The game’s release is almost upon us! Monster Hunter Wilds is launching in just four days, and Capcom has rolled out a round of weapon balance updates, adjusting several weapons based on beta feedback. However, rather than making sweeping changes across the board, they have focused on a select few; meaning some weapons will feel noticeably different on launch, while others remain the same!
Community Feedback and Targeted Weapon Updates
Why Only Some Weapons Got Changes?
Capcom has stated that they have been paying close attention to beta testers, community discussions, and content creator feedback to further improve combat before launch. Instead of adjusting every weapon, they have made targeted changes to those that either felt underwhelming or needed balancing changes after the beta.
Weapons like the Insect Glaive and Lance received rather big updates, while others, like the Great Sword, Charge Blade, and Hunting Horn, have barely changed since the last test. A few general gameplay updates also impact how weapons feel overall, but let’s start with the weapons that got direct changes.
Post-Beta Weapon Adjustments in Monster Hunter Wilds
These are the weapons Capcom focused on after the last open beta:
Insect Glaive
- The “helicopter” playstyle seems to be back officially! Aerial attack power now increases with each vault, making air combat much stronger.
- The Descending Slash can now be used as an offset attack, which makes it a useful defensive option in the middle of fights.
- Orange Extract now negates knockback, while the triple buff (Red, White, Orange) now mitigates wind pressure, tremors, and roars; this is a big buff to its mobility and sustain.
Lance
- Counter Thrust is back, now called Charge Counter, allowing you to guard while charging and chain it into any move.
- Power Guard charges faster when blocking big monster attacks, making it even stronger for defensive play.
- A new Lance move, Big Counter Spiral Thrust, has been added: it can be triggered after a perfect guard or power guard, making counter-focused playstyles feel much better.
Switch Axe
- The weapon felt underpowered in the beta, so Capcom made a few important buffs.
- Full Release Slash now ignores knockback, letting you actually land the full attack without being interrupted.
- Sword Mode feels faster, with reduced charge times and smoother transitions between axe and sword attacks.
Sword & Shield
- The Rising Slash can now be used while guarding, letting you attack straight out of a block.
- Normal and Perfect Rush combos have been buffed, making them more powerful and effective.
- Evasion is better: Backstep and Sliding Swipe now have more invincibility frames.
Bow and Other Minor Changes
- Tracer Shots have been nerfed: now target lock-on has a slight delay instead of instantly stacking damage.
- Normal Bow shots and Arc Shots have been buffed for better responsiveness and slightly more power.
- Some general weapon balance changes have been made across the board, but nothing too drastic for most weapons.
What Did Not Change?
Surprisingly, several weapons remain almost untouched even though some players were hoping for adjustments.
Weapons like the Great Sword, Charge Blade, Hunting Horn, and Gunlance have no major post-beta changes beyond general combat feel improvements (like hit stop adjustments). However, Capcom has hinted that more balance patches will come post-launch, just as we saw with Monster Hunter World and Rise.
General Gameplay Changes
On top of the weapon updates, Capcom made a few general improvements based on beta feedback:
- Increased Hit Stop – Attacks will now feel weightier, especially for weapons like Great Sword that lacked impact in the beta.
- Less Friendly Fire – Upswing attacks (like Hammer‘s upswing, Charge Blade’s axe mode, etc.) no longer launch teammates.
- Shockproof Jewel Returns – Flinch Free from MH Rise is back, meaning players can completely nullify friendly fire if they want to!
- Monsters Will Not Run As Often – Monster movement frequency has been adjusted to be more like Monster Hunter World, so you will not have to chase them around as much. Yay!
- Pop-Up Camp Fast Travel Confirmed – Players will be able to fast travel between temporary camps in the environment.
Will These Changes Be Enough?
With Monster Hunter Wilds launching on February 28, 2025, we will soon see how these adjustments play out in full hunts.
For now, though, it looks like Capcom focused on fixing the most pressing post-beta issues while keeping some weapons largely the same for launch. We will just have to see if these changes shake up the weapon meta or just improve what was already working…
What do you think? Did Capcom make the right changes, or should more weapons have been adjusted? Let us know on Twitter/X!