There’s no denying that the Monster Hunter community has discussed Wilds’ difficulty at length, with many claiming it’s too easy.
But what’s the real deal? It isn’t about whether Wilds is easy or not—it’s that gamers have simply gotten better. And for that, we can thank Soulslike and modern action games for it.
New Hunters, particularly those well-versed in Soulslike titles like Elden Ring and Dark Souls, have already trained their reflexes to react quickly in high-stakes boss encounters.
Fat rolling, dodging, and abusing i-frames are essential skills in Souls games, and Monster Hunter—one of the earliest franchises to share that DNA—incorporates similar mechanics. Both series refuse to hold players’ hands, and as a result, fans from both camps benefit from the skills they’ve acquired.
The biggest difference between the two franchises is that Dark Souls is class-based, while Monster Hunter offers 14 distinct weapon types, each with unique movesets. But that doesn’t stop players from experimenting, tinkering, and checking how cool their weapons look with their armor. It’s all about style, really.
I’ve even had friends who are completely new to Monster Hunter, yet they’ve been absolute beasts at it. The only aspects they find challenging are the legacy mechanics, like forging items and tracking down materials for crafting weapons.
I’m a Monster Hunter veteran myself, but I’ve also learned a thing or two from action-adventure titles, especially FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which helped me a lot with my Sword & Shield blocking.
As we breezed through the game’s campaign, a part of me silently thanked FromSoftware titles for training my friends’ reflexes, helping them anticipate a monster’s devastating attacks. It also helps that Wilds clearly warns players when they’re about to get one-shot by a Rey Dau or Arkveld—your health bar basically turns into a massive warning sign.
This doesn’t just apply to Soulslike games as well, action titles like Stellar Blade, Black Myth Wukong, and even Capcom’s very own Devil May Cry titles have certainly helped most players react well. It’s just a case of improved reflexes over time, and most modern games have these core systems in their game design that teach the necessary things to do when fighting an intimidating threat.
Now, as for veteran Monster Hunter players, they find the improved quality-of-life features convenient—which is why difficulty was never the real issue in the first place. Wilds is just streamlined to keep up with modern gaming demands.
We no longer have to worry about tedious tasks like preparing to cook, drinking Hot and Cold potions, or manually gathering Spiribugs. Nearly everything is made convenient with just one or two button presses. That’s why veterans find the main campaign a cakewalk. But that’s not a problem—Monster Hunter has never been about gatekeeping difficulty and only the weird elitists will do that. Besides, this is just High Rank—the base version of a Monster Hunter game—with a potential G-Rank expansion coming next year.
It’s going to get harder for both veterans and newcomers alike, but Monster Hunter Wilds was never truly easy. The monsters still hit hard, their movements can be unpredictable, and the only reason many players find it manageable is that they’ve adapted to modern action game design. They already know what to do when facing a hulking beast—even without a health bar.