With the recent announcement of Monster Hunter Now (as of the day of writing this), from both Niantic and Capcom and whispers on the wind about Monster Hunter 6 coming sometime in 2023, the Monster Hunter franchise is at peak interest in the gaming community at the moment. Of course, the franchise has always been popular ever since it first came out, as it's by far one of Capcom's most beloved franchises. And, each new game that comes out improves upon the combat and systems of the previous game in a multitude of ways.
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With that in mind, let's take a look back at some of the features the games have steadily added with each new iteration and talk about the ones that need to come to the next Monster Hunter game.
10 New & Improved Underwater Combat (Or Something Similar)
Let's get the most controversial inclusion out of the way, the underwater combat of Monster Hunter Tri (and MH3U). This system was a heavily flawed inclusion for these games, no doubt about it, but it also added a whole new dimension to the combat of Monster Hunter. The sheer fact that they tried and, for the most part, the combat was functional is absolutely worth praising.
And, it's worth noting that, even 10+ years later there are often threads or posts that pop up on a multitude of MH-related sites where fans of the mechanic talk about wanting it to come back. Now, Capcom has three options here with positive results:
- They can ignore this interest and keep underwater combat in the past (as they've done up to now).
- They can introduce a whole new or massively improved underwater combat system.
- Or, they can create a biome-centric combat system similar to underwater combat such as full-flying combat, chase-related combat, or even something like sand-surfing combat in a desert biome.
9 Investigation Hunts
The Investigation Quests system in Monster Hunter World is something Monster Hunter Rise sorely needed and it's also something Monster Hunter 6 should absolutely have. This system makes grinding for specific monster drops a lot less tedious thanks to the 'rarity' system of guaranteed drops denoted by bronze, silver, or gold '?' boxes in the Rewards section. Additionally, each quest, be it a Capture, Kill, or collecting Quest, included a slew of extra variables that made it so no two Investigations played the same.
Of course, the system wasn't perfect and the Anamoly Quests in Sunbreak do, in a way, fill the same role, but a similar system would absolutely be beloved by the fanbase in the next iteration.
8 Monster Tracking & General Ecology
This is another controversial pick, as it seems like it truly is a 50-50 argument between the community about whether the monster tracking from MH: W should come back or not. Half of the community feels like this system was tedious, slowed down every single hunt, and made it so that there was never a moment those brightly glowing Scoutflies weren't on screen or directly the player's attention.
Meanwhile, the other half of the community feels as though this system added a ton of immersion to World, made it actually feel like they were 'hunting' a monster by tracking it down first, and naturally helped players explore and get used to every map over time. If they bring this system back, a good middle-ground solution would be to keep it mostly the same, but simply require fewer interactables to actually pin down the monster's location.
7 Followers & The Follower System
The Follower system added in Sunbreak, a gigantic expansion to Monster Hunter: Rise that parallels what Iceborne added to MH: W, is one of the best new systems Capcom has introduced in a long time. Previously, it felt as though MH players who didn't have a group of friends that also played the game or didn't have the best internet had to roll the dice with random lobbies or deal with the monotony and added difficulty of hunting alone.
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But, with the Follower system, players can actually bring their favorite NPCs into missions with them, have those NPCs pull the monster's aggro, and just generally have an easier time hunting overall. The only problem with it that would (hopefully) be addressed if brought back is the fact that it was single-player only. If they bring Followers back, simply make it so that it's online and when someone joins the lobby, one of the Followers disappears as a result.
6 Switch Skills, Hunter Arts, Or Hunter Styles
While it's almost guaranteed that Wirebugs aren't coming back for the next MH game, just like how the Clutch Claw stayed in Iceborne, Switch Skills should absolutely carry over.
Of course, it doesn't need to be the exact same system, the Hunter Arts and Hunter Styles systems from Monster Hunter Generations (and MHGU) are arguably better and more complex than Switch Skills in many ways. As long as there are options for players to use the iconic MH Weapons in different ways to 'separate' themselves from their peers who are using their same weapon.
5 Enjoyable Map Traversal Options
Just like how Wirebugs will likely stay in MHR, so will Palamutes, or at least it's very likely. Capcom has already shown in their previous MH games that they like each mainline title to have its own theme, gimmicks, and mechanics, with many of those new systems being exclusive to that game.
But, what does need to move forward into the next mainline iteration is this ideal of having a system for getting around the map quickly (and enjoyably). It doesn't have to be as convenient as Palamutes or as 'acrobatic' as Wirebugs, but if they don't players will immediately notice how much slower the game feels overall compared to previous titles.
4 In-Depth Room Customization
One of the areas that Monster Hunter Rise fell short on is the room customization system. While there is one in Rise, it really only amounted to hanging pictures on the walls and putting statues on shelves. Think back on the diverse customization options that World and Iceborne had where players could catch Endemic life and display it in their rooms, change the overall visual 'theme' of their room, and it quickly becomes clear how 'barebones' this system is in Rise.
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Additionally, it would be nice if Capcom finally made it so that the Hub Area, or the area where online lobbies gathered were customizable as well. That way, joining some random lobby didn't feel and look the exact same every time and players could feel a sense of ownership over their specific Hub Area.
3 Cross-Play & Cross-Save
The next feature is something that is going to take a lot of work on Capcom's end, given that crossplay is typically not something that companies like Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony want that much. Including Cross-Play between two systems owned by different companies is usually a bureaucratic nightmare that doesn't pan out.
Previous MH games have had Cross-Play and other games have even had Cross-Save (especially between original and Ultimate versions of the games), so it would be amazing if Capcom managed to have one of these (or maybe even both) in their next installment.
2 Expansive Layered Equipment Systems
Quite frankly, this feature should be in every Monster Hunter game going forward. Capcom has done Layered Armor or Layered Weapons in previous MH games, but it's either pretty limiting or exclusive to certain Events or Event Quests.
In Sunbreak (and Monster Hunter: Rise), however, players gain the ability to create Layered versions of just about every armor and weapon set after they've unlocked their Rank (High-Rank for armor, Master Rank for weapons).
1 Unexpected Quest Twists & Scary Monsters Randomly Appearing
And lastly, let's talk about something past games did but MH: World especially nailed, those moments where a quest would suddenly change due to the appearance of a new 'unknown' monster or a monster way above the player's level would show up randomly.
In Rise, players will often have hunts where Elder Dragons are roaming the map along with their intended target, but during the story, there are not really any moments where this happens.
Imagine a version of Rise where, during the first fight against Barroth in Low-Rank, Magnamalo shows up out of nowhere, has a Turf War with it, and destroys Barroth in less than a minute. How much scarier (and it's already quite scary) would the leadup to fighting Magnamalo be in that example?
Monster Hunter: World has a few moments like this, such as with the Rathalos popping up during that early Tobi-Kadachi fight before it's ever introduced in a cutscene. These moments do a lot to make the player feel less like an unkillable and unstoppable superhuman right out the gate so that they can 'earn' that feeling through more and more hunting experience.
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