Monster Hunter Wilds has just received its final major update for the base game titled Ver.1.041.00.00, and it's celebrating the game's 1st anniversary with a bang.
This update has brought more performance enhancements for both consoles and PC, an Arch-Tempered version of Arkveld to battle, new Event Quests to indulge in, and various other bug fixes for all platforms.
Here are some of the biggest highlights of this update, according to Monster Hunter Wilds' patch notes.
First off and most importantly, this patch will be bringing several more performance enhancements for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 versions, which include:
- Reduced CPU/GPU processing and made adjustments to lower the load on the game.
- Added internal Levels of Detail (LOD) for 3D models, adjusting them to display optimal quality based on the situation to reduce GPU load.
- Optimized monster and endemic life spawn-time processing to reduce CPU load.
- Added effect caching to decrease CPU load when generating duplicate effects.
- Optimized rendering processes to reduce CPU/GPU load.
- Performed other minor adjustments to lower the overall load.
While these performance boosts aren't as extensive as the last PC performance, these changes are receiving a very positive reception based on early impressions.
Recent Steam reviews have been 70% overwhelmingly positive in the past few hours, with many people claiming that the game is in a perfectly functional state.
MHWilds (TU5) - Patch 1.041 VS Patch 1.040 - 1.010 – Performance/Benchmark Test from r/MonsterHunter
However, Reddit user nreal_NeoX points out that the game still suffers from a CPU-bottleneck issue despite it's VRAM usage being reduced and improved 1% lows. Fortunately, the CPU bottleneck is nowhere near as bad as it was before, so gameplay performance shouldn't feel too strained anymore on PC.
As for the consoles, I've tried out the performance patch briefly on Xbox, and I have noticed that the game in Balanced Mode now stays at a relatively stable 30-40 FPS, whereas before it dipped below 30 FPS constantly.
Resolution Mode has the game capped at 30 FPS with sharper anti-aliasing, and Performance Mode has the game running more consistently at 60 FPS than it did in previous patches.
The game on Xbox definitely feels a lot less sluggish to control for me compared to how it did at launch in all modes, but I'll be sticking with Performance Mode despite the dip in resolution quality so I can achieve my frame-perfect counters without input-delay.
Now that we've got the performance changes out of the way, let's talk about gameplay content.
This update introduces Arch-Tempered Arkveld as the final Arch-Tempered Monster, along with new 10* Quests where you have to fight harder versions of Arch-Tempered Arkveld, Rey Dau, Nu Udra, Uth Duna, and Jin Dahaad.
There's also new side missions involving Rudy from Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection and Nadia, a returning NPC from Monster Hunter 4 with new gear and cosmetic rewards up for grabs.
The update has added a ton of new Event Quests with all kinds of rewards ranging from useful armor sets and items to goofy cosmetics. In addition, dozens of Event Quests have also been made permanently available and can now be played offline.
Now's the time to re-join the hunt in preparation for Monster Hunter Wilds' upcoming expansion
Perhaps the greatest news that this final update has brought is that people actually care about Monster Hunter again.
According to SteamDB, Monster Hunter Wilds' con-current playerbase on Steam has skyrocketed in the last 24 hours to the point that nearly 80,000 people are playing it on Steam.
I'd imagine the developers at Capcom have regained their spirits now that they've won back the fanbase's trust on PC and console with these updates.
Granted that it's annoying we had to wait an entire year for the game to become stable enough to enjoy it, but it's better than not getting any performance patches at all, like the tragic Wild Hearts never did on Xbox and PC.
Either way, Monster Hunter Wilds is in a very good state both in stability and endgame. If you have been on the fence for this game, now's the time to finally jump in and hunt giant monsters with your friends.
Stay tuned for more Monster Hunter news as we keep out for info regarding Monster Hunter Wilds' DLC expansion and the upcoming release of the JRPG spin-off, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection.
Over to you
What do you think of this last update for Monster Hunter Wilds? Has it fully redeemed the game after it burned you at launch or are you waiting until it's DLC expansion for more content?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, let us know in the comments below.
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