Learn How To Triple Your Reading Rate And Become A ‘Super Learner’ With This Top-Rated Training

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Speed reading is basically the closest thing to having a real-life superpower. It allows you to learn new skills, take in reams of important information and boost your brain in a fraction of the time – and you can learn how to do it yourself with The Become a Super-Learner & Speed Reading Bundle, on sale right now for just $29.99 – that’s a massive 97% discount off the regular price of $1400. 

This amazing value elearning bundle includes seven different courses and more than 15 hours of content on speed reading, memory training, brain fitness, and more. 

Whether you’re studying for an important qualification, or simply want to elevate your mental abilities in everyday life, the skills you’ll learn in this bundle can be applied to anything – making it a real game-changer for your productivity, career, and personal development. 

‘So, what is speed reading?’ you may be wondering. The 4.5/5 star rated course Become a SuperLearner 2: Learn Speed Reading & Boost Memory will teach you just that and more, walking you through hacks and techniques that will get you learning new skills faster and more efficiently than ever before. Then, it will take you beyond speed reading, teaching you advanced memory techniques which you can use to memorize details better, learn new skills, and even quickly learn to speak other languages.

These courses are taught by industry leaders like memory expert Jonathan Levi, an author, keynote speaker, and podcaster with an impressive 4.5/5 instructor rating from his previous students, renowned for his popular Become a SuperLearner™course and top-rated Becoming SuperHuman podcast, and the 4.4/5 rated Eralp Sendan, a memory coach who specializes in continuous improvement and managing a complex project – something you too will be able to boast after his lessons. 

Learn the secrets to speed reading today with The Become a Super-Learner & Speed Reading Bundle, on sale with a huge 97% discount today, for just $29.99 (regular price $1400). 
 


 

The Become a Super-Learner & Speed Reading Bundle – $29.99

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Learn How To Make Your Own Action Shooter Game With This Step-By-Step Course

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Did you know that you can learn to build an awesome game in your own time, from home, with no expensive game design degree – and all for less than $25? The Make a Mega Dude Action Shooter Game in Unity® with Pixel Art eLearning course will do just that – and right now, it’s on sale for just $24.99.

Consider this your step-by-step guide to making the action game you’ve always wanted to. Designed with beginners in mind, this course includes 19 hours of practical content to help you make your game totally from scratch, by using Unity, MagicaVoxel, and Photoshop. 

Walking you through exactly how to create the code and art for your game, as you move through the course, you’ll learn how to build a platform shooter game in Unity, the fundamentals of game design, and how to create artwork in MagicaVoxel and Photoshop, as well as how to code in C#. 

This is all done through practical, fun projects across 19 hours of valuable tutoring – so there are no useless coding exercises here. And studies show that practical or “active learning” is way more stimulating and effective than boring lectures. This means that with this course, not only will you build your own awesome game – but you’ll also learn real-world, employable game design skills while doing it.

This course comes with a great industry reputation, too: it’s taught by the experts at Mammoth Interactive, which has a high 4.2/5 instructor rating from previous students and is highly experienced in producing Xbox, iPhone, iPad, Android, HTML 5, ad-games, and more. 

Start making your own game today with Make a Mega Dude Action Shooter Game in Unity® with Pixel Art, on sale with 87% off right now for just $24.99 (regular price $200). 
 


 

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Make Your Own Video Games With Zero Coding Skills

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Would you love to build your own video game but have always been held back by not having the coding skills? Now, you can finally create the game you’ve always wanted to, even without knowing any coding – and this course will show you how. Even better, right now the course Make Games Without Coding in Construct 3 for Beginners is on sale for just $24.99 – that’s an incredible 87% discount off the regular price of $200.

The secret to creating a game without coding? Construct 3, a revolutionary game engine that allows you to easily build puzzles, platformers, RPGs, shooters, racing games, and more. This complete six-level course will teach you everything you need to know to build games with it, even as a total newbie, through 136 lectures and a whopping 17 hours of content which you can access in your own time, 24/7. 

As you move through the levels in this course, you’ll learn about designing game features, pixel art, gamepad mechanics, creating characters, and more to turn you into a fully-fledged game designer. 

In Level 2: Make a Game Work with Cool Features, for example, you’ll learn to do just that, by adding touch controls, loops and using geolocation to make awesome games, while later, in Level 5: Make More Challenging Game Types, you’ll even build your own procedural shooter, roguelike game and become familiar with making many more genres of games, too. So, whatever type of game you’ve always wanted to build – you can bet that this great course will have you covered.

This course is taught by the leading game developers and tutors at Mammoth Interactive, which has an impressive 4.2/5 instructor rating from previous students. Mammoth Interactive produces Xbox, iPhone, iPad, Android, HTML 5, ad-games, and more, while its owner, top-rated instructor John Bura, has worked on 40 commercial games, including those that have charted at number 1 in the Apple App Store. 

Start creating your game today with Make Games Without Coding in Construct 3 for Beginners, on sale with 87% off right now for just $24.99 (regular price $200).
 


 

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Outriders Will Permanently Brand Cheaters

During the Outriders demo period, developer People Can Fly has so far identified 200 cheaters out of around 2 million total participants. While the number is relatively small, the devs don’t plan to go easy on them, or any future players who think they can get around the game’s anti-cheat system. As reported by PC Gamer, the studio has announced that cheaters will receive a permanent on-screen “brand” for even one infringement.

The prospective punishment is described as a “discreet but visible” watermark that will be overlayed on cheater’s screens, permanently marking them as untrustworthy. The watermark idea is likely aimed at YouTubers and streamers who might be tempted to use hacks to accumulate click-worthy amounts of high-level loot, like one demo player who was called out by the team after they “gave themself 600 Legendary Weapons.”

As well as being branded, cheaters won’t be able to matchmake with law-abiding players, similar to Fall Guys’ approach of letting cheaters play together on their own “Cheater Island.” For those who are worried about accidentally being branded a cheater, these rules only apply to those actively trying to get around Outriders’ anti-cheat software or using third-party tools to tamper with the game. Specifically, cheating in Outriders is defined as:

  • Intentionally running the game on PC without Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC)
  • Modifying game files to enhance a character: levels, skills, inventory, etc.
  • Externally modifying game time to reduce time-dependent features such as vendors and challenges
  • Using a trainer program or similar to gain advantages within the game
  • Using gameplay altering programs such as aimbots or wallhacks

Those who already cheated in the demo version will automatically receive the cheater brand going into the game, though People Can Fly is offering a short amnesty to players who regret this choice. “If you cheated during the demo ‘just to try it out’ but wish to go into the main game unbranded, you must DELETE ALL CHARACTERS AND ITEMS ON YOUR ENTIRE ACCOUNT in order to wipe the slate clean,” the developer stated.

Outriders is launching on April 1 on PC, PlayStation consoles, and Xbox Consoles, with pre-load available on all platforms.

Now Playing: Outriders – Official “This is Outriders” Overview Trailer | Square Enix Presents

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Bad Trip Review

On its surface, Bad Trip is a wacky buddy-comedy with a road trip gimmick pretty similar to the Farrelly Brothers’ hit Dumb and Dumber, in which two doofuses trek across America on a dim-witted quest for love. However, with a slew of pranks that range from silly to surreal, comedian Eric André and company create a spoof that’s slyly sophisticated.

Eric André and Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) star as ride-or-die besties, Chris and Bud. Scraping by in West Grove, Florida, both work jobs that offer more embarrassment than satisfaction, resulting in wild pranks involving nudity, robbery, and sprays of fake blood. Chris fears his life is going nowhere, while Bud is bullied by his pugnacious sister Trina (Tiffany Haddish with a mischievous snarl). But could fate have other plans for them? Like the hero of a romantic-comedy, Chris believes so. Clearly, crossing paths with his high school crush Maria Li (Michaela Conlin) is a sign. Forget that their “meet-cute” is more catastrophic than charismatic. Forget that she seems more polite than interested. Forget the eye rolls of bystanders who can’t deal with Chris’s cringe-worthy pick-up lines. Maria walked into that shop in slow-motion as dreamy music played! Romance must happen! That’s just the law of movies.

So, when Maria says she’s headed back to Manhattan to prepare for her art gallery’s next major event, Chris begs Bud to drive with him to the Big Apple on a quest for love. (Very Harry and Lloyd chasing the Mary who got away to Aspen.) Initially reluctant, Bud not only gives in but also agrees to borrow Trina’s beloved car, a hot pink showstopper with “Bad Bitch” painted across its back windshield. Because she’s behind bars, it seemed a safe plan. Naturally, Trina busts out of jail just after they run off with her ride. So, following the Dumb & Dumber model, she becomes the hardened criminal chasing down two dummies as they drive to a dream scenario.

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Along the way, André, Howery, and Haddish pull pranks in character on an array of unsuspecting people in gas stations, smoothie shops, bars, and business meetings. Notably, these aren’t the kind of cruel pranks where a mark is damaged or embarrassed; the chaos here lands squarely on the consenting comedians. Some of these stunts might be familiar to fans of The Eric André Show, which Bad Trip’s helmer Kitao Sakurai frequently directed. Still, the pranks are surprising, strange, and childishly exhilarating. Some play on pure shock value, relishing in the stunned faces of those who think they’ve just witnessed a freak accident or a major crime.

A supreme improviser, Haddish switches from aggressive to cuddly depending on the mark, winning some of the movie’s most passionate — and hilarious — reactions. Howrey plays the straight man as André throws himself full-bodied into stunts that leave him a bare-assed buffoon before an unaware audience, who reacts with shock, horror, and — often — compassion. His commitment sells the bonkers bits to these real people, even when the seams of a stunt — or a gorilla costume — might show. Throughout, Good Samaritans step up with advice, aid, and some scorching real talk.

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Amid all the mayhem and bewildered reactions, such witnesses bring a touching tenderness and exciting authenticity to Bad Trip. Some even become crucial characters in the plot. A kindly old man, a vaping Army recruiter, and a nosy restaurant patron step out of the background to create plot points, encouraging dream-chasing, reconciliation, and even revenge! The plot points themselves are cliches. However, Bad Trip has subversive fun by exposing how easily real people fall into these expectations, and how they react when a cinematic flourish follows.

For instance, when Chris is encouraged to pursue Maria, he doesn’t just thank the old man on the bench and walks away. He bursts into song and dance like he’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500) Days of Summer with a concussion. The outrageousness is exposed through the reactions of a mall full of people whose day just went from ordinary to absolutely confounding. Through this, Sakurai introduces a sly commentary of romantic comedies that pays off in a climax that is funny, smart, and gleefully rebellious.

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The Suicide Squad Gets A Red Band Trailer Tomorrow, James Gunn Says

James Gunn making a Suicide Squad movie has felt right since the beginning thanks to his stellar take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve seen set photos and had tons of casting news, but we’ll finally have our first trailer tomorrow.

The director took to Twitter with a simple message: “Tomorrow. Trailer. See you there. #TheSuicideSquad” with a picture of a “red band” trailer card.

Gunn wrote and directed The Suicide Squad. Margot Robbie will reprise her role as Harley Quinn, and a few other actors will return as well. Jai Courtney will once again appear as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The film also features Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, and James Gunn stalwarts Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn.

Shortly after the Red Band tweet, Gunn dropped a second image of a ’70s war movie-inspired poster for the film.

The film is in a weird space somewhere between a sequel and a reboot. With some of the first film’s biggest stars returning, it certainly has connections to the profitable-but-poorly-received original, but Gunn and Warner Bros. have continually downplayed connections between the two.

Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

“Welcome to hell–a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.”

The Suicide Squad is scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max on August 6, 2021. Ahead of that, you can find out why none of your favorite characters are safe, get caught up on John Cena’s already-filming HBO Max spin-off show, Peacemaker, and find out everything we know about The Suicide Squad.

Halo Infinite News: Skewer Weapon Revealed Alongside Lots More Details On The Game’s Audio

The latest Inside Infinite blog post for Halo Infinite is out now, and it contains a wealth of information and insight about the next-gen Halo game. This latest installment is focused on the game’s audio, but it also served as the reveal of the game’s newest weapon, the Skewer.

A Banished power weapon, the Skewer looks like something out of Gears of War. 343 says this weapon is “savage and violent,” and its audio design matches that. You can hear some audio clips of the newly revealed weapon in the blog post.

“For Banished weapons, we established some core principles to how they should sound. When thinking of Banished the first thing that comes to mind is Brute, the word ‘brute’ is savage and violent, so it only makes sense that is conveyed in the audio with making it sound powerful, animalistic and visceral,” 343 said. “The Banished weaponry has a more primitive feel than some of the other factions so this calls for having a strong sense of organic matter in the content, this helps give a strong grounding and sell the mechanical nature of them.”

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The rest of the blog post is a delight, touching on numerous aspects of Halo Infinite’s audio and sound design, while 343 also released some new assets like the video below in which the team uses a piano in … unique ways to capture sounds for Halo Infinite.

Another video–Sounds of Zeta Halo – Forerunner Interior–showcases the moody music from a Forerunner installation. You can listen to this brand-new audio clip below.

Halo fans who want a deep-dive on Halo Infinite’s audio are in for a treat with this blog post, as it goes very deep on the ins and outs of how 343 went about designing the audio and music. The studio pored over feedback from Halo 5 to come up with some tenets for how Halo Infinite should sound.

“We received a variety of great feedback and suggestions, but the highest-level takeaways for us, and our key goals for Halo Infinite, are ‘re-capturing the legacy essence of Halo’ and ‘strengthening the excitement and impact of Halo’s combat.’ With those primary goals established, our team has been passionately working to deliver on our vision as our partner teams around the studio have been bringing Halo Infinite to life,” 343 said.

343 made a big change to the sound effects direction for Halo Infinite to focus on the smaller details such that the game would key in on specific combat sounds “in a clear and impactful way.”

“There are many gun sounds in our game–multiple enemies, teammates, and players are constantly firing weapons. In our past Halo titles, we handled each gun-fire’s listening-volume purely by distance,” 343 said. “So, all gun sound volumes were exactly the same if they’re originating from the same distance. As a result, we had too many loud gun sounds constantly overwhelming a player which made it very difficult to detect true threat position.”

“The new Halo Infinite audio system detects all gun sounds frame by frame, and prioritizes them in a threat order to decide output sound volume for each gun. With this mechanic, if a gunshot is aimed at player, the sound will be louder and if it’s not aimed at player or if it’s a teammate’s gunfire, the sound is still audible but quieter. then you could hear only threat sounds clear. With the cleaner audio feedback, player can ascertain the appropriate threat to make the right action quicker and more accurately, which results in a more immersive and exciting combat experience in Halo Infinite.”

This is just a small taste of what the full blog post delivers in terms of context and insight on Halo Infinite’s music and sound design. Check out the full post here to learn lots more.

After a delay, Halo Infinite releases in Fall 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It will be included on Xbox Game Pass for no extra charge to subscribers. Additionally, the multiplayer element is free-to-play (supported by microtransactions).

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Don’t Forget Me, A Mystery-Driven Game Like Her Story, Is Coming To PC On April 20

Developer The Moon Pirates has announced its debut game: Don’t Forget Me. Inspired by games like Her Story and The Red Strings Club, Don’t Forget Me is a mixture of puzzle game and old-school adventure game that tests your observation and deductive reasoning. It’s scheduled to launch for PC and Mac on April 20.

In Don’t Forget Me, you play as Fran, who’s lost her memories. Taken in by Bernard, a world-renowned memory manipulation expert, Fran is tasked with helping him with his business of diving into the minds of those with memories to unearth and secrets to discover.

In the same way you solve the mystery of Her Story by scanning through a series of video clips to search for certain key phrases, Don’t Forget Me has you explore the minds of people by typing in words or phrases and piecing together who these people are. Sometimes you’ll need to solely rely on facts you’ve learned, piecing together important clues to discover the truth. Other times, you’ll need to deduce implications based on your real-world experience and observe the emotional connotation of what you see or hear.

As you learn who someone is, you’ll be better able to get at the information you’re after. This ties into Don’t Forget Me’s central story: uncovering secrets that may lead to who you are and why you no longer have a memory to be explored.

Don’t Forget Me is available to be added to your wishlist on Steam.

Monster Hunter Rise Multiplayer Guide – How To Play With Your Friends

Much of the fun in Monster Hunter comes from taking on quests and slaying monsters together with a group of friends, and that holds true for Monster Hunter Rise. Fortunately, the game streamlines the multiplayer interface, making it easier than ever to join up with other players or host your own session. However, if you still need some help connecting with other hunters, here’s a rundown of how to set up a multiplayer session in Monster Hunter Rise.

Online Multiplayer

Before you can play Monster Hunter Rise online with other players, you’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Individual memberships cost $4 for one month, $8 for three months, and $20 for one year, while an annual family plan runs for $35 and covers up to eight Nintendo Account holders, even across multiple systems.

With that out of the way, the first step to setting up a multiplayer session is speaking to Senri, the Felyne courier who’s stationed near the center of Kamura Village. Senri is responsible for connecting you with other players, so you’ll need to talk to the mailcat each time you want to begin or leave a multiplayer session. (You’ll also need to speak to Senri to claim any DLC, such as the bonus item bundle that you’ll receive if you’ve played the Monster Hunter Rise demo.)

Speaking to Senri
Speaking to Senri

To play with other players over the internet, select Play Online. After that, you’ll be presented with several different options, each of which is fairly self-explanatory. Find A Lobby lets you search through all the multiplayer lobbies that are currently open. If you’re looking for a specific lobby, you can select Search By Lobby ID; this allows you to directly join a particular session by inputting its lobby ID number. You can also select Friend List from Senri’s list of options to quickly find and join one of your Switch friends.

If you’d prefer to host the session, you’ll need to select Create a Lobby. From there, you can adjust the lobby’s settings and set up a passcode if you want it to keep the session private. Once that’s done, you’ll be online and ready to take on multiplayer hunts.

Local Multiplayer

If you have a group of friends gathered together in-person, you can begin a local multiplayer session by selecting Play Locally from Senri’s list of options. Select Find a Lobby to join another player’s game, or Create a Lobby to host your own. There is also a separate option to create a lobby that requires a passcode if you want to keep the session private.

Taking On Quests Together

Once you’re connected with other players, you can embark on some quests together. The missions in Monster Hunter Rise are all categorized either as Village Quests or Hub Quests. The former are only available for solo players, so you’ll need to select from the latter when you want to embark on multiplayer hunts.

To begin a Hub Quest, one player must first accept a quest from Minoto in the Gathering Hub. After that, the other players in the lobby can join the mission by selecting it from the quest board next to Minoto’s reception desk.

Hub Quests support up to four players total, but you don’t need to have that many to embark on one; the quest’s difficulty will scale depending on how many players are in your party. Hub Quests can also be played solo if you prefer, but they will be more challenging than regular Village Quests if you attempt them alone.

There are also no restrictions to the quests you can accept. If another player chooses a quest that you haven’t unlocked in your own game yet, you will still be able to join them. However, these quests won’t be marked as complete for you (although you’ll keep any rewards and materials you’ve earned from them), so you’ll need to complete them again once you’ve unlocked them in your game.

After everyone has accepted the quest and finished any last-minute preparations like grabbing a meal from the canteen, every player will need to press the ZR button to ready up. Once the whole group is ready, the host player can begin the quest. If your squad is able to successfully complete the objective within the time limit (and without fainting three times), everyone will earn the quest’s rewards and be automatically transported back to the Gathering Hub afterward. If you’re ready to end a multiplayer session, simply speak to Senri again to leave the lobby.

Join Requests

If you’ve set off on an online quest with fewer than four people in your group and need a bit of assistance, the host player send a Join Request. This option is found under the Quests tab in the menu, and much like the flares in Monster Hunter World, it sends a signal that will allow other players to join your hunt mid-progress.

Monster Hunter Rise is out now on Nintendo Switch, with a PC version coming in 2022. We have a variety of other guides to help you become a better hunter, including beginner tips, a buddy explainer, and how to kill every monster.

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Monster Hunter Rise Guide: Essential Beginner And Advanced Tips

Thanks to its complex systems and traditionally convoluted interface, the Monster Hunter series has a reputation for being dense and uninviting. Although Monster Hunter Rise streamlines many elements of the series to make it more welcoming than previous installments, it can still be a bit overwhelming, particularly for greenhorn hunters who are just jumping in for the first time. If you’re new to Monster Hunter, we’ve rounded up some beginner tips to help you out in Monster Hunter Rise, as well as a few advanced tips to keep in mind once you’ve gotten the hang of the basics.

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Beginner Tips

Village Quests Vs. Hub Quests

As in previous Monster Hunter games, there are two paths of progression in Monster Hunter Rise: Village Quests and Hub Quests. If you’re new to the series, it’s important to know the difference between these before you begin your adventure.

Village Quests are Monster Hunter Rise’s “story” missions. You accept these from Hinoa in central Kamura Village and complete them to advance through the narrative. These missions can only be played solo and are designed to acclimate you to the game, so you can think of Village Quests as Monster Hunter Rise’s single-player mode.

Hub Quests, on the other hand, are Monster Hunter Rise’s multiplayer missions. These are assigned by Minoto, who is stationed in the Gathering Hub in the western part of Kamura Village (just past Yomogi’s tea shop). You can also embark on Hub Quests alone if you prefer, but given that they’re intended for multiple players, they’ll be more challenging than regular Village Quests if you attempt them solo.

Once you’ve completed a sufficient number of Key Quests (important missions that are denoted in the quest list by an icon next to their name), an Urgent Quest will open up. Clearing the Urgent Quest will bump you up to the next Hunter Rank, which in turn will open up a new selection of quests to do and even more challenging monsters to hunt.

Bear in mind that your Village Rank is separate from your Hub Rank; your progress in one will not transfer over to the other, so you’ll need to increase each Hunter Rank separately. However, if you focus strictly on completing Village Quests, you’ll unlock a Special License Test once you’ve hit Hunter Rank 4. Completing this quest will automatically bump up your Hub Rank to the next level, even if you haven’t completed any Hub Quests yet. However, Special License Tests are only available if your Hub Rank is considerably lower than your Village Rank.

Always Grab A Meal Before A Quest

Before you depart on a quest, it’s important to stop at the canteen and grab a bite to eat, as a quick meal could make all the difference between success and failure. There are two tea shops in Monster Hunter Rise–one in the western part of Kamura Village, and one within the Gathering Hub–but they both serve the same dish: Bunny Dango. You can select three flavors of dango per skewer, and each has a chance of granting you a temporary buff for the quest you’re about to undertake, making it a good habit to order a plate before you embark on a hunt.

The canteen
The canteen

The buffs you get from eating Bunny Dango can range from extra stamina or health to an increased chance of earning more money or harvesting extra materials from the mission. The game will clearly display the percentage chance a certain buff has of activating after you eat a meal, so you’ll want to order a mix of different flavors and potentially reap multiple buffs. As you progress through the game, the canteen will begin stocking additional dango flavors with different attributes and buffs, so it’s a good idea to tailor your meal selections around what environment you’re visiting and monster you’re hunting.

Take Items From The Supply Box

Every locale you travel to for a quest features a base camp, where you’ll find a couple of helpful amenities like a tent and a supply box. The latter is especially important, as it contains various items to assist you on your mission, including first-aid meds (good for restoring health) and rations (good for temporarily increasing your stamina gauge). It’s always a good idea to consult the supply box and take some extra items before you begin your quest, as they’re completely free and are lost after the mission ends–just remember to share the supplies with any other hunters in your party.

Load Up On Subquests

In addition to standard quests, Hinoa and Minoto present a list of optional subquests for you to fulfill. These are additional objectives to work toward while you go about completing regular missions, ranging from harvesting a specific number of materials to slaying certain kinds of monsters, and they’re a great way to earn some extra resources as you play.

In the early going of the game, you can have up to five active subquests at a time. You’ll always want to have a full slate of them underway, as you’ll often complete their objectives just through the regular course of gameplay, and the rewards for these quests often include Kamura Points and Armor Spheres. The latter are especially valuable as they can be used to upgrade pieces of armor, so be sure to load up on subquests as often as you can.

Put Your Spare Buddies To Work

While only two buddies can accompany you on a quest at a time, you can recruit many more additional companions by speaking to Iori at the Buddy Plaza. Even if you don’t intend to bring them along with you on hunts, it’s a good idea to have a nice pool of reserve buddies, as you can send spare Palamutes and Palicoes off on their own gathering quests with the Meowcenaries and the Argosy.

Once the Meowcenaries are unlocked early on in the story, speak to Felyne Chief Kogarashi in the Buddy Plaza to make use of their services. For a small fee of Kamura Points, you can send a squad of four reserve buddies out on a quest. The Meowcenaries can be deployed along one of several gathering routes, each of which will yield different kinds of materials. After you’ve selected the route that appeals to you, the squad will depart, bringing items back after each quest you finish.

Speak to Kogarashi to send buddies on Meowcenary missions
Speak to Kogarashi to send buddies on Meowcenary missions

The Argosy works similarly. Once it’s unlocked, speak to Rondine in the Buddy Plaza and you can ship a buddy off to barter for specific types of items. Additional resources are always handy in Monster Hunter, so if you’ve got some spare companions just sitting around, be sure to put them to work.

That isn’t the only helpful service you’ll find at the Buddy Plaza. You can also easily level up any spare companions at the Buddy Dojo. Speak to Shirubei the Palico, and you’ll be able to leave up to six buddies at the dojo at a time for training. Each training session will last as long as one quest, and once the training is complete, the buddies will level up and potentially learn new skills, making this a quick way to raise any extra Palamutes and Palicoes you have in your reserve list.

Try Out Weapons At The Training Area

Monster Hunter Rise features 14 different weapon types, each of which has its own distinct feel and moveset. If you’re new to the series, it can be overwhelming figuring out which of these weapons is right for you, but the game makes it a bit easier to decide by letting you test them out in the new training area.

Battling the Toadversary in the training area

While Hinoa gifts you a long sword shortly after you begin the game, you’ll find one of each weapon type waiting for you in your item box right from the outset, giving you a chance to try them all out at the training area. You can access the area from the boat in the Buddy Plaza, and it features a mechanical training dummy called the Toadversary that you can spar against. The Toadversary’s settings and AI are adjustable, so you can tweak its attack pattern as needed, making this a great way to familiarize yourself with the game’s different weapons before you bring them on an actual hunt.

The training area is also a great place to practice using the Wirebug, Monster Hunter Rise’s signature innovation. Not only can you use the Wirebug to launch yourself toward a monster and pull off Silkbind attacks, but it’s also useful for reaching elevated areas around the game’s different locales. The training area is bordered by high cliffs, so take some time to scale them to really get a handle on the Wirebug.

Utilize Endemic Life

Each locale in Monster Hunter Rise is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, including what the game calls endemic life. These critters come in many varieties and confer some helpful benefits during your quest; pick up the clothfly, for instance, and you’ll gain a temporary defense boost, while the vigorwasp will restore some of your health.

A truckload, one of the endemic life you can find in Monster Hunter Rise

Some endemic life can even be used to gain the upper hand in battle. For example, the Tricktoad releases a scent that draws another monster’s attention to it, making it a great decoy to activate when a monster is bearing down on you. Be on the lookout for all the different kinds of endemic life as you explore each area in Monster Hunter Rise and utilize them to your benefit.

Advanced Tips

Mastering The Wirebug

As briefly touched on, the Wirebug is an important new element in Monster Hunter Rise, and you’ll come to rely on it frequently when playing. This versatile tool makes traversal feel much quicker and more freeing than previous Monster Hunter games. When your weapon is sheathed, you can use the Wirebug to launch yourself into the air at an angle (by pressing ZR and X) or straight ahead (by pressing ZR and A). You can also use the Wirebug to initiate wall-running. Launch yourself at a wall, and your character will automatically run across it when you hold the run button down. This depletes stamina very quickly, however, and your character will do a fancy leap off the wall once your stamina gauge runs out.

When your weapon is drawn, you can use the Wirebug to execute Silkbind attacks–flashy special moves that will deal some serious damage to monsters. Each of the game’s 14 different weapon types has its own distinct Silkbind attacks, and they’ll come in handy in the heat of battle. The Wirebug can also be used to break your fall; if you get knocked back by a monster’s attack, press ZR and B to quickly regain your footing. It’s a lot to remember, but with a little practice, it’ll soon become second nature.

Motley Mix It Up

In addition to Bunny Dango, the canteens in Kamura Village serve up another dish called a Motley Mix. Ordering this allows you to cook up spare materials like raw meat into consumables such as rations. Not only is this a good way to recycle extra items you may have, but Yomogi will also give you a bonus each time you order the Motley Mix: a Dango Ticket. You can redeem these for a free order of Bunny Dango, and you’ll have an increased chance that a buff will activate when you use a ticket–which will come especially in handy as you climb up the Hunter Ranks and take on fiercer monsters.

Switch Up Your Switch Skills

As you progress through Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll unlock Switch Skills. These are alternate attacks that you can swap in and out of your moveset, not unlike the Hunter Arts in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Each weapon has a different set of Switch Skills that you’ll unlock as you progress through the game, and they can vary pretty dramatically, so be sure to experiment with them often to find the one that best suits your playstyle.

The Great Wirebug

In addition to your two standard Wirebugs, Monster Hunter Rise features a larger variant called the Great Wirebug. You’ll periodically receive a handful of Great Wirebugs from Senior Hunter Hanenaga in Kamura Village, and they can be used to reach remote areas around the game’s different locales. Place a Great Wirebug in a spot where you see jewel lilies glowing and it will launch you much higher than a regular Wirebug could, often to an otherwise inaccessible part of the map. These out-of-reach areas often contain something of note, such as rare materials to harvest, so remember to make use of Great Wirebugs anytime you see the opportunity.

Wyvern Riding

One of Monster Hunter Rise’s key new features is Wyvern Riding, which gives you the ability to hop on top of a monster and temporarily control it. There are two primary ways to set a monster up for Wyvern Riding: You can connect with enough Silkbind attacks until it’s ensnared, or you can lure it into a fight with another monster.

Once a monster is weakened and glowing, press A when near it to initiate Wyvern Riding. This is an important tactic to keep in mind as you hunt monsters; not only can you launch the beast you’re riding into a wall, dealing a lot of damage to it, but you can also command it to attack another monster. This is a good way to soften up tougher foes, and monsters that you attack while Wyvern Riding will drop extra materials on the ground, which will come in handy when crafting equipment.

Monster Hunter Rise is out now on Nintendo Switch, with a PC version coming in 2022. We’ve got a number of other guides to help you out, including a buddy explainer and tips for fighting every monster in the game, so be sure to check those out before you set off on your adventure.

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