The latest entry in the Monster Hunter spin-off series is here. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection features turn-based combat and creature collecting similar to that of Pokémon. With a dense semi-open world to explore and crunchy RPG mechanics, you’ll spend dozens of hours building your ideal party of Monsties. Here are some useful tips for surviving its colorful, monster-filled world.
Have a diverse set of weapons
There are three weapon types: Pierce, Blunt, and Slash. Each monster’s body parts are weak to specific kinds of weapon types, and it’s important to match up the weapons you use with their weaknesses in order to deal the most amount of damage. You can carry up to three weapons simultaneously in battle, so try to have one of each weapon type. And within each group, you can choose specific weapons that complement your playstyle. Hunting Horns and Hammers are both Blunt weapons, for instance, but the former emphasizes support with buffs while the latter has a much higher damage output. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Prioritize Head-to-Head encounters
Monster Hunter Stories operates on a rock-paper-scissors system in battle. Power beats Technical, Technical beats Speed, and Speed beats Power. A monster typically focuses on one attack type, unless its behavior changes. When a monster targets you, you need to pick the correct attack type to counteract your opponent’s, initiating a Head-to-Head encounter. If you’re successful, your attack will follow through and completely snuff out your opponent’s. Since you can’t guard in this game, winning Head-to-Head battles helps mitigate the damage you receive.
Pay attention in battle
This might sound self-explanatory, but paying attention during fights is crucial. Much like in the main Monster Hunter games, you’ll need to take notice of monster behavior to decide what course of action to take. It’s a bit easier here in Monster Hunter Stories as a pop-up will literally tell you that your opponent is “acting strangely.” When this happens, monsters will typically change up their attack type. For example, they might do Power attacks normally, but during their strange behavior phase, they might switch to Speed attacks instead. Unless it’s a special attack, the game doesn’t tell you what attack type the opponent will deal until it actually happens. Make a mental note (or an actual note) to keep track of behaviors so you can pick the correct attack type to counter your opponents.
Ride your Monstie and time your Kinship attacks
As a battle progresses, your Kinship gauge will fill up. When it’s full, you can ride on top of your Monstie to restore its HP, cure status effects, and increase its power. You can also unleash its ultimate attack, called a Kinship attack. It deals tremendous damage but ends your riding. Kinship attacks also completely cancel out an enemy’s attack. So if a monster is about to use a powerful one, you can time your Kinship attack to stop it in its tracks.
Tackle the supporting cast’s Side Stories
The game has six battle allies, and you can choose one to fight by your side during battle. Furthermore, they all have Side Stories that help flesh them out as characters and also grant you rewards for completing them. Your allies will have access to stronger weapons and Monsties, and you’ll also receive new recipes and blueprints to create more tools to assist you in battle. This is another important way to keep up with the escalating difficulty of battles in this game.
Complete side quests
In addition to Side Stories, there are also side quests you can take on. These are your more bog-standard RPG quests in which you’re given an objective, like defeating X number of monsters or gathering X amount of material. They’re rather easy to complete, and they provide a quick burst of EXP in case you have monsters lagging behind. On top of that, you’ll also be rewarded with a bunch of random materials to help you craft more items.
Pick up everything
You can pick up different kinds of ingredients and materials to create various items like potions, meals, and more, gaining a bit of EXP for your party in the process. While the EXP pales in comparison to what you’d receive after winning a battle, every little bit counts. Being at a high level is just as important as having appropriate gear, so be sure to keep up so you can take on the game’s hardest bosses.
Visit as many monster dens as you can
Whenever you venture out into the field, monster dens will replenish on the map. By visiting them, you’ll be able to gather eggs to take back to your stable and hatch. In particular, look out for rare silver dens. They typically have rarer Monstie eggs and the creatures that hatch from them have more valuable genes.
Play around with Genes and the Rite of Channeling
In your stable of Monsties, you can swap around different genes to grant your party various attacks and skills via the Rite of Channeling. As you level up more Monsties, they’ll learn more abilities, letting you specifically build out what kind of moveset you want your Monsties to have. You’ll want to visit as many dens and hatch as many eggs as you can so you can unlock more abilities to swap around.
Spend time in Habitat Restoration
One of Twisted Reflection’s new features is Habitat Restoration, which lets you release old monsters you’ve hatched that you don’t need anymore in order to rehabilitate the ecosystem. Reintroducing monsters into the habitat yields plenty of benefits, such as making it easier to find specific eggs. Most importantly, if you level up a particular ecosystem to S-Rank, you’ll be able to hatch Monsties with S-Rank Genes, which are substantially more powerful versions of regular genes. These genes will help you gain a huge advantage against end-game enemies.
