Monster Hunter: World has slowly expanded post-release, with new monsters and armour keeping hunters on the daily grind. But as players begin to master all of the game’s hunts and its roster of monsters becomes more familiar, World needs to find new ways to bring back the wonder that made it so intoxicating to begin with.
Monster Hunter: World has admirably expanded its roster over the months, adding new hunts against increasingly dangerous foes, seasonable festivals, and stylish armour.
Shortly after release, it added Deviljho, a pickle-shaped dinosaur that remains one of the game’s most entertaining hunts. This was followed by the multi-step Kulve Taroth siege, an activity that required the cooperation of a full session of hunters to get the best rewards. The dangerous Lunastra added another difficult fight, and the mechanics-heavy Behemoth offered an MMO-style battle that was a refreshing change of pace.
But these additions—alongside the implementation of tougher versions of preexisting monsters—are starting to slow down. Even casual hunters I know are reaching the point where they’ve hunted most of what the game has to offer, and while it can be thrilling to acquire new variations of older loot, I can’t shake the feeling that Monster Hunter: World’s post-game is no longer keeping up with the community’s progress.
Some of this is practical. World’s developers are using a brand new engine and embracing a more realistic presentation compared to the franchise’s more anime-inspired designs. Implementing new monsters is difficult, which is why we get something like Kulve Taroth, a new monster that uses animations from the Great Jagras.
Kulve compensated with its massive scale and multi-phase fight, as well as a reward system that granted random weapons. Even now, players host sessions to grind Kulve Taroth battles to earn funds and the chance for the perfect weapon. But the process can be repetitive, even by Monster Hunter standards.
The Behemoth battle marked a change; its use of MMO-style mechanics, while somewhat controversial among the community, forced players to rethink their tactics. And yet, Behemoth has come and gone, and the novelty is already wearing off.
This isn’t to suggest that Monster Hunter: World isn’t still enjoyable. I regularly hunt with dear friends and host streams where Kotaku readers can join in the action.
Hunts are still fun in the moment, but the game lacks a certain sense of discovery. The world is knowable; the monster are quantifiable. Arch-tempered variations—high-level versions of deadly foes—sometimes add new mechanics, but they don’t always surprise. A while back, I wrote about how Monster Hunter: World could stand to be weirder, and while I acknowledge the difficulty of implementing some of the series’ more far-out designs, I do think World needs to feel wild again.
It can still be a lot of fun to join a friend and hunt a Lunastra. No hunt is ever the same, and Monster Hunter: World is still a challenging game where you need to keep on your toes. But as time goes on, it’s inevitably lost some of the mystery that gave it such charm.
I’m unsure of what the solution is — a new monster or a new biome? — but I do know that the most static and set in stone its world becomes, the more the game loses the spark that drew so many hunters at release.
Comments
10 responses to “Monster Hunter: World Is Getting Less Mysterious”
New biome for sure.
Shrug. I hit the wall at Tempered Kirin. There’s only so long you can butt your head against a wall before the potential rewards aren’t worth the hassle. And without any sort of transmog system to play fashion-hunter, the rewards definitely weren’t worth the hassle.
Was fun while it lasted, though.
Grab a friend, get yourself (and friend) the Karma Light Bowgun, gives your cat a sleeping weapon and then get ready to the worst case of animal abuse in Monster Hunter.
For real, that’s what I did with a friend and we both felt pretty horrible with how little Kirin could do. Oh yeah, make sure to have thunder res armour, Temporal Mantle and Thunder Mantle.
Oh, I’ve done all that, no worries. I’ve read every guide and watched every youtube video that exists on the subject. At the end of the day, it’s too difficult for me to solo, even with all that shit, and when I play with randoms, I have better luck myself (more targets, I guess), but it’s always someone else that ends up carting us to failure. Obviously, having a reliable friend to coordinate with would be best, but that’s outside of my play parameters.
I could probably succeed if I kept bashing my head against it… but the overall point was that it’s not worth it. Succeed to do what? Get some nicer stuff out of the melding treadmill? I’ve killed every type of monster that was introduced, crafted all the gear I wanted, all that was left was min-maxing for… not sure what. So, that barrier became a poor value proposition.
let players play as a Jho
I don’t think a new biome, while nice, would fix the fundamental problem you’re complaining about. The Kulve Taroth thing, though fun the first few runs, quickly becomes sucky when you discover that there is only a pathetically tiny chance of getting a decent weapon (if you only main one or two). RNG implentation in this game is really bad. Another higher tier of weapons, armour, and monsters, plus maybe something else (would new skills for each weapon be unreasonable?) would help a bit.
So the 9 months of play wasn’t enough? I don’t understand where you’re coming from at all. No other game offers a year round expansion for free. So.. I’d just be content with what you got and wait for the next installment. Greedy much?
A sequel is absolutely a more appealing idea to me than further iterations on the current title like some quasi-MMO.
I’d play the fuck out of a sequel in another land with different monsters and gear. I can easily see getting another 3-6 months out of such a thing.
(Er, this was in response to ‘Just my opinion’ guest.)
Monster hunter: military bros