I played a MH entry for the Wii U and 3DS, but I got bored pretty fast. On the other hand I loved MHW and got through the story and killed all of the bosses aside from 1 or 2 optional bosses, which I am saving for later.

For MHW I use the Switch Axe. I use it because it is mostly in axe form but when you get an opening and switch to the super slow but powerful sword form and get off a juicy explosion it is just great. I played before they patched/buffed the unique Switch axe mount, where any move from the monster would just make you go flying off.

It has all the intricacies that one would want in a weapon. You got to git gud at rolling in both forms, range advantage/disadvantage of both forms, combos, buff usage, and lastly I of course love the aesthetics of the axe and the discharge.

I think you get up to level 9 in story content.

After Zorah comes High Rank, new monsters, Tempered, Arch Tempered, and Sieges.

I've been enjoying it a lot so far. I'm probably about 25-30hours in and overall, it just feels a lot like Monster Hunter (I was a bit worried that they would be straying away from what I loved about the series after the first trailer, but after playing it I can see those fears were unfounded).

That said, I don't find the improvements to really make much of a difference. I don't think the seamless world really does too much for me and in general, the increased focus on collecting and tracking I don't really enjoy. It is easy enough to look past, but I don't think it was a large improvement.

Beyond that, I've yet to really fight any new Monsters that really made their mark and provided memorable and interesting experiences. Additionally, I straight up dislike the Ancient Forest as a locale (too cluttered and claustrophobic) and the others I've experienced so far have been unremarkable. Haven't experienced too much of the Rotten Vale yet, but the first few quests haven't really left me impressed.

Overall, great game, but I think the improvements did little to impress me and the aspects I am looking at seem to be falling short of tri (which, admittedly is a high bar).

Oh, also I don't like how they changed the armors. The new system is easier than charms, but all my costumes make me look like a weirdo with all the mixing and matching because most perks are garbage.

I'm about 40% Long Sword, 40% Charge Blade, 10% Switch Axe...and 10% actually experimenting with new weapons and styles. Should be higher on that one but eh...I'm lazy.

Objectively, it's probably the best Monster Hunter I've played, as the QoL improvements and presentation updates were sorely needed, even if the monster variety seems a bit lacking in comparison to previous games. I also burned myself out on this one faster than usual, I think I'm at 90 hours and beat the XenoJ but don't really feel any motivation to go back to it. Maybe in six months I'll see what new content was added...*shrug*

The intrusive and unskippable story killed it for me along with the lack of content. Mechanically and gameplay wise it's the best in the series and a perfect  evolution of the formula but its my least played monster hunter by far. I'm hoping for an ultimate version that ditches the annoying story and adds in a ton of monsters but until that happens generations ultimate will be my go to MH

Most of that is Base game. Idk how much you care about story but Zorah is an elder dragon, thus you need to kill more elder dragons in the base game.

It was in the base game. Monster Hunter games usually have more content after the apparent end of the story, then it "surprises" you with another Elder who's causing trouble.

Monster Hunter World is the prettiest and most approachable game in the franchise but it honestly lacks in the content department compared to other entries.

Because it is so streamlined it is the best for newcomers, but for veterans it is missing G rank and such.

I expect this to be rectified in either new updates or Monster Hunter World Ultimate if it every happens.

I played Tri and World. I don't like how World is so much more grindy. Tri gave the player access to almost all gem types from the start, so you could really get a synergized build going at low levels. World withholds most of the good gems/armor until you've ground out 100 hours of gameplay. Tri had armor sets that made sense and did good things even at low levels. World requires you to mix and match different armor in order to get an optimized build. Tempered fights in World are the only way to get really useful gems, such as size 3 gems. So you have to play for some 300 hours if you want a perfect build. I had that at the 120 mark in Tri.

Finally, too many monsters in World fly around forever. It's really annoying even if you have a bunch of flash to down them with.

Edit: One thing I really do like about World is that it uses missions to make grinding for rare parts easier. Now, if only they could do the same when it came to grinding for gems. =/