Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-07-26 01:54 JST)

Capcom has released new gameplay footage for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. The video shows off the new area Forlorn Arena with a rare species of Nargacuga fighting against some hunters. This is set to be the centerpiece of the upcoming Free Title Update 1 content that players have been looking forward to. However, when the video was released, it wasn’t Nargacuga that fans couldn’t take their eyes off of as they wondered just what the hunter in the video was doing.

At the start of the video, we can see a hunter with a charge blade equipped dash in to attack the Nargacuga as it has its back turned. The moment before the monster roars signaling the start of the battle is the perfect chance to get some attacks in. But before the hunter can lay down the third attack, they flinch as they are interrupted by an ally’s lance. If they hadn’t flinched, they may have been able to get in a third or fourth attack. We then see the player flinch again at the 45 second mark due to another ally’s bow attack.

The video had viewers commenting to ask why the hunter is not equipped with the Flinch Free skill and even caused the name of the skill to trend on Twitter in Japan.

Flinch Free is a skill in Monster Hunter that depending on the level can prevent knockback from monster attacks. The skill also prevents flinching and interruptions from ally attacks so they don’t disrupt your movement. Even just having the skill at level 1 is generally enough to prevent disruptions from most ally attacks. This is especially handy when multiple players are huddled together attacking a monster’s weak point.

When you take into account that it’s an official video from Capcom, it’s kind of odd to see a hunter using a charge blade running around flinching at their allies’ attacks. Or maybe they just wanted to demonstrate the importance of Flinch Free.

The Lucent Nargacuga is a special subspecies of Nargacuga that has appeared in previous titles. With its white glistening fur, it’s a very popular monster with fans. A special trait of this subspecies is its ability to disappear. In the video, we can see it suddenly appear under the moonlight unleashing what look to be new attack animations. This monster is coming soon, and we’re looking forward to hunting it down.