Amazing MH3 Speed drawing

By ARCHON

Check this out. A speed drawing in soft pastels of a lagicrus. Pretty nice.

Monster Hunter Tri Dethrones Brawl

By ARCHON

If you've been following the trajectory of Monster Hunter Tri's average play time per person, it should come as little surprise that it has finally dethroned Super Smash Brother Brawl as the most played wii game (per person). Still, this is no small feat. Brawl has remained at the top of the heap for a long while, even as games such as Modern Warfare and Animal Crossing threatened to overtake it.

None had the meteoric trajectory of Monster Hunter Tri however. Just look at this handy graph created by Kotaku illustrating it. Even if you cannot read it, just know that that steep blue line ending at the top of the picture represents MH3 (click to enlarge).

MAN! The average playtime for MH3 is about 80hours. I confess that I've put in well over that myself. How much have you contributed to the total?

New low price for MH3 and Classic Controller Pro Bundle

By ARCHON

I know, I know. Two posts in one day is unprecedented but I wanted to give MH3 fans a heads up about this amazing deal. Amazon is now selling the Monster Hunter Tri Bundle with Classic Controller Pro at the ridiculous price of $40!!! That's $20 off the original release price which was a good deal itself. Back in July I posted that Monster Hunter Tri was being sold by Gamestop for $40 bucks. To pay the same price now and get the must-have controller is insane.

If you know of anyone who hasn't quite taken the leap and purchased this incredible game, there's never been a better time. Having the classic controller pro rounds out an incredible gaming experience. I promise, you won't be disappointed. This game will live in your wii for months.

Royal Ludroth Sponge Comic

By ARCHON

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this comic featuring the Royal Ludroth over at Better Left Unwritten. Matt writes:

Like many of the monsters in Monster Hunter Tri, the Royal Ludroth has a real-world counterpart. The Gobul is a big devil frog. Kelbi are just deer, pretty much.

For whatever reason, the Royal Ludroth is a large cleaning sponge.

Check out the rest of the post and the comic in context here. 

Monster Hunter Soundtrack now for sale!

By ARCHON

Now you can bring the epic tunes of Monster Hunter Tri with you where ever you go via your laptop, cd player, or mp3 device. Capcom announced August 24th on it's official blog, the release of the Monster Hunter Tri Soundtrack. You can buy either the disc on Amazon for $15.98 or download it for $9.99 if you'd rather. Do you think you'll be picking this one up?

Better Know a Monster: Lagiacrus...Big Bad Blue

By ZANZIBAR

Laggy is the biggest water water baddie and poster child of Monster Hunter Tri. He employs a large number of lightning and dash attacks that can be very problematic for first time hunters.  He is found in the deserted island and the flooded forest and first time hunters should bring a few things along to aid in they're hunts. 


Lightning resists are of prime importance but should that not be an option then stun resistance can help avoid the effects of lightning blight or bringing along a full pouch of stormsender seeds to cure yourself. 


Lagiacrus is weak to fire so having a strong fire weapon can bring him down faster.  Perhaps more valuable than equipment is the knowledge to avoid his attacks. When it comes to lightning attacks he can shoot balls of lightning, a small discharge, a large discharge which looks like fireworks are going off and lasts longer than the small version. He can dash or spin dash which is much faster or can even add electricity to that. 


On land his attacks lose some range but he can coil up and swing his tail around, this attack is best avoided by hugging his left side between his legs. For first time hunters one of the best places to attack him is around his tail area when he's underwater, staying next to the ground will make it difficult for him to hit you. Hopefully this will help you bag your big water dragon. 

Monster Hunter Tri Sales strong, but Capcom profits are down

By ARCHON

Capcom's first fiscal quarter of the year has been less than brag-worthy. According to gamrfeed:

For the three months ending June 2010, Capcom earned revenues of 19.037 billion Yen ($213.9 million) down slightly from 19.497 billion Yen ($219 million) in the previous June quarter...foreign exchange losses for Capcom caused a sharp drop in profitability compared to a year ago. 

Going on to indicate that Monster Hunter Tri sales were fairly strong

During the first quarter of the fiscal year, several Capcom titles performed well.

• Lost Planet 2 shipments for X360 & PS3 combined reached 1.50 million units worldwide
• Super Street Fighter IV shipments for PS3 & X360 combined reached 1.35 million units worldwide
• Monster Hunter 3 shipments for Wii (launched in the West in April) reached 0.69m units worldwide and now stand at 1.8m worldwide

So in this quarter Monster hunter sold 690,000 copies which brings its total copies sold to 1,800,000 units. A respectable number, especially considering that Monster Hunter Tri is considered a bit of a niche game here in the west.

MH3 now only $40

By ARCHON

It's a reasonable assumption that most of you reading this blog already own Monster Hunter Tri, but for the few of you who do not good news: the price for a brand new copy of the game has dropped to $39.99 at Gamestop saving you $10 off the previous price. If you've been waiting to pick up a copy, now's your chance. Considering how many hours I've put into the game and how much fun it has been, $40 is a steal! If you have friends who are thinking about getting the game and need a little push, perhaps this is it. Spread the word...your reward is even more hunters to help you on your quests online.

Better Know a Monster: Barroth

By ARCHON

Monster Hunter Tri's Barroth features a pretty significant jump in difficulty from all the monsters prior. He his harder and is faster than any before him, and the first few times you face him he can be quite unpredictable. Don't be discouraged if it takes a few times before you beat this foe as the challenge is formidable, but the rewards are worth it. The Barroth armor set is one of my favorites, featuring lightning resistance (useful against the upcoming Lagicrus) and a feature that increases the staying power of your stamina bar.

The Barroth  is unique in that he is weak to two different elements depending on the situation. When he is covered in mud, water attacks are the most useful and help slough off that thick layer of mud armor. Once the mud is washed away, he is weak to fire. So pick a fire or water weapon for this one.

Attacks to watch out for: tail whip, running charge, a head ground-smash that sends bits of mud flying, a sideways head-but, a Great Jaggi-style hip-check, and a mud-flinging shake. Above all avoid his running charge! This attack is by far his strongest and even with substantial armor this move can kill a hunter in one hit. He lowers his head and then charges at you. Block this attack with the lance or GS or dodge out of the way, though not too early as he will curve the path of his charge to intercept you.

Most of the other attacks should be familiar to you from previous monsters, but the mud-shake is new. This attack doesn't usually directly hurt you, but it throws large globs of mud in an area around the Barroth. Getting hit by one of these knocks you back, does damage, and binds your character with mud which slows you and makes you unable to attack for a time. Use the "cleanser" item to quickly knock this off (or have a buddy kick the mud off in multiplayer), or better yet equip the Rinapolos weapon set or a mud/snow gem to negate the binding effect. Without one of these mud-proof implements I suggests staying clear while he shakes it off.

Be sure to paint your target early, as he has the ability to dig underground and scurry to another area. If you have no paint watch for the small puffs of dust to trail him. Attack anywhere you can, but do your best to take off that pesky tail. I have had particular luck using a water lance. I'll block his incoming charge , turn around, and use a high lance-thrust where the sun don't shine...then repeat but don't let your stamina deplete entirely. The bowgun might also be useful since you can keep your distance AND you can switch to water and fire ammo when the situation calls for it (scatter-shot is useful for knocking mud off).

I could go more in-depth as each weapon has its own strategies, but if you watch out for these main attacks (which are devastating) and get your licks in when you can, you'll have him down before you know it.

Monster Hunter Tri Brawl Stage

By ARCHON

This resourceful soul has managed to skillfully mix two of my favorite games: Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Monster Hunter Tri. As visitors to this blog, I assume you have interest in, or own Monster Hunter Tri, but if you don't already own it I suggest adding "Brawl" to your Wii game collection as well. If you look to our last post, it is Brawl that has the highest play-time per player of any other Wii game and it is this title that Monster Hunter Tri is out to de-throne in this regard.

Ok, back to the mashup. This person has managed to take the Jhen Moran quest from MH and create an entirely new Brawl stage out of it, complete with the massive monster skimming alongside you and occasionally leaping toward the screen, mouth agape. I strongly recommend checking out the video below.

Monster Hunter Rises in the Ranks

By ZANZIBAR

Monster Hunter Rises in the ranks of the top 20 most loved Wii games. You can see it at Kotaku or via your very own Nintendo Channel. Only time will tell, but could Monster Hunter Tri really dethrone Smash Bros? It had a huge increase from last month but I expect it to taper off. 

Bagging two Laggies gets you a Rising Soul Sword

By ARCHON

Well killing two Lagicruses several times will anyway since you will need 5 lightning tickets to craft the Longsword blade. The new event quest "Sea Power" pits you against two writhing and devilish Laggies in an underwater arena. You must have a hunter rank 40 or higher to try your hand, and as with any quest it's better with friends, so bring some along. More details of the quest can be found at Nintendolife. I'm not a longsword user but that weapons looks awfully cool with its cool blue glow; maybe its time I start learning.

Virtual Lagicrus!

by ARCHON

A few days ago I came across this link describing an 'augmented reality' Lagicrus. Intrigued I followed the link and what I ended up with eventually with a 3-D Lagicrus model floating above a piece of paper in mid-air between the computer screen and I! That's what it appears on the computer screen itself anyway.

If you have a webcam and a printer try this out! Apparently the computer tracks the pattern on the printed page and uses it as a reference for for projecting a virtual lagicrus model in seemingly thin air. You can rotate and tilt the model. It's a little buggy, but really neat when you get it to work. Be patient as you may have to hold the page there for a while for everything to come into focus just right.

Bowgun Crafting Tutorial

By ARCHON

The Bowgun is arguably the most complex weapon in Monster Hunter Tri. It comes in three different parts, has slots for decorations, and depending on your build can shoot completely different kinds of ammo. It makes sense that this is weapon option is rarely exploited by hunters (playing online I see very few bowgunners) One youtube user has created a really slick crafting tutorial that makes using bowguns a little more approachable. So check it out, and then go build your own!

Keyboard or no keyboard, that is the question

By ARCHON

Those who have spent any amount of time playing Monster Hunter Tri online have found that communication among hunters is extremely valuable. The game offers a variety of ways to interact. There are of course the avatar gestures (funny, but no always that useful), wii-speak support, an in-game text entry screen, and support for a usb keyboard. It is this last option that I am thinking about taking advantage of.

I love that the game supports wii-speak, an underutilized device for the Wii. I love talking with my friends to plan methods of attack, set up quests, and warn them of low health or a nasty incoming monster attack. This option is fantastic but limited. I can only speak with those I register as friends through Monster Hunter Tri, and in my day to day interaction with other players my only other option is the terrible (alphabetical rather than QWERTY) keyboard in the game itself. Using this to communicate is do-able but painfully slow. So, is getting a keyboard worth it?

I have a friend who swears by using a keyboard, and for good reason. You can get your point across clearly and quickly (sometimes voices come through muffled on the wii-speak) and more importantly you can easily converse with non-friend teammates while battling. If you are a fast typist, it's not even that far of a stretch to type a note or two in the heat of battle, something that is impossible to do with the in-game text entry method. But is it worth it? Should I track down and buy a USB keyboard for just this one game? The video below is a CNET review for logitech's wii wireless keyboard. A particularly slick option. What do you think? How do you communicate in Monster Hunter Tri?

Monster Hunter Tri Smashes onto the Charts

By ZANZIBAR

For those of you who are familiar with your Nintendo Channel on the Wii will hopefully have seen the list of Wii games with the highest average amount of play-time. This list has been dominated by by Super Smash Bro's since it's release an the list itself has been fairly stagnant. But Kotaku has created a really neat chart to display this information and on the far right side about 1/2 way down debuting at solid 39:56 is our beloved Monster Hunter Tri.  Not bad for a first month!

Better Know a Weapon Part 4- The Long Sword (2.0)

BY ZANZIBAR

Now that I have a lot of Longsword experience under my belt, I thought it best to update my original weapons guide.So the big idea here is the more you cut the stronger it gets and then you unleash your built up energy in a flurry of attacks. Basic combo is overhead slash,thrust, rising slash (X A X).  The Long Sword (LS) also has an evasive slash to make up for it's lack of blocking ability, with the wiimote/nunchuck combo or CC (Classic Controller) set to attack with the right stick you can control which direction you dodge after your slash with twist of the wrist or flick of the thumb. Setup 1 with the CC only had a backwards dodge that is executed with X+A, however if you are mid combo you can use X+A and a direction press of the stick to control your direction. The LS has an infinite combo in X A X X, just keep repeating and you'll get that guage filled in no time. 

The the spirit gauge will fill up and glow red at it's peak this is the time to unleash a spirity combo by repeatedly hitting R on the CC, the spirit combo has a unique trait in that it will not bounce off a monster regardless of sharpness.  This combo has a tremendous amount of power behind it and each slash can do 120% of normal damage and end with your weapon being sheathed There are 3 levels to your charge, white, yellow and red. The first two will remain until you die or progress to the next level while the third red level where you get the 120% increase is only temporary but you can increase the time it is available by connecting with the final blow of a spirit combo. To extend the spirit combo you can alternate R and X for what can be a 12 hit combo and will happen very quickly, excellent for an incapacitated monster.

The running speed while the weapon is out is faster than the Great Sword and falls in pretty close to the middle as far as all weapons are concerned. The attack speed is fairly quick with good reach and the evasive slash can be combed into from any attack giving it good mobility.  


Happy Hunting.

Zero Punctuation Reviews Monster Hunter Tri

By ARCHON

Looks like Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation got his hands on a copy of Monster Hunter Tri. If you've never seen one of his reviews be warned, they are not safe for work (strong and crass language) though ultimately hilarious and clever. Can't say he's a fan of the game, but games he actually admires are few and far between so I'll take it.

Monster Hunter Tri Music

By ARCHON

The creators of Monster Hunter 3 certainly have a handle on what makes a game feel epic. The environments are beautiful and sweeping, the weapons are ridiculous, the monsters are crazy huge, and the sense of accomplishment after a well fought hunt is palpable. Its good to know then that all of these characteristics are backed up by a score of music just as epic.

You can always count on the music to really set the mood in Monster Hunter Tri, whether you are walking out across a huge sandy plain, wandering into your village farm, or encountering a formidable beast in the Flooded Forest.

YouTube user Tristya has posted much of the Tri Soundtrack on his/her channel. Check it out to listen to what I'm talking about. I wonder if this will ever make it to CD, like another one of my favorite games did?: Shadow of the Colossus (a game I think Monster Hunter Tri takes a cue or two from).

Custom Monster Hunter Tri Gear

By ARCHON

Capcom has partnered with online apparel creator Zazzle.com to make customizable designs for T-shirts, mugs, gifts, and more bearing the Capcom (legal) seal of approval. Specifically for us, that means Monster Hunter Tri logos and images on some pretty cool shirts, shot-glasses, posters and the like.

Check out the site for a huge collection of snazzy Monster Hunter Tri-themed clothes and trinkets. It's really fun to browse around. What is your favorite? Now, if only they'd make t-shirts that look like your favorite armor set!

Better Know a Monster: Royal Ludroth

By ARCHON

The Royal Ludroth, while not an abnormally difficult monster himself, can prove to be quite challenging the first couple of times around since he marks your first underwater battle. Personally, I find him much easier to fight on land than in the water since he seems to become more maneuverable and faster underwater, but the Monster Hunter should know how to fight him in any terrain.

On land he has a multitude of attacks to be aware of: A belly flop, jumping dive, a curling bite, a roll, a spitting water charge, and a biting lunge. (Did I miss any). Most of these just need to be observed to be avoided, but here are a few tips. If he does the curling bite and missed you, get ready to dodge because it is followed up by a powerful tail-flick. When he rears up to roll stand right by his tail and 9 out of 10 times the roll will miss you. Stay to the left and right of him as much as possible to avoid his belly-flop and charges, attacking his mane and tail. He will sometimes spit water globs at you that if hit, will cause water-blight. Also avoid the ground-plumes that result from these globs hitting the ground as they will do the same. He will usually charge 2 or 3 different directions while spitting water, so steer clear until he's done with this attack or you'll be bowled over.

In the water, stay high, near his head and attack the head and mane. Watch out for his charges and dodge to avoid, and for his claw-swipes as he turns to face you.

His weak points are the mane and tail, both of which are pretty large targets so have at it! His tail can even be cut off and carved from, and his mane broken (which sometimes gives you "quality sponge" as a quest reward). He's weak to fire, so bring the appropriate elemental weapon if you have one, or bring plenty of fire ammo if you are using the bowgun. Thunder and Ice will also deal extra damage, though not as much as fire. Good luck brave hunter! The R. Ludroth is but a taste of aquatic beasts to come.

Video Review from Gamespot

By ARCHON

Here is another video review of Monster Hunter Tri, this time from Gamespot. Their favorite part of the game, understandably, is the online play.

"It has a great sense of adventure, and this cool aura of authenticity about it. Giant angler fish with spikes and huge lizards wouldn't be easy to take down...and so it is in Monster Hunter Tri. You're in unfriendly territory here, and I mean that in a good way."

Ironbeard Bloopers

By ARCHON

I really like the humorous angle that Capcom and Nintendo have taken with the promotional spots for Monster Hunter Tri. I enjoy the little-bit campy, but always in-character Ironbeard McCullough and his interaction with passers by. Here's a little treat for those who've enjoyed him too. Some Ironbeard bloopers.

Dressed to Kill

By ZANZIBAR

Next to weapons and giant creatures, armor is one of my favorite things about Monster Hunter. Armor comes with it's own defense rating, resists against elemental attacks, skills, and sometimes slots for decorations.  


When choosing skills it's important to remember that most require atleast 10 points in them before they will activate, this is key because it works for both good skills and ones that have a negative impact on your character. For example Barroth armor set has a Critical Eye -1 which will lower your chance for critical hits, a single expert gem in a decoration slot will remove that debuff, granting you normal critical hits again.


 Armor defense helps against all the physical attacks that monsters have while the resists will lessen the damage received from an elemental attack like Qurupecco's flint fire or Royal Ludroth's water bubbles.  Balancing all these needs is extremely important for the successful hunter. Happy Hunting!

Better Know a Monster: Qurupeco

By ARCHON

The Qurupeco is the second boss-monster hunter's will come across in their adventure. He's a considerable step up from the Great Jaggi, but a relatively tight attack range makes his attacks easy to dodge.

The quirk is, that he can imitate the calls of other monsters and bring them too his aid. Wailing on him a little too hard? Oh don't worry, he'll call in a Great Jaggi, and now you are faced with not one but TWO boss monsters. Qurupeco doesn't like the way you are eyeing him? He'll call in a gigantic Rathian to rip your face off! Interrupting these calls and/or driving away the monsters they attract (with dung-bombs) is essential to victory. If you see your foe stand tall and start to bellow, hit him hard with a charge attack in the throat or head if you can, or throw in a sonic bomb to stop the call and momentarily stun him.

Knowing these things will bring you a long way toward victory, but the Qurupeco isn't really a lightweight. He'll charge toward you and bowl you over, biting downward. If you get too close he'll spin around and send you flying with his tail. Sometimes he'll hover just above the ground and spit wads of goo at you (get right in his face to avoid the spit and use a high-reaching attack).

In his most lethal attack, he jumps at you, banging the flints on his arms together and creating a fireball. Get caught by this one, and you will go flying and be set a-flame. Most of the time he claps his flints together twice before using this move so watch for the tell, and dodge or run at right angles to the direction he is jumping to escape. He'll usually attack three times with this so keep dodging. You can block, but even with the lance's shield, the attack takes some life away.

Focus your attacks on his throat or head using vertical slashes to take him down the quickest. A dull weapon will bounce off his wings or tail. Make sure to throw a paint pellet on him, as he'll fly to a new area when he feels he's getting beat. This makes him much easier to track down. Keep following, interrupt his calls, focus on his head and throat and you'll have him down in no time

Better Know a Monster: The Great Jaggi

By ARCHON

Zanzibar and I have already created guides for each of the weapons you will find in Monster Hunter Tri. Along those same lines we thought it might be a good idea to feature the boss monsters that you will encounter in the game. Knowing each monster's behaviors and weaknesses is essential to victory. So first up: The Great Jaggi Guide

The Great Jaggi is the first boss monster you will encounter. No doubt many of you have moved well past this foe and killing him is quite easy. But for the rest of you starting out with base level weapons and armor the Jaggi is a formidable opponent.

When he first spots you he will run towards you. Don't hesitate to attack as it usually takes him a few seconds to start biting and ramming. If you see him scratch at the ground, that's your chance as he's gearing up to roar at you which gives you an opening to land several good hits. He will also stand on his hind legs and call for help. Take advantage of this window to attack attack attack.

The Great Jaggi's main attacks are a sideways bite, a tail whip, and a hip-check that will send you flying across the screen. His bite and whip can be blocked but his tail will often reach around your defense, so I suggest rolling out of the way and counter attacking. The Jaggi will turn sideways and leap at you for his hip-check. Block this if possible and get in a few swipes of your weapon. He usually does each of his moves twice or three times in a row. So, if he's just tail swiped, WATCH OUT, another one is coming.

One of the things that makes this foe difficult is all his tiny Jaggi-lackeys. Although they don't do much damage, they will routinely interrupt your swings and occasionally knock you down. Use a horizontal weapon swipe (with the GS, Lance, Longsword, or SA) or a Hammer spinning attack to clear the area every now and again. Pellet ammo is recommended with the Bowgun for this task

The Great Jaggi takes pretty equal damage most everywhere on his body except his head which is the most sensitive. So strike where ever you can but aim for the head. With careful dodging and counter attacking you'll have him down in no time. Good luck!

Lagiacrus ATTACKS!!!.....a subway station...?

By ARCHON

In a monumental effort to promote Monster Hunter Tri, it looks like Nintendo and Capcom have turned a long subway-station tunnel in San Francisco into a giant immersive ad for the game. I like that the scale of the ad hints at both the scale of the game, and the monsters within it. It looks like the hunters  on the wall are just about human size...which would make the giant aquatic Lagiacrus ...*gulp*... life-size.

Thanks to Brett Bates over at Bitmob for this one. Check out the link for more cool pictures

The Mighty Barroth

BY ARCHON

A week since release, I've been hard at work killing monsters and taking names. My next gigantic foe is the Barroth. A rocky bi-ped with a pension for mud and a wicked fast and deadly charge. He has evaded my blade so far, but his time will come. The diligent hunter must watch out for his mud attacks which binds your character, leaving you unable to attack or move quickly. Use a 'cleanser' to break its hold or have a fellow hunter give you a swift kick. He's also crazy fast and his headbutt packs a punch. If your armor is not up-to-date he can take you out in one hit. I'm going to try using some traps to incapacitate him and get my licks in while I can. Might my Great Sword be up for the task? Or perhaps my Bowgun is the way to go.

Archon's Monster Hunter Tri Unboxing

By ARCHON

So I do understand that this is a little redundant, and not nearly as slick as Zanzibar's unboxing, but here are a few photos of my experience. At the very least you can look at the pictures and examine the controller, box art, and disc a little more, even if my counterpart represented the process in a much better way.

The box arrives at my doorstep, about 3pm on release day!

Open the box. 

Under the padding, we have a thick plastic-wrapped box containing the game and classic controller pro.

A close-up of the front of the box. Great artwork!

The back of the box and a peek inside once opened.

I've removed the contents but I haven't unwrapped anything. We've got a retail copy of the game in plastic, the classic controller pro in a styrofoam sleeve and a simple instruction booklet for the controller.

Unwrapped! My nice new shinny controller, the game disc and (a rather thick) instruction booklet, and boxes. Good times.

Monster Hunter Tri Unboxing Video

By ZANZIBAR

Unboxing video of the Monster Hunter Tri Classic Controller Pro Bundle.

Amazon Sells out of Monster Hunter Tri

By ARCHON

Well, it looks like online retailer Amazon.com has temporarily sold out of copies of Monster Hunter Tri. This is  good news for Nintendo and for Capcom. Even though would-be fans trying to get their hands on a copy may have to wait a few days, overall I think this is good news for them as well, since it increases the chances of more amazing Monster Hunter games on the Wii in the future.

See the story over at GoNintendo.

Happy Monster Hunter Tri Release Day Everyone!

By ARCHON,

The day has finally arrived and I'm terribly excited and anxious (my bundled version of the game is out for delivery as I type). In honor of the release here is a roundup of a bunch of reviews of Monster Hunter Tri for you to browse through.

You've already seen IGN's review. Here is another review, this time from Nintendo life from contributor James Newton. He gave Monster Hunter Tri a favorable 9/10.


And one from Now Gamer with an 8.6/10, saying "MH3 is easily among the best mature games on the Wii."

Eurogamer's review and a score of 9/10.

And finally, a nice video review from Gametrailers.com below.

Video Games | Monster Hunter Tri | Review

Monster Hunter Tri Release Trailer

The Ultimate Monster Hunter Tri Weapon Guide

BY ARCHON and ZANZIBAR
So over the past few weeks we've peppered in posts in our series "Better Know A Weapon" to help the new hunter get aquainted with their gear. Yesterday was the final post in the series. We though it would be nice to have all of these guides in one place, so without further addue I give you:

Trihunter's Ulimate Monster Hunter Tri Weapons Guide

Sword and Shield

Great Sword

Hammer

Longsword (updated!)

Bowgun(s)

Switchaxe

Lance

And one final tiny note. Monster Hunter Tri comes out tomorrow...

Better Know a Weapon Part 7- Lance

BY ARCHON

For the final installment of "Better Know a Weapon"...I bring you The Lance. 


The Lance is the most defensively geared weapon-type available. With your weapon drawn your movement is very slow but your shield is huge and can block most incoming attacks. The lanceman (or lance woman) can only  dodge left or right after attacking, and can only jump back (B) with the lance at rest. So, unlike some of the other weapon types in Monster Hunter Tri, this setup encourages you to stay right up in a monster's face block its  attacks, and be read to deal huge jabs when the time is right. Note that the blocking ability of the shield is not perfect; you loose a little bit of life and stamina with every block and some monster's attack (such as the Jaggi's tail whip) can sometimes reach around your defense, though far less so than with any other weapon.

(sorry the formatting gets a little off here. I can't seem to get any changes to stick)

"X" draws your weapon while standing. Pressing "X" while running equips your weapon and delivers a quick forward jab. X+A while running will draw your lance and shield and quickly to  put you in a defensive position. Press "A" for a high thrust (great for those flying critters) and "X" for a forward thrust. Both "A" and "X" moves can be chained together with the proper timing into a three hit combo (XAX for forward, high, forward, or AAA for high, high, high, etc). Press "B" and your character will hop back (or dodge left and right after an attack)...good for escaping a monster's close attacks or to position yourself for the next hit. "X and A" together will yield a wide horizontal sweep, which doesn't do much damage but is great for clearing the area of little guys. Pressing the "+" button will trigger a running lance-charge fueled by stamina.

Blocking is the name of the game.

Hold "R" with the lance drawn to block with your huge shield. While blocking, "X" will give you a quick forward jab and "A" will start a powerful charged high-thrust (that's what she said). Be careful though, as while charging you are vulnerable. You can creep around with your shield drawn, though slowly.

If you time your attacks and blocks properly you'll never need to leave the monster's hit zone and can keep up in it's face dealing the damage. The lance is a weapon that I found awkward at first, but a hunter willing to get to know it's ins and outs is a force to be reckoned with!

Better Know a Weapon Part 6- Switchaxe

By ZANZIBAR

The Switch Axe is a new weapon to the monster hunter universe, it combines sword and axe into a transforming weapon of devastating power. The Switch Axe (SA) has a guage that fills up when the weapon is sheathed or whenever it is in axe mode. This gauge fuels your attacks in sword mode and so balancing the two is the key to achieving victory. Axe mode has faster walking speed but slower attacks compared to sword mode which also has  increased elemental damage. 


Axe mode has four standard attacks, vertical, horizontal, rising slashes and a charging thrust. The big damage from this mode comes from repeatedly attacking with X which will send you into a continuous figure 8 combo that is fueled by your stamina bar, as long as you have stamina you'll keep on slashing. It's a good idea if your gonna be in this mode a lot to stock up on stamina boosting items, the quickest way to get into the figure 8 combo is to use the + button (rising slash) followed by repeated presses of the X button. If the gauge is to low pressing R will "reload" the weapon filling the gauge 1/2 way.

Sword mode can be switched into from axe by a press of the R button from a standing position, comboed into by doing a foward thrust (attacking while in motion) followed up by pressing R or even pulled out from a sheathed position with a combined button press of R+X.  When in sword mode every attack will deplete the gauge regardless on whether it hits or misses. X and A both have combos from repeated pressings, each with good range and speed. The plus button is the Element Discharge, it takes a heavy toll on the gauge but does massive damage and repeatedly pressing + will extend the discharge, best used on monsters that are incapacitated in some way. Once discharged it will automatically revert back to axe mode.

Happy Hunting

Better Know a Weapon Part 5- Bowgun

BY ARCHON

Bowguns may seem like they are only a fit for a supporting role in multiplayer hunts, but with the proper ammo and careful dodging, the bowgun is a weapon class to be respected.

There are three classes of bowguns: Light, Medium, and Heavy but they all play relatively the same. The differences lie in the speed of your characters movement and action, and the power of the ammo. The heavier the gun the more powerful your ammo can be, but the slower your weapon and your character will move.

Controls

"X"-draws your weapon and reloads. Unlike many weapons in MH, you can't come out swinging with the bowguns, so make sure you have your ammo selected and loaded into your gun before you rush into battle. Be sure to reload every time you change ammo as well. Hold "L" and used "X" and "B" (think of them as "up" and "down" on a second d-pad) to navigate through your cache of ammo types. There is no shield to speak of, so like the hammer and switch-axe classes you must dodge your enemy to keep out of harms way. Do so by tapping "B" and holding the direction you want to jump. A+X is a melee attack with the bowgun. Tapping "R" will bring up a scope-view. This is great for shooting monsters at range but does leave you very vulnerable. I find that most ammo veers off if you try to shoot it too far so I rarely use this mode. It might prove more handy when you have other player around to distract the beast. Holding "R" will bring up an aiming reticle with can also sometimes come in handy although I find the most success just "shooting from the hip".

Ammunition:

Using the right ammo in a fight can make all the difference. Each bowgun class has its own special ammo and the heavier the gun, the more powerful its "normal" shots become. The more powerful and special ammo also come with drawbacks; for example some powerful types must be reloaded after every shot, while normal ammunition comes 6-to-a-reload. Here is a quick breakdown of the ammo types in the Monster Hunter Tri demo (this is not meant at all to be exhaustive).

(All three classes have 'normal ammo' which can come in different levels of effectiveness)

MEDIUM

-sleep: puts the monster to sleep. The bigger the monster, the more of these it will take to put the monster out

-exhaust: tires the enemy

-pierce: Shoots 3 rounds one right after another leaving you vulnerable

-slice: rounds stick into enemies and then explode with shards that damage again, and damage nearby monsters

-crag-rounds stick into enemy and then explode, often knocking them back

LIGHT

-poison: only one round in your magazine. Once hit, monster keeps taking damage

-water: shoots 3 rounds, does water damage (useful against fire foes?)

-clust- creates a fire explosion on impact

-para- paralyses your monster. As with sleep, this may take many rounds

-pellet-like a shotgun. A wide spread of pellets. Useful for groups of small enemies

HEAVY

-flaming-1 shot does lots of fire damage

-wyvern fire- charge shot and must be at point blank range. Tons of damage

Gamestop & Amazon remove MH3-Controller Bundle from Website

By ARCHON

It appears that just prior to release, Gamestop AND Amazon have removed the option to pre-order Monster Hunter Tri bundled with the Classic Controller Pro. Does this mean they've run out of them? Was demand not high enough? Will they sell the bundle after the release of the game?

We'll be sure to keep you updated as we get more information, but it seems for now, if you are intent on pre-ordering MH3 with the classic controller pro you'll have to go elsewhere. Let us know in the comments if you find someplace else that is advertising preorders of the bundled version of the game.

IGN Review of MH3

By ARCHON

So just short of a week before the release of Monster Hunter Tri IGN.com has posted a review of the game giving it a final score of 8.8 (out of 10) and an editors choice award. Here are some of the highlights:

"There's a significant time commitment associated with getting the most out of Monster Hunter Tri, but those who put in the hours will find the game offers the kind of satisfaction few other titles can deliver. "

"When it comes to high levels of difficulty in videogames, there can be two types. There's difficulty built to pose a challenge and that can be overcome with careful planning, perseverance, and skill, and there's the type of difficulty that's completely unreasonable that's meant to mask a lack of creative design ideas, technical limits, or simply to pad gameplay hours. Monster Hunter Tri's level of difficulty is the former. It's a tough game that readily tosses you into situations where laziness and lack of focus can swiftly result in failure. Yet its challenges aren't so difficult that they step beyond the bounds of sensibility."

"Each weapon type is essentially a character class, offering distinct rhythms of movement, attack, and unique special abilities."

"Monster Hunter Tri isn't a game for everyone. It's a dense product with a learning curve higher than most other Wii titles available. It requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes."

"For those who prefer games that reward skill and offer huge amount of options for varied play style, character customization, and a vast amount of content, look no further."

Check out the full review here.

IGN gave the game a final score of 8.8 which is good but I get the feeling (and so do many people based on the comments on IGN.com) that the positive language in the review suggested that they would have rated the game much higher. Looking at the reviews of other games on other systems but without having actually played the full version of Monster Hunter Tri I do kinda of think it should have received a higher score; but just like the review itself, thats an opinion. 

I think if anything this has convinced me that this is a fantastic value for the price and a rewarding game. I'm as excited as ever to play it come April 20th.

One week 'til release, Tri-hunter Recap

BY ARCHON and ZANZIBAR

So with Monster Hunter Tri a week away we thought it would be great to pick some of our favorite posts to share with you guys. It's been great sharing all this great stuff for what is shaping up to be a fantastic Wii game. If you guys have a favorite pick be sure to let us know in the comments section.

 

ZANZIBAR's Picks

The Ironbeard Drive Thru commercial, I just love these series where they get ppl off the streets and they look so confused.

My Long Sword post, mainly  cause this is the weapon I plan on using as soon as I can. I love the range and speed combined with the mobility of the weapon to create constant pressure on the target.

Finally our first post here at Tri Hunter is one of my favorite video's that has been posted. Just . . . so . . . pretty.

It's been great doing this and we hope you'll all stick around once the game is out for info from us on about our adventures and new content .

Happy Hunting.

ARCHON's Picks 

Better Know a Weapon: Hammer Time Post. It was Zanzibar's idea to give overviews of each weapon and this was my first. Challenging but satisfying to write I think figuring out all the moves for this post helped me play with the weapon that much better.

This Trailer from 2008 still gives me goosebumps. You just HAVE to watch it.

And Zanzibar's short and sweet post explaining just what the heck Monster Hunter is. I think its a good overview of a complicated game in a really approachably length-ed post.

Thanks for reading and we'd love to hear about your favorite posts or even what you want to read more about in the comments.

Monster Hunter Video Blitz!

By ARCHON

Video Games | Monster Hunter Tri | Gigginox Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii