I “played” Monster Hunter in the dark mobile ages, but never really got into it. Too many rough edges. Monster Hunter World though, I spent time in that sucker. Both on the PS and then again on PC. That was eye opening. I’ve played Rise and now Wilds.
World first though. I died (carted) a lot. Anjanath was a near wall for me, and that semi T-Rex was like the 4th monster in the game! Nergigante took me a week to kill due to the dive bomb mechanic and just really bad skill on my end. I stuck with it, got better, and found a solid groove. I played with multiple weapons, notably dual blade, charge blade, and heavy bowgun. It was a journey.
Rise was different. I carted, sure, but it took a long time to reach that point. Most of the issues were with the game design itself and having to collect bugs to boost my stats enough for a fight. The wirebug mechanic took me a right while to figure out, and the bosses felt like it was 1 hit kills. I swapped to long sword to see what the fuss was about and no lie, it took me a couple weeks to figure out that dance, in particular the defensive portions.
And truly, MH is a dance. Every monster has their own theme song and you need to learn the steps. Do so, and things are relatively easy. Try to waltz when it’s 2-stepper, and the cart awaits. That said, there’s a limit to how many steps you actually need to learn. I wouldn’t say I mastered the long sword, but I was damn good at it by the time I was done with Sunbreak.
The transition to Wilds was simple by comparison. I kept the longsword and the mechanics feel similar in pace. I understood the need for cooking good food. Collecting before a battle isn’t needed. Upgrading armor (using spheres) makes a much bigger difference than weapons when trying to learn a fight. Radial wheel access to heals + the seikret mount means I can very quickly leave a bad place and heal up. It also means that mounting an enemy is so much easier!
Now, the question really boils down to “Is Wilds easier or am I better?”
Obviously it’s a bit of both, but I’d put a significant amount of weight on the latter. I get the game, I get the mechanics, I get the timing. I still carted on the ice/fire dragon with a crazy AE attack, but I haven’t failed a single quest yet. The moment to moment portions still feel great, the hit delays work, the defensive agility gets the blood pumping, and it never feels old when you get a crazy massive combo on a 3 story dragon who crumples to the ground!
Wilds is a good game. It isn’t as earth shattering as World, and doesn’t take major steps like Rise did, but it polishes almost every aspect down to a clean and fun sheen. It is by far the most accessible Monster Hunter has ever been, and there’s plenty of difficult challenges for those searching for it. Put in non-stop carts at the start though… and you’re not going to have good retention numbers. And from the achievement % I see on Steam, it would appear that a lot of players have progressed in the game so far.
For those who find it too easy, maybe you’re just that much better than the last time you played.
Leo's Life 
I’ve ‘finished’ the story now (through the HR chapters as well), and a bit beyond, including some of the more interesting dual-monster hunts, so I think I’ve seen most of what Wilds has to offer now (pre-Title Updates and Xpac content, of course).
And I just… still don’t know where I fall on the difficulty conversation.
Certainly, being better at the game is a huge part of it.
Worlds was my first game as well, and I definitely remember both the Anjanath and Nergigante walls as well. Nerg taught me the way of the ‘Superman Dive’ more than anything else has before or since.
I think the very fact that I was perhaps 2-4 hours into my Monster Hunter career when Anjanath entered the scene vs some 300+ with Wilds makes giving even a subjective view on the ‘difficulty’ incredibly hard.
And yet! I still cannot shake the feeling that Wilds just *is* that much easier. Certainly during the Low Rank journey, in any case. But possibly during HR as well. There aren’t really any fights, for example, where I felt compelled to bring the ‘right’ resistances for.
Still- hard to say. And of course, we’ve not got the MR set of monsters and quests yet either.
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Ive thought about that exact thing, building a set specifically for a fight. I’m not sure if ever built a resist set for the launch of World. Elder dragons sure needed it though!
The Seikret here and wirebug in Rise are the new superman. There are certainly moves in Wilds that have 1 shot me with the tempered fights. I don’t spend much time on fire, and very rarely stunned and only poisoned if I really mess up.
Weird to think back to it all.
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