Wow, this thread has really gone quiet...

How unfortunate.

To try to rebuild conversation here, what is a good set of G-rank armor to start with, in terms of ease of acquisition and not entirely terrible skills?

I'm looking at Lagombi, actually. Speed Sheathe plays well as i use the weapon with the slowest sheathing speed in the game.

The answer is always Bahnabra. Like a Sir!

I use the Peco gear, but I use horns.

my first one was the 'helios z' from goldbeard caedus ...

hi grade earplugs
sharpness +1

would be good for the beginning ...

I am new to the game and would love to play online with someone but I dont really know many people with the console atm and being new I dont want to piss anyone off by joining a game. You'll prbably laugh but I am at like 50 hours and still HR1 because I am still trying to get gear up, etc. idk may be too cautious..

dont worry too much ...

I was like 55h in before I went online.
Had the best slime weapon I could get offline and just the hr jaggi armor.

with those 2 the lr guild missions were easy and the hr was fine.
but when you are about to hit g-rank be really carefull. the monsters hit like trucks and 2shot you or combo you to death if not careful.
better back of and do nothing for a while until you really see an opening instead of carting.

so if you have the gear just go online and have fun. most of the ppl are cool, but some will flame you really hard.
if thats happen just ignore them for the time beeing and join another room after the hunt ends.

At G-rank, sharpness really starts to matter as melee weapons bounce off a lot more often, leaving you vulnerable.  It's nice to have an armor set that gives Fencing or Handicraft although it isn't so easy to find at HR6 (G-rank armors tend to have a few random skills that aren't part of a complete set, so if you scan the blacksmith carefully you can put together a hodgepodge suit that gives one particular rare skill).  I think you mentioned having Agnaktor U already, so when you reach HR7 you could easily get Fencing from Agnaktor Z (in exchange for Speed Sharpening).

 I was watching as my brother defeated the abyssal Lagiacrus... Is it my impression only, or this game online seems to be easier than tri?

 Since I am only doing offline quest atm, I still not sure how the RC rank works, any hint?

I don't think that it's easier in terms of how much damage you take when you get hit or the likelihood of you getting hit, but it does seem that the monsters die more quickly.  Then again, maybe already knowing how to play the game helps.

I think so too. After tri, I bought MHP3 and it was really easy... Ukanlos and akantor were a bit tough the first runs though...