MonHun

[Kugelfisch]

He was changed quite a bit from 4th to 5th gen. He also hits very hard but when he commits to a move, he just does it.
Zinogre, especially when super sayan platinum mad, will just stomp whenever and will delay seemingly at random.
I have much less trouble with CB or especially GL. You just block his shit and then go for burst damage.

But LS relies on more of a flow with precise counters and punishments. So when you counter too early, Zinogre will just stomp you into the dust, dizzy you and smash you about some more for good measure.

The extra bad is that he invalidates the foresight slash quite often. It's the faster counter but can't deal well with continuous attacks.
The special sheat counter slides you through the monster but requires a bit more time to set up, even with quick sheath.

I think the second, the sacred sheath could be better for him. Especially without quick sheath you're instantly and for a long time invulnerable. But you'll need at least one spirit level.
I'll try that along with the tempered blade counter next time around. Although the tempered blade has a very strict frame window.

I've just never been good against Zinogre. I guess everyone has their monster they just can't deal with.

[rabidtictac]

I could probably tell you some shit about longsword. I used it as a main weapon for most of 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen and Gen U. But it sounds like there are also some new mechanics introduced in Rise. I don't know anything about those.

As you've discovered, Rathalos and other drakes with tails of the same approximate height get absolutely bodied by the overhead swings. The skills in Gen U allowed you to cancel downtime for many of your swings. You probably already know about the Longsword infinite. swing stab swing swing stab, swing swing stab, etc. Into your R combo whenever you feel like it.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

DBs also have a much easier time against large fellows this time around, since you can swap to effectively MHG's Aerial Style to slice-and-dice them Attack-on-Titan-style.

I could probably tell you some shit about longsword. I used it as a main weapon for most of 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen and Gen U. But it sounds like there are also some new mechanics introduced in Rise. I don't know anything about those.

The new mechanics are mostly a spiritual successor to MHG's mechanics:

• You eventually unlock Skill Switches which basically let you swap out attacks/abilities with stuff reminiscent of MHG's styles
• There are also Silkbind Skills which are basically MHG's Hunter Arts with a dash of styles (especially the counter-focused Adept Style), powered by those bugs you use as grappling hooks

I've just never been good against Zinogre. I guess everyone has their monster they just can't deal with.

And that monster was probably Plesioth before they finally fixed its hitboxes.
I also have some 'Nam flashbacks to Basarios because in my first hunt for him I couldn't understand why its wings are the most invulnerable part of its body.

[rabidtictac]

Hammer chumps the fuck out of Zinogre, bee tee dubs. Keep him in stunlock and he can't do anything. Gulp an infinite stamina drink for the part of the fight where he inevitably hulks out and won't stop spamming claw slams.

My least favorite monster to hunt is probably Diablos. I just hate the dopey fuck because he's always wasting my time by diving under the ground. I hate monsters that hide underground. Nibelsnarf too. Plesioth is annoying but mostly fixed in the newer games. The sand version of him is still shit though.

Gravios and Basarios feel similarly time-wasting with a melee character. I did eventually learn to hunt them but it's still annoying to get hit with a sleep gas when you're trying to finally get some fucking damage.

In 2nd Gen, I kept a side ranged build for certain monsters. I haven't done that in more recent games because it hasn't felt necessary.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Gravious was actually pretty easy with a Lance in MH4(U). You just need to mount him like twice or so for most of his armor to crack.

Nibelsnarf is pretty darn weird, but pretty easy to trick into gobbling up bombs.

[Kugelfisch]

I could probably tell you some shit about longsword.

LS was actually my first main weapon before I switched to GL.
They have changed it quite a bit from the old days. In World it was, very much like CB, a daft one trick pony where people would just spam helm splitter all day.

The full spirit combo is something you really only use in big openings for good damage or if you don't want to bounce.
You always have the foresight slash. RZ+A after any attack, you'll dash a bit backwards in the opposite direction of where you hold the stick and return with a swing very much like the spirit swing after a fade slash.

It will deplete your spirit gauge but works without it. If you dodged an attack within the invulnerability frames, you can go directly into the spirit finisher.
So gaining a spirit level is as simple as dodging one attack and hitting the finisher.
You gain spirit levels easier and then consume the levels for powerful attacks. It's a different flow than pre 5th gen, although XX went into that direction already.

Trouble is, you have no free counter, despite having quite a few options.
Serene Pose is a Hunter Art kinda counter and the safest option. But it consumes two wire bugs and uses a spirit level. If you don't have one, it does basically no damage.

Foresight Slash needs to be done from an attack and since you will dash back to where you came from any follow up from the monster will hit you.

Special Sheath needs a longer set-up, having to come out of an attack like the Foresight Slash and takes a bit longer. You have no invulnerability and need to time the RZ counter well. It also doesn't work for everything, like projectiles.

Tempered Blade is another Hunter Art you might switch out. I currently have it in the blue scroll set. It uses one bug and gains you a spirit level if you hit. But the timing is very strict.

Finally, Sacred Sheath has a counter at the start during that slow sheathing animation. You either get hit and autocounter for one level of spirit gauge or you release RZ at the exact right time to not consume a level but hit weaker.
But if you have quick sheath that animation doesn't take all that long and when it's over you will drain your spirit levels and are vulnerable.


So in short, no matter what skills you have, you'll always have the Foresight Slash and either of the sheath moves. So you always have some kind of counter.
It's a very stylish and flow-based weapon, if you know the monster well. Otherwise you're going to get rolled.

[rabidtictac]

Gravious was actually pretty easy with a Lance in MH4(U). You just need to mount him like twice or so for most of his armor to crack.

Nibelsnarf is pretty darn weird, but pretty easy to trick into gobbling up bombs.

That must be the trick I haven't learned. Every time I try to bomb-bait the bastard, he ends up ignoring the bombs and they blow up with him a hundred feet away.

Kugel, all that longsword stuff sounds mostly the same as in Gen U. Although in Gen U, the dodge roll skill was VERY useful for giving yourself a free "oh shit" button which it sounds like Rise is missing. You could use the dodge roll ability to cancel the recovery frames on any move, including Longsword combos. You could be very reckless with building your meter and locking in the damage multiplier as a result.

Sounds like Rise made building meter easier and faster though.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

That must be the trick I haven't learned. Every time I try to bomb-bait the bastard, he ends up ignoring the bombs and they blow up with him a hundred feet away.

Weird. Whenever I fougth him he loved running at me with his mouth wide open.

[Kugelfisch]

Yeah, GenU's instant dodge certainly isn't in Rise.
I found today that the Tempered Blade counter works pretty well against Zinogre. The timing may be strict but him delaying a stomp isn't a problem with it.

I mean, it's been years since I've played LS, so I can't expect to be great with it after only a few days.
Picking it back up in G-rank no less where mistakes get punished pretty hard.

[Kugelfisch]

Let's just get some Ferus Seltas Queen parts real quick. My Glavenus armor has -15 water elemental protection but it's got the sharpness +2 so what's the worst that could happen?

Carting three times shortly before she's done for. Fourty minutes of hacking away at her for about 15 minutes, the rest spent desperately trying to heal. Every fucking hit took over a third, some well over half my health.
I ran out of mega potions quickly and the whole fucking map just didn't want to spawn any honey.

Guess I'll use the Seltas or Duramboros armor instead.


Edit: Yeah, fuck this. I looked the POS up on Kiranico because it damages me through GL shield.
It's got Hyper G-Rank stats. No wonder it just won't die. I'll try to get the hyper part from a hyper Ludroth instead.