I’ve tried since the latest Monster Hunter released to convince myself that I don’t need the game. I bought Majora’s Mask 3D a few days ago and have already played it to completion but something kept pulling me to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I downloaded the demo yesterday and 4 hours later decided that it was worth 40 bucks and my time so earlier today I went into the 3DS e-Shop and took the plunge. I now own the game and have been reading guides and watching YouTube videos for the past 2 hours to prepare. I’m scared.

I love the Souls series and the level of information that it withholds from you never bothered me so I think I'll be fine with that aspect of MH but there has just been something about the series that is extraordinarily intriguing to me but also daunting.

This initial blog entry will only serve the purpose of letting you all know that I will be documenting my time with the game to see if I become addicted like so many others or give it a good shot only to learn that it is simply not for me. I’m hoping for the former but over the course of my playtime with the game I will give updates in the form of new entries to this series every few days. I have only checked out beginner tips in videos and text to help me get acquainted with some of the more obscure elements to the start of the game and I’ve forced myself to not read or watch anything that will tell me the best starter class or weapon; I want to learn for myself how I want to play the game. So, here we go.

I create a character and get through the battle in the desert where you run around like an idiot and recklessly jump onto the back of a gigantic sand demon to save some guys’ hat; it was hilarious and actually super cool. After all of that ends you are in the hub area where the hat guy tells you he wants a steak, before I head out though I check around the area to acquaint myself with the various NPC’s and vendors to see what they have to offer, I then head over to the guildmarm who gives me the quest for the steak and I head out into the wild for the first time.

I have a basic understanding of how combat works because of the guides that I checked out on YouTube so this first section isn't too hard after I get as much stuff out of the blue chest that I can. The first monsters that you are tasked with killing are extremely easy, most of the ones that I attacked didn’t fight back at all, and I was able to complete this quest with ease in just 4 minutes. Even though it was very basic I still felt a huge sense of accomplishment as I placed the well-done steak into the red chest and am transported back to town. I pick up another quest to make a mega-potion for red hat guy and after another 10 minutes I finish it but not before fighting my first set of Jaggi’s. They actually attack me but still don’t pose any serious threat but I was able to get a feel for the animation priority in the attacks you perform. This is something that I have seen as a complaint from some other new players but being a huge fan of the Souls series as I mentioned above I have absolutely zero issue with and actually found myself really enjoying having to take a more methodical approach to landing successful attacks.

After the mission I am transported back to town where I am told that I can now take my Palicoe with me on missions. The Palicoe is a small cat that will accompany you on quests and can fight, as well as aid you in combat by healing you, I think this will be a really neat addition and should prove to be somewhat helpful to someone like me who may ignore my health bar sometimes in the early going. I finally found the Item Box in my house that I had completely ignored before now and looked through the weapons that are in there and decided to go with an Insect Glaive at the advice of @jjweatherman. I then just wander around for a couple of more minutes without picking up a new quest to see what the Gathering Hall is; it’s where you meet up with players to play online which was my understanding of it anyway. At this point I then head back to my house to save and conclude my time with the beginning of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.

I can say that just after the short bit of the game that I have played so far I can already say that I have been missing out on this series and wish I would have started playing sooner because it seems insanely fun. I’m hoping to update with a new blog entry into this new series when I come across something new and cool so you can probably expect to see another one in a few days. Thanks for reading and wish me luck… I'll probably need it for what is to come.

Good luck! I really hope you like the insect glaive; I've been having a ton of fun with it. You're going to feel so accomplished once you take down your first Great Jaggi, haha.

This reminds me... I still need to add Journey to my backlog! Thanks!

I'm looking forward to seeing how you fare in the magical world of Monster Hunter! The Insect Glaive is indeed a great weapon, given that it has both reach and speed, though managing the insect can be a bit of a hassle until you get used to it. I personally cut my teeth on the Long Sword when I started playing, so if the glaive isn't working out for you I'd recommend that.

@arbitrarywater: Is that a katana? If so, I thought so hard about using it or the Insect Glaive just because the katana looked so freakin' cool.

@hypnotoadbrwowrowrow: I wish I could tell you I enjoyed Journey but I found it boring... it was beautiful, it just didn't have the same effect on me that it did other people.

I'm playing on an original 3DS XL and I'm hoping the camera isn't too much of a hindrance. I may take the plunge on a New 3DS when I can find one though.

I'm terrified right now to fight anything other than the enemies that don't fight back, haha

The LS is an excellent solo weapon, but can be a bit of a problem in groups as it has many wide, sweeping attacks that have a tendency to hit your allies. Just food for thought.

Since I am new to series and therefore, an idiot... is there friendly fire?

I really do enjoy hearing about new players picking up the series.

I saw that you were added to the pm, hopefully we'll hunt sometime in the future!

@jbg4: Friendly hitstun. No damage but you'll knock them on their ass leaving them wide open to the monster.

The 2nd entry will never come, because you might be hopelessly addicted like I am! D:

@deadpancakes: That would be nice, while I have a base understanding so far there are still a few things that I may need some help with.

Thanks... I've stuck with the insect glaive and while I like the attack pattern of the actual weapon, I have no idea how to use the actual bug.

I'm heading in that direction. I completed two more quests last night and I'm going to jump in to finish a third as soon as I get an opportunity today. Are you a veteran of the series?

Hold R to aim and release it to fire your tracer shot at the monster. When it hits, it will start glowing a specific color, Orange/Red/White. Press R+X to send out your Kinsect and, when it homes in on the tracer and hits the monster, the bug shaped icon on your special Kinsect meter (located beneath your sharpness indicator) will start glowing that color. Press R+A to recall your Kinsect and, when it gets back to you, one of the three pips in the Kinsect meter will light up granting you a buff specific to that essence.

• Orange Essence (typically gained from the body of large monsters) - grants knockback protection which prevents you from being stunned by weak attacks and wind effects for 45 sec.
• Red Essence (typically gained from the head of large monsters) - enhances your attack animations effectively doubling your damage for 60 sec.
• Whie Essence (typically gained from the legs of large monsters) - increases your movement speed and pole-vault height for 90 sec.

At the most basic level, you should never be attacking a large monster unless you have Red Essence. It simply isn't worth it. You can also double up (white + a different essence) or triple up (all three) your essences which grants you additional bonuses.

• Orange + White Essence - +6% defense, increased knockback protection and immunity to roars of smaller bosses
• Red + White Essence - +20% attack
• Orange + Red + White Essence - +25% attack, +8% defense, increased knockback protection and immunity to roars of smaller bosses

As you become more adept, you should be able to accurately hit the monster with your Kinsect without the use of the tracer in order to gain essences more quickly. The consensus seems to be that when leveling your Kinsect, you should focus 100% on Speed to make it super easy to hit the monster without tracers. That is, at least until G Rank when you can get HQ food from the trader and make the best Kinsect in the game because it doubles the duration of all of your essences.

Wheels in the Sky fuckin owns, man.

@ripelivejam: Wrong Journey..."The Journey" is an indie, folk rock trio that only sings about natural childbirth.

@starvinggamer: thanks so much for that... I had no idea how to use it, I noticed that you could target with R but didn't know what to do after that. Now I do and it is extremely helpful.

Man, reading this really makes me want to finally give in to temptation and give the copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate sitting on my 3DS a proper shot. I've dabbled with it on a couple of occasions, but I just can't bring myself to commit to it. I think there are two main reasons why, the first being the game's lack of guidance for new players, and the second being a mortal fear of losing myself to such an enormous timesink. I'll be following this series closely, and who knows, maybe it'll get me to finally bite the bullet and dig a little deeper into the world of Monster Hunter.

I've decided that I'm getting a new 3DS for better camera control... should have it Friday.

I'm actually thinking about picking up the Wii U version of MH3U to see how it is. I am so deep down this rabbit-hole now... I'm addicted. I played about 3 hours during different breaks today.

Nope, this is my first MH, I just kinda got instantly addicted D:

I knew it!

@lanechanger: yep, you called it... I should have a new blog going up tomorrow, I'll talk about what has pulled me in so much already and how this was a great game to release with the New 3DS because it drove me to take the plunge and buy a new one.

Further to my comment from last week, I did indeed end up dipping my toes into the world of Monster Hunter off the back of this blog. Not with MH3U, as I initially said I might, but with Freedom Unite on the PSP, primarily to make it easier to split my time between MH and Pokémon Omega Ruby by playing them on separate consoles (although having an excuse to give my PSP an airing is another factor). I spent my first three hours with the game doing all the training guild quests, which were surprisingly useful in terms of teaching me the game's controls, as well as the mechanics of exploration and combat. After trying all the weapons out in those quests I ended up settling on the Greatsword, mainly due to their high damage output and the ability to block attacks, but also because I love the comically oversized look of those blades. So far I've put about ten hours in, managed to craft a complete suit of Giaprey armour (which looks a lot more badass than the fluffy Mafumofu suit I was wearing before), and completed all the one-star quests, and I think it's safe to say the franchise has also managed to get its claws into me. I'm still a bit daunted by the game's mechanical depth and the lack of any clear player direction, but I'm content to take baby steps and deal with that stuff at my own pace. I guess the point of this whole rambling paragraph is that I came here to say thanks, for indirectly encouraging me to take the plunge with this franchise at long last. Cheers, duder.

I am happy to have walked you to the edge that you jumped from; you jumped into an earlier version that still scares me and I've played nearly 20 hours of MH4U now. It makes me feel awesome to know that I helped you find this new experience that you seem to be enjoying.

Like I said, I'm close to 20 hours in and I'm still taking baby steps because there are a lot of things that I have no clue about just yet. If you ever decide to move up to the 3DS and MH4U then let me know and we'll hunt together sometime. Also, I have been so close to buying Omega Ruby on about 43 occasions now, I may actually get it the next time though.

Thanks for reading.