Monster Hunter Wilds: Weapon Changes Revealed by Developers - IGN First

As the excitement builds for each new release in the Monster Hunter series, fans eagerly anticipate how their favorite weapons will feel in the upcoming game. With 14 distinct weapon types, each brings its unique flair to the table, adapting to the evolving design of every title. Monster Hunter: World broke new ground by eliminating segmented areas during quests, while Monster Hunter Rise introduced the innovative Wirebug action. In the latest installment, Monster Hunter Wilds, the focus is on creating a seamless hunting experience. How have these weapons been tuned to align with this concept?

To delve into these crucial gameplay elements, we had the privilege of speaking with Kaname Fujioka, the art director and executive director of Monster Hunter Wilds, and Yuya Tokuda, the director of Wilds. Fujioka, who directed the original Monster Hunter, and Tokuda, a veteran since Monster Hunter Freedom, provided insights into the development and adjustments made to the weapons for this new title.

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During our interview, we explored the concepts and development processes behind the weapons, gaining new insights into the adjustments made for the game's release version following feedback from the November 2024 Open Beta Test.

Adjustments for a Seamless World

Tokuda explained that significant changes were necessary for several weapons due to the shifts in the gameplay loop introduced by Wilds' seamless map and dynamic weather conditions. "There are a number of large changes to the Light and Heavy Bowgun, as well as the Bow," he noted. Historically, ranged weapons in Monster Hunter relied on consumable ammo and coatings, which posed a challenge in Wilds without designated restocking intervals.

"That's why we designed it so that basic damage sources can be used without expending resources," Tokuda elaborated. "We balanced it around the idea that things like normal, pierce, and spread ammo for Bowguns and coatings for Bows can fire unlimited times while managing your gauge. But we still wanted it to be possible to use what you’ve prepared ahead of time or what you find in the field on top of that, and so our balancing took into account the presence of design that allows you to create powerful ammo with attributes from gathered materials."

These adjustments were made with Wilds' new elements and overall game concept in mind, with ranged weapon changes being particularly notable. Fujioka added that these changes extended beyond mechanics into the realm of design, aiming to visually enhance the player's experience. "We had the idea of wanting to properly show the movement of charging a Bowgun for a special shot," he said. "Shots that cancel out a monster's attack look properly convincing as they perform that canceling. Ever since the previous game in the series, we've put a lot of work into making it visually clear to the player what they're doing in the moment."

Advancements in technology have enabled these detailed animations, enhancing transitions between actions and allowing hunters to engage more naturally with the game environment. Tokuda emphasized the importance of these natural interactions: "One common concept shared by all weapons is that we made sure it's possible for hunters to use them in a natural way given the situation at the moment. Our goal was to do this particularly when you can't make any inputs."

In previous games, using a healing item required stowing your weapon and stopping movement, but thanks to improved animations, this has changed in Wilds. Fujioka highlighted the new Focus Mode, which allows continuous attacks while moving slightly off-center from your target: "The Focus Mode that we added to Wilds is something we put a lot of work into when it comes to action. You can move while facing a specified direction, making continuous attacks possible while on the move but slightly off-center from your target. Players can properly go in the direction they want. We wanted to make a game that made possible the image players have in their minds about how they want to play."

Focus Strikes

Wilds introduces a new system where hunters can wound a monster by continuously attacking a specific spot on its body. The formation of a wound generally depends on the damage dealt to that area, with environmental elements and monster interactions playing a role. When it comes to player weapons, wounds form due to accumulated damage, resulting in no differences between weapon types in this regard.

Hunters can then deal massive damage to wounded monsters using Focus Strikes in Focus Mode. Each weapon type has unique animations for these strikes, creating the appearance of different abilities. Tokuda addressed whether different weapons have varying Focus Strike effects beyond the visuals: "For Focus Strikes, we wanted to have animations that show each weapon's uniqueness. But I admit that this also created a variation between weapons during the open beta test where some were far too strong, while feeling the strengths of others was difficult. Though we do allow differences between weapons in order to give them personality, we don't want the disparity between weapons to be too extreme, and so we're tuning them to be more standardized for the official release of the game."

The wound system offers hunters new strategic options. For instance, a hammer attack to the head can create a wound, allowing for a powerful Focus Strike. However, once a wound turns into a scar, it cannot be wounded again, prompting hunters to target other body parts or use environmental elements strategically. Tokuda explained that this system adds depth to the hunting experience: "Monsters are unwounded when a quest begins, but you can hunt monsters as you explore the locale in Wilds, so as the situation in the locale changes, monsters can have turf wars even without a hunter's involvement. This means that a monster may already have multiple wounds by the time it interacts with the player. You can think yourself lucky and hunt a monster when it's in that state. There may also be special additional rewards for felling monsters wandering the locale. In some cases, there are even monsters that give gems as additional rewards."

The introduction of Focus Mode and wounds has made it easier to land devastating attacks, like the Great Sword's Charged Slash. Tokuda discussed whether changes were made to monster health and toughness to balance these new features: "It's not as if that was our intention from the start, but health did end up being a little bit higher than World once we thought about maintaining appropriate playtimes and player satisfaction, compared to past titles. Elements like flinch resistance are also higher, but this doesn't mean that hunts will be tedious. Part of the purpose of Focus Mode is to allow players to feel more accomplished through shorter loops. We tried to design it so that the time they spend hunting is even more concentrated than before."

The Tempo of the Great Sword

Tuning the 14 weapon types involves extensive development work. Tokuda shared that the team includes multiple planners responsible for player experience: "There are some staff members who oversee multiple weapon types, which ultimately makes for about six individual planners, who are responsible for player experience. We don't just have game designers, of course. We include artists and animation designers to discuss details like what kinds of movements would be good and how that may mean a weapon could be better off used in a different way as we polish the weapons. We didn't have staff members assigned to weapons from the start; their number grows as development progresses. We generally begin by developing the Great Sword as a prototype, then verify weapons like the Sword and Shield and Heavy Bowgun, applying the knowledge we get from there to the other weapons as we create them."

The Great Sword serves as a benchmark for animation development. Fujioka explained the team's excitement around Focus Strikes: "Attacks like the Focus Strike didn't exist in the series before, so now that we had this new form of expression available to us, we began by coming up with ideas while focusing on making it feel good over anything performance related. The Great Sword is an all-rounder weapon, so we generally begin with it when creating animations. It's one of the first weapons we created for the original Monster Hunter, and there's a strong sense of wanting to challenge ourselves with the Great Sword first. We felt excited when we first made the Focus Strike for the Great Sword, thinking that if we were able to create something that feels this good, we'd be able to do even more with the other weapons."

Tokuda elaborated on the Great Sword's role in the game's design: "I feel like weapons with a sense of heavy tempo like the Great Sword are rare in other action games. That's why it's a Monster Hunter standard to begin by making sure that the Great Sword is fun to use. The concepts for the other weapons come together in part by placing the Great Sword at the center and seeing how we can differentiate each of the other weapons from it. I guess you could say that once you're used to the game, you'll have noticed that the Great Sword is the most rounded of them all. While the speed of weapons like the Dual Blades or the Sword and Shield will always result in there being technical elements needed in order to earn damage in small ways, you're able to go straight to defeating a monster once you're good at using the Great Sword's style as it exists. It can even block, it has area of effect attacks, and it can create moments where you can deal solid damage. It's actually made so that you can go back and forth with a monster in the most straightforward way if you can just get used to its weight."

Fujioka added, "Creating a game that's fun to play using the Great Sword's weight makes it easier to create weapons that fight with a quicker tempo. If high-tempo weapons become the focus, or if we match the speed of the monsters to them, movements will just get quicker and quicker. I think that we're able to create a game that feels like Monster Hunter when you play it by making sure that both sides are properly tuned with a weapon that has the Great Sword's tempo."

Weapons with Personality

Every hunter has a preferred weapon, and the community often voices strong opinions about weapon balance. Fujioka discussed the approach to weapon design: "We always think that it's better to focus on how to design what makes a weapon unique rather than trying to make all weapons equally easy to use. That said, we do think it's a problem if players can't have the gaming experience we want them to have. Of course, it's not a good thing to have a weapon that's both easy to use and overpowered, so there are weapons we've made a lot of changes to for the release version of the game given what we saw in the open beta."

Tokuda used the Hunting Horn as an example of emphasizing a weapon's unique characteristics: "At the outset, I told the team that I wanted the concept of this weapon to be that it can produce proper amounts of damage when used where it performs best, the area around you. Instead of being able to unleash one attack after the next, you can use something like an Echo Bubble to deal damage by controlling the area. Since we have this element of sound that other weapons can't produce, how do we make use of that while outputting damage? That's the kind of thing we challenged ourselves to do with the weapon. Instead of thinking that it's all about damage, we care more about making the most out of each weapon's personality."

With the ability to carry two weapons in Wilds, the developers have been careful to balance their use: "Now that you're able to carry two weapons in this game, there was some discussion during the open beta about the most powerful choice being to buff yourself with the Hunting Horn before switching to another weapon and fighting. We're tuning the release version, balancing with the end content in mind, to make sure that the Hunting Horn isn't the only choice for a secondary weapon by having self-buffs be worthwhile but not too strong."

The developers acknowledge that certain weapons will perform better or worse against specific monsters, but they strive to maintain the unique identities of each weapon and monster. Fujioka noted, "While I think that weapons that stand at the top in terms of time efficiency—ease of use and ease of hunting—are going to see more popularity, we have made it so that if you really care about a weapon type, you'll be able to beat a monster through enough trial and error."

Tokuda added, "Even if you have somewhat specialized weapons, it'd make me happy if players brought two in order for them to complement one another as they play."

Build Your Own Skills

The decoration system plays a significant role in endgame content, affecting skill builds. Tokuda explained how decorations function in Wilds: "Decorations are currently similar to the system in World, with decorations having specific skill abilities. These skills are still activated by placing them into weapon or armor slots (In Wilds, weapon and armor skills can each be activated separately). However, you can make single-skill decorations through something like alchemy. So in Wilds, players won't have the issue of never being able to get a specific skill."

Fujioka shared a personal anecdote about his experience with the decoration system in World: "I never ended up getting it once. My Shield Jewel 2... I ended up finishing the game without having completed my build."

When asked about their favorite weapons, Tokuda revealed his preference for long-range weapons like the Heavy Bowgun and Light Bowgun, and the Sword and Shield for its versatility in demonstrating monster actions and movements. He looks forward to trying all the weapons post-release, now that hunters can carry two. Fujioka, on the other hand, is a Lance enthusiast: "I'm a Lance main, or rather, I only use the Lance. I think that the Lance is a weapon where positioning is very important, as you stick to a monster's feet or some other part. Until now, you had to perform this kind of positioning by walking or sidestepping, but in Wilds it's now a lot easier to make minor adjustments, like shifting over slightly as you attack. It's a simple change, but it's important for players to have more choices, so in that sense I think that's one of the positives for Lance users in this game."

During the open beta, the Lance received significant feedback, prompting major tweaks for the official release. Tokuda shared, "We received a lot of feedback during the open beta test, and to be honest, one of the largest reactions we got was that the Lance isn't embodying its concept as a weapon. Our intention was for players to guard in a variety of ways, sticking to a monster as required and counterattacking. But there were a lot of actions that weren't working properly, such as it being hard to use and perform the right action at the right time, actions going off by mistake, actions coming out late, and so on. Surrounded by so many other actions that worked properly, it ended up feeling like a pretty dull weapon. We're now making major improvements to this for the release version, and we hope you look forward to that."

The Monster Hunter Wilds development team continues to refine the game, taking player feedback seriously to ensure the best possible experience. Their dedication to the series and its community is evident in their ongoing efforts to balance and enhance the game's mechanics. The passion of the players, combined with the developers' relentless pursuit of excellence, keeps Monster Hunter an unparalleled action game series.

For a deeper look into the changes and enhancements made in response to player feedback, check out the official detailed community update video from the Monster Hunter Wilds developers, where Tokuda discusses performance enhancements and detailed weapon changes.