- Watch youtube videos for weapons / armors / clutch claw / jewels-decorations / mantles .... guide

- Look at the wiki for the quests / monsters weaknesses / events ...

- Don't use Defender Gears, it's a OP armor and weapon made to rush the game to play Iceborn DLC. If you use it, you will rekt everything and learn absolutely nothing (pattern, how to play, weapons specificities...)

- Play solo or in group, it doesn't matter. Only the hp will scale with the number of ppl in a party.
For some story quests, you need to watch solo a small cutscene to be able to play it with friends / call ppl.
Some ppl online use mods to kill faster monsters / can be toxic, call ppl at your own risk.
But not everyone is like that, don't worry !

More ppl will give you some specific advices below, gl hf :)

Thanks, is there no way to fully rebind controls on controllers ? I have only looked briefly at the options

- Do the optional quests, especially the ones with speech balloons next to them. They have many unique and useful things to unlock.
- Keep your gear up to date. Armor rating is very effective.
- Survival perks go a long way. Health boost 1/2/3, fast drinker 2, fortify are all incredible pickups. A lot of a monster's difficulty can be solved with the right utility skills.
- Try different wepaons! Some might click, some might not. Defender weapons are overpowered, but super cheap and offer very good introductions to the weapon.

there are many on youtube just watch them. and have fun.

In addition to what the others have said:

• Actually read the tutorials. Please.
  
• Make use of item loadouts. This can help you quickly store resources and prepare for the next hunt in a few clicks.
  
• Explore the maps. Most of them have extra camps that you can unlock for easier fast-traveling around it.
  
• Learn about befriending the local grimalkyne tribes. They give new toys to your palico.
  
• Don't neglect the Botanical Research and its quests. It's literally free items.
  
• Investigations are your best method of farming monster parts.
  
• Eat at the canteen or in camp. Meals provide a stamina buff, and sometimes a health buff, as well as other bonuses.
  
• Choose your armor based on the skills they offer. Mix up the pieces to get the best combination for your weapon/playstyle.
  
• Register bounties at the resource center and complete them. These are the main source of armor spheres that are used to upgrade your armor's defense.
  
• Engage with all the game has to offer. If you focus on just the story, you're really missing out. Go fishing. Decorate your personal room. Catch endemic life. Search for little secrets and neat areas all over.

Originally posted by Cyber Von Cyberus:

Thanks, is there no way to fully rebind controls on controllers ? I have only looked briefly at the options

In-game ? No
But you can from Steam : right click on MHW > Properties > go to Controllers > there is some texte underlined above a list of controllers, click on it and it should lead you to Steam controller Options where you can change the buttons.

- Don't assume you're going to be good, if this is your first mh game.

- actually memorize your, controls, combos, attacks & timings. a lot of new players complain using words like 'clunk' and 'knockback simulator' - the game's designed to crush a button masher sooner or later.

- Wait for your opportunity to strike. Don't keep overcommitting to a heavy attack/long combo that never lands, when you can land light attacks over time on the same leg, and score a knockdown. (it's much like a boxing match, except you're allowed to smash your enemy when it's on the ground going 'AHHH MY KNEEE')

Originally posted by steven:

Originally posted by Cyber Von Cyberus:

Thanks, is there no way to fully rebind controls on controllers ? I have only looked briefly at the options

In-game ? No
But you can from Steam : right click on MHW > Properties > go to Controllers > there is some texte underlined above a list of controllers, click on it and it should lead you to Steam controller Options where you can change the buttons.

Oh nice, thanks for the tip

Very well, thanks everyone.
I'l avoid the defender gear since it's clearly OP, right now I've mostly been using the dual blades since they're quick and have a simple combo, I'll watch some videos to get an indepth explanation on the other weapons.

Originally posted by Cyber Von Cyberus:

Hola, I've started playing recently, the game looks neat although I've had a lot of trouble getting used to the controls especially hard when I'm used to Dark souls or stuff like Nioh or Nier and this game does the opposite of them in terms of controls.

I'd appreciate any advice you could give, wether it's general or otherwise.

MH combat prioritize positioning but play similar to souls game.

You learn the pattern, bait monster into use big whiff attack, punish the monster with the big damage combo and repeat.

Those small moves that monster does is to bait you into taking damage.

Take your time on first encounter, run around and see what you can do and when is safe to attack.

It's more complicated but easier once its clicked.

Nioh 2 depth is much .. much harder trust me

Use easy weapons for the start

Defense boost is actually a good stat for most of the game, at least if you are melee (20-25% less incoming damage innately or something like that) I just trivialized Rajang in master rank by putting my defense charm on, had lost a bit of defense on this new set and all of a sudden he was one shotting me.

Weren't nuthin with my trusty defense charm lol.

I'm probably behind an upgrade tier or something but that's what it's for.

i have no idea what you mean by opposite to dark souls lol its very similar when it comes to controls ! advice would be learn your weapon !

There's some good videos on YT showing the best combos for each weapon and when you encounter a new monster Google which element it is weak to.
Also like in Dark Souls, don't get greedy, if you're health bar is below half way then back off and heal especially as you start fighting the harder monsters.

Originally posted by RobeRonin:

i have no idea what you mean by opposite to dark souls lol its very similar when it comes to controls ! advice would be learn your weapon !

What I meant by that is in DS you attacks are bound to the triggers, meanwhile in most other games it's X for light attack, Y for heavy and B for dodging while in here it's Y for lightn B for heavy and A for dodging