The Monster Hunter thread

[Sly Reflex]

This game has sort of clicked now. Everyone knows what they are doing. It's not often we don't end with a capture.

I can't say I'm overly keen on fighting underwater, it's really hard to tell if you're close enough to get a hit in or get hit yourself. The quicker the battle goes onto solid land the better.

[Pitwar]

I've got some time off next week so I think I'm going to spend some time back on Monster Hunter. I've put around 15 hours in so far and still have so much to learn, it's almost daunting at times.

[Sly Reflex]

How far did you get in?

[Pitwar]

I've got a couple of quests left to do in the third category, so not really that far.

[Sly Reflex]

I was just cleaning those up last night. They've been pretty easy compared to what online has to offer. The catch quests are probably the hardest part because of how few traps it allows you to take with you. I guess they had to limit it otherwise you could bang a trap down and just beat hell out of whatever you were hunting repeatedly.

[PressEscToExit]

Is anybody still playing this? I picked up the WiiU version back when it was on sale a couple of months ago, primarily to play co-op with some friends, but have somehow ended up pumping well over 100 hours into it on my own as well. After messing with a few different weapons (and fumbling with the systems and controls for a bit) the Hunting Horn really clicked with me and I've been repping that thing pretty hard ever since. I really love that emphasis on strategy and preparation and the way every element of the game is tied into the item system, and most of the things that initially seem awkward and inaccessible eventually seem to make absolute sense.

In all honesty I didn't expect to fall this hard for it. It's unquestionably going to be right up there in my games of the year, vying for the number 1 spot

[Feirsteax]

I bought it during the sale too. But due to my backlog being immense, I've spent a grand total of 15 minutes playing. Me and a friend are hoping to perform some jolly cooperation together, but neither of us have got round to starting it yet!

I'm nearly done with my metal gear solid binge and dragons dogma is finally! mercifully! finished so maybe I'll get to it soonish.


If anyone wants to add me for co OP I'll put my NIntendo id up but not until I know I'm actually going to be playing it.

[Scrustle]

I've been playing some more Monster Hunter recently too. Learning to use a Longsword. But I'd be up for doing some co-op. My Nintendo ID is Scrustle, so you can add me if you want. Or anyone else who wants to join a hunt.

Bear in mind though, that if you've played 15 minutes of the game, you haven't even begun on the tutorial. People aren't exactly lying when they say it lasts like 10 hours. But it's not really a "tutorial" in the traditional sense though. It's more that you just never stop learning while playing. I've played about 80 hours, and I'm still kind of a noob at the game. It does take a while to just soak in all the information they hurl at you at the start though. But what they don't tell you is that despite how much information they do tell you, that's only a small part of the systems of the game. The rest you have to just learn by doing it yourself, or by teaming up with people to can help you.

[dezm0nd]

Man, I got right into MH3U on release, putting 50+ hours in on its first month and then I started bumping into the elite snobbery of playing with randoms.

As much as I liked playing with people I know online, it wasn't happening enough so I braved the idiots and got soured almost immediately. That's not to say they're all twats, quite the contrary, but it's those one or two muppets that really put you off going back.

[Scrustle]

I've actually had a pretty good time playing with randoms online. Usually I keep to lower level lobbies that are closer to mine. Sometimes there have been a few really high level people come in as well, and they've usually been pretty helpful. I've found most people don't talk though. That's probably why I haven't come across any abuse. There seem to be a lot of Germans playing the game though, and they do not keep quiet at all. I found that to be a bit annoying actually.

[PressEscToExit]

I'd be right up for doing some co-op on this if you gents are game - I hit the credits on Sunday morning but I'm by no means done. I'd like to have a bunch of elemental weapon options to take a run at the G-tier stuff in Port Tanzia so I'm pretty much down for fighting anything at this point, at any level.

[Sly Reflex]

GOTY so far for me. Since I started playing it, I've played it religiously twice a week with the same handful of people and over the months I've come to understand what a genius game it is.

The problem is people see what they like when they start playing, but they don't understand why stuff is like it is. I've seen some of my party that joined our hunting completely flounder as they struggle to get their head around what's happening. They clumsily wade in similar to how primary school kids play football and wonder why all their attacks sluggishly miss while the main hunt monster dances circles around them, chipping the green from their HP from their eagerness to lay into the monster, eventually topped off with them frustratingly try to sheath their weapons so they can heal up before being tossed one last time resulting in a carting.

The truth is, we all started like that. When my group started, we treated the game like a hack and slash. We've been sort of conditioned for years by other games that allow you to get away with that. Suddenly when it clicked, it really did slot into place. Each hunter knew their job and what was expected of them, beaks and captures were planned out for what materials we needed. We learned when we needed to push, when we needed to fall back and when to counter attack. The pride of overcoming a monster that follows the steps over very serious threat weathers away to possible danger and then to trivial mob or even random fodder. The times when a guest monster shows up and you do everything to keep yourself from going under soon ends up with you pirouetting between the beasts looking for easy openings and quick breaks for a nice fat free hunt bonus and the precious extra carves.

I think people would be better thinking of the game as a beat em up. Everything has windows of attack and you have to learn which weapons have what capabilities, much like something like Street Fighter. When people play those games they don't complain about their tools, but how to use them sufficiently against their opponents repertoire. Stuff like having the item select like it is in the game isn't there to hinder you, it's like that because it allows you focussed on the task in hand. It allows you to keep an eye on whats going on and select whatever you need to select in the midst of a battle without getting yourself carted.

Another thing that's got to be noted is that the carves you need for whatever weapons you choose to wield very rarely comes from the breaks you're capable of. The games basically telling you to get good in several areas or commit those tasks to other players. It's genius design as without you doing your part on cuts and breaks, the person that's working the opposite end of the monster won't be able to provide enough damage to give you what you need for yourself alone.

I'm in the position now where some of my friends have just got WiiU's and are looking into starting this. I think it's going to be an absolute pleasure and a delight watching my friends who managed to get their heads around it grow to love it just as I have. In many ways everyone here is in the same position. It llooks like there's quite a few of you now, so getting games in with each other without having to jump into a pool of vitriolic randoms is a massive possibility.

I'm going to sign off by backing up what PressEscToExit would probably say. Hunting Horns are the best. You might not like using them yourself, but when you get the right person with the right horn, you know you're in for a much easier hunt.

[Scrustle]

I knew Monster Hunter was the kind of game you couldn't treat like others before I even started, so I did some research before getting the game. Some SP practice before going online was valuable too. I think you can give yourself a much easier time starting off if you use one of the faster weapons, like the Dual Swords or Sword and Shield. In that case you can kind of treat it like a hack-and-slash, to a certain extent. It eases you in to the logic of the game much more gradually. You still have to learn to watch monsters and keep your distance with the faster weapons, but once you spot your opening you can more or less jump right in and wail on a monster. But if you want to play the game with the larger weapons (which I think you would; it's Monster Hunter), then you need to learn to be much more deliberate with your attacks, and learn how to use your weapon effectively. You also need to learn to be a bit smarter with your windows too.

But I'm still learning a lot myself. Like I've mentioned before, that's what the game is basically about. It's a constant learning experience. That's the attitude you need to have towards the game to "get" it and make the most out of it. Even though I would say I'm a fairly competent hunter so far, I'm still not on the level of what you're talking about, Sly. 80+ hours in and I've still got a lot to learn.

But I did at least manage to beat that Rathalos and get up to HR4. Set up a room myself and was helped by a high rank hunter who joined. I always love when that happens. Helps things go much smoother. Now I'm aiming to make a Brachydios Longsword, and maybe armour set too. Just need to get a few pieces of ore for the sword now.

[Sly Reflex]

I'm just short of 200 hours and just on the cusp of G-rank. I wouldn't consider myself an expert by any means, but I'm out of the 'wet behind the ears'. The scary thing is I've barely scratched the surface. There's all the arena stuff to do as well as the single player missions. I can well believe it when people put Miiverse posts up declaring they've spent 1000 hours on the game, it's not light on content, that's for sure.

Good luck with Brachy, you'll need it. He shows signs of weakness early, but he carries on dealing out the damage. I've been unfortunate enough to have had my party wiped by him when he rages, as soon as you stop paying attention or push your luck he will destroy you.

His weapons are mad wicked. I've personally seen the Dios hammer knock a monster to the floor on the very first hit of the fight. The Great Sword makes little work of tails and the Hunting Horn provides some seriously insane buffs that are a bit unconventional. I can imagine the Long Sword being devastating in the right hands, especially with extra sharpness.

I seriously love this game. It really should command a better audience over here in the West, although I think the years of us being mollycoddled with the difficulty and being handheld through other games has damaged the mindset of the gamer in the same way a frozen meal has damaged the ability of those that could learn to cook but always go for the easy option. Maybe that's a bad methaphor, I'm not sure.

[Scrustle]

It's certainly a game that you have to put effort in to to get the most out of it. I think that's counter to how most Western games are designed. I think the internet really helps too. Talking with other players and learning from them is a big part of it. I actually got the first game on PS2 years ago, without even knowing what it was. I just saw a second-hand copy in a shop and bought it because I was curious. I just didn't get it at all. The controls felt so clunky and the idea of having enemies without a life bar, which run away from you, just didn't make any sense to me. I seem to remember the controls for the weapons were on the right stick too, which I couldn't get on with.

[Sly Reflex]

I had it on PSP and Wii. I didn't have the pro controller so playing the game with the wiimote and nunchuck sucked all the understanding I had of what I was doing in a game where it hardly threw you a bone. Like you, I ended up throwing the towel in because it 'felt clunky'. It wasn't really until I heard Sean Bell on Joypod go on about it I thought I'd give it another go, at which point it made sense because of other recent games (Demon's/Dark Souls) that are hard as hell and explain nothing.

The Souls series has sort of provided a gateway by prepping gamers on how to deal with situations we're not used to, those games explain sod all as well and people who get their head around them love them. Monster Hunter is exactly the same. They are games where the community rallies around trying to make sense of what the game is asking for.

[PressEscToExit]

The Souls games were definitely my gateway drug for Monster Hunter, I would never have gotten past the demo otherwise. I didn't realise quite how impatient modern games had made me until just recently.

Sadly I can't really attest to the value of having a Horn player in your hunting party because I've only managed 2 or 3 low level hunts with friends so far, the rest has been in single player . I'm starting to mull over the idea of playing co-op with random folk but my approach to these sorts of games is always to play as blind as possible - no youtube, no FAQs, no wikis - so I'm kinda worried that there's a whole online etiquette that I don't know about.

I'm expecting to hit a wall in Tanzia pretty soon, I don't think I can get my damage output high enough to take down the Deviljho there without access to a whole new tier of monster parts (which presumably would happen if I hit G rank?). I'll give it a go though.

[Sly Reflex]

You can do it with parts collected in the running to Deviljho. The problem is the big bugger turns up as a guest monster loads before you can actually take him on, he becomes the bogey monster that Rathian once was.

[PressEscToExit]

Ah yeah he showed up a few times in the HR4 quests. I've taken the Moga version of him down but that went right down to the wire with my attack sitting north of 1000. Although I guess I'll be spending a bit less time on my arse now that I know what his attacks look like

I'm kinda pumped for this fight now. He dies on Friday.

[Sly Reflex]

I got my G-rank!

I'm slightly scared at how hard the next tier of quests are going to be. I think either the Azuros or Wroggi fights are going to be the ones I hammer until I can get my foot in the G-rank armour door.

Does anyone play gunner here? What are the restrictions lifted once you hit G-rank? Can you hold more ammo, or can you hold all types of ammo? The explanation didn't really make it clear. One of the guy who frequent my hunting party uses light bowguns and it'd be nice to tell him what new stuff awaits him when he finally reaches HR6.