The Monster Hunter thread

[Feirsteax]

Affirmative.

[Scrustle]

So who's setting up a room then?

[PressEscToExit]

I'll be set up in 5 - 10 mins, will get a room sorted soon as.

[CapinGreen]

I'm up for a few more hunts, if anyone is about.

[PressEscToExit]

We having a few more then chaps?

Edit: ^^ The room will be back up in 5 mins. B3, C&R, 2501

[PressEscToExit]

Anybody up for some hunts tomorrow/Friday night?

[Scrustle]

Definitely.

[CapinGreen]

It's a bit iffy for me as I'm extremely busy, but I'll try and make some time for a few hunts!

[Feirsteax]

Up early tomorrow/Friday and home late so I may not manage it but I'll try!

[arry_g]

I played Monster Hunter 3 for the first time last night, I don't know whether I am likely to stick with it or not. The text is just too small, almost unreadable in most cases and actually unreadable in others which is very disappointing. The problem is that it makes it very difficult for me to know what to do or where to go in a game with such little direction when I can't read what I'm being told

I'll try it on the GamePad tonight and perhaps on my PC monitor later this week and see if that makes any difference or not.

[Scrustle]

Yeah, that was a bit of a problem for me too. Most of the writing in the game isn't too small, it's just those text boxes that they happen to tell you all the tutorial information with. I could read it, but I found it gave me a bit of a headache after reading it for especially long sessions. How big is your TV? Maybe that could be a factor in it.

I encourage you to stick with it though. If you're not clear on something, just ask here. We'll be happy to help.

[arry_g]

Yeah, that was a bit of a problem for me too. Most of the writing in the game isn't too small, it's just those text boxes that they happen to tell you all the tutorial information with. I could read it, but I found it gave me a bit of a headache after reading it for especially long sessions. How big is your TV? Maybe that could be a factor in it.

I encourage you to stick with it though. If you're not clear on something, just ask here. We'll be happy to help.

The thought crossed my mind that maybe it is the TV (I can't remember the size, somewhere in the lower part of the thirty inches bracket I feel), I loaded it up earlier today and I could definitely read the text unlike last night but I had to focus awfully hard, so I imagine me being quite tired last night didn't help. I'll try again tonight, I don't want to give up on it because the concept sounds interesting to me but I definitely found last night's experience a little off-putting.

[arry_g]

A couple of questions:
1. Do weapon skills level up or any similar mechanic?
2. If so, can your character become accomplished in the usage of multiple weapons?
3. Is it worth purchasing new weapons if the default load out is not what you're going for? Or do you tend to discover other weapon types in the field or as a reward for quests?

EDIT:
I just found that I own a chest of all the basic weapons so I guess I have an answer to 2 & 3. Just point 1 I guess!

[Scrustle]

1. There are no leveling mechanics in Monster Hunter at all. Stats change purely on what equipment you choose.

2. You can become proficient in multiple weapon types, but it's simply down to you learning how they work yourself. But you can pick up any new weapon type any time you want. There aren't really any restrictions.

3. Whether you choose to upgrade the gear you have or craft something new is down to the situation. Sometimes it might be more beneficial to do one rather than the other, depending on what type of thing you're aiming for, or what upgrade capabilities your current weapon has. Early on in the game, I would advise trying to craft something new, because that's usually the best thing you can get at that point. But it might be different depending on what options you have open to you, so compare stats at the blacksmith. Also, some weapons can be upgraded in divergent paths, which make them take on different properties.

That said, from what I've experienced, it seems what type of things you have open to craft depend not just on what resources you have, but how much you've used a certain weapon type. I find that I've got a much longer list of crafting options for weapon classes I use than ones I don't, so if you want to pick up a new class after a long time of focusing in one, you might have to go back to a slightly less powerful weapon first. In a way that's good though, because it makes you go back and do some easier hunts while you get used to a new weapon. It's not a huge deal though. I only started trying out a longsword about 50 hours in, and it barely took me any time until I had the option to get a decent weapon again.

Also, take a look at this blog series to give some more in depth information. The section on weapon types is especially useful. The Monster Hunter Wiki is a good resource for things, especially equipment stats and upgrade paths. It's not a perfectly designed site though, and it does lack some useful info. I've found simply Googling most stuff seems to bring up something useful on Gamefaqs or something though.

[arry_g]

1. There are no leveling mechanics in Monster Hunter at all. Stats change purely on what equipment you choose.

2. You can become proficient in multiple weapon types, but it's simply down to you learning how they work yourself. But you can pick up any new weapon type any time you want. There aren't really any restrictions.

3. Whether you choose to upgrade the gear you have or craft something new is down to the situation. Sometimes it might be more beneficial to do one rather than the other, depending on what type of thing you're aiming for, or what upgrade capabilities your current weapon has. Early on in the game, I would advise trying to craft something new, because that's usually the best thing you can get at that point. But it might be different depending on what options you have open to you, so compare stats at the blacksmith. Also, some weapons can be upgraded in divergent paths, which make them take on different properties.

That said, from what I've experienced, it seems what type of things you have open to craft depend not just on what resources you have, but how much you've used a certain weapon type. I find that I've got a much longer list of crafting options for weapon classes I use than ones I don't, so if you want to pick up a new class after a long time of focusing in one, you might have to go back to a slightly less powerful weapon first. In a way that's good though, because it makes you go back and do some easier hunts while you get used to a new weapon. It's not a huge deal though. I only started trying out a longsword about 50 hours in, and it barely took me any time until I had the option to get a decent weapon again.

Also, take a look at this blog series to give some more in depth information. The section on weapon types is especially useful. The Monster Hunter Wiki is a good resource for things, especially equipment stats and upgrade paths. It's not a perfectly designed site though, and it does lack some useful info. I've found simply Googling most stuff seems to bring up something useful on Gamefaqs or something though.

Read through that a couple of times now but boy-oh-boy am I overwhelmed. I think I might start off by tackling this game in smaller, lighter chunks whilst learning the mechanics and see if I just hit a point where it all clicks. At the moment I know I like the hammer, I know I want to upgrade it and go up the iron path rather than create a new bone hammer but that's all - still a little overwhelmed by armour and still sitting in the tutorial section as I quite like exploring the environment and practicing with the hammer more than the things the tutorial is trying to teach me. Am also confused by the farming mechanics and have named a pig Omega (or was it Ultima - one of the two).

[Scrustle]

Yeah, the best way to go at it is just take it at your own pace and take things one at a time. Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't understand yet. Just stick with what you find effective, and then try something else out when you feel like you want to. As I said, the tutorial is roughly 10 hours long, if you can even call it a tutorial, since you never really stop learning things. There's just a lot at the start.

The farming mechanics are just a way to get consumables without having to go gathering for them all the time. Just plant what you want, use some fertiliser if you have it, and then leave it for a while. A "day" counts as one trip outside the town I believe. I think each online hunt also counts as a day. As you get further in to the game, you'll get the option to expand and improve the farm, meaning you can farm new types of items, and the farms you already have will work better.

Don't worry about the pig. As far as I'm aware, he does nothing. Just a little quirk of the game. He's your pet. Don't worry about the ancient statue in the cave either. The relevance of that becomes clear later.

[arry_g]

Should I have multiple armours focusing on certain resistances? Or should I just focus on one particular resistance to begin with?

[Scrustle]

I would say just stick with what you've found already works. You don't really need lots of sets if you've got something that seems usable for most things. I've hardly ever changed armour throughout the game, and when I have it's been because there was something obviously superior in terms of defense than what I already had. Apart from that, I've just been continuing to upgrade what I already had because I didn't feel like it was worth starting from scratch with something new.

Upgrading armour is simply a linear thing though. It's not like upgrading weapons where you can actually turn it in to something else. It just gets higher stats.

Some armour sets have properties you might find useful though. For example the Wroggi set gives you complete resistance to poison, although I've never found that necessary as long as I've got lots of antidotes with me.

But if you find you're dying a lot to a certain monster, you might want to see if the armour set you have has a weakness to a certain element, and pick something that has better defense against it, but I've never found that a problem. The set I've been using for ages now has a weakness to fire for example, yet I've taken on countless fire monsters without any more trouble than any other type. So it's not really a big deal.

[arry_g]

Ah, you've just reminded me that I need to find out what status condition it is that the weird leech things in the cavern where you first find ore keeps being inflicted on me and then proceed to learn what consumables I can get at this stage to counter/heal that.

[arry_g]

Played for an hour this evening, squashed things with my hammer, learned to swim and accidently harpooned a fish. I'm not convinced I progressed in any way other than learning it is very easy to accidently activate your consumable or item.