"Monster Hunter Wilds: No New Weapons Due to Design Challenges"

The developers of Monster Hunter face a significant challenge in creating new weapon types for the series. Dive into their process of balancing weapons for each title and get the latest updates on the MH Wilds x MH Now collaboration event.

Monster Hunter Wilds Developers Considering Adding A New Weapon Type

15th Weapon Type Not Off The Table

After over a decade with the same weapon lineup, the Monster Hunter (MH) series could benefit from introducing a new weapon type. In an interview with PCGamesN on February 16, 2025, Monster Hunter Wilds Director Yuya Tokuda discussed the possibility of adding a new weapon type to the series.

Monster Hunter Wilds will offer players a choice of 14 weapon types, unchanged since the introduction of the Insect Glaive in Monster Hunter 4 over a decade ago. Tokuda expressed the team's interest in creating a new weapon type, noting that it was considered during the development of MH World and Wilds. "It's not off the table for any particular reason, it's just that we never really decided that we wanted to for the recent titles," he explained.

Tokuda highlighted the challenge of finding a new weapon that complements the existing lineup without overlapping too much. He elaborated, "With each title, we always adjust all the weapon types and maybe bring new concepts to them and their relationships with each other to make them feel fresh. We also bring new depth with new combos and moves. The resources and time that it takes to do that is something that, in every case since the last weapon was added, we've always decided were better spent bringing the whole lineup to a better place than to simply start adding another new one in."

Capcom On Tweaking Weapons For Monster Hunter Wilds

Capcom continues to innovate with their games, adjusting weapons to capture the essence they want for MH Wilds, including the addition of Focus Mode, Power Clash, and more. The team has taken community feedback from the MH Wilds beta into account, but Tokuda emphasized, "We don’t want to change anything so drastically that it doesn’t feel like that weapon anymore."

He also discussed the approach to weapon balancing for each title, stating, "We have a concept in mind for each title where we think, ‘This is how the Insect Glaive will feel, this is how the Great Sword will feel.’" Tokuda added, "That’s just a concept, though – you can design it and test it, but it’s really only when the players get it in their hands that you can see if the concept is matching the reality and they’re having the experience you thought they would have."

Regarding weapon adjustments for MH Wilds, Tokuda admitted, "With the weapons in Wilds, one particularly difficult balancing decision was with the predecessor title being Iceborne, a lot of things were added to each weapon’s upper echelons of moves and abilities, because it was an expansion and was adding in the master rank difficulty level." He continued, "People who were playing a given weapon in Iceborne were assumed to have mastered the basics and it was going beyond that with adding new combos and moves and abilities."

Nevertheless, MH Wilds will be a fresh start as the team decided to overhaul everything. Tokuda emphasized, "That was something that I took a lot of care to decide – not just to keep things because players liked it in the last game, but [ask if] it actually fits in with my concept for the play feel of this game."

Monster Hunter Now x Monster Hunter Wilds Collaboration Event Phase 2

Monster Hunter Now will launch phase 2 of its collaboration event with MH Wilds to celebrate its upcoming release. The event will feature Chatacabra appearing in MH Now, along with 12 Hope weapons from MH Wilds. Additionally, two new layered armors, the Hope armor style and a Seikret mount-themed armor, will be available. Phase 2 of the MH Wilds x MH Now collaboration event is set to begin on February 28, 2025.

Moreover, MH Now players can earn vouchers for items usable in MH Wilds by completing limited-time quests, including Mega Potion, Dust of Life, Energy Drink, Well-done Steak, and Dash Juice. These vouchers can be redeemed on any platform where fans play MH Wilds.

In a press briefing for Season 5 on February 18, 2025, Niantic Senior Producer Sakae Osumi discussed future collaborations with MH Wilds. "This is the beginning of the collaboration between Monster Hunter Wilds and Monster Hunter Now, and we are planning to do more down the road," Sakae said. "I would like to get more monsters from Wilds. We will work on it closely with Capcom."

Monster Hunter Wilds is scheduled for release on February 28, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Stay updated with the latest information on Monster Hunter Wilds by checking out our article below!