You can get most things 100% of the time, the difference is usually how many, the rare parts requires you to first break off parts on the monster's body which is more gear and skill based, then you pretty much hope for the best and it's not that bad usually, the combat doesn't make it feel like a grind for the most part since it's dynamic enough and keeps you pumped up on the harder bosses.

There wasnt any "breaking off monster parts" in the demo. It sounds neat, what is it exactly?

To further on that we will use the classic example of a rathalos.   When you kill a rathalos you're pretty much garunteed a few scales and you have a good chance of finding a shell or two and if you're a little lucky some webbing.

If you break a few peices off of it's face, you will probably get more scales , if you break a few things off it's wing you can get wyvern claws, and if you cut off the tail and carve you can get a Rathalos Plate.....Plates were the hardest thing to get in the first game and you had a very small chance to get one. Some monsters do have really rare parts, but most the time you won't need them unless you're going for the VERY end equipment.

if you ever want to complete a set of armor or make certain weapons, you need to break off certain parts of monsters, tails, claws, gland, etcetc, and everytime you break something off, the game clearly shows damage to the monsters and gives you a msg that you've done so if it's a sub quest, so it's hard to miss. this is the reason why a lock on system would never work with Monster Hunter, and why it requires a certain amount of skill to get the things you need.

Put this video at 4:37 to see a Tail Break,  there is also horn breaks and other stuff but you can't see it in this video.

This is also the PSP version.

From the reviews I'm reading, and the MHtri wiki it seems that there is still the element of the grind, with a degree of luck. Needing to beat bosses repeatedly in order to get enough of certain items to upgrade equipment, and also different levels of rarity in finding materials. So there is still the loot element to it.

Definently not in the sense you're thinking of. Stuff doesn't pop on the ground like diablo or PSO and you don't "loot the body"   You also farm materials from mining, bug catching, fishing, etc. etc.  I have to say PSO doesn't play a thing like MH.

And if you have problems just killing giant monsters, then you're not going to like the game. That's the whole point of playing the game. I can promise you there will be times you're going to kick a Diablos's ass, and sometimes it's just going to round the floor with you or your teamates and it doesn't become a chore it's always exciting.

It's not a grind like you're making it out to be, and if you simply just don't want to kill giant things with a few buddies while actually putting forth an effort, then just pass the game along.

I haven't ever seen a RPG that just gave you stuff without some sort of grinding ^^; would be kind of a bad RPG, wouldn't be one that I'd play.

Played the demo and I didn't really fall in love with it. From what I played, the combat was pretty slow. The only weapon type I succeeded with was the Sword and Shield, and I'm guessing that that's the fastest weapon set there is. Using healing items is pretty annoying too, and by the time you use it (put your weapon away... select the item you want, and then finally using the darn thing), you'll take a hit that negates using it in the first place.

The more I played it, the more I realized that this is definitely a multiplayer game. You'll need the help of others to really become an effective team member.

The demo didn't sell me... so we'll see what happens. Truth be told I already have a pretty big backlog...

Smeags said: Played the demo and I didn't really fall in love with it. From what I played, the combat was pretty slow. The only weapon type I succeeded with was the Sword and Shield, and I'm guessing that that's the fastest weapon set there is. Using healing items is pretty annoying too, and by the time you use it (put your weapon away... select the item you want, and then finally using the darn thing), you'll take a hit that negates using it in the first place. The more I played it, the more I realized that this is definitely a multiplayer game. You'll need the help of others to really become an effective team member. The demo didn't sell me... so we'll see what happens. Truth be told I already have a pretty big backlog...

I'd say the fastest incombat weapon is actually the Long Sword, it doesn't swing as fast but the combos do a shit ton of damage at a really long range, you can also do dodge slash with it. Switch Axe feels slow but it's a hard hitting combo weapon as well, I'm not a big fan of blocking weapons personally, just a combo whore.