Although it still has a while to go, Monster Hunter Wilds is on its way. Capcom seems intent on releasing regular news drops in the months leading up to its unknown 2025 release date, and that suits the excited fanbase just fine. Monster Hunter Wilds marks the first console generational leap since Monster Hunter World drew in a massive global audience, and it will be fascinating to see how Wilds incorporates the abundant feedback World, and its successor MH Rise, have received.

There already looks to be many structural changes to Monster Hunter Wilds’ gameplay compared to prior entries, and they should have a major impact on how hunts play out. Players can ride out on their Seikret mounts, traveling between the village and many temporary base camp locations without any loading screens along the way. With MH Wilds’ handler Alma by their sides, hunters can start their quests organically while interacting with the series’ most detailed ecosystems yet. To aid them in that endeavor, players will be equipped with not just new techniques, but more options for equipment than they’ve ever had before.

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Monster Hunter Wilds Must Pick Up a Tradition that MH Rise Dropped

After the most recent entries in the series have kept a core feature completely static for years, Monster Hunter Wilds should do something fresh.

Monster Hunter Wilds Introduces Hunting With Two Weapons

Bringing multiple weapons on hunts has been possible in prior Monster Hunter games, but it wasn't anything like it is in Monster Hunter Wilds. Players could access weapons and equipment at some games' base camp, but that meant fully disengaging from tracking or combat to make the switch. It wasn't a decision made lightly either, as Monster Hunter’s 14 main weapon types are all highly individualized and akin to picking different characters in a fighting game. Crafting eventually allowed players to iterate on their preferred weapon with most materials, and Monster Hunter World and Rise’s optimized builds encouraged armor and accessory setups tailor-made for the user’s particular weapon.

How Monster Hunter Wilds Supplies Its Second Weapon

As multiplayer allowed everyone to fill different weapon roles, there was rarely an occasion where Monster Hunter players wanted to switch mid-mission. Monster Hunter Wilds counts that among its changes, and ensures that the process is accessible and always available. Simply by riding on a Seikret, which is encouraged mid-battle to recover and reposition, players can swap to a second weapon kept in the mount’s holster. It's not effortlessly convenient, befitting Monster Hunter’s realistic heft and demand for effort, but it still opens up play styles that the franchise has never explored before.

The Impact Of MH Wilds’ Weapon Switching On Gameplay

While active weapon switching isn't so quick that it matches Devil May Cry weapon swapping, or even Dragon’s Dogma 2's Warmaster, it should be a major boon to players in many situations. Players will be able to mix up their approach during longer outings, and can fill multiclass roles with old Monster Hunter weapons reworked into more specialized forms. As a hunt progresses, range may become safer than up-close fighting, tapping into the trailer-provided example of switching between a Great Sword and a Bowgun. Monster Hunter Wilds’ dynamic weather may also attract monsters with varying susceptibility to slashing or blunt damage, necessitating active swaps between Dual Blades and a Hammer.

Second Weapons Could Create More Flexible Monster Hunter Builds

Aside from different weapons being better suited to certain situations, players could use the basic functions of secondary weapons to bolster their preferred primary weapons. Hunting Horns and Kinsect-focused Insect Glaives could have alternate “temporary support” play styles that otherwise uninterested players could dip into for mid-battle buff or debuffs. Holding all of this together will be Monster Hunter Wilds’ reworked equipment system, which could end up with more multifaceted options than normal to allow players to essentially make their own multiclass builds. If all goes well, Monster Hunter Wilds should end up with a brand-new class solution that can please everyone.