Players who want a break from fast-paced action titles will appreciate the calm and tactical gameplay courtesy of Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise. The game transforms players into monster hunters as they perform hunts for the nearby village. Unlike other games, Monster Hunter takes players on an endless cycle of honing their talents, hunting monsters, and collecting parts to make awesome weapons and armor. Monster Hunter World takes this experience online — letting players team up with friends against harder and more difficult monsters.
World takes up most mechanics from the original Monster Hunter franchise. Teams of hunters need to apply their wits and plan their strategies accordingly to take down their prey in seamless environments. Unfortunately, some newcomers might feel overwhelmed by the game's mechanics. Which mechanics might make Monster Hunter World difficult for beginners?
10 Dying Too Quickly In Battle
One of the worst challenges hunters face in World is dying too quickly in the middle of battle, especially against bosses. Unfortunately, these situations become challenging due to a number of various other variables such as weapon choice, elemental affinities, and equipped skills. However, players can start prolonging their HP in hunts by ensuring they do the right preparation.
Players can always rely on the Chef's Choice Platter to get a health boost before a hunt, and a Max Potion to permanently increase a hunter's HP before they faint. Players can also rely on decorations, charms, and skills to increase overall HP and Stamina. The earlier players secure these, the easier it becomes to stay alive in the hunt.
9 Taking Too Long To Kill An Enemy
Hunters facing a monster for the first time need to acclimate to hunting these enemies. For instance, players can have a harder time fighting the larger and hardier Barroth when they've spent a couple of tries chasing the quick Jagras. This difficulty extends further to more iconic monsters, such as the monstrous Diablos and the sparking Kirin.
Interestingly, players who spend their entire timer fighting a monster might be doing one of four things wrong. First, they might have a combination of skills that impede their DPS. Second, they might not be dealing damage fast enough. Third, the player might be using the wrong weapon. And lastly, the player doesn't know where to hit.
8 Dealing Low Damage With Weapons
In World, it's theoretically possible to take down all monsters solely as Dual Blades users, or alternate between Long Swords and Bows. Unfortunately, some hunters just have a hard time hunting monsters with their chosen weapons.
However, players who think they deal too low damage with weapons might want to consider checking their weapon statistics. Players need to understand where best to hit opponents based on their weapons. For instance, Great Sword fans and Long Sword users can easily slice through tails, while Dual Blades work best against tendons. They can't rely on "just the one" weapon, as hunters need to adjust their loadout depending on the target.
7 Too Merciless When Missing Dodges
Unfortunately, only the most experienced of players know just when to dodge and strike a fierce counter-attack against baddies such as Zinogre, the tiger dragon Barioth, or even the fabled Gold and Silver Rathalos. Sadly, newcomers facing these for the first time might recognize that just missing a dodge can mean death.
Thing is, players need to remember that World has a more mechanical approach to gameplay. This means the game prioritizes finding exactly the right timing to attack, and most importantly dodge them. Players should avoid dodging "through" attacks as there aren't enough iFrames. Instead, players should focus on blocking and dodge rolling.
6 Breaking Body Parts Is Too Difficult
When fighting monsters, hunters should always be on the lookout for certain types of monster parts. Tough monster parts are considered armored, and they tend to receive less damage via a gray damage number. Meanwhile, softer body parts have orange damage indicators. Certain body parts such as tails, limbs, and even heads can be "broken" if they receive enough damage and if players know where to look.
Players can actually circumvent this caveat with a few tips. For instance, players can only break monster tails with a weapon that has Cut Damage such as Long Swords. Moreover, certain weapons work best for particular monster parts, so hunters shouldn't hesitate to experiment with which weapons and stats work best for their quarry.
5 Too Difficult To Memorize Enemy Patterns
A lot of players tend to compare the tactical approach of World to games such as Dark Souls, as some think that World's monsters also have attack patterns like in the Souls series. Unfortunately, some hunters might find it extremely difficult to memorize monster patterns. Other hunters end up wasting their entire timer just trying to predict a monster's movement, so what gives?
Thing is, players need to realize that World has a different "demand" towards monster analysis For instance, enemies in Dark Souls tend to act fast and loose, but they almost always have patterns to memorize. In World, players need to take note of monster attacks instead of actual patterns. Players can hunt monsters faster they understand how to counter each type of attack instead of memorizing a sequence.
4 Attacks Seem Too Unpredictable
Unfortunately, some monsters seem too unpredictable to know just how to counter them, even with a ton of dodges and blocks. Interestingly, like animals in the real world, monsters in World act based on "instinct." Moreover, the game reflects this "instinct" in the form of certain animation cues that lead to certain behaviors.
Essentially, all monsters have a "tell" that indicates which attacks come next. For instance, Bagel will always drop bombs two times before crashing on the ground. Meanwhile, Nerg will unleash a roar and its spikes will turn black before making a dive. Even smaller monsters have these attack "cues," all of which players need to exploit.
3 Weapon Becomes Difficult To Handle
Given the existence of 14 weapon types in the game, a player might feel overwhelmed when having to choose a weapon. Sadly, this means a player can easily see their main become "useless" against a certain type of enemy. However, aside from practicing with their favorite weapons, players need to pay attention as to how these weapons affect the smaller things in their playstyle.
Players should never settle to learn just how to do combos. Instead, players should check how their weapon works with their movement, particularly dodging and blocking, as well as how to tinker with camera controls when using these weapons. Sometimes, it's the handling, not the weapon itself, that becomes the problem.
2 Combos Always Get Interrupted
Weapons in World and other Monster Hunter games can deal massive damage, provided enemies stay there for the combo to finish. Unfortunately, a lot of monsters get room to counter-attack, and players can't dodge because of being in a combo. Instead of focusing on pulling off a combo, players should instead focus on finding where they can dodge cancel their combo. That way, they can instantly get out of a combo if an enemy suddenly rushes for a counter-attack.
Remember, players should never stick to a combo rotation on the get-go. Instead, players should focus on stunning or knocking back the creature first to ensure they stay there long enough for the combo to hit.
1 Movement Seems A Bit Too Rigid
Unlike other action games, players of World might notice that their movements seem a bit "constrained." For instance, running, dodging, and even certain attacks cost Stamina. In turn, World seems to have a clunky movement system. However, players have movement options that they can fully exploit.
For instance, players need to take note of dives and playing dead. Players dive when they dodge while turned away from a monster, doing so gives them invincibility throughout the animation. Meanwhile, players who get knocked back have the option not to get up immediately, letting them "play dead" and plan their move before the game forces them back up.