Monster Hunter World has a playstyle for everyone.
Capcom showed off all 14 of Monster Hunter World’s weapons yesterday, and Arekkz is back with a break down on each one.
If you’re a Monster Hunter veteran, hit up the video below and let the expert talk you through new moves and what they might mean. If you’re a beginner, we’ve got a text primer here.
For starters, Monster Hunter World weapons are divided into three categories – light, heavy and technical. This should give new players a bit of an idea of what each weapon type might play like. There are other attributes that affect weapon performance, but the main one you’ll want to know is the division between cutting and impact weapons. Cutting weapons are great for targeting soft, vulnerable areas to do targeted damage, while impact weapons have a better chance of knocking enemies out.
The Sword and Shield is a light weapon which is good for beginners because it’s fast and nimble with decent defence, capable of cutting and impact attacks, and allows you to use items while your weapon is drawn. It’s also great for experienced players facing off against new monsters, as it gives good cover as you learn the enemy’s moveset. New attacks in Monster Hunter World include an aerial follow up to a combo.
The dual blades are a very fast light weapon which are great for inflicting status effects. They can be switched into demon mode, meaning you have two playstyles in one weapon type. In Monster Hunter World, there’s been an expansion to the dual blades’ spinning attack from ledges, meaning you can unleash more aerial damage..
The longsword has the most range of all the light melee weapons. By building up your spirit gauge, you can unleash some very cool looking attacks.
The final light category weapons is the light bowgun, which is the most nimble of the ranged weapons. It has more mobility and agility than ever in Monster Hunter World, and the ability to embed explosives in the ground. Changes to the camera make it feel more like a traditional shooter.
Onto heavy weapons now, the most typical of which is the great sword. This tow-handed weapon is slow but powerful, and experts will make use of its charged attacks, which now include multi-hit combos. In Monster Hunter World you can insert shoulder charges into your combos to add impact damage to your attacks, potentially creating an opening to land a slow charged attack.
The lance is a heavier, more long range alternative to the sword and shield, in that it has great defence. Since you tend to stay tanking in front of the monster rather than dodging or rolling to the side, its primary mobility move is the backhop. After putting distance between you and thebeast, you can take advantage of charging attacks, which in Monster Hunter World can combo into mounts.
The gunlance is similar to the lance but has with the ability to fire shells. In Monster Hunter World you can embed shells in monsters for a delayed attack.
The hammer has a basic moveset but is excellent for stunning enemies with powerful charged attacks. New moves include bouncing your hammer off the monster’s head repeatedly, which looks great and must have a pretty high chance of stunning, especially if you work in groups.
The heavy bowgun is much like its lighter cousin but not as mobile. It does seem to have the ability to go prone, but it’s not clear what benefit this concurs or if it’s just a cool animation. With the right ammo type, it can be fired like a gatling gun.
The technical category is full of tricky weapons like the charge blade. It seems like a natural graduation from sword and shield as expert players can build up energy in sword and shield mode, then switch over to axe mode and spend the energy to unleash devastating ultra attacks. In Monster Hunter World, it has a new move where you backstep after an attack, and a cool slide, so it should be ore mobile than ever.
The switch axe is a weapon that has a great sword and great axe form. It doesn’t seem to have many new moves or changes in Monster Hunter World but one is more than enough: that mounted elemental discharge looks like terrific fun.
The hunting horn returns as the most support-friendly option, allowing players to buff teammates with songs in between wielding it like a club. In Monster Hunter World you can move around a little bit as you play, which will be a big help.
The bow’s new slide move looks great and would likely give a nice opening for a charge attack, and its dash can be used in a similar way. Arrows can be used to inflict status ailments and may have elemental attacks, too; we need more info on that.
Finally, the air mobility aspect of insect glaive has been foregrounded in Monster Hunter World so you can boost in mid-air and launch off the monster to continue aerial attacks. As in past games you can use the weapon to trigger various buffs.
Monster Hunter World is expected in early 2018 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. It will be the first home console Monster Hunter game to be released in the west since 2009’s Monster Hunter Tri, and perhaps more to the point, the first since Dark Souls and the like made hardcore action RPGs really popular. With any luck it will go big enough to win hearts beyond its existing, fervent fanbase.
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