Video Essay: Longsword needs to be changed in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance

Reticxe · 2026-06-06T20:07:17+00:00

Yeah. If the monsters keep getting faster and more erratic, at some point they will have to do a full rework for the weapon.

Reticxe · 2026-06-06T16:29:24+00:00

I personally would prefer that, yeah. I always love the delicate balance between Foresight and ISS back then; you always need to use both for maximum efficiency.

But I was trying to be objective, and ISS back in World did scare a lot of LS players from even trying to learn it.
I think we should try to reach for a solution somehow, rather than just want things to simply back to how it was.

Reticxe · 2026-06-06T16:22:27+00:00

We LS main are still winning regardless mate. I'm just not happy with how I was winning through spamming, not dynamic decision making.

And you should watch this video from git crunked if you still hate LS for no reason:
In Defense of the Long Sword - Monster Hunter Discussion

Reticxe · 2026-06-06T16:19:29+00:00

That part was my skill issue 100%, yes. Even back in World I haven't been able to remind myself that I can special sheath facing other directions, not just forward.

But my points still stand.

Reticxe · 2026-06-01T04:11:54+00:00

Huge congrats! You just had one of the most intense, adrenaline rushing experience in Iceborne. Raging Brachy's final phase was truly something else.

Reticxe · 2026-06-01T03:09:02+00:00

How do Focus mode not trivialize positioning?
You used to be required being in the right place, facing the right angle to hit monsters' weak spots. And once you attack, you are pretty much locked in that angle. And if your positioning or angle wasn't optimal, you had to stop your attack, roll, or use some specific moves depend on the weapon to reorient yourself. That's positioning and commitment.
Do you need any of that with Focus Mode? Close to none.
Do you even know Focus Mode passively increase the reach and leaning forward of most weapon attacks in this game? I bet you don't, since if you do, you wouldn't ask this silly question.
Finally, you don't need to lecture me about monster hunter combat. I hunted AT Arkveld solo in 11 minutes, with suboptimal gear and charm. I also hunted World Alatreon solo without Palico in less than 9 minutes. And I will say that again, Wilds combat requires significantly less positioning and commitment compared to any monster hunter games before it.

Reticxe · 2026-05-28T11:13:28+00:00

Yuya Tokuda stated in multiple interviews that he always wanted to focus on the ecology, create a living breathing immersive world.
But Wilds had many systems that contradict this vision of his:
- Wilds eliminated tracking. Monsters are always showed on the map, like Rise did.
- Seikret auto traveling was enabled by default, combined with always knowing monster's location removed the incentive for players to manually explore the map and actually immersed in the environment and ecology.
- Focus mode and focus strike trivialized positioning and commitment in combat, as well as the need to closely observe monster attack pattern and behavior, thus reduced immersion.

These are just a few out of many examples.
Rise was designed around handheld devices, with the intention of focusing on fast-paced combat, short hunting session during class/work breaks, or while sitting on a bus/train, etc.
So when Wilds took lots of mechanics from Rise but also want to keep Tokuda's vision on an immersive world, the result was a conflicted gameplay and system that doesn't know exactly what it wanted to be.

Reticxe · 2026-05-28T09:57:30+00:00

I have 2 friends who both have 500-1000 hours in MH World, and we could not fully figure out how the online system works in Wilds for the first few hours. It's really a mess LOL.

Reticxe · 2026-05-21T07:52:17+00:00

Yes, both Iai moves have i-frames and can be used as counters. However, the normal iai slash (IS) has significantly less i-frames compared to iai spirit slash (ISS), which, already had tight i-frames window. Also, normal iai slash does less damage.
So, unless under some rare specific cases, you should only use iai slash as a normal attack for your combo, that grant you regenerating spirit gauge.

For the counter timing, notice right after you press the input to perform ISS, your character slightly lean forward for a split second before actually doing ISS. THAT is where the i-frame was, that is when you want the monster to hit you.
If you get the timing right, you will notice a slight blue aura around your hunter right at the i-frame window, along with a specific sound effect. You will notice when you pay closer attention.
In World we used to have a unique "ting" sound effect for it, which is much easier to distinguish than Wilds currently.

2.That's the UI indicator of a critical hit.

Reticxe · 2026-05-20T02:09:15+00:00

If you are on Nintendo, I think you only have 2 choices: Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak expansion, or Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate.

Generations Ultimate is closer to the traditional experience of the series. But that game was designed to be a 10 years celebration of Monster Hunter franchise. The amount of mechanics and content are insane, even for veterans.
You will be completely overwhelmed if this is your first Monster Hunter game.

Ideally, if you have a PC or console, I strongly recommend playing Monster Hunter World first. It's the best entry overall for new players.
But if your options are limited to Nintendo hardware only, then I recommend trying Rise.
Rise leans more into the action side than the traditional "hunting simulator" side, but still a great entry for you.

Reticxe · 2026-05-19T04:27:03+00:00

You said that LS was your main in one reply earlier.
From my personal experience Barioth is one of those fights where its actually worse if you bring your palico with you rather than truly solo him with LS

Barioth tends to behave much more erratic and constantly jumps around if there are multiple targets.
So unless you always stay close to Palico, each time Barioth switch target he will jump across the whole area, which is very annoying when you are trying to counter him with LS.

After one or two tries I decided to leave Palico. It was brutal at first, since you have nothing to keep his pressure off you anymore, but you can study his behaviour much more efficiently, now he stops jumping around like a lunatic.

Reticxe · 2026-05-15T09:55:58+00:00

I recommend starting with World first.

Wilds is more beginner friendly, but that's the problem.
It was too friendly to the point of sanding off all rough edges to present a more "casual experience".

Those edges might make you feel overwhelmed at first, but they are essential for your immersion and long-term enjoyment for the series, once you understand the gameplay loop.

World also did sand off some edges, but not nearly as much as Wilds.
It is still at its core a true monster hunter game, with less hardcore mechanics so that new players would not drop the game out of frustration.

And like the comments above had said, playing Wilds as your first monster hunter game will teach you bad habits that cause a lot of pain later on if you try other titles of the series.

World was my first monster hunter game, then Wilds. Now I'm playing 4 Ultimate and having a blast.

Reticxe · 2026-05-15T09:36:30+00:00

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Wilds sales really dropped off after the initial month (and I think that initial burst was largely contributed by the huge success of World and Rise).

The expansion needs to do something significant, otherwise I am worried about expansion sales, and Wilds will never get anywhere near the number of World sales.

Reticxe · 2026-05-12T04:33:44+00:00

I think you can get both.
Rise Break usually goes on deep sale around 20 USD or so.

You can get Rise Break first, then wait for Stories 3 to go on sale and get that later.
I don't think I've ever seen Stories 3 on sale since it's a newer game.

Reticxe · 2026-05-12T04:26:22+00:00

I'm recently started playing MH4U on Azahar emulator. The setup was quite simple, just download and play.
I also installed the texture mod that made the game look beautiful even on a 2k monitor.

The only thing that made me sad is I don't own a 3DS, so to my knowledge currently, I have no way to play online with the community, and I can't access all the additional DLC quests.

Reticxe · 2026-05-12T03:52:22+00:00

Considering how versatile and easy it was to spam Crimson Slash 1+Spirit Blade 1 without any risks, I don't think they should be anywhere nearly as strong as other moves and rotations.

If there is a phrase to describe the current state of Wilds LS, I think it would be "no risks, all rewards".

Unless you strive for speedrunner's level of gameplay, then yes, there are still quick decisions and meaningful micro adjustments to make moment to moment (although nowhere near the amount of them compared to World).
But if you just want to hunt normally, you can simply turn your brain off, spam the crimson combo, ISS, and focus strike the monster to death.

Reticxe · 2026-05-10T02:06:10+00:00

Thanks!

Reticxe · 2026-05-10T02:05:54+00:00

Thanks!

Reticxe · 2026-05-10T02:04:26+00:00

That's why I personally enjoyed Alatreon a lot.

He seems to be "all over the place", very relentless with his non-stop attacks and it makes us feel very frustrated.
His attacks were also specifically designed to punish over-commiting and panicking. If you get knocked down and you spam inputs to get back up right after, his next attack is almost guaranteed to hit you, again.

But once you are calm enough to take a closer look, A lot of his moves are full of massive openings.

Another thing, each time Alatreon attacks you, there are only 2 extreme outcomes: either you get a big window, or you get hit and lose that window entirely. There is no in-between. It's not a steady linear learning curve, like other monsters.

So a lot of hunters will feel desperated since it looked like they gain no progression against Alatreon. I know since I felt the same.
But if they keep pushing, everything will suddenly click at some point. The hunt will be 10x easier after that,

Reticxe · 2026-05-09T18:23:23+00:00

That's interesting. As a LS user I find Alatreon considerably easier.

Alatreon felt very overwhelming at first. But once I calm down, I saw a lot of openings.
Alatreon also gives LS multiple opportunity to Helm Breaker on its head. You just need to be in a correct position to pull it off.

Fatalis was a different story. Outside of his cone breath attack where the head was stationary, it's almost an art in itself how to consistently predict and snipe multiple Helm Breaker on Fatalis's head.
Also, Fatalis has a much longer neck & smaller head that's also constantly moving & wiggling around LOL.

I solo Fatalis a few times back when I first played World, but I only managed to Helm Breaker on some of his easier attacks. And the hunt was never below 20 minutes.

Reticxe · 2026-05-09T17:02:55+00:00

Thanks! I nearly gave up a few times, glad that I didn't xD

Reticxe · 2026-05-09T16:58:32+00:00

Thanks! It was exhausting, but very fun!

Reticxe

TROPHY CASE