From crossplay to Lagiacrus, here are six things Monster Hunter Wilds must include

Monster Hunter Wilds‘ release date may be a while away, but that hasn’t stopped us from creating a wishlist of things Capcom’s beast-slaying game needs to include. 

Monster Hunter Wilds aims to be the most ambitious title since Monster Hunter World hit consoles back in 2018. For the first time, locales feature environments with dynamically changing identities, and the weather appears to play a bigger part in wider gameplay. 

There are also new monsters like Doshaguma, who travel around in packs, and a new mount that enables players to switch between two weapons. It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Monster Hunter fan, and while the game’s 2025 launch window may be a while away, that hasn’t stopped us from drumming up a wishlist of things Monster Hunter Wilds needs to include. 

Crossplay & cross-progression between systems

Ever Since Monster Hunter World was released back in 2018, players have been calling for Capcom to add crossplay and cross-progression. One of the biggest disappointments from Monster Hunter Rise’s release was the lack of this popular feature. 

Capcom is hyper-aware that crossplay is something Hunters want. The devs even made an announcement when discussing the feature’s omission in Rise:

“We’ve heard your requests for Cross-Save / Cross-Play for Monster Hunter: Rise and Sunbreak, but unfortunately, after looking into it throughout the development process, we found we are unable to implement it this time.”

While both World and Rise lacked crossplay, Monster Hunter Wilds now has the perfect opportunity to make good on this request. The Monster Hunter series has always been about working together with others to take down something bigger. 

What better way to celebrate Capcom’s beast-slaying series than teaming up with Hunters from across PS5, PC, and Xbox? 

Fully open-world environments

While Capcom hasn’t officially revealed whether Monster Hunter Wilds will be open-world, the environments seem far more expansive and interconnected than previous Monster Hunter games. 

At the end of the official reveal trailer, we get to see a huge, sprawling environment named the Forbidden Lands that appears to house different biomes. It’s here we’re shown plains of lush golden grass, which interconnects with the more rugged and harsh desert biome. 

Capcom noted that each hunting locale features an environment with “two dynamically changing identities”: one is “harsh and unforgiving where ravenous monsters fight for limited resources,” and the other is “vibrant and brimming with life.”

If that wasn’t exciting enough, both trailers have also made a point to show off the Seikret, a new mount that Hunters can use to traverse the environment and switch between two weapons. 

The Sekiret can even glide across rocky pillars that would be otherwise inaccessible to the player. Traveling between fully interconnected locales using the Sekiret, finding Outposts, and tracking different monsters in a fully open-world environment would certainly sell this idea of a truly “living and breathing” ecosystem.

Underwater combat 

Underwater combat was certainly a divisive mechanic when it was first introduced in Monster Hunter Tri. Since then, Capcom has kept aquatic combat out of every Monster Hunter title to date. 

While it may have been a little clunky back in Tri, I do think that enough time has passed to give this mechanic another go. After all, the updated combat system and fluid movement controls could greatly enhance aquatic combat. 

Underwater battles also made it feel like Hunters were truly out of their depth, providing another layer to fights. Monsters that appeared rather sluggish on land quickly became terrifyingly agile, utilizing new moves to gain an advantage over their human foes. 

Also, underwater combat would provide the perfect excuse to bring back one of the most requested monsters – Lagiacrus.  

Bring back Lagiacrus!

Monster Hunter Tri’s flagship monster, Lagiacrus, was originally meant to return in World, but animation issues led to it being cut from the game’s final roster. A lot of players were hopeful that Capcom had fixed Lagi’s movement problems in Rise, but again, the Lord of the Seas was left in the murky depths of old-gen.

While we’ve yet to see any locales with huge bodies of water in Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom has the perfect opportunity to finally give us Lagiacrus. Even if underwater combat isn’t present, the Thunder-loving Leviathan can still deliver a shocking surprise on land. 

One of Its most lethal attacks sees Lagiacrus coil itself up before unleashing a devastating AoE burst of thunder energy that kills anything within its radius. If Capcom can’t give us Lagiacrus, then I’ll settle for Ivory Lagiacrus – a deadly subspecies that prefers land over aquatic environments. 

A new weapon or two

It’s been 11 years since Capcom released two new weapons in the Monster Hunter series, with the Insect Glaive and Charge Blade added in Monster Hunter 4. That’s an awful long time, no matter how you cut it, and with the series having celebrated its 20th anniversary in March 2024, it would be great if Wilds could commemorate this moment with a shiny new weapon type. 

Capcom has confirmed that all 14 weapons from previous Monster Hunter entries will be returning, but I’m still hopeful that there’s a new weapon for Hunters to master. Maybe we could even see the addition of Frontier’s Tonfas or Magnet Spikes – after all, Frontier did get some acknowledgment in Rise with Espinas. 

Improved weapon designs & joke weapons

Tying directly into the above is my wish for better weapon designs. While Rise did somewhat alleviate the more muted World weapons designs, I still think Wilds has an opportunity to revive the quirkier and silly side of the Monster Hunter series. 

Let me bonk monsters over the head with the Fist of Fury Hammer, poke monsters with Sharq Attaq Lance, and cut tails off with the awesome-looking Epitaph Blade. I hope Wilds features weapons that aren’t just designed around monster bones, feathers, and scales. 

Instead, I hope Capcom brings back the fantastic designs of old-gen and embraces the silly side of things. 

For all the latest information on Monster Hunter Wilds, be sure to check out our hub and list of every confirmed monster and weapon coming to the game.