Monster Hunter Wildsis making some big changes to the franchise, with Capcom going the extra mile to experiment with this title and make it more accessible. The open world has obviously been a big talking point, since it is a series first, alongside the massive,100-person lobbies.MH Wildsis also making even more of an effort to tell a story, with the player character being fully voiced in cutscenes and able to pick dialogue options when talking to NPCs. Although a mainline title, likeMH World, Capcom isn’t afraid to try something new.
Usually, experimentation is reserved for the spin-off games, likeGenerationsorRise, but some of this experimentation has rubbed off onWilds, with it including Selkret mounts similar to the Palamutes inRise. Capcom is pushing the boat out on many new features, with different weather phenomena affecting the environment and monsters in different ways, but one more mundane feature has been specifically brought to the attention of fans by Capcom.This is the health boost that monsters will receive compared to theirMH Worldcounterpartsand this could actually be a good thing for the title.
Monsters In MH Wilds Have More Health Than In World
As Confirmed By Director Yuya Tokuda
In an interview withIGN,director Yuya Tokuda stated that the monsters inWildswould get higher health and more flinch resistance when compared to theirWorldcounterparts. On the surface, this seems like an instance where the developer is arbitrarily adding difficulty to a series already known for being tough, but with the direction that the series has been going in sinceMH World, this shouldn’t be the case.Monster Huntergames have been getting easier, not harder, and in appealing to a wide audience, there isn’t a reason forWildsto oppose this philosophy.
Hunts inMonster Hunterare already quite long. My experiences trying to hunt the Raging Rajang inMonster Hunter World’sIceborneexpansionhave taught me that persistence is sometimes key when it comes to some of the tougher monsters, and giving them a health boost seems like it would test my persistence, but the new mechanics inWildsfeel like they are built to make hunts faster. Similar toRise,having a mount will make a hunt go by faster, and having two weapons gives players more options on a hunt to better deal with the monster they are trying to defeat.
Monster Hunterhas had 18 weapons throughout the series, with the Tonfa, Magnet Spike, Accel Axe, and Medium Bowgun not featured inWilds.
Both these things are aids to the hunter, with the mount being particularly useful in my stint with the game during its first open beta. I chose to have a melee and ranged weapon (Charge Blade and Light Bowgun), which allowed me to slash at a monster in closer spaces and use the open plains to pepper them from afar.These extra aids to a hunter make hunts inherently easier compared to theirWorldcounterparts, so the extra health and flinch resistance is probably needed, but these mechanics aren’t the real reason I believe these health changes were made.
Higher Health Monsters Work With Focus Mode
And It Is Likely The Reason For The Change
The new Focus Mode got a lot of praise in the first open beta,allowing players to target specific parts of a monster through the Focus Strike. These parts take significantly more damage and act like wounds to exploit on a hunted monster. The damage seen in the first open beta may have to be toned down for the full release (especially for the Insect Glave), but it allows players to do more damage if they take advantage of the Focus Mode. It encourages players to use the new mechanics, and monsters having more health may be a part of this.
There will be asecondMH Wildsopen betataking place from February 7–10 and February 14–17.
By giving monsters more health and flinch resistance, it essentially punishes people for not using the new mechanic while ensuring that players aren’t rewarded too much for abusing it.It seems that hunters can do more damage inWildscompared toWorld,so having monsters with the same amount of health would mean that hunts would be over too quickly inWilds. It also stops players from being too mindless during a hunt and just smashing a monster in the face. Tokuda did assure players that these health changes won’t make the game tedious, after all.
Monster Hunter Wilds Can Borrow This Strategy From The Sims To Make A Switch 2 Port
Monster Hunter Wilds won’t come to the Switch, but thanks to The Sims, it can get to its successor console in a really interesting and new way.
Although it borrows a lot of things fromMH Rise, it is good to see thatWildswill not be as fast-paced thanks to this health change.Riseis a spin-off title (WorldandWildswere internally referred to asMH5andMH6by Capcom, respectively) and was made for the Switch. In my opinion,Rise’s pace makes it perfect for a game on the go, where players can do a quick hunt during a train journey, but forWilds,where you’re able to dedicate time in a day to play the game, the slower pace is probably better and is why I lovedWorldso much.
MH Wilds Will Force Me To Be More Tactical
I’m Guilty Of Doing The Same Thing Every Time
I am sometimes guilty of doing the same thing over and over on hunts, beginning by trying to cut off a monster’s tail, then moving onto their head to knock it down. This might be a sign of how I’m relatively new to the series, having only playedWorld,Rise, and theWildsopen beta, but this process worked for me throughoutWorld, even intoIceborne’s later stages.Wildswill make me change my approach, and as someone who likes to use the Switch Axe and Charge Blade, will get me into the habit of saving my biggest attacks for weak spots.
There’s One Massive Monster That Would Fit Perfectly Into Monster Hunter Wilds’ New Biome
The Monster Hunter franchise is filled with excellent Monsters to bring back, but one fan favorite has a promising future with this new biome.
MH Wildsmultiple weapon carrying mechanics will help me play with more variety too, since I’ve only really spent time with four of the fourteen available weapons, and this could also encourage me to pick the right weapon for certain monsters. Sometimes,hunts that involve monsters that spend significant time in the air could benefit from a ranged weapon, for instance. This new mechanic will encourage me to play with more variety, and I’ll always have my main weapon handy to switch to.
It feels like, despite all the new experiments Capcom is trying,Monster Hunter Wildswill have a lot of thought put into its features. The added health seems to be put in to compensate for the extra damage provided by the Focus Mode, and I am personally all for it. Adding variety and an extra thing to look out for on a hunt will keep them feeling fresh, especially for a series that revolves so heavily around grinding through the same fights for specific drops. It also potentially discourages mindless tactics, like the ones I’m guilty of employing.
