Monster Hunter: World is taking the gaming world by storm, starting 2018 with a bang. And it’s totally deserved; Monster Hunter: World is an incredible game, one that easily hangs with the likes of Destiny 2 and PUBG in respect to long-term multiplayer appeal. But, even as accessible as it is compared to previous entries, Monster Hunter: World can be kind of intimidating. It teaches you a little, but there’s a lot to learn. Luckily, I’m crazy enough to just dive into things I’m not familiar with, and after getting my feet wet I’ve learned some stuff. So here are some tips that are going to be helpful for any aspiring Monster Hunter.
Always Fill Your Bounties
It can be intimidating to sift through menus in Monster Hunter: World . But once you dip your toes in, what looks like a lot ends up being a lot of reward for the low effort of ticking some boxes. Bounties reward you for trivial tasks you’ll do anyway, such as picking up crafting resources while out on quests. Turn these bad boys in and you’ll earn Armor Spheres, which are essential for equipment upgrades. As soon as you clear one out, you can usually replace it with another right away.
Check Out the Gathering Hub
Getting multiplayer going in Monster Hunter: World is a bit obtuse. You start the game by joining a session, then sometimes have to jump through hoops to get with your friends. Then the game is real vague about how to interact with them. All you need to do is oopen your map, press square to get the world map, then navigate to the Gathering Hub. Here, you can goof around with your party members, including eating together and arm wrestling! You can also accept quests here, and even find a separate menu for the special arena quests.
Mount!
It’s covered ever so briefly early on, but one of the unspoken best techniques to learn in Monster Hunter: World is mounting. Leaping from elevation and attacking, or using slides or special weapon combinations that pop you in the air can also net a mount. From there you can mash triangle to do tons of damage and score a free knockdown. When the screen, turns red the monster is bucking; from there you can pay stamina to hold on with the right trigger, or use the stick to move to a different area. If you do get bucked off, you can use the attack button to toss out your grappling hook and latch back on. Practice this!
You Can Block Roars?
When the monsters in Monster Hunter: World roar, you typically get frozen in place due to how dang loud it is. But, there are actually a few ways to defend against the effect, many the game doesn’t tell you about. One, you can use the invincibility frames from dodging to avoid it if your timing is good. You can also use an armor skill, but both of those require extra time or practice. However, if you have a weapon capable of blocking, such as the newbie-friendly sword/shield combo, you can simply hold the block button and get out of jail for free.
Slide and Climb as Much as You Can
A big part of success in Monster Hunter: World is exploring all your mobility options. Dodging, putting away your weapon, running, jumping, and more are all worth getting a feel for and practicing with. But, you can also slide down hills and climb up walls, which seem mundane. That is, until you notice you can actually take actions while doing either, and those actions have unique properties. By utilizing your environment, you can unleash even more advanced techniques that will up your game significantly just from experimenting with these more subtle mechanics.
The Ins and Outs of the SOS Flare
Multiplayer is important, and getting a multiplayer session going can be tricky. This is especially true when you’re trying to advance the story and still play with your friends. Enter the SOS flare. This is an item you can fire off to open your game session to random players. The game sells it as something you need to use when you’re in trouble, but you can fire that bad boy off as soon as your mission starts. Alternatively, when you’re trying to get through those cutscenes to get people in your story quests, you don’t have to actually fire the flare; just let your friends know as soon as you’re allowed to use it. They can join your quest from the list – no need to risk it when the monster’s already in your face.
Don’t Miss the Supply Box!
When you start a mission, two boxes live at the campsite: the Item Box and the Supply Box. The Item Box lets you access your entire stored inventory on demand, which is helpful for things like swapping your customized loadouts. But the Supply Box is imperative, especially early on when you need to be conservative with your resources. The Supply Box comes loaded with some small healing items, stamina-restoring rations and other items based on quest context, including free traps. Using these items before your own, especially early on, can get you through a mission, practically for free.
Don’t Stop Tracking
You’ll come to know and love the scoutflies very early on in your Monster Hunter: World tenure. Find those first few footprints, and the little, glowing bugs will lead you right to your mark. But you’ll notice a steady stream of footprints, claw marks, and more even when you’re already on the trail. Definitely continue to pick those up as much as you can, even when you’re in the middle of a fight. The more you collect, the more data on your current target you’ll open up. The more you get, the more you’ll be able to gleam about the monster’s status, which is helpful for stuff like capturing.
Learn to Capture
It’s definitely not as easy as straight-up killing your target, but you’ll do well to learn how to capture a monster as early as you can. It’s a good habit to get into if you want to become a Monster hunter: World master. Capturing gives you more rewards than killing, although there are some rewards you can only get from killing. So there is some balance there, especially as the game progresses. However, capturing will also unlock repeatable, one-on-one challenges with the monster, which is a good resource for grinding equipment components.
Lean on the Vigorwasp, Also, Don’t
Another big part of Monster Hunter: World is your Palico buddy. But the kitty pal isn’t just about dressing up and funny noises. They also have a gadget you can set from a list of options, many of which can provide huge bonuses. By default you get the vigorwasp, which is a pinch of healing that can be life-saving in the middle of a fight. As you upgrade the gadget, you can even get vigorwasps on command. But it is a sort of training wheel crutch, and it’s arguable the true assistance lies elsewhere, where some gadgets like Flashfly Cage can help you capture monsters.