Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

[Sombre]

Has anyone else played this, or is playing it?

I just started it earlier tonight, and...wow. It's quite something. You just get dropped into the world and the game says "Hey just go".

After a pretty neat character creation, I was immediately overwhelmed by how "Deep" the game seems, even off the get go. The first training mission is to simply kill 5 raptors in the mountains, using a sword and shield. However, it's only the start. The game has eleven weapon types, and you have to learn them all, from what I gather.

Did I mention that the time limit on each mission is FIFTY MINUTES?

I can see myself really getting into this, as it's just...incredibly intense and there seems to be just such a deeper "Game" behind what I can really see.

Any other Monster Hunters here?

[Irishjohn]

Has anyone else played this, or is playing it?

I just started it earlier tonight, and...wow. It's quite something. You just get dropped into the world and the game says "Hey just go".

I started playing it recently as well. I'm not finished the beginner training missions yet, but I've already been utterly, utterly owned on the first normal mission that required something other than picking up herbs or something like that.

I really like it so far though. It's unlikely I'll get a chance to ad-hoc with anyone but still really enjoying the single player component.

[Fodder]

Between this and the previous version, I've put several hundred hours into Monster Hunter. I was lucky enough to have three other people at work who also played it and, especially in multiplayer, it's absolutely fantastic. Downing one of the big monsters genuinely feels like a huge achievement, even now.

The game really doesn't do itself any favours at the start, though. It just dumps you into the world without any clues as to what you're meant to be doing. When Unite came out in the UK, Capcom actually rented a building in central London for people to go and learn to play the game.

Some suggestions for getting started:

Don't go into the guild hall. These are missions that are really balanced for several people at once. Until you're better at the game, stick with the Elder's quests.

Pick an easy weapon to start with. Sword and shield, dual blade or maybe long sword. Don't start with something like a hammer or great sword, as you'll just get frustrated. The strong weapons require you to really know what you're doing as they're so slow and the gaps in which you can attack are quite short. You don't need to know them all. Your weapon choice is essentially your character class in MH. You'll need to learn a few later in the game, but you can get by with just one for quite a long time.

Figure out combining, and get everything you can from the farm between quests. You'll want as many potions as you can get and, early on, you might struggle to get the money to keep buying them.

When you first get to a bigger monster, just watch him. Don't try to attack. Just look at how he moves and try to spot gaps. Although you do get better equipment as you go, it's far more important that you (the player) gets better at the game. It's not a game where you're ever really going to be hugely powerful compared to the monsters, so you have to learn to dodge and to figure out patterns. Also, when you have a choice between a risky attack and dodging, always dodge.

Go here for all the weapon upgrade info you're ever going to need. Pick something to aim for, and figure out what you need to kill to get the parts. Something to note is that you'll get more stuff from trapping a monter than by killing it. To trap something, you drop a shock trap, lure the monster in then chuck at least two tranq bombs at it. If it's weak enough, it'll go down. Watch for the monsters starting to limp as a clue that they're trappable.

Finally, armour is for skills first and defence second. The way the skill system works is really badly communicated by the game. There's a reasonable explanation here.

[Sombre]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it pal.

I was leaning a bit more towards Gunlance, I really liked the way it played. Being able to defend well, good mobility, and a bit of ranged really appealed to me. Dual swords however were also quite good, but they seemed to need quite a degree of actual skill, in regards to TIMING the combo swings, as opposed to simply mashing buttons. I've just cleared the training, and those 2 definitely stick out to me as my clear favorites thus far.

I just hired the cook, and I left my PSP on standby in the kitchen. However, combine that with the farm, and I didn't really feel like there was much explaination beyond "Hey, there's this thing you can go and do, okay go"

What I'm liking in regards to what I'm hearing from the internet, is how the game seems to demand actual skill from the player. For the most part, it appears that the item and weapon upgrades play a minor role, at least in comparison to how you as the active player get better at the game.

And Goddamn, it's about time I got that from a Video game.

[Fodder]

Lances are pretty tough at first. You can't roll with them, which is a major drawback against bigger creatures. The running dive is a lifesaver at times. Sword and Shield is probably an easier starting weapon if you want blocking.

What I'm liking in regards to what I'm hearing from the internet, is how the game seems to demand actual skill from the player. For the most part, it appears that the item and weapon upgrades play a minor role, at least in comparison to how you as the active player get better at the game.

Yeah, that's definitely true. There are a load of videos on YouTube showing people doing major bosses with no armour on, for example. That's why you generally go with skills rather than defence when it comes to picking armour. Ideally, you get good enough at the game to not get hit in the first place.

Learning the monsters is one of the best things about the game. When you first get to a new creature it seems completely impossible, but you can go back later on and wonder how you ever had trouble with it.

By the way, if you have a PS3, you can play the PSP MH online. There's a fairly decent community of English speaking players.

[Sombre]

Lances are pretty tough at first. You can't roll with them, which is a major drawback against bigger creatures. The running dive is a lifesaver at times. Sword and Shield is probably an easier starting weapon if you want blocking.

Yeah, that's definitely true. There are a load of videos on YouTube showing people doing major bosses with no armour on, for example. That's why you generally go with skills rather than defence when it comes to picking armour. Ideally, you get good enough at the game to not get hit in the first place.

Learning the monsters is one of the best things about the game. When you first get to a new creature it seems completely impossible, but you can go back later on and wonder how you ever had trouble with it.

By the way, if you have a PS3, you can play the PSP MH online. There's a fairly decent community of English speaking players.

I am kind of excited to get into it, but the sheer amount of things that it appears is possible is...just overwhelming. Cooking/Mercs/Guild ranks and such..

But, I'm quite excited to actually really get into it, it just looks all sorts of crazy fun.

[Irishjohn]

I want to say cheers as well, Fodder!

Cool tips and much appreciated.

[Fodder]

Oh, one other thing I meant to say: you can't make any mistakes in the game, so don't worry about messing anything up. Other than stuff you set when you create your character - name, gender and whatnot - nothing you do in the game is irreversible (with the exception of a couple of items that you can only get once, but you're not seeing them for a long time). So, although there're a lot of systems and things to learn in the game, you're free to experiment without feeling like you might mess something up make a choice that you regret later on. Really, the worst you can do is waste a bit of time by having to go get more of some items that you've used on something you decided you didn't want.

Also, if you can, try to learn to use "The Claw". If you hold the PSP such that your thumb is on the analogue stick and your index finger lays over the dpad, you can control the camera and character at the same time. It takes some getting used to, and might not actually be possible on a PSP Go, but a fair few people seem to find it's worth it.