With the second open beta forMonster Hunter Wildsjust having concluded, players were finally able to tackle the intimidating title monster first-hand. While the time limit proved to be the greatest challenge when hunting down the legendary Akrveld,the title monster fight was just as climactic and challenging as players can expect in the full release. While each battle with Arkveld is a rewardingly tense fighting experience, there might be more than meets the eye behind the chained beast.
The second beta not only gave players a chance to face off against its upcoming title monster but also included the craft Gypceros and gave them access to the much-needed training room. Despite its greater offerings, many of the performance and weapon improvements didn’t make their way intoWilds' second betaeither, with Capcom reserving them for the full release.These upgraded features might not be the only thing Capcom is holding back either, as many players have started to suspect Arkveld may be hiding more secrets than it seems.
Arkveld Will Likely Have An Unchained Version In The Full Release
Giving Players A New Reason To Fear The Arkveld’s Call
Part of what makes the fight withMonster Hunter Wild’s Arkveld unique is how it integrates the organic chains tied to its body, giving it even greater reach while empowering certain attacks with deadly dragon energy. Arkveld can even split each of its chains in half, unleashing all four of its appendages to create shockwaves and blasts that deal massive damage to underprepared hunters. Even with the chains slowing it down,Arkveld is still an incredibly fast-paced monster that attacks in explosive bursts, but its current state may only be a fraction of its true power.
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The ‘chained’ title in Arkveld’s name and promotional images show the monster being tied down by the chains it’s using in battle, which could hint that it’s not a permanent state of being for the terrifying monster. While it would be sad to see Arkveld lose its unique chains and the deadly moveset that comes with them,it’s exciting to consider how powerful a further enhanced version of the already challenging monster could be in the full release.
It seems there may be a lot more to the mysterious Arkveld than meets the eye.
The chained aspect of Arkveld is also likely to tie into the full story ofWilds’narrative, potentially being the reason the beast attacked the village the mysterious boy players save in the introduction is from. Whether it’s an attempt at freeing itself or even seeking revenge against the ones that caused it to suffer this fate, it seems there may be a lot more to the mysterious Arkveld than meets the eye.
Even in its regular form, Arkveld is the perfect example of howWildsis innovating the franchise’s monster design process. It fixesalong-standing problemwith the series by adding a greater level of variety for experienced hunters.
Upgraded Monster Variations Are Fairly Common Across The Series
Although it doesn’t directly prove that Arkveld will eventually have an upgraded form, thereturn of monsters like Gore Magalacould hint at more to come. From its origins inMonster Hunter 4and recentRiseappearances,Gore Magala is an incredibly unique monster with a frenzy mechanic that directly affects how players hunt with its aggressive status effect and armor skills. Despite how powerful and intimidating Gore Magala is on its own, it is merely a growth stage before its ultimate transformation into the shining beacon of battle that is Shagura Magala.
WithWildsintroducing the expanded Monster corpse mechanic, players might get to see how Gore Magala reproduces by using infected monsters as hosts.
While Gore Magala is the first monster shown inWildsthat’s knownto have a powerful transformation variant, even the most recentWorldshad a wide range of similar evolutions, featuring the likes of Safijiva, Savage Dejiljho, Stygian Zinogre, Furious Rajang, and many more.
Monster Hunter Wilds Already Has Solutions For Its Worst Beta Problems
While the first round of beta testing left some players worried, recent announcements are sparking even greater hope for the new entry in the series.
Giving monsters an enhanced form is a relatively common practice throughout the franchise to provide players with more challenges without wasting creative designs. Thisoften changes the combat style and design of the monster significantly. While not all of these variations are equal, with some monsters feeling similar to their original version, upgraded forms are practically guaranteed to return inWildsin some fashion, likely in itsinevitable paid expansion.
Not Giving Arkveld An Enhanced Form Would Be A Wasted Opportunity
Making The Unique Monster Stand Out From The Crowd
While it may seem odd thatMonster Hunter Wildsis already letting players tackle its title monster so soon with the beta, it’s a common challenge for players to push themselves to the limits, with a similar offering being in bothWorldandRise.Despite its incredibly unique design and engaging attack patterns, Magnamalo fromMonser Hunter Risequickly became somewhat of a pushover compared to the more challenging monsters added post-launch. Thankfully, Capcom didn’t give up on the intimidatingly designed creature and added the violent Scorned variation, just likeMonster Hunter World’s Ruiner Nergignate.
An unchained Arkveld variation could easily become one of the most memorable hunting experiences in the franchise yet.
Nergigante itself offered an excellently fast-paced challenge for hunters at any level in its base form, from launching spikes at players to taking out players in a single divebomb attack; each fight was a memorable dance to the death. The evolved Ruiner Nergigante simply brought an even more powerful version into Iceborne’s late game to keep up the difficulty while offering worthwhile rewards for players willing to take down the Elder Dragon at the top of the food chain once more.
With how intense the regular Arkveld fight is, an unchained Arkveld variation could easily become one of the most memorable hunting experiences in the franchise yet, especially if it takes advantage ofMonster Hunter Wilds’new featureslike its weather systems or dynamic level design.
Wilds Will Offer Even More Flexibility With Its Monsters
Experimenting With Old Creature Types And Mechanics
Monster Hunter Wildsis even breaking fan expectations by finally overcoming the issue of monsters with untraditional skeletons, asthe tentacle-wielding Nu Udra proves that nearly any kind of monster could make it intoWilds, even the legendary Lagiacrus, whichMonster Hunter’s developers struggled with for years. While this is an exciting prospect for fans hoping some of the series' mosticonic monsters will returnwith this newest release, it could have even greater potential to see a uniquely transformed version of Arkveld in its full glory.
An enhanced version of Arkveld could even see the mysterious monster transform its chain-like appendages into an even more powerful version, unshackling itself while allowing it to retain a similar but expanded moveset.
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Many of the monsters showcased inWildsare already breaking the mold when it comes to what players have grown accustomed to in recent entries, showcasing fresh hunting experiences even before release. The full release ofMonster Hunter Wildsis bound to offer an even greater array of monsters and action-packed hunting experiences, which will hopefully see an even more powerful version of Arkveld that isn’t chained by its past.
