Uh oh, Monster Hunter Wilds isn't messing around anymore—its new high-rank monsters hit hard and often, hopefully putting the difficulty discourse to bed

Zoh Shia, a monster in Monster Hunter Wilds, rears onto its hind legs in a regal, threatening posture.

(Image credit: Capcom)

If you've been listening to the seasoned, grizzled veteran monster hunters gathered around the campfires of social media, they'll tell you that Monster Hunter Wilds is easy. Back in their day, they had to climb up a hill both ways just to have a shot at killing a monster—series newcomers like me have it easy, rabble rabble.

I'm not here to say they were wrong, mind. I didn't cart once during the game's low rank story until the final fight—and I haven't been having too hard of a time in high rank, either (except for Gore Magala, which can go screw itself).

This might just be because I'm god's gift to videogames and a certified souls freak (I had to knock over Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss before they nerfed it) but hearing the way my compatriots talk about it, it is very much an easier entry ramp.

Well, those hardcore gamers are in for a treat with the game's latest title update which, by all accounts, has added a duo of far meatier challenges for high hunter-rank (HR) players to sink their fangs into. Those being Mizutsune (HR 21+) and Zoh Shia (HR 50), with an Arch-tempered Rey Dau soon to follow in a coming patch.

I've tackled Zoh Shia's new and improved form, and while I only carted once (technically zero times, since my Palico's once-per-battle revive kicked in, but I'm not about to make excuses for myself) it was absolutely a step up. I was also spoiled on a unique mechanic to deal with its gnarly AoEs, so I went forearmed with knowledge.

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A battle with Zoh Shia in Monster Hunter Wilds, full of fire. — (Image credit: Capcom)

I absolutely had to treat Zoh Shia more like a FromSoftware boss than any other critter in the game—waiting for openings and reading telegraphed attacks. Even then, I still got wombo combo'd a couple of times. I was pleased to find out that my choice of dual blades is pretty dang good for this fight, too. By my own order, I will perfect dodge all of Zoh Shia's bullcrap. It took me about 21 minutes, even with a couple of stray hunters dropping into my game about halfway through the brawl.

Given this is Capcom's introduction to a new tier of difficulty, there's a ton of promise. I'm yet to try out Mitzutsune or its tempered version, because I have to write things today (like this article) but here's a clip of Reddit user T_Sheckler and their entire crew getting absolutely bodied.

Tempered Mizutsune doesn’t play around from r/MonsterHunter

I'm also not the only one feeling the heat with Zoh Shia. "For real, it was the hardest fight in the game for me so far," one besieged hunter replies in a thread. "I was expecting a steamroll like in low rank," adds another, "But I got my first quest fail from this asshole and his turbo fireballs."

It's worth remembering that this is all just a taste. Arch-tempered Rey Dau isn't even in the game yet. Capcom wasn't lying: The hardest battles are yet to come.

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Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.