Monster Hunter 4 will be introducing two new weapons to the series in the Charge Axe and Insect Staff. While the Charge Axe and its many features have been in the spotlight lately, Capcom still had a few Insect Staff tricks up their sleeves, which they revealed in the official site’s latest update.
As we’ve detailed in the past, the Insect Staff will have the ability to extract energy from monsters, and provide the Hunter with buffs. The type of extract varies according to the monsters and their body part you attack. The extracted energy comes in four different forms, each indicated by their own colors:
White: Mobility enhancement
Orange: Defense Up
Red: Attack Up
Green: Health Recovery
The latest update has revealed that in addition to being able to gain buffs from the extracts, you’ll also be able to mix them up and gain skills to go with the enhancement; for example, if you mix white and orange extracts together for the Insect Staff’s “Double Up” ability, you’ll get a Defense Up and also the useful “Earplug” ability, which grants immunity against roars.
There’s also a “Triple Up” ability, that allows you to mix three different extracts. Capcom haven’t revealed much more as of yet, but we’ll be seeing more of it in the near future.
The Insect Staff will come in a set with the staff and the attached insect, called Hunting Insect. The earlier footage of the weapon showed a beetle-like insect to go with the staff. The above image shows one that looks closer to a dragonfly. You’ll have access to other types of insects, as they can be enhanced and even evolve into new forms.
The Hunting Insects will come with their own stats such as power, stamina, speed, and all the elemental attributes. You’ll be able to gather specific foods from quests and fields, in order to enhance their stats and abilities.
By continuously enhancing their stats, you’ll eventually meet certain conditions to level them up, further powering up your Insect Staff buddies. They can then evolve into different types of insects, such as the speed-type Garuuhel, and the power-type Zameel Beetle, shown in the above images.
Genel Sertas
In Monster Hunter 4’s latest trailer, we got a peek at a new scorpion-like monster. This monster has been revealed as the Genel Sertas. It uses its destructive tail-pinchers and tough legs to take out foes.
It doesn’t have wings to fly, but the Genel Sertas has the ability to release powerful pheromone gasses to attract neighboring Alceltas (the smaller insect monster shown above) and use them to fly. When they’re not flying together, they will still cooperate and attack the Hunters, so you’ll have to keep a close eye on both of them during battle.
When monsters lose stamina, they usually go out of their way to look for food on the field. Genel Sertas is a little different, as it rather consumes its new friend whenever hunter strikes.
Monster Hunter 4 will be slated for release on September 14th, for 5,990 yen on Nintendo 3DS.
Read more stories about Monster Hunter 4 & Nintendo 3DS & Screenshots on Siliconera.
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