1764

Tritto (if that’s not a word, it is now). I also would like to see such a list, as I planned to dive back into the game before Iceborne (especially since I never quite finished it!).

1765

I just got the message stating I’m starting the high rank stuff.

I didn’t like those Elder Dragon missions. Also, if I have to hear my handler giggle one more time I wish I could let the monsters get her.

1766

Iceborne Primer for anyone who wants an excuse to dip back into MHW while you wait for PC release

Basic QOL stuff you should do:

–unlock every mantle (including temporal and rocksteady)
–unlock the plunderblade for your palico
–max out your farm at three boxes, and farm mats for potions/buffs

Stuff that will help you dive into (and survive) Master Rank:

–craft a best in class raw weapon to help you farm your starting master rank gear (Diablos for Charge Blade and Hammer; Deviljho for Longsword, Switchaxe, Hunting Horn; Odogaron for Lance; Wyvern Ignition Impact for Great Sword; etc.)
–craft a solid, fully upgraded (and augmented!) set of high rank armor (if you don’t feel like crunching numbers and working on a set, or you don’t have a lot of decos, then just do the witcher quests and make a set of Geralt armor, it’ll be perfectly fine for starting MR)
*Bonus: augment your weapon with a health augment
*Bonus: craft and fully upgrade all of the elder dragon weapons you’re interested in using (tiers are extended in iceborne)
*Bonus: craft a fully upgraded meta set for your weapon of choice

Essential Stuff I wish I’d Known (and plan to do myself prior to PC release)

–craft and fully upgrade a Great Jagras weapon for every melee weapon you plan on using to clear the story in Iceborne (great jagras weapons will be the first melee MR weapons you’ll make, they’re fantastic in early game)
–craft and fully upgrade Dragonbone weapons for every weapon you are interested in using in Iceborne (some of the best weapons in the game branch off the dragonbone tree)
–craft and fully upgrade a Handicraft Charm

That about covers it, if I think of more I’ll update : )

1767

So I was tracking the Rathian in the first group of high ranked missions. I found it in the forest and got it close to death. Then the Rathios (or whatever its called) showed up and eventually I feinted. No problem I say, I was doing fine against the Rathian. I find him again and get him close to death and the Rathios shows up again. This time we are in very tight quarters and I can barely move. I feint again. I find my prey again - once again as soon as its close to death the Rathios shows up and I die and fail the mission.

Am I just unlucky or is this planned? It was not fun. I had been fighting my target for so long and it screwed me 3 times. It’s kinda funny when it happens once, but it felt cheap after that.

I have gained an appreciation to the combat and have made more use of some of the other attacks I can do.

1768

Are you using dung pods, or just not getting the chance? If you haven’t been using them, this is the time to make sure to do so going forward.

1769

I totally forgot about those. I’ve collected them but have never needed them. I guess that the time to use them :-)

1770

Other monsters interrupting your hunt is a pretty regular occurrence in the later game - some monsters explicitly hunt other monsters in fact. Managing it (with dung pods or other tricks) and using it to your advantage (sometimes it pays to let the other monster do the hard work for you) are important skills.

1771

So two questions:

  1. Maybe this is only me, but how do people handle the camera and close up nature of fighting in this game? As I’ve mentioned before, it feels a bit “clumsy,” like I have to literally be staring into the side of the monster filling my screen in order to be in hitbox range. But then, it makes it hard to control camera on it (it moves and just feels like it jerks off camera).

  2. How do people handle using items quickly in combat? When I played this before, I confess I never found a good system that felt organic. I basically always had to run a good distance away from the monster in order to rapidly cycle through my inventory to find what I want. (Things like a mantle, drug, whetstone, etc.)

1772

By almost exclusively playing ranged. :)

Seriously, ranged and insect glaive are the weapons I find best avoid this issue, and consequently the only weapons I play. I don’t know how close-in melee folks stand it.

1773

I usually leave my item bar set to health potions and use the radial menu for situational items (hunter tools, antidote, nulberry)

1774

It’s Rathalos, and I think it’s planned because the same thing happened to me. The lesson here (and most main missions have such a lesson) is: dung pods exist for a reason. Use them. You’ll need them later. ;)

1775

I have no augments on anything yet, so I guess I have some work to do. And I was postponing getting a Deviljho weapon because Deviljhos are tough beasts, but I suppose I don’t have much choice. ;)

I think I unlocked all the mantles? Not sure about the plunderblade. I think farm is maxed though.

1776

It’s not essential, just a nice added bonus. I wouldn’t go out of my way to farm them as it can be a lengthy grind. And your HR weapon will be replaced as soon as you farm some great jaggras in iceborne.

1777

The master rank versions of early game monsters are just as trivial as they are as high rank or tempered so there’s no reason to worry about grinding pre-expansion.

1778

Thanks again for the dung reminder. I brought that with me and killed the Rathian. I needed to use the dung several times. Lots of traffic in that zone I guess.

1779

Well, you’ll need it plenty in the future missions. It’s even effective against Diablos and other tricky monsters. ;)

1780

OK, now I think it’s time for a break, for reals this time :-)

I think I’m tired of always dodging these big behemoths. That said, I’ve had a good time with the game and I’m glad I got to see what it is about. I wish they left all dialog out of this game though because it was painful, especially the handler.

1781

I hope you go back, because this is the rare kind of game that keeps getting better and better as you go. ;)

1782

For #2, two things: you can actually setup where items are on the scroll bar (ie, items in order–demondrug, demon powder, might pill, evasion mantle, instead of bug net, fishing pole, etc) and the radial menu is absolutely essential. If you’re about to get clobbered and you don’t have time to heal, you don’t want to be scrolling through items for a farcaster. L1+direction and boom, back at camp safely.
There’s a great video by theGameEconomist showing optimal configurations, but I wouldn’t say its essential until you start pushing Tempered Elders. You can get by with mapping Mega Potions, flash pods, farcaster for now.

1783

That makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Somewhat unrelated, but is there a way to change the scope of the minimap? I love having the icons for resource nodes, but they’re basically all constantly tiny and smooshed together, making them nearly worthless.

I’d love, for example, to be able to be in a fight and be able to actually distinguish the icon for a nearby paratoad or a quicksand trap.