Step one: clear the deadline for an entire day off. Step two: schedule five different reminder alarms for at least 10 minutes apart. Step three: make a note to avoid any distractions, such as work or staring at new PC specs. Step four: ignore everything else for the Final Fantasy XIV and Monster Hunter: Wilds September collaboration drop. I saw the Capcom announcement nearly slip into my pages, and if I hadn’t been swiftly flipping the pages of the wildest gaming rig I’m thinking of buying, I’d have had my tweet bomb ready. It’s frankly an event worthy of full wage. Do you agree, or do I have a mom-level work ethic?
The Monster Hunter Twitter noted that FFXIV collaboration is hitting this month alongside Free Title Update 3, where, as a teaser, they’ve shared a brilliant new graphic featuring what looks like a chocobo alongside some FF-style armor in Wilds’s world. The vibes I’m catching are too much, and I still haven’t even started the game.
I suppose as a personal preference I digress, but let’s get back to the update. So, free title update 3 continues the support of the Wilds release, which didn’t get the best start, coming into Hot Topic with a rushed Beginnings MTV is more its dance style, sold alongside the FFXIV collab that almost surely will have some delicious gear, maybe a couple of monster fights or two inspired by the FFXIV MMO, where arguably the meta-world’s coolest fight Infernus or something brought from the Wilds game engine… wild speculation, but that one would absolutely be insane.
The responses to the tweet show a beautiful disparity in enthusiasm. On one hand, take the absurd positivity from @mhh_rpho: “I’m looking forward to seeing the world‼️,” spilling way too much enthusiasm onto her keyboard. And @wz_mona chiming in with “I am looking forward to it😍,” heart-eye emojis and all, as if she’s some fourteen-year-old already waxing poetic about the game.
Then you have the other side of the coin. So many people complaining about performance issues still. @theshitwebsite literally asked them to “improve frametimes and texture pop-in” while sharing his specs with a Ryzen 7600 and RX 9070 XT. Like, if that rig is having issues, what hope do we have? And from @SOLetMO’s perspective, he is like, “Hey, how’s it recently on pc? Last I played I couldn’t get like 5 frames.” FIVE FRAMES. That’s not a game, that’s a slideshow. Though, @ZeZetheFox did respond that, after the title updates and adding REFramework, they can actually play with “fairly good” looks on just a 2070S. So maybe there’s hope?
Then theres @tanukiballsack who’s out here asking why artillery still doesn’t affect cluster bombs, calling them “the literal artillery ammo.” That’s some specific weapon balance complaining right there. And @Noah56647652 is on “Day 7 of asking to let us edit our characters fully without edit vouchers.” The struggle is real.
Of course, the most delightful comments always stem from PC versus console. The mention of @NarroKapsaiya comes to mind, who said, completely ignoring someone’s performance issues, “I am having no problems on console.” As expected, the console crowd is enjoying the game, while the PC players drown. It’s honestly classic Monster Hunter launch experience.
Some users are already looking beyond this patch, though. @ActionJaxonH said, “We just want some Switch 2 Monster Hunter. Preferably something better than Wilds, but I guess we’ll take Wilds IF you fix it up and include an expansion.” Like, damn, Wilds just dropped, and people are already asking for the next title? I swear, gamers really are never satisfied.
Marking the other side of this blunt conversation is the conversation on whether Wilds is a “dead game” with @basedtweetsonly and @Aaptronym weighing in one after the other. I’d say the better shot came from @Aaptronym, who said, “Bro your entire Twitter feed is dead games and has-been celebrities. Monhun will never die” which everybody accepted as facts. Monster Hunter games definitely have longevity.
The FFXIV and Monster Hunter collaboration makes perfect sense. Both series are major players in Japan with deeply devoted fanbases worldwide. FFXIV has done Yo-kai Watch and Fall Guys crossovers, so adding Monster Hunter is only natural. Monster Hunter on the other hand has done collaborations with The Witcher and Horizon Zero Dawn, so it is nothing new to them.
I really want to know what the collaboration entails though. @Lvl1Cryptid made a very important comment, “Man, I GOTTA know… can you dye the chocobo…? I’m guessing it’s a no, but I hope we can.” Honestly, if we get a chocobo mount and icing on the cake is we can’t dye it, what’s the point of it?
@Asgorathyo gave the most real take with: “can’t wait to do the omega fight once and quit again :)” because give or take, that’s how most people treat the collab content. Doing it once for the gear then bailing.
Despite the constant whining and performance issues, there are plenty of reasons why the collaboration is worth looking forward to. HoloCatHead’s comment, “Please ignore the complainers,” and “The true fans know why a machine is appearing in the land where the monsters are coming from,” actually does get you thinking.
So whether you’re itching to get your hands on the new content or still waiting on the performance fixes, it looks like your arms will have plenty to do in monster hunter Wilds this month. Along with the collaboration activities, there’s a free update as well, and of course, players get nada if their system can’t even run the game properly.
Perhaps the update resolves these optimization issues or maybe it adds additional content to a title that’s struggling to run on a lot of machines. Either way, Monster Hunter content is coming, and I’ll be there for it, even if it means potato mode settings.
When these two massive titles come together, it sparks a reunion for the entire gaming community. While some are still battling with bugs, the additional content is always welcome, more so because it includes chocobos and Final Fantasy gear in a monster hunting game. I need to make space seriously and pray this update doesn’t send my PC to ashes.
