“Monster Hunter” fans will be busy this week as Capcom revealed more details about its upcoming title “Monster Hunter Wilds,” including a highly anticipated open beta. Along with that, Niantic is launching the global version of the Monster Hunter Now Carnival, the mobile game’s first major in-person event.
First off, the “Monster Hunter Wilds” open beta kicks off on the PlayStation 5 for those with a PlayStation Plus membership. The Early Access period is available at 8 tonight and runs through 7:59 pm. Oct. 30. The open beta is available to all systems and players, including non-PlayStation Plus subscribers, Xbox Series X and Series S and Steam players, from 8 p.m. Oct. 31 to 6:59 p.m. Nov. 3.
DELVING INTO THE BETA
The beta is divided into three parts and is reminiscent of previous versions that Capcom showed off behind closed doors and at the Tokyo Game Show. Players will be able to mess around with the character creation and design their character and Palico. If they like their avatars and helpers enough, they can transfer them to the full game, so they can immediately jump into the game without spending hours designing their heroes.
The second part lets players discover the tutorial level that introduces the “Monster Hunter Wilds” narrative. The guild discovers that a village actually exists in the Forbidden Lands and sends a team to investigate. They forge a beachhead to learn more about the area and the people who managed to survive there.
The expeditionary force into the Forbidden Lands enters their temporary camp in “Monster Hunter Wilds.” (Capcom)
SECOND PART OF THE BETA
This second part shows off the Seikret, which is the new mount in this chapter. They act almost like Canyne’s in “Monster Hunter Rise” but with more features. Their creature’s bigger size allows them to carry extra items, so if players use up their Mega Potions on hand, they can call their Seikret to grab more. The creatures also carry an extra weapon, so that players can bring two of them on a hunt.
They’ll play around with the slinger, which is another way for hunters to interact with the environment. It can grab Echo Pods from flying Baunos so that players can disrupt underground enemies. They can also trip environmental hazards such as falling rocks or trees that drop a tangle of branches.
The culmination of the second part is a battle with the Chatacabra, a toadlike creature. It’s where players learn about the new Focus mode that lets them target specific parts of a monster. For example, if players damage, the leg enough, they’ll see it has a glowing red mark and they can deal heavy damage and harvest parts with a well placed Focus Strike.
In addition, players have the ability to parry enemy attacks with more weapons thanks to Offset moves. There’s also clash mechanic where players can fend off enemies after a series of well-timed guards.
What’s notable about the Chatacabra fight is that the animal uses the rocks and other parts of the environment to create a layer of armor around it. Players will have to break that off to deal more damage and defeat it quickly.
Players can mount the Doshaguma fairly easily with a well-timed leap from their Seikret. (Capcom)
THIRD PART OF THE BETA
The third part of the beta has players hunting the Doshaguma Alpha. In previous previews, this was where players got a taste of the open-world style maps of “Monster Hunter Wilds.” They’ll also encounter the animal, which hunts in packs, forcing players to use their slinger to toss a dung pod. If they strike it with the smelly item, its pack members will flee.
That’s when they can go in for the kill in a fight that showed off the diversity of the changing environments. When I played the TGS demo, I managed to consistently mount the monster and repeatedly knifed it, dealing enough damage to expose a wound that can be seen in Focus Mode. The big issue was that getting to those hard-to-reach areas was troublesome. If players can knock down the Doshaguma, they can strike at that weak point.
This is the part of the demo and I’m assuming the open beta, where players can explore the detailed environments and start experimenting with different weapons and scenarios. They can perhaps find more challenging monsters other than the Doshaguma Alpha like the Rey Dau, which is a challenging fight and will certainly need players to fire up an SOS.
It’s a difficult monster to take down solo with its electric-based attacks. Judging by my experience with the demos, the open beta will have enough content to keep players busy for a few days.
To reward players who check out the beta, Capcom is offering a bonus pendant and an open beta test bonus item pack that includes an Armor Sphere, Mega Potion, Ration and other items. To claim it, players must check out the beta on the same platform as the one they plan to purchase the title, when it’s released Feb. 28 2025.
“Monster Hunter Now” had its first in-person event in Shibuya, Tokyo. Now, that experience goes global with a paid event. (Niantic)
“MONSTER HUTNER NOW” CARNIVAL GOES GLOBAL
If players want to keep their “Monster Hunter” week going, they can fire up “Monster Hunter Now” and check out the Carnival Global. This interpretation of the game’s first in-person event will cost $14.99 and will likely play similarly to the Summer Hunt 2024: Dark Daydreams event in July.
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At double the price of the past event, it will give some fans pause, but it boasts several perks, including an event-exlcusive special quest to unlock Elder dragon Interceptions for Negrigante. Completing the tasks will also unlock Silver Rathalos and Gold Rathian on the map.
Players can use the materials from those monsters to craft some event-exclusive weapons and armor. The Carnival Global event preys on hard-core players’ sense of FOMO, or the fear of missing out. The weapons could be great for hunts and succeeding in tougher fights in the future, but it also costs nearly $15 for two days of fun. Buying it on the Web store will net players 300 bonus Gems.
One of the ways, the Carnival Global will be worth it is if players can take advantage of the bonuses. Just like in the Dark Daydreams eent, they’ll see large monsters cycling in every 30 minutes and they’ll have a wider access range. That could be a godsend if you’re trying to hunt for materials for that Grade 10 weapon or armor.
The Carnival Global celebration runs from 9 a.m. Nov. 2 to 11:59 p.m. Nov. 3.