For the first time, “Monster Hunter Now” will introduce a fresh season without a new weapon. Although the upcoming chapter, “The Blossoming Blade,” won’t have a new armament to try out, it will have a slew of changes and two new monsters with accompanying gear and skills. It will launch March 6.
Niantic executive producer Carl Damerow said it’s still a big update as developers are rebalancing gear and skills. They are changing the timing and physics of the attacks and adding wrinkles that fans have been demanding. For example, Dual Blade players will finally have a way to turn off Demon Mode, preserving their meter.
Damerow also said the team is improving skills such as Guard so that it scales with defense boost, making it more worthwhile. The Bow will see a correction made to Charge Level 4 to boost its damage. Sword and Shield will see a damage increase to its Perfect Rush combo, but players will have to hit the right button taps. Every weapon will be tweaked in some way so that they fit the style closer to the main series of games.
NEW BEASTS
As for the creatures, players will be battling Chatacabra on Feb. 25. It’s a new monster from “Monster Hunter Wilds” and comes with a skill called Litheness. Not much is known about the skill because of its ties to the unreleased chapter. Speaking of which, “Monster Hunter Now” will also deepen its collaboration with ” Wilds” by adding a new layered armor that makes it look as though players are riding a Seikret, the new mount from the upcoming game.
As for the new monsters arriving in March, the splash screen creature will be Glavenus, a Tyrannosaurus Rex-style target, but instead of enormous jaws, it has a huge tail. The monster’s element is fire, and in the main series games, it’s weak to ice, water and dragon weapons. It will be available to unlock in the fields after completing a specific chapter in Season 5. Its gear focuses on the skill Raw Power, which decreases weapon affinity but increases attack power.
That ability dovetails with a renewed emphasis on attack strength in the season, which also sees the introduction of new weapon sets zeroing in on those stats. The centerpiece to this will be the Hope series, which is new in “Wilds.” Players will earn tickets to craft 12 weapons of the line. Hope weapons start off at Grade 3 and players can upgrade it. The additions to attack power will likely shake up the meta, and give players reasons to experiment with their loadouts.
Azuros is the other creature introduced to “Monster Hunter Now.” It’s a bear-like creature that first appeared in “Monster Hunter Portable 3rd” and it has a body type similar to Lagombi and Volvidon. Its weaknesses are fire, poison, paralysis and sleep. Azuros will be unlocked in the Monster Tracker after competition of an Urgent Quest. Its gear focuses on the Shared Sword skill that gives an attack boost perk in a group hunt. It sounds like it’s the offensive version of Lagombi’s Shared Shield.
FINALLY A NEW WAY TO GET RARE MATERIALS
In addition, April 4 will introduce a new subspecies, which will likely be something to get excited about because it will likely introduce a new skill. As players have seen with Silver Rathalos and Critical Element, those could change the game. Lastly, May 5 will see the launch of a new Elder Dragon.
For “Monster Hunter Now’s” 1.5-year anniversary, it’s also adding the option to Monster Track certain subspecies with some exceptions. It’s done via an unlock quest. I don’t expect Gold Rathian to suddenly appear as a targeted creature, but other past monsters could appear. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Black Diablos is on that list so I can finish my bow.
The team is also introducing a special pop-up shop so that players can exchange special materials for various rewards that include Item Box Expansion, Weapon and Armor refining parts and Wyvern Gem Shards. Damerow, the executive producer, acknowledges that getting some badly needed material to upgrade a weapon can be aggravating, and it’s working to improve that.
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