The latest installation in the series, the Monster Hunter: World (MHW), offers the ultimate monster hunting experience. The game is with everything you need, right from a comprehensive arsenal and aids to a diverse range of ecosystems and monster types.
In additional to the usual features the game is renowned for, the latest release comes with a number of surprised and unique features to keep you engaged and excited. It allows you to fight an array of gigantic monsters within a range of epic locales and ecosystems.
Defeating the monsters rewards the player with materials that may be used to forge stronger armor and weapons. Get to know what makes MHW unique and why the game is worth every penny.
Priced at about $30, the latest installation of Monster Hunter World is worth every penny. Right from the Astera hub to the ecosystems, the game has been revolutionized to offer you the very best. It features a new and more diverse range of weapons, armor and character customization options.
World also features a new weapons skill system that is more streamlined, and predictable. Read on to understand why the game is worth the price.
The Monster Hunter: World Gameplay
MHW is one of the leading action role-playing console games available today. Similar to other games in the series, MHW is played from a third-person perspective. Once you have assumed the role of a player-created character, you need travel to the New World—a landmass that is unpopulated but filled with different types of monsters—to join the Research Commission.
In addition to studying the land from their command center of Astera, the research commission also tasks players (hunters) to hunt down and either capture or kill monsters. As a player, your character in this game will not have any intrinsic attributes. Instead, such attributes will be determined by the type of equipment you have at any particular moment.
This includes the weapons you choose from the 14 archetypes of the series, such as a bow, long sword, and hammer. These, in turn, determine the type of combat moves as well as the type of armor your character can use. You can still purchase some of the basic equipment using in-game money, but you will need to build most of the equipment using your loot.
Is Monster Hunter World Worth a Buy?
Anyone who has played this game will tell you that it is worth a buy. The Monster Hunter: World game is essentially designed to create score loop whereby the hunter fights monsters they can beat. If successful, the player obtains the right loot from the slain or captured monsters to craft improved armor and weapons.
With improved weapons, the hunter can then gave more powerful and dangerous monsters. However, things are not all that straightforward; the game incorporated a myriad of features, tools, maps, and characters to keep players engaged at every level.
Discussed below are some of the aspects that make the Monster Hunter World game worth every dime:
Astera
Astera is the head quarters for the research commission in this game. It also functions as the central hub for players to buy and sell items, craft new equipment, manage their inventory, and claim new quests. Being the base of operations for the research commission, Astera is where researchers, hunters, and technicians gather.
Through Astera, you will have access to such things as:
The Maker Characters
By default, the MHW game offers three main characters for players to choose from. These include the commander, the handler, and the Field team leader.
The Canteen
The Astera hub will also give you access to a Canteen where you can get your nourishment before engaging in a quest. The various Canteen meals will bestow different powers in your character. You may even order an Oven Roast from the Handler.
Depending on the items you used for an Oven Roast, you may end up getting unexpected results.
The Smithy
You may think of the Smithy as your workshop in the game. It has been specifically designed to address all your hunting equipment needs. Once inside this facility, you can forget new armor and weapons as well as make or revert certain upgrades.
Each armor you get from this facility also comes with a few bonus skills, which may be categorized as either set bonus skills or equipment skills. Each of the skills has different activation requirements.
The Gathering Hub
This is a tavern of sort, which also happens to be the online gathering point for up to 16 hunters at a time. Here, you can have a meal, plan for quests, and even engage in friendly round of arm-wrestling.
Multiple MHW Ecosystems
With the latest installation of the game, you will have about five ecosystems to explore and hunt in. Each of the Monster Hunter World Ecosystems presents you with a different location and environment teaming with a variety of wildlife and monsters.
Your expeditions in the various ecosystems will definitely to result in interesting discoveries. Some of the ecosystems you can access in this game include:
The Ancient Forest
The MHW Forest is rather diverse, supporting a complex ecosystem that features a network of trees. Most of the trees in this environment stretch high into the sky, effectively crating an appearance of ancient tree canopy that towers above the forest.
Some of the monsters you can battle in this ecosystem include the Great Jagras, Anjanath, Pukei-Pukei, Rathalos, and Tobi-Kadachi.
Coral Highlands
Explore the mysterious ecological highland that looks much like the flow and ebb of the ocean itself. The ecosystem offers a captivating view, in which the coral eggs ride upon the rising currents as they are spread to other parts of the New World.
The ecology is also teaming with an array of monsters, such as the Paolumu, Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, and Legiana–the apex monster of the Coral Highlands.
Elder’s Recess
This is an uncharted ecosystem that thanks full of powerful energy. The landmass is basically dominated by some of the gigantic, yet mysterious crystalline structures you will find in the Monster Hunter worlds. The map is also dotted with a number of hazardous caverns seething with magma.
In some cases, the magma will have cooled to form amazing stretches of uneven basalt. Do not let this beautiful landscape device you as the land is teaming with monsters, including Teostra, Nergigante, Dodogama, and Kushala Daora.
The Wildspire Waste
The Wildspire Waste ecosystem includes a swampland into which water from the Ancient Forest ecosystem drains. The swampland conjoins with a massive strip of parched land. The land is inhabited by colonies of ants that have erected massive spires in the desert environment.
You will also find varied vegetation that mainly springs along the numerous watering holes. The two coexisting ecosystems are home to different monsters like Barroth, Rathian, Kulu-Ya-Ku, Diablos, and Jyuratodus.
Rotten Vale
This is essentially a deep gallery that is tucked below amazing coral islands. When monsters die in this environment, their bodies to the Vale. This creates a layer of decomposing remains that seems to have an ecological importance.
The Vale is rich in the effluvium bacteria, which is unique to the ecosystem. This bacteria breaks the organic matter down with time. Some of the monsters you can hunt in this MHW ecosystem include the Vaal Hazak, Radobaan, Great Girros, and Odogaron.
The Hunter’s Arsenal
By default, the game offers about 14 different types of weapons for you to choose from, ranging from swords and shields to bow guns. Each of the weapons on the Monster Hunter World game is unique with regards to attacks and characteristics.
While most players prefer acquiring proficiency in different weapons, there are those that want to attain mastery of just one weapon. A key facet of this game is the ability to build and upgrade your weapons and armor at the forge. In this regard, you can use the resources and parts you have acquired in your combats and quests to forge the better weapons and armor.
As you defeat tougher monsters, you will acquire the resources you need to build a more defensive armor or one that is resistant to a particular element. Alternatively, you could use the resources to improve weapons, making them more lethal and able to deal debuffing or elemental damage.
A New Weapons Skill System:
Just as is the case with previous games in the series, weapons and armor in World are also associated with particular skills. However, the latest release of the game boasts of a few improvements. For instance, World features a new, more streamlined skill system.
In this new system, each armor or weapon piece has one or multiple ranks in at least one skill. In such a case, the total effect of any skill on a hunter is the sum of all its ranks from all the equipment items the hunter carries.
Specialized Tools
In addition to the diverse range of weapons and armor customization options, MHW also offers a number of specialized tools. Such tools are designed to activate powerful effects for a limited amount of time.
They are comparatively easy to use; they may be selected and activated like any other tool a hunter takes out on a hunt. You can only equip up to two of the specialized tools at a time. Other tools that make the Monster Hunter World worth the price include:
The Mantle
This is a new tool that may only be used for a limited amount of time. The cloak-like tools are meant to offer the player a buff. For instance, it can function as a ghillie suit to reduce the chances of the player being detected by monsters.
Slinger
Each player in World is given a Slinger—a tool that may be used to hurl small projectiles such as nuts and stones at the enemy. It may not be one of the powerful weapons in your arsenal, but a slinger will come in handy regardless of the ecosystem you are exploring.
It allows you to harm yourself with stones and nuts, which are readily available in all locales. The slinger may also be used as a grappling hook, to help you pull-down objects onto an enemy or reach higher elevations. This tool has several other uses, ranging from creating shortcuts to diversion tactics.
It is a tool that makes it possible for you to hunt in new, and interesting ways regardless of the locale you are currently exploring.
Scoutflies
Tracking monsters in MHW is even easier with Scout Flies. In their functioning, the scout flies hover close to monster tracks and similar signs of monster presence. Scout flies are capable of remembering monster scent, which they use to guide you to other nearby tracks.
The flies will eventually lead you using their glowing flight path towards the monster(s) you are seeking. As you gather more monster tracks using scout flies, you also gain insights into such things as their weaknesses, strengths, and behavior. The flies also highlight the various resources you can collect, including bones, ores, flora, and insects.
Palicoes
Think of these as your reliable in-game comrades. They specialize in various defensive, offensive, and restorative support abilities.
The Farm
The game allows the hunter to plant large quantities of flora and leave them to grow as they venture out for a hunt. This can be done on the farm.
Quests and Combat
From the Asters hub, a hunter can choose embark on an open-ended expedition or take a quest. Once you have selected your preferred option, you will be taken to a base camp in one of the six locales in he New World. Each of these regions is composed of numbered zones.
However, the numbered zones in the New World are connected seamlessly, which is not the case with previous games in the series. As opposed to the previous games in the series, you will not get any loading screen when transiting from one some to another in the MHW game. You can choose to traverse from one zone to another or use the quick-travel feature to jump to a base camp.
The game will also offer you the opportunity to use your environment strategically against the monsters. For instance, the hunter may burst a natural dam to flood out monsters. You may even lead a monster into another monster’s den, causing them to fight each other.
Additional Quests
In addition to the quests that ship with the MHW game, Capcom—the developer—offers downloadable content quests. Owing to the higher degree of connectivity offered by modern consoles, the developer is now able to offer multiple time-limited Event quests. Players can jump into these quests through the New Matchmaking system.
You will also have access to paid downloadable content that is available for the game. However, this does not include the Iceborne expansion, which is only limited to cosmetic items like character customization options, stickers, and gestures.
The Story Mode
Monster Hunt World has a Story Mode that is availed through the quest system. For previous games, the story mode led the hunter to complete the Low-rank quests before progressing to the more advanced ranks. With the World installation, the game features a narrative that continues through the High-rank quests.
The entire story mode for MHW is estimated to take between 40 and 50 hours to complete, as explained later on in this guide. Rather than having quests that require you to slay a certain number of monsters or collect resources, World offers these as Bounties.
What makes the game unique is the fact that Bounties can be achieved alongside the primary quest. They may also be offered as Optional quests that you can use to improve some facet of your resources in Astera.
Multiple Active Bounties
As opposed to previous games, World allows you to have up to six different Bounties active at a time. Additionally, you can also gain Investigation quests, which are accomplished by investigating monster trails using scout flies or by breaking monster parts off during combat.
Each of the investigation you undertake will offer you a quest that may have different goals and limitations to those of the main story quest. Investigations may only be attempted a limited number of times before they are exhausted and withdrawn—whether successfully accomplished or otherwise.
Does Monster Hunter have a Multiplayer Mode?
Yes, the Monster Hunter World game features online multiplayer capabilities. This feature allows several players to work together to defeat the most challenging monsters. World supports both single-player and multiplayer options.
In the multiplayer mode, up to four players can work together provided that all of them are online. This means that the Monster Hunter World game does not have a local offline multiplayer option. The quest system is the same on both the single-player and multiplayer modes. Players can gather in multiplayer servers that support up to 16 players at a time.
While gathered there, a player can post a quest and invite other players to join. Other players can also join your existing quests, provided that they have progressed far enough with the main story quest. Players in different release regions may also team up in the online multiplayer mode.
Note: For you to use the Multiplayer feature on MHW, you first need to register with your respective console service, including the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network services.
The game has also included several limited-time unique gameplay modes through the event system. These include a 16-person raid against one monster, whereby players work in teams of four with a common goal to defeat the monster.
Final Verdict
As compared to previous games in this series, the Monster Hunter: World game comes at a higher price point. The new installation is not just about improvements to the previous features and maps or bug fixes.
World introduces an all new level of engagement and excitement at all levels of the main story quest. The higher price tag is justifiable by the new and improved features, maps, tools, specialized tools, and multiplayer modes.
The quests and combat approach used by World is also better. Such aspects make the MHW game worth every dime.
