The second title update for Sunbreak has just come out, which means a new reason for me to get back into Monster Hunter. BACKGROUND:
During the first title update, the release window for this next one was revealed, and I was surprised at how relatively soon it was. I wasn't really chomping at the bit to get to the new stuff since I was preoccupied with other things over the past month, but I was interested in some of the additions shown off in Capcom's Tokyo Game Show presentation. WHAT'S NEW: New Monsters (sort of) We get three new variations of existing monsters this time around. I'll talk about them one by one.
As usual, new monsters (or in this case, new variations) bring with them new weapons and armor. Both Flaming Espinas and Violet Mizutsune bring a new set of fire weapons, which I wasn't really interested in since there were already plenty of fire weapons from the last update. Their respective armor sets, however, each have a new skill. While they aren't as wild as the skills from the first title update, I found them interesting since they both focused more on defense. Risen Chameleos doesn't have any associated new weapons, but there is an armor set for it. In contrast to the other new armor pieces, the new skill in this one is offense-based, and it seems like a really fun skill to build around. Anomaly Investigations The endgame loop has been expanded once again, with Anomaly Investigations adding a whole new tier of Afflicted monsters. We now have Afflicted Rajang, Bazelgeuse, Espinas, Gore Magala, and Pyre Rakna-Kadaki. They were all formidable fights before, and now they hurt even more. All these new Afflicted monsters drop new materials, which can be used for Qurious Crafting. The only update here is on the weapon side of things, as some augments now have additional levels, and there's also now an additional augment slot. Should be great for minmaxers, but it's not something I'll be too worried about. Layered Weapons Here's a long-awaited feature. Your weapons can now be layered like your armor, which means you can now choose which designs you rock without affecting your stats. Making these is pretty much the same as layered armor, so there's now an extra grind for more Outfit Tickets and monster materials. While I'm still baffled that this wasn't a feature in the base release to begin with, I'm glad that it's here. It lets me appreciate the wide variety of weapon designs that exist in the game, and now I can fight with specific ones that I love (like the origami Switch Axe) or find funny (like the bowgun that's just a giant koi). New Decorations The influx of new materials from both the new additions and the Afflicted monsters means more new decorations can be crafted. Some high-value skills introduced in Sunbreak can now be slotted in as decorations (like Foray and Chain Crit/Burst), and a number of existing skills now have Lv 4 decorations (like the ammo boost skills, Handicraft, and element up). The most notable new decoration to me is by far the one that lets you slot in Chameleos Blessing. What used to be a skill unique to the Chameleos armor can now be added to pretty much any build, which opens up a world of possibilities. Now that begs the questions: once other Elder Dragons get Risen versions, will their respective unique skills follow suit? VERDICT: Sunbreak's Title Update 2 is about what I expected: a couple new challenging fights, new armor sets and decorations to experiment with, and more stuff to work towards. I enjoyed the new monster variants overall, and I'm particularly excited for the future of Risen monsters (both for their remixed fights and the implications of having their signature armor skills available outside their armor sets). I'm also looking forward to reworking my builds with the new decorations and armor pieces, and I love the addition of layered weapons. I am content with what was added here, but I must admit that I'm starting to crave actual new monsters (i.e. not variants) over what we've gotten thus far. Though given that the next update (coming two months from now) only indicates more variants, I don't think I'll get my wish anytime soon. Maybe next year? - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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