Topic: Monster Hunter: World

It does make each armor piece viable, but... I just don't like each piece being that viable. At least, not as much as I like strategizing for an efficient set. For the same reason I wouldn't like a single ingredient to craft the most complex item. It does make it harder on the gamer, but it also makes it fun to strategize and accomplishing it.

And really, you still have the defense from the armor piece so it's not useless. You might buy one or two armor pieces because that's all you can make but it's got an extra 20 defense per piece. So you gained 40 defense and sacrifice your skill set until you can finish the set... so it was give-and-take. But that end result felt so good. Figuring out how to gem a negative to -9 and deactivate, and work out the Tetris block styled point system to fit in enough points to activate Evasion +2... it was my crack.

I think the new system would be easier to swallow and accept though, if they did have slots and decorations. Where a decoration could add +1 level to a skill. And maybe there's a hard cap on how many points you can upgrade naturally, like say- 7 levels max. But another 2 levels could be achieved via decorations, kind of like the Awakening skill. There's a limit to your sharpness potential but you can exceed that limit via the skill- likewise if you could exceed the skill point limit via gemming... that would make it an actual permanent advantage rather than just helping to max out sooner.

Really, I just crave more depth. As it stands, there's just not enough depth to the skill system. Maybe there's some deeper aspect of the system that gets revealed later, Idk. Hopefully that's the case.

I don't think so. It seems to me- and I could be wrong- but it seems to only have a set number of "levels" which can somehow be increased. How or with what... I don't know.

Barroth was a big wake-up call for me. I barely scraped past that quest. Time to get better weapons and equipment.

Ya transmog is in. But, the only thing I could use with it was the Samurai armor set from preordering or the digital Deluxe, one of those. I couldn't figure out how to show normal armor sets, although that may have been because I didn't have any other normal armor sets at the time... no... actually I did. I had Origin armor set, it wasn't showing up as an option. So it may be the transmog only applies to special sets downloaded or purchased. Otherwise, Idk why my armors weren't showing up as an option.

I'll have to see how these decorations work. Maybe it gets added to the forging menu later then? But do armor pieces have slots then? If so, then yes that would make me very happy.

@JaxonH
This is a beautiful looking game for sure. And I'm playing on a standard PS4 on a 1080p tv. I'd imagine it looks even nicer on a Pro and a 4K setup.

@Gamer83
Indeed. Something all of us longtime fans have endured over the years is lower budget entries. It's nice to finally see Capcom put in some higher production values. The series has been popular enough, for long enough, to at least deserve that much. And it's going to raise the bar for any future entries, meaning if (when) Switch gets a new MH title, it can't be low budget like the previous games. Obviously can't and won't expect it to match World's aesthetic, but it should at least look like most 7th gen AAA games. Basically just like this game but with textures and effects and draw distance and such that match whatever system it's on, maybe lower res if needed like Zelda did (I don't really think 3DS is going to see another entry, maybe one more as a dual release).

Gaijin Hunter is saying the Xbox One X version does trump the PS4 Pro, contrary to an earlier report. I'd like to see an official comparison though.

And we have liftoff...

https://mhworld.kiranico.com

I really like the changes they made when trying to make a new equipment set. It's handy to be able to specify on the wishlist which weapons and armour you want, and then get a complete list of which collectables you need. Plus the game can be nice and helpful on hinting at how to get those items, especially with the monster encyclopedia.

I'm getting quite decent with the Sword and Shield now, though I usually forget to guard or leave my weapon unsheathed when using items. Next time I boot the game up, I'll give the Hunting Horn a try.

Wishlist is nice, with all items needed to craft.

But as someone said earlier, there just doesn't seem to be many weapons. There were like 100+ choices per weapon in previous games. In World, I'm basically 1/3 of the way through the game and still only have 2 weapons to craft- the exact same 2 I can buy. Ya, they can branch off in the tree, but it's still not much at all.

Where did all the weapons go, that's what I want to know

Maybe the weapon plans were accidentally left in the Old World. You know how it is, whenever someone goes on a long trip, there's always something really important that is mistakenly left at home

But in all serious, that's a little disappointing to hear. I've not noticed that problem just yet, but then I've only just reached Wildspire Waste.

Hopefully there is a lot of weapons. Got the game, and one of my favorite parts of the MH games are the variety of weapon I can make make.

The game looks pretty good, and is fun so far. A bit rough around the edges in some things.

@crimsontadpoles
I mean, it's not that big a deal right now, I'm just using my Jaggras Charge Blade and have a Rathian blade on the wishlist. But it is strange to see just 2 base weapons available to craft/buy this far into the game.

I always liked seeing new weapons pop up after a new monster. Idk. Maybe they've gated them behind high rank like some of the other stuff.

Completely off topic, but I love the environments. If you could sum this game up in a few words, it would be: gorgeous graphics and environments, and QoL changes removing tedium. Gosh I'm so glad that early game tedium is gone. Still trying to figure out the best approach to multiplayer with my brother though. I don't know what to do, because we can only play quests that have been unlocked in the single player. Don't want to do optional quests above my level that someone else hosts, because then I won't get the quests given to me. I used to go out and farm an armor set from a tougher monster, then take it back to single player. Just don't know what to hunt online. Do all the beginning monsters over again and then stop when I make it to where I'm at in the campaign? I guess that's the only choice, really. And that doesn't sound too appealing. I feel like MP is improved if hunting with randoms, but hunting with friends... the appeal is just gone.

Just beat Anjanath. I have to say, one of my big later fears (that grinding was vastly dumbed down) is gone... but my earliest fear reared it's ugly head almost immediately.

The maps are too big and too convoluted.

Half the quest time is just trying to "track" the monster/running after it; when you actually get to fight them they go down a bit too quickly. They've made running around a major gameplay tenant. These convoluted, bloated maps helps you appreciate earlier ones and their simple elegance.

Also, the hitboxes are really sub-par. Yeah, it's the meme and all, but I can count on one hand the amount of genuinely wonky hitboxes in 4U. Here? First Great Jagras hunt, his claw swipe hit me when I was still a few steps away. Jyuratodus' charge attack also hits around its body, without even any real visual indicator. And Tobi-Kadachi (which I grinded for its armor set + DBs) has a bite attack that hits too far in front of it, alongside its tail invisibly extending during its spinning aerial slam attack.

Oh, and Anjanath's pin attack is a 1-hit KO from 120 health and 85 defense. ...I'm just going to call BS on that.

I guess to sum up my impressions, the game can't decide what it wants to be. There's big, beautiful environments... that serve no purpose other than getting you lost and padding out hunt time. There's monsters with attacks that can two shot you (or, as Anjanath's nonsense pin attack demonstrates, one-shot you)... when they're not too busy tickling you and getting flinched to death.

If I had to give it a number grade right now(with 5 being average), I'd give it a 6. Above average, but too many quirks/poor design choices holding it back.

I actually really enjoy the big environments, but, I have always appreciated the simplicity of a dozen or so arena like zones to fight in as well.

Of course, the connected map is A+. Absolutely no qualms about that. But the sheer size does result in a crap ton of searching. Now personally, I'm ok with that, so far at least, just because it's such a joy to be in said environments, and I've actually found the tracking to be an interesting mechanic- although for the life of me, I cannot understand why scout fly upgrades are not permanent- it completely defeats the purpose of leveling them up in the first place, and makes me start to not even care about going out of my way for any tracks that aren't the quest objective- all my scoutfly levels are back to 0, and it takes foreeeeever to even get them up to level 2, much less level 3.

I think to do a true comparison, you'd have to envision the old system with modern graphics. Because it's easy to say this way is better when it just looks so much more modern and aesthetically pleasing. But if they did smaller maps with the same gorgeous environments, with separate areas, with no load times and modern graphics, would it be better? Hmmm... I'd say no, actually, although I do think it would lend itself better for portable entries. Not so much for a console-only entry.

The issue for me is, I will never memorize even one of these maps. I could barely even memorize the maps in MH3U, MH4U and MHXX lol. So after while, all that searching could get tedious. I think an easy solution would be to allow the scout flies to permanently upgrade. Once you get them to level 3 for a specific monster, that monster's first tracks should always lead you right to them. You've fought the monster countless times to get the scout flies upgraded, so why do you still have to track them down every single time? If you are grinding a monster for a set, you'll complete the set long before you get your scout flies up to level 3, but even then, as soon as you do get the set and get them to level 2 or 3, you start hunting something else and the scout flies' level drops, which means you get absolutely no benefit from all that work leveling them up.

I can't say I've had any problem with hit boxes, but I never really had a problem with hit boxes in past games either. It's just never been an issue for me. But I did get one shotted by a Diablos a while ago, after completely wrecking a Rathian. I've never seen such a disparity between two low rank monsters that are usually about the same difficulty.

I don't know. All in all though, I think it's a fantastic game and certainly one of the best of the generation. Monster Hunter always is, and an entry with great graphics/less tedium... even more so. It's not perfect and it's actually taken a step backwards in multiple respects, but I think overall the excellence of the game outshines everything else. At the end of the day, it's a lot of fun to play, and that's the end goal.

I LIKE IT, but it feels more tedious and less rewarding. Its kind of stepping stone for MH something better will come from it. MUCH better. Granted this is low rank talk and I maybe getting burned out a bit on it running around those maps.

Is anyone else struggling to see the icons on the maps? Is there a way to increase their size beyond just zooming in?

I can confirm that the weapon trees open up a lot more as the game progresses and you can straight out buy / craft new weapons as you progress. I’ve unlocked four different long swords and the tree is now becoming rather large. As large as previous instalments, I doubt it. But seeming to look like they’ll be an adequate size.

In what crazy imaginary plane do you live in where Diablos is about as hard as Rathian? Even taking into consideration personal difficulty and the crippling sonic/flash bomb combo, he's always been deservedly one star higher than her at least, and the damage on his moves has always been high compared to less physically inclined monsters.

I have spent the last two hours just responding to hunters SOS's and having a blast. I had forgotten how fun it can be to hunt with others.

I can't talk about my favorite thing about this game quite yet.

Anyway, I binged like 20 hours and jumped from bone to Tobi to Legiana armor. Now I'm going to farm Radobaan armor (had it on the Palico, because c'mon). I had a fantastic time on the first quests in the Rotten Vale, did a few more quests there. I didn't expect it to be able to rain there at all since it's mostly a cave and all, so it's cool they went to the effort. The level design in the Coral Highlands is fantastic, they figured how to blend fight design and verticality so much more practically than Rathalos fireballing down the Ancestral Steppe's stair-step cliffs and making you restart climbing.

I don't think people know how to use the 16-player lobbies, so I've just been responding to SOS flares. It's weird that you can't just choose offline mode without disconnecting, but I figure it'll calm down after the normies fall off and leave the Monster Hunter fans. Low rank definitely feels easier in singleplayer, which I don't hate given how solo has always felt prohibitively more difficult than multi. There's no endurance hunting in low rank, but online feels the same. And if you want a challenge, just join a SOS request with only one hunter after 10 minutes ;P