Topic: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Player Strategies/ Advice

i don't know why this thread hasn't been created before. maybe the thread hasn't been created by the right person, but in any case, there needs to exist a thread for Monster Hunter Strategies because this game is almost incomplete without help from friends. unfortunately, being unpopular in the West, its not much possible to find anyone in my local area who has invested time into the game. as for myself, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is my first game in the series, and i'm still new.
that said, i know less than enough to be out there fighting monsters. i've tried multiple times to brave them, but most occasions ended with me dying because of improper planning. so this is a thread for that; MH3U strategies and plans. Basically, post anything you feel like can help anyone else. this is mainly a thread for veterans to share advice, but newbs like myself are welcome in on the conversation i'm hoping this thread will get enough popularity so that it's easy for any MonsterHunter player to get advice and tips on.

some suggested ideas for strategy help posts
How do you prepare for fighting a monster?
What are the best beginner monsters?
what weapons do you use and why?
which armor types do you prefer?
etc.

1. Prepare traps and carry their materials on you so you can make more. Traps are very useful for breaking or killing monsters in general.

2. I would say Barroth and Royal Rudroth. These 2 imo are the easiest to fight and are good monster to train with.

3. No such thing as the best weapon. Use the weapon you feel like you can manage fighting the monster with and also be very careful about Elements.

4. Again this depends on monsters and what you are trying to achieve. As a all rounder and for starter, Helios X army is very nice with HG Ear Plugs and Sharpness +1.

lol, i wasn't specifically asking those questions, expecting an answer. those are just some examples of the types of questions that can be answered on here. here, just explain how you play MH, whatever the best way to play is.

BEGINNER TIPS

There are certain items you should always carry in your pouch. I'd recommend always having
10 mega potions
20 whetstones
2 max potions
1 ancient potion
10 well done steaks
1 shock trap
1 pitfall trap
8 tranquilizer bombs
20 dung bombs
5 flash bombs
1 farcaster (emergency use to get out of a tough spot in a pinch)
5 mega pick axes
5 mega bug nets

There are also quest-sensitive items you'll need here and there, and you'll need to use your best judgement to determine when to bring these items
herbal medicine or antidote (bring any time you're fighting a poisonous monster, like Rathian, Rathalos, or Gigginox)
large barrel bombs (good to use with traps to break monster parts)
hot/cold drinks (use appropriately for hot/cold environments)
mega nutrients (bring 5 if you anticipate carting during the fight- they can extend your health bar back to 150% if you cart during a quest)
cleanser (good for monsters like Barroth, that can cover you in mud)
deoderant (good for monsters like Volvidon, that can cover you in stench)

You should try to obtain certain items as quickly as possible, such as the following
armor charm (trade rare goods with Argosy Captain)
power charm (trade rare goods with Argosy Captain)
armor talon (combine armor charm + deviljho talon)
power talon (combine power charm + deviljho talon)
Book of Combos 1-5 (keep in item box for combinations)
Organizer and Rat Pack Guide (expands item box inventory pages)
Double BBQ Spit (a must have once you're past low rank- you'll be burning through steaks pretty fast, and need to become efficient at cooking them)

WEAPONS OF CHOICE
I personally use longswords and hunting horns. I would recommend using a melee weapon, and a faster one at that. You can experiment with the slower weapons like great sword, hammer and hunting horn once you've become proficient with your first weapon. Ranged weapons require special gunner armor, which only provides half the defence of blademaster armor. I can't recommend that for beginners. Whatever weapon you choose, upgrading is key. It's best to have 2 or 3 weapons at any given time that you're upgrading along their branch paths, that way if the weapon evolves into an element or status effect that you don't desire, you still have another weapon or two to fall back on and continue upgrading. Eventually, you'll want a weapon for each of the four elements plus slime, and if you can, for poison and paralysis. For example, if you choose longsword, make it your goal to have one for fire, ice, thunder, water, and slime (slime weapons readily crafted from Brachydios parts).

PLAN OF ATTACK
When you start out, go for the Great Jaggi first. Make a full 5 piece armor set (always do full sets in order to take advantage of the armor's skill sets), then move on to Qurupeco. Once you make Qurupeco armor set, move on to Rathian. Once you make his armor, use armor spheres and armor sphere + (mined from ore and given as quest rewards sometimes) to upgrade all five pieces as far as they'll go. This particular armor set, once upgraded fully, should carry you through low rank. You can, of course, make additional sets along the way for increased defense and/or specific skills. For example, Lagiacrus armor set has slightly better defense, and has unique underwater swimming skills (good for underwater monster quests). Personally, I'd go ahead and grab Diablos armor right before you enter high rank- once upgraded it should carry you through high rank until you can make a new Rathian armor set (only high rank this time).

Once you've make your high rank Rathian armor set and fully upgraded it, you'll probably be ok until you fight Goldbeard Ceadeus to enter G-Rank. When you do get to Goldbeard Ceadeus, MAKE HIS FULL ARMOR SET. Not only will it give you Sharpness +1 and HG Earplugs (two of the best skills in the game), you can gem in evasion +1. Upgrade the set as far as it will go without TRU armor spheres, then make your way through the mandatory 6 star quests online. Once you reach 7 star quests, you can mine the volcano for TRU armor spheres and Medspar Ore (Buy Armor Stones from Granny in Port Tanzia, which only appear randomly when she has 8 full pages of inventory, so grab em whenever you see em, and combine those armor stones + meldspar ore to yield TRU armor spheres).

FINAL TIPS
Learn to dodge. Learn to dodge. Learn to dodge. It's all about not getting hit. Become proficient in a weapon class, and stick with it. Learn the timing of dodging certain attacks, and as soon as possible, get Evasion +1 (preferably Evasion +2 if possible, and combined with Evade Distance you'll be a ghost). Also, get earplugs asap. You'll probably have to wait until Goldbeard Ceadeus to get these skills, but if by chance you run across a good evasion talisman, do what you can to gem in the skill. Learn how to safety dive, and learn it well. Learn monsters' weaknesses, and exploit them. Play with others online, and don't be afraid to tackle a monster slightly out of your league. This will only help you develop the skills necessary to advance throughout the game.

Hope my advice helps. Keep in mind, this is just how I got through the game, and these are my opinions. There is no right or wrong way, just what works for you personally. However, if you do stick to this blueprint, I imagine you'll do pretty well.

@JaxonH
-WEAPON OF CHOICE-
Ha! you probably noticed, but there's a pretty long delay for when you input commands on the controller. it's not long at first, but in combat, it is pretty annoying. using a shield takes too long to do, so i always ended up getting hit anyway because the delay took too long. thats why i use dual blades. they don't have any special defense move, but they're fast and fluent, so they do plenty of damage. some weapons are too heavy and make you move slower, and that just isn't alright for me. i need to be fast and quick. just me though, i can't stand being slow.

-MONSTER COMBAT-
my strategy for combat is as follows. i attack quickly then run away to study the beast's pattern and behavior. this way i can understand when the beast telegraphs something and how to counter it. the more i know about the beast, the longer i can allow myself to attack it before running away. it's basically a system of hitting-and-running, so i use the dodge a lot. this technique saves me a lot of health and potions. hacking-'n-slashing at a monster is a TERRIBLE idea, you will get your butt handed to you, not to mention you'll be forced to use up all your potions.
When a monster leaves an area, i use this time to refill health/stamina, and i also resharpen my blades. i gotta make sure i'm doing my maximum damage.
In the Moga Forest (and you aren't on a quest), don't be afraid to die. as far as i know, dying does nothing if you hunt monsters and aren't on a quest. so feel free to train on monsters in the Moga Forest. and DON'T waste a trap and tranquilizer bombs here. you won't get the bonuses you usually get in a quest, you're just wasting good supplies, AND you can't carve pieces off the creature. you're better off just killing the beast in the training area.

-WEAPON FORGING-
what i personally look for in the forge is a blade with a good ratio of damage and sharpness. i lean more towards sharpness, because the weapon will do its strongest damage for a longer duration than when the blade is dull. it is important to have a strong weapon though, so that the sharper blade can do more damage before it dulls. when the monster leaves the area, always use a whetstone to sharpen the blade. you always want maximum damage.

@HappyHappyist

Whatever works. Just thought I'd share what I could to help those starting out. I was once a MH noob, but now I'm like HR77 or somethin like that. Been playing other games lately like the excellent DKC Tropical Freeze- I may take up speed running DKC as a new hobby now that we can post vids online for friends to view. I like hard games, that's why I love MH3U so much.

@HappyHappyist

Whatever works. Just thought I'd share what I could to help those starting out. I was once a MH noob, but now I'm like HR77 or somethin like that. Been playing other games lately like the excellent DKC Tropical Freeze- I may take up speed running DKC as a new hobby now that we can post vids online for friends to view. I like hard games, that's why I love MH3U so much. And DKC. There's really nothing that can compare to those 2 games. .

I started off with Dual Blades, but found after the Great Jaggi that they weren't getting the job done. As @JaxonH said, Long Swords (not great swords). Decent movement speed and plenty of damage and reach.

The most basic and integral mechanics to learn right off the back:

-Running and watching your stamina gauge
-Learning to take out and sheath your weapon, specifically the animation/time it takes for these moves
-Animations for using an item, more importantly health items and getting used to switching items using the scroll wheel
-Learning to dodge roll or block when your weapon is out (since you cannot run)
-Learning the weapon animations/timing in conjunction with dodging/blocking

These basics all translate to each Monster Hunter game so once you learn them it's a cinch to drop into any other game on any system (ps2, psp, Wii, Wii U, 3ds).

Once you have these basics, the next thing to learn are the enemy movements and behavioral patterns. Which in my opinion, along with the kickdonkey monster designs, are what make the MH game so fun and rewarding. Each monster battle is a refreshing new experience to learn and adapt to using your skills with your weapon of choice.

_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

i tried the long sword in the beginning, along with every other weapon. i pretty much decided that it takes too long to swing the sword, and because of its shape, it would be a bit harder to use (i tried killing something small, like the Kelbi, and my sword kept missing because of how thin it is). something like the long sword is better for hunting bigger monsters than smaller enemies. Dual blades are a tad faster and easier to control. you can it small and large monsters very quickly, and once you master the dodging maneuver, you won't even need a shield. again, just my opinion though. one of the great things about MH is that each player can play it so differently, and each player can tell their own water-cooler stories.

-MONSTER PATTERNS-
you may have noticed, but the monster log in the game isn't very useful. what i've found is useful is writing down the monsters' patterns in a handy notebook,with as much information as you need. i write down certain things about the monster that will be useful, like behavior patterns, breaking points, where is the safest spot to attack, etc. you can also draw detailed pictures of each monster, which is better than those silly-looking doodles of monsters in the game. anyway, you can't go wrong with a Monster notebook.