Monster Hunter Wilds' Creatures Need to Answer the New…

Summary

Monster Hunter Wilds aims to provide a more immersive experience with realistic environments, dynamic weather, and the Seikret mount for seamless travel.
The game needs to offer a compelling reason for players to carry two weapons, potentially through monster designs and elemental weaknesses.
Weather effects and monster behaviors could further encourage players to switch weapons, making the system feel earned and engaging.

The sixth generation of Monster Hunter is on its way to a 2025 release with Monster Hunter Wilds. It's a very exciting time for fans, and hopes are high for this next step in Capcom's long-running hunting game franchise. Following up Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise, plenty of big changes are planned to keep Monster Hunter Wilds feeling fresh after so many players spent so long on the fifth-generation games. Monster Hunter Wilds is fighting an uphill battle, but as part of one of the Japanese game publisher’s biggest IPs, it should be given every chance to succeed.

Only a few trailers in, Monster Hunter Wilds is already building a massive list of changes. Many of these are meant to give players a more immersive experience in a realistic natural environment, whether they are hunting or just exploring. Larger areas can be seamlessly crossed with Monster Hunter Wilds’ new Seikret mount, and monsters will behave realistically on maps with dynamic weather patterns. For the sake of variety on what could be longer, multi-hunt trips, players can also carry a second weapon stored on their mount, but there has to be more to this system than meets the eye.

Monster Hunter Wilds Needs To Accommodate Its Second Weapon

If players aren't given a compelling reason to carry two weapons, then it's doubtful the mechanic will see much use at all. Monster Hunter Wilds allows Hunters to quickly retreat on Seikret while healing and resharpening their current weapon, and even the provided example of pairing melee and ranged types isn't necessary with Monster Hunter World’s Slinger returning in Wilds. Since this system change is large enough that Capcom claims to be redesigning how equipment buffs work, an obvious motive to swap weapons on the fly needs to be present.

Monsters Can Make MH Wilds’ Different Weapons Worthwhile

Fortunately, Wilds need not look far for an obvious solution. Monster designs should encourage players to switch weapons, and there are more ways to do this than just having a flying wyvern zip out of melee range. Supporting at least all fourteen of Monster Hunter’s legacy weapons with this design approach won't be easy, but with all the new context-sensitive interactions seen thus far, MH Wilds should be up to the task. Different monster behavior should play a role, and there are ways to go about it that encourage players to diversify their builds and use their favorites at the same time.

Ways Monster Hunter Wilds Can Encourage Weapon Switching

Addressing the possibility that players will simply equip two instances of their favorite weapon type, Monster Hunter Wilds can employ dynamic elemental weaknesses. Different weapons can be assigned elemental damage types, on top of whatever hit types they already have. For example, a powerful potential returning Monster Hunter Frontier Elder Dragon based around using fire and ice in tandem can switch between modes favoring one, encouraging players to have a weapon for each. Relying less on grandiose powers, creatures’ natural defenses could break off, or they could jump between different environments like underground, different altitudes, and even underwater, presenting new vulnerabilities.

Wilds’ Dynamic Elements Could Lead To Dynamic Weapon Use

Whether it's a monster's physical status or movement patterns, there are plenty of ways to encourage varied weapons being brought on hunts, though one other way doesn't directly involve the beasts. Monster Hunter Wilds is expected to focus on weather effects, with areas like the Windswept Plains having multiple major states on top of weather phenomena like thunderstorms. Gearing certain weapons toward thriving or suffering under various weather conditions, like heavier classes resisting strong winds, would encourage players to keep switching during emergencies. There is a lot that Monster Hunter Wilds could do to make its weapon-swapping system feel earned, and hopefully, the final release includes a couple.

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