Hey everybody, I just ordered Monster Hunter Freedom Unite yesterday and I should be getting it next week some time.  I'm a total series neophyte, but it looked interesting enough for me to roll the dice and find out what all the fuss is about.  I have a PS3 so I went ahead and downloaded/installed Ad Hoc Party, and it works like a charm.  Of course, I have general questions.

And, if there are general threads regarding this stuff please point me to them.

1) Any top tips for a n00b?  I'm no stranger to RPGs (Final Fantasy, MMORPGs, etc.) but Monster Hunter seems to be a different beast entirely.

2) Do most of you play in pick-up groups online, or are there regular crews that you run with?

3) How long do most of the monster instances take to play?  I played the MHFU demo and they seemed pretty involved.

Take care all...and I might just see you out there.

-MrDiamondJ

some awesome weapons... i highly recomend the LS (Long Sword) to beginners, its light and fast, and has the spirit ability. the more times you hit the sharper it becomes (basicly it is easier to hit him when your sword is sharper) or the regular SaS (sword and sheild) which is basicly what the name says. hack and slash then block, then roll and whatever.

start out with the gathering quests before you go for slaying and hunting quests, you can get used to the map and know all the good areas and gathering spots.

and if you dont know already...

HOW TO CAPTURE A MONSTER

1: attack him a lot. LOL

2: once its health is below 25%, (you will be able to tell, cause every monster has a sign that there health is lower then 25%, like they will limp sometimes,or the kut kus ears will fold down ect.) put down a pitfall trap (for bigger monsters,) or the shock trap (for all monsters. I think.... lol).

3:lure him into the trap by standing behind it and waiting for him to come after you, or put some raw meat on it and it will go and try to eat it (and fall into the pitfall trap or get shocked by the shock trap)

4: throw 2 tranq bombs at him

he should slowly fall to the ground and go to sleep. then you win. you cant carve it but you will get better rewards

so! good luck, and good hunting

First off, welcome to MH!  And Capcom forums! xD

Here is a guide I wrote on choosing the right weapon for newbies.  There is no "godlike" / "imba" weapon and no "Best" weapon class, each has their own uses and capabilities.  Some may seem better against certain mosnters, some may be worse (example: you shouldn't take a Sword and Shield against a Gravios...  You should take a Ranged weapon!  Of course you still can use the SnS against it, but it's not recommended >_>).

Once there, DO NOT TRY TO RUSH YOUR GAME!  This is something you should not do for MH.  you'll find that if you rush, you miss out on too much, and you'll find monsters getting really hard really fast, especially if you haven't garnered enough experience or equipment to handle the tougher ones.

Next, DO NOT TRY TO SUPERCOMBO YOUR MONSTERS!  Most people who come into MH think "If I can continuously do combos on it, I can kill it and it won't touch me!"  This isn't a Vs game where Ryu can super Raindance-kick until the opponent dies without any retaliation, neither is there a "I can tank this hit" in MH.  If you try to tank, it's gonna hurt >_>  In fact in real life if you tried to tank ANYTHING, you'd probably end up in the hospital -_-  Watch for openings, jump in for the hit and combo one or two other hits if you have the time, then head out.  And try your best not to get hit.

Finally, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!  Monster Hunter isn't meant to be an easy game where button-spamming wins you fights.  You need REAL skill and timing to be good at this game!  Strategy helps (standing on top of a hill where the monster can't reach and firing away all your bullets wahahaha), and anything you can use to help increases kill time should be used.  If you want a challenge you can go without them (go naked rofl), but then everything relies ENTIRELY on your skill and weapon power alone.  Hunt hunt hunt, get experience, and proclaim to the world the mosnters you've slain xD

I'm gonna have to write all this stuff down.  Thanks guys

As an aside, I'm very impressed by the answers I've received in this thread.  It's always interesting to toss out a "I'm a n00b" thread and see what kind of responses you get (i.e. will you get the "OMG you're retarded RTFM or do a search on the forums n00b" response?).

Kudos to the community for being so supportive of a new player!

My game shipped today, so it should be here soon.  Can't wait.

I totally recommend that you practice, practice, practice. I remember when I was struggling against khezu and even tigrex, now I take them down with ease.

The experience you earn in this game is real, not some number.

Everything you do you learn from (hopefully lol).

Anyways good luck and you should get Ad-Hoc party if you have a PS3. Makes the game MUCH more enjoyable!