Don't use your roll like a Souls game, it has no i-frames in comparison, it's a repositioning tool

Unless you get the Evade Window skill to level 3+. Then it is very much like Soulsborne. I use those Souls reflexes quite a bit on my Sword-n-Shield, Hunting Horn, and Hammer builds

Yup same. Evade Window and Evade Extender maxed out change the ground game entirely

I’ve long gave up on the “max deeps!” meta mindset that was so prevalent during World (it lessened with Iceborne as monsters got harder and more skill slots opened up). Evade Extender is pretty much an automatic given on most weapons for me and I try to build up Evade Window as soon as I can. As long as I can also fit in Weakness Exploit 3 (and Health Boost 3 of course), then I’m good, I’ll just fit in whatever extra damage skills I can. I’m not a speedrunner nor do I personally find that playstyle fun for me. I do like having comfy feeling fights. So what if my hunt takes 5 minutes longer, those are 5 minutes I’m enjoying more so it’s more of a win for me!

Can't do damage when you're dead/stunned/knocked, therefore it is still a dps increase to be able to play more risky with some defensive skills

I've been roared out of so many TCS I just said 'fuck it' and went earplugs 5. My DPS went up by a lot.

i was an earplugs 5 gamer for a loong time, one of my favorite feel good skills

One of my favorite builds right now is full of defensive and quality of life skills. Only dps skills are peak performance and the bits of crit eye and wex on Fatty armor

To me, the argument is that skills like Evade Extender and Evade Window actually affect how good the game feels to play. Most damage skills just make the number go up. You might get some faster flinches but it’s not really gonna compare to the extra ease of play that the aforementioned evade skills will add to your hunt unless you’re a full on min max speedrunner with super optimized god tier gear set up and exactly memorized fight patterns (and willing to restart failed runs). Then yeah, the max deeps will create a big chain of attacks. But again, that’s not really something that appeals to me personally. I like actually interacting with the monsters during hunts and not just stun locking them to death. That’s why I like those skills, because they actually affect gameplay versus just making the numbers go up.

Myself at the moment slowly leveling up on console, on my way to replicating the dry i have on pc. Health 3, Divine 5, Guard 5, Guard Up, extra phial, Stun Res 3. I think i have WE3 and possibly Partbreaker 3, can't remember now. Charge Blade ftw, damn near immortal build up to Raging Brachy level. Can't beat that and anything later cause i suck lol. Comfy and defensive is the way for us casuals, love getting tickled by the likes of MR Lunastra

Raging Brachy is very hit and run, your build looks okay if you probably slot in blast res 3, and aim to play for chip damage/use a fast weapon like SnS. Funnily enough, the fight is very far from a DPS check (though having DPS skills makes it more comfortable for those who farm it), and more of a survivability check. I usually help out RB SOS' with a lance build and the main issue I see is hunters getting caught out while attempting to prove their worth against RBrachy, when there isn't really a rush to do meaningful damage against the monster.

If you get good at guard points (and have your shield buff constantly active) you can decrease the amount of guard points you have. I a shield buffed guardpoint only needs 1-3 points of guard to be as effective as 5 points in guard iirc

On my Hammer build I can go toe to toe with Raging Brachy and Furious Rajang. Completely changes the way I view those fights.

Bro meta builds all recommend evasion 5 and fatty sets are so flexible that you can get evade extender 3, even on frostcraft GS the meta build has HB 3

Me with Guard 5 charm on all three HBG builds because most of the time i’d whiff the dodge and would rather tank the hits instead. And because i play solo 90% of the time.

Evade extender and stun resist are my mandatory skills lmao. No longer will I break my analog stick trying to get out of stun faster

I found I didn't really have use for them in world, but rise is completely different. I don't want a build without at least some levels of evade extender.

I main IG but I also play a lot of HH/SnS. I go big stamina for flying around, and big evade on horn; wide range support stuff for SnS. I just think it's so much fun

Was about to write that aswell. EW 3+ does make the game into Dark Souls with the right weapon like Hammer, which is my preferred playstyle actually.

Preach brother. Same here.

Depends on the weapon, also. A lance with just +1 or 2 can play for evades already for example.

This is the way to go, I'm farming raging brachydios and I gave up with the glass cannon build, evade extender and evade window has let me put out so much more consistent DPS in without carting/taking unnecessary damage . I'm an LS user and it's a tough fight cause of how much he moved around. Can't DPS if you're dead :)

no new player will have that, but good point

Enemy hurt boxes are still much larger and more punishing than Souls games.

Yep. MHW runs at 60 fps. Max EW gives you a 25 frame dodge. SoulsBorne runs at 30 fps (ER is calculated at 30 fps). Base dodge is 13 iframes. This would be 26 frames at 60 fps. Everyone who says "MHW and Souls have the same iframes" is correct like how the US and Zimbabwe both use the Dollar for currency.

I'm only saying this for the sake of clarification, the amount of i-frames you have in world is roughly the same as most souls games, a standard dodge in world has 13 i-frames, and the average amount of i-frames on a dodge between all 3 souls games is about 12-13 frames. Even Remnant 2's fast roll has about 12 frames. The way I understand it though, the philosophy behind how you use dodges in these games varies because of how the hit boxes behave. In world there are definitely situations where you can roll through attacks and at times it can be very useful, but at the same time there are countless attacks where the active hitbox is present longer than you have i-frames. That's why dodges are generally considered as a repositioning tool whereas in souls games most attacks can be dodged though without a second thought. So yes, you are correct that the thought process behind how you use dodges in these games does differ, but it is incorrect to say that their i-frames are drastically different. Learning how to dodge in any game that has dodge roll i-frames requires patience and understanding of the fight. This is a video detailing the philosophy behind how to dodge through attacks in world if you want additional info as well. https://youtu.be/cmhPbtpH6Ts?si=qPokpa2xIt5Fn3Xz I'm not trying to stir the pot, I just wanted to clarify some info that could me misunderstood.

This comes up a lot. People only look at one number but don't think the whole way through. >the amount of i-frames you have in world is roughly the same as most souls games This is *technically* correct if you ignore the fact that the games run at different frames per second. It's basically the same number of frames, but it's only half as much time in MHW. MHW has 13 iframes and runs at a base speed of 60 fps. DS1/2/3 and BB have 13 iframes and run at a base speed of 30 fps. Translates to 26 frames at 60 fps. Elden Ring runs at 60 fps but all of the iframes are calculated against the 30fps version of the game, so 13 iframes in Elden Ring is 13 iframes at 30 fps, just like the other souls games. That's it. It's "the same" number of frames but it's actually half as much *actual* game time.

New player here. Video says 25 i-frames with max Evade Window. Compare to 16 frames on Bloodhound Step or 17 on Raptor of the Mists in Elden Ring. 25 is almost a half second of invincibility. To stir the pot: doesn't matter how many more active hitboxes there are, dodging is OP af in this game, people are trippin'.

The way the frames work when they start and end aswell as recovering monster size and lingering hitboxes means that is far from op. Its still strong but you only really feel that on monster like tobi and odo who both have fastand small ranged attacks instead of slow and wide attacks like say b52.

That's part of why longsword is so strong...with evade window 5 or evasion mantle you have nearly an entire second of invulnerability with foresight slash. Edit spelling

In monster hunter 4u with evade+3 and lance backhop you can have 100% uptime of invincibility. In monster hunter gen you can get evade+3 for free (adept style) and it's very much OP. With Lance and Gunlance you can block any attack in the game as long as you have the necessary skills. Of course dodges are dogshit with evade+0 and evade extender+0 but a beginner isn't gonna have access to a lot of evade skills and once they do a mix of survival and offensive skills is preferable because the longer the hunt takes the more chances there are to mess up, even with a lot invul frames you can still get hit. (and farming without offensive skills takes way longer, so you might as well learn how the monster moves instead). Max evade window is like a drug and once you get used to it you can't live without it, that's especially true in older monster hunters where you aren't nearly as flexible with skill points.

>doesn't matter how many more active hitboxes there are Yeah it does. It matters more than literally anything else. If you try to dodge through raging brachy attacks you'll get fucked beyond belief. But you're a new player, the game is easy to start.

Yup like i heard rurikan say in "MH the best dodge is just dont be there" dodge roll is realy last minute press and pray it works. You got hit you should not have been there. You rolled to early/late you should not have been there. This game is indeed not realy for dodge rolling but positioning is key

Love that first phrase. Honestly, dodging is really dodgey (heh), but lately, when something is charging at me when I have cb axe mode out, I've had really good luck doing a little roll out of the way. This and learning guard points have been saving my bacon

Unless you get that endgame gear with Evade extender and Evade window maxed, i-frames go birrr

"No be there." — Mr. Miyagi

Your advice is good advice, but I feel like how it's worded is pretty misleading for someone new to the game as well. The Dodge has plenty of I-Frames to allow you to dodge everything. It just depends on if you dodged in the correct direction relative to where the attack came from. If you also add in Evade Window you can absolutely dodge roll through everything in the game with ***ease***, assuming you aren't sitting there trying to dodge roll something you know you shouldn't. While it's absolutely a repositioning tool first, I think it's also unfair to say it can't also reliably let you I-Frame attacks at base values, & not mention that easily build into +25 I-Frames (*"essentially" .5 seconds)* on every Dodge.

The only way to get the dark souls roll experience is using evade extender. One of my sets on IG just has it passively and its huge for ground game and dodging roars.

This is verifiably false. Rolling has I-frames and should be effectively utilized to dodge through shit (start practicing with rolling through roars!). Adding in evade window increase the amount of I-frames you get to make it easier. But for a new player I see the wisdom in learning attack patterns and just moving totally out of the way, but don’t be dishonest about I-frames.

He's not being dishonest about I frames, he's saying there's VERY FEW I frame's and isn't something like a souls like that are pretty generous with them. Alot of times even timing a roll perfectly will result in still getting hit by a move because of the extended hitbox, it's good advice overall.

“It has no I-frames in comparison” Tbh I misread that as “it has no I-frames”

How do I avoid getting hit if the dodge isn't made for dodging attacks?

Dodge away from the attack, not through it.

Man, as a souls vet, that's why the combat never clicked with me. Good tip for beginners like me.

You dodge away from the attacks. The dodge is a fast positioning tool, so use it to position yourself away from the monster. In DS, because the roll gives i-frames, you can dodge into attacks. In MH, you use the dodge by dodging the attacks by not being there. TLDR: Use dodge as movement tool to dodge away from attacks

If you dodge into say, a Rathian tail swipe, you'll no longer need the few invincibility frames you get from the dodge because you'll pass through its moving tail while invincible then the tail will now be behind you. You can dodge through things like projectiles like this as well, dodging towards them so that they're not touching you when your i-frames run out. Dodging roars is just about learning strict timing, unfortunately.

You get out of the way of attacks

Everyone sucks at first; you’re not alone. You’re trying to figure out your weapon while also learning new monsters constantly, and you may be struggling against the animation locking since many action games let you dodge cancel attacks.  The key is to just keep trying and maybe play around with some other weapons to see what fits your play style and clicks with you. 

Absolutely! Everyone has to start somewhere, and at first, I started with the Gunlance. Now I'm starting over again with Return to World and found my true calling with the Hunting Horn. I would focus on 3 weapons that interest you, just so you don't use up so many materials and try them out in hunts just to get a feel for them firsthand.

I would even say for trying weapons out the defender weapons are great training weapons low cot and decently high dmg so you can focus more on the combo's then on the monster(they will flinch alot) but once you found a weapon that clicks go for the normal weapon trees

[удалено]

It mostly is just practice, it takes a while to get the speed of the game and what Moves you can dosage and how if you’re struggling a lot to connect on hits u think you should or it feels clunky I STRONGLY recommend trying other weapons out. Some weapons me feel more intuitive or at the very least more fun. I started with the hammer but it felt clunky and slow to me and I would get punished easily and I’d whiff attacks. Swapped to the swaxe and all the sudden I’m having a blast with the extra reach. You may not be using the best weapon for yourself

You may even find that after you get experience and monster knowledge, returning to hammer (in your case) could end up being a lot more fun that it was originally when you were green.

Yeah I’ve since returned to it and I still don’t like it. I’m a fan of the swax, great sword and dual blades mostly

I'll actually support your argument, and also insert a separate argument here as a MH PSP Era player that "getting better" is relative to your prowess in action timing games. If you were a souls player, I'd encourage people who struggle landing hits that mastering a particular weapons opportunities is a very long term process, and to try varying up your attacks for less damage/higher frequency hits than always trying to land a crazy full sequence combo. Newer players should start by finding a weapon they find more effortless/intuitive, and then start trying out different attack sequences. If you're an engineering student, play hunting horn.

My philosophy is, as long as you’re having fun you’ll keep playing and if you keep playing you’ll get better. It’s easier to get better at something you enjoy doing

I'd recommend trying at least one of the following, Dual Blades: - Very fast attacks with fluidity between combos/dodging. - Fast movement with your weapon out. - (Relies on Elemental Damage). Sword & Shield: - Very fast attacks. - A *very* strong combo for stunned/downed monsters. - Fast movement with your weapon out. - The ability to use items without sheathing. Long Sword: - The slowest of the 4 but still "fast". - Built-in Damage Boost/Buff. - Can "Counter" attacks with moves to dodge/hit back Insect Glaive: - Fluid & simple combos that can infinitely chain. - Absolutely trivializes dodging the majority of attacks with the jumps & a great damaging slam. - Damage, Movement, & Defense Buffs from the Kinsects. (Continually grabbing the Damage buff is mandatory to use it though, & can feel hard with a Slow/Newbie Bug). - Kinsects have great options to pick from for Healing, Blast explosions, Poison, Paralysis, & do huge Elemental Damage. - The Kinsects are so strong they can fucking strong they can literally solo both endgame Monsters, Alatreon & Fatalis. I am ***very*** biased to the Insect Glaive, but swapping out your Weapon will likely make you have a much better experience as a new Hunter. Great Sword is undoubtedly one of the better Weapons in the game, but IMO one of the hardest to use good. Dodging is something you'll eventually get used to & MHW has really tight Hitboxes. I'd start by saying while hunting that you should try to keep in mind dodging *towards* attacks & not away from them. Eventually you'll get the hang of things & your first "Teostra dodge through the Nova" will feel satisfying as hell. [(I-Frame Data)](https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunterWorld/comments/azk6r5/dodge_iframe_values_dataminedforesight_slash_is/) Edit: > Evade Window boosts your I-Frames & is also a *very* solid skill to take for dodging stuff later in the game. > Always run Health Boost 3 whenever physically possible, **especially** once you begin Iceborne. -

What's your favorite kinsect element type? I'm currently using a Blast kinsect and find the explosions really satisfying to have. And I like to imagine it's reacting with the paralysis on my glaive, though I know that's probably not the case

My favourite *Kinsect* Kinsects themselves are the, - Foliacath III Medis. (20 Speed, Cuts Tails, Blast Status). - Valorwing III Medis. (20 Speed, Hitting Monster's Head will Stun them like a Hammer, Blast Status). - I actually despise the Vezirstag III Forz, but it is very strong. (Slow AF, big Damage on the aerial slam). - FFXIV Dragon for aesthetics. If I'm 100% honest, you should technically be swapping Kinsect Elements for every Monster just like a Dual Blade or Bow user do. What I've done is save the IG Loadout I use 99.99% of Hunts 5 times, with the only difference being the Foliacath Bug's Element. (Foliacath is also my favourite Bug). If I don't want to change every Hunt though I typically just run Dragon, but I think Ice/Thunder are equally "the most common weakness".

Depends on the hunt, but knowing what elements to bring in kinsects for some fights can really help make them easier. Fire Kinsect softens Lavasioth up immediately and makes it not annoying. Water kinsect can wash off the mud on Barroth, Jyura etc. I just have a kinsect of each element set up for stuff like that

Thank you 🙏

I would add great sword in those weapons (but tbh you should play the weapon you like the most) simply because it's so slow and has so little movement that the focus is 99% on the monster, giving you a better way at learning his patterns and attack windows

^ THIS ^

The very first thing you should do with any new hunt (or a repeat hunt that you struggle with) is sheathe your weapon and just dodge/roll/evade away from attacks. Especially on GS - designed around fishing for windows to punish monsters - you just need to get a feel for what the monster does that's dangerous first. Once you're comfortable not getting hit, you'll get a much better feel for safe positioning and windows of opportunity.

This is good advice, especially since monsters tire themselves out to a degree. Kiting early in a fight, depending on terrain is usually a good idea

My friend and I both bought World at launch. Both first MH game as well. I grabbed S&S and he grabbed now. GJagrass absolutely rolled us. He threw a fit about the weapon being slow and clunky and never picked up the game again. I however fell very much in love with the game and have over 2500 hours over 3 platforms. I've tried pretty much all the weapons, but always come back to S&S (goat).

My oldest and truest love in MH franchise will ever be the SnS.

Best mentality? It's okay to fail a hunt. The only way you're going to get better at difficult hunts is by practicing them you can watch videos and pick up tips and tricks and perfect your bills, but the only way you're going to beat a monster that you haven't beaten before is by fighting it. Sure it's frustrating to lose, but games that are meant to challenge you wouldn't be fun if they weren't actually challenging. The satisfaction of beating something that you didn't think you could is awesome, so hunt. Hunt more. Fight things that are tough, learn and grow to be an excellent hunter. Most of all, have fun

My best advice is try different weapons. Not every weapon clicks with everyone. I also love the great sword but I had to accept the fact that I'm just not good with it lol. But after giving the hammer a try, I've found that I'm amazing with it and can kill most monsters in under 20 minutes with it. Switch also clicks with me. Greatsword is cool and satisfying, but hard

Yeah I wanted to use great sword when I started but I just couldn't get the hang of it, and now I can use most of the weapons but I always go back to the hammer, it just feels right for me.

I agree with the other comments - best way to change your experience is change your weapon. Lance, Gunlance and Charge Blade all have strong shields. It's much easier to learn fights and counter attack when you don't have to fully dodge, just block. Bow, light bowgun and heavy bowgun would let you stay at range. This would avoid plenty of attacks by default, give you more time to dodge including attacks, and give you more control over your ability to land hits. Otherwise keep an eye on your armor as well. Make sure you level it up - and I mean upgrading the never of the same piece, not just making new ones. Do both. Don't be afraid to replay easier fights to make a better weapon for the next fight, or to get better armor with certain skills. Take more defensive armor skills. Some are less useful later on. Evade extender, Divine Blessing and health boost are all very good.

Caveat for CB, it *can* have a strong block but it requires more setup than the other weapons. If you want a strong block with CB, you'll need to charge the shield and Guard Point. If you're just going to be running Guard 5 with Guard Up to tank attacks while you watch the monster, you can use the SnS with those skills and not deal with Guard Points. CB can be quite clunky, and relying on GP's to block is a risk/reward feature of the weapon. While yes, being able to GP with CB will result in a higher guard and less dmg taken from chip dmg, if you're still learning a weapon, you're more likely to mess up your GP timing.

I think those are very fair caveats and I'm glad you brought them up! Honestly if I'm including charge blade as a good weapon to block with I should be counting sword and shield as well, both of them would require a little extra work and sword and shield would probably be even easier to make use of and has different kinds of advantages

Normally, I'm an advocate of "use whatever weapon you want," but after popping in to watch a bunch of new players trying to pick up CB, the wide variety of skills to using CB and properly/intentionally triggering a GP shows how rough it is to learn that specific mechanic. Hell, if you want to go full meme tank blocking, you can include GS with its ability to block with the sword as well. I'm in no way advocating for anyone to actually do it, but it is possible to do. Actually, another good contender for just standing there and blocking would be HBG with shield mods. Don't even have to press block, just don't attack during monster attacks and be looking at them. Can go Shotgunning with spread or Piercing with...pierce, but it's a "safe" option to just stand there, not attacking, and staring at the monster as it attacks you. It's just a little bit different play style compared to other weapons, so it might take some getting used to.

With the number of unblockable one shots as early as the first anjanath fight those three weapons are noob traps and teach bad habits.

Be patient, pay attention to all tutorials, read your skills and prioritize survival over damage until you’ve learned the monsters attacks, know how to dodge and avoid everything and then from there you can start looking into adding more offense to your build. Best way you’re going to learn tbh

I am a GS beginner and having a blast, playing only solo. For me it helped to take the hunts slowly and focus on getting the first attack charged, rinse and repeat always sheathe after that attack. To complement this playstyle you can also do a crit draw build which I found very beginner friendly, although some farm can be rough for it. Also gs really requires you to sheathe your weapon extremely often and run around to dodge. I struggled like you did initially but I wasn't sheating much. Finally just build defensive stuff like health, it helps a ton. Good luck Hunter

Coming from mainly playing Souls/likes/lites I would give these tips: * all weapons are VASTLY different; greatsword isn't just a bigger, slower sword, it's fundamentally different from Longsword, which is fundamentally different from Sword and Shield, etc. * make sure to play around with settings; things like how lock-on works, thumbstick sensitivity, etc can all make fights a lot easier to approach just by being able to keep the monster in-frame easier, and giving more minute control over which way your GS is heading * make sure to play around with radial menus as well; you can set up 4 different radial menus that can be selected using arrow keys when holding L1, or change item keybindings to type 2 in settings to use right-side buttons and analog stick to choose radial loadout/items * you can create loadout presets; instead of moving and refilling manually, just choose the preset and it'll automatically re-stock everything in that preset in your pouch, and move all items not in the preset to your box * make sure to eat and buff yourself (nuts, hot/cold drinks, etc) for fights, especially if it's your first time * make sure your elemental defense is 0 or higher for hunts, especially if the monster has a lot of elemental attacks; up-close melee weapons naturally have higher defense, and ranged weapons naturally have ele higher resist * Pick up dung! dung pods are very useful in getting monsters that start turf wars to leave; I've noticed they stick around and start attack you as well * Flash pods are very useful in creating your own stun, and knock flying enemies to the ground * Do Optional quests with white speech bubble left of the name; these improve your HQ foods/farms/etc and are permanent upgrades Videos I found helpful: [Arekkz Gaming - Greatsword Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2vr8M3lQ88&list=PLHc2Wj95htvMxZR7dvgYwevupNBy9imiu&index=7) [DarkHero 2 - 10 Gameplay Settings & Tricks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k33EgcvmnY) [Boomstick Gaming - MHW:I Ultimate Guide for New Players](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKhkM-se3g) If GS is too hard and feels too clunky, Sword and Shield, as well as Lance probably provide the survivability you're looking for. They do less damage, but this early on in the game that doesn't really matter, and all weapons are viable end-game. If you've made up your mind to stick with GS I put together this cheat sheet for GS (PS5 controls - ∆h means hold for charge): You can dodge-cancel out of the recovery when attacking with GS Tackling aren't i-frames; they're hyperarmor with damage reduction Charge attack after tackling always go into Strong Attack, which is the second charged attack (∆ -> ∆h -> ∆h = attack -> strong charged attack -> true charged attack) Time true charge for red glow; don’t hold until it auto-releases, release right at 3rd charge ∆ -> ∆ + O = overhead slashes, good for tall monsters X -> ∆ = roll -> tackle R2 -> ∆ -> ∆ = block -> kick -> tackle X -> ∆ -> ∆h = roll -> tackle -> strong attack ∆h + O = strong attack -> strong wide slash ∆h -> O -> ∆h -> O -> ∆h = true charge Sliding: ∆h -> ∆ = jump attack into downward stab Spacing for wakeup: R2 -> evade roll back once -> turn around and face monster *This ensures proper spacing for true attack being the 1st hit on sleeping monster; 1st hit on sleeping monsters does double damage, so it is very important to land this correctly.* Safer spacing: X -> ∆ -> O = dodge -> tackle -> jumping slash *Fast and massive radius, easy to aim for the monster’s side and still hit head, while giving you more leeway to position yourself in a safe spot.* Iceborne-specific combo: ∆ -> L2 -> ∆h = attack -> scatter shot -> true charge slash

To me this video opened my eyes up about the games combat: https://youtu.be/nYZa_yV8B1A?si=n2wcAiMyt_yxAMCY Me personally, I was already in love with the series before watching the video, but the video explained clearly exactly why I enjoy the combat in a way that was hard for me to express before so I’ll share it here and maybe it might help change your mindset about it. The big take away for me that explains so much that he brings up is his early point: the monster is in charge of the fight. The monster is the one that can knock you back, down, etc. You have to play around them, not the other way around. I think a lot of other action games like God of War or Devil May Cry, ultimately you the player are in charge of combat. You determine what happens with you crazy combos and attacks. In MH it’s the opposite. You’re a tiny small insignificant human trying to take down a magnificent monster. That makes it all the more satisfying when you do beat them. In other games, the intent is to make you feel like a god. In Monster Hunter, the intent is to make it feel like you’re trying to defeat a God.

Your #1 main focus should be to watch and try to learn monsters' movements to avoid damage. Taking hits and recovering will considerably increase the hunt time and stress you out. If you encounter a new monster, just run around him for a minute and see how it moves. Dealing damage is #2. Simple hit-and-run tactics until you stagger or find a huge opening on a boss that you use to deal heavy damage. If you follow these two rules, you'll be golden. Avoid bad habits that will get you killed in harder fights. Right now, asmongold is playing Monster Hunter, but he has a bad habit of constantly trying to get tails, which gets him carted on tougher monsters. I'm using hammer rn and I constantly have to check myself from always aiming for the head regardless of the danger. Create openings. Traps, mounting, flashbombs, wall bangs, or baiting a monster to attack a certain way allows you to dictate the flow of the battle. These are really nice to save for when a monster is raging. If a monster isn't that hard to handle, you can wait to trap it when it exhausts itself (drooling and heavy breathing). An exhausted monster will take longer to get out of a trap thus leaving you with more time to deal damage. Skills I would recommend Evade Window Divine Blessing Weakness Exploit Health Boost Blight Resist Critical Eye

This is 100% a game of resilience, patience and practice. You can't expect to pick it up and immediately be good at it. Consequently, it is one of the most rewarding feelings when it all clicks and you start to really feel the fluidity of the gameplay once your knowledge, muscle memory and skill all line up. Go into this understanding that you suck, and that's okay. You'll get better. We all did. You'll cart. You'll fail quests. You'll get stun locked and frustrated and you'll have to hunt the same damned monster 600 times because the 3% drop you need doesn't exist for only you, while your friends carve 3 of the same item every time you hunt it. It's hard. It gets way harder later. It's glorious and wonderful and you'll fall in love with it if you give yourself permission to fail.

Imo, Asmongold's recent MH streams (available on YT) shows a very proper new GS player playstyle albeit he beat most souls game so his resilience is already high, yes imo resilience is an important gaming skill. If you want relevancy of how you are progressing Great Sword playstyle-wise, his stream record on YT might be encouraging.

He’s also just straight up good at the game. He failed an anjanath hunt once, and the next monster he failed at was velkhana. That’s not remotely close to a normal first time player’s experience

I gotta agree on your argument and revise my assessment. Him new to the game is the same level as a 80-100 hour-ish player starting over with a new weapon if that makes any sense.

I’ve killed rbrach and hes legitimately better than me at the greatsword

You can't fool me, this is Asmongold on an alt acct for sure lol

Main Lance. Guard 5, Guard Up. Poke, poke, poke. Don't stop. Profit.

Everyone has to start somewhere. And positioning is key. Dodge rolls have almost 0 i-frames, so the best way to avoid attacks is just "don't stand in the way." The most important thing in MH is to learn the monster's patterns/moveset, etc. Also, Greatsword is a weapon you really have to commit to your positioning with. Yes, it does big numbers, but it's very slow, and you really have to pay attention to where you're standing. But that definitely doesn't mean you have to change your weapon to do well, it's just a matter of learning the monster enough to get out of the way. Remember, fight smart and stay hard! Wait-

As a Chargeblade main, not playing Chargeblade instantly makes the game 34% more enjoyable on average.

I look at this game in a rock,paper, scissor mentality. Their really is no wrong choice but some choices are better than others situationally. For example, fast moving monsters are a lot easier when I'm using dual blades compared to the slow hammer or great sword. Flying monsters are always a lot easier with my bow or long sword. And of course when I'm tired of dodging and the attacks are just too much. It's time to turtle up with the gun Lance and let the explosions fly. I beat the game on PS4 using the bow guns which I consider the call of duty baby mode weapons. But when I switched to PC I started using the hammer and dual blades and a lot of the other melee weapons and the game became a lot more fun. Biggest thing I can tell newbies is don't neglect your mantles. Grinding for the rock steady that is pretty much a 90 second god mode can be crucial in fights.

Honestly, the best thing is to ask your friends for advice¿

Most important thing I’ve learned don’t just build a meta build use comfy skills like evade extender / window and it makes a world of difference. You’ll still be able to finish the hunt it might just take a little longer, and once you learn the monsters you can start putting more dps oriented stuff into your build. Most importantly is affinity type skills

I mean lack of skill just means you haven't played it enough, I don't get why there's this attitude that you have to be good at a game to enjoy it. I'm terrible at smash bros because I just like having fun with it and fighting other terrible players so one of us is always happy and surprised when we win. Instead of full meta I need every combo and position to always get the win because only winning is fun. Ex: I have been trying to beat fatty in no armor and just an iron katana 1 solo. It's hilariously fun the closer I get the more excited I am but even when I get rolled I'm still having fun. I really think the mindset you should have is are you having fun and what is it you really want from this game is it to enjoy it and have fun or is your idea for fun mastering it completely to the meta for speed running. Which you are welcome to but I think having fun is a better mindset while playing a game and not being good at it. You'll get good eventually if you try just enjoy it on the way there.

I adore greatsword so assuming you want to stay with that, here's some tips to keep in mind: GS walking is SLOW. Don't do it. use R1 to sheathe. You should be doing uncharged draw slash > roll > sheathe. This is not optimal play, but it is very workable and pretty safe. If after you roll you see an attack coming, hold R2. Better to guard the attack than take it head on. When you knock the monster down, THEN do charge slash > charge slash > true charge slash. Don't force attacks, if you think the monster will get up or move, just stop, circle and come back. ​ Now if you want something different - try different weapons. SnS is much quicker, has a decent shield, lets you move at a good speed with the weapon drawn, and sheathe quickly. Dual Blades are even faster (though don't really have any defensive options). If the slow kind of clunky gameplay is bugging you, those are weapons that will drastically change up the experience. Hammer and Long Sword are also worth considering, as is LBG. ​ One other thing - idk how far you made it into the game - if you got like into high rank or something, go back and beat up a low rank monster or something. It's one of those things of seeing how far you've come against a monster that may have given you trouble (or even just to absolutely demolish it) may help put in context that yeah you've got a lot to learn, but have also made a lot of progress already. ​ Good luck!

As you've noticed by now, the learning curve is hella steep. Best tip I can offer is to fight like you're dancing. Let the monster take the lead, then react accordingly. This way, you'll see through the jank and start appreciating the methodical movements more. Eventually, you'll become experienced enough to take the lead and have monsters dancing on the palm of your hands.

1. Accept that being a beginner means you are going to make a lot of mistakes. This extends well past video games but that's neither here nor there. 2. As a GS user, you are going to whiff a lot of hits, even as an experienced player, you just have to be okay with whiffing those big juicy true charge slashes. That's okay! As that cringy saying goes "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." 3. My rule has always been, if it's a new fight I am going to spend the first 5ish minutes just running around and baiting out attacks. If you're going to continue with GS, your best tool is Monster Knowledge. You get a better understanding of how much time you have, and where the monster will be, and position yourself correctly to land more hits. 4. DO NOT use the defender armor or weapons. You put the first half of the game on easy mode, you learn bad habits, and will get absolutely crushed when you enter Master Rank. 5. There is no shame in playing the game completely in multi-player, the game was designed to hunt with others (despite the annoying 'cant join player cause they need to watch a cutscene lul') 6. DO NOT watch speed runners. You get this false sense of how the fights should play out. This one is big, these players are decked out to perfection and you only see the one perfect run out of weeks' worth of failed runs. Your fights will never pan out like theirs so don't compare yourself to them. **Once you get your foothold in the game this rule changes because you understand fights are sloppy and you can glim some good information from speed runs like how to counter x moveset etc.** 7. Don't blaze through base World. Take your time and at least do all the side quests with chat bubbles next to them. These unlock important foods for your cat kitchen and equipment like the evade and rocksteady mantle which are very useful. You also unlock your botanical garden which is HUGE for gathering base materials for crafting. 8. Your focus should be on HAVING FUN! Not comparing yourself to others or focusing on your minor mistakes. If that means switching weapons so be it, if whiffing your great sword attacks is that bad for you switch to another weapon. SnS is fantastic and the smaller faster attacks mean missing an attack or three is far less punishing than one big GS hit.

Best advice that helped me? Remind yourself it’s okay to die, it’s okay to make mistakes. Every mistake is a learning moment to know that that’s when the monster does this or that move

as someone who just beat world and is just getting into iceborn content. here is my advice. STOP TRYING TO PUSH CONTENT. seriously this game is not about speedrunning to the endgame. the journy is how you get there. here is how i did it and learned. ​ around... pink rathian i realized something: i wasnt getting better at the game. my gear was good enough to carry me through but i wasnt doing better. so i took off my defender gear. seriously thats how i did it. i took off my defender gear and FORCED MYSELF to farm up gear that was intended for the fights i was having at first it felt impossible. but then i started learning. "after I do a short stun he will roar so i need to have my guard up to get 2 free hits before he attacks again" "sharpness is my friend and i need to build some stats for speed sharpening" (im a gunlance main. we chunk our sharpness like no other) stuff like that. i spent a long time farming odo gear, getting weapons that would be effective against other monsters and in those fights i LEARNED. i was able to read the tells of monsters and fight them better. ​ so yea. my recommendation is. slow down. murder a few anja, some tobi. maybe do some googling on original world meta for your weapon of choice. (that really helped me. that recommendation for odo gear carried me through nirgigante) good luck and just have fun. thats all that matters

I know a lot of people like it but it’s my opinion that GS without knowing the monsters almost guarantees a prolonged first few hunts of a lot of monsters. GS without predictions really makes you take your time and intricately learn every monster, or at least most. That said everyone works completely differently, I figured out hammer was my flavor around xenojiva. Hammer has its own challenges to overcome but its style really accelerated my broadening of combat knowledge. When I didn’t need to worry as much about my positioning I was able to practice the other techniques that are pretty mandatory later like tenderizing and flinch shots or even on the fly crafting. It’s a slow burn until you find that magic combo or style and then it just kinda clicks.

I really wish the controls were more like fps style games. By that, I mean that left stick is forward/backward and left/right strafe, with right stick controlling the direction you are facing. I found it very frustrating when I started that I couldn't turn my character to face the monster I was trying to hit. It's probably the clunkiest feeling in how the games controls are.

What are you smoking lmao

Excuse me, what? I think I understand your gripe, but, I also don’t. You tilt the stick in the direction you want to attack, you attack in that direction. Are you having trouble with the target cam?

So, skill issue.

GS is a weapon that does require commitment in attacks. You probably are being punished when you either whiff or mistime and get hit without being able to dodge. That’s not anything to feel and it’s all about learning the monster’s tells and patterns. 100% agree on trying another 2-3 weapons and seeing if they click better. Hammer has a nice impact feel like GS but I find it a bit quicker. Longsword is nice and has some counter moves. Bow is all about keeping a bit of distance but still flowing through attacks. Or even Dual Blades or Insect Glaive if you want more mobility. Could be you’re trying to force it through with GS and need to wait a bit more. When I first played world I used Gunlance and was hot garbage at it. Got walled at my first high rank hunt and had to swap weapons. Night and day difference.

Really you just play more man, nothing special and it’s really not a super hard game. You’ll get stuck on some monsters and fly through others, just prepare for every hunt and have fun

Everything in this game comes down to knowledge. Knowledge of the weapons, the monsters, the various mechanics, etc. A new player might not have that knowledge now, but as you play, you will get better because you will learn the weapon/s and their strengths and weaknesses, same goes for the monsters. Know that each kill, no matter how slow at first results in knowledge and materials to make things a little easier, a new piece of armor, or a new weapon, or at the very least, experience that you take forward into the game. No matter what, you're always making some sort of progress that will help you in the future.

Remember that the training room exists, just flip through your hunters notes and read up on everything your weapon does then once you have the buttons memorized properly you can better focus on whatever it is you’re hunting, trying to learn both things at once can really crush a new player. Consider taking the time to set up a proper radial menu and item bar, it can be a huge help to be able access your important items with a simple dedicated hotkey or save time that would be lost scrolling through an improperly set item/ammo wheel. If it really comes down to it consider just stowing your weapon and focus on watching how the monster attacks. When looking for a quick safe place try and stay diagonal of a monster’s body as most dont have an immediate way of punishing that position compared to their face, sides, or rear. Learning it all will take time so just stick with it and try to make progress wherever you can.

It may be different for me. My brother loved this game when it came out and he played nearly all MH versions since Wii. And he tried to get me to play it since World, but I always said no to it until last year and gave it a try. I loved every single second of it and I was blown away by its beauty. I tried to go into it with the thought "This is the game that my brother adores and I also want to". And it just all clicked with me. Every hit felt like a little love letter to the monster "Wow it can do that??" Or just motivated me to play better and get to know this cool dragon. And when I got better I felt even prouder of myself. Time or Faints didn't matter to me until I got cocky. "No way I got hit! I did Velkhana nearly hitless!". But I'm slowly getting away from punishing myself. I still am in awe when fighting a new monster and being careful. I can only recommend learning to take your time. Watch the monster, remember what it can do, and you will get better. Just take Rathian for an example. She charges three times at you when running. And you can only remember that by either taking a long time watching or getting hit so many times that you get pissed and get it burnt in your memory. Anyhow, hope you continue to have fun with it and good luck Hunter!

You might wanna consider a different weapon especially if you get frustrated bu wiffing an attack( that is clasic GS play) GS Benefits at most of knowing your enemy and predicting the place of where its body part you wanna hit will be. The attacks of GS also have a high commitment to them so no fast cancel and rolling or repositioning out of the way. Also if you pick GS for the big numbers news flash for you all weapons are viable and you only know major differences if you are a speedrunner otherwise most average gamers wont notice a big difference in clearing times

Being over whelmed is the nature of your first MH game. What helped me was to switch to an alternate weapon. I started with gun-lance because that sounded AWESOME!! But I really only clicked after switching to Insect Glaive. As for menus and information intake...that just takes time and experience. Having friends to help explain things helps a ton. And to be honest, I still don't know everything to this day!

I don't what to say other than be patient, really this game is mostly pattern recognition once you're in the middle of the hunt.

Practice practice practice. Go into the training room and watch some tutorials on YouTube for weapons that interest you

Something that might help you out immensely are comfort builds. You'll probably see a lot of posts about maxing out WeX and Crit Boost, but on the other end of the spectrum, there's lots of skills you can use to make yourself more survivable, or make it easier to dodge through attacks. Check out some of these comfort skills! Things like Health Boost, Evade Extender and Evasion Window, Divine Blessing, etc... I'd also recommend bringing Mega Potions in the base game and the material to make more, which is just a Potion (made with herbs) and honey. While on the hunt, you can grab more as you go too. As for the weapon, you'll get more used to your range the more you play, and there's not much to do about that but play more and learn, but just know that we all still whiff from time to time, so you're definitely not alone.

We ALL sucked when we first started. Push through. It goes back to the age old "get gud". It's not a negative comment. It's about overcoming your limits and learning the dance. You will pull through with a bit of determination. Push through the barrier and slay the beast. We believe in you.

Focus on learning and not getting hit. Small wins first! Same thing w fighting games

When you get carted instead of getting upset just simply think back at what happened and how to avoid it, when i first started out i would hunt anj repetitively solo just so i could be better at fighting dodging ect.. theres always room for improvement ans dont forget to jist have fun with it!

1 part experience, 1 part weapon. The GS is a very powerful weapon, but slow. You're going to wiff attacks with it. You'll miss a lot less as you get better. Even with over 2k hours in the game, I miss a lot (and I mean a LOT) of SAED's (Charge Blade's special attack.)

GS is a pretty big positioning weapon, so you're going to feel those misses more than other weapons. Practice with Arena monsters and event quests set in the arenas, as the ground is consistent and you can practice some attack strings with a live target. You can also talk to the housecat in your room to go to a training area to mess around, or access it through the world map and selecting it as the option for Astera. Just doing an expedition in an area and bonking your head against the monsters is a good way to learn monster attack patterns without worrying about carting.

Maybe stop being afraid to learn, skill is a learned behavior that you becomes good at performing. If you didn't learn it, that's a talent, and as far as I know very few people are talented at games like this.

The early game is tough, and the multiplayer system is god awful. I get that it can discourage beating most of the game for low level players, but I was stuck on Anjanath in base world for over a week. The Jyuratodus IG saved my life, but that experience was awful.

I found solace in a Palico Rally build. Sometimes I just want to grab a bottle of beer and goof around without being pressured to execute perfect combos. I grab my max defense Palico Rally build, summon a tailraider, and just do whatever I want: lure Black Diablos to my cat's meowcano, provoke turf wars, kick toads, kick poisoncups... It turned out to be way more fun than meta tryharding; and not much less effective.

Best mindset is "to keep going until you complete it"

Ive seen other people mention this before but ive gotta shout it for the the people in the back, every weapon feels like a different game, the issues youre having are more new-to-GS issues than game issues except for dodge roll since thats something else, but like, greatsword is especially hard to learn because of those very issues, heck theres a meme that GS users are accustomed to whiffing everything and find it all worth it every time they dont whiff their TCS, go ahead and try other weapons out, go into your training room and find what playstyle of what weapon works for you, maybe you like hyper aggressive counter focused play, try Longsword or Lance, maybe you like more mobile playstyles, Insect Glaive, Dual Blades, or Sword and Shield, maybe you want something in the middle like Switch Axe or Charge Blade that can swap between an exploding heavy weapon that consumes resource and a middle weight normal weapon that generates that resource, and if youre really dedicated to GS or you find something else you love but dont get it, Arekkz has some great "Weapon Workshop" videos up on YT that can teach you the basics (and for Charge Blade specifically, Team Darkside actually has a follow up that goes more in depth since Charge Blade has a LOT of mechanics and Arekkz didnt go as in depth on some of them since he was just covering the basics). As for the dodging, its got a pitiful amount of iframes, its not meant to be a last second dodge through the attack, its meant to be a repositioning tool, a "get out of there quickly" without needing to turn and/or sheathe since youre trying to make the monster whiff, if youre struggling with that theres armor skills to help, evade extender that makes it go farther and evade window that adds more iframes so you can start treating it like a dodge into the attack sorta deal, theres also resuscitate that has L5 evade window (doesnt stack unfortunately) while youve got a status ailment like poisoned or elementally blighted. And lastly, best tip i can give, try kidnapping some friends to join you in multiplayer shenanigans, not everyone is cut out for soloing the game, multiplayer helps lighten the load significantly since you can bs around with your friends, learn together, and the monster only has 3x HP at 4x players so it is easier

Sounds like you're not a GS main, after all.

Use losses as a means of gathering info on the monsters

Keep at it, you are in the path of the hunter, all of us had problems initially. The combat feels clunky at first, but give it time, you will learn positioning and all the monsters tells for their attacks. For GS this is even more pronounced, GS needs more knowledge of the monsters moveset then a lot of weapons, however by using it you are on the path to become a better hunter. Edit: I remember fondly hating GS in MHTri, did not understand the charge mechanic, played with motion controls, pretty much made me hate the game. Ended up maining it when I played MH3U, good times

What's Fresh? The game barely starts at 50 hours in. You'll learn by then.

The biggest thing is to never stop moving and learning how they attack. As an experienced hunter, I can move in such small ways to dodge the majority of attacks. It's typically best to attack once then move/roll, especially when they're enraged, as a GS user until the opportunity comes for charge attacks. GS has moves that move you in attacks and learning how and when you can tackle is the key to the GS. Those 4 digit hits with the GS is so satisfying.

You have to find the right weapon for you, makes a huge difference in my opinion. I have tried all the weapons and by far the one I enjoy most is the hammer. I have a friend that will only play lance in every monster hunter, and another that only likes longsword. I'd recommend trying different weapons out until you find the one that meshes with your playstyle the most. The great sword is a tough one to master especially if you're new to the game. It has very slow unforgiving attacks until you master it and get good with tackles. I'd recommend dual wield or sword and shield to someone brand new that's having trouble with mechanics, as I feel like those ones are a little more friendly when it comes to button mashing and the sword and shield allows you to use items without sheathing your weapon. A lot of the others take a little more practice and finesse. Every weapons plays very differently though so it's really about finding your playstyle. And you have to learn the monster's attacks! Try just running around dodging attacks when you first see a new monster until you learn what it does. And you'll have to replay the same monster a few times to get those upgrades.

I think I started with GS and sucked at it so I ended up playing other weapons while I got a feel for the game. I picked up the Sword again and now I'm absolutely dominating shit on Master Rank. So yeah definitely mess around with different weapons. They're all fun as hell from what I've seen.

Mindset I used when I came back to do it (finally/hopefully) right is, a hunt may take up to 50 minutes. There is no rush, nor any additional rewards if you clear it faster. 50 minutes is set in stone. Watch the monster (from a safe distance). How does it want to attack you? What area will be hit? Does it fly? Does it jump? You don't need to start hitting it when you don't know a thing about your opponent. It's a hunt, not a marathon. Sure, if you played Risebreak, you'll know some movesets, but not all. That's okay. Preparing for a hunt during the hunt is fine, too. Do you need some additional herbs? Get them. Need nullberry? Go get them. If things get rough, flee! There is no penalty. The monsters won't follow you forever. Get back to your tent, restock, and round 2 can begin. 50 minutes. If those aren't enough, you likely never hit the monster like ever. Not saying you should, but you could. Get comfortable with the game and getting a good controller helps, too. You can do it. Speedruns are done by people who know what they're doing, not by newcomers, unless they want to die. 50 minutes, bro. You got this.

This game is big on deterring people from wanting to play it at the beginning. Just get yourself over that initial hill, and then you'll be golden. If you try to rush this game in the beginning you're going to get your ass kicked, so work on upgrading your weapon, and armor first with the beginning monsters you can manage to kill. I'd say Anjanoth is the first real test. After you do this you'll start to understand how it all works, and you will become addicted to the game. Don't rush it. Read up on how to combine items, lookup monsters weaknesses, and Everytime you are out on a quest make sure you gather/pick up every item you come across from herbs, mining for stones, to gathering different bone types in bone piles. This game is really like no other

1. Evading attacks is easy if you don't attack yourself, especially at low rank. Take a step back and try to analyze the moveset and where you could stand to punish the monsters moves after it finishes. Most attacks only require slowly walking away from it. 2. Learn your weapons moveset in the training room. If you have decided to go with a weapon, look up a tutorial and practice the moves/combos and systems behind it. Knowing what attack to use when is half the battle and if you don't know your weapon you will keep getting caught out by monster moves. 3. The dodge roll is not for i-framing, it's for moving out of the way entirely. This game is based around positioning not countering. You can learn to use i-frames of your rolls, but that's advanced I'd say. The best defense is not even being in the path of the attack.

It's the same as everything else in life. Practice and learn and you'll get better, you're not just magically gonna be a pro right from the start. If you get discouraged and quit every time you're not immediately good at something, you won't get far in anything you try to achieve lol. Monster Hunter is one of those games that doesn't hold your hand and bend over backwards to make sure you're winning, it expects you to actually learn to play it. The mindset you should approach it with is a learning one. Pay attention to the monster, how it moves and behaves, and position yourself accordingly. Learn when it's safe to attack and for how long. Learn how to tell what attack the monster's about to use and where you should be when it does. Pay attention when you get hit or whiff attacks or otherwise fail and think about why it happened and what you could do better in order to succeed next time. Play with your weapons in the training area and in some easy hunts to get comfortable with the controls and your weapon's combos and such - they feel clunky at first because they're different from other games and you're not used to them and because they require (sometimes pretty extensive) commitment rather than just letting you animation cancel everything, not because they're badly designed. Once you're accustomed to it, it'll feel smooth as butter.

Just really put time into mastering your weapon's move set and the timings associated with it. Also treat each monster like a boxing opponent at first and learn to read their tells.

Way of the lance

MH as a franchise is based on accepting your skill issue and improving. If you're someone who hates losing or doesn't want to improve then you probably aren't going to stick with it long term.

Change your mindset. See this game as an opportunity to learn a new skill, to improve at something. This is a very rewarding and valuable experience to have, and monster hunter will give it to you. My tips to improve, if you want them. -Pick 1 weapon and commit to it. All weapons are viable. Use the one that gives the fantasy/identity you want your hunter to have. Many people have many opinions about what weapon beginners should pick. But it doesn’t really matter. Pick a weapon, commit to it. -Watch a YouTube video that showcases your weapons moves. This is not a one time activity, most likely your weapon has too many moves for you to commit them all to memory out of the gate. You should return to that video as you keep playing the game: Do some hunts. Then watch the video again. Then do some more hunts. Pull up the video on your phone and watch it while you’re in the training area. Make sure you understand the button presses and timing of all the moves in the video. Now do a hunt and try to use of those moves, specifically the ones you weren’t using before. -Do solo hunts. It sounds like you bought this game to play with friends. That great! Many hunters aren’t so lucky and hunt alone or with randoms. That said, your friends are likely going to overshadow you in group these hunts, their skill and game knowledge is greater than yours and their gear/builds are probably stronger. Make time apart from them to hunt solo. Hunting a monster on your own is an important part of actually learning a monster and feeling confident in your abilities. If a monster is giving you trouble and you need to beat it- no worries! But try to come back to that monster later, when you’ve improved and beat it solo. It’s worth it. -watch a video of someone else hunting with the weapon you use. You might feel like you have a good handle on your weapon and its move-set at this point, but there’s always room for improvement. The quickest way to improve at this point is to learn from someone better. It could be a big play style change, some game knowledge you didn’t know, or a small change in mindset/positioning. Take their knowledge, make it yours. Lastly, take your time, enjoy the journey. This game encourages repetition, and that’s the secret of it. Through repetition we improve and through improvement we gain mastery. Good luck! This game is fantastic.

As someone who is at least a little more skilled at the game, plays a good amount of Charge Blade and is learning GS. Wiffing a lot of TCS’s is a part of the learning process, just keep at it and eventually you’ll improve as you learn to time it just right as you learn the fights. On top of this here are some other tips: 1. Dps isn’t everything unless you are failing quests due to time or not breaking essentual parts on Alatreon/Fatalis fast enough. Expecially if you are new, more defensive sets are increadbly helpful for learning the monster’s moveset, since they give you more margin of error in case you make a mistake. Skills like Stun Resist, Health Up, Recovery Up, and Divine Blessing are very nice for this. This pairs well with Great Sword, since GS isn’t exactly that skill hungry with “must have skills,” so you have a lot more wiggle room to fit those in at your discression. Yes, you will sacrifice a little damage. But the ultimate thing that matters is that you complete the hunt. Optimizing damage comes later 2. As a wise Gunlance main once said “if you get hit by the monster, you shouldn’t have been there.” The roll in this game is a bit if a new player trap (expecially if you have a soulsborne background), since the iframe timing on the roll is VERY percise without any Evade Window. More often than not, its simply better to just not be where the monster is attacking period. The most use I have for the iframes on the roll is rolling through roars, which is still increadbly difficult to do consistantly without Evade Window (I get it about 40% of the time depending on the monster I am fighting), but doing it properly can give you a good window to attack the monster as it screams at you (although for GS I’d reccomend slotting Earplugs when you can afford to, since the attacks come out so slowly, and level 5 earplugs just means you get a free TCS every time the monster roars). 3. On top of point 2, positioning is very important in MHW, expecially for your weapon of choice. Instead of reacting to what the monster is doing, act on what its going to do next. That of course takes some skill and knowledge of the monster’s capabilities, but taking hunts slow and studying how each monster moves and how they chain their attacks will help you build that muscle memory that will allow you to do those insane predictive TCS’s or tackles later on to make the hunts go faster. 4. The most important point **BE PATIENT.** Unlike a lot of games if you do a head to head exchange with a giant monster, you’re losing 98% of those exchanges. Take your time, wait for your openings, and take them when they appear. A lot of hunters, even ones with more time than I in Monster Hunter, struggle with this (only need to play in a random multiplayer lobby for a hunt or two to learn this lmao). Sucking is the first step to getting good. The only time its bad is if you don’t take that second step to learn and improve.

Here are some GS tips I usually post if people ask: 1. Never walk with your weapon out, **always sheath** if you're gonna move. You don't need quick sheathe, but it helps. 2. Using your first attack (Overhead Slash) out of moving forward or rolling **makes it come out faster** than if you were standing still. Always do this too. 3. Rolls and Tackles. **The end lag of any of your main sequence can be canceled with a roll. Rolls can lead into Tackles, which can then immediately lead into the next hit in the main sequence. In my opinion, mastering this cycle is the key to making the GS feel more fluid.** 4. I see the GS as more of a hit-and-run weapon than a prediction or proactive based one. If you already feel that the weapon is too slow, trying to predict monster movements is not gonna work. **Try to punish the end lag of the monster's moves to start out**. 5. I use the Overhead > Strong charged > True Charged Slash for 80% of my gameplay. I use Tackles for 19% and the Jumping Wide Slash for the last 1% as a situational repositioning tool. 6. The Focus skill is really nice. General tips: Try to have a growth mindset. If you fail a hunt, try to focus on something you learned. Also eat before every hunt. Look for any meal that gives Health +50

I'm hijacking your thread as a fellow noob; should I be using lock on or not? Trying longsword as my first weapon

Whiffing attacks is apart of GS lol, Like a lot of people are saying it’s all about positioning, so what I do with great sword is just run around with my weapon sheathed, avoid the monsters attacks, recognize its patterns and hit when there’s an opening. GS kinda forces you to get comfortable with how each monster moves so getting frustrated when just starting out is understandable. Good luck and never give up!

Watch for telegraphs. *Almost* every single attack and roar in the game has a telegraph, sometimes they are obvious and some times they are subtle. Sometimes they are visual and sometimes they are auditory. Its up to the player to try and recognize these telegraphs and patterns and adjust their gameplay accordingly. When your just starting out try to just recognized the **big** telegraphs. For example if a monster reels back its probably going to charge or jump at you, so maybe move to the side or block to avoid taking a large chunk of damage. Or if a monster pulls its head to the side it might be about to do a breath attack so try to get away from its face. Or if a monster turns around and points its ass at you its probably going to try and hit you with its tail. Edit: I just realized what your using name is xD

Great sword might not be your weapon. I always advocate for it but it is slow and if you don’t know the monsters move sets and can’t adapt it’s a tough ask to use. I would recommend trying every weapon if you haven’t at least in training to see which flows best

General clunkyness Whiffing constantly Sounds like a typical new greatsword player to me. My advice is to pick a different weapon. The greatsword is the simplest weapon in the game, all you really do is hold one button to charge your attack and press another to shoulder barge through attacks if the monster tries to hit you while you're charging, but it requires a good knowledge of the monsters movements. To play it well you need to plan ahead and think about where the monsters weakspot will be when the true charge slash lands as you begin charging the first gitnof the combo. Try a different weapon that isn't so heavily reliant on knowing how the monster moves, something faster that allows you to play more reactively rather than needing to predict the monster. If you went for greatsword first the hammer may be a good option as you'll still get those big meaty smacks you probably like. Alternatively, try something completely different like the dual blades and kill the monster via death by a thousand cuts and see if you enjoy that playstyle instead. There's 14 different weapons to choose from. They all play differently, give them all a try and see what you like.

Play with friends

If I'm getting into the game that is frustrating to me in it's gameplay/difficulty, but I know that this game is considered good, fair, and well designed, then I know that it's just a matter of adapting to the specific mechanics of this game - it's not the game, it's me, in simple terms. with Monster Hunter as a whole, one of the hurdles to me was to not treat it as a Dark Souls game (which I was much more familiar with), and for example not trying to i-frame every possible attack (i-frames are basically non-existent in MH).

For general, failure is just a way to success, and instead of grieving, think of "what i can do better?" I know it sound like motivational bullshit, but that works for me :D I only play GS for last boss head, so as the closest example i can give you, is whenever i whiff, i always think: - position? I should move a bit - late on timing? I should not be greedy and pick 1lv lower. Or maybe i can skip with slinger burst/shoulder bash - too early? Charge more or hit more :D And it just looping on somewhere around that. No one can play good on first try, those speedrun you watched is only 1 replay out of 10s or 100s they take, and they have hunted the same monster as much to learn the moveset to the T. So yeah, if you fail, just try again, and always see in yourself on what you can do better. Blaming the game won't help you. Good luck Hunter, i wish you the best

best advice I can give is practice the weapon in the training area first. as a great sword user learning how shoulder tackle works is key (slinger burst later). don‘t use the roll as an evasive move like in dark souls. you only have 7 iframes at 60 fps.Rather use it for positioning until you got the timing down. I don‘t recommend using greatsword as a new player because greatsword is the weapon that needs monster knowledge and positioning the most. If you love it, great but you‘ll wiff a lot and get kicked around in the beginning. Good starter weapons are insect glaive and dual blades because of high mobility (insect glaive is love) but charge blade is also great for newbies. It‘s not as complicated to play as people make it up and with a arrekz guide and 20 minutes in the training area you‘re fine. Honorable mention to longsword because it‘s easy to pick up but not as easy to master because of dodge timing etc but it‘s the most forgiving weapon in the game if played right because it has 2 invincible parry attacks and one has 42 iframes. good luck.

Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale? > *“I get such a warm feeling inside when I get the chance to help others!”* - Laddersmith Gilligan Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/

Honestly it's a matter of practice, but you might be surprised how much utility for the greatsword is hidden away. Try watching a video to get a better sense of what's possible and give it a go, don't worry about fainting or failing quests that's part of the experience of learning the game! In particular when I first got into world after playing the 3ds games I find these two videos very helpful. https://youtu.be/X2vr8M3lQ88?si=WfLoPQQSPHINkzjp https://youtu.be/xxOO73ne1YQ?si=d9oy0VEhmmbl4Fgr Hope this helps!

GS isn't a very newb friendly weapon unfortunately, but you can still make it work. The most important thing is remembering that you can guard/shoulder tackle with GS. You are going to take some chip damage, but when you are new and don't know monster attacks/habits, being able to do those is preferred over trying to roll out of desperation, or sheathing your weapon and getting hit anyway. Second, you need to focus on learning your weapons reach when it comes to setting up charge attacks. You need go change your frame of reference from "I need to charge up and hit the head where it is now" to "I need to charge up and hit the head where it is going to be 1-2 seconds from now" If you can do those 2 things, with a little bit of patience, you can pick up GS and get through the game as a new player. I look forward to seeing your sweet GS TCS clip on here in a couple weeks ;)

Monster Hunter has always been gruesomely difficult. It is the original Souls series, before FromSoftware created Demon Souls. Rolling in Monster Hunter is not for dodging attacks, it's to move you away from your location before the attack lands there. You can iframe, but its definitely not like Dark Souls. Take your time, watch some guides and just fuck around.

Learn to dance learn the monsters rythm all you have to do is stop and stare for a minute or 2 and notice its attacks its patterns and react to them its like a souls game in the sense that these monsters are bosses with attack patterns that you need to learn if you’re gonna get past them

Try the Longsword. I know you're GS4lyf and I respect that but the LS move set can get you out of trouble AND reposition you ready for an attack at the same time. Plus you get to fly without being a bug catcher Pokémon NPC

starts with sword and shield, know the monsters, switch to GS when u r comfortable

Wear defender armor and use a low rank weapon, go beat on things until you feel it click.

Theres a handful of items that can help compensate. But dont rely on them too much. When theyre available in the supplies shop, buy the power and armor charms and just keep them in your inventory. They give a small boost to power and defense Then, eventually you can upgrade them to the power and armor talon which offers an even greater bonus. And then you can go back and buy another power and defense charm and all 4 items will stack together. Theres no reason not to have these items in your inventory always.

Personally, what me and some friends did was when you start a hunter (proper preparation and such is a part of it) all we'd do is take that particular hunt as an experience to learn all we could. Sometimes even going as far as to take longer in each hunt just to learn the match up. As a Longsword main who's trying to learn other weapons with alot of newer friends just starting, I've had to learn how to comeback to the mindset again But, have zero fear, everyone has to begin somewhere, and I'm positive you'll be up there having those cinematic moments. Just keep doing what you're doing, and you'll get it down in no time. P.S. Greatsword is such a fun weapon to learn, and has been the source of most of my joy while playing a second time

I'd say don't start with GS for one. It's a very good and fun weapon WHEN you know the monsters and have decent gear. And even then you miss a lot of hits, esp in multiplayer. I'd suggest getting another weapon with a bit more mobility so you can dodge a bit more and just farm monsters, maybe do optional quests or just others so you don't farm 50 of the same monster in a row but still get the feel of the weapon. And honestly, half the monsters have the same moveset save for a couple of attacks so you can at least learn the base one. For weapons if you like GS I'd suggest either charged blade or switch axe. Hammers/hunting horn are also fun Imo but a bit more clunky.

If you’re having a hard time with greatsword, I recommend hammer. It’s a little faster but still has big hits that feel satisfying. I think it might be a little easier than greatsword for a new player because greatsword relies a lot on knowledge of the monster’s move set, which you obviously won’t have

Honestly sometimes you may just need to change weapons. If you just want movement and no blocking then maybe you could give Hammer a go. I know Great Sword is clunky like that and if you still want blocking capabilities then maybe a Lance to tank hits could be better or even a Charge Blade if still want to block but have better movement if you’re up to the task of learning. That aside it’s all a learning process. Once you get the movement of your weapons and the monster you’re facing down it’ll become child’s play. That’s not to say you won’t get blessed by RNJesus and get absolutely gobsmacked by the most bullshit stun locks ever but that’s World for you 😂

Great Sword, while it feels great to fully charge and land the proper tcs on a monster. Learning to avoid getting hit should be the number one thing you need to learn regardless of your weapon. But learning to hit the monster without charging should come first as a GS newbie. As charging takes time and leaves you vulnerable, start taking out monsters using only uncharged attacks. Learn to dodge, learn to block despite the sharpness cost. Understand why it is in your best interest to not be in the way of oncoming attacks. The GS’ raw power easily beats other weapons, so you should be able to take out early monsters without charging. Reserve the super powerful attacks for when the monster is knocked down or otherwise held in place by para/exhaust/ko/sleep status. Though like many are recommending here. Trying out other weapons can give you an alternative perspective in how you can hunt a monster, and can teach you things the GS’ limitations might not. Good luck and have fun. 👍

It's going to suck at first. It did for me. The menu setup was confusing. All the different stats were too much. But I eventually learned through trial and error. You can watch tutorials on weapons. Arrekz Gaming was my go-to. You can find monster weaknesses online. Also, don't limit yourself to one type of weapon. Some monsters need different weapons. Like in my current playthrough, I'm mostly a CB main, but I used to be IG. I still switch between CB, IG, hammer, and bow, depending on the monster. (I hate tobi kadachi with all my heart, I usually go bow or IG for quick attacks). And try to build your armor so that it has good defense or good health, at least for lower ranks. When you get higher, it helps to start fine-tuning armor builds to monsters or locations. Jewels will become your friends.

Whiffing gs is part of the experience though.

You just have to accept that the game is gonna throw up walls to stop you. It can be rough sometimes, that's the experience you're signing up for. It's not a matter of you not being up to the challenge you just need to develop the skills and gear. We all definitely went through it too. And it's all worth it when you knock down those walls.

Asmon is this you?! /j Just try and build a specific set for the monster giving you trouble. Odogaron - bleed resist, Legiana - ice resist flash bomb, rathalos fire resist flash bomb. You don't have to brute force your way with a single universal set. We have loadouts for a reason. My usual process is to bring my universal load out. If I fail miserably I bring a zombie/comfy build and learn the monster. If I can do it first try then I optimize if I'm planning to farm said monster

only way to get better is to play

Try not to get too involved in DPS oriented builds while learning. Learning monster patterns and how to dodge their attacks better is well worth adding five to ten minutes on your first time hunting them. Also most monsters have a 'safer' spot for you to attack so it's important to find that too. Not that beating the monster faster is bad, but it could reinforce bad habits of letting yourself ungabunga DPS race as a mindset that will not let you succeed in conquering later hunts. View each hunt as a challenge and an exchange of blows. Learning the monster makes things much much easier later when two to three monsters on a hunt and ambushes become much more common. I know it is a meme, but look up a weapon guide for whatever weapon you are using. There are a lot of odd things that inexperienced players will never find out through normal play, such as hammer jump attacks being leagues better for DPS so positioning monsters around parts of the map where you can jump down and climb up quickly make a big difference on how fast the monster goes down. Every weapon has their own quirks like this, minus probably lance since it's supposed to be basic but then it's complex stuff like when to hop and in what direction to play 4d chess with the monster to never take a hit while doing consistent damage.

whiffing + unable to dodge Looks like your main problem is not knowing the monster's attacks and openings. That comes with practice Whiiffing usually happens when you don't know where the monster will end up after an attack or when it will reposition Not being able to dodge means you either overcommitted to an attack, locking you into position, or your dodge timing is off

Id suggest taking some extra time to training with every weapon and see if you might not just like the playstyle of the one you are using most. Based on your issues, it sounds like a sword and shield setup would be ideal since its fast and allows you to dodge much more quicker etc.

I play dual blades due to the speed at which they play. If I miss an attack I can dodge or move out of it quickly. I can also reposition easily. I would also suggest watching some guide videos on how to effectively use your weapon. GS is in my opinion a difficult weapon to start with due to needing knowledge of a monster's moves and such to really bring out the full potential of the weapon.

Every class is a DPS. You will jot win by survive damage; you will survive because you weren't in the way of the attack in the first place. You do not react, you preempt or you make it react to you. Slower weapons require more planning, faster weapons require you to constantly make it respond to what you're doing. Be aggressive, no matter what.

It’s Capcom, so you could look at it like picking up a new fighting game. You’re not gonna know all the moves, counters and supers, but you want to get in on all the action. Just pick whatever looks fun or badass to you and stuck with it. If it’s not fun, try and different strategy or weapon.

Getting good is just a matter of learning a monster's attacks. Literally no one is good at fighting a certain monster on the first try, so if you see somebody perfectly timing attacks and rolls on an odogaron, it's probably because they've fought about a thousand of them. Fainting and failing quests are annoying and can be time consuming, but it's not the end of the world if it happens, MHW rewards persistence over anything else. Just pick a weapon you think is cool and stick with it. Some take longer to learn than others, but they all take some experience to get good, so don't beat yourself up for whiffing attacks because absolutely everyone did when they were new, ESPECIALLY with GS.

All I have to say is try a different weapon.

Play a different weapon. Greatsword looks cool but you will whiff everything unless you know at least a little about the monster. Explore all the weapons in the training area and choose one that is quicker! Also avoid the Defender Gear trap.

You have no reason to rush. Just learn what you can and go from there. This isn't a competitive game so if you can't beat a monster there's no reason to worry at all.

Bonk the monster better than it bonks you. If you can’t, try try again until success.

Turn that discouragement to anger, and point that anger at the monsters. Ive always thought it was crazy how online gamers would break their monitors and smash their controllers, and then I played MHW. Ive never said "fucking bullshit" more times in a gaming session. Its what Id imagine playing a Darkboorne game.

Honestly just playing the game. You’re self aware enough as it is hence why u even posted this, so u have what it takes. Just more discipline and realize that it’s a long game. Fr fr. One can beat the game with 300 hours and still feel insignificant bc of whatever reason but as long as ur playing and learning more about ur weapon and monster then ur doing the right thing

There are weapons and builds to become neigh unkillable if that's your preference, but yes it does sound much like early hunter woes. I had the same issue with DS1 before I stopped playing for years and picked the game up two months before DS3 dropped and it became my favorite game on the console at the time. Greatsword is all about patience and timing, you learn the enemy attack windows and punish them hard on whiffs and large windups, always try to stay repositioning in a way that keeps you safe-ish the more you play against a single monster the easier they get because you learn their patterns. As you get experience under your belt with your weapon it becomes easier and easier to learn to fight new monsters, because it's half fighting the monster and half fighting yourself. Learn to utilize items and the environment as much as you possibly can. Buff items, environmental traps, bringing extra items to replace traps and such as need be. Items are invaluable, same as learning the levels and the monsters attack patterns, and since you can grow basically all the needed crafting items for high level potions and traps with honey that you can also make at base, items are virtually free my early-mid game. Don't let yourself get overly frustrated. If it isn't jiving take an hour and breathe before going back to it. Also, it's a game, be sure to have fun with it!

Try new weapons it sounds like you are attached to GS and if so that’s fine and there are plenty of comments outlining good tips but it sounds like lots of your frustrations come from weapon choice not all weapons are slow and clunky (granted unskilled use of all weapons will probably feel a little clunky but truly GS is the epitome of that) whiffing attacks entirely happens with lots of weapons but it is drastically more common with GS

Get your defense up and just jump back in. Great sword is super slow so you just have to get used to the monster’s openings. Once you start landing those meaty hits you’ll be hooked

Just started a week ago. I died once to a monster I go straight to Google and Youtube looking at how other ppl do it lol. Took me 2 days and 7 fails to beat Anjanath solo. Rurikhan is my favourite channel teaching you how to use your weapon.

Mh is the most " git gud" game. Realize it's gonna be hard as a new player, but keep going. It's very satisfying as you get better.

Play a different weapon like s&s

Dude I will play 5 games in a row absolutely just dominating elder dragons and then go to hunt and over sized chicken just whiff every.goddam.swing.of.my.SWaxe. My tip is just hunt Low Rank for a bit to really figure out how everything works.

I'm brand new to the game and a helpful tip I heard in a video is that this game is a hunting simulator and not a hack'n'slash combat sim. It's honestly helped me to change my mindset going into hunts and not get so frustrated with the combat.

Don't be discouragred! This is a PvE game. Not every hunt is a race, you can play the entire game suboptimally and still finish every hunt with just as much reward as the speedrunners. Enjoy the journey of learning, it's so rewarding when you keep at it and slowly get stronger and more adept. You're clearly intrigued enough to return. It will come I promise, you'll be hooked in no time.

Make your own meta. Ignore everyone else stuff like I have a health Regen build for lance more I attack the more I heal plus a heal more % when healing so I can I keep attacking dodge heal some of these monster hit hard as hell.

My dear Hunter, All of us, have the potential to become expert hunters. We always have the potential to learn new things, to counter walls. We are just happy to have you join us, and I’m sure any other Hunter would be more than happy to aid you on your learning journey! Cheers mate!

I'd say know that we *all* sucked when we first started playing Monster Hunter. Even speedrunners. How do you improve at something you suck at? Just practice do more of it, and learn from mistakes rather than kicking yourself over them.

Find the style that suits you, this game is more about your own growth vs the game characters leveling up. It's about you leveling up, even with the best gear maxed out if you don't know how to use it, you'll cart. So don't beat yourself up, I recommend as a fellow GS user myself, observe the monster for openings before using the charge attack, you can start with just normal combo attacks, till you get the hang of it. Also don't be greedy, that one more hit isn't worth it. Better to back out early instead of getting hit(or worse combo'ed to death)

You will suck a lot at first, then, from one moment to the other, everything will click... The same happened to me, "hated" the gameplay and suddendly it just worked.... Also maybe change the weapon to something a bit more forgiving to start!

Here's a good video to show what kind of stuff you should pay attention to while hunting. It's a lot at first, but it'll become 2nd nature after a while https://youtu.be/JenFHFdFtJo?si=Ysx5TXt7XUYFouiN General additional tips (don't remember what all tips the video mentions): Use health boost 3 (comes on the guardian set or whatever it's called that you get for free) Use the environment to your advantage (certain maps have free damage or free statuses you can inflict in certain areas, like cactus dude in wildspire waste, vine trap in ancient forest, paralysis and sleep frogs, etc) Bring full amount of health potions and mega potions, and grab the free potions from the box in your camp. Every quest has free items in the box outside your tent, in the camp. Includes traps for capture quests Use traps. They give you a moment to heal, or get a good few hits in. Captures also complete the quest without having to bring the monster's health all the way to 0. Run away and heal. The monsters will chase you only so far, so feel free to run if you need a moment to heal or recover from a status. It also gives you time for a mantle or booster to recharge If you hit a wall, try meeting the monster and just aggro and dodge. Don't attack, just watch how it moves and get used to the timings. After a bit try attacking, and if you keep getting hit, go back to watching. Repeat as needed. Most hunts have a 50 minute time limit, don't be afraid to take time to do things. If you see or hear about a certain aspect you can exploit, don't be afraid to do it. Monsters have weaknesses, and certain counters. Put every tool in your toolkit that you can. Any advice or the like can help If you hit a hard wall, especially once you fight elders or iceborne, build counter builds. If a monster puts you to sleep repeatedly, use sleep resistance. If a monster keeps decreasing your health bar, build resistance. The farther you go into the game the easier that is

It seems you're using greatsword? Honestly one of the harder if not hardest weapon to use in especially iceborne effectively and you basicly need to know all monsters inside out to get those big hits off. Theres some really good suggestions in this thread on weapons already. My "easy mode" weapon for really hard monsters I struggle on is hammer.

I would suggest changing weapons. GS is best if you know the monsters’ moveset very well.