With each new release in the Monster Hunter series, players eagerly anticipate how their beloved weapons will feel in the latest installment. Each of the 14 weapon types brings its unique flair, adapting to the evolving design of each game. From the seamless world of Monster Hunter: World to the innovative Wirebug mechanics of Monster Hunter Rise, these weapons evolve to complement the game's core concepts. In Monster Hunter Wilds, which aims to deliver a seamless hunting experience, how have the weapons been tuned to fit this vision?
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 game's director. Fujioka, who directed the original Monster Hunter, and Tokuda, a veteran since Monster Hunter Freedom, shared insights into the development and tuning of the weapons for Wilds.
IGN First Monster Hunter Wilds Oilwell Basin Artwork
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During our interview, we explored the conceptual and developmental journey of various weapons, gaining fresh insights into the adjustments made for the final release 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 game's new 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.
Unlike previous Monster Hunter games, where players returned to base to restock resources, Wilds offers a seamless experience, eliminating the need for such breaks. This posed a challenge for ranged weapons, which traditionally rely on consumable ammo and coatings. "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."
Fujioka added that these changes extend beyond gameplay mechanics into the visual design. "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 also played a significant role in enhancing these animations. Players can now seamlessly swing, stow, and switch weapons, with Tokuda noting that "adding more fine detail to the transitionary animations that connect each action changed even what hunters can do."
A common concept across all weapons, according to Tokuda, is ensuring they can be used naturally in any given situation. "Our goal was to do this particularly when you can't make any inputs." For instance, in previous games, players had to stow their weapon and stop moving to use healing items, but Wilds allows for more fluid action through improved animations.
Fujioka highlighted the new Focus Mode, which allows continuous attacks while moving slightly off-center from the target. "We wanted to make a game that made possible the image players have in their minds about how they want to play," he said. "There have been incredible technical leaps for the development environment in recent years, such as in managing animations, and there have been even greater changes in how games themselves are played. For action games, in particular, the question of how you meet the players’ desires to play in a certain way in the moment they actively want to make a movement is an important one. During development, we're always conscious about not being left behind by changes in the times."
Focus Strikes
A major innovation in Wilds is the ability to wound monsters by continuously attacking a specific spot. The formation of a wound depends on the damage dealt to that area, with environmental elements like falling rocks or monster battles aiding in this process. For player weapons, wounds form due to accumulated damage, with no differences between weapon types in this regard.
Hunters can deal massive damage to wounded monsters using Focus Strikes in Focus Mode. Each weapon type has unique animations for these strikes, such as the acrobatic maneuvers of the dual blades. Tokuda clarified that while these animations showcase each weapon's uniqueness, the open beta test revealed some imbalances. "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 new strategic options for hunters. For example, targeting a monster's head with a hammer can create a wound, allowing for a powerful Focus Strike. However, once a wound turns into a scar, it cannot be wounded again, prompting players to target other areas or use environmental tactics to create unexpected scars. Tokuda noted that this system, like flinching and part breaking, adds depth to the hunting experience.
Monsters in Wilds can have pre-existing wounds from turf wars, offering hunters opportunities for easier hunts and potentially special rewards, including gems.
With the introduction of Focus Mode and wounds, the game has made it easier to land high-damage attacks, such as the Great Sword's Charged Slash. Tokuda mentioned that while monster health and toughness have been adjusted to maintain appropriate playtimes and player satisfaction, "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 is a complex task, and we asked Tokuda about the development process. "There are some staff members who oversee multiple weapon types, which ultimately makes for about six individual planners, who are responsible for player experience," he explained. "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 the development of animations, with Fujioka noting its all-rounder status. "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 emphasized the importance of the Great Sword's heavy tempo 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."
Fujioka added that the Great Sword's tempo helps balance the game's overall feel. "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 favorite weapon, and the developers aim to enhance each weapon's individuality rather than making them equally easy to use. Fujioka stated, "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 traits. "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," he said. "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 are balancing the game to ensure that no single weapon, like the Hunting Horn, becomes the go-to secondary choice. "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 against specific monsters, but they aim to maintain the uniqueness 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 that the ability to carry two weapons encourages players to use complementary weapons. "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, which affects skill builds, remains similar to Monster Hunter: World, with decorations providing specific skill abilities. Tokuda explained, "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 his personal experience with World, where he struggled to complete his build due to missing a specific decoration. "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 mentioned using long-range weapons like the Heavy Bowgun and Light Bowgun, as well as the Sword and Shield for its adaptability. He plans to explore all weapons post-release. Fujioka, a Lance enthusiast, highlighted the weapon's importance in positioning. "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."
The Lance received significant feedback during the open beta, with Tokuda acknowledging the need for improvements. "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 developers of Monster Hunter Wilds are committed to delivering the best possible experience, taking player feedback seriously and continuously refining the game. Their dedication to the series and the passion of the community ensure that Monster Hunter remains an unparalleled action game series.
For a deeper look into how the Monster Hunter Wilds team incorporates player feedback, check out their official detailed community update video, where Tokuda discusses performance enhancements, detailed weapon changes, and more.
