Topic: Monster Hunter Rise

@meleehunter
I'm a charge blade and Switch axe main, and the new moves are going to fundamentally change the way I play (I'll main a new weapon but I always fall back on these two weapons as comfort food).

A Switch axe counter is an absolute game changer. That was a mic dropper there. Don't even care about the other one.

And charge blade getting a second counter that allows you to go right into Savage axe or sword mode, that's faster to execute and recover from, is going to be extremely useful mechanically. If this were base Rise it would have to be a choice vs another useful skill but, thanks to the new Switch Skill mechanic, we can have our cake and eat it too. CPP with Savage Axe in one mode, and the new counter with that new Elemental move that combos into elemental sword mode and lands a blow that jabs a charge onto the monster and which detonates with the Axe.

And, now we don't have to choose between things like Savage Axe and Condensed Elemental Discharge. Or Axe Hopper and CPP, or the move that wirepulls you across a distance to close a gap, and combos into a Level 2 axe swing or SAED.

As for hammer, I've never mained it, but I have mained Horn, and it has a completely different playstyle and identity. If you're just going for "max damage per second" then it doesn't matter- you're just gonna pick whatever weapon gets the fastest speed runs. But that's not me, nor is it most hunters. So having completely different playstyle approaches and move sets is enough to differentiate the two. Just because one weapon got one "somewhat similar but not exactly the same" move doesn't mean the two suddenly play alike. Hammer is about building charges, spinning attacks, that massive meteor slam from the air, and switching modes between yellow and blue. And now you also can switch between Switch Skill sets. That's 4 different combinations of attack modes and switch skills, which is going to make hammer an incredibly agile weapon in terms of playstyle.

I fully intend to main hammer this time behind Great Sword.

@DreamlandGem
Oh and btw, picking a new main for each release really helps make the experience feel even more fresh, and that's especially true for Ultimate versions that still have all the monsters and maps from the base game.

It's tradition. New Monster Hunter? Gotta learn a new weapon 😀 Eventually, you'll learn every weapon that way.

Yeah, I mean I mained HH for a while in Rise. I tried it in World when people told me it was made easier to use and it was still horrible to play. Rise was the first time they made the HH actually fun to use, so I am definitely not against HH's evolution. I think almost every change Rise made to the weapons was for the better, I just feel like the Hammer also needs to evolve further, to once again carve a true niche for itself.

In regards to the Charge Blade, I have to be honest, seeing the skills side by side, I could barely tell a difference. But like I say, I have felt like that about most of these so far. Like I guess with the Switch Axe one, a lot of these new skills appear to be for the base fundamentals of the weapon, rather than giving you some new big flashy move. I guess this avoids flat power creep, as the power of these moves will correlate more with the person using them, but it just makes it hard to get super excited about this. And I know I'm not alone, as a quick scroll under most of these on Twitter you will find people going 'errr... what does that new skill even do?'.

@Pizzamorg In all due respect, even the flashiest, most hyped up moves in marketing can be disappointing if the numbers turn out to be low, with or without walls of texts describing benefits in minute detail. With the absurd amount of variations in things like stats and hitzones it's almost impossible to provide a good frame of reference.

Also I'm pretty sure the main thing the marketing team wants you to be super excited for is the monsters. Everything else is gravy.

Sure, but I don't work by that logic, if I was gonna split hairs like that over everything, I wouldn't be able to get excited for anything.

But yeah, the main focus of MH will always be the monsters and what parts you can carve off of them to wear or kill their children with.

Magma Almudron armor looking hot.

All the armor so far has been on point.

@DarthNocturnal
You have a ways to go if you haven't started the Hub.

If you start you should be ready in time for Sunbreak. Launch is always the best time to play games like this, when everyone is playing and hype is at full tilt. The game will be alive for years, but the forum dries up after 2 months.

Whew! I just got smashed with a triple cart against Event Quest Crimson Glow Valstrax.

I figured I'd start learning Great Sword now, and made a set from my LS build since it had Quick Sheath and Focus already. But what I failed to consider was the insane damage these ultra-buffed event quests monsters do. I had made a Defense set specifically for them, but that was for Switch Axe.

I got cooked. Vastrax cooked me like eggs in a skillet. After my 2nd cart I changed to Switch Axe, and I did much better... until I inevitably carted again. Lasted longer, but... not long enough, apparently.

That Crimson Glow Valstrax event quest on the final page is a slaughterhouse. Hunters come in, they don't come back out. At least, not with their dignity and ego still in tact.

Yes hello here I am, lmao

I'm incredibly excited for the switchaxe counter. Like, unbelievably, unreasonably excited about it.

I've started playing Rise again since the hype has been building and I've been in the mood for some good hunts again. I've been chewing my way through the six pages of events quests that have piled up since I last played regularly, just kinda drifting from Switchaxe to Gunlance to Insect Glaive. Took a few hunts but I'm back in form again.

@JaxonH Eeek how exciting, I can't wait! I really need to jump on Rise & get some practise in, going to be awful after not playing for so long hahaha

Sounds good to me, I will have to try something new in Sunbreak! Not sure what though, if anyone has any recommendations lmk. I've played some DB, lots of IG & HH

@TeeJay
I may need your help with the Apex and buffed monster event quests. And I may need to stick with a weapon I know to get through them since they're so incredibly hard. Usually play around 6pm to 10pm on weekdays (I'm in Central Time Zone though, so 7pm - 11pm for you).

@DreamlandGem
Switch Axe and Charge Blade are so good. Technical weapons that are super engaging. I think Switch Axe in Rise is best it's ever been. And although some may disagree, Charge Blade as well.

@JaxonH Ooh. That'll be an issue since I work nights and typically start getting ready to leave at 7pm EST.

I was hoping Lance got a bit more a rework but the downward thrust looks pretty fun.

@Ulysses I'm betting most of those haters can't even use the Long Sword at it's "broken" potential, but who are we to judge people who live vicariously through highlight clips that absolutely didn't have a lot of undocumented mistakes beforehand?

@MisterMan More people should try going for evasion (distance) skills if they think the guard playstyle is too clunky. A little known fact is that Anchor Rage (the wirebug art that gives a short buff after blocking) actually benefits from having less points in Guard because the buff scales with how much the attack would stagger you.

@meleehunter It's not the mobility of the Lance in Rise that's the issue for me, it's the fact the LS is a better defensive/counter weapon than the Lance. I loved the lance in MHW and enjoyed it 4U, but felt MHW was the best iteration we've seen of the Lance. The Lance should have the best counter in the game, not the LS. For a weapon that requires so many skills in Guard, Guard UP, Offensive Guard, the payoff should be much better. Instead you're left with a weapon with very tight counter windows when compared to other weapons. And if you want to do decent damage you just have to spam the spiral thrust, which is a playstyle I don't find enjoyable.

Interested in the two new utility arrows for the bow, however, I find the Bow and the guns probably the least interesting weapons to use in MH games, though. The all at once shotgun like blast of the gun lance seems cool, even if it is very similar to the elemental discharge on the Switch Axe but arguably with extra micromanagement, but I might give it a chance for the sake of a new toy.

@TeeJay
Hmm. Maybe I can make time from 4:30 - 6 (5:30 - 7 for you). I usually exercise for an hour but I can do it later in the evening

@Ulysses
People are so caught up in envying what others have they can't be happy with what they've got. All I see is, "but LS!!!" like, I don't really care one way or the other what LS has. Don't care if it's "better". I play whichever weapon looks fun. Besides which, new LS moves don't even look that crazy. A ring that can give a couple extra hits IF you counter and IF it's in the ring? Eh. Those new Lance moves look slick though.

@MisterMan
I don't actually think it's a better defensive weapon. Counters are much harder to pull off than simple guards with a shield, and much more situational, and come with higher risk. Not sure why Lance should have the best counter over any other weapon. Not that I'd be against it if it did, but nothing about it seems like it "deserves" it more than the weapon whose identity is entirely built around counters.

Idk. Admittedly the Lance didn't interest me much in base Rise. But I'll check it out again in Sunbreak.

@JaxonH It's a better defensive weapon because you can counter without eating your stamina or taking chip damage without investing any points into that area and in turn do massive damage to that monster. The counters on the lance are harder to pull off than counters on the LS. The window is much tighter for perfect block, and then the perfect block follow up attack leaves you vulnerable to a monster's follow up attack. The lance skills just don't feel as fleshed out as other weapons, which is a shame because the lance was so good in the previous game.

@JaxonH And it's not like you must have all those Guard skills at all times. It's only the really big endgame elder dragons that hit hard enough with enough unblockables that you would want to max them out to reliably tank them. Otherwise you get by with just three points in Guard to be consistent against most monsters, and most don't even have unblockables letting you forgo Guard Up altogether.

I don't think the Lance has ever been the go-to for fast clears in all of it's history. Instead it prides itself for being one of the safest. Nobody bats an eye at bowguns reigning supreme in terms of clear times for multiple generations, which I can only guess is people accepting it to be fair in return for their low defence. So how would they feel if something could match them while also having nigh-impregnable guards?

I prefer the shield, it's why I use the Gunlance so I can block while being able to have explosions...Also recently I just realized that in Rise it has a counter that restores some sharpness to your weapon, so...yeah.