Monster Hunter developers face a significant challenge: creating new weapon types for the series. This article delves into the complexities of weapon balancing and reveals details about the upcoming MH Wilds x MH Now collaboration event.
Monster Hunter Wilds Developers Consider a 15th Weapon Type
A Fifteenth Weapon Type Remains a Possibility
With over a decade and fourteen weapon types remaining unchanged since Monster Hunter 4 (excluding the Insect Glaive introduced then), the Monster Hunter series might benefit from a fresh addition. In a February 16, 2025 interview with PCGamesN, Monster Hunter Wilds Director Yuya Tokuda discussed the possibility. While acknowledging the team's interest and consideration during the development of MH World and Wilds, he explained, "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."
Tokuda highlighted the difficulty in designing a weapon that feels unique and doesn't overly overlap with existing options. 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's Approach to Weapon Refinement in Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom's continued innovation is evident in MH Wilds' weapon adjustments, including the addition of Focus Mode and Power Clash. While incorporating community feedback from the MH Wilds beta, Tokuda emphasized a cautious approach: "We don’t want to change anything so drastically that it doesn’t feel like that weapon any more."
He further explained the weapon balancing process for each title: "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.’" However, he acknowledged that player experience is crucial: "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."
Balancing the weapons in Wilds presented unique challenges, particularly following Iceborne: "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."
Despite this, MH Wilds aims for a fresh start: "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's collaboration event with MH Wilds enters Phase 2 on February 28, 2025, to celebrate the upcoming release. This phase introduces Chatacabra to MH Now and provides players with twelve Hope weapons from MH Wilds, along with two new layered armors (Hope armor style and a Seikret mount-themed armor).
MH Now players can also earn vouchers for MH Wilds items (Mega Potion, Dust of Life, Energy Drink, Well-done Steak, and Dash Juice) through limited-time quests, redeemable on any platform.
In an February 18, 2025 press briefing for Season 5, Niantic Senior Producer Sakae Osumi hinted at future collaborations: "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 launches February 28, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates, check out our related article!
