#mh ecology

[seabrrd]

variations on a theme (of legiana)

been playing a lot of mhw/mhs2 lately alongside listening to the mh ecology videos which got me thinking about morphological variations. i like to imagine that juvenile legis are beakier (bottom left/top right) and transition to the more “standard” appearance (bottom right) as they gain size/bulk with maturity. still think they’d utilize talons over bite force but the ability to pick meat off with precision becomes less important as they grow (???). at least in the new world where they dwarf the barnos they prey on.

anyway my personal mhs2 legi is the top right shes built for speed

#monster hunter #legiana #mhw #mhs2 #mh #dalton.txt #my art #gonna make a tag for #mh ecology #bc i play this game so much i think i will continue talking about it in the future #seabrrd.png

[kobbers]

Rathalaugust 2023 (catchup) day 21: Fulgur Anjanath

I combined my love of Anjanath chilling with its sail up with the apparent lore that the babies are fully feathered (before they lose much of it as adults).

#rathalaugust2023 #monster hunter #anjanath #fulgur anjanath #kobb art #sketchbook #for some reason a lot of people diss standard anjanath but I love it also #there's just a lot of cool behavior it has #it's a great single example of the way MH World was designed re: the way it focuses on ecology & interaction with the game environment #the way its nose expands into an eldritch horror and the mucus relates to its limited fire abilities AND the traces you can track #you can follow it around and *watch* it marking its territory by snorting flammable boogers on it #underrated friend

[briarworthandoleander]

Do you think Shara Isvalda and Gaismagorn often have fights?

These two are, if I'm not mistaken, the only two big monsters that live most of the time underground and although I don't think they feed on the same. Shara feeds on bioenergy and Gaismagorn uses the Qurio to absorb nutrients (not sure about this)

I forgot Kulve Taroth, she also lives underground, so I guess they had fights too.

Although maybe not because they don't live on the same continent. Apart from Kulve and Shara.

I would like to theorize that Gaismagorm is technically a Deep Sea Elder Dragon, not an Underground Elder Dragon given its dens location. It's probably best to explain how bioenergy and dragon energy work to explain the feeding methods of both Shara Ishvalda, Gaismagorm and the beginnings of Xeno Jiiva.

Bioenergy (or dragon energy) is everywhere, in the water, in the earth and in the air we breathe. It flows throughout the world. Xeno'Jiiva are born when this energy coalesces in one spot like a whirlpool. Shara Ishvalda meanwhile are drawn to the natural flow of this energy so they move with the flow of the bio energy underground and take root where it is most prevalent at the time. These two instances often occur after a large elder dragon has died.

Gaismagorm is a different beast.

Gaismagorm was, and possibly still is, an ambush predator for deep sea elder dragons. Instead of supping on bioenergy - it sends out scouts of a sort in waves that we have grown to know as:

The Qurio. A relatively simple life-form in the shape of a fish that could flutter around with bright colouration to lure prey. One could say that they are actually the closest in biology to a Xeno'Jiiva, as both are comprised of bioenergy.

The Qurio were Gaismagorm's lure for elder dragons like Ceadeus; a means of attracting these dragons to the cave of Gaismagorm so that the dreaded devil could grab them with its great arms and pull them into its lair to feast.

But over time, creatures tend to get wise to one's tricks, so it's a question of adapt or die. So the Qurio became parasitic leeches that would drain bioenergy from other elder dragons to give to Gaismagorm. They grew more complex, powered by Gaismagorm to find and hunt down prey instead of just luring it. But seas can run empty, and when they do - new sources must be acquired. So the Qurio began to fly. Thus began the plague on air and land.

...and how they found the species of Elder Dragon called Malzeno.

Unlike most other monsters, Malzeno were not drained but instead gained a symbiotic relationship with the Qurio, essentially leeching Gaismagorms' bio energy for themselves through the Qurio.

However, I am getting off topic.

You want to know if Gaismagorm and Shara Ishvalda fight and how often. I would say no.

Shara Ishvalda prefer arid areas and mountains, whereas Gaismagorm is going to be underground under entire oceans and seas. The two simply would not meet unless there was a large source of bioenergy between their individual biomes that was too irresistible for either to ignore.

-Leo Briarworth

To piggyback off of Leo's theory, it could be surmised that the Qurio started out as single-celled organisms during the time that Gaismagorm as a species dwelled in oceanic trenches, where light can't easily penetrate except in very specific forms and down to a certain depth. You see, taking a close look at the Qurio themselves, they give off a peculiar red glow. It's something that we can pick up on easily at a glance, something that monsters can see and follow above the ocean's depths... but past around 4.6 meters below the surface, red light begins to be absorbed as light waves are scattered.

In the deep ocean, there are creatures that use light to hunt, luring prey with a nice, shiny promise of food that sometimes glows to scare off smaller, less capable predators. In this same vein, light can be shown on prey that most creatures wouldn't be able to detect otherwise. It isn't too much of a stretch to assume that this same principle was followed before Gaismagorm eventually made the transition from sea to land, when the Qurio were still parasites that fed on Gaismagorm and the nutrients it processed as it, too, fed.

Eventually, in time immemorial, though... something changed. Gaismagorm as a species grew and their prey didn't, so they continued to adapt, and so did their parasites to this ever-changing biome whilst they worked their way up the food chain. Eventually, fish and other creatures that lived in the ocean just weren't enough, so the species both had to broaden their horizons or die. Fins became legs, legs became wings, gills that filtered oxygen from the water became lungs and vents to expel waste and excess, unusable energy.

It could be assumed that they were out-competed in the air, so then they adapted to food they could reach without expending so much energy. Once aquatic, then aerial, then subterranean... it's a massive leap and seemingly a step backward evolutionarily, but the structure of Gaismagorm's larger pair of arms suggests that they were once wings and simply evolved into powerful limbs, too heavy for flight but perfect for tunneling through solid earth and stone. Down in giant tunnels, they didn't need powerful hind legs for taking to the skies, so those became vestigial, Gaismagorm's eyes shrank as an adaptation to low-light conditions, and the Qurio, their parasites... developed wings from fins used to swim through water and their host's innards.

We might never know what led Gaismagorm to start creating exit points in the ground for the Qurio to find their way out and feed, but somewhere down the line, the behavior was sparked and a new pattern of hunting was born. Gaismagorm, too large to easily leave their tunnels, had to find food somehow, so they began to rely on the Qurio, which in turn began to treat their host as a hive. They began to leave its body, taking to the skies, hunting down and draining precious lifeblood from monsters up topside, then returning to Gaismagorm to feed it what they'd stolen.

From there, the Gaismagorm could (and can) process the blood into something that the Qurio can eat--a form of energy expelled by the elder dragon, a waste product, pure and filtered down into everything that it can't use but they can.

In the simplest of terms, think of the Qurio as Bnahabra or Vespoids, feeding their larvae meat so that they can create a protein-rich slurry that they can actually digest. It's the same principle; both species rely entirely on each other to survive.

-Oleander

#monster hunter #monster hunter rp #monhun #monster hunter ecology #monhun rp #monster hunter rise #mhr #mh sunbreak #gaismagorm #malzeno #shara ishvalda #qurio

[prototypelq]

....while I haven't played the ubisoft avatar game myself, or more accurately, I have obsessively played the x360 one, I doubt it could be better than the Ancient Forest of Monster Hunter World.

I have. Never seen a jungle location be this layered, vertical and complex, while also remaining extremely readable. Like, there'a and easy route around the map and insides of a giant tree in the center of it, to act as a crossing or shortcut. However, the actual map is... so much more detailed than just this.

There are vine swing-jumping sections which open up new pathways for you, there are less noticeable vines to climb, which reveal new arboreal pathways ahead. There is an entire 'jungle-catwalk' section right near the dragon nest at the top of the giant tree. You cannot navigate these additional paths with map, it is much more simple and natural just to remember them and trust your memory on this.

It's just I have spawned in a rainy weather for the first time, and started exploring these vines, and this has been THE Avatar experience. Honestly no other game has ever made a more natural and interesting forest to explore than this one.

I genuinely did not anticipate this level of detail, beauty and meticulous attention to everything from a game about exterminating dinodragons. I picked it up for the Monster Hunter part of it the title, but let me tell you the World part is the actual gem of the game for me, I am in love with this.

#the joy i felt when getting through the jungle vine-swinging and exploring all while it was raining is hard to properly convey #i am super glad this is the time i stumbled into this game cause i needed exactly that #weapon upgrade tree is still stupid tho #but yeah otherwise im loving this game very very much #i want to spend an entire day petting jagras i love them #pukei the trashchild i despise and love hunting you #also that one riverbed near barroth with the flowers? i want to spend my vacation there it is so peaceful and gorgeous #thankfully the mudmonsters didn't trample the flowers #i succesfully stole a dragon egg yay i have no idea why i did it #this is very much a conquistador simulator you get to enjoy the unconwuered lands while simultaneously extracting them dry and bringing #extinction to everything living in there thankfully this is a game and it is fun but sometimes it still rubs me wrong #well learn the real monsters were humans all along #(ive heard that the lore suggests the mh organisations are actually very aware of ecological repercussions however this is not felt in game #monster hunter world #mh world #mhw #btw my cat squire is very stupid he always turns away from the camera literally always #guess thats what i get for naming him rootbeer i still love my little gremlin son he helps out a lot #unrelated - I would rather uninstall then game than ever change that skull helmet #i do really dislike that some elemental damage requires iron weapons because of that #i dont mind iron weapons but cmon insect glaive has my buddy on it he would be much more comfortable on a bone handle

[robocatfan]

Honestly for me the the charm of Monster hunter monsters is that they are mostly grounded and are part of the environment like real animals, yet at the same time most of them have traits that are so over the top (like, you know, having explosive slime on their bodies, inflating themselves, having SWORD TAILS, basically going super saiyan, amongst other things) that can border until being considered “unrealistic”.

AND YET they still have some in- universe reason for those things, that while not always totally logical at least makes enough sense so that while yes, having a samurai tiger who can create flames out of the gas created from eating and an almost literal rocket dragon may be too far fetched or too over the top, it means that as long as there is an explanation for WHY that happens, one can get away with that and much more.

#ma stuff #magnamalo #valstrax #mhr #mh #monhun #monster hunter #creature design #monster hunter ecology #that I was compelled to make something #listen I’m a bit tired of realism this unrealism that #besides THATS what makes the games fun

[troythecatfish]

Source: Oceaniz on YouTube

#monster hunter #mh #mh posting #capcom #ecology #speculative ecology #speculative biology #speculative evolution #speculative zoology #specevo #spec evo #specbio #spec bio #spec zoo #fantasy #fantasy creature #fantasy world #fantasy worldbuilding #worldbuilding #monhun #worldbuilding stuff #gaming #video game #video games #gaming videos #youtube videos #youtube #youtube playlist #video essays #gaming post

[dreamycollective]

Raths mate for life. Their behaviour is very similar to eagle behaviour as they return to the same nest every year and build it up each time as a sign of their loyalty and vitality. They mate through graceful aerial displays and acrobatics and both take part in rearing their chicks. They use their flames to incubate the eggs.

Raths can breed all year, but they usually like to raise their young at the warmest times of year. Rathian will lay up to four eggs at a time and she will become especially aggressive to intruders in her territory during this time. Rathian in general are the more aggressive of the two and she tends to grow slightly larger than the Rathalos. Rathian often have to compete for a male, which leads to further aggression, but once she and her Rathalos have bonded, they will stay together forever. They’re very tender with each other and their chicks. They preen one another’s scales, fly together and hunt cooperatively. 

#「 Headcanon ♔ ♕ ┊ King and Queen 」 #[ pls read this in a david attenborough voice jhfjkdg ] #[ but what I love about MH is that they're really just animals that you study #each monster has their own unique behaviours and ecology #it makes them super interesting #and I love when fictional dragon behaviour is taken from real birds and animals ] #[ I love dragons man ]

[maiko-san]

Pitaya Dragon Cookie x MH! Reader

Note : Basically Reader is a Monster Hunter from the Monster Hunter Universe. Imagine MH exists on Earthbread. The Reader is far more durable than any other cookies since they are a monster hunter.

Pitaya Dragon Cookie is always hungry for a fight, it seems the fight with Hollyberry Cookie wasn't enough to quench this dragon's thirst for battles.

Then, they meet you!

A cookie called as a 'Monster Hunter' that came from a distant land. Clad in dragon armour and wields (w/o/c).

Pitaya Dragon Cookie instantly challenges you into a fight the moment he sets his eyes on your form.

The moment their giant claws hits your body and sends you flying, any cookie would have crumbled by the attack but you stand right back up like you weren't affected by it at all.

This was the moment that Pitaya Dragon Cookie sees you as a worthy opponent.

"Finally! A cookie that doesn't crumble under my claws!" cackled Pitaya Dragon Cookie, their flames burn even hotter than before. "Sshow me what you got, monster hunter!"

The fight would last for hours!

You attack, dodge, block and take all the hits that the dragon has given to you. Pitaya Dragon Cookie could see that you have experience in fighting a dragon.

The way you zip around swiftly and dodging his attacks. Pitaya Dragon Cookies hits you and you hit them back harder. It was to a point that it dented/broke off their scales/spikes!

"Gragh!" one of Pitaya Dragon Cookies horns has been broken off by your special attack. They couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Hahahahaha! Hollyberry Cookie or that Knight Cookie couldn't even do thiss! You are the firsst cookie to land ssssuch damage on thiss Greenisssh Red Dragon!" they said. "I mussst say, you got my ressspect! I like you! You're now my favourite!" they grinned. Pitaya Dragon Cookie feels satisfied ....well for today!

"That's the reason why I am called a 'Monster Hunter'!" you smirked at the dragon. "I broke off dragon horns countless times back at my place!" you grinned. Pitaya Dragon Cookie shifts to his cookie form, you could see that his scaly armours chipped here and there. A part of his helmet has broken off.

Pitaya Dragon could only smirk as their tail swish excitedly, "Sssay~ May this Pitaya Dragon Cookie know your name!" said Pitaya Dragon. "My name is (C/n) Cookie, a hunter apart of the Ecological Research Team!" you said proudly.

"Sssince you have defeated me! I can grant you a wissh. Tell me, (C/n) Cookie, what is your wisssh?" Pitaya Dragon asked. You let out a hum, fighting this legendary greenish red dragon is so much fun and you wish to do research on them. "I wish to do research on you, Pitaya Dragon Cookie!" you told them your wish. "I sseee" hums Pitaya Dragon as they put their hands on their hips, "Alright! You can do your little ressearch on me, little tough cookie!" they said.

"And I want to fight you again! It was fun!" you declared.

Pitaya Dragon couldn't get even more excited than ever, a cookie wishes to fight them again? Oh, bring it on! Their eyes glow brightly as Pitaya Dragon smiles widely, "Oh yesss~ I will accept your requessts any time!" they smirked. "But don't let your guard down, my little hunter. Thisss dragon will attack you at any time they want~".

Well, Pitaya Dragon wasn't lying at all. They would attack the moment you let your guard down. Especially when you're doing research in the Berry Forest, Pitaya Dragon would dive bomb you out of the blue when you were picking up herbs or mining (the ores) your own business.

A vicious fight that slowly turns into a friendly spar. During those times, you and Pitaya Dragon have grown closer. Pitaya Dragon sees you as a friend and a rival!

The dragon was interested in your home land that has all kinds of monsters especially dragons! You've told Pitaya Dragon Cookie that your home land has dragons that are called Elder Dragons. The most dangerous out of all Elders were the black dragon named Fatalis.

"Fataliss huh....I want to fight him!" grinned Pitaya Dragon. "Hahaha! Make sure not to let him melt you or he would use you as his own armour!" you said. Pitaya Dragon blinks, "What do you mean by that?" he questioned. "Fatalis has habits using melted corpse of a cookie as his own armour" you chirped. Pitaya Dragon couldn't help but feel horrified, disturbed and slightly disgusted?

"That'ss jussst....disssturbing...." they said. "Yup!" you agree with them.

Both of you are sitting on a grassy field after a spar. You have noticed that Pitaya Dragon's armour has completely regrown and returns normal but what catches your attention was they were missing the tip of their tail. "Pitaya Dragon Cookie, may I ask you something?" you asked the dragon who let's out a hum.

"What happened to your tail?"

"Huh? Thisss? Hm, I never noticed that it wass chopped off" they said. "Did you chop it off?" they turn to you for answers.

"No, I didn't" you said.

"Huh, weird..."

You sweat drop, "So, you don't remember how you lost it?". Pitaya Dragon shrugs their shoulders, "Yup!" they simply said.

#pitaya dragon cookie #cookie run #x reader #hollyberry cookie #crk #monster hunter #pitaya dragon cookie x reader #crk x reader #various x reader

[imthepunchlord]

You know what would be a cool though tense Monster Hunter game? It being a more research game instead of hunter. Essentially PLA for MH, where it's more stealth, survival, and some elements of horror game. With you going out to study and learn monster behavior, with people having very little knowledge and they're actually terrifying, and you're going out with minimal to no combat skills.

All you can really do is try being a ninja researcher, sneaking around, making use of the items you have, and throwing them out to discourage or distract monsters. And if you're successful, you'll get to see new animations, terf wars, more MH lore, the world, and ecology; and a lot of tense moments as these are huge, deadly creatures that can easily overpower you.

And maybe as you level up, you could either go more hunter and adopt some protective tactics, or maybe you wind up befriending a monster and they'll guard you or let you ride them for a quick escape.

Not sure if it'll ever come to be, but I love speculative Monster Hunter ecology, and potentially getting some of it confirmed and having a game circle around it would just be awesome, and getting more of the world and how beautiful and scary nature is, and I think it'd be a really cool but also terrifying game.

To add to it, they can bring back underwater sections to study underwater fauna, which so far, is the least covered of the monster biomes, and I would love coming back to underwater just to see more as they only scratched the surface of what exists and some of the most diverse life is underwater. Also, these monsters can move much faster than you and you'll be more limited in what you can do. Delightfully terrifying.

And ultimate top tier post game content/challenge mode could be trying to observe, sneak around, and study Elder Dragons. Can you just imagine trying to study Fatalis' ecology? The most mystical of all Elder Dragons and it's only known purpose for living is just ending all of humanity. It'd be hard to study, but I would love to see what Fatalis does when they're just vibing.

This is a speculative Monster Hunter game I'd love to play, and I'd be so scared and tense, but it'd be soooo cool just having something that delves more into research than fighting and be more stealth oriented.

#monster hunter #monster hunter game #Punchie rambles #game rant

[ouroborosorder]

Okay but like I joked about Monster Hunter's appeal being monsters having cool wings, when in reality, I do think its real appeal is the ecology of the monsters. But like. What makes MH truly special as a game is where those things combine with how you, as a player, interact with the world.

One time, I was hunting a Velkhana. For those who don't know it, it's a dragon whose scales are infused with a freezing cold ore, allowing it to control ice by forcing the scales to freeze into plates of armor. Velkhana's so cold that it literally constantly gently snows in an area around it, which is a really cool touch that gives it a Presence in the world.

I was doing damn well on the hunt, absolutely tearing through it like a badass. Enough that it started to limp away and flew off into the distance to try to escape and rest to heal its wounds, and I immediately decided to give chase.

I got to where it was perched, and it was just. Sitting there. Looking up at the sky, then looking down. And I slowly walked up next to it, not even trying to hide myself, and realized it was actively watching the snow fall, its eyes tracking individual snowflakes as they fell. And suddenly just... Everything hit me at once. This creature that was dangerous beyond all measure, so dangerous that their power creates a weather event as a side effect... actually finds beauty in the snow.

And so we just... sat there. Two people who had tried to kill each other just moments before, watching the snow fall together. Eventually, it turns, and looks at me. I draw my dual blades, and it rears back to roar. I rush forwards, countering the roar, killing it in one hit. I didn't feel pride in that hunt. I felt a solemn quiet.

Mission end.

It dropped a Mantle as a farewell.

I forged it into a set of dual blades. It felt right. I want to have the memory of a beast I once sat beside and enjoyed the snow.

#monster hunter

[es46]

A temnoceran based on pycnogonids / sea spiders, designed as an elder-level of superb proportions. This is the superboss of the story, filling a similar role to the likes of Alatreon / Safi'jiiva. - OJOZ-KADAKI Title - Abyssal spider Monster class - Temnoceran Known locales - Isolated coral reef islets Element/Ailment - Hellfire + Water + Bubble + Ice Elemental weakness - Ice (3), Dragon (3), Thunder (1), Water (0), Fire (0) Ailment weakness - Poison (2), Blast (2), Paralysis (2), Sleep (1), Stun (0) Ojoz-Kadaki is a temnoceran residing in the deepest depths of the ocean, only emerging on the surface on secluded islets near temperate coastlines. It is easily the largest and most influential temnoceran known to the Guild, immediately identified by its dark-blue colouring and various bizarre features. The head and mouthparts expand into a gaping maw, perfect for intaking energy from hydrothermal vents. The first pair are for grappling with the second and third pair are for walking. The fourth pair support vast fin-like membranes that contribute to its bizarre influence over surface conditions. Little is known of Ojoz-Kadaki's ecology. What can be ascertained in that it usually resides deep underwater, sustained on geothermal energy and special chemicals obtained from hydrothermal vents, though occasionally supplementing this diet with filter feeding. What compels it to leave the ocean depths and arrive at the surface is something of a mystery; researchers differ on whether the temnoceran arrives to lay eggs, moult its exoskeleton, or simply seeks an alternative food supply. More research is required, though that is difficult to obtain since Ojoz-Kadaki is such a rare and reclusive species. What is apparent is that Ojoz-Kadaki is a grave danger to surface ecosystems. It possesses an ability to induce changes to the weather, which manifests either as rainstorms or snowstorms, risking flash floods or frozen conditions on environments unable to handle dramatic change. Its abdomen and massive fin-like membranes apparently released special gaseous chemicals that provoke these conditions, essentially diverting water from the ocean to the sky. It is not known how Ojoz-Kadaki facilitates this process, though some believe the temnoceran may obtain energy from elder dragon carcasses deep underwater that grants it a level of near-supernatural power. In combat, Ojoz-Kadaki is near indomitable. Sheer size and strength would be enough, alongside hook-like claws and an armoured carapace reinforced by symbiotic sessile shelled organisms. However, its control over the weather manifests in Ojoz-Kadaki's elemental attacks. From the gaping maw can be unleashed either raging torrents of bubbling water or a supercooling chemical that freezes everything around it. Its limbs likewise alternate these conditions, either liquifying ice into powerful waves or freezing streams into jagged floes. In addition, chemical reactions in its abdomen can unleash short-ranged bursts of flame akin to Hellfire. Ojoz-Kadaki will alternate various states in which one ailment is more prominent, changing the way it fights or even the weather around it. Low rank hunters absolutely must not engage Ojoz-Kadaki unless in exceptionally dire circumstances (High Rank - 8, Master Rank - 6). The sheer environmental discord this monster brings alongside its own raw strength and elemental power makes it a truly formidable opponent. Only master hunters can be expected to take it on. Hunters must carefully manage the temnoceran's different states and exploit particular weaknesses, alternating between targetting the limbs and abdomen. A creature of phenomenal influence, Ojoz-Kadaki knows next to no competition. Even a monster as large as an adult Yondrei Illavius is little match for the temnoceran; only exceptional beasts such as Amatsu or Sharah Ishvalda could hope to overpower Ojoz-Kadaki. - This is the final monster of this MH fanart series (barring some expansion muse). Thank you for reading and take care.

#arthropod #temnoceran #monster hunter #fanart #sketch #monochrome

[sothasil]

any video games youre looking forward to?

I am a certified troglodyte who manages to play two video games a year and does not regard release date as a factor in "upcoming". Here's my radar:

Monster Hunter Wilds: I've been playing World for years now and still into it. The game's focus on fantasy ecology as a setting and it's more grounded visual design philosophy are of particular interest to me. I skipped on playing Rise because I did not like the more cartoony/arcade aspect, and Wilds promises to be the true successor to World in terms of vibes. Also, you can ride a bird thing. This alone would make me oogle any video game

Shadow of the Colossus: I have bought this (PS4 remake) and have not been able to play it at all. Fumito Ueda remains one of if not my favorite game director for his visual and mechanical design sensibilities. SotC is quite literally a game I could have dreamed of, but real. I'm very excited to play it. I'm waiting to first finish ICO

Nidus: entirely hand animated trippy ass bullet hell with local 2p co-op. It looks crazy what can I say

REZ: experimental rhythm game I am surprised has not seen a renaissance with these past year's love for y2k. Take me to the media player dimension

As for games I'm looking to finish: aforementioned ICO, aforementioned MH World, Katamari Damacy, and Dorfromantik (not a linear game but I wanna 100% it)

#as for wildest dreams? spore 2 :'( #ask

[briarworthandoleander]

Hello, hunter from Kamura here, my name is Kade Rogers and I.. wanted to ask... what is Harudomergu? I've never heard of that monster before and, as someone who has an interest in ALL monsters

And one of the main hunters who helped with the Allmother Narwa situation.. sorry about that by the way-

I'd love to know more about this monster, hopefully be in touch more in the future.. good luck with the current.. Elder Dragon issue you are facing with Oleander-

While Leo’s talked a lot about what it does, he didn’t talk much about Harudomerugu itself. Called the Silver Controlling Dragon, Harudomerugu can produce and control liquid mercury. That in itself has been discussed in great detail.

What Leo didn’t mention is how terrifyingly smart it is as a monster. Harudomerugu are very adaptable, very intelligent. No two will fight you the same way. Each instance will fight you using tricks its learned during its life, “borrowing” the attacks and fighting styles of the monsters and hunters that it’s killed. They’ve even been known to fashion their liquid mercury into weapons of sorts, augmenting their claws, tails, wings, and even their faces on occasion to give themselves an advantage. If that weren’t enough, they also employ tactics on the fly to suit their current quarry.

I’ve fought exactly three in my lifetime; one of which I tracked and hunted repeatedly until I finally took it down. Those, I went at alone—all except for the latter, which I needed a hunting party for... because it’d adapted to my hunting style and I just couldn’t counter it on my own anymore.

The monster learned how I moved, how I fought, and damn near figured out how I thought. It also learned that, because I was wearing specialized gear to avoid getting all kind of nasty effects from elemental mercury exposure, it couldn’t get to me without peeling everything off, so it just didn’t bother. Make no mistake, that dragon wasn’t afraid of me. It just needed time to think, and once it got that time, it hunted me down and almost took down an encampment to try to finish what I’d started. Instead of hacking and slashing, it started trying to batter and crush me. It probably would have worked if I didn’t have a hunting party to make up for this new weakness it’d learned to exploit.

Who’d have thought that humans really can’t take being slammed into with several tons of force?

But I digress.

… Thanks, by the way. You guys don’t have to talk about me like I don’t read most of these, ha ha.

-Oleander

#harudomerugu #mh #monhun #Monster Hunter #monhun rp #Monster Hunter Frontier #Monster Hunter Ecology #monhun ecology

[prototypelq]

I needed some self-therapy this month, and my chosen method has been a monster-hunter genre game, cause I've been severely missing it for the last two years at the very least. This time, I've decided to bite the bullet and give Monster Hunter World a try, despite my very picky and allergic reaction to most of eastern titles, cause I had the feeling I could stomach some of my frustrations with the incentive of monster-hunting, and I was not wrong. (though some things still greatly frustrate me)

Here be my impressions of the first 10 or so, hours into the game (strictly solo experience for Reasons):

The weapon variety is honestly overwhelming for a newcomer to the series, but the katana, bow and insect glaive have definitely caught my attention. Their movesets are a joy to fight with, the glaive especially, plus you get a bug buddy))) and insane mobility options, what's not to love about it. From experience, I can guess that the chargeblade would also bring me much joy to fight with, but that is a weapon for more skilled players, I can see myself trying to check it out later.

(I think this gameplay is mh rise and not world, but all of these moves for the glaive still exist in world)

I can finally see why the fans were talking so much about ecology. Just watching videos is not enough to really show it, but you feel all the little things when you play the actual game. Before playing, I was thinking that 'dino-dragons that breathe fire do not exactly fit your standard ecology', that people just didn't know much of actual ecology to speak like that and at best, they meant that the monster design was influenced by irl animals. However, I understood what those fans meant when I saw that Anjanath, whoose pink and bald skin greatly resemble a vulture, mostly just patrols around and steals food from other monsters.

(watch me hang on for my life when he came around xD)

Pukei, the horrible trashchild that I grew to adore, is quite nimble and agile to fit through the dense forest canopy, which it HAS to do, as there are bits of the jungle where the hunters have to force themselves through tight vines, a dragon of larger size has to be flexible. The chameleon and gecko inspiration is very strong in this little bastard, and it fits perfectly into the jungle, where it resides. Also, the game doesn't have to explain to you that this guy changes the colour of his feathers when aggressive, and it works not just on a gamedesign level, but on the creature-design level too.

Barroth (?I think?) lead me to a large mud pit, in the lowest part of the map, down the riverbed, which, is, y'know, Logical, as water flows down the slopes. It fits so perfectly into that zone, it was clearly the monster's lair or favourite spot, as that monster has a few mud-related attacks and an armour buff.

These little things really ground the weird dino/dragon whacky designs and make the whole world really vibrant and come together wonderfully, they also make the that ecology aspect really shine. You don't normally see this attention to ecological detail in games, and it is clear that a lot of care went into making them.

(btw the binoculars are great, they also work as intended, because the colours of this game, while muted a bit, still are very distinct and bright, unlike otheR games that haD binoculaRs in them)

So yeah, I've been enjoying exploration and the world of this game a lot. On that note,

look at this toad. he is perfect. he deserves the world. I am very happy you can keep little guys in your tent (it's also the only reason to visit said tent)

I also really love that you can make your cat into a literal little gremlin. I adore him now, he too is perfect.

Now for the things that frustrated me.

Controls. The inability to remap inputs and clutch claw controls are atrocious. Apparently the game has walrunning, but I have no idea how to distinguish which surfaces it works on and which it doesn't. No manual jumping is very confusing at times, there are a few very specific places that I'm sure I should be able to climb, but the jump is automated and it didn't work, which just leaves me shrugging. That said, vine swinging is cool.

There are far too many menus with very overwhelming rpg stats, it's very hard to make sense or reason of any of them.

For the amount of tutorials the game just keeps Bombarding you with, which is annoying as hell, the weapon&armour upgrade and progression system is not explained at all. The upgrades seem to unlock at finding specific materials, but not All of them. This makes me feel like some weapons have better viability for new players, because they can be upgraded with materials from early monsters, and my go-to weapons apparently don't fit into that category, though I can't be certain of this. There are no perk explanations, so I gotta guess which perks are more useful and which aren't, though I'm not that far into the building anyway, so for a beginner it's not a big problem.

These are just inconveniences the new player has to deal with, but they are not gamebreaking in any way. The ten hours I've spent with the game have been very enjoyable, and I'd love to play more of it.

#though i am already patching the game with mods cause I don't think it is balanced well for solo play #i have had monsters escaping the encounter three times before hunting them #this situation has happened TWICE now and I have my gear maxed out as much as research tree allows #also I haven't yet understood where exactly do you check the danger/equipment req level for each hunt #sooo im just gonna buff damage a little with mods we'll see how that goes #also i spent an hour in character creation only to wear the big skull helmet with a mane the entire time #absolutely no regrets #if i had a nickel for each time this happened I would have two nickels the first one being dos2 #it will also happen again #monster hunter world #mhw #i want to take jagras great cheeks and pet them and smooch the lizor in the head they are very lovely very friend-shaped adorable guys #10/10 would adopt if I could own it responsibly #i also need to get the hang of the photomode #cool monster designs bring me great comfort

[narbevoguel]

So Splatoon Community

I'm gonna vent my heart out, so I apologize in advance for the possible long text. Anyway.

Splatoon community is a funny one, one I cannot fathom to be even anywhere near. And yes, before anyone says or thinks anything, I am fully aware that all communities have their bad apples, but at least I can talk about anything easily to others in other communities. I can still find people interested in talking about characters or monster ecology in the Monster Hunter community, about the possibilities that New World might have in store for MH lore from here on out, it's not always having to deal with or partake in graphics or game mechanics discourse (World good, Rise bad. Old Gen good, new gen bad, etc.) Same with the Legend of Zelda community, I've made so many good friends in the past few years, and I'm forever grateful I can always talk to them about anything LoZ wise, lore, games, dungeons, NPCs, literally anything lol. Even smaller, more niche communities like Risk of Rain or Megaman.

But Splatoon? Oh boy. You have to deal with nothing but people's takes. You wanna talk about the lore? Nope, gotta deal with either people not interested in talking about that (like, the vast majority of the community), or the few that will only care about the lore as long as idol shipping is involved. It's been like what, 2 months since the release of Side Order, and I have not been able to sit and talk about the lore to anyone aside from small bits of venting here and there with friends that don't even play the game or are into it, even they seem more interested than the fandom. You wanna talk about gameplay? Gotta deal with most of the community making their opinions from splatoon youtube, heck, I even have to deal with people in the fandom that haven't even played a single game tell me I'm racist for picking Shiver on a Splatfest instead of Frye, whom I adore greatly.

I can't even bother looking for a Salmon Run farming gang, which has been my goal for months, because most of the people who play the mode are busy blaming others for their failure, including the Salmon Run influencers that made the guides and helpful content for free out of their love for the game, or just not as committed.

Long story short, can't talk about anything without people making it about a ship, can't talk about DLC lore without people making it about Pearlina, can't find myself a party that's willing to grind for hours on Salmon Run cause I'm prone to running into people complaining for a couple wave losses, I can't say I like A without being accused of hating B, when I never said that. Headcanons are also good, but god forbid if you ask people here to respect yours or don't overstep.

I'm tired. And I'll still get Deep Cut plushies one day, cause I love them. And Acht merch, if possible.

#splatoon #long rant #If you survived this long post #Uuuuhhh #Idk go play Age of Calamity #Or F-Zero

[elendsessor]

i love flipping through monhun concept art since it shows a lot of what could’ve been and concepts that would eventually find life in the future through other mons. there’s plenty of cool shit in illustrations 1 in particular since there was a lot of untapped concepts (mostly because it covered 1 through freedom unite so the early days) and ones that likely would’ve never come to be fully realized if mh never found success.

while not entirely unused, for awhile, baby mons existed in concept art alone… except for these baby raths since the designs were inevitably used in rathian’s ecology vid. (tadpole tetsu has yet to escape the world of concept art.)

these are more monster ideas that wouldn’t show up until way later. the spider mon actually resembles shrouded nerscylla the most, the viperfish/deep sea creature looking thing + the orca seem to be early leviathans, and there’s some early snake wyverns.

the spider might not have been what completely inspired shrouded nerscylla and rather the temnocrean class, but it’s also most likely an early idea for kusubami/akura vashimu.

the top right image is an early chameleos idea, what with the fog and all, but the design and use of fog/vapor might’ve influenced vaal hazak at least in appearance. (i mean. there’s no way it didn’t. but in case it’s a weird coincidence the key word’s gonna be might’ve.)

these two are a bit weirder.

one is an early brute wyvern but might’ve also influenced tigrex due to the patterns and more t-rex inspired design. also kinda looks like a cubone but more terrifying.

then there’s the desert goblin. the idea of a fortress-like elder dragon has been thrown around in other concept art down the line (namely illustrations 3) but have technically never happened. the desert goblin seems to be heavily inspired by tortoises and the idea of a world turtle that exists in various mythologies. there kinda exists a bit of what could’ve turned into shen gaoren, but it also most likely became odibatorasu (if it was cool).

HOWEVER, the name “earth dragon” shown has appeared before.

the gaia dragon is cool ok. it’s appearance likely changes based on the environment or it could just change itself periodically throughout the fight. idk but i’m gonna be upfront and say of all the monsters that never happened this is the one i want to be real with like. no changes to design whatsoever.

here’s just a couple weird alternatives. left one is most likely an early tigrex but a lot less goofy and more sinister. then we have nightmare yama tsukami. one other early yama tsukami design shows it with a volcano on its back so it might’ve originally been a lot more like a weird hot air balloon. and last but not least, the design that inspired this post.

velocidrome but flying wyvern.

#shantien rambles #monster hunter