Rock on with Monster Hunter Wilds' Hunting Horn gameplay trailer

Strengthen your allies through songs and bash your enemies' heads in with deafening sound waves of the Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Wilds

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What you need to know

What you need to know

The latest installment ofMonster Hunter Wilds' weapon overview trailer series has arrived, and this time it’s all about one of the more quirky weapon types of theMonster Hunterseries, the Hunting Horn. The Hunting Horn is a musical instrument that lets players use the power of music to damage enemies and provide beneficial passive effects to fellow players in multiplayer.

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How the Hunting Horn works is that as you perform attacks to bash a monster’s head with the blunt end of the weapon, it will generate musical notes. By performing combos to get specific notes in a row, you will be able to perform song Melodies as a combo finisher.

These Melodies can have a wide range of effects, from healing allies and boosting their attack power, to unleashing devastating soundwave attacks that can stun monsters and knock them down.

Monster Hunter Wilds' iteration of the Hunting Horn will function similarly to Monster Hunter Rise’s version of the weapon, which reworked the weapon’s move-set to emphasize using soundwave attacks more often and increased the speed of its melee attacks.

However, it seems it won’t provide passive buffs as you attack like it did in Monster Hunter Rise anymore. So, you will need to perform Melodies at the end of combos to reap their benefits again like in Monster Hunter World.

Other changes and new gameplay additions for the Hunting Horn include but are not limited to:

One of my favorite weapons of Monster Hunter Rise is coming back in style for Monster Hunter Wilds

One of my favorite weapons of Monster Hunter Rise is coming back in style for Monster Hunter Wilds

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Speaking as a die-hard Monster Hunter fan since Monster Hunter World, I admit I have a strange relationship with the Hunting Horn. I love the general concept, but in Monster Hunter World I felt the weapon had an identity crisis where it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a support weapon or a Hammer with a longer reach. As a result, I felt the Hunting Horn suffered for it because it felt clunky to play and damage uptime was so slow compared to the other melee weapons.

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While some Monster Hunter fans didn’t likeMonster Hunter Rise’s reimagining of the Hunting Horn because they felt the reworked move-set became too simplified and performing melodies took way less skill, I personally loved it. The increased attack rate, higher focus on using soundwave attacks, and performing melodies as you attacked instead only through Melodies gave it a much-needed boost to its damage uptime, faster and more intuitive combos, and a more unique identity.

It was no longer just a slow Hammer-like weapon that provided buffs, it was a full-blown musical weapon that used the power of metal to destroy enemies like a heavy-metal album cover mascot such as Iron Maiden’s Eddie, and it was so satisfying.

So, I am happy to see Hunting Horn retain some of the reworked mechanics and amazing soundwave attacks it had from Monster Hunter Rise. While you won’t be able to activate buffs as you attack anymore, the increased speed when performing Melodies to activate the buffs for teammates will more than make up for it.

I can’t wait to see what other changes Capcom has up its sleeve for the rest ofMonster Hunter Wild’s list of weaponsas we get closer toGamescom 2024, where Capcom debuts a brand new cinematic trailer that will no doubt reveal new beasties forMonster Hunter Wilds' roster of monsters.

Monster Hunter Wilds, the next-gen successor to one of Capcom’sbest Xbox gamesandbest PC games, Monster Hunter World, is scheduled to launch on February 28, 2025 forXbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Explore the uncharted Forbidden Lands to discover long-lost secrets and hunt monsters to protect the balance of nature in Monster Hunter Wilds. Hunt the vicious beasts of the Forbidden Lands alone or with your friends in 4-player online co-op.

Pre-order at:Amazon|Best Buy|GreenManGaming (Steam)

Alexander Cope is a gaming veteran of 30-plus years, primarily covering PC and Xbox games here on Windows Central. Gaming since the 8-bit era, Alexander’s expertise revolves around gaming guides and news, with a particular focus on Japanese titles from the likes of Elden Ring to Final Fantasy. Alexander is always on deck to help our readers conquer the industry’s most difficult games — when he can pry himself away from Monster Hunter that is!