Monster Hunter Wilds Combat Feeling Off? It’s Because of Hitstops
Monster Hunter Wilds’ open beta has officially commenced! With hundreds of thousands of hunters roaming the new world in Wilds, tracking, and hunting down some of the most dangerous monsters, all seems to be going pretty good so far the early beta. Though if you’ve been a long time Monster Hunter fan who has stuck with he series ever since the first games, you may have noticed with this iteration that the combat feels, well, a bit “off.”
As it turns out it probably isn’t you, as there’s a pretty good reason why that is, as one dedicated fan has taken it up on themselves to solving this mystery. As it turns out, it all has to due with hitstops, or rather, the lack of any.
Monster Hunter Wild Nerfs Hitstops, a Mechanic Featured in Nearly All Previous Games
So, what are “Hitstops”? Well the short of it is that it’s the pause your weapon makes as it makes a connection with its attack, adding a bit of a dramatic effect. Every Monster Hunter game has featured it, and though Monster Hunter Wilds also has it, it appears to have been severely reduced to the point that it’s almost gone in some cases. This was noticed by Twitter/X user Blue Stigma, who made a video explaining the mechanic, and comparing to how past Monster Hunter games did it, to what Monster Hunter Wilds is doing now.
If you felt like the combat in the MHWilds beta felt “off,” it’s not just you! As this short comparison video shows, Capcom seems to have reduced hitstop on most (if not all) weapon types in Wilds, leading to some weapons 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 worse than they did in prior games. pic.twitter.com/PRIbkdEFTP
— Blue Stigma (@Axelayer) November 3, 2024
For me at least, this explains a lot as while I have been enjoying my time through the open beta, the combat seemed a bit, “off” as many have pointed out. This explanation certainly clears things up, and now that it’s been pointed out, it’s hard to argue that it’s because of something else.
I’m not sure if this is something that Capcom will “fix” though I think many can agree that the combat of Monster Hunter Wild could use more of an impactful feeling when hitting monsters with our weapons.
Are you affected by the lack of hitstops in Monster Hunter Wilds or is it something you don’t even notice? Sound off and let us know in the comments below.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released this February 28, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. You can check out our hands-on preview of the game here to see what we make of it so far.
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