Monster Hunter Rise will release for the Nintendo Switch on March 26, marking the second outing of Capcom's popular series on the hybrid console following 2018's Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Before Monster Hunter World became a sales juggernaut for the developer as a multiplatform release, Monster Hunter games had a history of Nintendo exclusivity. Monster Hunter Tri released on the Wii, and multiple follow-ups releasing for the 3DS and Wii U.
Those 3DS entries Monster Hunter 4 and 4 Ultimate introduced seasoned hunters to a pair of new weapons: the Insect Glaive and Charge Blade. This brought the weapon count in mainline entries up to 14 (not counting tools like the Frontier-exclusive Magnet Spike), and it seems Capcom is happy with the balance considering no new weapons were added in World or Rise. However, there is still room for new weapons to help diversify the series, and one seemingly obvious exclusion has a perfect template in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - the spear.
Monster Hunter's Current Arsenal
As of the upcoming entry Monster Hunter Rise, weapons are broken down by two categories. Hunters who use melee weapons are called Blademasters, and there are 11 options for them: Great Sword, Long Sword, Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Insect Glaive, and Charge Blade. Meanwhile, those who use ranged weapons are called Gunners, and there are three choices in this category: the Bow, Light Bowgun, and Heavy Bowgun.
One of the reasons Monster Hunter appeals to so many people is the freedom of choice inherent to its range of weapons. One player may prefer to deal cutting damage with an immense Great Sword, whereas another may prefer the blunt, skull-cracking hits inherent to the Hammer. Yet the wealth of options goes deeper, as each weapon can also specialize in dealing elemental damage or status effects, and a player's custom armor set can also provide unique skills to assist in battle.
Monster Hunter Rise will undoubtedly carry this system forward, but it also adds more by giving players a new form of transportation called Wirebugs that double as the basis for super-powerful attacks or special techniques. On top of that, the Monster Hunter Rise demo on Nintendo Switch showcases numerous quality-of-life updates compared to Generations Ultimate including open-world map design, faster resource collecting, and rideable Palamute partners. Introducing new weapons is just one more way the game could improve, and Nintendo has offered an interesting example.
How Breath of the Wild's Spear Could Translate to Monster Hunter
Of the weapons that represent major races in the Hyrule established by the 2017 Switch launch title Breath of the Wild, three already feature in Monster Hunter's arsenal of weapons in one way or another. The Gerudo specialize in using sword and shield combos, the Rito specialize in using bows, and the Goron specialize in using heavy swords like Claymores. Disregarding combat options such as magic rods, only the spears used primarily by the Zora do not have an equivalent.
One could argue the Insect Glaive is reminiscent of a spear, but in execution it acts more like a staff with a few distinct features. The titular "insect" associated with the weapon is called a Kinsect, which is a pseudo-partner during a hunt that players can send out to hit a monster, drain its energy, and use that to apply buffs. It is also a weapon based around verticality, matching its introduction in the more dynamic maps from Monster Hunter 4, and allows hunters to vault into the air and attack from above.
If Monster Hunter were to introduce a dedicated "Spear" weapon, its move set could be mapped directly from the Legend of Zelda game. Its main attack would be rapid jabs that could act as a "flurry," similar to Monster Hunter's Lance but faster, more horizontally aimed, and at a shorter range. The Lance is a defensive weapon in Capcom's series, focused around players blocking attacks with their shield before delivering a few jabs in return. A theoretical Spear could be more attack-oriented.
Because game designers would be creating a more offensive weapon, it would make sense to replace any abilities that involve blocking with the opportunity to throw one's spear. This would help compensate for its shorter range by creating a sort of hybrid weapon. In Breath of the Wild, Link can throw any weapon, and the vast majority of them will strike his opponent and deal an explosive critical blow; being destroyed in the process. A hunter destroying their weapon wouldn't make sense in Monster Hunter, but there's two potential outcomes when throwing a hypothetical Spear.
One possibility has the hunter intentionally aim for their mark with the intent to impale them - harkening back to images of hunts painted on cave walls by the ancestors of humanity, just replacing the Woolly Mammoths of the Rouffignac cave with Monster Hunter Generations' Gammoth. This may fail and bounce off a monster's hide, but if it succeeds in sticking, then a monster could take bleeding damage similar to what the Seregios inflicts with its razor-sharp scales.
Alternatively, a hunter could throw their Spear to graze the side of a monster, and this is a place to incorporate elemental strengths. Say one player is using a Thunder Element Spear, it would make sense for the weapon to emit some electrical energy as it flies through the air. This would leave the weapon stuck in the ground wherever it lands, requiring players to collect it again (unless something like a Wirebug allows it to be instantly retrieved).
To balance out a weapon that spends much of its time stuck in a monster or the ground, it seems right to provide hunters some extra benefit while unarmed. Perhaps they could run faster while unencumbered, or simply have an easier time setting up traps and utilizing other items. It's easy to posit what a good weapon could be and much harder to actually implement one in a series as complex as Monster Hunter is already, but a thought experiment such as this shows the possibilities for new weapons are limitless when pulling from the right source material.
Monster Hunter Rise is scheduled to release March 26 for the Nintendo Switch.