Topic: Monster Hunter Rise

@Ralizah yeah, i'm looking forward to seeing how MHW looks on it as well.

I'm still amazed how good Monster Hunter Rise looks on my LG C1 OLED 4KTV.

The combination of the mClassic adapter which adds SSAA, and cranking the sharpness filter to about 75% up, makes the image look way sharper and cleaner than it has any right to on Switch.

This is why I advocate for the mClassic and a high Sharpening filter. It works wonders.

@JaxonH
...Dunno if I'll get any adapters because my setup is already a massive mess of wires....what settings are you using for your TV? I think my Switch did look good at the start, but then I changed something and I think it's just displaying the Switch's normal resolution. I can't remember what I did, I did mess with qa good chunk of the picture settings but it seemed like a lot of them did nothing at all. :/ (I have the C9)

EDIT: Oh, it's just a little stick thingy....okay, MAYBE, then. lol

@Joeynator3000
Full settings would take a while to check everything.

Picture > Advanced > Clarity > Sharpness > 40

I also have OLED Motion Pro turned on Low to help framerate feel just that extra bit smoother. But that's beside the point.

The biggest difference comes from mClassic though. It helps reduce jagged edges and upscales which makes the image look sharper. Combined with a high Sharpening filter produces the image you see in the pic.

OK, wow. So I solo'd Apex Arzuros in an event quest and thought: "That was pretty easy. Maybe the Emergency Apex Arzuros quest won't be much harder." But oh my lord, that thing thoroughly stomped me. Granted, far less quickly than the Emergency Apex Rathian did, but still, even with buffed defense and high HP from food + spiribugs, that thing can still one-shot you.

It's doable, of course. I'll just need to stop taking so many chances when attacking and dance around its swiping attacks a lot more.

I tried it with randos, but they all triple-carted pretty quickly. I joined someone else's quest at one point and the quest failed before I could even make my way to the monster!

@JaxonH The colors are almost painfully vivid in that picture.

Sharpness definitely looks nice, though.

@Ralizah
Ya I love bright, vivid colors on an OLED. I keep my Switch on VIVID in handheld mode also. Though I will say, the pics make the colors pop more than they actually do. It looks closer to Switch OLED in Vivid mode in person, as I tried to calibrate it to look the same as handheld mode.

BTW, I couldn't do the Apex Emergency Quests with randoms. They were always carting. I had to do them solo, or with someone skilled enough I knew I could rely on (TeeJay). Also stayed topped up on mega armorskins and hardshell powder during the fight, ate for Defender Hi, and had defense +6 gemmed into my armor. My total base defense in Kamura before going on the quest, per the Status menu in the options, was 550. Once in the quest after having eaten and gotten defense from items, it was around 630. I'd try to get as close to those numbers as possible. Gem in defense, gem in Divine Protection if needed, bring mega armorskins and hardshell powders, and if you need help, just throw me a tag mention here. I can hop on and help you.

Randos are a blessing and a cure in Rise, as much as they are any online game, really. I generally do not find this game fun solo, like most co-op focused games, the game can already be very hard, so it is nice to have a buddy with you. That is why I am intrigued by the follower quests. I know the monsters get more HP etc with more players and the scaling in Monster Hunter games just seems awful, but I would sooner take a buddy and more HP than do it solo.

That said, I finished the Allmother quest on PC yesterday and it kinda reminded me of how detrimental randos can be, too. I cannot tell you how excruciating it was to slog through that long ass fight and have a bunch of jabronis die to those pillars right at the end, must have happened half a dozen times. You fail the mission and have no power to change it. You are just screaming at your monitor for them to run into the middle. For ***** sake. Just feels awful every time.

Oh and I dunno what it is, in World you'd thank your lucky stars every time a person with a bow joined, but I swear in Rise every rando with a bow just arrives, eats up all the carts and leaves.

@JaxonH I like vivid imagery as well, but the pics might be a little too far in that direction, so I'm glad to hear they're a tad more muted IRL.

I just finished with the Emergency Apex Arzuros quest. Just needed to play more cautiously, since my defense stats are already pretty high. So, keeping my health topped off was something I stayed on top of this time. I also made sure to max out my health and stamina via spiribugs. The biggest help, though, was changing up my armor skills to max out evade extender, since I could just roll away from its attacks.

Up to HR77 now, so I should hit my goal of HR100 before Sunbreak releases if I continue to play every day.

I might want your help with that Rathian at some point when you're back on the game, though.

@Pizzamorg I'll admit, I died in that quest co-op a few times. It's a bit easier once you know the patterns, but that entire second half of the fight just remains almost obnoxiously brutal.

I dunno, I just prefer to play alone, or at least with just friends. I never really needed online multiplayer in MH to complete stuff. I guess the only exception being IB because, honestly, that game is hard for all the wrong reasons. So glad that stuff was fixed in Rise. >.> Also certain event quests in past games.

I like the very anonymous way modern MH facilitates mp. Same with Splatoon. It makes doing co-op fun for me.

I also enjoy solo, of course, and prefer to tackle quests with new monsters alone so I can learn their movesets.

I've always been a single player gamer. Online multiplayer intimidated me and I didn't like the stress that came with the notion of playing online and having to worry about all the things you hear about- hostile players and worrying about whether you're doing well enough to not embarass yourself, etc.

But Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate changed that. It helped me realize most of those fears were unfounded. I came out of that game a changed player. I realized how fun it was to hunt with others. I even voice chatted with randoms from Germany in their lobby for 48 hrs farming cloudy moonshards from Lucent Nargacuga. I felt like I was making friends. And I did. I still have ppl on my friend list to this day, that I met hunting with back on Wii U.

I still greatly enjoy playing solo, but the fact the game splits itself into single player and multiplayer focused quests means I can do both. But I never hesitate to hunt with others if given the opportunity. It's just so much fun.

Splatoon is a game I'd have never tried if not for building my confidence first through MH3U. That led to Splatoon on Wii U which was actually competitive, but the fact teams were randomized meant I never had to worry about my own potential lack of skill resulting in consistent losses for too long. Even today, Splatoon and MH are the two series I still play online.

For the record though, World was horrible with its online. I was reminded of that just recently when me and TeeJay had to each enter the same quest separately, then he had to abandon after watching the cut scene, then eat again, and join my quest. And it's like that for nearly every single quest. It's like throwing a stick in the spokes of a bicycle wheel, over and over and over again. And the game forcing you to create an online lobby even when you want to play solo? Idk what they were thinking. That game gets so much right, and yet has the absolute worst multiplayer experience of any game in the series I've played.

@Ralizah
Just let me know when and I'll jump on.

You're not far from HR100. It'll go by pretty fast, especially if you're taking on super difficult event Quests to raise HR. There are some event Quests on page 5 or 6 that are in the new arena, btw. Should check that out. Heart of Might is a good one with Chameleos, Kushala Daora and Teostra in the new arena.

Btw, did you make it to endgame in MH4U with us back in the day? I remember hunting guild card Quests with Level 137 Deviljhos and Level 140 Rusted Kushala Daora, and it was absolute madness. I'm hoping Sunbreak gives us challenge like that. I want to be pushed to the extreme. I imagine the Advanced: Crimson Glow Valstrax is probably on par with mid-level G-rank Quests, and the Emergency Apex Zinogre is on par with later G-rank Quests.

World/IB has tons of issues in general....not a bad game, but so many problems. A lot of them were fixed in Rise, too.

With the Mario Strikers demo all finished my focus can return to Sunbreak preparation (though the way preparation has gone so far, this comment will probably summon MK8 Deluxe DLC wave 2 ).

@Grumblevolcano
Mario Kart DLC isn't going anywhere. Would be nice to have you here with us actually discussing Sunbreak after release- you only get one shot at that. New MH games releasing, especially Master Rank Ultimate versions, are an event.

@Joeynator3000
World has several issues, but none are really that serious except for the online multiplayer. Maybe the Kulve farming for weapons, but for the most part the game nailed it. I won't deny Rise fixed most of World's issues, but it did introduce some new ones of its own. None as massively detrimental as World's online multiplayer, granted.

@JaxonH Honestly for me, a lot of them for me are on the small side. But they pile up pretty quickly, but yeah the game did put a lot of focus on online multiplayer. But yeah, of all MH games out there, World/IB has infuriated me the most. Lunastra in general, the fact that I use a weapon with a giant shield AND WITH Guard-Up yet I still can't block some attacks? (this is the big one for me, and it's even worse towards the end with the Rajangs and Zinogres) Along with Lunastra, there are others like Shrieking Legiana, I hated that quest.

But yeah, monster AI was another, they ran away too much, they roared WAY too much. As for the running away brought up another issue for me with the maps, most of them are way too large and/or complex. I eventually unlocked the Guiding Lands, and I even get lost in that stupid forest area. >.<

After years of starting over with this game, I'm finally getting closer to the end, but it really has been a struggle for me. It just constantly made me want to quit and play another MH game instead.

I'm so glad Rise fixed a lot of this stuff...honestly, I think there's only one monster that gives me issues with blocking. Tetranadon...no idea why, I think it's that bloated jump attack thing. Now that I think about it, Bazel's crash landing attack is another move I can't block for some reason. lol

But yeah, these are nowhere near as infuriating as being constantly knocked down by Rathalos in World, or freaking Furious Rajang. And of course the stupid hunter just lays there on the ground for a bit while I'm mashing buttons yelling at her to get up and run away. >.<

@Joeynator3000
I was playing a bit of MHGU today and yesterday, and I really appreciated the old school approach. Crafting felt so much more rewarding when it was more difficult. I liked making my own bomb casings, for example. I know instant flash bombs are QoL, but it feels more rewarding having to craft casings with Stone and Sap Plant first. Items feel like they have more value. And weapons/armor was so much harder to craft. So they felt really special, like a well earned achievement. Your fashion set was a statement of pride in skill. It's so easy to make armor now, especially layered armor, it doesn't feel nearly as rewarding. I actually think layered armor was a mistake, in hindsight. Or rather, it was a mistake making it easier to craft. It should be like in MHGU where it permanently transmogs to a single set and is unchangeable afterward, and the layered set costs the same items to craft as the normal set.

MHGU is just super addicting- a nice slow grind. Endless content. Sure, a lot is gathering and small monster slaying, but it worked so well. I love Rise to death, and certainly World, but having MHGU to fall back on is such a blessing. Having Rise, complete with Sunbreak, and MHGU and MH Stories 2 on Switch... I couldn't ask for more than that.

Yeah I kinda miss the paintballs as well, without auto-tracker back then you never knew if a monster showed up or not. It was somewhat still there in World/IB, but as you hunted the monster a few times it would automatically show up on the map, where Rise just flat-out announces the monster showing up. -.-

As for layered armor, I kinda prefer it to be somewhat easy to grab it since they won't act as actual armor.

....I need to get back to Stories 2, I didn't even fight Kulve yet. xD

I think you are pretty spot on with your issues with World @Joeynator3000 and it is nice to hear someone else share these thoughts I've had for ages.

Going back to World, after Rise, is just a miserable experience, honestly. I think if the next Monster Hunter game doesn't have a Wirebug, or a Wirebug like mechanic, I am going to have a real hard time getting on with it. Like going back to World, having a monster walk near you and for some reason that takes away most of your health, you just wish the whole time you could Wirebug away.

And ugh, the massive environments with monsters running half way across the maps in what felt like every two minutes in World. Just so damn tedious.

I appreciate some prefer the older style of game with the survival mechanics, it being more of a hunt than just a straight fight and that you were almost always at a disadvantage and required to win by the skin of your teeth.

However, I thought this stuff sucked personally and I'm glad Rise got rid of all of it. I like just being able to get straight into the fight, I like the empowerment the Wirebug gives me. Rise is actually fun to play, even on the harder monsters. Going back to World, everything feels like an unnecessarily brutally punishing chore.

I mean, taking damage from monsters walking near you is kinda normal, lol. But yeah, I had a horrible first time experience with Banbaro in that Hoarfrost area. Getting him to limping and he limps all the way to his nesting area which was like 2 zones away or something. I finally catch up to him and wake him up with an attack, he then limps out of that area and moves like, 2 more zones away from that so more chasing....he then enters rage mode....AND THEN LIMPS ALL THE FREAKIN' WAY BACK TO THE NEST! Like, wtf? >.< lol

but yeah, the monster pin attacks is what infuriated me the most...I'm using a gunlance, I have a giant shield, I'm using guard-up, and I STILL can't block these attacks?

So yeah like I said, Rise fixes a lot of these issues, maps are smaller and more straightforward, the monsters still roar just as much, but the only time they stun you is when they roar at the start or when they enter rage. (or if it's Khezu, because Khezu, lol) Even if I do get hit by a pin, yeah I love the wirebug, though I don't think they'll be a thing in the next game. I think some of these will be a Rise/Sunbreak only thing.

That said, I do want to see some of these IB monsters return just so I can fight them and actually have fun with them. Because the Zinogres and the Rajangs would otherwise be fun fights...but getting one-shotted but Furious's pin attack even though I'm blocking with guard-up...ugh...I'm at the point where I don't even want to bother finishing the game. I fought Shara, good enough, I guess...

But yeah, Iceborne is hard, but all for the wrong reasons...at least Rise is FUN. Also, one of the maps is my all-time favorite map from Tri so it gets bonus points....also Chammy is in it. lol

Rise does have it's own issues, but they're NOWHERE near as bad, though. Mainly when multiple monsters are in the same area, they'll run away pretty quickly. Especially after the wyvern riding thing is over with, even Bazel...lol. Also Rajang was toned down way too much here, even when compared to his high rank in 4th gen. >.< (seriously, why did they make him do his taunt animation constantly? lol)

G Rank impressions seem to be that the content is actually challenging. That's good to hear.