is customizable too!
What makes Palicos even better is the fact you can have them obtain new gadgets to expand out what they are capable of. When running around the map, you can bump into Grimalkynes (or cats out in the wild). If you find one and complete whatever challenge with them, they will give your Palico a gadget that changes what they can do during hunts. From flash bombs and Meowlotovs to distracting monsters and even stealing materials, uses and abilities can differ greatly. They can teach your Palico how to tame smaller monsters and even call on Grimalkynes for backup to hold the monster down. So if you are ever hunting solo, Palicos are worth keeping around.
7) Armor Set More User-Friendly Then Ever!
While having a badass weapon is important, it is just as crucial to have a nice armor set equipped to boost your capabilities. Much like the weapons, the armor system in World is revamped to not only be easier for newcomers to understand but also more straightforward in how it works. Previously, in order to activate skills and abilities from armors, you had to mix and match armors to add the points and activate them. Now, all you need is at least one point in order to activate it. What makes this new system better is the idea that the more points you add to a skill, the more effective it will be. Need to be immune to poison? Three points and that’s it. Need more attack power? add up to seven points and you’ll be striking monster much harder.
Navigation and skill sorting armor pieces are wonderful additions.
Alongside with the change to the points, the armors themselves also got what much needed changes too. In the past, there was a split between armors for Blademasters and Gunners and how Gunner armors were weaker due to being long range users. That is no longer the case as now you can use any armor with any weapon. At that same point, armors in High Rank have two varieties with allows players to pick from having either armors with skills or armors with lesser skills and customization options with decorations. As you can imagine, this opens up a whole new set of opportunities for those who use mix sets, or those who want to make armors sets for specific skills in mind. If you want to give yourself a buff, this is worth checking out.
8) Sending off an SOS
If you have made rooms in Monster Hunter games, you know that if you start a mission and someone jumps in the room late, they are unable to join the hunt in progress. That is no longer the case as you can now start hunts with an incomplete group so that if others in the room join and see the quest, they can hop aboard and join the team. It was a feature so many in the community wanted to see for the longest time, and now it has finally found its way into the series. While being able to join hunts in progress is great, what if you’re in a position where no one else is in the room and you are hunting a monster that is a touch out of your league?
“As soon as my backup arrives, you’re in so much trouble!”
If you are in need of assistance, you now have the ability to fire off an SOS. flare. When fired, allows any players to hop aboard regardless if they are in your session or not and come to your aid. While it will increase the difficulty as more players jump in, this can be especially helpful against monsters that are more powerful than your regular run of the mill fodder. It can be a great feeling to join into a completely random session to answer someone’s SOS and help them complete the hunt. Just be sure to use it sparingly since you could have the backup get themselves carted and leaving you with a failed quest if they were ill prepared.
9) How to Train Take Down Your Target
Veteran hunters usually find themselves going to websites for breakdowns on monsters in terms of elemental weaknesses and what to parts of the body to target for the goodies. With the new Field Guide feature, that is no longer required. As you fight monsters, you can gather intel on monsters so that you can build up a database that helps break down a creature in nice details. The guide will show you which parts of the body to target and how effective weapons will be when you land your hits. You also get to see the kind of drops the monsters will give when you either kill or capture them. With this addition, it helps to keep gamers in the game rather than having to remove themselves from the experience to research it online. Of course, it is still good to use sites like Kiranico when you need to.
Want to get that claw? Now you know where to target the monster to have it drop.
Alongside with the Hunter’s Guide, there is one other feature that players have wanted for the longest time: a Training Area. As silly as it sounds, this is the first game in series to have a designated training area to help hunters better understand the weapons they use. By allowing players to swap and try out different weapons, it can assist hunters who are interested in figuring out in a safe zone instead of a mission or expedition. Attack the pillar to know what their damage output while using ledges and slopes too. The training area might not be the place where you will spend a good chunk of your time, but it is a welcome inclusion.
10) Story Mode
Ask any Monster Hunter player to talk about a game’s story and usually, it’s summarized in two words: what story? Not that the story is bad, but it isn’t the main focus of any Monster Hunter game is not suppose to be on the story. While it is still the case for Monster Hunter World, the team has gone up and beyond to make a story that feels more involved than ever before. The first big change is that this is the first game to feature full voice dialogue. Characters talked in the other games, but it was gibberish. Now, you have your pick between a variety of languages and have characters interacting with each other to make the game feel like an actual world. Not only that, but you feel more involved in the Elder Dragon investigation.
The hunts do feel a touch linear as they have when you unlock them, but you can feel this sense of emergence when you visit a new location for the first time or have your first encounter with a monster. It feels like there is a purpose to the story and how it isn’t just reading the text of “this is what happened and you need to hunt this monster to move the story forward.” Will the story itself leave long-lasting memories? Probably not. But there is no denying that when you play through the story, you will find some enjoyment out of it.
So What Did You Enjoy The Most?
When it comes to Monster Hunter World, it is a game that found many ways to improve on the long-running series. From the small quality of life changes to higher-end updates, the developers definitely knocked it out of the park. With more updates coming soon, who knows how much bigger the world of Monster Hunter World will get. One thing is for sure though: This is the best time if ever to grab your oversized sword and go hunting. So what changes to Monster Hunter World have you enjoyed the most? Be sure to leave a comment and follow us here at Culture of Gaming for more thoughtful editorials on your favorite games.
