Gaijin Hunter, who's been the best-known Monster Hunter Youtuber for some time now, just put up this video about the end-game content:

Seems like a pretty good system to me. MHW's "investigations" are much like MH4U's "guild quests," except that you don't level them up, and they can be used a limited number of times, meaning you'll always be looking for more. It provides monsters that are still challenging even after getting all the equipment you want, and good rewards for continuing to grind it out, if you're so inclined. I'm excited to start messing around with this stuff!

Oh wow. Thanks for posting this. I normally would have spent a lot of time checking his videos and Kiranico, but this game actually does a good job of surfacing a lot of info (compared to previous entries at least). However, it seems like this stuff is not very well exposed in game, which is a shame cause it seems very cool.

Having this knowledge, I am starting to feel more and more that my favorite improvement in this game is how customizable and upgradeable all of the gear is. In past games I always felt like I needed to choose between 2 or 3 sets/combos for end game. If you are willing to put in the work this system seems like it will result in a lot more variety for people that want to express themselves that way. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. Already have some pretty killer Guild Cards in my collection.

Hit HR 50 today after fixing up all the gear I wanted. Saying this game has an end-game is being generous if you ask me. Does it allow you to keep playing ? Sure. Does it make for an engaging or fun experience in any way ? Not at all. It's a pure grind, nothing else. Once you've hit 45ish you've already seen and done 99,9% of what's in the game multiple times over. And even just getting the missions for those 0,1% fights you haven't done yet (which again is just more powerful versions of things you've already beaten multiple times) is a mindless grind in itself. Literally, you're just running a loop to find the traces and then hoping you'll hit the 5-10% (or whatever it is) that it spawns the quest for you.

And if what he says about 100 HR being the last unlock is true that basically means you're gonna have to almost double the time you spent getting to 50 to reach it, while killing monsters that drop nothing of value and gaining no progression in any way what-so-ever.

Sad part is, I still want to play more of the game. But at this point starting a new character over and focusing on a different weapon seems more appealing than continuing down this "end-game" path. Even though I could just make whatever weapon and armor I want on my current character and go from there.

I'm about HR 47 now and... this is pretty mindless now...

Don't get me wrong I like murdering monsters, but this isn't a very rewarding "end game"

at 50 i get the better gems? then what?

What are you all expecting from an endgame other than hunting monsters? Every single quest in the game is hunting a monster, the end game isn't going to suddenly change and give you something new, just harder and tougher monsters to hunt, and the tools to hunt them.

The point of this game is to hunt monsters.

Also G-Rank hasn't even been added yet, not to mention all the new monsters they are gonna patch in for free along the way.

@combustion_man: It's not about hunting monsters, it's about the auxiliary progression systems. Games like Diablo or PoE has progression systems that keep going on and on and on for a very long time after beating the game, which gives you something to keep going beyond just killing stuff for the fun of it. This game doesn't. Once you've beat the last bosses a handful of times you're pretty much dead in the track. There's just this itty bitty tiny trail of progression that allows you to get very small additional bonuses if you grind and grind and grind like crazy.

What I would like to see was a much more expanded decoration system. Give me the ability to upgrade them and get even more abilities. Give me the ability to upgrade the amount and type of slots in gear. This is the most significant system in the game when it comes to variable customization and power potential, and it's already halfway in there. But instead the melding system is the most disappointing useless system in the game. An end-game where every character would have up to 15 slots for abilities that all could give up to +3 would create an endless amount of variety for different builds.

@zurv: The biggest change at 50 is once you beat the quest and manage to find an augment gem (random chance from augmented dragons) you're not just able to augment your weapons (which is fairly insignificant), but you can augment your armor. This unlocks a bunch of (expensive) upgrade levels, so if you grind out spheres you'll be able to beat most augmented monsters with no issues as well.

@ares42: The progression system is the hunting though. How fast can you kill this monster? How strong of a monster can you kill? They get stronger and stronger up until HR 60 and the game has only been out for a week.

The progression in Monster Hunter has always been about what monsters you can hunt, the gear is just a vehicle to facilitate the hunting of stronger and stronger monsters.

@combustion_man: The game certainly has a monster progression, but that's not an end-game system. It's not something that will keep you coming back time and time again. It's something you will beat once and then move on.

@ares42: But it is though. Maybe not for you, but fans have been putting thousands of hours into MH games for ages for exactly that reason. Diablo style loot progression isn't the type of thing that appeals to everyone. For other people it's about mastering a more skill based combat system.

Ha. This game's end-game is no more present than Destiny 2's (hell, I'd say Destiny's is better by a long shot), yet everyone seems to be lapping this game up with nary a complaint. Such is life I suppose.

@ares42: It is *absolutely* something that will keep me coming back time and time again because I love hunting the monsters. Monster Hunter is definitely not the type of game where you beat something once and move on.

@combustion_man: @zeik: People can find their own fun in any kind of open-ended game. There's probably some dude out there that's spent ten thousand hours shooting down ships in AC Black Flag. Does that mean Black Flag has any sort note-worthy, fun and engaging end-game system ?

@combustion_man: The difference is it's not just one person, it's been doing that for a sizeable fanbase for over a decade. Will it appeal to everyone? Of course not. But neither does Diablo's end game. They each have their niche audience that devote well above the norm in time.

Personally I probably won't devote a thousand hours to the end game here, but I'd rather spend it here than Diablo. I spent some time dabbling with D3's end game not that long ago, and while there are a lot of systems there, the grinding feels very shallow. It's not half as fun as killing a monster here, even one I've fought countless times. Especially when I can switch to a new weapon and get a completely different experience.

It's basically a loot vs. gameplay mentality. Diablo has better end game loot progression, but the actual gameplay involved in farming it is pretty one-note by that point. You're only playing for the loot. Monster Hunter has shallower loot progression, but more satisfying gameplay.

@ares42: AC Black Flag wasn't designed with that one dude's interest in mind, whereas the intention behind Monster Hunter is for people to do exactly what they are already doing; the very thing you have described.

@wetracoon: I could write entire paragraphs of why Monster Hunter: World's End Game shouldn't be compared to Destiny 2 (and especially not Destiny 1), but I'll suffice it to say that they shouldn't really be comparable. You know, outside of the fact that Bungie has been in some pretty hot water since Destiny 2's launch and one of those key points is how watered down the End Game is compared to it's own predecessor. Sad thing is, even though Monster Hunter: World and Destiny 2 have similarly lackluster End Game's, I think there are real reason's why it isn't a problem at all for Monster Hunter: World and it has Bungie on Code Red. A lot of that has to do with the alternate business models between the two franchises. Capcom wants to sell as many units as they can, increase brand loyalty and recognition, and hope that doing so will make the next game sell even better. Bungie/Activision however, want to sell as many units as they can, get as many players to purchase as much in microtransactions as they can, and also sell as many DLC packs as they can until the next installment of the series, all the while hoping not to damage the brand too much as to prevent as many sales (or at least not drop too much) as they already had for Destiny 1. So if Capcom can make a lot of players happy (especially those new to Monster Hunter), and let them go after they finish High Rank pleased with the experience they had, they are fine with this outcome. Bungie, trying to accomplish this same goal, has found that having a weak End Game (and unenjoyable Sandbox), drove away far more players than they ever thought it would, thus jeopardizing Activision's entire Business Model for the Franchise.

Long story short, after I finish High Rank stuff in Monster Hunter: World over the next week or so, I will feel great about putting it down and picking it back up with friends when DLC drops. Conversely, Destiny 2 just left me feeling cheated, even if I did probably get 3x the amount of playtime out of Destiny 2 than Monster Hunter. But maybe I'm wrong and other Monster Hunter games have had a deep End Game this one lacks, and my Destiny fanhood just makes me naturally more upset at their failures.

@combustion_man: Yes, there is a purposefully designed end-game to MHW, but I'm arguing it's vastly under-developed and missing a ton of potential. Don't get me wrong, I'm HR60 now, and I'm still playing and having fun. But I wish there was more to it, and I know the game would be better with it. Also, considering the exact Monster Hunter game we're talking about, the argument "that's how it's always been" shouldn't hold much water.

they could at least add some new weapons or sets after level 50 .

also, 60-100 hours to get thru MHW to get to the end game. (i'm 6 days! played already) D2 is just a few hours.. then.. bored..

They are almost certainly going to be supporting this thing with new monsters and content, free or otherwise, as time goes on. This is certainly not the "end" of the game. Also, this happens with so many games that people sink an unholy amount of time into in a short time period. The game has been out for just over a week, and people have put in 80+ hours and reached the end-game. That's insanity. Outside of MMOs, I don't think developers can actually make something that will outlast the unbelievable level of consumption some people have with these games. Poopsocking something for 90 hours and then complaining about a lack of content is pretty hilarious in concept.

I was really impressed with the main game, it doesnt bother me that the end game is a grind. (Monster Hunter seems like a series based around grinding anyway)

What else was there to do in other Monster Hunter games? (besides the dlc they added later)

@boozak: The major end game content a lot of other MH games have had is G rank monsters, but those are generally in the updated versions of a game. They've said they might add G rank to World, but it would be normal for the series if they just released an "Ultimate" version later with G rank and more monsters. At least we know we are getting more monsters in World as free DLC.

@doctordonkey: This is a valid point. Someone brought up Diablo 3, but did we forget how much of a shitshow D3's end game was at launch? It took many many many updates to get to the state it is today. Getting a satisfying 100 hours out of a game is already a pretty big accomplishment, is it really that big of a knock if it can't sustain 1000 at launch, hardcore fanbase aside?

@doctordonkey: No one's saying the game is bad because it struggles with the end-game. The problem is that the end-game they've put in is bad. I'd be happy to quit the game 80 hours in if that was it, but it's not. There's more there, and it's enjoyable, but it could be so so much better.

And it's totally viable to make games that last for more than 90 hours, as long as it's based on systems. Look at games like Civilization or Isaac or Path of Exile etc etc. As long as you put in systems that mix things up and allow for variety and customization there's always something new to do, always something interesting and fun to engage with. Yes, it's impossible to match consumption with pure content, but great games have gotten around that for decades now.

@hestilllives19: I think honestly that you kind of answered your own question there at the end. The point I was making was that when it comes down the quality, length and content depth/breadth of these games, they're not too far off the mark from one another (I shouldn't have said D2 was better by a long shot; I feel it's marginally better in reality). Yet one went straight into the outrage grinder while the other is being enthusiastically gobbled up. I'm just tired of cringey outrage, especially when it's hypocritical (something the gaming community has really mastered unfortunately).

@wetracoon: My point was pretty much they should be much different than they are, which is why nobody really cares if Monster Hunter's End Game is rather lackluster at the moment, because I don't think it's really suppose to be. Destiny 1 was it's End Game. It was a woefully underwhelming experience if you didn't make it that far to be honest. Conversely with Destiny 2 Bungie made vast improvements to the parts of Destiny reviewers hated with Destiny 1, that first 80 hours of the experience was drastically better. Which was reflected in the general reception across board from the gaming press. But in doing so they utterly gutted what drew a lot of the Destiny fans to the game to begin with. This is the primary reason why Destiny 2 is seeing real close to all-time lows for participation for the entire franchise (Trials has posted record lows the last 4 weeks in a row, with 1 extra Platform in PC, than it did on a Weekend in D1 it was pulled down during it's first day up, and the game in general is only seeing higher participation than D1 after the Destiny 2 Beta dropped), not even 6 months after release. Don't get me wrong, the End Game isn't the only mistake Bungie has made to contribute to this, you also have the most watered down and boring Sandbox (Bungie's term for how Weapons/Armors/Abilities effect the in game world, which currently is far too little), a few small Scandals like XP throttling and Faction Rallies Throttling and missing Weapons, and oh goodness the Eververse controversies... But when it comes right down to it, the lack of an End Game ran off the PvE players, and an underwhelming Sandbox ran off the PvP players.

As one of the biggest Destiny fans on these forums, Bungie deserves all of the fan outrage, over it's lack of an End Game, it's bland Sandbox, and it's removal of End Game rewards that were put into Eververse as pay or luck based RNG loot boxes. But Monster Hunter... Monster Hunter: World is just fine like it is, and mainly because it didn't sell us Snake Oil like Destiny 2 did by being a sequel with half the features of the original that they aren't even going to put back in (mostly) until the game has been out a full year.

A big issue I'm seeing around the internet are people attempting to compare Monster Hunter to various games when in reality it should only really be compared to other Monster Hunter games. There are enough non-traditional systems in play that I personally feel isolates MonHun from other genres which makes it difficult to draw apt comparisons. Even so, comparing MonHun to Civilization can go either way. I play Civ because I want to hone my skills against the AI in a variety of situations, much like MonHun. In Civ the main meter of progress is your personal growth. You don't get anything from winning other than the satisfaction of winning. If you reduce it to that, each weapon in MonHun can be compared to a different World Leader, and each differing situation that can present itself in MonHun can be compared to the multitude of scenarios you can experience in Civ. How can someone say MonHun is lacking in an end-game when elevating Civ as a good example?

On the other hand, I don't exactly feel comfortable saying that the end-game in MonHun is the end-game because that's how the end-game is in MonHun games. Before World, I probably would have said the same for the load screens, and yet here we are and I couldn't be happier. My issue with a lot of the criticism I'm seeing here is that it is trying to shoehorn in concepts from something like Destiny or Diablo which are incompatible with a game like Monster Hunter. If you have reached HR60 already then congratulations, you have been participating in the end-game for over 40 HR levels. You did not need to be bribed to rank up 40 levels, you played because it was fun, that is the beauty of Monster Hunter.

Whatever you think about the end-game, it remains true that the entire raison d'etre of MonHun is to hunt monsters. Every system in the game funnels you toward that. You get better gear to hunt stronger monsters. You farm more crafting mats to hunt more monsters. You augment your gear to hunt more monsters faster. Eventually you will get to G-Rank to hunt the hardest monsters, (Which I might add, will almost certainly give new gear and new goals to aspire to). People who have been with the series for awhile already know the deal, however weird it is: Ultimate Edition and G-Rank comes later, free event quests until then.

People new to the series are reaching the post-story content right about now and they might be thinking, "This is it?" I'm here to tell you "Hell yes, this is it!"

I just finished the story and am doing the tempered beasts hunts as end game at the moment, have not done enough to get the augment thing though, I'm also still doing some house cleaning with the optional quests I barely touched.

That's the thing though, the systems are already in there. You're already grinding to find the perfect decorations, you're already farming spheres to upgrade your armor, you're already customizing your weapons. But all these systems are very incremental, simple and unrewarding. Improving these systems wouldn't introduce any new concepts to the game, it would just make the game better. To me this is exactly like any of those other issues they addressed, like the loading screens (which you mentioned), or the removal of single/multi separation, or the endless grindstone etc etc, except this one got left behind and untouched.

Why would you make a new character? There is no character progression and you can just start from scratch in any mission you want with any weapon you want. You're thinking in terms of Diablo and it doesn't make any goddamn sense.

The only marginal reason to play as a different character that I can find is to see the other gender's armor, but even that sounds like a stretch. If they ever release MHW with G-rank, I hope they let you import your save so I don't have to unlock everything again!

@dstopia: Well, after hitting about HR64 I actually did mostly stop playing my first guy and made a new character, and I'm enjoying it. Going through the progression again is fun, especially now that I know the game better and can sorta sweep through it. Also, learning a new weapon from scratch instead of going straight up against tempered elder dragons seems like a better idea. From what I've learned already by going through LR with a different weapon I can already tell I would've struggled badly if I'd just made the armor and weapons I thought were good on my first char.

I hate this game.

More than 60 hrs in.

End already! End!

Just took down the final monster last night and after watching this I think I'm done with the game. Maybe I'll just finish out the top tier armor set and hammer I had on my wishlist, but I don't think I have it in me to go through a pure grind of 25+ HR just to get an RNG chance to make my weapon better or buff up my armor. There is some RNG and grind in completing the early sets, but it never felt onerous - taking down a few Odogoran or Rathalos to get the HR armor pieces I wanted felt very achievable and direct. Even the rarest gems you could get through those special quests if you needed. Hoping for good decoration drops/melds and ultra-rare stone drops while watching your hunter rank slowly tick up doesn't really do it for me in the same way.

That's not to complain about the game. I put in 60+ hours seeing every monster and finishing out the full story, and loved almost every minute. Gearing up to take down some of the harder monsters and improving my skill over time were really what the game seemed to be all about, and I could see dropping back in if they add more content. I suppose if you really want to keep playing this gives you some incentives to do so, but this seems like a whole other level of RNG grinding, especially when you're doing it against monsters you've already fought but can now just one-shot you.

@deathpooky: That is a good place to stop. There is nothing after that. I'm 101 HR now and am i didn't really see anything new after the final fight either.

Sure, i can "augment" armor. (it just adds more defense)... oh you can augment you weapon too.. but wait.. you need a thing that drops from a elder tempered dragon. You know what? so far i got 1(!!!!) of them for the weapon i use. ONE! 100s of hours and 1! It doesn't really add much. (also, i'm never seen another attack jewel other than the one that everyone gets)

The rainbow pigment is BS too. It is slow to change and seem to just go between a really ugly green and ugly purple.

I was hoping they would give me some kinda cookie for doing the 100 HR quest - but nothing.

Why did i do all this? I'm not sure. Part of the issue is i have nothing else do play now.

hey, if you enjoy the grind and playing.. go for it. Just note nothing is going to change. You aren't getting more gear, you aren't getting more powerful. No sparkly cookies...

hit HR 50 yesterday after doing the Kirin quest, and I think I will stop there. I think that I could easily be drawn into getting HR 100 if there were more obvious goalposts along the way. I enjoyed stuff like the double tempered Bazelgeuse; I wish there had something like that every two or three levels, or at least let you know in advance 'hey, this is gonna be the new tempered elder in 5 hr levels, start thinking about how you are going to build for it', so that it didn't feel as aimless. I know that the investigations are kind the like, randomized version of assignments, and potentially there is a lot of fun to be had there in doing weird combinations and stuff, but the way they come in randomly isn't super fun for me and I don't love combing through 200 of them all the time. also I think i would be more inclined to continue playing if i had a steady crew! but the two squads I had joined seem to be totally dead now.

that being said this game was fucking excellent and i'll be happy to jump back in if they add new monsters or modes.

Isn't a new monster this month? (like in a few days?)

@derfwin Kirin isn't bad, and you can always call SOS. My suggestion is stack health and hit it in the head a lot :) That said, it is a slow fight.

@zurv: He said he already beat Kirin. Personally whenever I did an SOS people would always get shocked to death so I ended up having to do it solo.

Anyway i'm in the same boat, had a great time getting to 50 but i'm not going to grind elder dragon's for decorations or augments. That just doesnt seem fun. (curious about the new monster though)

@zurv: Deviljho, Anjanath's bigger hungrier cousin, is supposed to drop on Friday. The first of several monsters for the spring, hopefully.

I've heard rumors that G Rank (a separate harder difficulty) will drop with the PC release but that's all it is at the moment.

I'm currently at HR 82 and I mostly do a few hunts a day, trying to get a few gems I want/need but I'm having fun. There is a grind here, but I jazz it up mostly by switching out weapons and sets or by helping anyone in SOS missions.

I actually find the decoration grind a bit refreshing because you're actually, you know, hunting monsters and not mining rocks on mental autopilot like in previous games. And not just Elder Dragons, Tier 2 gives good stuff too and you'll need those Tier 1 guys for any R6 weapon augments. Worst case you can savescum the melds for some R7 and R8 decorations, and the bottom line is those extra skills aren't even that necessary with High Rank numbers since hunts are relatively quick once you're geared up. The real reason to farm decorations is for fashion, to fit the skills you want in a set you like, but people seem to treat hunter rank and tempered monsters like some kind of lofty Diablo progression.

I'm probably too deep into this series so this sounds like utter insanity, but that's my take on it. Once the "story" wraps up in MH you often have to make your own fun. I'm the type who crafts all weapon types and does Arena for fun so I'm down for any paper-thin excuse to keep going, and boy are tempered monsters way less tedious than charm runs or the lvl 140 GQ's I burned out so hard on in MH4U. I'm hoping the G Rank rumors are true, because that combined with some familiar faces like Jho would make this my favorite entry yet.

@pkmango7:

I'm mostly with you, certainly charm mining was tedious as all get out. And random decorations is a lot more forgiving than trying to get that one perfect charm. It just wasn't ever going to happen. But saying that "the real reason to farm decorations is for fashion, to fit the skills you want in a set you like," simply isn't true. In a lot of cases a single rare decoration can make a huge difference and unlock a ton of build possibilities. Getting a Free Element Jewel allowed me do away with my terrible Zorah gloves and hence pick up about 15 extra defense and a level of Flinch Free. Meanwhile, there are decorations that will give you skills like Protective Polish or Bow Charge Plus that can otherwise only be gotten as set skills from three or four pieces of armor. They're more valuable than you're painting them as being.

I'm enjoying "end game". I'm still at the point, at HR50, where I feel my skills improving and where I have gear to construct that will make me more powerful. I'm 105 hours into the game.

I doubt I will be farming perfect decorations. I just know from my experience with Diablo 3 over the years that incremental/time consuming grinds like that don't really hold my attention.

However, I will say that the variety of weapons in Monster Hunter gives me an opportunity to have a very different experience as I "grind" the end, and that appeals to me. I have 172 hunts with Bow under my belt and 2 with Hunting Horn. I just did arena with Dual Blades last night and really enjoyed them. Strongly thinking about starting to pick up a second weapon as I progress through HR and tempered monsters. If I happen to acquire decorations I might want on the way, then fabulous.

@drm2thej: That's very true about the weapon variety. I've been playing the series since MHFU on PSP but had always mained Lance and nothing else. It was just the weapon that clicked with me, and I had never really connected with the other weapons. But in this game, they've made enough significant changes to the weapons that I've found myself drawn to two others: Hammer and Bow. Having three weapons that I really like that all play extremely differently from each other really helps to keep me engaged, even though I've got pretty much all the equipment and decorations I want at this point.

@drm2thej: I am in a pretty similar situation, around HR60 and have ~100 hours with Insect Glaive. I basically have every Glaive I would want and my Glaive armor set complete. At this point it would just be farming Tempered Elder Dragons for Augments in order to better farm Tempered Elder Dragons. That idea doesn't appeal to me.

I did about 40-50 hunts with Hunting Horn as a secondary weapon though, and I am really enjoying it. All the weapons handle really differently and that is fun. Still, if you are already end-game geared you can catch up a secondary weapon REALLY fast in progression, and then it is just back to Decoration/Augment farming. I had basically every Horn I wanted after one day.

I will probably take a break from it for a while to finish some other stuff I am backlogged on. Which is fine, I got like 150 hours of playtime out of it. As somebody who almost plays exclusively story-based games, that is staggering to me.