Monster Hunter World introduces a new map system that strongly resembles “Open World”. This brings changes to the game, such as multiple base camps on the map. What else is known about the changes to the maps can be found here.
Monster Hunter World will be the new main installment of the franchise and is significantly larger than previous titles. This is mainly because “World” will feature seamless maps.
You will no longer be interrupted by loading screens, but will roam around just like in an open world.
The seamless transitions of the maps will be the most important change in the “Monster Hunter” series. Capcom saw an opportunity to make the world feel more alive and enable realistic interactions between monsters, the environment, and players.
The YouTuber and “Monster Hunter” fan Arekkz has discussed the new maps in the video below. He describes (in English) the novelties and their impact on gameplay.
We have summarized the most important information from the video in German.
The line between singleplayer and multiplayer will likely disappear
Monster Hunter World will support “drop-in multiplayer”. If you have already started a quest, other players can join your ongoing quest at any time. In the old “Monster Hunter” games, there were quests that you received in a hub, and quests that you got in a village.
- Hub quests were for multiplayer. – Here you could meet up with other players and hunt together. You could still play these quests alone if you wanted.
- Village quests were for singleplayer and had to be completed alone. There was no way to do these with friends.
We already know that there will be a hub again where you can hunt together with friends. It seems plausible that this will be a large gathering point for all quests and players will decide whether to complete a quest alone or with friends. Or simply join somewhere via “drop-in”.
However, this is not yet confirmed, but a speculation derived from the information known so far.
Scout Flies: Finding monsters will be simplified
Veterans know the process of marking a monster with color. They know that it is a tedious task to track down a monster. Monsters have always been capable of running away from a fight and hiding in other areas of the map.
If you wanted to track the monster, you had to color it and could see approximately where it was on the map. The marking only lasted for a limited time, which is why you had to repeat the coloring more often: Monster found -> monster runs away -> color monster -> track monster with color -> monster runs away again -> color monster again, and so on.
In Monster Hunter World, we get “Scout Flies” – These are the small, glowing dots that were seen in the E3 trailer.
To be able to use the “Scout Flies”, the player has to do a little groundwork. According to the developers, for example, footprints must be analyzed first so that the flies can track a monster. The insects hover behind the monster and provide you with a path to follow through the seamless area.
The in-game map has been completely overhauled
In Monster Hunter World, you can open a large map and view all areas. Besides hunting monsters, collecting resources is an important part of Monster Hunter. They can be used to create potions, poisons, traps, and similar items.
In Monster Hunter World, resources will be shown on the map. On the lower image of the map, you see 2 small white dots in area 2 and a green dot in area 4. These indicate resources.
The map is now seamless and individual areas are no longer separated by a loading screen. However, the areas are still divided into zones and visually separated. This is because in Monster Hunter, different zones can have completely different climates. So you can switch from a tropical jungle to an icy tundra and find yourself in the mountains in the next area.
There are more than just one base camp
When hunting in Monster Hunter, you always have the option to retreat to your base. You can teleport to the camp no matter where you are on the map. But this only applies outside of fights. In Monster Hunter World, you will find multiple base camps on the map.
The individual zones will be approximately two and a half times larger than in previous “Monster Hunter” games. Therefore, it makes sense to provide multiple camps. The following features of the base camps are known so far for Monster Hunter World:
- Fast travel, outside of combat
- Equipment changing. The maps have become so much larger that potential encounters are harder to predict. Therefore, you can change your armor or weapon in the camps.
- Resting and refreshing. In the camps, you will be able to store healing potions, for example, to revive yourself in between. But this does not mean that you will have an unlimited number of potions, only what you have stored. Preparation for the hunt remains an important part of the core game.
All these changes aim to make Monster Hunter World feel more “realistic”. Furthermore, the game is intended to be better suited for the Western audience. However, this does not mean that Monster Hunter is simplified, but rather evolved.
This is what it means for Monster Hunter World:
