During the past month I've clocked in more than 200 hours on the game, advancing from a newbie at HR3 (Hunter Rank 3) to a pretty good player currently sitting at HR72 with at least one of each monster variant beaten, and a Teostra guild quest leveled all the way to the max of 140.
I love studying elements with the potential for addiction. Monster Hunter is a game filled with these kinds of elements.
The major elements with potential for addiction include, but are not limited to; luck, customization, competitivity, diversity, change.
I am perhaps getting to the point a bit quicker than some might like, but it really is pretty simple. Why does a game like Monster Hunter keep me playing for 250+ hours without tiring of it?
It has the element of luck. You can grind for ages on a certain monster for the rare material you want/"need" for upgrading your precious weapons. You can grind for materials for special potions and other combinables like Large Barrel Bombs which are made of Gunpowder and Large Barrels. The Gunpowder requires some farming which also makes it take some time and effort to get.
It has customization and competitivity. You can customize your character itself a small bit, but the real joy comes with customizing your gear. The main focus of equipment is gaining skills and defense from them, but you can mix and match endlessly to gain the look you want along with the skills you want (to an extent). It also sort of adds a competitive perspective on it, since you want to be better than others or more fashionable.
It has diversity. With 14 different weapon-types and a myriad of skills, you will never get tired of the combat. Tired of one weapon? Well you've got 13 substitutes ready to use. Tired of one skillset? Well try another one.
It has change. What do I mean by change? Well the series is constantly evolving and changing, which clearly shows with the improvements made in each title. Not only this, but some weapons or skills offer elements that can change the way you play the game. Bows have types that define the way they shoot arrows, switch axes can turn into swords, charge blades can turn into axes and so on. There is always something to do, something to farm and some way to show off that epenis.
It simply captivates the player and holds him/her in an iron grip. Games like that are really worth playing, and I must say I cannot wait for the newest addition, Monster Hunter Cross (X), which looks downright amazing and stylish as fuck.
Peace out!
Love, Blizzia.
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