u/Reticxe

I just recently catch up with Wilds content, AT Arkveld and stuff. My main weapon is mainly Long Sword & Great Sword back in World and now Wilds.

I remember back when I played Wilds LS, for the first dozens of hours, I loved it.
- You have so many flexible choices in moveset, with less punishment compared to World.
- Staying in red gauge with the new crimson moves was kinda fun too.
- Successful ISS raise Spirit Level and can be chained into another ISS or Spirit Blade 3, so getting back to red gauge after using Spirit Release Slash was so easy.
- Now you can cancel Helm Breaker from mid-air.

In short, it was much easier to perform cool and flashy stuff without being punished too much for making mistakes.

But then, quickly after that initial period, I started to feel... bored???
Back in World there were a lot more suffering and frustration when learning LS, but never even once I felt bored. I always want to jump right into another hunt again, trying to utilize the weapon better than the last hunt.

I didn't have a clear idea why back then, so now I decided to jump back to World.

All the time getting too used to having focus mode and flexibility in Wilds ended up coming back biting me in the butt. All the struggle returned, as if I was playing World for the first time again.

Suddenly, everything became crystal clear why: Less is more. Something too easy to obtain will also quickly lose its value.

- Wilds LS no longer requires Spirit Gauge management: each normal slash generates more Spirit, you can spam Thrust & Rising Slash forever between each Spirit Blade move, Spirit Charge let you skip or go through all Spirit Combo even with no Spirit Gauge.
- World LS, although far from perfect, has a good balance system where you need to use all of your moveset and both counters for different purpose.
Meanwhile, Wilds LS ISS is simply too powerful, "spam-able", without any drawbacks, to the point of no reason to use Foresight (and other moves) 99% of the time.
- New Crimson moves in Red Gauge led to a meta where you just spam Crimson Slash I + Spirit Blade I to deal even more damage than using Helm Breaker + Spirit Release.
- Focus mode overall eliminates the need for positioning (which was one of the core aspects of Monster Hunter combat to me) and controlling how & which direction your Foresight/ISS should go to be effective.

TLDR: In my opinion, all the risky, commitment-heavy, vulnerable point in World LS have their "risky, commitment, vulnerable" part completely removed by devs in Wilds.
The result: I had a big, short early burst of satisfaction when I easily overpowered monsters with style. But that joy was "all glitter, no substance". I quickly felt empty and bored after a while.

I tried to find Youtube videos discussing this matter, but to my surprise, there was only one video from Ratatoskr, and nothing else, no other simillar videos.

So, I want to create this post, to share my honest thoughts, and create a healthy, non-toxic, constructive conversation (this sounds almost impossible in 2026 LOL, but let's have some hope xD).
We can discuss deeper and further about LS in the comment, since I don't want the post to be too long and boring.

Note 1: I'm not a Wilds hater. Overall, I had a good 350hrs with the game. But personally, I much prefer World's combat (except tenderizing) and weapon moveset. I don't like Focus Mode as well.
I believe more healthy conversations about Wilds is needed.
Note 2: I'm still new to the franchise. My first MH game was World so I only have 1 game to compare, so few free to tell me all the great things about LS in the past, I want to see the viewpoint of veterans too.
I do plan to go back and play older gens, after I defeat Alatreon and Fatalis solo again for this "return to World" of mine.

I just recently catch up with Wilds content, AT Arkveld and stuff. My main weapon is mainly Long Sword & Great Sword back in World and now Wilds.

I remember back when I played Wilds LS, for the first dozens of hours, I loved it.
- You have so many flexible choices in moveset, with less punishment compared to World.
- Staying in red gauge with the new crimson moves was kinda fun too.
- Successful ISS raise Spirit Level and can be chained into another ISS or Spirit Blade 3, so getting back to red gauge after using Spirit Release Slash was so easy.
- Now you can cancel Helm Breaker from mid-air.

In short, it was much easier to perform cool and flashy stuff without being punished too much for making mistakes.

But then, quickly after that initial period, I started to feel... bored???
Back in World there were a lot more suffering and frustration when learning LS, but never even once I felt bored. I always want to jump right into another hunt again, trying to utilize the weapon better than the last hunt.

I didn't have a clear idea why back then, so now I decided to jump back to World.

All the time getting too used to having focus mode and flexibility in Wilds ended up coming back biting me in the butt. All the struggle returned, as if I was playing World for the first time again.

Suddenly, everything became crystal clear why: Less is more. Something too easy to obtain will also quickly lose its value.

- Wilds LS no longer requires Spirit Gauge management: each normal slash generates more Spirit, you can spam Thrust & Rising Slash forever between each Spirit Blade move, Spirit Charge let you skip or go through all Spirit Combo even with no Spirit Gauge.
- World LS, although far from perfect, has a good balance system where you need to use all of your moveset and both counters for different purpose.
Meanwhile, Wilds LS ISS is simply too powerful, "spam-able", without any drawbacks, to the point of no reason to use Foresight (and other moves) 99% of the time.
- New Crimson moves in Red Gauge led to a meta where you just spam Crimson Slash I + Spirit Blade I to deal even more damage than using Helm Breaker + Spirit Release.
- Focus mode overall eliminates the need for positioning (which was one of the core aspects of Monster Hunter combat to me) and controlling how & which direction your Foresight/ISS should go to be effective.

TLDR: In my opinion, all the risky, commitment-heavy, vulnerable point in World LS have their "risky, commitment, vulnerable" part completely removed by devs in Wilds.
The result: I had a big, short early burst of satisfaction when I easily overpowered monsters with style. But that joy was "all glitter, no substance". I quickly felt empty and bored after a while.

I tried to find Youtube videos discussing this matter, but to my surprise, there was only one video from Ratatoskr, and nothing else, no other simillar videos.

So, I want to create this post, to share my honest thoughts, and create a healthy, non-toxic, constructive conversation (this sounds almost impossible in 2026 LOL, but let's have some hope xD).
We can discuss deeper and further about LS in the comment, since I don't want the post to be too long and boring.

Note 1: I'm not a Wilds hater. Overall, I had a good 350hrs with the game. But personally, I much prefer World's combat (except tenderizing) and weapon moveset. I don't like Focus Mode as well.
I believe more healthy conversations about Wilds is needed.
Note 2: I'm still new to the franchise. My first MH game was World so I only have 1 game to compare, so few free to tell me all the great things about LS in the past, I want to see the viewpoint of veterans too.
I do plan to go back and play older gens, after I defeat Alatreon and Fatalis solo again for this "return to World" of mine.