Greetings fellow MonHun fans and prospective hunters out there!

Beginning December 9th, the Monster Hunter: World Beta will be available on Playstation 4, and will run until December 12th.

Up to four players can hunt three monsters in two unique environments and try 14 weapon types.

The Ancient Forest hosts an Anjanath and a Great Jagras. Explore the Wildspire Waste to hunt a wild Barroth.

I'm not an expert hunter, but I do enjoy the series and thought this could be a place for fans of Mon Hun to discuss the beta and share PSN info for hunting parties.

Additional information from Paris Games Week 2017 about beta content from Playstation:

https://blog.us.playstation.com/2017/10/30/monster-hunter-world-ps-plus-beta-horizon-zero-dawn-collaboration-gear-announced/

Discord:

https://discord.gg/KHZrkjZ

Giant Bomb MonHun: World Beta Hunting Party PSN ID Master List:

• Kingsleythe3rd
• Miss Papaya
• Chavtheworld
• darkjohnny47
• Xeiphyer
• Veggiesbro

I'm so pumped for this game! Add me to the PSN list as well: Miss Papaya.

*stammers* aaaaannybody wanna play mh xx in japanese on the switch? :(

This will be rad (but imo not as rad as this or any english monhun on switch), but i feel it's a bit early for a hype thread.

All the hype. So excite.

Would love to check it out, but seems to require plus so not gonna happen. No Pc beta either i guess?

I wonder if locking demo's/betas behind a plus subscription actually increases subscriptions?

I haven't been this excited for a game in a long time. I'm hoping it doesn't break my heart. Still want a English release of MHXX on Switch though.

@ripelivejam: It's a bit early but I decided to throw some attention toward the series/game since it's a bit overlooked. We're about a month away from the beta on PS4 and thought some general discussion about the series could also be a bit fun.

@oursin_360It looks like there's only a PS4 beta as of now and unfortunately it does require Plus :(

If this wasn't one of the worst months for free PS+ games this year, I'd probably re-up to give this a shot. Think I'll just watch some streams and look forward to the final release instead.

I don't think we know what December's free games are yet, do we?

Just hoping you can play on Xbox as Spawn.

Thats sweet that theres a PS4 beta phase for the game and hopefully there will be one for PC at some point, too.

I had an amazing time playing MH4U with the GiantBomb community and I'm very much looking forward to doing so again with World. I'm glad we can be part of multiple squads, I'll definitely rock a squad with my work friends and one with the other GiantBomb duders. Assuming the beta has MP (I'm pretty sure it does) I'll be on all weekend, so add me to the list: Chavtheworld on PSN.

Never touched this series, but did pick up Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate as a curiosity buy for the 3DS. So I'll be a solo hunter, but I hope you guys enjoy this :)

So is this one of those stress-test Betas where everyone gets in or do you have to sign up somewhere? I've never played one of these games but from what I saw of this one it seems pretty interesting.

Like others have said i'm not getting PS+ for this, usually betas dont need it. I do really like the look of this game though and i've always wanted to get into Monster Hunter but the idea of playing a multiplayer game that requires a big time sink on a handheld always put me off.

@humanity: As long as you have a PS4 and PS+, you can play.

@bollard: Ah cool then I'll definitely give it a shot!

I'll give it a try. I'm really curiots about this game.

PSN: darkjohnny47

Did anyone happen to snag the Game Informer with the Monster Hunter feature? Where do you even buy GI these days?

FUCKING HYPE!!!

Really looking forward to this game. I've been a Monster Hunter fan from the beginning back on the PS2, and I have bought consoles just to play the new versions of the game as they came out. Looking forward to finally playing a true sequel to Monster Hunter, and on the PS4 to boot!

I'm sure some people on here with more free time on their hands will set up the groups and/or Discord channel for this, but anyone who is looking for someone to play with them hit me up, my PSN is Xeiphyer.

As for anyone new or curious about giving this a try, I hope you'll give it a chance with some GB folks as well! Monster Hunter is the most fun when you're playing with some other people and working together!

I will likely have a hunting party for this "beta", but if anyone needs a hand with something during the beta or at actual release let me know. I am more than happy to help.

PSN:Veggiesbro

Hey great idea. I should totally setup a Discord for GB MonHun community!

Hey folks here's a Discord channnel for MonHun! I'll add this to the top post as well!

https://discord.gg/KHZrkjZ

I'm mega hype for Monster Hunter Worlds!! I've been playing 4U and Generations again in anticipation, would love to play with you guys if you want.

My psn is: Pramhao

Hey everyone! The beta starts in less than 6 hours. I've never played a Monster Hunter game so I'm looking forward to it.

Hah and now its almost time. This fucking year.

Can. Not. Wait. My girlfriend and I will be playing as soon as we can. PSN ID is zappov2.

Cheeky bump on this thread to say the beta starts in 4 hours and a new trailer launched at PSX last night showing more story, Zorah Magdaros gameplay and a new Volcanic area:

Also, please consider joining the discord if you use it to chat with fellow hunters! I imagine we will use PlayStation Party Chat while playing, but the discord is a great place to find other players and discuss what times we can meet up and play :) Also, we have a few MonHun vets in there that I recognise from my time playing MH4U with the GiantBomb community that would be happy to show anyone the ropes!

https://discord.gg/KHZrkjZ

Still salty there isn't a handheld monhun in the US (fucking just pay a guy in the basement to translate it Capcom...)

Happy hunting everyone, my PSN is Tokens

I just tried out the beta and I've never played one of these games before... I don't see what the big deal is. It felt like I was running around Ark Survival Evolved with some Final Fantasy character. The combat, more so the melee, felt hollow like a MMO, maybe it is a MMO or MMOish, I don't know. I didn't do multiplayer since the matchmaking wasn't working earlier. I was swinging away at huge monsters with a weapon that's bigger than my character and it still felt like I wasn't really hitting anything. I don't know if the actual game will have time limits on missions, maybe it's a beta thing, but it would be a bad idea for the full game to do that IMO, since I wanted to explore and look around, which you can't do with a time limit. Also, hopefully the full game has a characters creator and not just picking preset faces. The clothes/armor look awful, my character looked like they were going to a Halloween party dressed like a cartoon chicken/turkey hybrid. I think it'll be fun to goof around with friends when it comes out, but this tiny slice wasn't very impressive. Seems like it could look way better if the lighting system was improved.

@deathstriker: From what you said I think it's pretty clear that this isn't going to be your type of game. I have a hard time getting into it myself, and I've tried twice now on 3DS and Wii U. The time limits are going to be there because the game is seen as being mission based. And you talk about exploration, but there really isn't anything to explore, each of the environments is a set of 10 or 12 areas that only vary by the enemies and resources you can find in them. It's really like a PS2 game with a big budget in a lot of ways. It's not open world and its certainly not trying to go after something like Zelda. (Or so I think. I haven't played the beta yet, but I am making assumptions from past experiences with it.)

For some people, like friends of mine who were big into games like RuneScape where its all about the grind, this will be a blast. And I personally want to give it one more shot on a big boy console. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

First time playing any Monster Hunter, did the first solo quest and played around in training and I like it. One of my favorite games ever is Dragon's Dogma and I can definitely see why so many people told we MHW is similar. Combat feels a lot heavier than DD and will take some time getting used to, but I really like it. Also, it has kitties! They're so cute and they are helpers, that's awesome! I'm very impressed with the monster animations, so fluid and good looking. I'm super positive about this and I'll definitely buy the full version in january on ps4! I'm gonna finish the rest of the content so I get bonus goodies in the full game.

I see it has single player, is plus required for that too?

@oursin_360 I believe PS Plus is required to download and play the beta. You might be able to get it by getting the PS Plus trial, but I'm not 100% it's gonna work.

@deathstriker: the weapons are far more complex than they seem at first and mastering their movesets is a big part of the game. And yea time limits will be in the full game. It just may not be for you.

Oh man I just tried to beta and this is everything I wanted since they removed the english patch for MH:O. I can not wait for this to come out in Jan.

Feels a lot better than my time with the PSP games. Granted my time with those wasn't terrible, but the biggest issue I had was the camera control not feeling great and having to load between areas when chasing monsters. I dunno if those are problems they've long since solved, but this is the first time playing one of these games since.

It's pretty great! Diggin the armour designs, SUPER fuckin into that spear weapon that let's you jump all over the place like a madman. Only just finished the Jagras and I think it hit me once. Elsewise I was just jumping all over the place and landing on the thing Dragon's Dogma-style, hacking at it wildly. I'm sure that was just a super easy hunt (being the first after all), but my main takeaway was that jumping around with that thing just felt great.

Felt mobile in a way that I've never felt in my past experiences with these games (I used to use the oversized katana on the PSP). Hitched up a bit, but I'm on a non-pro PS4. :(

Same with the PSP games though, these games are oddly relaxing. Except for that time limit thing. Just doing the second quest, got the thing limping when another monster joined the fight and started coiling itself around my target, but then time expired and my character was just kneeling there in shame while the two fought in the background. So silly. I don't remember time really being a huge issue. Was 20 minutes always the standard and I'm just misremembering that it was otherwise?

Shame we couldn't give the character creator a spin, but from what I've seen it'll be great. I might jump into this come February.

Have to wait til tonight fml.

Can you toggle blood in the beta?

So yeah, just did the second mission in co-op. This game is fucking great. 2018 hype.

Don't see any option for it in the menus, sorry. Don't remember things being especially bloody or gory though, but it could be I just didn't notice.

I mean turning on blood. MH usually has a cartoony blood spray effect when you hit a monster which really made hits feel powerful. Haven't seen that in any of the footage for World and I'm wondering if they took it out or if it's just turned off for promotional purposes.

I came away from the beta with pretty mixed impressions, it's been a long time since I played Monster Hunter though (Tri on the Wii). Is there really no way to strafe around a target?

Might give it another chance tomorrow, we'll see

@giantstalker: R3 is a lock on camera if that's what you're asking

I messed around with the beta for a bit, managed to get all 3 hunts done pretty quickly. Even as one of those lunatics who actually liked using bowguns in previous MonHun games, being able to shoot while moving is kinda fantastic and feels almost like cheating. On the other hand, I think I'm going to miss some of the alternate movesets from Generations. While it seems like they've integrated some of that stuff into this game's weapon movesets, It's going to be really hard to go back to non-aerial Dual Blades and non-Adept Bow.

Some observations of the beta from a long time fan:

It's different enough where some fans will definitely prefer the classic Monster Hunter formula.

Large Monster behaviour seems more erratic and often times their telegraphed moves don't follow through...unless if that's intentional to psyche out the player.

Also, when two large monsters have a turf war with eachother, the movement patterns and clipping defies all logic between the AIs. It's pretty funny to see.

The skill system has been made super easy, as there are no longer thresholds to reach before skills activate. For example, every point in a skill now buffs you incrementally. (although, this WILL allow hunters to mix and match their gear any way they like...and it completely removes the necessity for that armor tool to help plan out your gear.)

Instead of the driver stones from MH4U, there are now super capes to wear that give you brief periods of extra powers.

The green glowing fireflies that always create a pathway​...hopefully you won't find them annoying.

As the series took an ultra realistic graphical approach this time around, a lot of the whimsical cartoon charm and bright colours is gone.

And last but not least, it looks like the difficulty of certain tough monsters has stayed intact, thankfully. You'll most likely need all your 9 lives in order to defeat the optional Diablos in the second quest of the beta. Good luck, Hunter! :D

I tried out the different weapons. The spear that has a lot of aerial attacks was the only one I liked. The melee system still feels too hollow and MMO since the collision of the weapon and monster is too light and seems empty.

I never said anything about staggering, I said when I hit a monster I want to feel it. The melee system feeling off was major reason why the game doesn't click for me. Similarly, the last two Battlefront games shooting felt off, like I was just shooting skittles or paintballs, so I didn't like those games either. The time limit just feels random and unneeded. That's good to hear about the character creator. Looking anime is fine with me, but looking anime isn't a a reason to look so tacky when it comes to costume design.

@deathstriker: To address a couple of your complaints:

-Normal time limit for a mission in the full retail game is 50 minutes, not 20. Still a limit, but not usually one that matters. Also, there is a mode in the retail game where you have no specific target, and no time limit, if that's your bag.
-Yes, the retail game will have full character creation/editing. The 6 male/female/cat presets are just a demo limitation.

The combat feel thing is, of course, very subjective. I like it, but I've loved these game since 2011, so I ain't exactly unbiased. But there's certainly a lot of depth there. The weapons are very different. My first of piece of advice to anyone trying the game for the first time is to go into training and figure out which weapon you like the feel of before doing anything else. But I see you've done that already.

Oh well. It won't be for everyone. Though I do selfishly hope that this thing sells well, because I really want them to keep making these games!

I think I get what you're saying about feeling "hollow" or "like you're not really hitting anything." I think a lot of that actually comes down to the sound design, which IMO isn't great, much as I love these games... the sound that happens when you hit a monster is all wrong.