5 Things We’ve Learned When Starting Monster Hunter: World The First Time

Monster Hunter: World is finally out this month. We’ll cut to the chase: this is the Monster Hunter you need to play if you want to get knee-deep into the series.

It’s accessible to a point and still gives you a chance for you to wrap your head around the world and bestiary before it kicks your teeth in with one-hit kills and stomps. There’s an option called Expedition mode where you can take your time exploring each part of the island and hunting down the wildlife big and small. The controls and fighting mechanics are reworked so that it’s streamlined, but it’s still a challenge to get through when you’re 30 hours in.

The audio and music of Monster Hunter: World is also quite a feast for the ears. Perhaps a nice set of speakers and sound bar can amplify your experience further.

It’s time we share our tips to you or anyone who’s willing to invest in Capcom’s latest open-world game-hunting blockbuster. Here’s a quick guide on how to enjoy your stay in Monster Hunter World.

#1.Get Used To The Controls.

In MHW, your special attack and your run/sheathe weapon button are on R2 and R1 respectively. If you are conditioned in the gameplay ways of hyper-action titles like the Devil May Cry series or the hardcore RPG Dark Souls series, you will need to practice and work out the standardized layout of MHW. You may occasionally sheathe your weapon by accident as you are wailing onto a felled beast. Or worse, sheathe your weapon while it’s charging at you for maximum damage.

Point is you may need to get used to the button placements since there’s no way to configure them. According to how the game is built, since these beasties run away halfway in a fight, you should have your sheathe/run button at the most convenient part of the controller. Suck it up, and eventually you will realize how intuitive it is.

The long sword is great for beginners like me.

#2. Master At Least 5 Weapons.

When you start, it’s wise to pick a weapon you’re comfortable with. Go to the Training Room to sort that out. Try out each of the different weapons in the game. Then go for the beginner friendly armaments like the Sword & Shield combo and the Long Sword.

After that, you should plan and figure out which of the 5 you’re going to be switching back and forth with. Different monsters require different tactics be it a speedy approach or a methodical break-each-part method.

Our personal top 5 weapons are Long Sword, Great Sword, Gun Lance, Hammer, and the Bow. Figure out the top 5 first, then you can commit to them.

#3. Eat & Get Pumped. Every Time.

At your home base, there’s a one-eyed cat that serves you platters than buff your stats for missions and expeditions. You lose these buffs if you die once or if you leave mid-way from a quest or expedition.

These buffs are useful in giving you a fighting chance; use them when you can. Plus you get to see the chef and his cronies prep the meal for you; that animation’s really cute & stylish.

#4. Get Your Bounties On.

There’s a spot in the game’s main hub Astera called the Resource Center. Here, you can get different bounties (side quests like collect mushrooms, kill small wildlife) and investigations (kill 2 big monsters, or capture them). It’s one of the only ways to get Armour Spheres, which you need to upgrade your armour.

Make it a habit to get your bounties, clear them, and then do them again. You can complete them in a middle of a mission or an expedition, and there’s no restriction. If you meet the criteria at any point out in the field, you get to cash them out for your spheres.

Speaking of Bounties, maybe you’d like to know more about Bountie? Click here to find out.

Monster Hunter: World does encourage farming; LOTS of it. But thanks to this bounty system, you can at least get a ton of cumulative and easy rewards out of menial labour.

#5. Invite Pals When Possible (Your Close Ones)

A Monster Hunter that teams up together, slays together. Check out this Geek Culture guide on how to get your multiplayer sessions on.

With bigger rewards come bigger caveats: monsters scale up in health. The worst-case scenarios I’ve encountered was teaming up with a bunch of strangers, hunt down one Barroth with the four of us, only to have two of our “pals” drop out on us and having to deal with a fully-regenerated mud monster.

Which is why it’s best to encourage your more trustworthy gaming pals to get this game for themselves. Again, this is one of the more accessible Monster Hunter games out there.

So now’s the time as any to group up, kick some scaley Rathalos ass, and then farm for that Rathalos armour set (or a better one).

Got some more wisdom bombs for us? Are you a Monster Hunter pro who wants to help others with your advice? Let us know on this post and on our Facebook page!