Monster Hunter 4’s Insect Staff Is The Most Mobile Weapon Yet

Monster Hunter 4’s release is just a month away, and Capcom recently held an event called the “Summer Hunting Tryouts” where people got to try out the game’s two new weapons. Famitsu recorded parts of their demo play-through, and also shared some noteworthy info regarding the new weapons.

Famitsu start out by showing off the Insect Staff in the fight against a Great Jaggi and his Jaggi minions. One of the weapon’s main features is being able to send the insect perched on the top of the staff to extract power from enemies. By pressing the R and X buttons, you’ll be able to send it out, and pressing R and A will have it return back to its Hunter.

In addition to being the only weapon that can jump without the use of a ledge (by pressing the R and B buttons), the Insect Staff is proving to be one of the most mobile weapons in Monster Hunter yet, which is well demonstrated in the video. This feature makes Insect Staff users the ideal candidate for someone who could be in charge of jumping on monsters to knock them down. According to Famitsu, most of the play experience with the staff consists of powering up using extract provided by the insect while finding jumping opportunities.

Halfway through the video, the play focuses on the Charge Axe Hunter, who also takes on a Great Jaggi. Famitsu says that the weapon’s Sword Mode doesn’t feel as light as the Sword and Shield, but it isn’t too shabby when it comes to movement speed. By pressing the X and A buttons, you’ll be able to attack while moving forward.

The main purpose of the Sword Mode is to charge energy so you can unleash devastating blows using the more powerful Axe Mode. In order to actually charge up energy in Sword Mode, you’ll have to press R and A buttons, otherwise the charge will go wasted. Once you have enough charges, there are various combinations of attacks you’ll be able to pull off using Axe Mode, which they say feels pretty great. If used correctly, the Charge Axe could become a formidable damage dealer for all hunting parties.

Monster Hunter 4 is slated for release on September 14 for Nintendo 3DS.