@Mr_Mustache

Did they get rid of mushrooms?

The new added features is nice ..... I tried the bow in the demo...It's cool but it seemed really awkward to move around.... Can you customize your controls in the actual game?

Dual Blades were cool..nice and quick.. Gun wasn't so bad..I'm not much of a gunner - I was a hammer guy but the hammer always left me vulnerable after a huge attack and I seem to be going towards the quick and dodge direction...

The controls as far as what goes Smerd? Assigning another button to another option? You can change many options in the options menu and those have to do with the camera and such. I think it just has to to with it being a new weapon and holding the charge while moving around. I think watching a stream earlier today someone used a bow and they moved away from the monster first since well you want to get the charge maxed out and that slight move back will help with that and also when you need to left or right afterwards and it helps get the right distance as well moving back.

@NinTemple_Maxi

Yeah...assigning another button - I know you can play with the axis etc and reverse it among other things, but I kept wanting to run with the ZR button..not the R button..

Also with the bow, you can charge it and then this red ridicule comes up and I wanted to adjust it with the analog stick but I had to move my thumbs down to the d-pad to actually move the target in a smoother manner... The gun was different, I was able to use the right analog stick to aim while holding down the L button...hmm.. I have to test this again, I was just surprised at how un agile you were with the bow, it's almost like I am carrying a heavy rifle around..

Lets playyyy!!

I don't have the game yet so I am just going by what I have seen online today Smerd. I don't think you can change the button assignments for the controls however you can use the Wii U Gamepad,Classic controller Pro, Classic Controller for the Wii and the Wii U Classic Controller Pro. I think you can use the Wii remote and Nunchuck but I am not 100% on this. All the others I am 100% on though. Lots of options.

As for the bowgun and Bow while they do have the pretext of Bow in both words they do play differently. Bow is more of a mobile weapon and getting those charge volleys off and keeping that up. While both bowguns is more stationary and then rolling away and positioning yourself again to set off a ton of shots off in one spot till you have to move again.

I also got this today, and it's my very first experience with Monster Hunter. I've played for about 4 hours now, doing about half the one star quests, and unlocking the Sandy Plains area. Along the way, I've upgraded my Iron Long Sword to the Iron Grace, and fashioned myself some chain mail armor. So far, the game hasn't been terribly thrilling, but I understand that it starts off slow an draws you in over time. I mean, after all, I haven't even fought my first "big" monster yet (planning on going after the Great Jaggi tomorrow.) Based on the demo, so far the weapons I like are the Long Sword, the Dual Blades, and the Lance, approximately in that order.

I would like to play online with you guys, but the wireless in my college apartment is pretty terrible for some reason; most people I know use LAN adapters. But I do have some questions in general about how the online play works.

So, I understand that the online play centers around a city hub, where you undertake quests and go after them. Are these all quests that must be done in a group, or can you do them by yourself? Also, how long should I play the single player game before jumping online? And, as I heard you get better drops from enemies online, doesn't that enable you to craft better gear and almost make the single player quests too easy?

Another general question: So, even in the brief time I've played, I already have tons of items that I don't know what to do with. I understand that items are used for crafting better equipment and armor, but are all of them useful? Do I need all of my 20 Jaggie Scales/hides? Will my Dung come in handy at some point? I just feel kind of overwhelmed by all the items, with no idea what, exactly they do.

Any insight you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated!

@WindWaker99

First of all welcome to the world of Monster Hunter. This site is a good resource. http://monsterhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Monster_Hunter_3_Ultimate It needs some sections to be completed but the rest are done.

To answer your questions.

1. No you can play the online quests all by yourself if you like but they are easier and more fun to do with others. I remember reading that in this game online was built for 2 players so 4 players can jump online and help each other and get fairly far online when getting into it if they stick together.For your how far you should play offline before jumping online I would beat the Quropeco which is a 3 star quest offline. The drops in online are only different because you are facing different monsters then you are offline earlier so it is up to you on when you want to go online or not. When I first started playing Tri way back when I went straight into the online after I played about 3 days of offline and that got me to 3 Star quests and didn't really play much offline till I was done with most of the online quests online and then I went back and then played with level appropreate gear so I wasn't making the game too easy. My second character I beat offline and did as much upgrading as I wanted with my weapons before going online. You control your adventure!

2.Yes keep everything in the game. To answer a few quick things that those things do. Jaggi scale/hides will help make an armor/ weapon. Dung can be combined with bomb casings to throw at another monster if they come while you are fighting another monster so they run away.You make Bomb casings with stone and sap plant or iron ore and sap plant.Bomb casings are used a lot in the game. With the items the best thing to do is there is an item called combo books 1-5 there is probably 1-3 avalable for purchase and you can put those in your box. With those in your box you should have 100% combine for items and you can combine from your box and then just take any items that have question marks and try to combine it with another question mark and see what comes up. I usually just do it once just to see what is the result. Then move on to the next one.

Welp, I caved and got this today thanks to a friend buying a second copy and offering it to me for $47.

Now to decide what weapon to try this time around. I'm leaning towards the long bow

@kgtennispro

Thank you very much for your assistance! I'll keep all your advice in mind. And I'll definitely start browsing through the Wiki pages.

Also, when it comes to weapons, is it best to just focus on one type for the time being, before branching out into other types, or should I start crafting sets of different weapons early on? For instance, like I said, I know I like the Long Sword, but should I stick with that or is it in my best interest to start crafting other varieties of weapons as well?

@Mr_Mustache

Oh you didn't miss much anyhoo.

I decided to try the online after only doing the iron ore quest in single player just to see how the bow worked in multiplayer.

Instead of actually doing the quest we started though, we wound up spending more of our time teaching this one guy how to actually play the game since he decided to just hop online without even doing any tutorial stuff at all, heh.

After teaching him the basics, we decided to actually try taking on the wyvern, though of course the new guy proceeded to die 3 times in a row, but it still felt good helping someone who somehow knew less about the game than I did ;x

@WindWaker99

With weapons you start with all 12 weapon types and those base weapons can be upgraded into many different weapon paths in the game so you can try all weapon types and see what works for you as far as comfortableness goes. Also some weapons work better for some monsters then others. I personally can't Lance a flying type monster. I mean I can beat the monster and I can make it work but I would be more comfortable with another weapon like the Hammer,Switchaxe,bowgun or sword and shield.

Also there is pros and cons to each weapon.
I will go in order they are in the Wiki.

Sword and Shield.
Pro:Can move fast with the blade out. Only weapon where you can use items with the weapon out. Just have to Block then press the item button. Element is best for damage.Has a shield in a pinch when you are not dodge rolling to get closer to attack and dodge.
Con:Needs one of each element sword to cover the bases for all monsters. 6 elements and then 3 status.

Dual Swords:
Pro: It has a demonize mode which can boost your attack and also give you a side step to dodge and get closer to your foe.It essentually has two ways of attacking. Your methiod of defense is dodging and side steps and the forward lunge attack. Quick attacks and powerful.

Con: When in demonize mode you loose your stamina while in the mode but for a short time that can be circumvented with smart item use.You have to be smart with your defense and dodging since you are all offense all the time most of the time.

Long swords
Pro: Has a Spirit meter which raises as you hit the monster and then you can do the Spirit Combo to get it to White,Yellow Red, then Pink. Those basically will increase the damage each color you get.You need to hit the last hit on the spirit combo to get that. I believe they change the . mechanic from Tri from the Spirit combo happy so this could be a really good plus Previously in Tri the meter you could stay at yellow all through the fight and then go up the Red but after a while you would go all the way back down to a normal meter. In Ultimate you can go up to Yellow and it will stay there but once you go up to red it will slowly go down but you can maintain it and keep the meter in Red by hitting the monster or even up to Pink by doing another spirit combo so that is a good change from Tri.Good balance of element and raw damage for bladed weapons.Pretty good movement speed while it is out.

Con: This weapon can trip your teammates with pretty much every attack and even the Spirit combo so you can't be wreckless around teammates. Try to be where your teammates are not on the monster and focus your attacks there. Can't block attacks with it.

Great Sword
Pro: Very powerful weapon. 2nd strongest in the game behind the hammer for Raw damage. Can be a very fun weapon to use if you happen to know how to use it well. Either Draw attacks or Level 3 charges are its main ways of attacking then put back your Great Sword then set up another attack. You can change the direction of the charges slightly to the left or the right.

Con: It can be slow to walk around with so don't do that. It takes some practice to learn the monsters patterns to anticipate where the monster is going to be so the Level 3 charges to do the most damage

Hammer.
Pro: Strongest weapon as far as Raw goes. Can Knock Out the monster when it hits the monster in the head after so many times for a short while. If used on the body it causes exaust damage. Really good at breaking pieces of the monsters body quick. You want to focus on the head with this weapon. When being charged for a Super Pound it is mobile but otherwise it is the middle of the road.

Con: Can't cut off tails: As good as it is with most other respects it just can't do it since it is a blunt weapon.Can't guard either so you are going to be at the monsters head most of the time and can't block so have to be aware of positioning of yourself by the monster.

Hunting Horn
Pro: Can support the team with songs in battle while fighting the monster as well. Fairly mobile but when attacking some attacks are quick while others are not. About 3rd in Raw damage.

Con: Playing songs during the fight can be costly for you. Might have to memorize some of the songs and what they do.

Lance
Pro: Good mix of Raw and element. Can either go counter or evasion for style of lancing. Great for Underwater hunts! Can make continuous combos with back hops or counter cancels.

Con: Slow when walking around with the weapon out. Can be tripped rather easily by allies or brought down their stamina if they are hit to many times in a row by allies or the monsters if they block the attacks.

Gun Lance

Pro: Most of the pros up there except counter lancing. Also it can fire shots at a range or up close. Also if you are creative you can make many different combos out of the Gunlances moves it just takes longer. Wyvern Fire!

Con:Those up there and there is major kick back after the Wyvern fire attack and you can't use it for a while.

Switch Axe.

Pro: Best Tail cutter weapon hands down. Has many Phials. Power, Element, Dragon,Paralisis, Poison and Exaust. When in Sword mode these Phials become these type of things so a Power one would increase the damage of it when in sword mode, Element would make the element stronger of the switch axe. Exaust would make any attack on the body do exaust damage and I believe those to the head KO damage. When in axe mode it is about middle of the road mobile so you can get to the tail fairly quickly. You can side step after you attack. You can change between the two modes on the fly while attacking.

Con: In sword mode you are as slow as when you have a Great sword out. Can't block. Takes a lot of practice to master the weapon.

Light Bow gun.

Pro: Can sidestep and defend if you have a shield attached to defend yourself. Can Rapid fire while other guns can't.

Con: With Rapid fire you need to keep an eye on the monster and know when to stop firing and reposition yourself.Can be costly early on for ammo to buy.

Heavy Bowgun
Pro: Stronger attacks then Light bow gun and you tend to have a shield but you can't rely on it.

Con: You move really slow with the gun out and that can hurt you when dodging repeated attacks.Can be costly for ammo to buy

Bow

Pro: Its Coatings offer many ways of support for solo or teamplay Its Arrow Rain can be devastating on certain monsters.Unlimited ammo!

Con: Takes some getting used to with the distance and movement for the bow. Arrow Rain is more effective on Larger monsters since they can get all the arrows and tend to stay still longer.
.

Mr. Mustache about the HR stuff. Yeah it is set up differently then Tri.for now. In Tri you just got exp and then when you got to a certain level you did your urgent but here. You go up to 8 in G Rank online. While offline goes up to High Rank 9 star. Once you beat G Rank online it opens up to the normal Tri system that goes up to HR999 and I believe all the EXP that you had carries over after your last urgent and you beat G rank.

Has the region free online kicked in yet or is that scheduled for a later update?