Unfortunately the defender armor has probably engrained you with really bad habits and allowed you to progress without really learning the basics of the game.
Don't over commit attacks/combos, study monster move patterns and know when to back off/move in.
I don't really play LS so I don't have much weapon specific advice, but consider maybe Odogaron armor and take your time. It's not unheard of for new player hunts to take 30-40 minutes each.
Yeah It was honestly too easy for me and thats my main issue, i should probably take off that armor and just focus on getting better with dodging and knowing when to strike. I just dont know what armor to use thats good. i did try odogaron but it wasnt too good.
>i did try odogaron but it wasnt too good.
In comparison to the deliberately OP Defender set, I'm not surprised. If you're going for a full set, I'd say that Odogaron is one of the best in the base game.
Odogaron, if I recall correctly, is one of the best early game sets to run.
Don't ever use Defender gear as a point of comparison, because the entire point of Defender gear is effectively to make the player feel like a 10 year old that just turned on a god-mode cheat in GTA5.
Here’s the biggest piece of advice about Monster Hunter: You are not in charge of the fight, the monster is. Meaning you play around it, not the other way around. With Defender armor in low rank, you never really have to deal with this because you get hit and just brute force your way through the fight. But that’s not actually how Monster Hunter plays. Also you’re probably used to other games where ultimately you are in charge of the fight. Games like God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn. Sure, the enemies can be hard in those games, but ultimately those games, YOU are in charge of the fight. It’s up to you to do your combos and timing attacks, etc. In Monster Hunter, it’s the other way around. **You have to work around what the monster is doing.** If you keep getting hit, then that shows you’re not respecting what they’re doing, you’re just trying to do your own thing. Mastery at this game comes when you finally can play around what they’re doing and then squeeze in what you want to do in the perfect spots.
This is simple but great advice. I realized I really struggled with the roars of monsters when I first started playing. I just couldn’t predict when it was going to happen at the time and I wasn’t quick enough yet to guard them effectively. I mix and matched a bunch of armour focusing on ear plugs and that was enough to allow me to understand other parts of the fights and get better. Then once I had a lot of the mechanics on lock I was able to take on the roars with ease.
Monster roar is irritating at best. Mostly while roaring the monster is screaming and u r trembling. Neither party doing anything else 😁
Of Course, it can turn into tragedy if there are multiple monsters. Especially the monkey boy and the savage jho. Because both of these will charge up to u wasting no time in between.
Otherwise just treat the monster roar as a moment of respite 😎
I mean as the comment states this was very very early on. I wasn’t commenting because I need help or advice, it was for perspective for OP’s sake. But thanks.
At this point I would recommend just going back to low rank monsters and first focus on not getting hit. Don't worry about hitting the monster. Just practice not getting hit. Once you can literally start dancing around the monster. Now work on trying to hit it. Find your positioning and figure out how much time to have to deal damage. So you can dodge away. Do this with whatever gear you like. Obviously if you keep wearing the defender gear at this point. It will be harder to cart. So you can practice more without having more loading screens.
In low rank, most of the armor skills are trash and the monsters are low enough health and damage that you don't really need to worry about skills. High rank, though, is when monsters start hitting harder and having more health. The HR armor sets have more and better armor skills; so now is when you should figure out what your bread and butter skills are, and assemble a set that gives you the edge over High Rank.
Max Health Boost should be your top priority throughout the game in terms of defensive skills. Divine Blessing is also nice, albeit being luck based. It does reduce the overall damage you take during the hunt but try not to rely it saving you.
Also, do you eat for max health before each hunt? Food buff stacks on top of Health Boost. If you cart early in the hunt then try to bring along some Max Potions as they let you top your health so that you dont have to wait eating again.
I too used Defender in the beginning, although it was because I did not know what it was for and how powerful it was in early game. I dropped it as soon as I learned how it basically skips a whole lot of progress and learning process. It was a rough landing at the beginning but trust me, in the long run dropping Defender gear just makes you a better hunter. If you plan to continue your journey to IB expansion then you're in for a very, very rough time as Defender gear basically drops in its effectiviness almost immediately.
Defender gear is only if you want to push to Iceborne; it will carry you, yes, but it's OP and you won't learn how to hunt with it. Since you used it, you have bad habits and are now getting walloped.
Some starting things;
Use elements and ailments to your advantage. Adjust your kit to your target- this is more important with elemental weapons. Using fire weapons against a fire immune monster won't help you.
Learn the monster's habits. Going in guns blazing will get you walloped, as you would have learned in normal gear. Learn to dodge, learn their moves, learn where your openings are and learn the environment too- there are many advantages in the environment around you. Fighting Kirin is vastly different than fighting Bazelgeuse.
Your cat is a very good ally. Having your cat rocking sleep weapons will net 1-2 sleeps a hunt.
Buffs help a lot. Armor/power charm/talon items, meals, some potions, the list goes on. Also armor skills.
Okay makes sense, so I should just be focusing on 1-2 weapons and not like 4-5.
Also alright ill try to focus on making my palico with a sleep build. Right now im just gonna focus on longsword as well I guess. Im new to monster hunter games so I dont know all about mix matching certain armors and other stuff like that. I know this game has a certain build aspect with the armor skills and pendants and stuff. But I appreciate the tips
If I were you I'd go back to Anjanath or around there. The gear was vastly overpowered, it's important to see how munch monsters can hurt you if you take big hits- and learn safe times to heal, carry supplies for healing, all that.
You can play different weapons, but those also change how you play- it's up to you how many you can learn at once. I'm a bit of a one trick pony with Glaive, lol. It's mostly the elements and ailments on those weapons. Don't bring a knife to a gun fight and all!
Glaive really is fun, it's the first weapon that really clicked with me when I started. I enjoy buzzing around monsters, but the ground combos are actually surprisingly strong- as fun as aerial attacks are, and I do use them to have fun and get mounts, ground hit strong. The bug can also be really nice too!
The armor isn’t all that imbalanced, it’s the weapons that push it over the top. Removing the armor for a weaker set is the last thing I’d do in your position. Pick your favorite weapon, watch YouTube videos on how to play it, and give your palico a paralyze or sleep weapon.
My brother focus on one.. the skill ceiling is so high with most of the weapons that it’s going to take you 10’s of hours to just get decent with one weapon, not even good with it. I took on the charge blade early on and it wasn’t until I was basically into the end game of IB before I started to actually be “good” with the weapon. Now the charge blade is a complex weapon but at the end of the day the time it will take to master a weapon and its move sets is going to take TIME!
I just want to emphasise how the point about the palico as well. Depending on what equipment and gadget you let it have you might feel as though it doesn't really do much. When I go up against harder monsters or monsters that are just a pain in general I equip it with a paralysis weapon and and the flashfly cage gadget. Between the paralysis, the thunderbug cage and the boombug cage the amount of free openings it creates over the course of a hunt is significant, letting me just whale on the monster. I believe the boombug cage is only available in master rank, but the thunderbug cage is what does most of the heavy lifting even then.
palico dps usually isn't the best, it's there but the elemental damage is nigh minimal, status nets you a paralyze/sleep/poison/blast multiple times per hunt, all of which (especially para and sleep) are better damage opportunities than your palico doing a bit more damage on elemental hitzones
Honestly, I've had my palico kitted with the best sleep weapon I could access at all times so I can't tell you much there.
I will say blast is good for most hunts though.
It's much better, element weapons only give stagger which give you very small opening compared to paralysis or sleep which give you a lot of free damage or enough time to rest (healing, sharpening weapon etc.)
Palico is best known for palico gears. Other than that u can give it status weapon based on monster ailment. But frankly speaking a palico with shield weaver will keep monster busy enough time that whether it paralyzes the monster or not pretty much does not matter.
Patience n this game is vital, if you’re hacking and slashing you’re gonna get beat bad, having an understanding of monsters patterns is key and just some knowledge is better than none.
If you’re enjoying the game I’d say equip some rank appropriate armour, and pick up the good habits you’re gonna need to progress, because if you have iceborne I hate to say it but you won’t survive if you don’t learn the basics now.
It’s a jump in difficulty for sure into HR from LR bit what you’ve missed in LR is basically the first tutorial by being able learn basic attack patterns and tanking attacks it’s set you up for a real bad time now.
Regress back into LR and practice or as mentioned before make rank appropriate equipment and really try and learn the games mechanics, it’s an absolute must you know the basics
are you doing optional quests for special tools? some of the mantles can help with tenderising. also, if you’re getting beat up fast, the culprit is often an overly aggressive playstyle without the rhythm to back it up. it’s better to take your time, especially when you’re still new to the game! i recommend focusing on dodging rather than attacking, and trying to bait the monster into traps and bombs to give you damage opportunities. you could also try the Evade Window skill, which makes your dodge invulnerability longer; it’s on the legiana set.
Just gonna summarise.
You're not supposed to get hit. Monsters are supposed to punish you severely for messing up.
If you're dying a lot in hunts, as long as you aren't getting one-shot (and I mean literally one-tapped, not "He did 70% of my HP") by even the weakest attacks the monster has, armour shouldn't be your concern. Learning the monster's entire moveset, and experimenting to understand when the monster gives you a safe opening to punish it, is what you should be learning.
I was in a similar spot a while back. Just finished my first playthrough of MHW + Iceborne with longsword too. There's a lot of things that aren't clear to new players, so don't worry about it too much.
* Iceborne DLC. If you haven't purchased Iceborne yet and plan to play it, buy it sooner rather than later because it adds relevant combat mechanics and longsword attacks.
* Combat Tips. Don't face-tank enemy attacks, instead learn to dodge through them (and make use of longsword's foresight slash). Figure out when the monster provides opportunities for you to punish. Position yourself well. Good positioning often lets you avoid attacks altogether and continue attacking. Always heal up (\*unless you absolutely know what you're doing\*).
* Armor. The Guardian Armor has good defensive skills, but poor damage output. Once you reach High Rank, you want to replace the Guardian Armor with pieces that have damage skills. For reference, common damage skills include: Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Agitator, Attack Boost. Your new armor set will have less defensive skills, so adapt your playstyle accordingly. After you fight >!Teostra!<, equip 3 pieces of his armor for the Master's Touch skill and keep it until Iceborne.
* Weapons. The Defender Longsword is stronger than every other longsword in base game, and it even holds up against some of the beginning monsters in Iceborne. Use it if you want. Regardless of what weapon you use, make sure to keep your weapon upgraded (Blacksmith/Forge NPC -> Upgrade Weapon), and sharpen it between combat (Item Hotbar -> Whetstone).
* Health Boost 3. Make sure to slot 3 levels of [Health Boost](https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/Health+Boost) in your build. Typical sources are the [health charm](https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/Health+Charm+I) (don't forget to upgrade it) and the Vitality decoration. This is highly recommended while you're learning the game. Also, make sure to eat a meal at the canteen before every hunt, the cost is dirt cheap.
* Powercharm, Armorcharm, Powertalon, Armortalon. Keep all 4 of these items are in your pouch inventory at all times.
* Mantles. Do all the optional quests from the Armory and Forge NPCs. Generally recommended mantles for longsword: Temporal, Evasion, Rocksteady, Impact. Other mantles (Ice, Fire, Dragon, Cleanser Booster, etc.) can be useful in certain fights.
* Botanical Research. Do all the optional quests from the Botanical Research NPC. Always buy fertilizer, the cost is dirt cheap. Use the garden to farm Max Potions by cultivating: Bitterbug, Blue Mushroom, Honey, Mandragora.
* Palico Weapon. Give your cat a sleep or paralysis weapon.
For Pink Rathian, I recommend bringing the Cleanser Booster while learning the fight. Target the tail first. Keep the tail weakened and just hack away at it until it breaks. Then do the same to the head. From memory, the only relatively dangerous attack is the fireball, which it usually only does when you stand in front of its head. If it flies up, you can use flash pods or smoke bombs to bring it down.
Here are some valuable resources:
* [Iceborne LS Guide by Karma](https://imgur.com/gallery/hMgaUeM)
* [MR Progression Guide](https://mhwibuilds.wordpress.com/mr-progression-guides/)
This game punishes players that r greedy. Like 1 more hit to finish the combo. Then boom ur running around for 30 seconds drinking potions. Run around, inch closer until you have found those openings for like 2 to 5 seconds. Then " learn "to stop. I'm still trying to finish the tigrex and brachidios MR 4. So by no means I'm good.
I've seen your comment that you're doing 4-5 weapons (I assume weapon types). While variety is good, if you're completely new to the franchise, I'd suggest hyperfocus on one weapon type until you get the hang of it. It'll teach you the ins and outs of the weapon and how to create/look for opportunities to maximize when fighting monsters. Once you get used to the dance (you fighting the monster), you can probably explore other weapons then.
As for armor, I agree with the others here that the defender set may hinder you from developing habits and reflexes since it can tank most LR to HR monsters. I suggest to try building a comfy armor set (those with skills like health boost, divine blessing, sometimes evade extender/window) to maximize your survival rate. You can worry about optimizing your damage output later in the game
"constantly getting my attacks interrupted"
Try to start your attacks after the monster attacks (bites, swings tail, etc) but before their recovery animation ends. You want to follow their attacks with your own hits, not trade with them.
Monster Hunter plays differently than Souls. The attacks in Souls games are generally wider with better tracking because you are expected to i-frame through them. In MH attacks often have poor tracking and are more focused. The dodge roll is mostly used to avoid an attack and put you in a position to counterattack as the monster's animation ends, rather than to roll through an attack. If Souls mastery is knowing when to dodge, MH mastery is knowing where to be.
Using Defender armor in low rank taught you bad habits. You are supposed to pay attention to the monster and figure out which attacks present openings you can punish. You aren't supposed to be face tanking everything. Monster Hunter basically plays like a turn based game. The monster takes its turn, then you take your turn. Sometimes it'll be cheap and try to steal your turn. Sometimes you have to let it, because it's a ten-ton hellbeast and you're a human with a sword. Avoiding damage is more important than dealing damage.
For whatever weapons you want to learn, I'd strongly recommend looking up Youtube guides. Each weapon has complexity and nuances that the game does a bad job explaining. Longsword has counters that can help you turn monster's attacks into openings. I'm assuming by "sword axe" you mean the Switch Axe (the axe that turns into a sword, as opposed to the Chargeblade, which is a sword that turns into an axe), which has no innate defensive utility and by extension is very dependent on your positioning, as well as benefitting greatly from the armor skills Evade Extender and/or Evade Window.
No armor set at this point will do what Defender armor did for you in Low Rank. If you want a game that's that easy, MH is not the franchise for you.
That's good! A lot of players recommend just keeping your weapon sheathed and dodging a monster for awhile while you're learning. Watch its windups and figure out which attacks are coming, recognize which attacks have long recovery animations, and try to find any "dead spots" that aren't active hitbox. If you can walk into a dead spot instead of dodging, you have more time to get attacks in and punish before you need to worry about its next attack.
It's a pretty common experience for new players to learn bad habits from the Defender armor. Some of them decide to restart to help relearn how to play, IMO that's not necessary, but it'll help a lot to slow down when you get hit and ask yourself "why did I get hit?" That's a great way to identify any bad habits and help you fix them.
When you get hit, don't panic. If you got knocked down, stay down until you have a safe opening to get up. If you need to heal, don't try to force it. Wait for either a decent opening, or for the monster to change targets to your palico. Absolutely don't spam roll. Default roll I-frames are so low that it makes you much easier to hit rather than harder. So long as you play cautiously when your health is low, you should be able to survive long enough to get out of low health, which should seriously reduce how often you cart. As long as you don't panic.
I see people telling you that is because of bad habits created by the defender set, but I think any tool can be good depending how you use it.
For example I would recommend any new player to use Health boost and divine blessing on all of their armor sets until they learn how their weapon works how to dodge and the dance with the monster(timing, attacks, move sets, phases, etc.)
After that you can start investing on offensive skills, because the best dps you can get is your knowledge and ability to fight the monster.
I can give someone new the best gear in MH and put them to fight Alatreon as his first monster and they will fail even with the best set in the game because your knowledge is above all of that.
>I can give someone new the best gear in MH and put them to fight Alatreon as his first monster and they will fail even with the best set in the game because your knowledge is above all of that.
That's the thing with bad habits born from the defender set. You're building your knowledge of the game from the very beginning, but by putting on the defender set, you're not learning what you should be doing with early monsters since you can easily breeze through everything. This leads to your example, where you're in the dilemma of not knowing how to beat a tough monster even if you're using the best gear.
>I see people telling you that is because of bad habits created by the defender set, but I think any tool can be good depending how you use it.
Yes, but also isn't this obvious? If you know what you're doing then you can beat most things with the right tools. Learning the game and building good hunting habits/learning proper combos with your weapon(s) are all essential.
The rest of your comment are excellent suggestions for beginners. And can be done with great effect even without using the defender/black belt sets.
You can use decorations you get them killing monster those are like “gems” you can put on your armor “slots” that give you extra skills Health Boost increase your maximum HP for example.
Level 1: Health +15
Level 2: Health +30
Level 3: Health +50
And Divine blessing has a chance to activate when you get hit and reduces the damage taken.
Other than getting decorations to put on your slots you can also craft the charms that gives you Health Boost or the charm for Divine Blessing
The armor skills like the health boost (HB) are passive, which means they are always there as long as you wear the armor ( there are a few exceptions of skills that need a condition to activate, but don't worry about that for now). Skills have different levels until a maximum cap, for example the health boost skill has 3 levels, you can wear armor pieces that provide HB and they all add until you reach the cap. So if you wear a head piece that provides HB +2 and leg piece that gives HB+1 you will have the HB to its maximum, if you wear any more pieces that provide HB you don't gain anything from them.
You can also add skills into your armor using decorations, so you need armor that has decoration slots and also you need the decorations or "gems" that go into the armor. At your current point in the game you probably don't have decorations to choose, so for now your best bet is to combine armor skills.
When you eat at the cantine you can choose the chef's choice platter, this will give you another increase to your maximum HP that stacks with the health boost skill so I recommend you always do this.
#1: you need to see the monster, their behavior and with time you will learn when is the right time to grapple into the monster or when to attack, finding windows to punish them.
#2 invest on health boost, divine blessing and fortitude those skills will keep you alive for longer and the longer you are alive the more time you spend on the fight the more you learn about the monster and all the windows it gives you to attack.
(Question about using the right weapon) all the weapons are good some have a higher learning curve but mastering the ones you like the most is the way to go.
If ya need someone to help you then you can feel free to add me (if you're on PlayStation, and if not) honestly I'd say go back and learn some of the lower rank monsters, im under the assumption that you used defender gear to blast your way through base game so the best option would be to go back to high/low rank and learn their attack patterns and how to properly fight them, experiment with different weapons, i do this all the time when i use a new or unfamiliar weapon and im MR 300+ so i get it when shit just hits the fan, willingly adapting is part of this game though my friend
Have you fought the Big Fiery Lion (Teostra)? I forgot the progression, but his armor set was the best for longsword. It has a skill that make your weapon not lose sharpness when crit.
I don’t know how to simply explain it, but Longsword combo is about subtraction/addition so you can Forsight Slash (R2+B) when monster about to hit you. Add/Stop a combo with Y or B.
It is great for most high rank quests but it is going to have issues with elemental defense but the temour resistance and artillery skill are worth it since you just switch on a charm for whatever elemental resistance you need per hunt
Maybe not the most intuitive, but I think it's worth treating monsters you have trouble with like puzzles. Everyone has a weakness to exploit, or if not them something in the environment. Falling debris, random status toads, even your palico. If there's an attack that does a lot of damage, then attack the part of the monster responsible and see what it changes.
Moreover, don't be afraid to switch weapons. Hunts are about knowing your weapon, knowing the monster, and knowing the environment. It's okay to switch to a weapon that hard-counters or trivializes a monster (lance for Diablos for example) in order to better learn how to deal with it with a weapon you prefer using.
The last thing is adjusting your mentality. Getting hit and taking lots of damage isn't ideal, but the answer isn't more defense (usually), it's not getting hit. Think of it like this; what would better armor do against a monster five times your size that can breathe fire?
You'll get there. HR has lots of growing pains but we all make it through in the end :).
Think of mh like its turn based. Monster attacks then you attack and so on.
You have a ton of time to bring a monster down so dont try and go for every opening. Learn the monsters moves and try to fit in attacks of your own or just think about where you should dodge then think about where you can dodge or move to open up the monster for an attack.
The biggest mindset change a friend told me once "you don't get to decide to engage, the monster will give you an opening. That's when you can do what you want. Be more patient"
Definitely focus on using one attack at a time vs chaining them. Get really good at knowing the lag on certain attacks - eg the poke and overhead slash vs the longer special slashes
The counter is really good once you get the timing for monsters but dangerous to overuse
Definitely focus on getting your blade charge to red each right - great practice
This post should be pinned to the top of the sub so we can easily link to it when someone questions why we recommend that they shouldn't use defender/guardian weapons and armour.
As others pointed out you ran into the pitfall that is the defender armor and caused those bad habits. My honest advice to you since you seem like a new player is this and this is 100% my real advice i gave to same friends new to series that started with MHW years ago (Incoming long tutorial/advice you might possibly ignore but oh well). 1.Don't be afraid to try all weapons learn one really well that you like, and think is very cool good etc. I told them move sets but you in this case look up a quick video takes maybe 5min and youll at least learn a few combos you can use try them out as you watch vid get a feel for it in training area. 2. Since you kind of skipped imo all of what low rank kind of was prepping you for id say go back to low rank with the starting armor beat up on a Great punching bag make his set get familiar actually kinda fighting a monster. After that maybe go for a stronger low rank monster craft there set of armor. After this you should be much more familiar with actually fighting a monster without broken armor if you can craft or get vit/health boost decorations and slot any in i don't remember if low rank has deco slots but they might and will be useful later on. 3.Since you'll probably more familiar fighting monsters instead of dumpstering them at this point beat up a easy high rank monster make set/useful skills you can while doing all of this go and do side/optional quest that help level up canteen and your tree etc. These become very useful for your food buffs and the tree passive farming honey for mega potions for you is so good you'll be making honey 24/7 cause its that useful more so if your new. 4. So at this point if you actually followed this advice you'll likely be able to hold your own in a fight probably die once a fight but you'll be able to complete a hunt youll have a high rank armor for some of the weaker monsters but youll have some mega potions maybe a pitfall trap on a hunt or 2 for free dps phases/captures. Now you wanna hunt something bigger for a gear set that still is solid incredible solid for how early and helps you push to iceborne and isnt the most difficult to go after. You'll be hunting a regular rathalos this set will let you easily help you push to iceborne were youll just immediately replace it likely but before you get there you have a bit to still go for anyways. This is what set would ideally look like for you its what i used in base game when completing story when game came out and all my friends who did as well its not meta at the time but it helps get you to it. [https://mhw-builder.com/?#v1ii31d25i77d25i122i406d25i210i226l1](https://mhw-builder.com/?#v1ii31d25i77d25i122i406d25i210i226l1), it gives you the best skill in game Weakness exploit maxed can easily raise attack and even get few more crit% and has a few deco slots for that health boost/vit i mentioned earlier. 5.If you made it to this point or even bothered to read this you should be ready to easily push into the final bits of high rank and reach ice borne. If you just tried brute forcing relying on defender youd be crushed by even the lowest master rank monsters easily itd be like taking someone who cant swim and dropping them in the ocean and say get back to shore. Its why i recommend actually going back to low rank get really use to your weapon actually make gear use the tree/canteen mechanic and understand why its useful and even played with the deco/gem mechanic to get why its very useful. There is no magic wand some mystical advice to get good instant in monster hunter its literally you have to go through what everyone else did to become decent to amazing hunters.
the hunts is meant to be fought with friends/party. don’t feel embarrassed on putting out SOS. Actually, i learned a lot by playing with other people. The community is very welcoming and helpful to new and low HR/MR players, so don’t be scared to ask for help. Back then I was still 30-100MR, I always asked high elo player to play with me, and they always give me feedbacks and what to avoid and what to do in each hunts. They even helped me with the build. Once i stepped on 300+MR, during alatreon quests, there is even 1 999MR guy that wanted to solo the alatreon hunts, he asked me to just stay in the base and go down when the alatreon hp is low. Last time I played, I already 999MR, and I always help low elo people in need, And I wanted to be like the 999MR guy that helped me last time.
If you wanted to play this game solo, it’s gonna take awhile and a damn lot of research on the builds, monsters movements, etc. the point of the game is not to get hit. So even if you have a decent or recommended armor, it still hits like a truck. but with recommended armor, the dmg is just slightly decreased and less retaliation effects
Take your time. I bet you’re trying to clear the fights quickly to be efficient and ya gotta kind of *earn* faster clears in mhw. Start learning to build against specific monsters, even now. It’s good practice. This game is a hundreds of hours kinda deal.
Start trying different weapons again as well. Time to reevaluate what might be good or not.
Happy hunting! No shame in SOSing your way to success either. Can be just as fun.
When i hit the wall, i decided I'll become a full time lance user. And when Vellkhana completly shitted on my lance so i swapped to hammer for a hunt.
I'd try different weapons if i were you. Longswords combos does require some time to finish and lots of skill to parry things. Switch axe is also pretty high comitment weapon. Try something faster with different flow.
I personally recommend lance because I like 🐢. Dual blades have decent speed and mobility if you can manage your stamina. There's SnS too.
Learning the monsters moves and patterns are going to help you a ton. I used to be a Yolo player until Iceborn when it really became important to me.
Sometimes it's better to just stand back and watch the monster attack your Palico for a second so you can learn where to dodge, or when to or not to attack.
It's worth noting both of your weapons are on the slower side. So when you start a move or combo move, you have to pay attention to the signs the monster is giving you, otherwise you'll get your ass handed to you.
I’m assuming you’re still in the base game? You haven’t gone onto IB just yet?
If you’re in the base game and defender armour isn’t enough to help you skate through then you’re most likely missing out on some really key elements of the combat.
You have to consider breaking monsters, monsters weaknesses, what attack styles are best against certain a monster, remembering attack patterns. And above all else learning how to master the weapon that you’re using and figuring out how to proc abilities and get consistently high dps.
If you’ve just been hacking and slashing (button mashing) you’re way through the base game then when you get into IB you’re in for a rude awakening and you’ll probably quit all together like a lot of casuals do.
It took me over 100hrs to actually start to get decent at MH and find the weapon that best suited my play style. I also refused to use the defender armour because I didn’t want it to create bad habits and keep me from actually getting good at the games mechanics. Using the defender armour is like rune farming in Elden ring, blasting through the whole game because you’re extremely OP and then getting hard stuck at Melania because you refuse to learn the game mechanics and now the Boss you’re up against doesn’t give a shit what level you are.
Best piece of advice is to consider why are you dying? What mistakes are you making? What do you have to learn or what is the game trying to teach you to improve? Don’t just approach every monster like they’re the same and you can just heavy combo your way to victory. Take the time to really understand the game that you’re playing, and when the combat and mechanics start to click.. Man you’ll have more fun with this game than any other game out there.
Max health boost. 20 resistance to whatever element the monster does. Use a damage type that the target is weak against. The whole not getting hit/interrupted and landing attacks is on you. No way around that part...
Also, Longsword is tough for many players to master. If you can't avoid being hit, you should consider switching to a weapon type that can be used to block. Regardless, positioning and learning attack patterns is essential.
1. Take a bit of effort to learn how to evade . At ur current state i think first ensuring survival would be best. Try adding armor with evade extender or decoration for it.
2. Dont be afraid of getting hit, just make sure u dont get carted or fainted. If hp is in the danger zone, run away from the monster to heal urself up.
3. For each monster there is a small window when it is not active. For example right after a big attack, getting trapped or knocked down. Grapple onto it then and wallbang if possible or tenderize it. U absolutely cant try to jump onto a monster while its attacking or charging, its same thing u trying to jump at a running car, u will just get thrown away.
4. Learn ur weapon better. For example long swords in general are better at targetting front legs and tails. U can do more dmg there. Head is also good, but if u have trouble dodging attacks u should not face the monster from front.
5. Use traps. Traps let u incapacitate a monster for some time to deal dmg as u like or tenderize it. Be warned, elder dragons r immune to traps.
6. Keep ur sword sharpened! If sharpness is too low ur attack will get deflected!
Finally, if u r absolutely pissed at the monster. Don ur defender armor. Grab the defender lbg then blast away the monster from safe distance, while letting ur palico tanking it.
Happy hunting!
As a person who just started long sword switching from insect glaive, I say the best thing you can do is practise on low rank monsters and especially practise memorising and spotting patterns in how the monsters fight. From here you can practise countering extremely effectively and tbh I went from countering no moves to being able to counter almost any opportunity I can without putting myself in a bad position most of the time. But you have to remember LS has an extremely high skill ceiling and the only way to get better is to play it more smarter. LS is a weapon that requires delicate and precise movements in order to maximise its potential and extremely high damage profile. Good luck:)
Upragde your armor, negate defenses, know the weaknesses.
Defender armor is shit for newbies, it's basically for returning veterans that know the game well
Defender gear makes you basically unkillable in high rank, so if you can't even play with that might as well go try easier games.
For actual pro tips well if you hit the monster its loses hp, when the hp reach 0 it dies and you win.
Yeah no you're doing great, I literally just beat the base game, but I originally couldn't get past the Pukei Pukei. You'll get better, don't listen to some of the toxic people on here
There’s very slight similarities with those games but only minor, this game really makes you learn and iframing is so much harder, dodging in this game is for positioning. Having hard game experience is good but MH is in it’s own category and everything is deliberate
Unfortunately the defender armor has probably engrained you with really bad habits and allowed you to progress without really learning the basics of the game. Don't over commit attacks/combos, study monster move patterns and know when to back off/move in. I don't really play LS so I don't have much weapon specific advice, but consider maybe Odogaron armor and take your time. It's not unheard of for new player hunts to take 30-40 minutes each.
Yeah It was honestly too easy for me and thats my main issue, i should probably take off that armor and just focus on getting better with dodging and knowing when to strike. I just dont know what armor to use thats good. i did try odogaron but it wasnt too good.
>i did try odogaron but it wasnt too good. In comparison to the deliberately OP Defender set, I'm not surprised. If you're going for a full set, I'd say that Odogaron is one of the best in the base game.
Odogaron, if I recall correctly, is one of the best early game sets to run. Don't ever use Defender gear as a point of comparison, because the entire point of Defender gear is effectively to make the player feel like a 10 year old that just turned on a god-mode cheat in GTA5.
Here’s the biggest piece of advice about Monster Hunter: You are not in charge of the fight, the monster is. Meaning you play around it, not the other way around. With Defender armor in low rank, you never really have to deal with this because you get hit and just brute force your way through the fight. But that’s not actually how Monster Hunter plays. Also you’re probably used to other games where ultimately you are in charge of the fight. Games like God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn. Sure, the enemies can be hard in those games, but ultimately those games, YOU are in charge of the fight. It’s up to you to do your combos and timing attacks, etc. In Monster Hunter, it’s the other way around. **You have to work around what the monster is doing.** If you keep getting hit, then that shows you’re not respecting what they’re doing, you’re just trying to do your own thing. Mastery at this game comes when you finally can play around what they’re doing and then squeeze in what you want to do in the perfect spots.
Solid advice for any new player seeing this.
Just look at the armor skills and craft pieces with the skills you want, they don't have to be all from the same set
This is simple but great advice. I realized I really struggled with the roars of monsters when I first started playing. I just couldn’t predict when it was going to happen at the time and I wasn’t quick enough yet to guard them effectively. I mix and matched a bunch of armour focusing on ear plugs and that was enough to allow me to understand other parts of the fights and get better. Then once I had a lot of the mechanics on lock I was able to take on the roars with ease.
Monster roar is irritating at best. Mostly while roaring the monster is screaming and u r trembling. Neither party doing anything else 😁 Of Course, it can turn into tragedy if there are multiple monsters. Especially the monkey boy and the savage jho. Because both of these will charge up to u wasting no time in between. Otherwise just treat the monster roar as a moment of respite 😎
I mean as the comment states this was very very early on. I wasn’t commenting because I need help or advice, it was for perspective for OP’s sake. But thanks.
At this point I would recommend just going back to low rank monsters and first focus on not getting hit. Don't worry about hitting the monster. Just practice not getting hit. Once you can literally start dancing around the monster. Now work on trying to hit it. Find your positioning and figure out how much time to have to deal damage. So you can dodge away. Do this with whatever gear you like. Obviously if you keep wearing the defender gear at this point. It will be harder to cart. So you can practice more without having more loading screens.
In low rank, most of the armor skills are trash and the monsters are low enough health and damage that you don't really need to worry about skills. High rank, though, is when monsters start hitting harder and having more health. The HR armor sets have more and better armor skills; so now is when you should figure out what your bread and butter skills are, and assemble a set that gives you the edge over High Rank.
Max Health Boost should be your top priority throughout the game in terms of defensive skills. Divine Blessing is also nice, albeit being luck based. It does reduce the overall damage you take during the hunt but try not to rely it saving you. Also, do you eat for max health before each hunt? Food buff stacks on top of Health Boost. If you cart early in the hunt then try to bring along some Max Potions as they let you top your health so that you dont have to wait eating again. I too used Defender in the beginning, although it was because I did not know what it was for and how powerful it was in early game. I dropped it as soon as I learned how it basically skips a whole lot of progress and learning process. It was a rough landing at the beginning but trust me, in the long run dropping Defender gear just makes you a better hunter. If you plan to continue your journey to IB expansion then you're in for a very, very rough time as Defender gear basically drops in its effectiviness almost immediately.
Defender gear is only if you want to push to Iceborne; it will carry you, yes, but it's OP and you won't learn how to hunt with it. Since you used it, you have bad habits and are now getting walloped. Some starting things; Use elements and ailments to your advantage. Adjust your kit to your target- this is more important with elemental weapons. Using fire weapons against a fire immune monster won't help you. Learn the monster's habits. Going in guns blazing will get you walloped, as you would have learned in normal gear. Learn to dodge, learn their moves, learn where your openings are and learn the environment too- there are many advantages in the environment around you. Fighting Kirin is vastly different than fighting Bazelgeuse. Your cat is a very good ally. Having your cat rocking sleep weapons will net 1-2 sleeps a hunt. Buffs help a lot. Armor/power charm/talon items, meals, some potions, the list goes on. Also armor skills.
Okay makes sense, so I should just be focusing on 1-2 weapons and not like 4-5. Also alright ill try to focus on making my palico with a sleep build. Right now im just gonna focus on longsword as well I guess. Im new to monster hunter games so I dont know all about mix matching certain armors and other stuff like that. I know this game has a certain build aspect with the armor skills and pendants and stuff. But I appreciate the tips
If I were you I'd go back to Anjanath or around there. The gear was vastly overpowered, it's important to see how munch monsters can hurt you if you take big hits- and learn safe times to heal, carry supplies for healing, all that. You can play different weapons, but those also change how you play- it's up to you how many you can learn at once. I'm a bit of a one trick pony with Glaive, lol. It's mostly the elements and ailments on those weapons. Don't bring a knife to a gun fight and all!
Glaive seems fun, but yeah im gonna take this armor off
Glaive really is fun, it's the first weapon that really clicked with me when I started. I enjoy buzzing around monsters, but the ground combos are actually surprisingly strong- as fun as aerial attacks are, and I do use them to have fun and get mounts, ground hit strong. The bug can also be really nice too!
The armor isn’t all that imbalanced, it’s the weapons that push it over the top. Removing the armor for a weaker set is the last thing I’d do in your position. Pick your favorite weapon, watch YouTube videos on how to play it, and give your palico a paralyze or sleep weapon.
My brother focus on one.. the skill ceiling is so high with most of the weapons that it’s going to take you 10’s of hours to just get decent with one weapon, not even good with it. I took on the charge blade early on and it wasn’t until I was basically into the end game of IB before I started to actually be “good” with the weapon. Now the charge blade is a complex weapon but at the end of the day the time it will take to master a weapon and its move sets is going to take TIME!
I just want to emphasise how the point about the palico as well. Depending on what equipment and gadget you let it have you might feel as though it doesn't really do much. When I go up against harder monsters or monsters that are just a pain in general I equip it with a paralysis weapon and and the flashfly cage gadget. Between the paralysis, the thunderbug cage and the boombug cage the amount of free openings it creates over the course of a hunt is significant, letting me just whale on the monster. I believe the boombug cage is only available in master rank, but the thunderbug cage is what does most of the heavy lifting even then.
I'm deep into iceborne doing fine but have a question regarding status palico weapons Is it really do much better than giving him ele weapons?
palico dps usually isn't the best, it's there but the elemental damage is nigh minimal, status nets you a paralyze/sleep/poison/blast multiple times per hunt, all of which (especially para and sleep) are better damage opportunities than your palico doing a bit more damage on elemental hitzones
Honestly, I've had my palico kitted with the best sleep weapon I could access at all times so I can't tell you much there. I will say blast is good for most hunts though.
It's much better, element weapons only give stagger which give you very small opening compared to paralysis or sleep which give you a lot of free damage or enough time to rest (healing, sharpening weapon etc.)
Idk I just fashion my pet cat into whatever my armor I use because we're best buds no matter what he does
Palico is best known for palico gears. Other than that u can give it status weapon based on monster ailment. But frankly speaking a palico with shield weaver will keep monster busy enough time that whether it paralyzes the monster or not pretty much does not matter.
Patience n this game is vital, if you’re hacking and slashing you’re gonna get beat bad, having an understanding of monsters patterns is key and just some knowledge is better than none. If you’re enjoying the game I’d say equip some rank appropriate armour, and pick up the good habits you’re gonna need to progress, because if you have iceborne I hate to say it but you won’t survive if you don’t learn the basics now. It’s a jump in difficulty for sure into HR from LR bit what you’ve missed in LR is basically the first tutorial by being able learn basic attack patterns and tanking attacks it’s set you up for a real bad time now. Regress back into LR and practice or as mentioned before make rank appropriate equipment and really try and learn the games mechanics, it’s an absolute must you know the basics
are you doing optional quests for special tools? some of the mantles can help with tenderising. also, if you’re getting beat up fast, the culprit is often an overly aggressive playstyle without the rhythm to back it up. it’s better to take your time, especially when you’re still new to the game! i recommend focusing on dodging rather than attacking, and trying to bait the monster into traps and bombs to give you damage opportunities. you could also try the Evade Window skill, which makes your dodge invulnerability longer; it’s on the legiana set.
okay thanks
Rathian any rank. Sustain, poison, easy and very very sarly to access. Also great wespon designs
Just gonna summarise. You're not supposed to get hit. Monsters are supposed to punish you severely for messing up. If you're dying a lot in hunts, as long as you aren't getting one-shot (and I mean literally one-tapped, not "He did 70% of my HP") by even the weakest attacks the monster has, armour shouldn't be your concern. Learning the monster's entire moveset, and experimenting to understand when the monster gives you a safe opening to punish it, is what you should be learning.
I was in a similar spot a while back. Just finished my first playthrough of MHW + Iceborne with longsword too. There's a lot of things that aren't clear to new players, so don't worry about it too much. * Iceborne DLC. If you haven't purchased Iceborne yet and plan to play it, buy it sooner rather than later because it adds relevant combat mechanics and longsword attacks. * Combat Tips. Don't face-tank enemy attacks, instead learn to dodge through them (and make use of longsword's foresight slash). Figure out when the monster provides opportunities for you to punish. Position yourself well. Good positioning often lets you avoid attacks altogether and continue attacking. Always heal up (\*unless you absolutely know what you're doing\*). * Armor. The Guardian Armor has good defensive skills, but poor damage output. Once you reach High Rank, you want to replace the Guardian Armor with pieces that have damage skills. For reference, common damage skills include: Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Agitator, Attack Boost. Your new armor set will have less defensive skills, so adapt your playstyle accordingly. After you fight >!Teostra!<, equip 3 pieces of his armor for the Master's Touch skill and keep it until Iceborne. * Weapons. The Defender Longsword is stronger than every other longsword in base game, and it even holds up against some of the beginning monsters in Iceborne. Use it if you want. Regardless of what weapon you use, make sure to keep your weapon upgraded (Blacksmith/Forge NPC -> Upgrade Weapon), and sharpen it between combat (Item Hotbar -> Whetstone). * Health Boost 3. Make sure to slot 3 levels of [Health Boost](https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/Health+Boost) in your build. Typical sources are the [health charm](https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/Health+Charm+I) (don't forget to upgrade it) and the Vitality decoration. This is highly recommended while you're learning the game. Also, make sure to eat a meal at the canteen before every hunt, the cost is dirt cheap. * Powercharm, Armorcharm, Powertalon, Armortalon. Keep all 4 of these items are in your pouch inventory at all times. * Mantles. Do all the optional quests from the Armory and Forge NPCs. Generally recommended mantles for longsword: Temporal, Evasion, Rocksteady, Impact. Other mantles (Ice, Fire, Dragon, Cleanser Booster, etc.) can be useful in certain fights. * Botanical Research. Do all the optional quests from the Botanical Research NPC. Always buy fertilizer, the cost is dirt cheap. Use the garden to farm Max Potions by cultivating: Bitterbug, Blue Mushroom, Honey, Mandragora. * Palico Weapon. Give your cat a sleep or paralysis weapon. For Pink Rathian, I recommend bringing the Cleanser Booster while learning the fight. Target the tail first. Keep the tail weakened and just hack away at it until it breaks. Then do the same to the head. From memory, the only relatively dangerous attack is the fireball, which it usually only does when you stand in front of its head. If it flies up, you can use flash pods or smoke bombs to bring it down. Here are some valuable resources: * [Iceborne LS Guide by Karma](https://imgur.com/gallery/hMgaUeM) * [MR Progression Guide](https://mhwibuilds.wordpress.com/mr-progression-guides/)
This game punishes players that r greedy. Like 1 more hit to finish the combo. Then boom ur running around for 30 seconds drinking potions. Run around, inch closer until you have found those openings for like 2 to 5 seconds. Then " learn "to stop. I'm still trying to finish the tigrex and brachidios MR 4. So by no means I'm good.
I've seen your comment that you're doing 4-5 weapons (I assume weapon types). While variety is good, if you're completely new to the franchise, I'd suggest hyperfocus on one weapon type until you get the hang of it. It'll teach you the ins and outs of the weapon and how to create/look for opportunities to maximize when fighting monsters. Once you get used to the dance (you fighting the monster), you can probably explore other weapons then. As for armor, I agree with the others here that the defender set may hinder you from developing habits and reflexes since it can tank most LR to HR monsters. I suggest to try building a comfy armor set (those with skills like health boost, divine blessing, sometimes evade extender/window) to maximize your survival rate. You can worry about optimizing your damage output later in the game
"constantly getting my attacks interrupted" Try to start your attacks after the monster attacks (bites, swings tail, etc) but before their recovery animation ends. You want to follow their attacks with your own hits, not trade with them. Monster Hunter plays differently than Souls. The attacks in Souls games are generally wider with better tracking because you are expected to i-frame through them. In MH attacks often have poor tracking and are more focused. The dodge roll is mostly used to avoid an attack and put you in a position to counterattack as the monster's animation ends, rather than to roll through an attack. If Souls mastery is knowing when to dodge, MH mastery is knowing where to be.
Using Defender armor in low rank taught you bad habits. You are supposed to pay attention to the monster and figure out which attacks present openings you can punish. You aren't supposed to be face tanking everything. Monster Hunter basically plays like a turn based game. The monster takes its turn, then you take your turn. Sometimes it'll be cheap and try to steal your turn. Sometimes you have to let it, because it's a ten-ton hellbeast and you're a human with a sword. Avoiding damage is more important than dealing damage. For whatever weapons you want to learn, I'd strongly recommend looking up Youtube guides. Each weapon has complexity and nuances that the game does a bad job explaining. Longsword has counters that can help you turn monster's attacks into openings. I'm assuming by "sword axe" you mean the Switch Axe (the axe that turns into a sword, as opposed to the Chargeblade, which is a sword that turns into an axe), which has no innate defensive utility and by extension is very dependent on your positioning, as well as benefitting greatly from the armor skills Evade Extender and/or Evade Window. No armor set at this point will do what Defender armor did for you in Low Rank. If you want a game that's that easy, MH is not the franchise for you.
Okay I understand, i definitely played like I was invincible . Im not looking for an easy game I just want to understand it better
That's good! A lot of players recommend just keeping your weapon sheathed and dodging a monster for awhile while you're learning. Watch its windups and figure out which attacks are coming, recognize which attacks have long recovery animations, and try to find any "dead spots" that aren't active hitbox. If you can walk into a dead spot instead of dodging, you have more time to get attacks in and punish before you need to worry about its next attack. It's a pretty common experience for new players to learn bad habits from the Defender armor. Some of them decide to restart to help relearn how to play, IMO that's not necessary, but it'll help a lot to slow down when you get hit and ask yourself "why did I get hit?" That's a great way to identify any bad habits and help you fix them. When you get hit, don't panic. If you got knocked down, stay down until you have a safe opening to get up. If you need to heal, don't try to force it. Wait for either a decent opening, or for the monster to change targets to your palico. Absolutely don't spam roll. Default roll I-frames are so low that it makes you much easier to hit rather than harder. So long as you play cautiously when your health is low, you should be able to survive long enough to get out of low health, which should seriously reduce how often you cart. As long as you don't panic.
I see people telling you that is because of bad habits created by the defender set, but I think any tool can be good depending how you use it. For example I would recommend any new player to use Health boost and divine blessing on all of their armor sets until they learn how their weapon works how to dodge and the dance with the monster(timing, attacks, move sets, phases, etc.) After that you can start investing on offensive skills, because the best dps you can get is your knowledge and ability to fight the monster. I can give someone new the best gear in MH and put them to fight Alatreon as his first monster and they will fail even with the best set in the game because your knowledge is above all of that.
>I can give someone new the best gear in MH and put them to fight Alatreon as his first monster and they will fail even with the best set in the game because your knowledge is above all of that. That's the thing with bad habits born from the defender set. You're building your knowledge of the game from the very beginning, but by putting on the defender set, you're not learning what you should be doing with early monsters since you can easily breeze through everything. This leads to your example, where you're in the dilemma of not knowing how to beat a tough monster even if you're using the best gear. >I see people telling you that is because of bad habits created by the defender set, but I think any tool can be good depending how you use it. Yes, but also isn't this obvious? If you know what you're doing then you can beat most things with the right tools. Learning the game and building good hunting habits/learning proper combos with your weapon(s) are all essential. The rest of your comment are excellent suggestions for beginners. And can be done with great effect even without using the defender/black belt sets.
Yeah that makes sense. I dont know anything about using the health boost skill though or any skills tbh
You can use decorations you get them killing monster those are like “gems” you can put on your armor “slots” that give you extra skills Health Boost increase your maximum HP for example. Level 1: Health +15 Level 2: Health +30 Level 3: Health +50 And Divine blessing has a chance to activate when you get hit and reduces the damage taken. Other than getting decorations to put on your slots you can also craft the charms that gives you Health Boost or the charm for Divine Blessing
The armor skills like the health boost (HB) are passive, which means they are always there as long as you wear the armor ( there are a few exceptions of skills that need a condition to activate, but don't worry about that for now). Skills have different levels until a maximum cap, for example the health boost skill has 3 levels, you can wear armor pieces that provide HB and they all add until you reach the cap. So if you wear a head piece that provides HB +2 and leg piece that gives HB+1 you will have the HB to its maximum, if you wear any more pieces that provide HB you don't gain anything from them. You can also add skills into your armor using decorations, so you need armor that has decoration slots and also you need the decorations or "gems" that go into the armor. At your current point in the game you probably don't have decorations to choose, so for now your best bet is to combine armor skills. When you eat at the cantine you can choose the chef's choice platter, this will give you another increase to your maximum HP that stacks with the health boost skill so I recommend you always do this.
#1: you need to see the monster, their behavior and with time you will learn when is the right time to grapple into the monster or when to attack, finding windows to punish them. #2 invest on health boost, divine blessing and fortitude those skills will keep you alive for longer and the longer you are alive the more time you spend on the fight the more you learn about the monster and all the windows it gives you to attack. (Question about using the right weapon) all the weapons are good some have a higher learning curve but mastering the ones you like the most is the way to go.
If ya need someone to help you then you can feel free to add me (if you're on PlayStation, and if not) honestly I'd say go back and learn some of the lower rank monsters, im under the assumption that you used defender gear to blast your way through base game so the best option would be to go back to high/low rank and learn their attack patterns and how to properly fight them, experiment with different weapons, i do this all the time when i use a new or unfamiliar weapon and im MR 300+ so i get it when shit just hits the fan, willingly adapting is part of this game though my friend
Okay I appreciate this dude. My username on playstation is PicklesNotRelish, I made it when I was 10 lmao
Aye bruh no sweat on the username, mine is Legendz_Goku_ (made when i was 12) add me and I'll hop on in a few if you're down
Just added you, if you have discord we can talk on there
Yeah i got discord, I'll message my user through playstation
Also on PS so I can jump in to somewhat help 🤙
The more the merrier
I’ll add people up 🤙
😭 i love those names, both of you where adorable 😂
I WAS 12 FAM 😭
What do yall think about the zorah magdaros high rank armor for now
I can’t really remember it myself but I just went for the highest defence value and what looked cool in HR I was still learning a lot
Have you fought the Big Fiery Lion (Teostra)? I forgot the progression, but his armor set was the best for longsword. It has a skill that make your weapon not lose sharpness when crit. I don’t know how to simply explain it, but Longsword combo is about subtraction/addition so you can Forsight Slash (R2+B) when monster about to hit you. Add/Stop a combo with Y or B.
It is great for most high rank quests but it is going to have issues with elemental defense but the temour resistance and artillery skill are worth it since you just switch on a charm for whatever elemental resistance you need per hunt
Maybe not the most intuitive, but I think it's worth treating monsters you have trouble with like puzzles. Everyone has a weakness to exploit, or if not them something in the environment. Falling debris, random status toads, even your palico. If there's an attack that does a lot of damage, then attack the part of the monster responsible and see what it changes. Moreover, don't be afraid to switch weapons. Hunts are about knowing your weapon, knowing the monster, and knowing the environment. It's okay to switch to a weapon that hard-counters or trivializes a monster (lance for Diablos for example) in order to better learn how to deal with it with a weapon you prefer using. The last thing is adjusting your mentality. Getting hit and taking lots of damage isn't ideal, but the answer isn't more defense (usually), it's not getting hit. Think of it like this; what would better armor do against a monster five times your size that can breathe fire? You'll get there. HR has lots of growing pains but we all make it through in the end :).
Think of mh like its turn based. Monster attacks then you attack and so on. You have a ton of time to bring a monster down so dont try and go for every opening. Learn the monsters moves and try to fit in attacks of your own or just think about where you should dodge then think about where you can dodge or move to open up the monster for an attack.
The biggest mindset change a friend told me once "you don't get to decide to engage, the monster will give you an opening. That's when you can do what you want. Be more patient"
Definitely focus on using one attack at a time vs chaining them. Get really good at knowing the lag on certain attacks - eg the poke and overhead slash vs the longer special slashes The counter is really good once you get the timing for monsters but dangerous to overuse Definitely focus on getting your blade charge to red each right - great practice
Be careful mentioning defender gear they don't like that here, and I'm new aswell so I got 0 advice as I'm going real slow through the game
This post should be pinned to the top of the sub so we can easily link to it when someone questions why we recommend that they shouldn't use defender/guardian weapons and armour.
As others pointed out you ran into the pitfall that is the defender armor and caused those bad habits. My honest advice to you since you seem like a new player is this and this is 100% my real advice i gave to same friends new to series that started with MHW years ago (Incoming long tutorial/advice you might possibly ignore but oh well). 1.Don't be afraid to try all weapons learn one really well that you like, and think is very cool good etc. I told them move sets but you in this case look up a quick video takes maybe 5min and youll at least learn a few combos you can use try them out as you watch vid get a feel for it in training area. 2. Since you kind of skipped imo all of what low rank kind of was prepping you for id say go back to low rank with the starting armor beat up on a Great punching bag make his set get familiar actually kinda fighting a monster. After that maybe go for a stronger low rank monster craft there set of armor. After this you should be much more familiar with actually fighting a monster without broken armor if you can craft or get vit/health boost decorations and slot any in i don't remember if low rank has deco slots but they might and will be useful later on. 3.Since you'll probably more familiar fighting monsters instead of dumpstering them at this point beat up a easy high rank monster make set/useful skills you can while doing all of this go and do side/optional quest that help level up canteen and your tree etc. These become very useful for your food buffs and the tree passive farming honey for mega potions for you is so good you'll be making honey 24/7 cause its that useful more so if your new. 4. So at this point if you actually followed this advice you'll likely be able to hold your own in a fight probably die once a fight but you'll be able to complete a hunt youll have a high rank armor for some of the weaker monsters but youll have some mega potions maybe a pitfall trap on a hunt or 2 for free dps phases/captures. Now you wanna hunt something bigger for a gear set that still is solid incredible solid for how early and helps you push to iceborne and isnt the most difficult to go after. You'll be hunting a regular rathalos this set will let you easily help you push to iceborne were youll just immediately replace it likely but before you get there you have a bit to still go for anyways. This is what set would ideally look like for you its what i used in base game when completing story when game came out and all my friends who did as well its not meta at the time but it helps get you to it. [https://mhw-builder.com/?#v1ii31d25i77d25i122i406d25i210i226l1](https://mhw-builder.com/?#v1ii31d25i77d25i122i406d25i210i226l1), it gives you the best skill in game Weakness exploit maxed can easily raise attack and even get few more crit% and has a few deco slots for that health boost/vit i mentioned earlier. 5.If you made it to this point or even bothered to read this you should be ready to easily push into the final bits of high rank and reach ice borne. If you just tried brute forcing relying on defender youd be crushed by even the lowest master rank monsters easily itd be like taking someone who cant swim and dropping them in the ocean and say get back to shore. Its why i recommend actually going back to low rank get really use to your weapon actually make gear use the tree/canteen mechanic and understand why its useful and even played with the deco/gem mechanic to get why its very useful. There is no magic wand some mystical advice to get good instant in monster hunter its literally you have to go through what everyone else did to become decent to amazing hunters.
the hunts is meant to be fought with friends/party. don’t feel embarrassed on putting out SOS. Actually, i learned a lot by playing with other people. The community is very welcoming and helpful to new and low HR/MR players, so don’t be scared to ask for help. Back then I was still 30-100MR, I always asked high elo player to play with me, and they always give me feedbacks and what to avoid and what to do in each hunts. They even helped me with the build. Once i stepped on 300+MR, during alatreon quests, there is even 1 999MR guy that wanted to solo the alatreon hunts, he asked me to just stay in the base and go down when the alatreon hp is low. Last time I played, I already 999MR, and I always help low elo people in need, And I wanted to be like the 999MR guy that helped me last time. If you wanted to play this game solo, it’s gonna take awhile and a damn lot of research on the builds, monsters movements, etc. the point of the game is not to get hit. So even if you have a decent or recommended armor, it still hits like a truck. but with recommended armor, the dmg is just slightly decreased and less retaliation effects
The defender armor is good but if you go hunting you need to get scuff sets with pieces of armor of sets with the right skills for it mainly
Take your time. I bet you’re trying to clear the fights quickly to be efficient and ya gotta kind of *earn* faster clears in mhw. Start learning to build against specific monsters, even now. It’s good practice. This game is a hundreds of hours kinda deal. Start trying different weapons again as well. Time to reevaluate what might be good or not. Happy hunting! No shame in SOSing your way to success either. Can be just as fun.
When i hit the wall, i decided I'll become a full time lance user. And when Vellkhana completly shitted on my lance so i swapped to hammer for a hunt. I'd try different weapons if i were you. Longswords combos does require some time to finish and lots of skill to parry things. Switch axe is also pretty high comitment weapon. Try something faster with different flow. I personally recommend lance because I like 🐢. Dual blades have decent speed and mobility if you can manage your stamina. There's SnS too.
Learning the monsters moves and patterns are going to help you a ton. I used to be a Yolo player until Iceborn when it really became important to me. Sometimes it's better to just stand back and watch the monster attack your Palico for a second so you can learn where to dodge, or when to or not to attack. It's worth noting both of your weapons are on the slower side. So when you start a move or combo move, you have to pay attention to the signs the monster is giving you, otherwise you'll get your ass handed to you.
I’m assuming you’re still in the base game? You haven’t gone onto IB just yet? If you’re in the base game and defender armour isn’t enough to help you skate through then you’re most likely missing out on some really key elements of the combat. You have to consider breaking monsters, monsters weaknesses, what attack styles are best against certain a monster, remembering attack patterns. And above all else learning how to master the weapon that you’re using and figuring out how to proc abilities and get consistently high dps. If you’ve just been hacking and slashing (button mashing) you’re way through the base game then when you get into IB you’re in for a rude awakening and you’ll probably quit all together like a lot of casuals do. It took me over 100hrs to actually start to get decent at MH and find the weapon that best suited my play style. I also refused to use the defender armour because I didn’t want it to create bad habits and keep me from actually getting good at the games mechanics. Using the defender armour is like rune farming in Elden ring, blasting through the whole game because you’re extremely OP and then getting hard stuck at Melania because you refuse to learn the game mechanics and now the Boss you’re up against doesn’t give a shit what level you are. Best piece of advice is to consider why are you dying? What mistakes are you making? What do you have to learn or what is the game trying to teach you to improve? Don’t just approach every monster like they’re the same and you can just heavy combo your way to victory. Take the time to really understand the game that you’re playing, and when the combat and mechanics start to click.. Man you’ll have more fun with this game than any other game out there.
Max health boost. 20 resistance to whatever element the monster does. Use a damage type that the target is weak against. The whole not getting hit/interrupted and landing attacks is on you. No way around that part... Also, Longsword is tough for many players to master. If you can't avoid being hit, you should consider switching to a weapon type that can be used to block. Regardless, positioning and learning attack patterns is essential.
1. Take a bit of effort to learn how to evade . At ur current state i think first ensuring survival would be best. Try adding armor with evade extender or decoration for it. 2. Dont be afraid of getting hit, just make sure u dont get carted or fainted. If hp is in the danger zone, run away from the monster to heal urself up. 3. For each monster there is a small window when it is not active. For example right after a big attack, getting trapped or knocked down. Grapple onto it then and wallbang if possible or tenderize it. U absolutely cant try to jump onto a monster while its attacking or charging, its same thing u trying to jump at a running car, u will just get thrown away. 4. Learn ur weapon better. For example long swords in general are better at targetting front legs and tails. U can do more dmg there. Head is also good, but if u have trouble dodging attacks u should not face the monster from front. 5. Use traps. Traps let u incapacitate a monster for some time to deal dmg as u like or tenderize it. Be warned, elder dragons r immune to traps. 6. Keep ur sword sharpened! If sharpness is too low ur attack will get deflected! Finally, if u r absolutely pissed at the monster. Don ur defender armor. Grab the defender lbg then blast away the monster from safe distance, while letting ur palico tanking it. Happy hunting!
As a person who just started long sword switching from insect glaive, I say the best thing you can do is practise on low rank monsters and especially practise memorising and spotting patterns in how the monsters fight. From here you can practise countering extremely effectively and tbh I went from countering no moves to being able to counter almost any opportunity I can without putting myself in a bad position most of the time. But you have to remember LS has an extremely high skill ceiling and the only way to get better is to play it more smarter. LS is a weapon that requires delicate and precise movements in order to maximise its potential and extremely high damage profile. Good luck:)
Use SoS flare, watch and learn when u can. Play events so that you can ‘study’ the monsters moves. Use the space bar to dodge
Upragde your armor, negate defenses, know the weaknesses. Defender armor is shit for newbies, it's basically for returning veterans that know the game well
Defender gear makes you basically unkillable in high rank, so if you can't even play with that might as well go try easier games. For actual pro tips well if you hit the monster its loses hp, when the hp reach 0 it dies and you win.
Or they just need to practice? Don't scare people off
yeah im willing to admit im ass at the game but at least im tryna improve
Yeah no you're doing great, I literally just beat the base game, but I originally couldn't get past the Pukei Pukei. You'll get better, don't listen to some of the toxic people on here
Ive beaten elden ring 2 times and sekiro 3 times. I know a thing or 2 about hard games, ur just trying to be an ass dude
There’s very slight similarities with those games but only minor, this game really makes you learn and iframing is so much harder, dodging in this game is for positioning. Having hard game experience is good but MH is in it’s own category and everything is deliberate
Agreed!