Monster Hunter: World has been one of Capcom’s most successful games to date, with over 14 million units sold, as of October 2019. It’s now even bigger thanks to the massive expansion pack Iceborne. Iceborne has been out on consoles for a while now, but many people have eagerly awaited the PC version.
However, with a new expansion comes new secrets and hidden details, for veterans and newcomers of the series. Even those who have been playing the Iceborne on consoles for many hours, then they care to admit, might not know everything this extraordinary game has to offer.
10 The Clutch Claw Attack
The clutch claw is a new tool that was added in Iceborne, that it’s possible to hook onto monsters and drag yourself to them. Usually, the claw in the base game is used for swinging around places, aka a grappling hook, but this new use of it is outstanding, as using the clutch claw causes softening damage on the part where it hits.
Softening damage is caused when a weapon hits part of the monster. For example, light weapons like the dual blades cause 5 points of softening to occur when heavy weapons, such as greatswords, cause 10, and now the clutch claw causes 2, so incorporate it into strategies.
9 Cultivating Dung Pods
In your Botanical Research Center, it is possible to grow, develop, or more accurately pass around a bucket, dung in the bass’s garden. Yes, it’s a bit weird but convenient. In Iceborne, more and more monsters now fight each other, which is a massive problem if one comes to eat the one you’re trying to slay. Fighting one monster is hard enough, but attempting to battle two, as they fight each other, is pure chaos.
This is where dung pods come into play, throw poo at the enemy that spoiled the party, and it’ll flee into another area, leaving the hunter alone with its prey.
8 Become a Geologist
The entire premise if Monster Hunter is to kill monsters, carve their remains to turn into better equipment and then fight bigger monsters. Every beast has parts that can be used to create weapons and armor, each one having a unique set of skills. Upon slaying a monster, you can carve three parts from it, but certain monsters can have parts sliced or broken off it, such as tails or tusks, that can be picked up for an extra carve.
One skill called Geologist, when at level one, allows you to pick up these extra materials twice, and an extra carve from the corpse of the beast itself. When grinding for that scarce material part, this skill is convenient to have.
7 Comparing Weapons
It’s entirely possible to compare to weapons that you don’t own. Crafting is one of the most significant mechanics in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, but it can become quickly overwhelming due to the number of tiers each type of weapon has. Even more so, when one weapon can then split into two tiers, each with different stats, this becomes a bind as which one is the better choice?
There is a thing called Preview in the game, and it’s not just for show as many people previously thought. Using preview allows you to see how the weapon looks once it’s been made, as remember aesthetics are essential when fighting monsters as big as buildings. However, this preview equips the weapon onto you, allowing the stats of the weapon to be compared to another weapon, therefore comparing two weapons not owned.
6 Mantles Are Now Even Better
Mantles are an essential tool of the hunt, each one giving an awesome timed ability to the wearer. Such as the Glide Mantle, by activating the effect the next 180-seconds, increase jump airtime, ride strong wind currents, and makes it easier to mount monsters. However, there is a 120-second cool down until it’s power can be activated again.
With Iceborne, these pieces of equipment have been enhanced, allowing new equipment and old equipment (which can be upgraded) to be equipped with two level 4 decorations slots, which is a full level of skill. However, these decoration’s effects will only trigger once the mantle’s ability has been activated. Sadly, it’s not a constant effect.
5 Stamina Depletion cancel
Stamina is an integral part of Monster Hunter; without good stamina management, players are in for a difficult time, as half the battle is watching this gauge, as it depletes when attacking, evading, or running away. If the indicator ever gets close to being empty, the player will enter an exhaustive state where the animations will become sluggish and tired. In this state, don’t stop moving, as an animation appears and causes you to be stationary for a few seconds, which is an ample opportunity to be attacked.
Instead, attack with your weapon, as the unsheathing attack animation cancels out the stamina exhaustion, and during that animation, your stamina starts recharging once more.
4 Resident Evil?
Capcom likes to make crossover events of other games appear in Monster Hunter: World. They’ve taken monsters or elements of specific games and put them as special events, where battling the Fiend of The Witcher 3 is entirely possible within Monster Hunter. The latest game they’ve added is from Resident Evil, so they’ve created a zombie dragon, as well as a zombification status effect.
One addition from this event that has to be mentioned is the Tofu Pendant. You can create this pendant as an homage to the Resident Evil games, but the scary thing about this is that it speaks to you. No-one has a clue what’s saying, but it still speaks. It might be saying an incantation for summoning demons, or it might be saying how hungry it is for pizza.
3 Felyne Safeguard
Eating before arduous fights is extremely important because, in Monster Hunter, eating gives stats and individual skills to provide that edge that might help. In Iceborne, there is a new felyne effect called Felyne Safeguard, which is perfect for use within co-op play, as it prevents the group from being penalized the first time a player faints. Having that one extra safeguard might stop the battle ending in disaster.
As fainting, three times, loses the battle, even online when they could be four players, three faints in total, and it’s over so that one extra faint is priceless. Or what about that quest that only allows fainting once, eat this meal, and it’s now doubled.
2 Zombie Biting
With the Resident Evil crossover event in Iceborne, comes with an array of stuff, including new emotes, 95% of these are useless, and as the name says, allows players to emote emotions to one another during co-op play. However, some of the emotes, do more than others, such as shadow boxing or the zombie bite.
This bite, when used, causing slashing damage, which means this emote can be used to chop off monsters’ body parts. It’s not practical or useful in any way, but it’s entirely possible, and awesome for bragging rights.
1 Useless Secret Door
Inside the Iceborne base, which is called Seliana, there is a secret door that is completely and utterly useless. Seliana is overall, pretty compact, everything needed is a stone throw away. So running is all you’ll ever need, no shortcuts are needed, like the lifts back in the base game.
However, this secret door, which is a shortcut, takes you from the front of Seliana up to where the Steamworks area is. Many users have no idea this door exists, and it’s obvious why because it’s unnecessary. It’s such a strange addition to be added.
NEXT: 10 Hidden Areas You Didn’t Know Existed In Monster Hunter: World
