Monster Hunter Generations Release Date Announced + Limited Edition 3DS Models (and random weapon tidbits)

[The DanMan]

So, yesterday Capcom announced that Monster Hunter Generations (known as Monster Hunter X(Cross) in Japan) will be released in the West on July 17, alongside a limited edition 3DS model.

PAL regions get a bundle with the game (and a red 3DS):

Meanwhile, NA gets a stand-alone blue model:

I'm honestly surprised that we're getting it this early. I was expecting September for sure; guess when they said "summer", they really meant summer.

Anyways, what are you most looking forward to in Monster Hunter Generations? I'm looking to really get into the Switch Axe- in no small part because the Charge Blade (my 4G/U main) got a massive nerf in both power and versatility.

Weapon nerfs are spoiled below.

Most of the CB power nerfs were on Axe mode- normal slashes are about 25% less powerful, with the second phial attack's (the double swipe) motion values going from 18+80 to 20+40; the ultra burst has 25 for the physical hit + 75 for the phial explosion... down from 25 + 99 + 100 (the shockwave was removed entirely in Generations), making it only slightly more powerful than the super burst. This personally feels like a knee-jerk reaction to people complaining; the moveset modifications were already quasi-nerfs that made it more technical to use while toning down its versatility (namely, no super/ultra burst out of guardpoint). Large nerfs to its motion values on top of that were entirely unneeded. Only two things weren't nerfed, and of them only one got buffed (the first phial attack in axe mode stayed the same and the a-button charge slash in sword mode went from 30+20 to 32+20).

The Insect Glaive also got a massive power nerf; on top of that, triple extracts only last 30 seconds instead of a full minute. The existence of Aerial style and monster mount thresholds being doubled erodes it niche.

The gunlance's heat gauge is actually a nerf in disguise; base damage (yellow on the heat gauge) has been lowered from 4G/U, with Orange being about equal and red being slightly more powerful. Shots were also slightly nerfed.

Long sword got even more nerfs from 4U, though 3rd generation spirit gauge mechanics are back (you drop from red to yellow, and can refill the red gauge instead of only stalling it) and the individual levels seem to give percent bonuses of 10-20-30, mostly offsetting things.

Lastly, to all you GS mains out there: Capcom doesn't seem to like your hit-and-run/driveby strategies. The normal charge slash (which includes the draw form sheath one) has been nerfed from 110 to 100; the side slap is also slightly weaker, while the strong charge got buffed a bit.

Thread were I got the details from here: www.gamefaqs.com/boards/163462-monster-hunter-x/72998227

EDIT: Forgot gunlance in "nerfs" section.

Edited May 13, 2016 by The DanMan

[Ycine]

Thank you for the information!

What I'm excited to test out?

All styles for the Hammer and to try out the new monsters!

I'm also looking forward the Nyanta Mode and the Variant Monsters.

But that last bit is going to take some time.

Thankfully, we will get a nice litlle demo just like they did for MH4U!

[Radiant head]

Is this a spinoff game or basically mh5?

I've been playing 4U quite a bit on my 3DS, so this is good timing.

[Captain Karnage]

I love that blue color, I wish that standard color was aviable in the states

but I'm fine with my silver MH4U 3DS

[The DanMan]

Is this a spinoff game or basically mh5?

I've been playing 4U quite a bit on my 3DS, so this is good timing.

Spin-off, most certainly. It uses the same engine as 4U and doesn't have any new weapons, with brand-new monsters and areas kept to a minimum.

Differences are basically as follows:

-No G-rank

-No subpsecies; new "Deviant" system quasi-replaces it and G-rank in terms of monster variation and end-game content

-Older areas remade with 4th-gen mechanics in mind

-New "Hunting styles" system that modifies weapon capabilities and movesets (split into Guild, Aerial, Striker, and Adept styles)

-"Hunter arts": flashy weapon-specific attacks and general powerful abilities (give temporary super armor; an evade that has invincible during the whole move and slightly refills sharpness) that need to be charged up by executing normal attacks before usage

Sorry if this reads like a PR release.

Edited May 13, 2016 by The DanMan

[Batter the Beast]

Woo we get the special edition 3DS, though I'd be more surprised if we didn't get it at this point. The MH4 one does look nicer but I missed my chance to get that, so this one will do. It still looks nice, and I do prefer the blue color over red so I'm glad we're getting that in the US.

Anywho, I'm looking forward to adept Funlance, though Striker seems good too because of how good the Funlance hunter arts are and I prefer the stabby stabby over shelling. Yeah the weapon got nerfed but I think adept and the hunting arts breathe new life into it, especially Blast Dash.

Adept Heavy Bowgun is also something I'm going to try out, since you can evade out of siege with it, which is far better than it sounds, and should honestly just be a feature the weapon always has.

But, I am a Hunting Horn man at heart, so the double note mechanic looks fun, especially with how it can be abused with healing songs for double the healing, so maybe those will actually be viable in online hunts. The styles and arts for Horn aren't too amazing, so I'll probably just stick with Guild

Edited May 14, 2016 by Batter the Beast

[Ownagepuffs]

I cannot wait to use Generations Bow. I love my 4U bow but Adept/Bushido bow is hnnngggg

[Samias]

I think it's important to note that even though gunlance basic damage was nerfed, it was buffed in mobility if you pick up aerial style. It's also encouraging people to mix up shelling and poking to stay in the red. I heard the weapon is a lot more viable than it was in 4U. My friend who imported MHX last year has said he enjoys the new GL much more than before.

But yeah, insect glaive and CB got straight up nerfed in damage but tbh they are pretty ridiculous. Maybe they weren't top tier speedrun weapons but CB especially was really safe once mastered. Insect glaive loses part of its niche but apparently it's still a blast to play.

[The DanMan]

I think it's important to note that even though gunlance basic damage was nerfed, it was buffed in mobility if you pick up aerial style. It's also encouraging people to mix up shelling and poking to stay in the red. I heard the weapon is a lot more viable than it was in 4U. My friend who imported MHX last year has said he enjoys the new GL much more than before.

But yeah, insect glaive and CB got straight up nerfed in damage but tbh they are pretty ridiculous. Maybe they weren't top tier speedrun weapons but CB especially was really safe once mastered. Insect glaive loses part of its niche but apparently it's still a blast to play.

I saw Duncankneedeep on youtube use Aerial GL almost exclusively throughout the singleplayer portion. I'm not saying that the weapon's terrible now; it just has a bit more of a learning curve.

As for the second part of your post:

The thing is, the Switch Axe and SnS got sizable buffs. So the SnS is now on equal terms with the CB's sword form in damage while being faster and more versatile, with an identical situation between the SA and Axe mode.

As a 4U CB main, yeah it was little overboard. But the moveset changes were basically all the nerfs that the CB needed; you can't super/ultra burst straight out of sword mode or through a guardpoint, and the ultra burst lost its shockwave. On top of that, you need to be in axe mode to get the "red shield" bonuses from charging phials (doing it in sword mode doesn't upgrade your shield); it's a more technical, slightly less versatile weapon now.

The IG was hands-down the best weapon in the game; it deserved the nerfs it got. But the CB motion value nerfs on top of the moveset alterations feels extremely knee-jerk.

[Samias]

SnS was always good but had some pretty slow clear times just because it requires you to stick onto monsters like glue with the short range. They definitely wanted to make it more rewarding. Maybe they went too far but to be honest if that's what they put into a new person's hands first they might as well go and make it worthwhile to stick with. Switch Axe seemed very unpopular compared to CB so I can see why they wanted to make it more appealing as well.

I don't think IG was BEST weapon, but triple nectar with a final tier bug that was properly fed was definitely ridiculous and probably way too high dps. It is easy to play and extremely mobile but still no shield and some monsters have some wonk areas for nectar collection. Though notably the bug gets way more efficient over time while other weapons don't get that kind of quality of life improvement by final tier. In the long run of player mastery though, CB ultra burst and guardpoints were probably more OP. But people who master HBG and greatswords are both monsters too. The CB nerfs were overboard but it was still something like a top 3 weapon. It isn't anymore though... like that's the one weapon where I shake my head and think "ugh now it's the new bow or gunlance". IG nerfs were more or less fair and put it in the right place.

[peener weener]

IG and CB were for sure ridiculous, they got times similar and occasionally even superior than the GS while being more safe and having infinitely more utility (guaranteed KOs and guard points/free mounts and buff system). I think some toning down was well deserved.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

SnS was always good but had some pretty slow clear times just because it requires you to stick onto monsters like glue with the short range. They definitely wanted to make it more rewarding. Maybe they went too far but to be honest if that's what they put into a new person's hands first they might as well go and make it worthwhile to stick with. Switch Axe seemed very unpopular compared to CB so I can see why they wanted to make it more appealing as well.

I don't think IG was BEST weapon, but triple nectar with a final tier bug that was properly fed was definitely ridiculous and probably way too high dps. It is easy to play and extremely mobile but still no shield and some monsters have some wonk areas for nectar collection. Though notably the bug gets way more efficient over time while other weapons don't get that kind of quality of life improvement by final tier. In the long run of player mastery though, CB ultra burst and guardpoints were probably more OP. But people who master HBG and greatswords are both monsters too. The CB nerfs were overboard but it was still something like a top 3 weapon. It isn't anymore though... like that's the one weapon where I shake my head and think "ugh now it's the new bow or gunlance". IG nerfs were more or less fair and put it in the right place.

Gamefaqs once did a tier list on each weapon and IG won it with GS in the second. IG won after monster that is GS bane started to get included such as Chameleos

The major reason why IG was the top of the list is actually the Red Bug Offense boost and how its just good on everything. GS is bad against slow monster but murders fast monsters except for Seregios.

Granted i don't think Capcom did badly in the MHX weapon balance. From what i heard the bottom tier weapon in Generations is separated by a minutes compared to other weapons. Thats a massive improvement compared to MH4U where your bottom tier like LBG, SA, HH, and GL had almost twice the time of the Top weapon

Edited May 16, 2016 by JSND

[DragonLord]

Man, I can't wait for this game. MH4U was a blast, I've put in over 400 hours and I'm still hooked. Really psyched to see the return of monsters like Nargacuga, especially since Freedom Unite was my first MH game.

[The DanMan]

I just realized this: we'll finally have a localized name for Amatsumagatsuchi. Bets are on them going the Kechawacha->Kecha Wach route and doing "Amatsu Magatsuchi".