As Capcom has been revving up hype forMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, the developer has been taking its time to release clips of what the update will bring to the combat formula. Not only has Capcom shown offSunbreak’s new monsters like Seregios, but players have also been given showcases of how each of the weapons available in the game will be improved.
At the time of this writing, ten of the fourteen weapon types available inMonster Hunter Risehave been given their own short videos that detail how combat is changing for each one of them in theSunbreakexpansion. While some fan-favorite weapons like the Long Sword and Dual Blades still haven’t been shown off, what has been shown does point towards faster and more customizable combat.
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Breaking Down Monster Hunter Rise’s Silkbind Skills
To be clear about theSilkbind Skills inMonster Hunter Rise, this isn’t a new feature being added in theSunbreakexpansion, but instead is an existing feature that is being expanded on with the new content. The currently existing Silkbinds are the combat utility of the Wirebug that was initially introduced inMonster Hunter Rise. Some of them range from being able to prime counters against monster attacks to high-flying combos that send a Switch Axe player into the air before crashing down and releasing an elemental explosion on their target.
What really makes Silkbind Skills stand out is the way that players can learn how to seamlessly work them into combat to add heavy damage to the normal movesets that anyone who played previous games would already be familiar with. It’s a small addition that doesn’t completely reinvent the combat system but adds a level of bombast and nuance that elevates the wayMonster Hunter’s combat has always worked. The combat could always continue to move away from speed and more towards the difficult, deliberate combat of theSoulslike genre, with lock-on systems that direct where an attack will land. Instead, it adds to the over-the-top animations, with giant weapons and complete freedom of movement.
How the Updated Silkbind and Switch Skills Evolve Combat
As the game stands now before theSunbreakexpansion,Monster Hunter Riseintroduced skills that could be switched while setting up equipment. It gave players a way to customize their available attacks in addition to the item and equipment loadouts that already come standard for hunts. One of the bigger changes coming in the new expansion appears to be the ability to swap between Switch Skills while in the middle ofhunting an Almudron, or Rathalos, or whatever the current target is.
It takes what was already a fun way for players to customize their combat and allows for on-the-fly transitioning that could open up adaptation without having to return to the tent. Players won’t have to just deal with a loadout that doesn’t work for the fight until they can pull away and go rework their setups back at camp. To be honest, this is a very small difference, and some players may never even actually use the function all too often. However, this could have much larger implications for fans looking to test outMonster Hunter’s weaponsthey aren’t already familiar with or experts at taking into a hunt.
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The Best Looking Silkbind Skills Being Added in Sunbreak
So far, a lot of the Silkbind Skills that Capcom has shown off appear to be quite visually impressive, even when accounting for how passive the monsters appear to be in these videos. Weapons likeMonster Hunter Rise’s Great Swordstand out, with what appears to be the ability to quickly counter a series of attacks and immediately follow up with powerful strikes. Most notably on these Great Swords is the ability to turn the slow, vulnerable charged attack into a quick succession of slightly weaker but much faster attacks.
Then there’s the fan-favorite Gunlance, which can now fire off multiple cannon blasts in a row when using one of these new Silkbind Skills. These new abilities for Gunlance, as well as the Great Swords mentioned earlier, start to point towards increasing the pace ofcombat inMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. At the very least, this could give weapons that had previously been much slower and more deliberate the option to move faster, especially against monsters that don’t exactly sit around and wait to take a sword to the face.
Increasing the Pace of Monster Hunter’s Combat
For some players, the idea of increasing the pace of combat inMonster Huntermight not exactly sound necessary, especially those who already use weapons like Dual Blades. However, for anyone who finds that their best attacks often have them sit and wait for a charge to finish before exploding some element or status effect into a monster, increasing speed could be a major change to the game. More importantly, having the option to increase the speed momentarily could make fights during more aggressive phases much more manageable. If sometimes the biggest obstacle for taking down an enragedSomnacanthis being unable to hit it with a slow weapon, giving one or two faster attacks to the player can keep them in the fight throughout the hunt.
In fact, an increase in pace is often one of the elements that improves games likeMonster Hunterthat tote difficulty as a feature. Another series that has taken this turn in the past, and is often compared toMonster Hunterby fans, would be FromSoftware’sDark Soulsgames. Faster paces and increased incentive towards player aggression are part of what has madeBloodborne,Sekiro, andElden Ringthe highest rated from the developer. Even if thecomparisons betweenMonster HunterandDark Soulsare fairly surface level, the successful direction that one series takes can inform how the other can improve.
While players already have the option to simply swap over to a different weapon that might make their own gameplay feel faster, the additions of quicker movesets is still a net benefit. So, these new Silkbind Skills are a welcome addition toMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s new gameplay. It still remains to be seen if fans will be able to make good use of these skills against more active monsters, but deeper combat is always a positive change.
Monster Hunter Riseis available now for PC and Switch, withSunbreakset to release on June 30th.
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