Month: April 2021

In addition to standard hunting and capture quests, Monster Hunter Rise introduces a new type of mission called Rampages. These quests crop up periodically and blend horde and tower defense elements, tasking you with defending your fort against several waves of rampaging monsters. They can also be among the game’s most frustrating objectives, and while you can generally avoid most of them, you’ll occasionally need to complete a Rampage to jump up to the next Hunter Rank. If you’re having trouble, here’s an overview of Rampage quests and some tips to help you clear them.

Rampage Quest Overview

Unlike standard quests, which send you off to different locales, Rampages all occur within Kamura Village’s stronghold. The overarching goal of these quests is to defend the fort’s final gate by driving back the invading monsters.

To help you defend the gate, you can place various installations around the stronghold. These fall into one of several categories. There are mountable installations such as ballistas and cannons; these can be manned by players and can fire different types of projectiles to repel monsters. There are also some “automatic” installations such as bamboo bombs; place these on the ground, and they’ll detonate when a monster comes in contact with them, dealing severe damage.

There are also a couple of special “limited” installations. These typically take the form of characters from Kamura Village, such as Fugen the Elder, and they can only be activated once, so you’ll need to deploy them strategically during the mission.

At the beginning of a Rampage, you’ll only have a handful of installations at your disposal. As you repel monsters, however, you’ll gradually level up your fort, which in turn will unlock additional installations that you can place around the stronghold. The game will also present a list of sub-assignments to complete during the Rampage. Work on clearing these and you’ll level up your fort more quickly, as well as earn some extra rewards once the mission is completed.

Rampage Quest Tips

Squad Up With Friends

If possible, tackle the Rampage with other players. While these quests can be completed solo, you’ll have a much better chance of succeeding if you team up with two or three other hunters. Since you’ll frequently need to move between installations as monsters start flooding the stronghold, having a few extra sets of hands to assist you will make controlling the hordes much more manageable.

Keep An Eye On Monsters’ Icons

Each monster that invades the stronghold will have an icon above its head denoting its attack pattern, so it’s important to keep an eye on these icons and target the monsters accordingly. Monsters with a blue icon are known as gate crashers, and they’re among the biggest threats you’ll face. These monsters will focus strictly on trying to destroy the stronghold’s gate, so it’s imperative to drive them off before they can inflict too much damage.

On the other hand, monsters with red icons are called stalkers; these foes will focus on attacking players. While you won’t need to worry about stalkers damaging the gate, they’ll prove to be a nuisance, especially if you are playing the Rampage solo. Targeters–monsters with a green icon above their heads–are similarly troublesome. These monsters typically fly and fire projectile attacks at players operating installations, so try to knock them out of the air with a headshot as soon as they appear.

Finally, there are Apex monsters. These foes are the “boss” of the Rampage and will be more powerful than the other monsters you face, so you’ll need to deal with them as quickly as you can.

Save Your Limited Installations

As previously mentioned, you’ll unlock a handful of “limited” installations during the course of the Rampage, and these can only be deployed once, so you’ll need to think carefully before setting them up. For the warriors of Kamura, such as Fugen the Elder, your best bet is to wait until things get dicey before deploying them. These characters typically attack monsters on sight, so it’s better to hold off installing them until the stronghold is already overrun, rather than placing them between Rampage waves.

Another helpful limited installation is the Dragonbait. This decoy will lure monsters toward it, so it’s a good idea to install it near the stronghold’s Dragonator during the final wave and unleash that powerful weapon when monsters have swarmed the Dragonbait.

Complete The Sub-Assignments

On top of your overarching goal of defending the stronghold’s gate, each Rampage presents a checklist of optional sub-assignments to complete. You don’t need to clear any of these sub-assignments to finish the Rampage, but it’s a good idea to try to. Not only will completing sub-assignments help level up your stronghold, giving you access to a wider array of installations to deploy, but it will also improve your Rampage grade, which in turn will net you more rewards at the end of the mission.

The Counter Signal

One of the most important installations around the stronghold is the Counter Gong. Hitting this during the Rampage will activate the Counter Signal, which will temporarily boost your attack power. However, this boost only affects your weapons; installations like the ballista and cannon won’t receive the buff, so when you activate the Counter Signal, you’ll need to head down onto the ground and engage monsters face-to-face. As such, it’s a good idea to save the Counter Signal until late in the Rampage, such as when the Apex monster appears, and use its strength boost to deal some serious damage.

We’ve got several other guides to help you become a better Monster Hunter, including tips on how to kill every monster in the game and a weapon explainer. You can find more of our Monster Hunter Rise guides below.

With the official confirmation from The ESA that E3 2021 will be a free online digital event, Lucy, Tamoor, and Jordan discuss the future of the gaming show and what to expect this summer.

By Tamoor Hussain , Lucy James , Jordan Ramée , and Evan Langer on April 6, 2021 at 7:21PM PDT

It’s official: E3 2021 is happening and it’s going to be a free online event for everyone to enjoy. The ESA has released a list of the publishers that will be taking part, and it makes for an interesting read.

With so many publishers having their own digital events and showcases, do publishers even need E3? This sounds like a question for the Console Crew! Tamoor, Jordan, and Lucy got together to discuss the news in this week’s episode. In particular, they talk about Sony’s absence and Xbox’s inclusion in the huge summer event. They also discuss the future of E3 and the show’s hopes of being an in-person event in 2022.

For all the latest gaming news, make sure to keep an eye on GameSpot, or consider subscribing to our channel, youtube.com/GameSpot, for all the latest from the world of video games.

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If you’re starting Monster Hunter Rise, you might be wondering what the best weapon is and which one you should use. Fortunately, we have a weapons guide breaking down all 14 weapons types. But if you’re a newcomer, we understand that you may be looking for a weapon that’s also easy to use, even if it’s not the most ideal choice in the game overall. Don’t worry; we have insight into the best weapons for starting players, which we detail below.

There’s No Such Thing As A “Best Weapon”

First, it’s important to stress that there is no such thing as a singular best weapon in Monster Hunter Rise, at least not in a general sense. Each is rich in nuance and depth, making them all completely viable to use, should you have the patience and skill to learn how to use them properly. Try not to think about Monster Hunter’s weapons falling into categories of what to use and not use. Rather, understand that the arsenal available to you can be leveraged to your benefit if you’re willing to give them each a fair chance.

What Should You Use If You’re A Newcomer?

That said, when it comes to weapons that new players should use to properly ween themselves on the intricacies of Monster Hunter, the best ones are those that have easy-to-memorize combos and offer high damage output with relatively little necessary commitment for performing their individual attacks while allowing for fast evades mid-combo.

Heavy weaponry like the Great Sword, Hammer, and the various Lances are slow on the windup, so you’ll want to avoid those if you’re still trying to get your bearings. You can make an impact with these weapons as they offer high damage with combos that are none too complex to memorize at the outset, but they take time and patience to master–not to mention the high risks involved if you can’t manage through how they severely impact your mobility.

Other weapons like the Switch Axe, Charge Blade, Insect Glaive, and Hunting Horn are highly technical and mechanics-rich, meaning they have many complex systems to grasp to get the most out of them. And with ranged weapons, you’ll generally want to avoid the Bow and Heavy Bowgun, as they require just as much skill as the most difficult to use melee weapons.

That leaves us with the following weapons: Sword & Shield, Long Sword, Dual Blades, and Light Bowgun. These provide the most pleasant experience for new players, so they come highly recommended. Weapons like the Sword & Shield, Long Sword, and Dual Blades are super quick to attack with, and allow you to maintain high mobility when brandished so that you can easily get in to strike a foe and get out of the way rather speedily.

Sword & Shield is historically what Capcom recommends to new players, as you can’t go wrong with its ease of use and overall functionality. The shield as a side-arm is also a nice benefit, making it easy to bash enemies or pop into a defensive posture to mitigate damage.

The Long Sword is actually the weapon your character starts with, which suits the game’s Japanese-inspired setting. However, it’s also a solid starting weapon, mostly because of its diverse array of attacks, including swift piercing thrusts and wide sweeps. But as a highly technical weapon with a heavy DPS (damage per second) focus, it inevitably becomes harder to master the longer you stick with it. We only include it here since it’s not as confusing to use at first as the other technical weapons mentioned above.

Dual Blades, on the other hand, are perfect for people who want to use the quickest weapon Monster Hunter has to offer. While the compromise is a lower overall attack strength, the amount you’ll be striking a monster mostly balances that out. There’s also the special demon mode to consider, which temporarily increases your power, allowing you to pile on the pressure continually. Like the Long Sword, some intentionality and strategy is demanded to really get the most out of the Dual Blades. However, it’s still a great, versatile weapon, even if you don’t necessarily know what you’re doing from moment to moment. It also helps that you can quickly dodge out of its many attacks mid-combo, so you always have an opportunity to get out of harm’s way.

Finally, there’s the Light Bowgun, which is great for new players who are intimidated at the concept of getting too up close and personal with their prey. The biggest challenge with this weapon comes from making sure you’re well-stocked with special ammo, which shouldn’t be too tough to maintain, so long as you make sure to have sufficient funds to spare in order to buy what you need outright. But don’t worry, you always come with an unlimited supply of base ammo, so you’ll always have something to shoot, and you can always pause mid-hunt and go back to camp to craft more ammo types with the resources you gather on the field.

To counter the drawback of needing to keep an eye on your ammunition, the Light Bowgun has a supporting weapon called the Wyvernblast, bombs you can plant on the ground that detonate when attacked, whether by you or the monster you’re hunting. Use these in conjunction with the various ammo types you can fire with the Light Bowgun, and you should have a relatively easy time of things. Just be sure to keep your distance!

And that’s about all you need to know about the best weapons for newcomers in Monster Hunter Rise. For more in-depth guides, be sure to check out the ones in the list below.

Call of Duty: Warzone still has a zombies problem, and it’s getting worse. Activision continues to tease some kind of zombies event for the battle royale game, again through swag that it’s sending to media and influencers.

CharlieIntel has received a care package that seems to suggest that zombies are now taking over the Superstore location on the Verdansk map. “Clean up on aisle four. Bring more than a mop,” reads a line from the teaser. “The place for killer deals. Their latest customers shop long after they drop.”

Activision has been teasing the zombies event for Warzone through swag. Before this, the publisher sent hospital scrubs to reference how the undead were taking over the hospital in Verdansk. Before that, the publisher sent jumpsuits to signal zombie infection spreading to the prison on the map.

The prevailing belief here is that this is an extended tease for a nuke event. Many believe the zombie infestation will get so bad that a nuke will be set off to rid the game of the problem. In doing so, Activision will re-launch Warzone with a new, ’80s-themed map based on Black Ops Cold War, according to rumors and reports.

This is all supposed to happen at the end of Season 2, which is sometime in April.

In other news, Sledgehammer Games is reportedly getting ready to officially reveal Call of Duty: Vanguard as the new Call of Duty game coming this year. It’s said to be set in World War II, just like Sledgehammer’s 2017 game, Call of Duty: WWII.