Highlights

  • Monster Hunter Wilds promises new gameplay changes, possibly going open-world, with a potential focus on ecological turbulence and extreme weather conditions.
  • The game may feature a unique mount system for enhanced traversal and combat, building on previous monster hunter titles for new gameplay mechanics.
  • Expect Monster Hunter Wilds to introduce medium monsters, stampedes, and dynamic weather conditions that impact gameplay and hunting strategies in the expansive world.

Monster Hunter fans are currently on the lookout for new details about Monster Hunter Wilds, the next mainline entry for the series coming in 2025. The game's teaser trailer closed out the 2023 Game Awards and sparked waves of hype across the Monster Hunter fandom that led to an unprecedented surge in Monster Hunter World’s player numbers. With Monster Hunter Wilds news promised to arrive sometime in summer 2024, its community should be prepared to receive whatever changes it brings.

As the first major generational leap since Monster Hunter World in 2018, Monster Hunter Wilds represents a wealth of new possibilities for the series. Each mainline Monster Hunter title added at least one major gimmick to support its regular gameplay, like Monster Hunter Tri’s swimming or Monster Hunter 4’s verticality. While Monster Hunter Wilds’ biggest change could be going open-world, that's a larger fundamental difference than what these gimmicks typically entail. Just going off of its teaser trailer, there are already several likely candidates for the main gimmick that Monster Hunter Wilds will push.

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Monster Hunter Wilds Can Evolve One Aspect of Adventuring From Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter Wilds could be in a position to rework one mechanic from Monster Hunter World and give it some fresh new utility.

Compounding Gimmicks May Be Monster Hunter Wilds’ Secret Weapon

Several minor features seem to have been grandfathered into Monster Hunter Wilds from prior games, potentially building towards a new, larger gimmick. MH World's Scoutflies and Slinger were spotted, suggesting that Wilds may take place in the New World like its predecessor. Meanwhile, the use of a mount was inherited from Monster Hunter Rise, with Wilds’ new bird wyvern replacing the dog-like Palamutes. It appears to have more modes of traversal than Rise's hunter and Palamute combined, so it should work well alongside MH Wilds’ large environments.

Its Mount May Be The Key To Monster Hunter Wilds New Features

However, a mount that can fly or climb is fundamentally a grounded adaptation of wall-running and Wirebugs in MH Rise. If the mounted creature is part of a new Monster Hunter Wilds gimmick, it may be something broader that involves a lot of moving around. This could involve tracking monsters over farther distances than normal, carrying a mobile campsite for longer hunts, or engaging in mounted combat. If MH Wilds permits ranged and melee weapon switching like trailer analysis suggests, there could even be airborne firefights between the player and flying wyverns like MH's iconic fire-breathing Rathalos. There are many practical and cinematic features enabled by Monster Hunter Wilds’ mount, but that need not make it the only new gimmick.

Ecological Turbulence Might Be Monster Hunter Wilds’ Most Persistent Gimmick

Other points of interest in the Monster Hunter Wilds trailer were the monster stampedes, including a species that would normally be Large Monster bosses fought one or two members at a time, and the changing weather. The first detail suggests the debut of Medium Monsters, akin to Monster Hunter Tri’s retired Medium Bowgun class, where some wildlife will provide easier filler fights while traveling between real hunts, unless a herd of them is provoked. Even Monster Hunter's best Long Sword users will struggle against more than two opponents at once, making stampedes with five or more monsters a threat no matter how deep into Wilds they appear.

Weather Could Be Monster Hunter Wilds’ Main Theme

It's the weather conditions prompting those stampedes that players should watch out for, though. A strong candidate for Monster Hunter Wilds’ biggest gimmick is its extreme weather conditions, including sandstorms and thunderstorms so far, which impact wildlife as much as they do the player. If Monster Hunter Wilds introduces long-form hunting, then dynamic weather could add more variety to extended hunts. Certain monsters, including elementally-themed Elder Dragons, may only spawn or invade during corresponding conditions, and some will likely be responsible for the chaotic weather. With even more extreme occurrences like hurricanes, tsunamis, blizzards, and lava flows on the table, Monster Hunter Wilds could turn nature itself into Monster Hunter’s greatest threat.