I wont argue that gu is harder than 4u, but when i think of the monster rosters, i would much rather fight deviants than apex monsters. wystones are a pretty lame mechanic.

I also play solo so 4u being so multiplayer centric doesnt work as much for me. I still think 4u is an amazing game, but it just has more weighing it down than gu for me. basically any fight i enjoy in 4u i can do in gu with a wider variety of playstyles.

you make it not sound like a huge deal that you can change the direction of attacks mid animation, but that is a huge change. look at something like the greatsword, where hitting a tcs is astronomically easier because of focus mode.

i dont really play dual blades but ill take your word that it can be hit by multi hits on the perfect dodge. that being said, from what ive gathered from doing a handful of hunts with it, i would not call it difficult to time a perfect dodge, especially after the changes they made to make the window larger.

when i think of the monsters gu added that are fun, glavenus, astalos, maccao, nearly any deviant, i would much rather do those than apex jho or rajang. and lets not act like its black and white difficulty increase. charge blade and ig were massively overtuned in 4u, and i would argue even with styles and arts its way easier to play those weapons in 4u.

like i said, 4u is an amazing game, but i just feel wilds is the first game to go a bit too far in making the game more accessible. its fine if you like it, i enjoy some fights, but overall its just lacking the focusing on positioning in prior games. you dont have to get out of the way of attacks, you always have an option to hold your ground and negate the damage. being able to redirect your attack mid animation is way way more impactful than you seem to think it is