Was Underwater Combat REALLY that bad? | Monster Hunter

[@_EXP626_]

I liked underwater combat because it fit the world of monster hunter really well. You’re a hunter, you aren’t always going to be hunting something in your terrain advantage. It also allows certain monsters to actually make sense. Like why would plesioth, a fish, go on land to defend itself from an attacker? It wouldn’t, simple. With it’s removal it also ruined some monsters, like Lagiacrus. He is one of my favourites but in generations he’s such a joke. Barely harder than tetsucabra, and it’s so sad. Underwater was really good and I would like it to return. I do agree though, the camera was a bit rough. But that would easily be fixed if it was on consoles and pc.

[@MrBlitzpunk]

Been fighting that cursed plesioth since MH1, back in 1st and 2nd gen you could waste 5 minutes each hunt just to wait for it to come out to land. Actually blew my mind the first time i could follow it into water.

[@Exel3nce]

People are Always crying that lagi is missing yet here i am, being discusted with such comments cause he is nothing without he underwater Attacks

[@Digggyyyyy]

I started with Tri so I'm probably biased as hell but I really liked underwater combat. It contributed a lot to how amazing the world of the 3rd generation was. To me, 3rd gen felt the most like a world I'd want to explore - all the maps were awesome, the ambience of all the areas were so fantastic and the underwater combat added to how immersive 3rd gen felt compared to the other games. Sure it was a little bit clunky but barely any more so than regular combat was in the old world. Once you'd adjusted to it, underwater combat was a really nice palate cleanser that helped make grinding in that generation much more fun than most others.

[@CyberJellos]

Absolutely. This is one of the biggest reasons why Tri is my favourite game.

[@Atomic_Chef]

THIS! ☝️ I haven’t seen a swamp/jungle map yet that competes with the atmosphere in the flooded forest! It seems like the jungle map in rise took a lot of inspiration from it but in 3rd gen it actually feels like there are rivulets of water pouring across the landscape. The muddy water and weeds just sell it. Just recently went back to Gen 3 and I was blown away!

[@Mega-Munch]

Personally I loved underwater combat mainly due to Tri Ultimate being my first mh game and the fact that I was really into sea monsters when 8 first got it. I will admit the underwater areas lacked that flare the other areas had. And yeah I was a bit slower in the water, but that’s kinda of the point of water to slow you down and put you out of your element. If it was brought back now on the switch I bet it would be much much better for everyone and the monsters as well.

[@chadsullivan3645]

@Purple Emerald Nothing worth doing is never that easy

[@chadsullivan3645]

@Purple Emerald Let's see, they made a huge new mechanic that literally added a breath of fresh air to the series, introduced two new species, and 16 new monsters, 4 of the 16 could utilize said mechanic. Then we get 3 Ultimate, which jumped from 18 to 73. Which you should also take into mind, MH1 had 17 monsters. So yes, it was worth it

[@chadsullivan3645]

@Purple Emerald 1. One of said two new species did necessitate the new mechanic, said mechanic also brought in a new perspective/way to view the ecosystem of the maps it was used in. 2. 4 entirely new monsters using entirely new rigs is something to be proud of. Sadly it was that bad mate. 3. 3Ultimate really isnt a separate game, itd be like saying DbZ Xenoverse 2 is a different game from Xenoverse 1 cause they changed a couple things but beyond that it's the exact same. Thank goodness we had Tri that layed out the groundwork for Ultimate so they could focus more on adding more monsters. 4. I made the comparison between the *monsters* the two games had to show that a game with a low monster count can still be fun

[@WisdomAkpan211]

@@chadsullivan3645 mh3u might have had 73 total monsters (large + small), but 51 specifically were large monsters, which makes it the lowest ranked game (g rank specifically) in terms of large monster count MHFU - 56 MH3U - 51 MH4U - 75 MHGU - 93 MHW/IB - 71 Not that this means anything per se. I'm just providing a bit of perspective :) 3U is still a great game that has loads of content (albeit it doesn't really match the content of the other games)

[@Exel3nce]

@Purple Emerald you realise you cant Just Copy Paste shit into a new Game ?

[@marcusaaronliaogo9158]

Problem here is that underwater combat costs too much to produce for little reward. It actually ate time on development on Tri that there are only 18 monsters and only 4 actually are underwater.

[@meisterorr122]

How dare you have a good criticism and not blindly love/hate something.

[@aproudbaguette3605]

5:43 I NEVER used the claw and started the game back in 2007, it was clearly playable normaly as the monsters weren't nearly as fast as today, though i used the L button pretty often As for the underwater combat i don't have much to say, its well implemented and don't take nearly as much place in the game than in the playerbase mind

[@kassmalz2069]

the L button camera mechanic is slow and sluggish. bad when the monster is up close. CLAW GRIP is the way to go for MH

[@youtuber12148]

Lock-on camera made it boring to fighting nargacuga...

[@camil3545]

I think the Breath Bar was fine for it's time, remember that this was also when the game still forced you to bring Whetstones, Hot/Cold Drinks, Bug Nets, Pick Axes, etc... In a more modern MH game (W/R) i would expect some form of diving mask would have been made a part of the hunter's standard gear to explain unlimited underwater time, like how every Hunter started carrying big knives when mounting got introduced. And as for the camera, even without the circlepad pro, i just used the touch screen's pseudo right stick option, that and the introduction of the Target-Camera made it easier to keep track of swimming monsters in 3U compared to Tri.

[@lijahgil]

They could make some armor skills that increase the breath bar, the first armor you get with that skill could be a helmet as it would fit as a scuba mask. Another option if they keep petalace in is that you pick to either have a mask or petalace and the mask let's you stay underwater longer.

[@chadsullivan3645]

@@lijahgil We already had armor skills for Underwater, one to make our swimming faster and the other that could give an unlimited oxygen bar (no need to refill oxygen). I think Underwater/UWC and all those items Camil listed should come back as something you should be forced to carry.

[@Exel3nce]

There is no need for unlimited time. Just make it somewhat lenghty like in tri and you are good. Whats the point then

[@camil3545]

@@Exel3nce I'm not saying unlimited oxygen is a need, just that with the direction that they have been taking QoL changes since World, unlimited oxygen would be what I think they would do if underwater came back in a future title.

[@Exel3nce]

@@camil3545 eh, i wouldnt want it removed. I Like many of the qol Changes but stripping everything down isnt Something i look at with a Happy face. Talking cool or hot Drinks may seem like a hassle and pointless Overall but it still gives Something "real", while unlimited whetstones is great

[@BA83R]

underwater combat made me feel like I had a more expansive area of play when out on the hunt, for some reason Rise verticality doesn't give me the same awe. If World 2 has underwater combat with a refined camera, I'm sure it'd be in the running for best MH of all time.

[@ToniSkit]

I agree- I think it is in large part because you never really fight using the verticality . In the end you are in an arena area- it’s not like you go up a mountain and fight (even though there are mountains). It’s more like you travel using the wirebugs across terrains and then you fight in a flat area

[@MrBlitzpunk]

I liked the underwater battle, it just made the world feel more immersive and real. Adds more depth (heheh) to the game. I like how Rise has a lot of height and layers to their maps, each with its own slightly unique biome. add in another layer of underwater to it and it'll be perfect for exploration. And yknow, sea monsters are just cool

[@janh.2207]

I really miss underwater combat, it made the world of monster hunter much more alive and hunting creatures like Lagiacrus and Plesioth was fun and realistic.

[@MusicStoRageA]

the main downside of underwater combat for me was depth perception where I couldn't accurately gauge whether my attacks would connect or not. moving around under the water did feel sluggish from time to time but I am with the minor group who enjoyed the system. With wirebugs the sluggishness could be remedied, but I don't have much hope that itll come back

[@anrc5439]

I love the underwater aspect of MH tri and for being the first iteration I think they did a pretty good job, the first MH game was clunky too but it kept evolving to where we are right now, we just need to give underwater more time to evolve and make it part of the franchise.

[@idiom2805]

Underwater combat was cool. The vertical aspect of the fight made it more interesting. Plus, fighting monsters underwater in their element was awesome. (edit) They were going to add Lagiacrus to world, but couldn't due to the Leviathan's rigging malfunctioning, and couldn't be fixed before launch.

[@Opti-Miser]

I think the real problem with underwater combat, that went completely unmentioned in this video, is depth perception. Without you or the monster being connected to a ground plane in any way, it can be very difficult to tell how close or far away you are from the monster. This makes it a lot harder and less intuitive to position yourself with intention and accuracy, both of which are super important for monster hunter's style of gameplay!

[@jockpackage1770]

some games really screw it up, the easiest mistake is mobility like how much control do you really have? can you move at a decent pace? how does it feel to control? i personally love the ideas of underwater combat, with all the amazing monsters they've made it would be a shame to lose 1 of the most awe inspiring realms of biodiversity, being the ocean. they've said they want to give it a try again someday and i'd be all for it. they've proven they can make the experience much more fluid with MHW and onward so if they did that well in tweaking underwater combat i'd bet few would mind it at all and just be happy for the variety it brings. a good aspect of it is, if you can move well enough, things like wire bugs, gunners shooting, or IG vaulting (which didn't exist yet) don't matter because everyone can hit everywhere on a monster by positioning properly. hell, if you hate that you can't hit flying monster with the LS spirit combo's final hit? well with underwater if you adjust the camera the angle of the attacks actually changed letting you shift the camera to make the spirit round slash vertical or on an angle without having to change a switch skill. they could easily improve camera controls on modern systems with the 2 analogue sticks. games that did swimming well are rare but they exist, Horizon Forbidden West wasn't bad for it, Ratchet & Clank always did well with it, and even if they're the minority other examples do exist where underwater controls/mobility are totally fine. most of his anti-underwater examples are old 2d titles so nah, things have gotten better over the years in some studios on this. i'm fine with a breath bar, so long as it's not too invasive, have it but make it last a long time like cool/hot drinks with plenty to refill it around the map.

[@CalamityCallie]

Ive been doing my first playthrough of 3U solo with sns and I honestly think the complaints about underwater sns are pretty overblown, despite everyone telling me id have a bad time, im really enjoying underwater combat!

[@99v6cam]

There were really only two problems with underwater combat in MHTri/3U and that is: 1) the camera’s vertical controls were notched instead of fluid. 3U was the last MH game to have the vertical camera this way and boy did it make the verticality of water combat a chore. Would not be a problem in a modern monster hunter title. 2) Certain underwater areas were too big. Swimming was considerably slower than running and when you have a monster like Ceadeus who charges across the entire arena regularly then just sits, you spend a lot of time just swimming back and forth and it really turns the fight into a slog. You shouldn’t make the hunters faster because that’s part of the underwater bit is being on their turf, so just don’t have such a big area, at least for a monster that acts this way. Outside of these two things, I loved the underwater combat and hope we see it again in the future. It brought a nice dynamic to the monsters that utilized it and made both ivory and abyssal lagi much more interesting.

[@lizard7001]

I just miss the design space underwater combat created. Having aquatic monsters allowed for so many more angles to approach monster design. I would love to see another colossal sea beast monster in the vein of Ceadeus.

[@palindinX]

Bring it back I say, the world of Monster Hunter could presumably be 70% made up of water, imagine the amount of Monsters that could excel in their own environment as opposed to land. The amount of restricted creativity from the fact the "sea creatures" HAVE the be made to function on land would is unbelievable, just look at Plesioth or lagiacruz, some monsters get completely cut out like Gobul/Ceadus all because they flat out wouldn't work on land. And Underwater combat was still during the Era of Clunky Monster Hunter, where literally everything felt like molasses. Pretty sure if Capcom wanted they can do what they're doing right now with the hunter's pace and speed it up and make it flow way smoother. Underwater can work and fits the world of MH.

[@jfb173jb]

If they were going to do this again, it should probably be a revisit of the region that introduced the mechanic. Go back to Moga village and explore more of the islands. Including adding more underwater monsters and maybe a mask for air.

[@cutehulhu3864]

Man i love your content, I'm surprised you're still so small. Def a sub, gonna be sticking around. Hope to see you get massive. You're videos are cool, and you deserve it.

[@AlejandroRodriguez-cy8ee]

GS user. using it in underwater was hard, but oddly satisfying. Sure the wind up is LONGER then the one on land HOWEVER it had so much verticality usage and freedom under water (that being that i can position wherever the heck i want.....if the monster cooperates) that it made up from it's wind up flaw. Underwater is not bad, but it can be better.

[@darthplagueis13]

I personally liked it quite a bit. From what I've heard, it heavily depends on what kind of controller you were using tho. Like, apparently, the UW controls just work way better for the Wii-mote than for the more traditional controllers. They had a better solution for the camera than just clawing and, maybe more importantly, they actually implemented the motion controls a bit into your underwater mobility. Instead of having to press a combination of buttons for directional dodges, you could point the remote up and down for vertical dodges which was incredibly helpful.

[@darthplagueis13]

Gonna agree on the breath bar though: It may as well not have been there at all. I've got 600 hours in Tri and I literally do not know what happens when you run out of air. Do you just start taking damage or is it a straight-up faint? Hell if I know, because they made it so forgiving and irrelevant that I never actually ran out. Like, the only reason for its existence is to have a bit of story about getting the mask for Cha-Cha because how else would you fight Ceadeus? It kind of feels like they implemented it because they felt like it ought to be there, but at the same time realized that it would probably be really obnoxious if players had to pay constant attention to it, so they gave your hunter the lunges of a sperm whale.

[@FateStrife]

Underwater was wonderful, a fresh breeze, a new mechanic to master, a game changer because a monster could flee into a zone which it has an advantage to switch up the gameplay. We need this and more, give monsters zones in which they have the advantage so you need to be aware of your surroundings and maybe even try to block the way to that specific zone with traps. I really hope it returns, MH Tri was the freshest breez MH ever had… I’m actually thinking about getting a Wii U just for MH Tris expansion MH Tei G

[@Exel3nce]

Yep , it truly was. It had a new mechanic, first build in online Play (which made me nut), finally good graphics, jhen mohran etc. All that Makes it my fav. in my memories

[@Brex10]

It had its problems, but i feel like the main one was the controls of the 3ds, i think it would be fantastic if they tried again with a main consoles game. It was a fantastic idea that worked moderately well 5:40 i never really bothered with that, i just ABUSED the lock on/look forward button

[@jimbrady4850]

Was quite a hit to revisit maps from Tri in MH Rise, swimming through the murk gave the flooded forest so much flavour. Walking through it on the ground was so depressing.

[@stormerplayson]

gobul is unironically my favorite monster loved swimming with epioth as it randomly lunges out to eat one, and i love deep sea fishes in general

[@LowTier4Life]

I LOVED underwater combat back when I played Tri as a kid and I still love it when I go back and play Tri Ultimate

[@DedValve]

The biggest complaint about underwater I feel could easily be solved with some changes in movement mechanics added by wire bugs. On top of an amphibious creature that can either go land/sea or be summoned at sea instantly that you can ride on like with your dog. These would go a long way towards making underwater movement less clunky. I fucking loved underwater. Capcom please bring it back! The maps were so beautiful!!!

[@Scream_Lord]

Never played 3 or 3U, but I think Capcom should try underwater combat again. With modern systems and their current experience and tallent they should be able to do it well

[@chadsullivan3645]

Q: Was underwater really that bad? A: No, it was fun 7:08 Now hold on there slick, thats blasphemy. It is a beach. 7:40 Monster Hunter while clearly fantasy, does do a good job of trying to be more realistic. 'Why can Rathalos inflict poison with its claws, but Rathian can with only her tail?' "Thats because Rathalos spends alot of time flying in the air, evolving to have its poison centralized in its talons that it would use to attack with or grapple with. While Rathian the more landlocked gender uses her tail more to fight with." The oxygen bar is pretty realistic, no matter who you are you can't breathe underwater and need to get air, same with the hunter even though they dont suffer damage falling from great heights, or lift incredibly heavy objects with ease.

[@axewlotl2677]

I only just recently got into the Monster Hunter series through World. And even though I haven’t even started Iceborne yet, I’m already loving the series. And with the soon closure of the WiiU/3DS eshops, I went ahead and got 3U and 4U, starting with 3U. Though I haven’t gotten far in the game; I’m still really loving it so far, despite how clunky it is in comparison to World. And as for the Underwater combat, I actually find it really interesting. Yeah, it has its problems; but it’s still a really neat lost feature of the series to be able to try out myself, as well as it adding to the overall atmosphere and charm of the world in 3U.

[@andregon4366]

My largest issue was depth perception. Monsters always seemed to be closer than they were resulting in a lot of Greatsword misses. Still, I'd like to see a new take on underwater combat in the new games. With the new movement options we have in land it wouldn't be hard to adapt some to work underwater.

[@xenomorphoverlord]

That perfect shows what water is like then, since things seem closer or farther away in water in real life too

[@stormerjc9493]

I actually have a cool idea for a new monster hunter game where your part of a pirate/trader crew travelling the seas, And for the gameplay I think a little bit of rise wire bug, I give full credit to ragegamingvideos on this idea, basically you get a breathing mask and some iron boots to plant you to the sea floor and having something similar to the wire bug to traverse underwater, that way your not getting your movement crippled but the monster can still get its full moveset underwater, I'm not saying this is the best solution just it's a fun idea

[@omegawario7479]

3u was my first game and I grew up with it so it’s basically second nature. When I first played the demo for MH4U before release I was so disappointed to see the oxygen meter removed from the hud and throughout the whole game was hoping that maybe just maybe I could go underwater.

[@gourmand3]

I loved underwater hunts. The fact that you were out of your element gave it that sense of dread that I enjoy

[@giooooojio]

I live underwater fights it might be annoying sometimes but monster hunter tri ultimate it gives me good memories that's why I love it so much

[@thecringeprophet]

Imagine if capcoms next big monster hunter is a tri remake or remaster? That would be soooo freaking awesome!

[@MrPeach1]

under water fights were scary. I think all the limitation that left me feeling out of my element and exposed made it memorable it was like the movie jaws only with monsters the size of hotels. freaky stuff.

[@Andrew-hz5zc]

I've recently played 3U for the first time, and I can confidently say that the underwater is actually really good IMO. Besides maybe Royal Ludroth, Every single monster that can be fought underwater is a better fight underwater. Lagi, Plesioth, and Gobul go without saying, and Dire Miralis on land is just hitting the legs until it trips so that you can access the weak spots, whereas underwater, you actually have options. How I would personally go about bringing it back in a new game is first off just giving the player a dedicated "ascend" and "descend" button. Having movement completely tied to the camera is fine in some ways, and bad in others. Underwater's whole thing is having complete access to the z axis, but as it is now, moving up and down takes a surprising amount of time and effort. The second thing I would do is to completely change how the weapons are designed underwater. If you want underwater combat to feel good for most players, I think that the weapon movesets need to be pretty much strict upgrades over their land counterparts. I'm not saying that the combat needs to be less sluggish. Your dodges and stuff will still be slightly slower than on land, similar to how it is now. It's just the weapon movesets need upgrades. This way, when a monster goes into the sea, it's less of a downside for the player. If the monster is going to be getting faster, and the player slower, then the player needs some kind of upgrade in another area so they don't feel strictly nerfed. Just having a z-axis isn't enough. Moveset upgrades I think are the best way to go. What kind of upgrades am I talking about? Mainly ones that give the player more options and fix moves that wouldn't otherwise work underwater. For example, the Longsword Helmbreaker. I propose that since you can't jump and come down underwater, you instead do the forward stab like in World, and the stab latches you onto a monster part like a ZSD. A moment later, you rip the sword out, which does the multi-hit part of the original move, guaranteed to hit the part that you latched onto. Not only does the move now work underwater, it's slightly easier for it's multi-hit part to hit exactly where you want it to. For the Dual Blades, I've also considered that since you don't have ledges anymore to use the move where you spin down the monster's back, you could change the final part of the Circle combo to be able to do that if it lands. Charge Blade I've also considered how you could make the SAED work. Instead of slamming the axe down to send out the phial explosions, I imagine that you could instead do some kind of diagonal-upward swing (kind of like the Iceborne Savage Axe animation) to kind of "throw" the phial explosions outward. This animation could even be faster than the normal SAED, making it an overall buff. Insect Glaive admittedly would take more effort to make it work, but I've come up with something I think has potential. You'd need to accept that the kinsect can be underwater, but for the actual moveset, I think a fair trade for not having jumps would be having permanent access to Sunbreak's Kinsect Slash move. In addition to that, vaulting could be replaced by an extra-long dodge in any direction, which can also lead to a powerful spinning thrust attack. The long dodge would make the glaive more mobile than any other weapon underwater. Basically, I would make up for flying by making the it feel like you're ALWAYS "flying" with your extremely free water movement. This is how I would go about designing underwater in a new game. The hunter would be slightly more sluggish, but the weapons would have more tools and options to help them feel powerful underwater. Even besides these changes, there's a ton I haven't said that could be made. Gunlance could get access to blast dashes underwater only, as they might be hard to swallow on land in a game that's more grounded than Rise. Or it could even get a shorter Wyvernfire cooldown, just for free. It makes logical sense, right? Lance could get vertical movement on its charging thrust, which I was actually surprised it DIDN'T have in 3U. The SnS charged backstep could forgo the jumping part, and just follow up into a strong shield attack (so it's easier to aim than the falling bash), and the Perfect Rush Finisher could go back to its Iceborne version. Giving the weapons underwater exclusive moves and perks could go a long way to making people actively want to battle in the water.

[@jomonkey2758]

Gobul is honestly in my top 5. I miss it

[@DodoZohar]

I am one of those 3 Gobul enjoyers I feel called out lmao

[@PeakGinge]

I respect you

[@pengchan40]

I remember hating underwater at first, but at one point it just "clicked." It felt so good being able to bob and weave in multiple directions, just dancing around a monster.

[@mathdarven5634]

I'd love it if underwater combat made it back into the series. I mean, on 3U, the controls were the only bad point it has. The fact that some weapons were harder to use underwater just means that you'd have to adapt to this new environment. I'm pretty sure Capcom would do pretty good with underwater combat on modern platforms. And for the record, I freaking hated underwater combat at first (then again I was bad at the game and didn't have the best experience at first). Then I got used to the 3DS controls, and it became a lot better. Fighting monsters like Lagiacrus in their own element is an experience I highly recommend, and right now I actually think there are actually not enough underwater based monsters into 3U. Sunbreak is coming out in a few months now, but if Capcom made a second DLC for RIse centered around underwater combat (don't know why they'd do that in a game that brought palamutes and wirebugs with the first one being something that probably wouldn't work underwater, and the second one that was made to add more verticality to the game and would lose some of its purpose underwater, but hey), I'd 100% buy it.

[@adamparr6464]

MHTri & TriU were my first MH games. I loved the underwater battling. Taking out LAGIACRUS underwater was fun.

[@HitHardHerbs]

I hail from Moga village… damn I miss that place

[@CakeofPokke]

Nice take! I've never played Gen3 MH but one day I might just give it a try because of your video :)

[@Darmanos963]

3 Ultimate was my first MH game besides a PSP demo that I hated lol but it doesn't bother me too much about not having water combat. I do miss Ceadus armor and it's weapons even though they added it to the Wyverian trading shop in the later games. I'd like to see a crossover of MH Stories' riding combat with regular Monster Hunter combat. Could be neat

[@Druid-T]

Whenever the topic of underwater combat comes up, I always see talk about how it messes with some people's depth perception, and, at least from what I've experienced and discussed, people who have below-average depth perception seem to suffer from it the worst. So I wonder if it's just a coincidence or if there's something more to that connection, and if there is, is a mechanic like that even alright to have?

[@PeakGinge]

Interesting, I had no idea. That's definitely something Capcom should consider if they decide to bring it back in the future

[@DontPressPlayPodcast]

RIP my man Gobul.!

[@casbah2075]

Never played underwater combat in MH but I would think many of the complaints can be remedied now with better technology. Swimming just needs to be sped up, air meter should be removed and possibly replaced with little “rebreathers” since most armor sets can be edited to accommodate for them similar to how the clutch claw was in MHW. Are even make a Mantle like object your character wears. And more move sets can be easily added.

[@Coyoteblues1999]

I started with tri on the wii, and I absolutely HATED underwater combat. As this was the first game besides basic Mario games and whatnot, I was astounded with literally every single thing. Big monsters, big hits, BIG everything. My only problem with the entire game was the inconvenience of underwater combat. Then I kept playing, and by the time I got to generations ultimate, I missed the water combat a whole lot. It’s just so unique, and an interesting feel. With world kind of bringing it to open world, and rise being more or less all the way there, it’s the perfect time to bring it back. It would add an experience that you don’t have to be great at, but if you enjoyed it, you’d have it and if you didn’t, you still got better from it at least. But with rises completely open maps, it almost feels odd not being capable of using the water.

[@dianslabbert504]

I only have two issues with underwater combat in Gen 3 MH. 1. Projectiles were bad. Yes water is denser than air but the ranged weapons were not that fun to use on account of their extremely decreased range. However you could get used to it or just use the Bow's arc shot. 2. My main issue with underwater combat in 3rd Gen is specifically G-Rank Lagiacrus. In G-rank it gets a double hip check attack. This attack was truly dangerous and my personal pick for most annoying attack in MH history. I could avoid the first attack with relatively no problem but the 2nd check always got me. All other aquatic monsters, Low and High Rank Lagiacrus are all relatively fun but G-Rank Lagiacrus was insufferable. If needed to go against a G-Rank Lagi I had to take a weapon that could block like Lance

[@Ahnyks]

My biggest problem with underwater combat is it was only 2 dang maps. If you knew what you were hunting you knew where you were hunting and vice versa. I think it just needed one or two more maps including water. Put more dry boys in wet spots and more wet boys in dry spots.

[@BananaHoardX]

Very fun yet tedious at times. Though, I love fighting monsters on their own habitat and the different move sets added spice and character to the fights. Those who complain just never bothered to "immerse" themselves into the world of the monsters.

[@Eclipsed_Embers]

sword and shield got shafted in underwater combat? sword and shield was my main weapon in 3 Ultimate (only other weapons I was capable of even slaying a Great Jaggi with were duel blades and hammer, and I only tried those two against things I just couldn't beat using the sword and shield (usually brute wyverns with the hammer and speedy enemies with the duel blades)). everything I fought underwater was fought entirely using the sword and shield and I loved it, 3 Ultimate is still my favourite game in the franchise simply because of how much I loved the underwater combat and how disappointed I am that they've never bought it back

[@nelsonchong4404]

Back when I first played MH Tri (I was around 9 when it first came out). I didn't know there were multiple weapons so I just used the SnS for most of the game until LS and Switch Axe was unlocked lol

[@redfox9726]

I mainly hated underwater due to being an sns main . When i did a playthrough with ls i 1actually enjoyed it

[@vinzseika9826]

I never play Tri, but i'm interested with underwater combat. Some people hate it, some people like it. I think if they can balance it enough, underwater combat can make a great comeback in future game. Maybe make it into half underwater combat half land combat. Make all the monster that have underwater combat, especially monster like Ceadeus who is exculsive to underwater combat, have a land or out of water combat. So hunter can choose to dive into the water to hit the monster or wait until the monster show itself on the land or submerge halfway out to hit em. And maybe it can make multiplayer became more fun, 2 people dive to hit the monster and the other 2 try to hit it from land. One other thing if they bring back underwater battle, the Hunter mobility in Rise i think is good enough for it, especially wirebug usage. Maybe hunter can use wirebug to add mobility for the sluggish underwater movement. Well, it's just my opinion though, as someone who never play Tri but interested with it and the monster

[@WorldGoods]

It’s a shit yourself moment when he turns up

[@dirtyconsole2247]

I've always said: any actual criticism that people have about water battles can be mostly fixed. Weird depth perception? Camera adjustment. Murky effect? Easy visual settings in menu for that. Weapons got nerfed underwater? That can be fixed. Sluggish movement? Slight movement speed adjustments. It's all there. We know what the issues are. Lagiacrus and Royal Ludroth were great bosses. Stop hating underwater MH and bring it back improved. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[@kampfer91]

At first i kinda disliked underwater combat because dodging underwater was very weird ( fresh out of Freedom United as LS main ) , especially the timing . And then i got my hand on lance / gunlance and went solo the entire game with them . GL so strong in underwater combat .

[@prophetsparadise4463]

Underwater combat is much easier when you remember you can hold the dodge button, and then hold up or down to move to move along the Y-Axis.

[@jorgeburgos4539]

Personally I dont hate underwater combat been that 3U was my first MH, but i dont miss it for 2 reasons: 1. Usually part of the fun is to get the rhythm of a battle and use your tools to face it, in underwater there are no tools...only patience....Monsters moves too fast? you can try water skills that barely help and cost you more useful ones. Using heavy weapons? HAHA good luck trying to hit. 2. Monster with water stages feel 50/50, like most of them are a joke in land with very limited move pools or they enter the water and out of nowhere they get an anime protagonist boost gaining speed, moves and the blue sapphire has mercy if they also get enrage Great video!

[@F001i0]

Underwater combat was great, even without a CPP it was more than manageable on the OG 3DS (you could put a D-Pad on the right side of your touchscreen which was super helpful. Wished they would've kept it in, but due to the vocal minority it was removed T-T

[@ivansabido6624]

I started in tri wii and i loved it. Maybe it's a similar case with the new players, how probably don't wanna adapt to the

[@madookamagooka743]

im too scared to go back and try any MH game before world/iceborne. world/iceborn is already clunky enough even when you understand the combat and mechanics but i can deal with it. any older or clunkier i think ill have a stroke. rise actually looks fun to play tho. ill try it after world

[@zenith2876]

The underwater was fun the combat needed a bit more refinedment.

[@ui389]

I loved the fights underwater in tri and 3 Ultimate because i kinda feel like the World in the Game gives me Freedom. An i got some nostalgic factor because they are my first Monster Hunter Games and i loved them. To be honest i tried 3 Ultimate 2 days ago and i i know now why many player says that rise and world are too easy. I played in 3 Ultimate with G Rank Stuff and even in the Low Rang the Monsters are no two shotet Trashcans like in rise. (I like rise too but i hope i could explain what i mean.)

[@SuperHansburger93]

The problem was the weapons. If you were a bow main, underwater combat was utterly and completely unplayable. It worked only for a few weapons, and for those it was okay. But too many weapons were simply left out. I would enjoy a return of underwater combat IF they make sure that the gameplay is enjoyable for all weapons.

[@furaos99]

i miss being a submarine because i could use bounce bombs as a torpedo

[@user-er6vz8nd5x]

I didn't play old monster hunters but from what I see water combat feel so clunky and bad just from looking at it it feels so weird

[@samwow6920]

I loved it and always hope they bring it back

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

I liked it, but it was janky and made dodging certain moves feel unfairly impossible. I think a lot of issues could be resolved with the wire bugs and the more fluid movements of modern MH games..

[@javaruscarstarphen4062]

It was the main gimmick of 3U, so I expect some will love and enjoy it

[@lynell2B375]

I feel like it's an amazing concept, but they just don't have enough time to designed it too much. MH games are chunky enough as it is, and the fact that not much monsters are underwater is maybe because they don't want to use their experimental feature too much, OR they just don't have the time to design too much underwater monsters

[@muhammadsyafiq1991]

we need air combat, I want to smack the valtrax midair while it is trying to ambush

[@imsirnootnoot]

I unironically love playing the old games with the claw tech. It feel like a product of it time. I much prefer the old way instead of the modern monster hunter. Modern mh is fine but lose the clucky charm I have fell in love with. I hope the 6 gen is more focused of the old mh intend of modern

[@emmanuelrojas154]

Only place to fight the best boy ever! Abyssal Lagi!!!!

[@kittykattzee]

I also started with Tri but judging by this comment section, seems like im the only one who hated underwater combat lol. Fighting lagi underwater gives me ptsd and fighting caduceus is one of the most boring boss fights ever. I spent the majority of the time trying to swim up to the guy, even at the final stage. Are y’all sure that this ain’t just some nostalgia talking?

[@jepr91]

Tri was my first MH Game so me having to learn everything Classic MH expected of you on top of learning the water combat/mechanics didn't feel out of place. I'm sure if I went back to it NOW it would feel awful given that even trying to play GenU feels clunky. I STRONGLY believe underwater combat has a place in MH, it just needs refinement. I think a good first step is just make "underwater" function like a lower elevation with new animations. Make the water deep enough for Hunters and Monsters to move around in but don't reintroduce UP and DOWN movement unless there are slopes underwater. The Hunters would naturally change "elevation" based on the underwater terrain. The Monsters changing "elevation" would simply function like how flying monsters do on land/air.

[@delavago5379]

I liked underwater combat 🕺. Miss it too

[@wilson24kobe]

They should bring on the water battles with the new technology, we have just fix the mechanics ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@kylehill9653]

i adore underwater combat it is in my humble opinion extremely fun

[@ToniSkit]

I thinks it’s awesome - underwater mechanics just have an added level of realism into the monsters habitat and behavior

[@angelaguerrero3808]

underwater is great because lucent hbg with the glitch goes brrrrrrrrrr

[@noidblakout2773]

I played on the 3ds and in my opinion it wasn’t that bad

[@sigcane8548]

it was really atmospheric, but mechanically absolutely broken and dull

[@StyleshStorm]

It wasn't good or bad. Just kinda there as extra experimental content.

[@Pvt_Kyle]

Those who dont like it just need to gitgud tbh... I think they hate it because its hard. Welp cranky movement is for me is exceptional early mh game is crank as it is so yea.

[@darknight0463]

Wow i think im the only one left playing mhp3rd ey

[@jamestdfm]

I love underwater so for those that don't like it I channel my inner dark souls and say Git Gud scrub lmao

[@bobbyli3880]

the game is atcually pretty

[@LeoMila0110]

I LOVED IT

[@squillamsquallace2468]

Hated it. Got to 50% of the game and gave up. It is just too clunky of controls for me

[@PeakGinge]

Fair.

[@rickshawjones8591]

It was awesome

[@agav2345]

I started playing mh with world born, and i am currently playing every single entry from the beginning im currently playing mh3u and i have to say that i really like the underwater combat

[@DDViking]

As someone who started in the 1st gen, it was so satisfying following Plesioth into the water! Revenge felt sweet in 3 Ultimate!

[@TocnaelStarcraft]

underwater good

[@ThunderChanter]

My biggest issue with underwater was 2 fold: What felt like a loss of mobility on weapons whose identity was their mobility (SS DB, etc) and a lack of compensation for that lose, along with what felt like playing catch up to the monster a lot of the time while underwater. It felt like I was constantly chasing a monster from zone to zone, with it changing every time I finally caught up. Except it wasnt, it was just going from one side of the zone to the other

[@gnobba]

It was slow and clunky with no depth perception. The concept was cool but omg it sucked.

[@sangheilicommander1056]

Hope it comes back