Gravios is a hard-shelled monster that’s been deflecting our assaults because the unique Monster Hunter, and it’s again in Monster Hunter Wilds’ Oilwell Basin. A number of issues about this foreboding, surprising Flying Wyvern have modified, which you’ll be able to see for your self in the unique Gravios gameplay movies in this text.
Gravios is the sixth returning monster revealed for Monster Hunter Wilds, after Congalala, Yian Kut-Ku, Gypceros, and the quintessential Rathalos and Rathian. You may learn all about how the Monster Hunter builders choose monsters for every sport in our in-depth interview.
As for Gravios, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda mentioned: “Once we have been eager about a monster that might match the Oilwell Basin atmosphere and wouldn’t overlap in gameplay phrases when wanting on the general ecosystem hierarchy, we realized we might reintroduce Gravios in a means that felt recent to play, so we determined to convey it again this time.”
Traditionally, Gravios seems in volcanic areas in the Monster Hunter collection. The Oilwell Basin matches that trope, particularly in the course of the Firespring inclemency, the place burning lava might be seen in a lot of the world. The warmth positive doesn’t trouble this sturdy monster.
We final noticed Gravios in Monster Hunter Generations Final, which you’ll be able to see in motion in the comparability video above. It’s undoubtedly modified a bit, each visually and mechanically.
“In fact, the main points, textures, and different facets of Gravios’ design have been drastically improved in contrast with earlier titles,” defined Kaname Fujioka, government director and artwork director for Monster Hunter Wilds. “Whereas we maintained the hardness of its outer shell, we additionally had the workforce work exhausting on issues just like the depiction of the influence of Gravios’ laser-like assault when it hits the bottom, which has been tough to do up till now. The monster now appears like it’s truly there in that terrain. We have been capable of specific how the actions of the monster have a response on the terrain, and we labored very rigorously on these components.”
One among Gravios’ new assaults, the place it shoots a laser immediately down into the bottom, creating an space of burning terrain, completely demonstrates the improve Fujioka refers to. Gravios has additionally tailored one other “new” transfer: a poison gasoline assault, beforehand unique to its juvenile type, Basarios. The Monster Hunter builders did affirm that Basarios is not going to be becoming a member of Gravios in Wilds.
Gravios has different methods up its sleeve, however we’ll allow you to uncover these by yourself. We did expertise a possible softer aspect to Gravios – that means, it was barely simpler to get via its robust cover, and we deflected much less usually than in earlier variations.
Tokuda explains the technical the explanation why this will have felt completely different to us: “Prior to now, we might solely assign tough information to specify the consistency of the monster’s flesh, so in case you didn’t hit the gentle spots with weapons such because the Lance, you wouldn’t have the ability to deal injury. With the Nice Sword, the hit detection can also be massive, so you can hit the exhausting components of the flesh and find yourself bouncing proper off. With Gravios in Wilds, assaults towards its exhausting shell will nonetheless bounce off, however in case you place your self correctly and intention for its bottom you’ll be able to extra successfully deal injury. Weapons and monster flesh can now be gradated in a extra granular means than in earlier video games, whereas Focus Mode makes it simpler to intention, so advances in expertise have helped us to refine many facets of the gameplay expertise whereas preventing Gravios.”
He continued: “Prior to now, there have been technical points that prevented us from assigning completely different pores and skin hardness or toughness values to many alternative components of a monster’s physique. As a result of hit detection fashions have been made utilizing shapes like spheres and cylinders, the form of the hit field didn’t all the time match the precise design of the monster’s physique. However trendy expertise has allowed us so as to add hit detection in a means that matches the monster’s physique. Together with the Focus Mode, we felt that we lastly had the expertise to create a sport the place you can rigorously watch a monster’s actions, discover its weak factors after which intention for them, so we took on the problem this time.”
Do you welcome or shun the return of Gravios? Personally, I don’t know if I’ll ever get well from the trauma it inflicted whereas I attempted to ship Powderstones in the unique Monster Hunter, however preventing it in Monster Hunter Wilds positive felt nice.
This Gravios reveal is a part of this month’s IGN First for Monster Hunter Wilds! Don’t miss our different new, in-depth interview on monster choice and our different unique gameplay and interviews:
Casey DeFreitas is deputy guides editor at IGN and has been searching monsters because the PS2 period. Catch her on X / Bluesky @ShinyCaseyD. Shuka Yamada is a contract author for IGN Japan.