Is World your first Monster Hunter game?

My undying flame of hatred for Apex Gravios

If Monster Hunter: World is your first Monster Hunter game, you may have occasionally seen this question floating around: what was your first Monster Hunter game and what weapon did you start with? It’s interesting. While I haven’t seen this bit of trivia confirmed, it’s widely believed that the fifth fleet you’re apart of in World represents the fifth generation of the Monster Hunter series, and each fleet before it represents the previous generations of the game.

For example, the first fleet hunters in the game like the Commander and the Huntsman are tired, grizzled veterans who have done it all, like the players who started playing the games way back when. The third fleet is composed of researchers and scholars, just like how Monster Hunter Tri brought lots of online resources like the wiki and Kiranico.

I started relatively recently with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, but was immediately hooked by the demo to dive in head first despite the long-lived image the game had at that point of being impenetrable. And what better weapon for a rookie to immediately get started on than the Dual Blades? Of course, like a lot of hunters, your first Monster Hunter game gets you pretty attached to the monsters it introduced. While Gore Magala was the flagship of 4U, I loved my eternal struggle with Seregios, which was the cover monster for other territories like the UK and Japan. Fighting Sergios was always invigorating, and its weapons had an amazing gimmick to reflect a bird covered with knives: eternally sharp blademaster weapons!

If you didn’t know, Destructoid’s hunting community is quite strong and vibrant. We even have our own squads on World for each platform, Palico Patrol! This is what our hunters had to say about their first MonHun games when asked about it in the quick posts.

JohnSmith123 perhaps picked the master race weapon from the onset:

I had the PS2 version of Monster Hunter. I believe it was a great sword.

Didn’t really get into it until the PSP games. Freedom 2 and Unite got me hooked.

Harold Hypno shares my woes about the new, fifth generation bow mechanics:

MH3U was my first. Started with Dual Blades, then transitioned to Longsword. In 4U I mained bow, and in Generations I split bow/longsword 50/50.

Now I still main longsword, and picked up SnS and LBG. Hate the new bow.

zatoeyes probably knows his spirit combos:

I think it was the first one that came out on the Wii? I didn’t care for it so I don’t want to count it as my first.

The first one I actually really played was was Monster Hunter Generations on the 3DS after my friend finally convinced me to play it with him. Shortly after I made that purchase, World got announced and I put it off because World looked like it fixed many of the problems I had with Gen and I didn’t want to burn out.

In both Gen and World I started with the Longsword. In World I have branched out a lot and now use LS, Hammer, HBG and Gunlance. I switch it up depending on what I’m hunting.

Hopefully CaimDark has received MHW by now, cause it’s a blast:

My first was 3U on the Wii U. I was completely hooked, but it’s not as exciting on a small handheld, so that was my only MH until last year, when I got 4U on a sale.

I’m very much looking forward to World, except I got it as a gift, it was bought online and the delivery is taking forever, it’s been over 20 days! I’m tempted to just forget about it and buy it myself, but that would be kinda rude. 🙁

I think I started with the classic sword and shield, but soon realized I wouldn’t be blocking much. Eventually I settled on the Switch Axe and haven’t used anything else since. When I start world maybe I’ll try something fast like the Dual Blades.

I’ve hunted with NeoTurbo. He’s serious about being hooked on Charge Blade:

Started with Freedom Unite 2 on PSP. I tried lance, but couldn’t figure it out so I went with the simpler hammer. Then I got hooked on Charge Blade when 4U introduced it.

Chris Hovermale is a Tri boi:

Started with Tri myself! I was indecisive as to what weapon to mostly use, but I enjoyed Long Sword, Switch Axe, and Bowguns.

These days I stick to Insect Glaive, mostly because it’s time consuming enough to grind materials for one weapon type.

Gamemaniac is a man of bacteria so of course he chose what he chose:

MHW is my first, and I went for the Insect Glaive immediately. Because bugs.

ajexander is a man of culture as well for his use of Fire and Ice:

In Freedom 1, I believe I started with a Great Sword and it went very poorly. Changing to Sword and Shield was the only way I got anywhere in that game, though slowly.

My ability with other weapons increased with each subsequent game, to the point I don’t use the SnS at all any more. In World I have a near-complete collection of Great Swords and Long Swords, along with many Charge Blades, Switch Axes, and the Fire and Ice Dual Blades because holy shit they are disgusting on anything not fully resistant to ice or blast. I really need to give Hammers and the Lances another go.

Major Tom’s has put a respectable amount of hours into MH3U:

MH3U on Wii U and 3DS. I played that shit over 500 Hrs, then got into 4U and then Gen, loving World. Started with Switch Axe in 3U, then Charge Blade on 4U then Long Sword on Gen and then Greatsword re World.

Gundy pours one out for the old claw meta:

I started with the original on the PS2 and used the Greatsword almost exclusively, only switching to bowguns when I could actually afford the Clust lv2 meta because money was super tight in the original and shit was expensive. RIP claw day. Also RIP being able to carry 99 wyvern claws.

LaTerry found his way after finding the Charge Blade:

I’ve actually got four different Monster Hunter games, Tri, 3U, Generations, and now World. In all but World I was so confused about what I was supposed to do that I didn’t get past many of the early quests, all of which were gathering quests. I just had no idea what was going on. World drops you in and lets you kill things almost right away, and that was the hook I’ve needed. I don’t remember what weapons I tried in the others since it never mattered since I never got to fight anything. In World I grabbed the Charge Blade and I’ve been using it ever since. After figuring out how to actually play these games, I’ve gone back to Generations with SrChurros and it’s been a lot of fun. I stuck to the Charge Blade for Generations as well to see how it might have changed in World.

Vezpy brings up one of my personal favorites, Ukanlos! You know, the flying wyvern!

I’ve actually got four different Monster Hunter games, Tri, 3U, Generations, and now World. In all but World I was so confused about what I was supposed to do that I didn’t get past many of the early quests, all of which were gathering quests. I just had no idea what was going on. World drops you in and lets you kill things almost right away, and that was the hook I’ve needed. I don’t remember what weapons I tried in the others since it never mattered since I never got to fight anything. In World I grabbed the Charge Blade and I’ve been using it ever since. After figuring out how to actually play these games, I’ve gone back to Generations with SrChurros and it’s been a lot of fun. I stuck to the Charge Blade for Generations as well to see how it might have changed in World.

Goemar sure cut his teeth on Professor Yian Kut-ku:

First one was MH Freedom on the PSP. I had grabbed a PSP for the sole purpose of playing Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X. A friend at college mentioned how good Monster Hunter looked and that it had co-op so I picked it up. My god did I suck… I started with the Great Sword (not realising the damage values given were massively inflated) because the game said it did the most damage. I couldn’t kill anything with it, like Yian Kut-Ku slaughtered me so many times it was just shameful. As the game had cost me money (and I did enjoy killing Velocidrome like… 80 times) I went to YouTube to see why I sucked so much. After that I started using the Sword and Shield (the weapon everyone should start with) and stuck with that until probably about the end of Low Rank in Freedom 2. Pretty much used the Hammer ever since (though have used the Long Sword quite a bit as gotta cut those tails!).

ZombieCorps is an impeccable hunter:

Tri – Greatsword. 4 got me hooked with IG though. Stories was just delightful and World is fantastic. I am a srs Hunter after all…

Don’t show Cloudman Sam a Lagiacrus, I’ll tell you what:

Tri, I mostly got it because the trailers made it seem like my kind of game.

It was for the most part, but I just couldn’t figure out how to properly play it until now. I didn’t now how to properly use traps unless the quest specifically said I had to use them, I didn’t know how to properly use barrel bombs, and the underwater combat didn’t help in timed hunts.

Never made it past the Lagicarus hunt, but I had fun in the sandbox zone outside the village.

I mostly stuck with LS because of katanas and being a pre-teen when I played this, but I enjoyed quite a bit with the Switch axe and GS before getting my first LS.

AlphaDeus is on his first hunting game and doing well:

Monster Hunter World is my first MH game. I started with the sword and shield, but switched to Dual Blades for a while. I’ve been mostly using the bow and arrow.

Sailor Zebes knows a good weapon when he feels it:

I technically started with Tri, but didn’t get into it. Later I got 4U and then it really clicked. I think I started with Sword and Shield cause it was the default, and tried Dual Blades briefly, but both of those didn’t last long. Great Sword was the weapon I actually got into.

Rocket Knight is hooked on World, and for good reason really:

Tri! I did the sword and shield, for what little I played. Didn’t hook me quite like World has.

Lastly is a lengthy one from SrChurros, who I know as the resident Insect Glaive specialist:

Never played world. But first weapon? Fun story time!

First Monster Hunter game I’ve played was the very first one for the PS2. Started with the Sword and Shield, and saved some money to buy that sweet first iron Great Sword, only to find out it was slow as heck (didn’t knew about cancelling the animation with rolls). Ended up picking the Heavy Bowgun, and while my brothers made it to Ratahlos (I think?) I never passed Kut-Ku. I didn’t know back then that you should never, ever use Normal Shot 1 as your main ammo. Gave up afterwards.

Next I used bowguns on Tri. I was frustrated that it took me 50 minutes to kill the Royal Ludroth, and then I found Socialdissonance’s YouTube channel. After following his tips my kill time was reduced to 15 minutes! Ended up finishing the low rank and stopped playing it.

Soloed 3U using mostly Light Bowguns, sometimes the heavy variant and rarely bows. Problem: played the 3DS version and Bowguns are not that fun to use solo, specially on G-Rank. Even then I learned how to cut tails using freaking boomerangs. Stopped playing at the end of the G-Rank, someplace after Miralis but before Lucent Nargacuga. I swore to myself that if the next game ever had online co-op, I would mostly play online with the Bowgun.

Except I didn’t do that. I freaking loved invertebrates as a child, soooo my natural choice was the Insect Glaive. As a lifelong gunner I wasn’t really feeling the weapon at first, until BAM, it clicked on me and this weapon is so much fun to use, aaaah. I probably am a bit too much jump happy. Anyway, played online and solo, stopped at the end of the endgame, with just a few more ancient scrolls to translate (3 or 4).

Have an abandoned old Bowgun-main save on Generations. Started a new character to play with LaTerry last Thursday, learning the ways of the Switch Axe now. I’m not feeling comfortable yet using it, but aerial Switch Axe looks like some crazy fun.

So what Monster Hunter game did you start with? And which weapon did you gravitate towards? Let us know in the comments and we’ll see you in the new world!