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[Grinchy]

Let me bump this thread...

Started this game yesterday and played for a few hours, it hasn't clicked yet and I'm finding the loot and crafting system a bit overwhelming.

I had been playing DS3 so in terms of combat I'll just have to adapt, though I keep trying to play it as a souls game.

Is there free exploration in this game or is it just missions? Can I play it alone all the time?

It'll definitely be a tough transition from the Souls formula. You can go on "expeditions" if you want to just freely explore the areas and fight whatever you wanna fight, gather what you wanna gather, ect.

I'd suggest going on youtube and finding a tutorial video for the weapon you think is connecting with you. There are combos/moves the game itself doesn't even tell you about and it can just give you a much better understanding.

The idea behind the combat is to get a really good read on the monster's moves and your weapon's timing so that you can always position yourself to properly time out attacks and dodges. It becomes extremely addicting if it clicks.

 

[Alexios]

Eh, there's no real exploration in the game, just your own targets. Whether that's a specific monster to slay and get its materials or some resource you can find in this or that specific area. Any exploration is in the early visits of each map so you can figure out where everything is for your repeat runs when you need more of each.

Also to learn the shortcuts and get where you need to faster, whether that's the areas with the resources or the areas the monsters are bound to be in when you first jump in or the areas they're probably going to retreat to after beating the shit out of them so you don't waste too much time looking for them during such situations.

Going on expeditions with just random monsters in rather than specific targets is pointless itself unless you know what monsters are bound to be in there and you need their materials or you're not going to fight monsters but just to gather the other resources that can be found in that specific map's different areas and what not.

So, it's all about killing the boss and moving on to the next one with repeats in-between to get the right crafting materials for the weapons and armor you want (or need to better tackle whatever boss troubles you), everything else is fluff or mood setting, very little about the game is like Souls, I guess both need caution in battle.

I bounced off the game after beating all the bosses solo at least once, somehow it wasn't as compelling as previous games in the series to care to grind for certain fancy armors and weapons and especially not as Monster Hunter Tri and Freedom Unite which I spent the most hours on, I've not yet cared to invest in the expansion.

 

[Saber]

Let me bump this thread...

Started this game yesterday and played for a few hours, it hasn't clicked yet and I'm finding the loot and crafting system a bit overwhelming.

I had been playing DS3 so in terms of combat I'll just have to adapt, though I keep trying to play it as a souls game.

Is there free exploration in this game or is it just missions? Can I play it alone all the time?

Not at all, from my own experience. What you can do is pick side missions with higher time limits, lower monsters to hunt or ingredient picking, so that way you can explore without much fear.

Also, you can play missions alone no problem. But you gonna notice this game was not balanced for solo plays. Agressive monsters will woop your ass out without no trouple.

If this game didn't click you early, I would suggest you to not force yourself. Things only get worse once you advance.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Let me bump this thread...

Started this game yesterday and played for a few hours, it hasn't clicked yet and I'm finding the loot and crafting system a bit overwhelming.

I had been playing DS3 so in terms of combat I'll just have to adapt, though I keep trying to play it as a souls game.

Is there free exploration in this game or is it just missions? Can I play it alone all the time?

It's not a Souls game.

It's a Street Fighter game.

You and the monster. Skill based combat. Requires practice and familiarity with your chosen fighter. You either learn the mechanics or get bodied.

But you gonna notice this game was not balanced for solo plays.

That is factually wrong. Enemy hp and damage scales to the amount of players: 1, 2 and 4. There's only like, 2 event bosses that are always scaled to 4. People who can't hunt alone are generally carried in multiplayer. Once you get good at the game, you find hunting alone is easier and quicker since the monster has way less hp.

 

[Grinchy]

Solo is probably the most rewarding way to play. If you go online and grab 3 randoms who do all the work, you're never going to figure out how to play.

Play online when you already know you could go in solo and make the monster your bitch.

 

[Saber]

That is factually wrong. Enemy hp and damage scales to the amount of players: 1, 2 and 4. There's only like, 2 event bosses that are always scaled to 4. People who can't hunt alone are generally carried in multiplayer. Once you get good at the game, you find hunting alone is easier and quicker since the monster has way less hp.

Not talking about scaling. If you read what I post you would know.
The only thing that blocks you from being attacked multiple times is your cat follower. If it fails in doing that, monsters like that fire Dinosaur from the first area basically oblitarates you, giving you no time to recover.

 

[bigDdestruction]

It's not a Souls game.

It's a Street Fighter game.

You and the monster. Skill based combat. Requires practice and familiarity with your chosen fighter. You either learn the mechanics or get bodied.

Thank you. I love the fights in MHW enough where the grind doesn't bother me at all tbh. MHW to me feels like an actual video game and not some hand holdy, auto pilot af type of thing.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Not talking about scaling. If you read what I post you would know.
The only thing that blocks you from being attacked multiple times is your cat follower. If it fails in doing that, monsters like that fire Dinosaur from the first area basically oblitarates you, giving you no time to recover.

Please edit your post. You made some typos and now it reads like you had issues with the tutorial Anjanath and required three other players to get you through it.

 

[Saber]

Please edit your post. You made some typos and now it reads like you had issues with the tutorial Anjanath and required three other players to get you through it.

Theres no typos and so far I see no reason for editing my post.
The game is not balanced for solos because big monsters expects multiples targets to face, thats why. Theres nothing to do with scaling. Fire breathing dinosaur won't be easier just because it less has HP when playing solo. I beat the game and its easly to notice from area to area. Not all monsters attacks agressively though.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Theres no typos and so far I see no reason for editing my post.
The game is not balanced for solos because big monsters expects multiples targets to face, thats why. Theres nothing to do with scaling. Fire breathing dinosaur won't be easier just because it less has HP when playing solo. I beat the game and its easly to notice from area to area. Not all monsters attacks agressively though.

I'm sorry, but you got your ass kicked by the tutorial. I don't think you're in any position to tell other people how the game is supposed to work. Plus, that was Low Rank. Low Rank. As in the easiest difficulty where monsters are artificially gimped to moved slower, be less aggressive and not use their full moveset. You're saying that a starter fight on the difficulty level that's intentionally made easier for new players was too hard for you. The only thing you know about the game is how to get carried, mate.

Thread, that man is bad at Monster Hunter.

And he probably mains Long Swords.

 

[Saber]

I'm sorry, but you got your ass kicked by the tutorial.

C'mon man, stop that bullcrap. If you have no intention to discuss, why even quote me?
That has nothing to do with tutorial. I'm talking about one of main monsters from the first area.

I don't think you're in any position to tell other people how the game is supposed to work.

Enlighten me. In which part of my posts I said how the game is supposed to work? I just gave an explanation about the differences between solo play and team play. Its totally possible to play the game solo, I beat the game. But it doesn't make the game any better imo.

Plus, that was Low Rank. Low Rank. As in the easiest difficulty where monsters are artificially gimped to moved slower, be less aggressive and not use their full moveset. You're saying that a starter fight on the difficulty level that's intentionally made easier for new players was too hard for you.

I'm not talking about basic low level monsters. I'm talking about high rank monsters. I honestly dunno what got into your mind to become so triggered with what I said.

The only thing you know about the game is how to get carried, mate.

How long you gonna make snarky remarks trying to act so cool and stuff? Ain't working man. Legianna is the main monster I used to hunt and even though I didn't have much trouple with it, grinding sucks the hell out of my time.

And he probably mains Long Swords.

I'm a Lancer.

 

[bati]

While we're on the subject of aggressiveness, I'm looking for some alternatives to my hammer for faster and agile tempered monsters. I had a 1 faint tempered Barioth and temp Tigrex today and it was a little annoying having to chase them down all the time while playing carefully. Non tempered versions aren't too much of an issue because you can afford to eat a hit or two just to get a big combo in but with tempered the damage spikes are a little too high. Ideally I'd like to stick to raw dmg type because I hate having to switch my gear so I was thinking of using IG. Any hammer bros made the switch and how did you like it?

My main concern is that it's a light weapon and I'm by now fully used to tenderizing a part with one hit with the hammer, which can conveniently be executed mid combo too. Really loving this weapon but man, some monsters have so little downtime between their crazy moves.

 

[Lanrutcon]

C'mon man, stop that bullcrap. If you have no intention to discuss, why even quote me?
That has nothing to do with tutorial. I'm talking about one of main monsters from the first area.

Low Rank is the tutorial, but I'll agree that probably isn't clear until you hit High Rank and the monsters get unchained/everything becomes available.

Enlighten me. In which part of my posts I said how the game is supposed to work?

Here you go:

But you gonna notice this game was not balanced for solo plays

That's the statement I have an issue with. People smoke monsters way, way harder than the "fire dinosaur" in minutes on a regular basis.

I'm not talking about basic low level monsters. I'm talking about high rank monsters.

This is literally the first time you've even mentioned the phrase. I'm not sure where the goal posts are right now.

How long you gonna make snarky remarks trying to act so cool and stuff? Ain't working man. Legianna is the main monster I used to hunt and even though I didn't have much trouple with it, grinding sucks the hell out of my time.

I'm a Lancer.

I am making fun of you, yes. I also farmed Legiana for bow armor. Real easy. Must be a lot easier when you're sitting behind 3 other players and a shield. Like a dirty, dirty Palico.

While we're on the subject of aggressiveness, I'm looking for some alternatives to my hammer for faster and agile tempered monsters. I had a 1 faint tempered Barioth and temp Tigrex today and it was a little annoying having to chase them down all the time while playing carefully. Non tempered versions aren't too much of an issue because you can afford to eat a hit or two just to get a big combo in but with tempered the damage spikes are a little too high. Ideally I'd like to stick to raw dmg type because I hate having to switch my gear so I was thinking of using IG. Any hammer bros made the switch and how did you like it?

My main concern is that it's a light weapon and I'm by now fully used to tenderizing a part with one hit with the hammer, which can conveniently be executed mid combo too. Really loving this weapon but man, some monsters have so little downtime between their crazy moves.

Did you just start Master Rank? the adjustment in monster speed is rough, but it's just practice. Tigrex is unfortunately once of the most mobile monsters in the game. I don't see a lot of hammer bros but when I do they're amazing. Iceborne meta is all about stuns: hammers, stickies, the works. As for taking hits...everyone gotta learn to roll, and everyone gotta sacrifice deco space for defensive skills. Glass cannon builds are for speed runners. Us normal humans have to count on things going wrong.

 

[Saber]

Here you go:



That's the statement I have an issue with. People smoke monsters way, way harder than the "fire dinosaur" in minutes on a regular basis.

In case its not clear, my statement was made out of an observation of monster behaviour. It has nothing to do with scaling. I just noted that high rank monsters are rentless in their attack. Some of them more abusive than others. So its only natural that the monster would have a hard time dealing with 4 players at once.

This is literally the first time you've even mentioned the phrase. I'm not sure where the goal posts are right now.

I'm not moving goals. I keep what I said and may repeat if you didn't notice, I beat the entire game. Thats the conclusion I got from it. Some big monsters are relativelly easier to deal than others. The Lizard-chameleon one is an easy target and their attack patterns easy to predict.
But the "Dragon" look one that resides to sit at the top has a particullar bad habit of keep running from battles time from time, making you lost time easly. You can se traps though.

I am making fun of you, yes. I also farmed Legiana for bow armor. Real easy. Must be a lot easier when you're sitting behind 3 other players and a shield. Like a dirty, dirty Palico.

Not once I played on a group. I played the entire game on solo and after moving to the second zone I notice that set Legianna would help me through this tedius farming process. It was a good one for me, because even though she can deal the water status, I could block her ice attacks and dives with my shield most of times. So it wad only a matter of time before I formed the set.

 

[Lanrutcon]

In case its not clear, my statement was made out of an observation of monster behaviour. It has nothing to do with scaling. I just noted that high rank monsters are rentless in their attack. Some of them more abusive than others. So its only natural that the monster would have a hard time dealing with 4 players at once.

I'm not moving goals. I keep what I said and may repeat if you didn't notice, I beat the entire game. Thats the conclusion I got from it. Some big monsters are relativelly easier to deal than others. The Lizard-chameleon one is an easy target and their attack patterns easy to predict.
But the "Dragon" look one that resides to sit at the top has a particullar bad habit of keep running from battles time from time, making you lost time easly. You can se traps though.

Not once I played on a group. I played the entire game on solo and after moving to the second zone I notice that set Legianna would help me through this tedius farming process. It was a good one for me, because even though she can deal the water status, I could block her ice attacks and dives with my shield most of times. So it wad only a matter of time before I formed the set.

Ok, that's more reasonable. I retract my previous statement: you're not terrible. The game is in fact easier with a team than alone, but fights aren't necessarily balanced that way.

It's weird though: you're a shield user. A lot of fights that are pretty rough to solo with certain weapons are a lot easier for shield users. You should only be having solo issues with things that chip/penetrate through guard. I tried using a shield against tempered Rajang. He didn't care.

 

[bati]

Did you just start Master Rank? the adjustment in monster speed is rough, but it's just practice. Tigrex is unfortunately once of the most mobile monsters in the game. I don't see a lot of hammer bros but when I do they're amazing. Iceborne meta is all about stuns: hammers, stickies, the works. As for taking hits...everyone gotta learn to roll, and everyone gotta sacrifice deco space for defensive skills. Glass cannon builds are for speed runners. Us normal humans have to count on things going wrong.

No I'm MR91 right now, just started doing tempered monsters. I played LS in vanilla but that was completely different because I realized once hunts in MR got longer that I was basically coasting along on the power of mantles. Why worry about defenses is you can kill a tempered t2 in 2 minutes with perma tempered or rocksteady. So when IB hit I pretty much had to relearn how to play (a bit of an exaggeration but not too much) and by now I'm pretty decent at hammer, but some monsters are just a little bit absurd with how aggressive they are, especially when you factor in the completely bonkers hitboxes some of them have. It's not that I'm dying (I'm not, I can clear 1 faint investigations with confidence), but I absolutely hate spending what feels like 70% of the fight chasing down monsters.

 

[Punished Miku]

It is an acquired taste more than most games. You may like it at some point down the road. I felt I needed hours just to feel comfortable in the first stage.

 

[Fuz]

I'm finding the loot and crafting system a bit overwhelming.

After you understand how it works - and I give that to you: it's not that immediate - it's one of the simplest, most intuitive and more well-designed crafting systems I ever saw.

 

[Saber]

It's weird though: you're a shield user. A lot of fights that are pretty rough to solo with certain weapons are a lot easier for shield users. You should only be having solo issues with things that chip/penetrate through guard. I tried using a shield against tempered Rajang. He didn't care.

Shield are mostly for blocking swiping attacks(which leaves some monsters open for counter attacks) and long range attacks(the poison spit from the chameleon lizard dissapears completelly if you defend). Shields can't take consecutive and status attacks well. Legianna ice breath for instance sucks the heck out of stamina of player if you defends. But that monster from the decaying world that spins arounds and throws spikes are extremelly easy to deal. All of his attacks are totally defendable, including his double spin dash. If you are daring enought like I was, you can simply use the max defense stance and counter him.

 

[Fuz]

It is an acquired taste more than most games. You may like it at some point down the road. I felt I needed hours just to feel comfortable in the first stage.

True. Takes a while to get engaged.

Also: try other weapons. It changes the game immensely.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

First time Monster Hunter playing MHW, found this post after a quick search to see if I was just crazy or missing something, considering the critical praise the series garners. This game is beloved and supposedly newb friendly - I seriously question whoever started this narrative. MHW seems to actively hate new players. I can definitely see the appeal in concept, but my first impression with the game has been god awful. Can someone give me any reassurance? Preferably someone who was new to MHW, I’m not interested in hearing from series vets who can’t remember their newb days.

I’ve played for probably 4 hours at this point. I’m no stranger to complexity or obscurity in games and I don’t mind a bit of a learning curve. But ho-ly shit the “tutorials” in this game are downright atrocious. I can’t believe I know so little after this much time.

First thing that pissed me off is just after the introduction when you arrive in the new world forest. You have to hide from a pack of enemies. So I do that and they run away - all but one who is stuck in a corner. No matter how I hide he just stays there and I can’t progress. I try pushing him around and no reaction whatsoever - he can’t even see or kill me. After a few minutes of fruitless tinkering I look online and apparently that intro is often bugged. I try to save and quit but I can’t even do that - it’s not allowed. So I have to force quit the game and restart from wherever the game thinks it was fine to auto save, thankfully not far before. How is this even a thing that can get out the door in QA? This isn’t Elder Scrolls, so I don’t understand how there could be a bug like that so early on. it’s unreal how jarring that was and it set the tone.

Shortly thereafter I find that somehow Capcom picked the perfect mix of constant tutorial text screens that are annoying, but they are so brief they are not even close to being helpful. The first couple are OK - directing me to my place and training ground, then getting me prepped for my first quest. It’s barebones but that’s fine I can deal with it. Past here is where everything falls apart.

During and after the first quest MHW doesn’t actually explain anything useful that I would want to know about. Everyone understands quests and their structure. But all of the little things along the way are given to you right off the bat with no explanation. For instance my item pouch has 7 potions in it. I then go and grab 3 more potions from item storage in the tent during the first quest and don’t end up using any. Next time I’m back in the city I somehow have 7 again. Huh? Then there is the supply box that is supposedly free items according to the tutorial. I grab those but what purpose do they serve me right now? Can I retain them? Seems like these disappear after the quest ends too. But nowhere does it actually say this so I’m left guessing. If they expire after the quest, why would I even bother taking them to begin with? If they dont and I keep them, isnt there no point in buying or crafting these items from the merchant? I wouldn’t have guessed something as simple as inventory would be so unintuitive, but since it’s needlessly complicated it would be nice to have a tutorial that explains how any of this works.

Worse yet, I am trying to play this solo but my PS4 is connected online. I started off the game fine and all of a sudden I complete one quest and now I have random players entering a game I supposedly made. I have no idea how to interact or boot them from my game. I ended up quitting for the night and next time I started up the game it asks me to start the game online with no option for offline play - I looked it up and apparently there is no way to do so, you need to workaround it. The only thing you can do is make a private session but you’re still online. I haven’t encountered resource explaining why or how this works. And what is the difference between people in your game and people in a squad? It feels like the city is kind of like a lobby but how do you determine what lobby you’re in and who you play with? It’s an awful feeling of randomness.


I have a few problems with other aspects of the game but I won’t judge them definitively yet, since I understand there’s supposed to be a large learning curve. Main grips I hope to overcome are the controls and weapons - not a single one of them feels good to use. So far I’ve replayed the first quest a few times to get a feel for different weapons against real enemies. Each one is clunky in its own way, even dual blades and long swords which I saw were recommended for beginners. Since melee feels so clunky and terrible I decided to try out lance, light bowgun, and bow. Lance is clunky but at least shielding is viable. Bow was cool until I realized how much stamina it constant drains doing anything. Light bowgun seems interesting but feels ridiculously weak and the constant reloads and resource management make it seem like a pain in the ass.

There are other problems like bugs, clunky controls, handholding in all the wrong places, small text with no way to change it, 50 different confusing interfaces (none where you would think they should be), and basically zero direction other than “accept next story quest”. I’ve been pushing through because I love the concept, I love PSO and looters, but I don’t have much more patience. My gaming time is limited and if it takes 10 hours to even get somewhat a feel, I’m just going to drop this.

 

[Venom Snake]

First time Monster Hunter playing MHW, found this post after a quick search to see if I was just crazy or missing something, considering the critical praise the series garners. This game is beloved and supposedly newb friendly - I seriously question whoever started this narrative. MHW seems to actively hate new players. I can definitely see the appeal in concept, but my first impression with the game has been god awful. Can someone give me any reassurance? Preferably someone who was new to MHW, I’m not interested in hearing from series vets who can’t remember their newb days.

I’ve played for probably 4 hours at this point. I’m no stranger to complexity or obscurity in games and I don’t mind a bit of a learning curve. But ho-ly shit the “tutorials” in this game are downright atrocious. I can’t believe I know so little after this much time.

First thing that pissed me off is just after the introduction when you arrive in the new world forest. You have to hide from a pack of enemies. So I do that and they run away - all but one who is stuck in a corner. No matter how I hide he just stays there and I can’t progress. I try pushing him around and no reaction whatsoever - he can’t even see or kill me. After a few minutes of fruitless tinkering I look online and apparently that intro is often bugged. I try to save and quit but I can’t even do that - it’s not allowed. So I have to force quit the game and restart from wherever the game thinks it was fine to auto save, thankfully not far before. How is this even a thing that can get out the door in QA? This isn’t Elder Scrolls, so I don’t understand how there could be a bug like that so early on. it’s unreal how jarring that was and it set the tone.

Shortly thereafter I find that somehow Capcom picked the perfect mix of constant tutorial text screens that are annoying, but they are so brief they are not even close to being helpful. The first couple are OK - directing me to my place and training ground, then getting me prepped for my first quest. It’s barebones but that’s fine I can deal with it. Past here is where everything falls apart.

During and after the first quest MHW doesn’t actually explain anything useful that I would want to know about. Everyone understands quests and their structure. But all of the little things along the way are given to you right off the bat with no explanation. For instance my item pouch has 7 potions in it. I then go and grab 3 more potions from item storage in the tent during the first quest and don’t end up using any. Next time I’m back in the city I somehow have 7 again. Huh? Then there is the supply box that is supposedly free items according to the tutorial. I grab those but what purpose do they serve me right now? Can I retain them? Seems like these disappear after the quest ends too. But nowhere does it actually say this so I’m left guessing. If they expire after the quest, why would I even bother taking them to begin with? If they dont and I keep them, isnt there no point in buying or crafting these items from the merchant? I wouldn’t have guessed something as simple as inventory would be so unintuitive, but since it’s needlessly complicated it would be nice to have a tutorial that explains how any of this works.

Worse yet, I am trying to play this solo but my PS4 is connected online. I started off the game fine and all of a sudden I complete one quest and now I have random players entering a game I supposedly made. I have no idea how to interact or boot them from my game. I ended up quitting for the night and next time I started up the game it asks me to start the game online with no option for offline play - I looked it up and apparently there is no way to do so, you need to workaround it. The only thing you can do is make a private session but you’re still online. I haven’t encountered resource explaining why or how this works. And what is the difference between people in your game and people in a squad? It feels like the city is kind of like a lobby but how do you determine what lobby you’re in and who you play with? It’s an awful feeling of randomness.


I have a few problems with other aspects of the game but I won’t judge them definitively yet, since I understand there’s supposed to be a large learning curve. Main grips I hope to overcome are the controls and weapons - not a single one of them feels good to use. So far I’ve replayed the first quest a few times to get a feel for different weapons against real enemies. Each one is clunky in its own way, even dual blades and long swords which I saw were recommended for beginners. Since melee feels so clunky and terrible I decided to try out lance, light bowgun, and bow. Lance is clunky but at least shielding is viable. Bow was cool until I realized how much stamina it constant drains doing anything. Light bowgun seems interesting but feels ridiculously weak and the constant reloads and resource management make it seem like a pain in the ass.

There are other problems like bugs, clunky controls, handholding in all the wrong places, small text with no way to change it, 50 different confusing interfaces (none where you would think they should be), and basically zero direction other than “accept next story quest”. I’ve been pushing through because I love the concept, I love PSO and looters, but I don’t have much more patience. My gaming time is limited and if it takes 10 hours to even get somewhat a feel, I’m just going to drop this.

From my point of view, MHW (for newcomers at least) is like a project, like the restoration of an old motorcycle by an amateur - you buy it blinded by the idea itself, then the tedious work begins, which turns out to be much more time-consuming and expensive than it originally seemed. At this stage, the decision is made whether to grit your teeth and continue, or give up without risking further disappointment. If you go for the former it's fine, you don't have to force yourself. However, if you choose the latter, you will experience progress and things will slowly start to fall into place. Satisfaction and joy from your own achievements will eventually emerge, and this is perhaps one of the main reasons why the MH series consistently garnered so much praise.

Of course, i don't mean to imply that you lack gaming experience or anything like that. MHW has tons of issues that just hinder the learning/adapting process and getting used to all this shit requires often more than just patience alone. Some inconveniences bother me even after more than 1,400 hours of playing the game.
If i were you i would concentrate on a specific weapon (or two), get used to it (for beginners there aren't really good weapons, you play the ones that seem to be the least shit ), organize the radial menu and allow yourself to play online with other people. The MHW community is decent, they will help you (even if just to show off) and you will get the necessary upgrade materials faster. You won't even notice when you start farming on the beasts that have been difficult for you so far. From here it is just a straight path to success (and some more frustration ofc because this game likes to fuck you anyway).

 

[Foamy]

Folks, I’m going through a gaming crisis. I guess it is the age, but it’s super hard for me to find a game that I really love.

I never played Monster Hunter games before because I didn’t have the consoles they were released on, so I was really excited about World when it was announced. Since then, I started to play it twice: one for less than 5 hours and the second time for around 20 and I couldn’t like it. I don’t really know why; the character progression, the combat system, the story... Nothing feels good to me. It’s a pitty as I am willing to love it, but I simply can’t. Anyone else on the same boat?

I felt the same way. Didn't like it at all.
I think maybe it was the anime feel at the beginning that turned me off.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

From my point of view, MHW (for newcomers at least) is like a project, like the restoration of an old motorcycle by an amateur - you buy it blinded by the idea itself, then the tedious work begins, which turns out to be much more time-consuming and expensive than it originally seemed. At this stage, the decision is made whether to grit your teeth and continue, or give up without risking further disappointment. If you go for the former it's fine, you don't have to force yourself. However, if you choose the latter, you will experience progress and things will slowly start to fall into place. Satisfaction and joy from your own achievements will eventually emerge, and this is perhaps one of the main reasons why the MH series consistently garnered so much praise.

Of course, i don't mean to imply that you lack gaming experience or anything like that. MHW has tons of issues that just hinder the learning/adapting process and getting used to all this shit requires often more than just patience alone. Some inconveniences bother me even after more than 1,400 hours of playing the game.
If i were you i would concentrate on a specific weapon (or two), get used to it (for beginners there aren't really good weapons, you play the ones that seem to be the least shit ), organize the radial menu and allow yourself to play online with other people. The MHW community is decent, they will help you (even if just to show off) and you will get the necessary upgrade materials faster. You won't even notice when you start farming on the beasts that have been difficult for you so far. From here it is just a straight path to success (and some more frustration ofc because this game likes to fuck you anyway).

Thanks for the response - and yeah I definitely see what you mean about it being a project of sorts. I’ve heard that about previous games in the series which is why I stayed away, but I think most of the fan base got lost along the way and forgot what it was like to be new and starting from scratch. I’m not at all interested in playing with others, especially randos online. Even if I did have an interest in multiplayer I would want to have even a basic understanding of how to play and understand what I should be doing at a given moment.

I played a little more and I haven’t died or failed a quest yet (came close when I accidentally got poisoned fighting a bird beast) but I’m finding the difficulty is more the game fighting my brain than me fighting the monsters. I can’t tell if I’m doing well or not which is alarming, it feels like the game is continuing on regardless of what I do and I’m getting bombarded with new items, more experience points, level ups, unlocked menus and areas. But none of it seems relevant, it’s just more stuff happening.

I just went on an expedition which was nice and then halfway through I get to kill some bird monster. Before fighting it the game decides to interrupt and tell me that I can go back to HQ and kill it in a quest. Or actually you know what? You can also just keep playing and kill it now. Why on earth does something so simple need to be explained so confusing? I can’t wrap my mind around why there are quests, investigations, expeditions, and bounties.

It’s a microcosm example for everything else the game treats the same way. There are probably 6 or 7 different kinds of experience points and currencies and 5 methods of doing the same shit with no explanation of why I would want to do one or another. I’m somehow earning knowledge points when tracking monsters and there are different levels I’m achieving but then I have to go talk to the researchers and suddenly I’m back to LV 1 or 2 when it seemed like I was LV 3 on the map.

The most egregious example of needless complexity I’ve come across so far is these cat chefs prepare me food by paying them money, two different kinds of vouchers, or points. Oh, I can also just try cooking my own food too. What’s better, why would I do one over another? I haven’t a clue. I can’t even tell if having the chef cook uses my resources or just money. Apparently I should be cooking before every quest or after each death.

I’ve seen videos on weapon strategies and gameplay which haven’t helped with the minutiae and honestly at this point I just want a resource that better explains the essential parts of the gameplay loop with specific examples of what I should be doing so I can filter out all the overstimulating bullshit. Should I ever buy healing potions or just let my auto craft take care of it. In what order should I be doing quests/investigations and when should I move on? How frequently should I be upgrading my equipment and my palico’s? Who should I be visiting each time I come back to town? It seems like nothing has changed unless I complete a new story quest.

 

[Aion002]

Thanks for the response - and yeah I definitely see what you mean about it being a project of sorts. I’ve heard that about previous games in the series which is why I stayed away, but I think most of the fan base got lost along the way and forgot what it was like to be new and starting from scratch. I’m not at all interested in playing with others, especially randos online. Even if I did have an interest in multiplayer I would want to have even a basic understanding of how to play and understand what I should be doing at a given moment.

I played a little more and I haven’t died or failed a quest yet (came close when I accidentally got poisoned fighting a bird beast) but I’m finding the difficulty is more the game fighting my brain than me fighting the monsters. I can’t tell if I’m doing well or not which is alarming, it feels like the game is continuing on regardless of what I do and I’m getting bombarded with new items, more experience points, level ups, unlocked menus and areas. But none of it seems relevant, it’s just more stuff happening.

I just went on an expedition which was nice and then halfway through I get to kill some bird monster. Before fighting it the game decides to interrupt and tell me that I can go back to HQ and kill it in a quest. Or actually you know what? You can also just keep playing and kill it now. Why on earth does something so simple need to be explained so confusing? I can’t wrap my mind around why there are quests, investigations, expeditions, and bounties.

It’s a microcosm example for everything else the game treats the same way. There are probably 6 or 7 different kinds of experience points and currencies and 5 methods of doing the same shit with no explanation of why I would want to do one or another. I’m somehow earning knowledge points when tracking monsters and there are different levels I’m achieving but then I have to go talk to the researchers and suddenly I’m back to LV 1 or 2 when it seemed like I was LV 3 on the map.

The most egregious example of needless complexity I’ve come across so far is these cat chefs prepare me food by paying them money, two different kinds of vouchers, or points. Oh, I can also just try cooking my own food too. What’s better, why would I do one over another? I haven’t a clue. I can’t even tell if having the chef cook uses my resources or just money. Apparently I should be cooking before every quest or after each death.

I’ve seen videos on weapon strategies and gameplay which haven’t helped with the minutiae and honestly at this point I just want a resource that better explains the essential parts of the gameplay loop with specific examples of what I should be doing so I can filter out all the overstimulating bullshit. Should I ever buy healing potions or just let my auto craft take care of it. In what order should I be doing quests/investigations and when should I move on? How frequently should I be upgrading my equipment and my palico’s? Who should I be visiting each time I come back to town? It seems like nothing has changed unless I complete a new story quest.

If you like the monsters, armors and gameplay: just rush the story, the real game starts after the final story monster is killed. Everything will start "clicking" as you progress.



If you dislike those things or does not have the patience to deal with the awkward side of japanese games : this game is definitely not for you.


Monster Hunter is a niche type of game, it's not for everybody, some love it, some just hate it.


I have 700 hours on MHW... Every time I fail a mission, I question: Why the fuck I can't just retry it (the game has to go back to the base and then the player has to select the mission again and the other players have to rejoin the quest, so there are 2 loadings + the selecting thingie)... My brain question that every time and my heart answers it: it's Monster Hunter, deal with it.


Playing Monster Hunter has many chores in between having fun. That's how MH works and that's how many people enjoys it.... Some even complained that MH World is too "friendly player".


MH on the Ps2 or Psp is hell compared to World.

Now the bugs you mentioned, that sucks, but I never got them on the PS4, that's too bad, but they are rare I would guess.

 

[InterMusketeer]

I’ve seen videos on weapon strategies and gameplay which haven’t helped with the minutiae and honestly at this point I just want a resource that better explains the essential parts of the gameplay loop with specific examples of what I should be doing so I can filter out all the overstimulating bullshit. Should I ever buy healing potions or just let my auto craft take care of it. In what order should I be doing quests/investigations and when should I move on? How frequently should I be upgrading my equipment and my palico’s? Who should I be visiting each time I come back to town? It seems like nothing has changed unless I complete a new story quest.

Maybe what you need is a progression video. There's loads on youtube.

Pick a weapon you expect to like and look up a progression vid for it. Most likely they'll tell you exactly what gear to use and why, when to upgrade stuff or when to save resources, what missions to do and how to progress the story. It really helped me when I first started playing earlier this year.

 

[Belmonte]

Obviously no game is for everyone but some points I wish to make:

What people call clunkyness is what makes Monster Hunter combat so deliberate.

The player needs to predict the movement of the monster to do anything safe from harm and this is a big part of what makes Monster Hunter combat so original.

It would be less cumbersome if we never need to sharpen the weapons, or if we didn't need to sheath them to use itens like potions, traps or boomerangs but this would eliminate a chunk of the need to anticipate the enemy. The game demands commitment in every action which is very appropriate since you are playing as a dude which hunts beasts way more powerful than himself, not Dante or a Horadrim.

I agree about the tutorials not being very good thought. And I also agree that the repetition of beating the same monster over and over is not fun for every type of player. But there is a catch: players that like to dive in into mechanics will love to face the monster with another weapon since every one of them have different properties, moves and ways to play. And the way you need to destroy parts of the monsters to get a particular item works as an extra challenge. Many times you will need to be exposed to risks you would not if you aren't trying to break the monster fangs.

 

[Venom Snake]

Thanks for the response - and yeah I definitely see what you mean about it being a project of sorts. I’ve heard that about previous games in the series which is why I stayed away, but I think most of the fan base got lost along the way and forgot what it was like to be new and starting from scratch. I’m not at all interested in playing with others, especially randos online. Even if I did have an interest in multiplayer I would want to have even a basic understanding of how to play and understand what I should be doing at a given moment.

I played a little more and I haven’t died or failed a quest yet (came close when I accidentally got poisoned fighting a bird beast) but I’m finding the difficulty is more the game fighting my brain than me fighting the monsters. I can’t tell if I’m doing well or not which is alarming, it feels like the game is continuing on regardless of what I do and I’m getting bombarded with new items, more experience points, level ups, unlocked menus and areas. But none of it seems relevant, it’s just more stuff happening.

I just went on an expedition which was nice and then halfway through I get to kill some bird monster. Before fighting it the game decides to interrupt and tell me that I can go back to HQ and kill it in a quest. Or actually you know what? You can also just keep playing and kill it now. Why on earth does something so simple need to be explained so confusing? I can’t wrap my mind around why there are quests, investigations, expeditions, and bounties.

It’s a microcosm example for everything else the game treats the same way. There are probably 6 or 7 different kinds of experience points and currencies and 5 methods of doing the same shit with no explanation of why I would want to do one or another. I’m somehow earning knowledge points when tracking monsters and there are different levels I’m achieving but then I have to go talk to the researchers and suddenly I’m back to LV 1 or 2 when it seemed like I was LV 3 on the map.

The most egregious example of needless complexity I’ve come across so far is these cat chefs prepare me food by paying them money, two different kinds of vouchers, or points. Oh, I can also just try cooking my own food too. What’s better, why would I do one over another? I haven’t a clue. I can’t even tell if having the chef cook uses my resources or just money. Apparently I should be cooking before every quest or after each death.

I’ve seen videos on weapon strategies and gameplay which haven’t helped with the minutiae and honestly at this point I just want a resource that better explains the essential parts of the gameplay loop with specific examples of what I should be doing so I can filter out all the overstimulating bullshit. Should I ever buy healing potions or just let my auto craft take care of it. In what order should I be doing quests/investigations and when should I move on? How frequently should I be upgrading my equipment and my palico’s? Who should I be visiting each time I come back to town? It seems like nothing has changed unless I complete a new story quest.

Yeah, i can feel your pain, I had exactly the same dilemmas. MHW takes a long time to open up, many things are not even active yet.
As mentioned above, watch progression videos as describing the whole process here would not help much. It's always better to have it visualized. Don't try to master everything at once, do it step by step.
All this complexity ultimately boils down to making the game easier, even if it doesn't seem like it at this stage.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

I just like old Monster Hunter. World felt bad, and it should feel bad about that.

 

[Yoshichan]

Fuck World, go play a game for men like Freedom Unite or Generation Ultimate.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

If you like the monsters, armors and gameplay: just rush the story, the real game starts after the final story monster is killed. Everything will start "clicking" as you progress.



If you dislike those things or does not have the patience to deal with the awkward side of japanese games : this game is definitely not for you.


Monster Hunter is a niche type of game, it's not for everybody, some love it, some just hate it.


I have 700 hours on MHW... Every time I fail a mission, I question: Why the fuck I can't just retry it (the game has to go back to the base and then the player has to select the mission again and the other players have to rejoin the quest, so there are 2 loadings + the selecting thingie)... My brain question that every time and my heart answers it: it's Monster Hunter, deal with it.


Playing Monster Hunter has many chores in between having fun. That's how MH works and that's how many people enjoys it.... Some even complained that MH World is too "friendly player".


MH on the Ps2 or Psp is hell compared to World.

Now the bugs you mentioned, that sucks, but I never got them on the PS4, that's too bad, but they are rare I would guess.

I have to wonder is part of the issue the translation or is it this inaccessible on Japan too? I’m shocked it’s so unbelievably popular for all the reasons it seems obtuse. The monsters seem cool though so hopefully it’s worth it to keep putting time in.

Maybe what you need is a progression video. There's loads on youtube.

Pick a weapon you expect to like and look up a progression vid for it. Most likely they'll tell you exactly what gear to use and why, when to upgrade stuff or when to save resources, what missions to do and how to progress the story. It really helped me when I first started playing earlier this year.

Lmao I love how you knew exactly what I needed and it seems they are super common. Thank you for putting that out there, I’m definitely going to watch some.

 

[locoghoul]

My first game of the series was Tri on Wii and I took like 30 mins to kill the first monster. Then kinda got sidetracked with real life and picked up 3U on 3DS. Mechanics and stuff felt better and didnt feel that hard imo. Sometimes I wish I didnt have to grind Lagiacrus that much but hey i still enjoyed the game. Fast forward to 2020 I got like 1k hours on GU and waiting for Rise to come

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Obviously no game is for everyone but some points I wish to make:

What people call clunkyness is what makes Monster Hunter combat so deliberate.

The player needs to predict the movement of the monster to do anything safe from harm and this is a big part of what makes Monster Hunter combat so original.

It would be less cumbersome if we never need to sharpen the weapons, or if we didn't need to sheath them to use itens like potions, traps or boomerangs but this would eliminate a chunk of the need to anticipate the enemy. The game demands commitment in every action which is very appropriate since you are playing as a dude which hunts beasts way more powerful than himself, not Dante or a Horadrim.

I agree about the tutorials not being very good thought. And I also agree that the repetition of beating the same monster over and over is not fun for every type of player. But there is a catch: players that like to dive in into mechanics will love to face the monster with another weapon since every one of them have different properties, moves and ways to play. And the way you need to destroy parts of the monsters to get a particular item works as an extra challenge. Many times you will need to be exposed to risks you would not if you aren't trying to break the monster fangs.

The clunk isn’t just the lag on attacks but the inconsistency in your moves and combos feels awful to me. The weapons don’t respond the way I would expect and more than half the actions are all contextual. It feels like Soul Calibur with all the different stances. I hate fighting games in general, but I love Smash Bros because the controls are simple and intuitive. That’s what drove me to lances, I love the consistency of the pokes and being able to hold my ground. If there are any other weapons like that I’m all ears - I’ve messed around with all of them in the training room but generally had no idea what I was doing.

Yeah, i can feel your pain, I had exactly the same dilemmas. MHW takes a long time to open up, many things are not even active yet.
As mentioned above, watch progression videos as describing the whole process here would not help much. It's always better to have it visualized. Don't try to master everything at once, do it step by step.
All this complexity ultimately boils down to making the game easier, even if it doesn't seem like it at this stage.

That’s encouraging, hopefully I’ll come around to it as well. There’s a lot to like so it’s a damn shame how unintuitive things feel. I can tell there are flashes of brilliance for long time players like auto restock and the stat comparisons.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Just updating everyone, up to the Rotten Vale and I’m having a lot of fun now. The lack of info still sucks but it’s been enough time with the game and other resources so that I’m fairly comfortable. Still not using my lance to the fullest potential but I get the idea and am figuring out the movement and the large monster fights are getting really good. Just went back to fight a Rathian that previously scared me and ruined her whole day.

I still maintain that it’s shameful Capcom makes the game require outside guidance. Objectively that is a bad thing and it wouldn’t take all that much effort to provide some basic info. But it’s a very good game overall.

 

[Catphish]

Picked this up and the Iceborne expansion during the last Steam sale for $35.

I'd been in a real funk with gaming lately, having a real hard time finding much enjoyment in any of it, but this has lit me up a bit. I find myself thinking about it when I'm not playing it, and really enjoying myself when I am.

I find the gameplay loop very addicting, the environments lush and interesting, and the visuals are just drop dead gorgeous at 4k with HDR.

Granted, I'm only HR6, so I'm still a pup, but I really do like this game a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. I wish I would have gotten into it a long time ago.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

Lots of casuals and "non-enthusiasts" in this thread.

 

[MagnesG]

Lots of casuals and "non-enthusiasts" in this thread.

It concerns me how it would turn out for the next release when all those interested casuals had tried this one.

 

[Life]

I bought the game and put in a decent amount of hours. Also going through a "gaming crisis" like the OP - but I still think the game is totally overrated despite that.
Changing weapons and armor is fun but once it reaches the point of "kill the same monster 5 times" to get the right drop, so you can upgrade your armor - that's when I quit.
Game is way too grindy to be fun - and I feel it's only the addicted that can see past the daily grind.

 

[Eevee86]

I found it incredibly easy compared to previous games. I think I only carted once in just over 100 hours. Monsters seemed like they whiffed a lot.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

My brother and I were super pumped to coop through this game together, only to find that incomprehensibly you cannot coop through the game together.

 

[Termite]

I was like that, OP - I bounced off Monster Hunter Tri and 4 due to the load times between tiny areas and how monsters would flee meaning you had to chase them through load screen and load screen - that was completely unacceptable to me.

So when World got rid of that (and when it looked so gorgeous) I thought I'd check it out and fell in love with the game. I beat World, then beat Iceborne, and I think stopped at Rajang in the post-game, or at leveling up the Guiding Lands. Never once played multiplayer though.

Despite all that, my one problem with Monster Hunter is that the fights drag on too long a lot of the time. Especially for flying monsters. Once you know a monster's moves it's hard to die, but also hard to end the fight quickly - you're almost going through the motions for up to 15 minutes. Maybe that's cause I'm an IG user but I wish the monsters were just a little more deadly to you and a little easier to kill.

The visual designs AND moveset designs of the monsters is just too fucking good though. When I was fighting Blackveil Vaal Hazaak in Iceborne and this zombie fungus dragon was spraying spores all over the forest and just turning everything white-grey with corruption and I'm spinning through the air trying to pop these spore sacks growing on its desecrated body I couldn't believe how immersed I was and how much fun I was having.

Gonna be very difficult to go back to worse visuals and more basic levels in Rise.

 

[PhoenixTank]

My brother and I were super pumped to coop through this game together, only to find that incomprehensibly you cannot coop through the game together.

You can, but it is a bit cursed. For a lot of early quests you need to get to & finish the cutscene before others can join. Both you and your brother need to get to the cutscene separately. Then one leaves their quest and joins the other.
Less cutscenes later on in the game.

Expeditions are worse and require a SOS flare as a workarounds. Tended to just finish those outright separately.
No idea why it was implemented in this way.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

You can, but it is a bit cursed. For a lot of early quests you need to get to & finish the cutscene before others can join. Both you and your brother need to get to the cutscene separately. Then one leaves their quest and joins the other.
Less cutscenes later on in the game.

Expeditions are worse and require a SOS flare as a workarounds. Tended to just finish those outright separately.
No idea why it was implemented in this way.

Yeah, it seemed like the perfect coop game, but they totally butchered it. It's just not fun with that many impediments in the way

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Wow this thread came back out of nowhere. While I am seeing this, just wanted to thank you all for the help and encouragement to persist despite a frustratingly bad new player experience.

I’m now able to consistently beat Fatalis and have all his armor and 5 or 6 of his fully upgraded weapons. I haven’t really tried solo, but I can carry my weight in multi just fine.

So thank you, it has been a crazy ride but it ended up being so much fun, I fucking love MHW. If there are any newbs out there, I will hear out your complains and would love to help you.

See you all in Rise.

 

[bender]

Combining not liking Monster Hunter and your choice of avatar, I'm going to say you have bad taste.

 

[Danjin44]

And he probably mains Long Swords.

What’s wrong with LongSword? I’m maining that weapon on Rise and I love it.

 

[Hitchyhero]

Monster hunter world was my first game in the series.... I really had a lot of fun in this game..... But one thing I really hated was the loading times and jumping between each map. I really wish it was one giant map with a central hub.

 

[Burythelight]

It's a hardcore game and it's way easier than previous games lol. It requires skill,patience and learning of enemy attack pattern but it's very satisfying to master.

 

[Lanrutcon]

What’s wrong with LongSword? I’m maining that weapon on Rise and I love it.

So you admit to blatant weebery in the first degree?

Stay right where you are.

 

[Danjin44]

So you admit to blatant weebery in the first degree?

Stay right where you are.

Damn straight!!!!