There have been many complaints about Monster Hunter Wilds' lacking difficulty compared to prior titles by returning players, being noticeably easier than MH World, its direct predecessor. Without G-Rank, this makes Wilds considerably easier than the titles of old, and although there are some challenges with the Tempered Gore Magala and Arkveld, it isn't the same as taking on Black Dragons. These will likely come with an expansion, like World's Iceborne and Rise's Sunbreak, and updates will add greater challenges for players to get stuck into, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do in the meantime.

For the time being, players have been getting prepared for the Mizutsune, a monster that promises a challenge beyond Tempered difficulty, which is dropping with an update in April. Adding monsters after launch is typical of a Monster Hunter game, with the Lunastra and Deviljo coming to MH World with an update post-release. With PC players getting MH Wilds at launch, and suffering from a less-than-stellar port, it is the first time they have to wait for the extra challenges to come, but in the meantime, they can always play fashion hunter instead.

Monster Hunter Wilds' Endgame Is All About The Outfits

The New Outfit System Allows For Some Interesting Looks

There's a common joke in Monster Hunter that players risk life, limb, and their Palicoes to fight the scariest monsters in the world just to make a pair of boots. Before Wilds, this was done to get the best gear, and sometimes combining the best equipment a Hunter has at the time can make them look like a fashion disaster, but at High Rank, players can wear anything they have crafted at that rank as Layered Armor. This means that a Hunter can wear whatever outfit they want on top of the equipment that is affecting their stats.

This system is an evolution of what was seen in late Iceborne, where players could get Layered Armor by farming items in the Guiding Lands. It has allowed players to make a whole host of outfits and color them to fit with one another, giving many a reason to go back to fighting monsters that they ordinarily wouldn't need to. These outfits have been popular enough to do well with short-form video content, with many showing off their MH Wilds outfits and sharing what armor is needed to make said outfits. It makes hunting everything worthwhile.

The Guiding Lands in Iceborne were a combination of all the ecosystems in World combined and many of its systems seem to inform MH Wilds' open world.

As someone who has played World, Iceborne, and Rise, I had originally expected the endgame to be based around challenging Elder Dragons, or Elder Dragon-adjacent monsters, and struggling while I grinded their gear, but Wilds doesn't have that challenge yet. The hope is that updates and DLC will add the challenge I am craving later on, but I have been enjoying collecting as much gear for outfits as I can. As someone who jokes about 'Fashion Souls' with Soulborne games, farming gear to fill out my Hunter's wardrobe is right up my street.

Grinding Gear Is Vital To Monster Hunter's Identity

The Constant Grind Is What Makes The Games Special

A part of what made MH Wilds' immense success surprising to me is how niche the games are. Outside of MMORPGs, there aren't many games that are as reliant on the constant grind as the Monster Hunter series, and while it has been proven that players like to spend a lot of time with their games now, this grindy nature simultaneously endeared and kept players away. This grind is as vital to Monster Hunter as a compelling narrative is to something like The Last of Us series, and MH Wilds keeps this going.

Monster Hunter Wilds has become Capcom's fastest-selling game, selling 8 million copies in three days.

The grind is different in MH Wilds, however, since the difficulty isn't present enough for players to grind the best gear and decorations. Sure, players can still do this in anticipation of the Mizutsune and other monsters that are bound to make things trickier, but there doesn't appear to be anything like World's Behemoth, which requires players to work with the best gear to give themselves a chance. This will likely come later, especially if there is an expansion with Black Dragons, but the core, late-game grind is still present and more accessible.

More people are likely to grind gear for outfits than to get the best stuff in anticipation of a near insurmountable challenge, since it is easier and players get more rewards. Everyone wants to look a certain way, whether that be stylish or dressed for a comedic cosplay, and Monster Hunter Wilds lets players do this at High Rank so long as they are willing to grind gear for their outfits. It's the same grind Monster Hunter is known for with a different outcome, and the hope is that players will get both outcomes when more challenges arrive.

MH Wilds Will Have More Challenges To Come

Event Quests And Collabs Will Make Hunts More Interesting

This isn't the end of Monster Hunter Wilds' content, and the post-launch is what helps these games have such longevity. The series has plenty of monsters to add to Wilds' roster, with the Mitzutsune having already been announced, and there is going to be a gathering hub-like area added that will probably host event-based celebrations. The update calander looks a little light right now, but if MH World's post-launch updates are anything to go by, there will be plenty to keep players hunting, especially as far as collaborations with other games are concerned.

Monster Hunter has always had strange collaborations, and while nothing will ever be as weird as Hatsune Miku in Monster Hunter Frontier-G, World has its fair share. From hunting a Leshen as The Witcher 3's Geralt to taking down Final Fantasy's Behemoth, there should be a lot to look forward to if MH Wilds follows its predecessor's example. The Behemoth proved to be one of base World's biggest challenges, and a similar collaboration with either Final Fantasy 16 or FF7 could see something similar return, like a fight with Ifrit or Bahamut.

Something that many returning players forget is that Monster Hunter Wilds may be easy by the series' standards, but it isn't easy in general. There are still plenty of challenges for newcomers, and the High Rank outfit systems give these new players an easy reason to keep grinding gear. Wanting to make outfits for a Hunter is one of the easiest ways to get players to stay in the game, and while new monsters will present a fresh challenge, they will also get the outfit-loving players excited to see what outfits they can make out of the monster's parts.