Newibie First Impression and Questions

To start things off, there are going to be a lot of gamers like me (Sorry!). People who have never played MH before will pick this up after it blows up (in a good way) once the media starts reviewing it. Or, others will pick it up because its slim picking in terms of games out for the Wii U right now, and this is among the deepest RPG experiences anyone can ask for (been reading up a lot on this game for a while. Everyone plays for 600 hours =)

Anywho, I've downloaded the 3DS version and, recently, the Wii U version. For starters, I didn't think this game was for me when I played the 3DS version, but everyone says "Keep with it, it's awesome."

I love games like this. And the depth is amazing. But I have to say, the Wii U version is hands down the better of the two. That might be an obvious statement, and I mean NO offense to anyone who likes the 3DS version, but the graphics are so damn crisp on the Wii U and having a second analog stick makes a WORLD of difference.

I managed to kill the bunny on my first try, gonna take a "stab" at the more advanced enemy later today. As you can see from my avatar, I like duel weilding sneaky fast players (Fire Emblem, anyone?). The bow looks awesome too, as does the long sword (used katanas in Dark Souls) gonna try all the different playstlyes tonight.

BUT - I have a few questions. I've looked at Wikis.

- Are the only two attacks the X and A button?
- Is there any way to run?
- Can you lock onto enemies?
- Is roll the primary method of dodging an attack, or is there a block button?
- What do the two little guys that follow me around do? Are they supposed to help (I saw one puke and another throw a boomerang, but they just mainly made me crack up) or are they a side show?
- During gameplay, it said my weapon became weaker. Do I have to repair in this game?
- I'm so sure I'm missing so much more ...

I'm SOOOOOO sorry for all the questions.

Sounds like you're pretty fresh with this whole scene. Remember that Monster Hunter plays more like a fighting game and less like an RPG.

- Are the only two attacks the X and A button?

Sort of. There are many different combos to learn and master, most of them require different inputs at different times.

Try these button combinations with all the weapons to see how they act:
A
X
A+X
(Weapon not yet drawn) R+A+X
(Weapon drawn) R+A+X

Try to 'chain' attacks together. For example

A + A + X

A+X + A + A

R+A + A + A

- Is there any way to run?

Make sure your weapon is sheathed (put away) by pressing Y. Hold down the R button and move the circle pad. This will drain stamina (yellow bar the top of the screen)

- Can you lock onto enemies?

Part of Monster Hunter is controlling the camera as well as your character. Here's some handy tips though:

Press L to recenter the camera behind you.

When in the same area with a monster that has spotted you check the touch screen, there should be a monster icon there, touch it. Now press L and the camera will recenter on the monster.

- Is roll the primary method of dodging an attack, or is there a block button?

Dodge rolls provide distance and give you a tiny window of invincibility, but don't rely on the invincvibility- it's something that takes many hours of practice.

The following weapons DO NOT have a shield feature:
- Hammer
- Hunting Horn
- Dual Swords
- Long Sword
- Switch Axe
- Light Bowgun
- Heavy Bowgun (May change in the full version)
- Bow

Dodging only! Better get good at it!

The following weapons DO have a shield feature:
- Sword and shield
- Lance
- Gun lance
- Great Sword

Press and hold R while your weapon is drawn to block attacks in front of you. Blocking attacks will drain stamina so don't do it for too long! Blocking is usually a 'last moment' thing you do when you can't dodge.

- What do the two little guys that follow me around do? Are they supposed to help (I saw one puke and another throw a boomerang, but they just mainly made me crack up) or are they a side show?

During single player they will fight along side you, they might dance and give you a buff or they might attack the monster. Most of the time they will draw attention away from you and allow you to run away/heal. They can die but it only puts them out of action for a minute or so before the come back to life.

- During gameplay, it said my weapon became weaker. Do I have to repair in this game?

Your weapon's status is indicated below your life as a knife that flashes a certain colour (blue in the demo). You want to keep your weapon blue so you do the most possible damage with every hit you make; resharpening your weapon is done with a 'whetstone' and you should have them in your inventory. Put your weapon away with Y and then select 'whetstone' from your inventory. Sharpening takes about 6 seconds so be careful not to do it in a dangerous spot!

Ninja'd!


For the controls, a guide has already started on the forums:
https://mhwiki.forumotion.net/t9426-ultimate-s-control-methods

You can also peruse a manual on the WiiU (don't know about the 3DS) when pausing the game with the Home button. Controls are in there, but they don't go fully into the combo patterns.

Once the game launches, for quick questions, the Question Hotline's the place to ask!

@Jader7777

THANK YOU for taking the time to provide such excellent information. This all really helps and I really appreciate it! Side note, I've been down under and let me say Bondi Beach and having no laws for when to stop serving alcohol is amazing. The party goes on until 10 a.m. and then its breakfast with shades on at the beach lol!

And to the post above me, thank you for sharing the link, too!

Just tried out the long sword after a few recommended it as a good weapon to start with. Too slow for my liking, couldn't even kill the bunny on my first try =D

Moving on to the bow which looks awesome, but I hear that takes a lot of practice.

No prob! Yeah, expect to spend a lot of time in this game. I think I put in about 700 hrs playing Tri over 2 years. I'm probably on the low side for a forumer. Enough that my Tri disk is now damaged, and had started skipping on occasion before I got my Wii and downloaded the demo.


As for weapon choice, try them all out. You'll end up using just a handful, so with the demo, it's probably a good opportunity to pick the 2 or 3 that you'll specialize in, so that you don't waste your zenni and carves on weapons you don't plan to use. If this is your first MH game, I'd avoid long range weapons - they require rather good knowledge of your prey to avoid getting hit (the bow/gunner armor has much lower defense than the melee armor).


Oh, and substitute X for B in Jader's message. B is the evade button, doesn't mix with the attack button. Jader's the one who started the controls guide, BTW.

Oops, haha yep B = X. I edited my previous post, hope that didn't confuse you in the game.

Also, blocking is not a preferred way of evading an attack entirely. Let's say you get hipchecked, and it takes you a total of 6 seconds to get up; blocking will have a slight knock back that lasts 3/4 of that (Sadly). The only weapon that you should be using the shield is Lance.

Blocking on lance is bad, but you should utilize the shield by using the counter move because turtleing* is not an effective way of damaging a monster; just use the block maneuver sparingly if you know you won't be able to dodge the attacks.

Also to note, I've been playing the original Tri for well over 3,500 hours, and I've seen many newbs afraid to attack the monster. It is important to not be afraid and learn how the monsters work. Monster Hunter is a game that requires intellect and serious determination, not mindless button mashing.

*Turtleing is a newb-tactic where one constantly holds the block button because of fear of getting hit, and instead of doing damage to the monster, he or she make may attack it once in a while.

@Sai -

Thanks. All too familiar with turtlering with Dark Souls .... it ,was frowned upon in PvP and laughed upon when a turtle got backstabbed =D (insert slightly sinister laugh here)

So, it seems like shields aren't as big of a bonus as I thought? I've been playing a lot of characters (duel swords, bow, switch axe, shield and sword, heavy bowgun, longsword and gunlance so far)

The two I liked the most in order were duel swords for the speed and the shield and sword, which has good speed and the ability to use potions with weapon drawn. I can already tell weapons like the heavy bowgun and bow are for more "advanced" users of MH. Which I think is pretty cool.

On a side note, I just noticed the Thanks button. I was planning on thanking everyone that replied but now realize you can only do it once. lol sorry for the others I didnt thank! I just saw the button now! =D

Remember; the only thing that makes the weapon strong is you.

Volke wrote:

@Sai -

Thanks. All too familiar with turtlering with Dark Souls .... it ,was frowned upon in PvP and laughed upon when a turtle got backstabbed =D (insert slightly sinister laugh here)

So, it seems like shields aren't as big of a bonus as I thought? I've been playing a lot of characters (duel swords, bow, switch axe, shield and sword, heavy bowgun, longsword and gunlance so far)

The two I liked the most in order were duel swords for the speed and the shield and sword, which has good speed and the ability to use potions with weapon drawn. I can already tell weapons like the heavy bowgun and bow are for more "advanced" users of MH. Which I think is pretty cool.

On a side note, I just noticed the Thanks button. I was planning on thanking everyone that replied but now realize you can only do it once. lol sorry for the others I didnt thank! I just saw the button now! =D

Shields are actually great for learning a monster. You can let them hit you a couple times so you can get the timing and hitzones right, and you can use them to block the attacks you don't think you can dodge.

Plus shielded weapons have their gimmicks as well, like sns using items when it is drawn, and countering with lances.

I would agree, blocking does slow your attack potential down due to the knock back animation when blocking.

HOWEVER

Get guard+1 or guard+2 and that should no longer be a problem! Those skills drop the down time involved in blocking an attack. You'll find this out later in the full version when the game offers customization to you.

Sai_ wrote:

Remember; the only thing that makes the weapon strong is you.

Also you have to believe in yourself that will make your weapon more powerful and "with great power comes great responsibility" -Batman

Don't believe in yourself, believe in your weapon, who isn't even sentient and so can't believe in you.

if you cannot believe in you, believe in the me that believes in you.

If you're concerned about dodging, try this. One thing which is commonly overlooked by new players is the ability to run when your weapon is sheathed. This means that you should sheathe your weapon for most serious manoevers. Manoevering with your weapon still drawn is a bad idea and will get you hit. A lot. Although if you're new to the game you can probably expect to die a lot anyway. I certainly did and I've read enough to know I'm not the only one! And on that optimistic note, I'm off.

Spiritlord wrote:

If you're concerned about dodging, try this. One thing which is commonly overlooked by new players is the ability to run when your weapon is sheathed. This means that you should sheathe your weapon for most serious manoevers. Manoevering with your weapon still drawn is a bad idea and will get you hit. A lot. Although if you're new to the game you can probably expect to die a lot anyway. I certainly did and I've read enough to know I'm not the only one! And on that optimistic note, I'm off.

haha lol thanks!

Ignore this reply, accidentally posted something already mentioned and can't think of anything else to replace with.

uriel1994 wrote:

Also you have to believe in yourself that will make your weapon more powerful and "with great power comes great responsibility" -Batman

i swear that's from spiderman...

Volke, all of the tips in this thread are correct and very helpful so take note of them! The game does require serious dedication to understanding how the game works, monster's behavior, understanding skills, what type of armor to use for certain monsters (are you a offensive player? a defensive player? support?). It's ALOT of information to take in at once, so start with small steps. I see a lot of discussion on evasion and blocking and also that you like to use the Dual Swords and Sword and Shield. Good thing about these weapons is that you are very mobile and sheathing can be rather quick. Honestly, i never use the shield on the SnS. The mobility is enough to roll in time, or in many cases, you can sheathe and dive, same for the Dual Swords. With Dual Swords, a lot of people soley use the Demon Mode Slashes. It's very powerful, though it locks you in place until the combo is complete, so use this at the right moment! Try to learn some combos other than the Demon Mode combo Using a Mega Dash Juice is a Dual Swordist BFF. It negates stamina drain allowing you to stay in Demon Mode for as long as you want.

Here is a more in-depth guide for Dual Swords.
https://mhwiki.forumotion.net/t9461-dual-swords-in-depth-attack-guide

If you are ever interested in gunning, know that it knowing a monster's attack pattern is vital. One hit from a monster can take almost half of your health, then your left running around waiting to heal. And not to mention the mats needed for gunning are more than that of a Blademaster.

We are all here to help and wish you the best luck during your hunts!