Monter Hunter Rise players find a new way to enjoy PvP – a “Training Area Deathmatch” fought out atop a rope

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-04-29 09:27 (JST)
Translated by. Ari Clark

Apparently, some Monster Hunter Rise players are having PvP battles. They call them “Training Area Deathmatches”. After gathering at the Training Area, their fights play out on top of a rope.

The idea of the Training Area Deathmatch was introduced by Twitter user Dr.Borga. Huge twisted ropes, even larger versions of the ones traditionally found in Shinto shrines in Japan, are strung back and forth across the space above the Toadversary in the Training Area. Although these ropes are thick enough for a person to walk around on top of them, one wrong step and you’ll quickly plummet off again.

According to the rules of play, two Hunters battle on top of a rope, and the first player to knock their opponent off wins. Dr.Borga says he just happened to come up with this game while playing with friends, and the point of it is to goof around and have fun.

In Monster Hunter Rise, there’s basically no existing way to inflict damage on other players. When it comes to player versus player battles, forcing your opponent to lose their footing and fall has become the goal. Players throw off their opponents’ balance using the blowback or knockback effects of their weapons. On the other hand, they can also withstand attacks better by using Guard or High Rank Armor. You can put your knowhow about hunting giant monsters to good use in these PvP battles on top of the ropes.

Dr.Borga’s video is filmed from a side-on viewpoint, using the game’s camera function. The way it imitates the screen layout of a fighting game is also interesting. The first two matches are between fighters who both use Sword & Shield, and the third match is between players using Lances. They taunt each other with gestures before fighting, and the explosion of a Flash Bomb signals the start of the battle.

In the Sword & Shield matches, they swing their swords around wildly in a Windmill attack, which uses a Wirebug’s silk, to unleash huge blasts at their opponents. Then, in the Lance match, you can see them using Guard while repeatedly thrusting at each other, until one of them makes a mistake and falls.

This kind of playstyle has also been seen in the past in the Monster Hunter series. In particular, around the release of Monster Hunter 4 for the Nintendo 3DS, people began playing in a style called “War”. From then until Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, the trend grew in popularity among players. The rules of “War” aren’t all that different from these Training Area Deathmatches, and involve winning by making your opponent fall off of various stages.

“War” was also something you could play in all sorts of ways, from goofing off briefly with friends during a quest, to holding tournaments with your circle of friends. Of course, since it wasn’t an official gameplay mechanic, it could draw a certain amount of harassment from wandering solo players. To avoid that sort of trouble, it’s usually better to keep play limited to a circle of friends whenever possible.

In Monster Hunter: World, a new skill called Flinch Free debuted, which reduced the likelihood that you could flinch your allies with your attacks. The Gun Lance, which had previously been the go-to weapon for “War”, was no longer capable of blowing back allies with its normal attacks.

This seems to have been an adjustment made to reduce the likelihood of players getting in each other’s way. Since it’s officially supposed to be a PvE game, this would normally be considered an improvement. However, it made it a lot more difficult to have PvP battles where the goal was to knock the other person over, and “War” was no longer played as much as it previously had been. The effect of such game mechanic adjustments on the playstyles of private social circles is also a point of great interest.

In the latest game in the series, Monster Hunter Rise, the Training Area Deathmatches seem like they might stir up a revival of PvP culture. The Training Area is a multiplayer area that can be accessed easily at any time, and unlike a quest, it has no time limits. Since players plummet straight off the shine ropes that are hung there the moment their feet slip, it’s a good stage for quickly settling the results of a match. It’s simple and easy to understand. You can take a break from hunting to gather at the Training Area, and have a little fun battling it out with your trusted companions.

Other players have been coming up with their own oddball playstyles for this game, as well. Let’s take a look at two of them in particular. The first is called a “Wyvern Riding Showdown”. Wyvern Riding is a new gameplay element introduced in Monster Hunter Rise. Players can use a Wirebug to bind monsters, then move them around the field or crash them into walls to inflict damage. In a Wyvern Riding Showdown, players face off while each is riding on a monster. If the monsters have similar builds and constitutions, the ensuing battle can be surprisingly evenly matched.

It’s not really a battle between players, but some players have also been challenging themselves to hunt monsters using nothing but throwing kunai. Since this game has no limits on the number of throwing kunai you can carry in your inventory, you can keep throwing them at monsters for as long as you want.

Taiwanese YouTuber LunMeow Com has posted videos that involve taking down all sorts of monsters using throwing kunai. Lower-level Arzuros, Rathalos, and Magnamalo are apparently possible to take down within ten minutes or so by chipping away at them with throwing kunai. For the Thunder Serpent Narwa, even battling her with a four-player party was a failure. However, they successfully took down a high-level Magnamalo with nothing but throwing kunai within about 30 minutes.

As you can see with these examples, the ways you can play Monster Hunter Rise are far from limited to only hunting monsters. The way you can explore all sorts of different playstyles is part of the game’s appeal. The number of playstyles is limited only by your own imagination. It seems sure to become the perfect playground for making lots of friends in an online environment.