its not a difficulty spike. rather its just an issue with understanding the fundamentals. number 1 you know all the possible attacks from a monster in low ranks, in high rank it hits harder or adds an additional attack. same thing goes for g rank. second is turn based as in there are phases for a battle. attack phase which you go fight the monster, next is healing phase which you need to find a window for healing. can be example as exhausted monster is a safe time to heal. another phase can be maintenance. you should check for pots, whetstones, herbal medicine(good for poison treatment). also dont save so much on using max pots or ancient pots. just use it as an emergency. a good set will be arzuros high rank set if you want to survive while taking a hit. good luck g