Incline Monster Hunter World - G-rank edition. Now on PC.

[Emmanuel2]

Cleared tempered beetlejuice x2 sub 10 and tempered kirin sub-7. Could've been a sub 5 if he spawned closer but I'll take it. (I miss the arena-like maps of the previous games now)

Spoiler

Also some really good RNG right here, can finally augment my kadachi bow.

Spoiler

Hope we get the arch-tempered updates soon, I heard they're like g-rank level.

 

[vonAchdorf]

How do the crowns work? Is it random and do you have to kill the same monster > 100 times to get all variants?

 

[Emmanuel2]

How do the crowns work? Is it random and do you have to kill the same monster > 100 times to get all variants?

Crowns are basically indications of length/size nothing else IIRC going by previous experience.

It's all RNG. You can get all the crowns (smallest, silver, gold) in a short time or could take you a while.

 

[Hyperion]

Also some really good RNG right here, can finally augment my kadachi bow

Heh, hate to break it to you but that isn't going to upgrade your Kadachi bow. Hero's Streamstone is for Rarity 8 weapons only. You need 2 Warrior's Streamstones per Augment on a Rarity 7.

 

[Emmanuel2]

Also some really good RNG right here, can finally augment my kadachi bow

Heh, hate to break it to you but that isn't going to upgrade your Kadachi bow. Hero's Streamstone is for Rarity 8 weapons only. You need 2 Warrior's Streamstones per Augment on a Rarity 7.

I just found out .

Oh well, atleast it upgraded my legia.

 

[Blaine]

Quite proud of this, probably our best duo hunt so far.

There's no longer any doubt in my mind (if there ever was) that duoing is the most difficult way to play this game. Even fighting Great Jagras will prove that out. His increased flailing, erratic behavior, and tendency to run sooner and more often are extremely noticeable. On top of the increased HP, he charges in various different directions a lot (as do most monsters when not soloing), decreasing the amount of damage each player can deal. There really ought to be scaling for 2, 3, and 4 players, not because I don't like the difficulty but because of the unavoidable time wastage.

 

[toro]

There's no longer any doubt in my mind (if there ever was) that duoing is the most difficult way to play this game.

I just finished a 4 hours session with another guy and the thing is: duoing is the easiest way to play the game. It's simple: you get 2 cats instead of 2 retards.

One can bait the monster and the other one can mount it easily. It works the best with 2 people which know what they are doing.

 

[Blaine]

We know to how mount monsters and do it all the time.

Unless you're running a speedhack to teleport across arenas, duoing is certainly the most time-consuming way to play against high-tier monsters. The monster will charge out of your range on a regular basis, requiring you to chase after it; by the time you've arrived, it's often gallivanting off someplace else again, and you won't know where in advance because it could be toward one of the two cats, directly into your face, or toward the omnipresent additional monsters that typically join in. During these periods of time, you for the most part can't effectively deal damage because it can be quite difficult to set up combos.

If you're unaware of these factors then you've barely even begun playing the game.

 

[Damned Registrations]

This is why lance is master race. Monster running away? Ride it's ass with the charge for free damage the entire time. Except in coral highlands because fuck that place.

Or more realistically, just keep some appropriate pods around to stagger the monster when he moves to flee. Honestly scatter pods are so fucking OP they're probably more valuable than bombs in a 4 man party. It's retarded that they guarantee a flinch and you get five shots. It's like a free paralyze on demand without diminishing returns.

 

[Blaine]

Even solo, it can happen that the fucker never stands still for more than 20 seconds. Worse hunt was one where I chased a Rathalos for 25 minutes around the Ancient Forest after he ran away the first time.

20 seconds? That sounds like a luxury fucking cruise to me. No monster we've ever fought has stood still for more than 5 seconds unless KO'd, paralyzed, slept, or trapped, including Great Jagras.

This is why lance is master race. Monster running away? Ride it's ass with the charge for free damage the entire time. Except in coral highlands because fuck that place.

Except in Coral Highlands and versus any monster that can fly, which is quite a lot of them.

Anyway, I was slightly worried about my first Bezelgeuse fight, but he was a piece of piss. I barely took a scratch. The only thing that fucked me up was erroneous bullshit from the Internet claiming that an orange-pulsing lifeline means you can capture (I don't know what that means, but it doesn't mean you can capture) and the fact that I suffer from constant, unfixable microstutter from lightning SFX in Elder's Recess.

 

[Abu Antar]

10 million units shipped.
http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e180820.html

 

[Blaine]

D_X I forgot to add, I've realized that fully half (or more) of the time we spend hunting a monster is typically occupied with tracking down and chasing the fucking thing from room to room.

10 million units shipped.
http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e180820.html

That's great, but they need to fix the connectivity, graphics, and control issues ASAP.

 

[Damned Registrations]

and versus any monster that can fly, which is quite a lot of them.

True, but charging is still faster than walking, and most weapons are ill equipped to hit something hovering over you. For a lance it's basically the same as fighting a grounded target. I'll concede I'd rather have a ranged setup for the fliers in most cases. I can't be bothered with all the ammo mico management right now though. Killed my first HR Kirin today, need 2 more horns to make a decent spear and finally stop using the stupid Pukei one that has sadly outclassed everything else in the tree up to this point. It's nice that poison isn't total garbage any more but jesus guys, balance your fucking weapons. I got all excited my first Legiana kill dropped a plate and went to make a kick ass ice lance... only to find out they're total shit with no sharpness, mediocre damage and no jewel slots. Wtf.

 

[HoboForEternity]

hunting in MP is alot funner han i thought it would be, if only they work majoority of the time and not the reverse

 

[Blaine]

True, but charging is still faster than walking, and most weapons are ill equipped to hit something hovering over you. For a lance it's basically the same as fighting a grounded target. I'll concede I'd rather have a ranged setup for the fliers in most cases. I can't be bothered with all the ammo mico management right now though. Killed my first HR Kirin today, need 2 more horns to make a decent spear and finally stop using the stupid Pukei one that has sadly outclassed everything else in the tree up to this point. It's nice that poison isn't total garbage any more but jesus guys, balance your fucking weapons. I got all excited my first Legiana kill dropped a plate and went to make a kick ass ice lance... only to find out they're total shit with no sharpness, mediocre damage and no jewel slots. Wtf.

Bows require little to no ammo micromanagement. Feel free to never use the infinite close-range coating, as it requires you to be within spitting distance of the monster and adds, at the very most, 20-25% more damage. In the training area, for example, 9 damage with no coating at zero charge level becomes 11 with the close-range coating; 11x2 damage at the first charge level becomes 13x2; and 14x3 damage at the second charge level becomes 16x3. That may sound like a lot in min-maxing terms, but unless you happen to be Cupid incarnate, the frequent occasions when the monster sways/hip-checks/dives/flips/spins out of the coating's extremely short optimal range more than undermine any potential gains.

As for the rest of the coatings, you can only use 2-3 per bow, so there's not much to manage. Pop on Power if available and use it up ASAP, and pop on status ailment coatings at strategic times.

The bow is obscenely effective against Legiana, Bagel Jews, and Diablos. The HR Legiana armor set and matching Legiana ice bow can obliterate Diablos in record time. My fully-charged LMB spam shots (equivalent to the final hit of a melee combo) were doing 75+ damage to his wings, and those final hits come quite rapidly compared to most other weapons.

Sadly, holding to charge shots is slower and less effective than spamming (spamming also charges shots as you spam), even with the Legiana set bonus that adds a third charge level to bows.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Maybe that's what I'll use that plate for then. Been meaning to pick up a second weapon now that I'm a bit into the HR stuff, and the only other things that really caught my eye were hammers and dual swords. I might switch over to evade lancing as well, because guarding seems kinda shit against a lot of these elder dragon bullshit moves that hit you from behind for a OHKO.

 

[Blaine]

Maybe that's what I'll use that plate for then. Been meaning to pick up a second weapon now that I'm a bit into the HR stuff, and the only other things that really caught my eye were hammers and dual swords. I might switch over to evade lancing as well, because guarding seems kinda shit against a lot of these elder dragon bullshit moves that hit you from behind for a OHKO.

Those are the kinds of monsters I have in mind when you guys talk about gitting gud with the lance. What's the point if the shield becomes useless when you need it most? Every Nergigante video and/or guide for example warns strongly against trying to block or counter his ultimate dive-bomb attack. It's not too difficult to sheathe and do an emergency dive, but you've just had to put your shield away to use a different method to avoid damage. Kirin's lightning bolts will just hit you in the top of the head as you'd expect lightning bolts to do.

I'll grant you though that being able to charge at fleeing ground-bound monsters is a nice benefit. Problem is, that's actually a minority of them because of most areas in Coral Highlands and also because even some ground-bound monsters (Uragaan, Radobaan, and Odoggo spring to mind) move far faster then even a charging lance-user can manage... unless they're limping back to their nests maybe, in which case you're going to capture them anyway, right?

 

[Damned Registrations]

I didn't find Neg's divebomb especially hard to block with Guard 3. It took maybe 1/3 of a stamina bar and did like a potion's worth of damage. And that's with the normal guard, the power guard would basically ignore it. He was pretty easy to deal with once I learned the quirks of his low health phase with all the multi hit bullshit. You can basically guard advance through anything he does. It was Kirin and Bezel I had in mind, and I'm sure the other elders will have some bullshit too. Kirin's kinda a mixed bag though, because it was basically made for lance users to stab it's stupid horn from nearly any position. Other weapons can't really do that. Bezel is definitely like a fucking hard counter for lances though it seems. And Radobaan is a great example of a monster you want the charge for during the battle- any other weapon you need to sheathe and redraw every time he rolls around. And again, even if the monster is escaping faster than you can charge, charging is still way better than running.

As far limping monsters go, that depends on if I'm looking for a part I still need to break. Besides, I generally cap things before they start limping. The red pods give you an excellent measure of how much health a monster has left. I'd run the Kirin set for the capture bonus if it weren't so shit.

 

[Hyperion]

Kirin's Lightning Bolts are an unblockable attack, similar to Rathalos' Talon Grab, Anjanath's munch. You need a Guard Up Decoration, or the 3 piece Uragaan set bonus to successfully block those. Teostra's Supernova falls in this category as well, and I *believe* Beetlejuice's turd nuggets count too, but I can't recall. Vaal Hazak also has 2 or 3 unblockable attacks - his Bad Breath stream that he likes to swipe across the whole battlefield, and the one where he stands up on his hind legs, and crashes down HARD. Not sure about Kushala, she's just a cunt and I'm not looking forward to fighting her with only 3 Flash Pod blasts before she's immune. I stopped playing on the ps4 before Kulve Tarorth, but she has an unblockable attack I think. Deviljho's breath is also considered unblockable, and I do believe he has an unblockable attack that is kinda like Anjanath, but my memory is foggy.

Nergi's divebomb can be blocked without it, but hits so hard that you take significant chip damage, even with Guard 5. Do NOT try to Counter Thrust it, because CT blocks a single hit - Dive Bomb typically hits your shield 3 times because he ejects his spikes as projectiles when he lands. Using Power Guard will prevent getting knocked back during these special attacks, but you'll take more chip damage, since its damage reduction does not scale with the Guard skill like Counter Thrust, Guard Advance, and your basic R2 shield block.

Regarding Radobaan, Charge Blade is the one shield that is more effective against him. With a Charged shield, a properly timed Guard Point will disrupt his roll, and possibly even KO him. Plus, he has so much breakable shit that a single SAED decimates his bones, and opens up weak points for the whole team.

The shield is such a big part of the Lance, and it's a relatively low damage weapon, I don't see why it doesn't get more than just a shitty shield bash for damage. It's my one gripe with the weapon. After using it extensively, I honestly find it hard to use a different weapon anymore because it's the one weapon that actually makes me feel like I'm overpowering the monster by shrugging off everything it throws at me. Plus, I'm lazy and like to stand in one spot.

 

[Hyperion]

The red pods give you an excellent measure of how much health a monster has left

This is correct. First pod drops at 30%, 2nd pod drops at 20%. Monsters can be captured at <20% health. Seeing that 2nd pod drop is the best indicator as to when you should drop your Trap. To be even safer, you can drop 2 tranq bombs before the trap, and they still apply.

Bezel is definitely like a fucking hard counter for lances though it seems.

Beetlejuice is rough on everyone, but I do agree he's one of the nastier bosses with the Lance, just because he's incontinent and you never know when a stray bomb will land right behind you and detonate at the most inopportune time. And he gets tougher once you cut his tail off because now you have to get even closer to hit his safest weak spot. And if you stand under his belly, you're just begging to be Wing Buffeted and stomped. Did a Capture investigation 3x today, found cutting his tail, then just standing somewhere within 90 degrees of his face is about as safe as it'll get, while using the Kadachi Lance. And resist temptation to use Counter Thrust in case of the aforementioned turd nuggets, and opt for the extra chip damage in Power Guard, hold R2, or abuse the fuck out of Guard Advances, which are insane - an evasive hop with your shield out.

 

[Blaine]

I'm not bragging when I say that I didn't find Bagel Jews nearly as difficult as most people seem to. His fairly limited move set is so heavily telegraphed that it's more like a hand-delivered letter than a telegraph message.

He's clearly Japan's revenge on the West for dropping Fat Man and Little Boy during WW2, which explains why he's basically a living B-29 Superfortress. Would you attack a bomber with a stick? You need an anti-aircraft weapon, in this case the bow.

With the bow, you don't even have to sprint, let alone dodge. You can simply trot out of the way of every attack, and shoot up his many large weak points the rest of the time. I barely even get hit doing this. Usually, the fucking pterodactyls do more damage to me than Bagel Jews does. True, occasionally I have the camera away from him for slightly too long at the wrong moment and am instantly killed by an explosive belly flop, but this just presents a handy opportunity to stock back up on ammo.

Despite the current floaty camera situation, mouse control still retains its excellent pinpoint aiming ability, which may explain why console players aren't as keen to use the bow. On PC you can laser off horns, wings, claws, and health bars with remarkable precision.

 

[Damned Registrations]

he's incontinent

Good thing I got that waterproof mantle I suppose.

 

[Blaine]

What are these "red pods" you guys are talking about? The gleaming red slinger ammo drops that show up? I never realized it was the monsters who were dropping them. I always figured they'd broken off some gathering point while shit was flailing around everywhere.

Actually, it's extremely annoying when that slinger ammo is nearby chipped-off monster materials or anything else needful, which it very frequently is. I usually don't want to pick up slinger ammo, possibly replacing a more desirable slinger ammo type. I want the fucking material. Still, it's nice that it's an alternative indicator to skulls and the electrocardiograph.

As long as I'm complaining about little annoyances, lucky vouchers and investigation retries are used up when posting a quest, before anyone leaves town or even readies up. This is obnoxious because sometimes your co-op partner will "fail to join session" (even if they're still in your session) or similar buggy nonsense when trying to join the quest, requiring you to cancel the quest. Any voucher used is lost, and one of the retries is used up. If there's a connection loss during the quest, well, fuck you, basically. Vouchers, retries, points spent on food, etc. are all lost if you choose to abandon and try again. You can always finish the investigation solo of course, versus a monster with ~2.5x HP bloat. Thankfully, since we started using the -nofriendsui -tcp modifier for the Steam executable, dropped connections have become much rarer.

 

[Matalarata]

Thankfully, since we started using the -nofriendsui -tcp modifier for the Steam executable, dropped connections have become much rarer.

Thanks for the tip! Although I'm playing strictly in single atm, I still find the disconnections annoying. I suppose -nofriendsui disables notifications, what does -tcp do? Just curious.

Still getting the hang of this, I wish I had more time to play. I just unlocked the second area and started doing quests there, although before that I took my sweet time and did a fair number of bounties/expeditions to get the hang of the game. Initially I started playing with a controller but I find M+K much better, as it's been pointed out the camera lag is annoying but it still allows for an higher degree of precision, even when flailing dat longsword around like an idiot.
In any case, this game is legit fun. I dunno how it compares to older entries and as such I can't really tell how it feels for the veterans around, but as a total newb discovering things as I go, I'm having a blast!

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

-tcp will most likely force the game to utilize tcp connection oriented protocol which verifies that packets are being sent and recieved, whereas the game defaults to udp which is a connectionless protocol that basically sends packets fast and doesn't care whether or not they get there and retransmissions are regulated by the application itself.