Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS/WiiU) review

[J0e Musashi]

Shakalaka and Res points are the only real reasons to play single though. I'd stick to multi as much as you can to get your HR up, and then tackle single. You'll need decentish sets to take on single anyway, plus you need to do those village requests, and it weighs you down with getting new masks for the Shakalaka.

You get the Shakalaka at Village Quests 3.2 and 5.3.

[rmoxon]

Shakalaka and Res points are the only real reasons to play single though. I'd stick to multi as much as you can to get your HR up, and then tackle single. You'll need decentish sets to take on single anyway, plus you need to do those village requests, and it weighs you down with getting new masks for the Shakalaka.

You get the Shakalaka at Village Quests 3.2 and 5.3.

I disagree with this. I feel the single player is vital for many reasons. A big one being that its the best place to learn and get good at the game. It's also a lot easier to get equipment and the game feels less Grindy if you are playing both single and multiplayer. In fact if you're only going to play one half of the game I would actually recommend that it be the single player. Sure theres nothing like taking down a monster with a group, but the single player is simply easier to get into, you don't have to mess about with the lobbying system and progress is generally quicker than in multiplayer.

You really should be meeting monsters to the first time in single player, learning how to defeat them and then taking that knowledge into multiplayer.

[fuse]

I don't have any issues with the lobby system or finding games as I'm playing local multiplayer - we'll actually have a friend over soon to bring the hunting party up to 3. But the problem I do have is that with just the two of us, barely out of the gates, even the HR1 quests are brutally difficult to the point of frustration. I remember my HR1 quests in SP being things like 'kill 10 Jaggis' and so on, allowing me to get cash/mats easy enough, whereas in MP it's a case of picking which big-ass monster I want to stomp all over us.

[J0e Musashi]

You learn more in multi. You can watch what other players do and see different tactics etc. It's undoubtedly easier in multi too. If you team up with some high level players, they can carry you up a few HR levels, which is much faster than grinding single. I've played equal amounts of both games, but I still think it's wiser to raise your HR in multi, and then tackle single when you are better tooled up for it.

[rmoxon]

You learn more in multi. You can watch what other players do and see different tactics etc. It's undoubtedly easier in multi too. If you team up with some high level players, they can carry you up a few HR levels, which is much faster than grinding single. I've played equal amounts of both games, but I still think it's wiser to raise your HR in multi, and then tackle single when you are better tooled up for it.

If you're a newbie to the game, multiplayer would only seem easier than single player if you were playing with a group of people who are experienced monster hunter players. But sitting back and watching them is not what I call fun and I don't belive its the way to learn.

The single player in ultimate is well designed and eases you into the game well, it also introduces monsters in a lot better fashion than the multiplayer. It is the place to Learn the game, and clearly where the developers think you should learn it as well.

[J0e Musashi]

I think the main thing that puts lots of players off of the game is the inaccessibilty of it when you're starting out. I went straight to multi as soon as I could, got my HR up to 3, and then went back to single. I had a bit of experience behind me that way, so soloing a monster wasn't so daunting. Just more time consuming. You certainly have more of an advantage in taking on * Village Quests as HR3.

[rmoxon]

I think the main thing that puts lots of players off of the game is the inaccessibilty of it when you're starting out. I went straight to multi as soon as I could, got my HR up to 3, and then went back to single. I had a bit of experience behind me that way, so soloing a monster wasn't so daunting. Just more time consuming. You certainly have more of an advantage in taking on * Village Quests as HR3.

The opening village quests are very easy and a lot more accessible than in previous games. As fuse says, the pacing of the quests in single player is a lot better for newcomers than the pacing in multiplayer. Single player also introduces new monsters in a more digestible way and makes it easier to concentrate on getting good at fighting them.

[J0e Musashi]

Yeah, but who wants to really kill 10 Kelbi? It's boring. I think fuse is referring more to local multi. Online multi is an entirely different thing.

[rmoxon]

Yeah, but who wants to really kill 10 Kelbi? It's boring. I think fuse is referring more to local multi. Online multi is an entirely different thing.

Online multiplayer is worse becuase you have to deal with the terrible lobby system.

People who want to learn the different weapons should be greatful for early quests like hunting 10 kelbi. Monster hunter isn't a game where new players should be jumping in at the deep end. Course hunting 10 kelbi probably sounds boring if you're doing that in single player after having killed the bigger monsters in online for weeks, but that's why you're suppose to play single player first. Plus the first time you are introduced to the bigger monsters in single player and get a cut scene and stuff is a special moment, its simply not the same in multiplayer, you can't appreciate the event of meeting a new monster when rushing about in a group with other people.

[J0e Musashi]

Cut scenes stopped being special moments to me in 1998. I want to hunt monsters, as in Monster Hunter. If you were "supposed" to play the game in a certain way, then they'd have surely locked you out of multi until you had reached a certain level in single. You obviously learn more in multi. You can interact with real human beings. The saying "two heads are better than one" springs to mind immediately, although in this case it's four heads. I jumped in at the deep end, and I'm doing perfectly fine.

[rmoxon]

Well I just completely disagree and simply feel that the single player is the better starting point as well as the more polished experience.

[kryss]

After you beat Dire Miralis your HR is upped to the point it would have been if you'd received points for every quest since you began. When the group I was with did our HR8 urgent, we jumped from 8 to anything between 35 and 65.

I'm very much a fan of farming in MP and going back to SP to kill stuffs.

[J0e Musashi]

After you beat Dire Miralis your HR is upped to the point it would have been if you'd received points for every quest since you began. When the group I was with did our HR8 urgent, we jumped from 8 to anything between 35 and 65.

Oh dear. The amount of questing I've been doing whilst not actually raising HR might break the internets when I do my HR 8 urgent I reckon.

I only currently play single for Res points so I can cultivate honey and mushrooms etc. I've little interest in killing anything at the moment.

[kryss]

Using G rank weapons on during the day on the island will net you points quite nicely. Remember to use the shroom germ+ and busy bees/etc. to increase yields.

[J0e Musashi]

I can't wait to get home from work now. HR8+ awaits!