Has anyone else been enjoying playing at the slowest, most immersive pace possible?
[WARNING] Long text ahead! You can jump to the TL;DR at the bottom if you want to skip all the yappin.
I've been a fan of the series for over two decades now. As both the series and I get older, I’ve decided to truly take my time with Monster Hunter: Wilds and immerse myself as much as possible.
HUD: I’ve disabled most of my HUD and all the overstimulating elements on my screen. All I need are the gauges and item bar. The fights look so much cleaner and less distracting this way! I just wish I could turn off the notifications on the right, those are the worst.
Map: I’ve also removed the minimap, and honestly, learning the layouts has been so fun. It’s tough at first, but once you get a sense of direction, knowing where you are, finding shortcuts, and grabbing items without constantly checking the map feels incredibly satisfying. Of course, I still check the big map every now and then.
Fast Travel: I know it’s not a true open world, and the corridors exist to mask transitions, but I still love crossing the map on foot. I never get bored of it! Watching the endemic life as I pass by, gathering items to trade, fishing, foraging for ingredients, admiring the gorgeous environments, and noticing little details like that untextured tree over there... that's weird. Anywho, it all feels so peaceful!
Seikret Usage: I’m not doing a no-Seikret run, but sometimes avoiding it for traversal makes things more interesting. Following a Rey Dau back to its nest on foot through the desert, with the music building tension is SO badass! Even just casually walking through the maps makes exploration feel way more immersive. I also don’t use it in combat, healing and sharpening was never a problem so far.
No Guides, No Meta Builds, No Hurry: The G-Rank expansion isn’t coming until next year, so I’m in no rush. Yesterday, I played for two hours after work and only hunted 3 monsters, with each fight taking 10 to 20 minutes, all while using a comfy build. Fighting a Nu Udra during Inclemency and watching the weather shift to Plenty in its nest? Absolutely stunning. Then I spent another hour just exploring, crossing the Oilwell Basin to reach Scarlet Forest for fishing, making my way to Windward Plains to gather Aloe and Pepper for trading, and heading back to base to check in with the Argosy. I hunted one monster in that hour… and still felt like my time was well spent.
There's something truly beautiful about being slow. A lot of fun to be had in the little things... makes the big things even more of an spectacle.
TL;DR: I’m playing this game like a Monster Hunter simulator—taking things slow, keeping most of my HUD off, avoiding fast travel, skipping guides and meta builds, and figuring things out on my own. It’s been an amazing experience, and I’m loving how immersive it can be!
Anyone else like to play Wilds this way?
[WARNING] Long text ahead! You can jump to the TL;DR at the bottom if you want to skip all the yappin.
I've been a fan of the series for over two decades now. As both the series and I get older, I’ve decided to truly take my time with Monster Hunter: Wilds and immerse myself as much as possible.
HUD: I’ve disabled most of my HUD and all the overstimulating elements on my screen. All I need are the gauges and item bar. The fights look so much cleaner and less distracting this way! I just wish I could turn off the notifications on the right, those are the worst.
Map: I’ve also removed the minimap, and honestly, learning the layouts has been so fun. It’s tough at first, but once you get a sense of direction, knowing where you are, finding shortcuts, and grabbing items without constantly checking the map feels incredibly satisfying. Of course, I still check the big map every now and then.
Fast Travel: I know it’s not a true open world, and the corridors exist to mask transitions, but I still love crossing the map on foot. I never get bored of it! Watching the endemic life as I pass by, gathering items to trade, fishing, foraging for ingredients, admiring the gorgeous environments, and noticing little details like that untextured tree over there... that's weird. Anywho, it all feels so peaceful!
Seikret Usage: I’m not doing a no-Seikret run, but sometimes avoiding it for traversal makes things more interesting. Following a Rey Dau back to its nest on foot through the desert, with the music building tension is SO badass! Even just casually walking through the maps makes exploration feel way more immersive. I also don’t use it in combat, healing and sharpening was never a problem so far.
No Guides, No Meta Builds, No Hurry: The G-Rank expansion isn’t coming until next year, so I’m in no rush. Yesterday, I played for two hours after work and only hunted 3 monsters, with each fight taking 10 to 20 minutes, all while using a comfy build. Fighting a Nu Udra during Inclemency and watching the weather shift to Plenty in its nest? Absolutely stunning. Then I spent another hour just exploring, crossing the Oilwell Basin to reach Scarlet Forest for fishing, making my way to Windward Plains to gather Aloe and Pepper for trading, and heading back to base to check in with the Argosy. I hunted one monster in that hour… and still felt like my time was well spent.
There's something truly beautiful about being slow. A lot of fun to be had in the little things... makes the big things even more of an spectacle.
TL;DR: I’m playing this game like a Monster Hunter simulator—taking things slow, keeping most of my HUD off, avoiding fast travel, skipping guides and meta builds, and figuring things out on my own. It’s been an amazing experience, and I’m loving how immersive it can be!
Anyone else like to play Wilds this way?