I remember Archie showing an interest in how Monster Hunter veterans would perceive the revamped World, and seeing as Robio is on a long hiatus, that only leaves me.  I'll be adding to these impressions as I go, so far I've only done a few of the earliest quests and have only fought one larger monster, the Jagras.

First things first, graphical fidelity in this game is unprecedented for the Monster Hunter series.  Seriously it's so sharp it sears my eyes.  The World suffix relates to how the stages you fight in are no longer divided in seperate, smaller arena like areas, but are one interconnected whole.  This is both very cool and rather annoying as it allows the devs to incorporate much more maze like level design, meaning it's harder to memorize everything.  There is also a side effect that it's possible to be battling a large monster in a passageway between larger area's where movement is much more restricted.  It still works, but it's nicer to have a bit more room to move around in.

Not only are the stages larger and more complex in terms of level design, the same can be said about the level of detailing.  There is a lush look to the whole game, but I disagree with the devs in that this means every item of interest needs to be highlighted by your tracking flies as you pass it by.  It breaks the immersion when every other piece of scenery starts glowing when you approach it.

And this brings me to the second big change in World: accessability.  The game still requires a lot of your time, but a lot of the 'friction' has been removed.  It's still early days, but for now I still long for the more purist experience of old.  Some examples: you track down monsters by finding tracks, which results in your tracking flies picking up the scent of larger monsters, after which they guide you to it's current position.  I understand how the devs deemed this neccessairy due to larger, more complex stages, but I feel it is detrimental to the need to learn the lay of the land like you did in earlier games.  It's the difference of driving somewhere with a map or with the GPS enabled.  You're just not as aware of your surroundings.  The need to hit them with a paintball to keep track of them has also been thrown out, the flies keep tracking it, and  you'll even get an icon on your map indicating the monster's current position.  There's less friction, but also less skill involved.

Another immediatly apparent difference to older games is also the opening scene of the game.  There are many more cutscenes to wade through, making the whole thing more action-ey and cinematic.  It's clearly a play for the mainstream market.  I didn't mind it, but it wasn't what I was expecting.


Controls and menu's are still more or less untouched, but crafting gear and weapons has seen a major change: you can level weapons down and get the monster parts you used on them back.  I do not approve.  It robs the leveling system of its sense of commitment.  Nothing is final.  It changes the forging and upgrading that is the main manner of progression within the game to something more resembling a skill tree.  Interchangable.

So far all the rest has been sufficiently monster hunter-y.  Everything is bigger and bolder, meaning there's a larger learning curve for returning players, but the core gameplay is still very much in tact.  I'm wielding a Switch Axe, a weapon first introduced in MH4, and will probably swap it in and out for the trusty Hammer and a sprinkling of Hunting Horn for multiplayer.  So far I'm enjoying it massively, but despite the game's play for accessability, I find it's larger level of scale to make the whole even more bewildring.  I guess it'll just take some adapting.

Posted by SupremeAC Sat, 07 Apr 2018 19:46:36 (comments: 152)
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Thu, 31 Jan 2019 14:20:07

I encountered the First Wiverian in the Elders Recess, who told me that my weapon class, the switch blade, is the 4th most popular weapon.  Apparently te Greatsword is the most popular, and the hunting horn the least popular.

Why on earth would you settle for something as boring as a greatsword when you have so many over the top weapons to your disposal?  As for the hunting horn, I played it for a fair bit in MH4 and while the buffs are cool, it's basically a Hammer with less interesting attacks.  It's cool to be able to buff your party, but the buffs don't play a big enough part in the game for it to be satisfying to play the role of a support class character.

I also finally looked up how to charge my shield and why I would bother with it.  I had noticed my shield icon would sometimes glow pink, but had no clue how to trigger it.  Apparently you can even charge up your sword as well, but I haven't been able to pull that one off yet.

 
Wed, 15 May 2019 15:52:59
robio said:
Solo is easier until the post game (the real post-game after the Xeno Jiiva battle).  After that you will definitely want to start grouping up again.

We recently completed the double berserk Bazelgeuse quest and find ourselves left with little to do.  Not sure how that happened.  The Behemoth is clearly still far out of our league.  I'm currently struggling with the Lunastra, which I haven't been able to repel so far.  We found how to do the Kulve Taroth missions (we never went to the multiplayer area in the hub before, which is where you need to go to launch it  Hrm ).  We then played it for maybe 7 times before concluding you probably need to be with a party of 4 to make any meaningfull progress.

I've been playing with a Switch Blade the whole game, but I'm currently massacring Kusha Daora's in hopes of amassing enough rare material to make a kick-ass hammer.  Perhaps I should once turn on the damage display so I can see how much damage I'm actually doing in fights.  I'm kind of reluctant though, as it'll only serve to highlight how much less I'm contributing when compared to my co-op companion.

As for armor, I have a build focused very much on staying alive, but perhaps I should turn it around in favor for more affinity and critical hit damage...

 
Wed, 15 May 2019 17:54:29
I'm debating on picking MHW again soon. With the expansion coming out this fall I'm going to need some time to get back into the groove of things. I never fought the cross-over monsters either.
 
Wed, 15 May 2019 18:19:19
If we're still playing when the expansion hits PC this winter, we'll surely be braving the cold as well. I was hoping to see the return of Barrioth, but seeing as the similar nacaragua (or something) has already been shown, chances of him returning seem slim.
 
Wed, 15 May 2019 23:45:21

I need to get back to this game again soon and try tackling Arch Tempered Nergigante while he’s available. I also want to prepare for the upcoming dlc as well.

 
Wed, 15 May 2019 23:55:23
Half the reason I stopped playing the game was in anticipation of the DLC. After I reach a hundred and something hours, I felt like I had my fill of the game. I could have kept playing but I think I just would have made me completely tired of it. So I ended up selling it and moving on.

The game is now under $20 and since GameStop is having their pro sale this weekend, it make it even lower. Definitely the time to jump back on I think.
 
Thu, 16 May 2019 00:04:44
We all play on different platforms right?
 
Thu, 16 May 2019 01:17:40
robio said:
We all play on different platforms right?

Yeah I think so. I’m on Xbox One, I think Supreme is on the PC version, and I’m assuming you’re on the PS4. This game would really benefit from crossplay.

 
Thu, 16 May 2019 06:30:39
I'm on PC. I started out on Xbone, but played maybe only 20 hours on that account.
 
Thu, 16 May 2019 08:50:19
I'm also a bit worried about my PC being able to run the DLC. I built it back in 2013 to be more or less the equivalent of a PS4, but all that deformable snow makes me a tad uncomfortable.
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