Chapter 932: Silently Bought It
Players were exchanging their trial experiences on forums and in player groups. After chatting for a while, they realized, "We totally misjudged Chen Mo!"
A game this generous is truly rare. Buying it as soon as it launches!
Many players who had previously declared "Absolutely won't play" or "Absolutely won't buy" couldn't resist giving the trial a shot after seeing such unanimous praise.
After all, it was free...
After trying it out, they found that it really was just as everyone said!
So, these people silently muttered "It's actually pretty good" and then started preparing the money to buy the game...
This game was clearly much more friendly than most people had imagined. Plus, it was a hot topic recently, naturally attracting the attention of a large number of players.
Of course, for the players, the only minor flaw was that the previously mentioned artificial intelligence system wasn't very apparent.
It was somewhat evident with the Great Jagras—it would be wary of humans sneaking up on it, would flee, and would only fight desperately when there was no escape.
But thinking about it carefully, this level of AI wasn't really that special; previous technology could have achieved it.
If there was any difference, it might be the "feel."
Compared to low-intelligence herbivores like the Aptonoth, the Great Jagras gave players the illusion that it could think. Although its intelligence was still low in the players' eyes, it was very alert and seemed to genuinely assess the danger of hunters or other animals before making decisions.
Some players noticed that when hunting, the Great Jagras didn't just swallow any herbivore it saw. Instead, it would observe first and only go after isolated ones. This was because Aptonoth in herds would fight back when attacked, posing some risk to the Great Jagras's hunt.
Moreover, when fleeing, the Great Jagras didn't follow a fixed route or necessarily run back to its lair. Each escape route seemed different, chosen based on its own judgment and even influenced by other monsters.
For players, this AI wasn't particularly obvious and required careful attention to notice. Many players were so focused on completing quests that they didn't even realize these details about the Great Jagras.
But regardless, it was a good start. After all, the Great Jagras was just the first large monster players encountered, and its low intelligence was normal. As monsters' intelligence increased later, the AI system's effects would become more apparent.
Thinking about it this way, players were even more excited!
For many players, *Monster Hunter* was already a perfect action game—novel world-building, rich combat systems, and moderate difficulty. Most players could easily get into it.
On the other hand, some hardcore players complained that the game was too easy!
Indeed, with the Great Jagras's difficulty, even someone like Lin Xue could clear it on the first try without any pressure. The difficulty was definitely on the low side.
Think about the difficulty of *Dark Souls*—just the Iudex Gundyr alone would make average players die seven or eight times...
After defeating the Great Jagras, many players thought, "I haven't even tried yet, and you're already down? The difficulty should be at least two levels higher! The Great Jagras should have killed me at least once!"
But these players weren't about to refuse to buy the game just because it was easy. They knew Chen Mo wouldn't make such a basic mistake in difficulty design. There would definitely be something like "Expert Mode" waiting for them later, which would be available at launch.
So, this time, it was extremely rare that all players were very satisfied with *Monster Hunter* and eagerly awaited its official release.
...
...
On October 14, *Monster Hunter* was officially released!
The price of *Monster Hunter* was consistent with previous VR games, with a standard price of 1980.
Relatively speaking, *Monster Hunter* was similar to *Dark Souls*—mainly aimed at hardcore players. However, because it offered a free trial and was more beginner-friendly, the player base expanded accordingly.
Even many players who weren't good at this type of game wanted to take this opportunity to try it out.
Although *Dark Souls* had driven away countless players with its extreme difficulty, it was still very famous. Many players were interested in this type of combat system but were afraid to try it because of *Dark Souls*'s difficulty.
Now, with *Monster Hunter*, many players who dared not play *Dark Souls* could take this chance to give it a shot.
On the forums, the atmosphere was filled with "It's actually pretty good" vibes.
"Hey, you all said you'd never play *Monster Hunter*, but now that it's released, you've all bought it?"
"Are you in any position to talk about others? Didn't you also say you'd never play it back then?"
"Ahem, well... I'm mainly doing this to maintain the ecological environment of the Ancient Forest, to help you noobs get through those powerful monsters..."
"By the way, has everyone chosen their weapon?"
"Longsword, no explanation needed!"
"Emmm, I heard some data nerds tested on training posts. The currently recommended weapons are Charge Blade, Dual Blades, and Bow. For beginners, Dual Blades are pretty good. Of course, Hammer and Greatsword are also decent."
"I don't care, I'm using Longsword!"
Players who had previously sworn they would never play *Monster Hunter* were now gathering together, either forming teams to hunt or discussing which weapons were best.
At this stage, players couldn't really tell the difference between weapons because the monsters were too easy. Take the Great Jagras, for example—Longsword users could output damage without any pressure, and the Helm Breaker's damage was decent as long as it didn't hit air.
The default setting in the game didn't display damage numbers, so Longsword users all felt pretty good about themselves and didn't feel inferior.
Although some players tried to test the damage data of various weapons, hitting training posts was different from actual combat. Against small monsters, every weapon seemed strong, but when facing Elder Dragons, the damage gap between weapons would become apparent. Some could finish the fight in ten minutes, while others might take half an hour.
So, for now, players were still in a state of confusion about the weapons in *Monster Hunter*.
In fact, Chen Mo had specifically balanced the fourteen weapons, so the Longsword wasn't as terrible as it was when the game first launched in his previous life. However, the Longsword's characteristics meant it was still a weapon with extremely high operational difficulty. For average beginner players, they might still end up as "Lonely Longsword Masters"...