Capcom, for whatever reason, has really dropped what you’d consider to be one of the hardest-ever challenges into the Monster Hunter series: the Savage Omega Boss–now dividing the player base. Drawing much inspiration from the Final Fantasy XIV Online raid mechanics, the new hunt takes teamwork and skill to the highest level, and the community response is… not so favorable.

What is the fuss about this monstrous creation? Omega Planetes is a collaboration event bringing hardcore MMO raid-like raiding mechanics to the hunting ground. Capcom has facilitated the release of a full-fledged guide to prepping for it, but going by the comments, none really prepared anyone well enough for this level of difficulty. The fight requires precise coordination, having very specific roles to cover, such as healing and tanking, and a lot of patience.

The community reaction has gone absolutely insane. Some hunters are loving this challenge as their own transformation into “the most fun they’ve had in the game in like, a decade.” OYB_Plainview says it “teaches you how to lock in and get good,” which is certainly one way of putting it. Then you have the likes of Twizzly_twist begging for the devs to “not change a thing” and force the players to learn how to strategize.

Then theres the wild side…

There’s a swarm of complaints perpetuating the idea that Savage Omega just feels unfairly difficult to solo, whereas the whole game has somewhat been accepted as a single-player one. Ashley Martinez went on quite a heated tirade about having to “spend 10$ just to beat savage omega with friends,” calling it “the worst way to advertise a fucking boss.” Yeah, that’s pretty much a moment of having one of the worst experiences ever.

According to a bunch of people, the health bar does not scale correctly for a single player, and the 35-minute time limit is running out as well. Another Hunter came out with a statement claiming how much they regret ever submitting themselves to the torture: “I played as perfect as I can and I still failed” because the boss’s health pool is just massive for one person. One is pretty pretty down after trying so hard to win.

The issue begins: team composition. SuperOnePack mentioned that there are “ZERO mechanics in the game to help you find the right team” even though the fight basically requires specific roles. So you queue up with randoms and hope you don’t get three damage dealers when you desperately need a healer. The lottery has such a low chance of winning these days.

Meanwhile, another problem arises from the performance concerns, as Amarok017 can confirm since the game’s been “worse and worse every patch” to the point of unplayability. ZeroZero_Python expressed equal parts anticipation to quit, partly because of the difficulty but mainly because of how poorly the game runs on their hardware. Oof.

But here’s the twist: amidst the backlash, a few players apparently managed to solo Savage Omega. Darkcrypter boldly affirmed that “people have solod savage, its possible alone,” directly opposing several contrary opinions. So is it really possible to solo, or are those just stories? The back and forth continues in the replies.

Another sore spot is the crafting requirements. One player said you have to beat the boss “8 times to craft all its gear,” bringing back memories of old Monster Hunter, where farming that many times was pretty normal. DutchBlondeDoom reminisced about Silver Rathalos in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite taking “AAAAAAAGGEES” to farm, so I guess some things never change in this series.

Then there’s a discussion about support hunters being viable for this fight: “Support hunters exist,” says Maljinwo1, as someone is complaining about the lack of healing options. ZantlerTV even went out of their way to farm “powders and materials to craft more” healing items but observed that “people actually using powder seem few and far between sadly.” So tools might be there, but people aren’t doing it right?

At least the music is getting some love. KJP_Plays said “The music is so good 🔥 hearing FF music in MH never gets old,” so at least there’s that while the beast tears us apart.

Watching the community divide into those who want this extreme challenge and those who think it will be poorly designed is truly fascinating. Cynthila Ashera basically told complainers to “go hunt Blangonga” if they can’t handle it, while others are begging for nerfs or better matchmaking systems.

On that note, LuciosAngelo dropped a random Switch 2 request just for the hell of it. “Switch 2 MHwi when?” Yeah, I got no clue either, man.

So the big question is, will Capcom listen to all this feedback? Some players hope to not see the fight get nerfed, with MikuF_ stating, “Despite everyone complaining, i hope you do not nerf it.” On the other hand, others are so pissed off that quitting is seriously on the table.

This creates the awkward dynamic of those most hardcore finding themselves enjoying this to no end, and the more casual players slowly hitting walls they just can’t climb. Young_Gusano had a good time, at least, saying “The boss fight is actually pretty fun when you use the tools they give you” when playing with randoms. So maybe there’s hope?

The final evaluation: Savage Omega thus acts as the new axis of communication for content-based evolution toward a more complex, team-oriented approach that divides the player base in ways that have scarcely been seen before in Monster Hunter. Whether this is the way for future content or just a one-off collaborative endeavor remains to be seen but one thing’s certain-the whole bandwagon discussion and debate have been on Savage Omega, although half of them are negative.

The hunt goes on, I guess, whether we’re ready for it or not.