Summary
Only a handful of details have been shared about whatMonster Hunter Wildswill entail besides the franchise’s tried and true hunting and gathering formula and those details have been intriguing thus far. Indeed,Monster Hunter Wildshas placed a huge emphasis on how its environments will be dynamic and change, maybe even rapidly, with monsters and other aspects of the world reacting to those changes. But what’s also interesting is whatWildshasn’t gone into yet at all, and that’s what the player’s hub world(s) will look like and how they’ll have been iterated on fromMonster Hunter World.
Monster Hunteris a franchise that players spend literally countless hours in and learning all of an installment’s ins and outs is not only helpful but essential. A lot can be convoluted and difficult to parse about all ofWorld’s sprawling mechanics, for instance, and simply understanding a hub’s layout can be complicated when there are so many NPCs providing different services. However, the reason whyWilds’ hub world accessibility will likely be great from the get-go is evident in the difference betweenWorld’s Astera and Iceborne’s Seliana—not even a game apart and already the bounds Seliana makes over Astera are profound.
Monster Hunter World’s Astera is a Labyrinth Stretched Thin
Astera is homey and has the harmonious atmosphere of a fleet working together though it certainly isn’t enjoyable to get around. The lifts do a lot to mitigate having to sprint up and down a long, winding staircase, but it’s even a couple of seconds of loading screens each way that aren’t exciting to sit through.
The issue here is that Astera is relatively small and, perhaps as a way to make up for what it lacks in real estate, Capcom decided to spread everything out as much as possible. Therefore, making pit stops everywhere players may like to—accepting a quest at the board by the tradeyard’s expedition gate beforecollecting a harvest at the Botanical Research’s Chief Botanist, checking to see if they have enough materials to upgrade something at the Smithy, and getting a bite to eat the Canteen, for instance—takes an excruciatingly long time.
Of course, almost everything a player may need while in Astera can be accessed within the Gathering Hub, including a Resource Center if players have any bounties to turn in or items to deliver following a hunt.
The Gathering Hub is at the highest point of Astera, but it’s close enough to the Smithy via a lift if need be. Nonetheless, trying to reach all of the hub’s services from Astera in general is a bit of a needless pain that Seliana in the Iceborne expansion thankfully rectifies.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s Seliana is a Hub World Perfected
In Seliana, nearly every essential NPC or vendor is within arm’s reach from the central area’s expedition gate. Literally enveloping the player in a half-circle, the only services players need to go out of their way for are the Smithy, Steamworks, andTailraider Safari, which aren’t even a few steps away from the central area.
Once Seliana becomes available there’s basically no casual or leisurely reason to go back to Astera and it’s this degree of efficiency thatWildswill hopefully have. It’ll be neat to see now ifWildsgives players a hub as accessible as Seliana right away or makes them wait and earn it by unlocking another post-launch expansion; either way, Seliana should certainly be thetemplate forMonster Hunterhub worldsmoving forward.
Monster Hunter Wilds
WHERE TO PLAY
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
