While players only get a small taste of what’s to come, the Wild Monster Hunter beta looks like everything hopeful fans want from a MH title on the current console generation. It’s the best-looking title in the series and has added a lot of new features that look great at the time of full release. Weapon switching, a vast open-world environment to explore, a friendly cast of NPCs, and extreme weather conditions that change the hunting environment are new to the game. Wild.
Another novelty shown in the MH Wilds beta was the herd feature, where hunts involve taking down an alpha monster that is surrounded by its smaller variants. These hunts encourage Hunters to separate the alpha monster from the rest of the herd with Dung Pods, although the brave or stubborn few may decide to just take on the entire herd. Even after splitting up, the herd will try to group up again during a hunt, and while the feature adds a sense of realism to the game, it could be a problem if recent leaks are to be believed.
Monster Hunter Wilds leak could mean return of iconic monsters
The monster roster could be the biggest ever
A recent leak posted by Nadei on Reddit shows dated codes and which monsters these codes correlate to. Although the beta exclusively showcased new monsters, with Rey Dau being the biggest fight in the test environment, these codes confirm what many fans of the Monster Hunter series already knows. There will be a number of monsters returning from previous games to fill the MH Wilds list next to the game originals.
While the leak doesn’t contain information about each piece of code and which monster the code correlates to, some iconic monsters are poised to make an expected, but nonetheless, big return. To no one’s surprise, both the Rathian and Rathalos will return in Wildthe latter being the mascot of the series. Other monsters like Yian Kut-Ku and Gravios will also appear, according to the leak, with these monsters being a pair that appeared in the first Monster Hunter back to PS2.
Many monsters are reappearing throughout the series, no matter where they debuted, and most tend to remain reasonably faithful to their first appearancesbut MW Selvagens will make some changes thanks to the new alpha and herd system. According to the leak, there will be an Alpha Rathalos, with the potential of an Alpha Fulgur Anjanath and an Alpha Ebony Odogaron. These will likely be larger, more dangerous variants of the monsters that lead the herds, but having too many alpha variants could be a problem in the future.
An Alpha Rathalos might be more trouble than it’s worth
A flying herd might be a step too far
Fighting a group of Rathalos can be more boring than difficult whether there will be an alpha variant, given that all the monsters in the herd can fly, breathe fire and poison their enemies with their claws. The other monsters that have alpha variants so far are all unable to fly and seem like they are better choices for group fighting, mechanically speaking. The Alpha Ebony Odogaron seems to make the most sense, given that this monster has a lot of canine tendencies and is one of the smaller monsters on the list.
It should be noted that the herd system has not been tested much by players in the MH Wilds beta, given that Alpha Doshaguma and its minor variants are not as dangerousespecially compared to the likes of Rey Dau. Still, it seems like a big leap to fight a herd of Rathalos, as Rathalos were seen as the top of the food chain in Monster Hunter Worldof the Ancient Forest, making her comparable to Rey Dau, at least theoretically. With everything the Rathalos can do, facing a herd may not be worth it.
The Alpha Rathalos and his fire-breathing friends could be added later in the game, after the initial Rathalos fight, so that players are ready for that fight, but that brings its own problems. Unless there is specific armor for the Alpha Rathalos, might not be worth fighting the herd unless it’s a story mission. Because the herd and alpha system is so new, it can also bring some balance issues, as it doesn’t seem like Alpha Doshaguma and his crew give players a good indication of what to expect in the final version.
The Rathalos is a series icon for a reason
Your difficulty is not something to sniff around
The Rathalos is perhaps the most iconic monster in the series and is generally one of the toughest Wyverns. In MH World was on the same level as the Diablos and often considered a companion (or at least male counterpart) of the Rathian. It is also a monster with a silver variant that is considerably more difficult, although this does not mean that the normal variant is the easiest to face. Yes, is often far from the most difficult monsters that Monster Hunter games will throw at your players, but it’s not like fighting Doshaguma, for example.
Fighting so many difficult flying monsters with one Rathalos’ kit would be extremely difficult at worst and quite annoying at best. Fighting a Rathian and Rathalos together is disorienting enough, and even though Dung Pods should be the right option, the herds tend to group up again during a hunt, if the beta is to be believed, and being surrounded by giant fire-breathing lizards, especially in the Scarlet Forest environment, it can induce rage. It also goes against what Monster Hunter did to the Rathalos in the past.
Instead of an Alpha Rathalos and a herd of its smaller, weaker variants, it seems Wild Monster Hunter should do the natural thing of having Rathalos and Rathian as a power couple. Just because a herd system exists does not mean that Monster Hunter’Icon should be part of that, especially since Ebony Odogaron and Fulgar Anjanath feel they could work well in a herd. Still, the full game isn’t out yet, and there may be more systems to make the herds work for the Alpha Rathalos to keep the fighting fun.
Source: TheNadei/Reddit