Capcom will add some interesting new in-town features to Monster Hunter Rise. The developer and publisher of Monster Hunter Rise invited Polygon to a short video presentation, where it detailed changes to the food and training systems, as well as several others.
Like the new Wire Bug and rideable Palamutes — both of which you can also use to move around town — Monster Hunter Rise’s Kamura Village will change a lot from previous Monster Hunter games. The changes are most notable when you look at in-town multiplayer, the Buddy system, the Training Area, and the new Dango food system.
Dango — a new food system
Dangos are Japanese dumplings, and they’re the primary food in Monster Hunter Rise. At the Dango bar, you can buy three Dango on a stick, each of a different flavor. Like previous Monster Hunter games, you can use meal tickets, points, or cash to buy your food.
In addition to increasing your health and stamina for your next hunt, the different flavors offer different perks to help you . And with Monster Hunter Rise, there are more unique food perks, meaning it’s less likely you’ll overlap with an armor skill you already have equipped.
When building your three-piece Dango, you can combine any flavors you want. But just because you pick a specific flavor, and its correlated perk, doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Each perk has a percentage chance of getting activated each time you eat.
For example, the video presentation showed the Hunter buying Dango Money Maker (increased money), Dango Medic (increased healing from items), and Dango Bird Caller (which makes more Spiribirds approach during hunts). Money Maker had a 90% chance of activating, while Medic and Bird Caller had 85% and 80% chances respectively.
Players will unlock new flavors of Dango to combine as they progress through the story. And there is, of course, a delightful new food song and dance that plays each time you order some Dango.
The Buddy Plaza
Buddies are a big part of Monster Hunter. When you’re hunting solo or in a small group, you need your Palico to help you out. But Rise expands the buddy system by letting you take both a Palico and a Palamute — the rideable dog friend.
You’ll manage these Buddies in the Buddy Plaza, with the assistance of Buddy Expert Shirubei and Buddy Handler Iori. With their assistance, you can visit the Buddy Dojo to pick out new Buddies after each quest.
When you hire a new Buddy, they’ll join your squad. And while you can only have two with you on a given hunt, you’ll be able to send the others on missions to gather items for you. If you’re playing with friends, you can only take one Buddy — either a Palico or a Palamute, depending on what you choose.
Different Palicos come with different moves, while Palamutes all seem to have similar gear slots. You can customize your Buddies with unique gear at the Smithy.
Multiplayer
Senri the Mailman (he’s actually a Palico, but whatever) will help you with all your online play. You’ll also pick up any DLC you buy from Senri.
With Senri, you can choose to play online or offline, which determines whether or not friends or other Hunters can join your party. Online and offline are toggles in Monster Hunter Rise, so you’ll need to swap back and forth depending on your situation.
Unlike Monster Hunter: World, friendly Hunters can travel to your version of Kamura Village, and you can jump around, explore, or even train together. If you start a quest online, friends or random players will travel to your town before you dive into your hunt.
We’re currently unsure how or if Monster Hunter Rise will address the issue players had with Monster Hunter: World where friends couldn’t join a story mission unless they’d all seen the cutscene in single player first.
Training
The Training Area in Monster Hunter Rise got a complete overhaul. Not only can your friends join you in the Training Area, but you can also practice against a giant, mecha-monster dummy.
In the Training Area, you can speak to Sekirei the Trainer (another Palico). They’ll give you training options for the “Toadversary” dummy. You can change its head position, which direction it’s facing, if it tracks the player, and whether it’s in standby or attacking mode. You can even alter how many Wirebugs you have access to or alter the behavior of other targets in the training area.
When you lock in your settings, the Toadversary will start to take action — or cease taking action depending on what you selected. The Training Area also tracks your total damage on the dummy, including the damage of your most recent combo.
Capcom will launch Monster Hunter Rise exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on March 26.