Monster Hunter Rise: Just starting? Stop carting!

Monster Hunter is a series full of depth and complexity. Crafting, buffing, hunting, exploring and so on.  Once it all “clicks” you’re in, and you’re in for good.

The one thing I found I was struggling with for the longest time was “carting”.  Which is to say that when your health runs out in Monster Hunter, you get carried to safety (a nearby camp) on a wagon/cart.

Generally, hunts allow for carting 3 times.  Either when solo, or in a group.  So if your team is carting, you need to be prepared to see the hunt fail.

Nobody wants to spend half an hour on a hunt, only for it to fall through because people couldn’t keep themselves safe/healed.  So how on earth do you avoid being “that guy” in Monster Hunter?

To me, there’s two ways, and you need to balance between the two for every single hunt you go on. Solo and group. And with Monster Hunter Rise on the horizon, now’s the time to start planning how to go about things.

Be selfish

You have ultimate responsibility for yourself and your contribution to the hunt.  So make sure you have your equipment set, your potions crafted and all the buffs/support items you need to not only be effective, but to keep alive.

If you’re playing Monster Hunter solo, being selfish is the obvious solution. But it’s arguably harder, because you’re always drawing aggro from the monster(s) at hand.  If you need to run away to heal-up or sharpen your weapon, then go for it.

Nipping-off for a quick heal in a group hunt can be easier (don’t forget monster levels scale with party size, so it’s not strictly “easier”), and you should totally take a minute to do so.  Just behind a rock or around a corner.  Take yourself out of the action for a few seconds, instead of being carted.

Monster Hunter Rise allows you to use the new wirebugs to give you added mobility. Use them to get out of the way!

Short-term selfish is long-term supportive.  Look after yourself, look for opportunities to take a moment to re-group.

Of course in Monster Hunter, the monsters will take certain amounts of damage before legging it, to get to a new area or go to rest/get out of the way.  Use this time, too.

Be supportive

Take items that can heal everyone (life powder!) or play something like the hunting horn that can apply party-wide buffs and heals.

Monster Hunter is home to my favourite in-game weapon ever.  The Insect Glaive!

If you’re a Glaive player and struggling with a hunt.  Change your kinsect to add healing clouds.  Suddenly, you’ve got healing clouds all-over for both yourself and your team to hit and benefit from.

There’s no reason you can’t help each other, and avoid the dreaded cart!  Is someone stunned? Knock them over to break out of it.  Or try to draw aggro from the monster and keep it away from your team.

Taking attention away from your allies, providing healing and buffs. You can do it all in Monster Hunter, and you can become a great support.  All in the name of avoiding carting.

Have fun

Yes, carting is a pain.  But it happens, and sometimes it’s so far out of your control, it’s frustrating.

Just remember that people are learning. Monster Hunter isn’t always a “pick-up and play” kind of game.  There’s a learning curve to each weapon, all those in-game systems, and of course, the monsters.

Don’t be a tool when people cart.  Set your auto responses to something positive, let them know it’s ok.  That way, when you cart, you don’t have to feel so guilty, either!

Nobody is going to get better, or want to keep playing if everyone is a dick.  Monster Hunter is a game that relies on a big online presence to keep you going back into those hunts, to play new events, and to learn.

It’s just a game.

Be selfish, keep yourself alive at all costs.  Be supportive and help keep your team alive. Most importantly, just have a good time.  Some of the best hunts I’ve had have been with random strangers, helping each other out.

I’ll be streaming as much of my Monster Hunter Rise playthrough as possible over on Twitch, so come and join me! And catch my review that will go up over at ninjarefinery.com in the next month or so.

More tips and tricks will be coming to you here at fullsync.co.uk