One of the first things I noticed in the updated build I played at Capcom‘s Osaka headquarters for our big Monster Hunter Wilds hands-on preview, having sunk 15 hours into the game’s open beta last month, was the attack hitstop. It is, simply put, back. Weapons cleave through weak spots with greater exaggeration and palpable impact, just as many fans wanted them to after the beta felt comparatively limp-wristed. Director Yuya Tokuda, it seems, was all too happy to restore the hitstop, as he said (via interpreter) in a group interview I attended.
My colleague Lincoln Carpenter from PC Gamer beat me to the question and asked why the hitstop was toned down in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta. Tokuda explained that “some of the changes in the hitstop were obviously intentional, and some were not implemented due to the settings of the game. When Monster Hunter World was released, many of the users from overseas commented that the hitstop was way too hard and it made it difficult for them to play. So it’s very positive feedback seeing the users who experienced the [Wilds open beta test] this time saying that they missed the hitstop that they were experiencing in past titles.
“It’s a very unique Monster Hunter experience being able to experience that stuff,” he continued. “So it’s very positive feedback from my perspective. In the current version that I think you guys had hands-on gameplay with, there was obviously a little bit of adjustment compared to the [open beta]. And for the full product version, there will be adjustments. For example, the finishing moves will have adjustments as well.”
Weapons definitely felt a lot better in the newer build. I mostly played hammer and greatsword, two slower weapons with hard-hitting charged attacks that benefit immensely from the added hitstop. Monster skulls ring like bells under the hammer’s heft, and the greatsword slows just briefly to sell the force of your swings. I’m still looking forward to the added finishing oomph that Tokuda alluded to, but if you were worried about how weapons feel after the Wilds beta, put those worries to rest. We are so back.