Has Sunbreak Gone Too Far? 

Something similar can also be said about the new Lucent Narga quest, Hazy Shadow or something. If you're used to the regular one from TU1 and do this quest, he'll throw you for a loop, with extra follow ups he didn't have before. There's no visual indicator of it being anything special, which is why it'll get you for sure on your first run.

We need to go even further. Been carting against Valstrax and having a lot of fun, just like the good old days haha Monsters in older games used to be like this, monsters having the upper hand at all times against the player is waaaay more fun tbh. I love Rise/Sunbreak, but MH needs to be more like this Valstrax fight.

Risen valstrax puts the fear of God into me - we need more of this

Most agressive monster I've fought in Monster Hunter, and it's really refreshing

The first time I fought risen Valstrax, I'll be honest I did it with followers and a gathering cat. However, I think I remember only dying once. Risen Val to me is a more of a dance than a fight I have ever experienced, and I love it. I use a special IG set that capitalizes on dodging through a lot of attacks to prevent any down time in my weapon with bladescale hone and get buffs with adrenaline rush and status trigger, I always hated monsters having annoying end lag that leaves them standing when they could be moving and Valstrax has given me the perfect monster who can match up and fare with my assault as much as he swats away at me. Killing him became so satisfying with all his moves being an either dodge or die to make the fight a brawl with zenny on the line. I'm gonna fight him again after this cause he's so much fun

I haven't fought it yet, but it seems like a logical conclusion to the late-stage title updates for these type of games. A good amount of players were getting angry over the black dragons that returned in Iceborne's final updates... and now you can find speedruns of both in under 5 minutes. I'm thinking it's just going to be one of those cases where taking things slowly and labing the moveset down is going to be mandatory to complete it (e.g. what type of behavior does it do when it goes from this combo string, how many attacks does it do in the combo string normally or enraged or close to death etc.). I really struggled with normal Valstrax in XX and trying to lance him for the first time in Rise was even more challenging, but the tells are still there. If a large part of that initial version was his wing orientation (folded in or out) determining allot of what moves would come out it makes me wonder if some other more subtle tells exist for Risen (feet and head position have been used before for attack signs). And I'm somewhat glad that we finally get a few returning Elders this time around to go with him instead of just trying to make the og elder trio more difficult, or potentially annoying (I'm not sure I haven't gotten back to this game since clearing out the title update 1 stuff).

Risen Valstrax definitely carried this update for me. As a DB player it was pretty easy for me to close in on him but just as dangerous to even be next to him. Stamina management was a problem too. And the rush I felt when he did his meteor shower attack was insane. Can’t say the same for Velkhana though as that fight felt so insanely easy.

I even though Risen Valstrax and Crimson Glow Strax aren’t my favorite fights, I’ve come to understand them a bit. I think of him as a Monster in Rise that’s finally equally aggressive as the player character can be. And when something like that happens, the game plan for fighting him changes entirely. I feel like players have to take a less aggressive, to even *defensive* approach when fighting Risen Strax. Since his fight is in one of the least hunting helper abundant areas (most you get is a paratoad and some stinkminks, a marionette spider too), and his general “I don’t care” fighting style, you’ll get into a lot of situations where he just has no chill, and hoping you flinch him without some knowledge and Team Darkside level teamwork, you need to chill out and back off of him. A tough fight for sure, but you won’t be killing him in 4 minutes unless you’ve evolved to another level of play.

I can understand saying the damage is a tad overtuned, but I warmly welcome the aggressive attack patterns displayed with this hunt. I love it when I feel like I’m being jerked around back and forth from a monster, that I am forced to follow their momentum. It makes for an exhilarating hunt. The most memorable quests for me are the ones where I’m squealing like a schoolgirl trying to avoid carting and that sense of accomplishment of improving during the hunt and ultimately winning. Hunters in Rise/Sunbreak can often feel like demigods with their insane movement and capabilities, so it only makes sense that the monsters are also getting their own tricks. I can’t help but think that those calling this too far aren’t receptive to the idea that they need to approach a hunt with a different attitude, or to utilize tools in the game they normally ignore. Grab some spiribirds if you need to, no one will judge. Just do what makes for the most enjoyable experience, whatever that may be for you.

I think this is just how a monster on that level should be, the challenge is very good. I think this is the start of the foreshadowing on how much power level and difficulty the future title update monsters will have, maybe Fatalis will return, but this time a Risen one, or any Risen black dragons

I'm a hunting horn player (i've only used hunting horn in rise) I found him to be a really fun fight overall. I never felt like I was stuck waiting but also I'm an insanely aggressive player and have been since the first game. I had a blast with risen valstrax, it felt like we were both going at 100% the whole fight slaming into eachother over and over taking turns falling over. Its a rewarding fight with windows that reward aggressive play, I'm more excited about the "super hard" endgame of sunbreak than I have been for i think any monster hunter to date (in most of the games i start to find it more tedious than fun)

I think it's a great fight. I had a blast with my friends hunting it and screaming "RUN!" as soon as I saw him take off for a bombing run.

People complain that monster hunter rise isn't hard enough then the release a hard monster and complain it's too hard 😭

I love the slow, methodical positioning based combat of old, so when they add a monster that has barely any endlag, ridiculous tracking and gigantic sweeping hitboxes, I can’t even begin to imagine any flow to the fight. Fought him 4 times and the only time I could get any damage off was when I used items or endemic life to CC him, there are barely any damage opportunities otherwise. Even the instant counters the silkbinds give are too slow. Idk I love old MH for the calm and predictable nature, the classic MH “Dance”so I can’t get behind this. I love my “ okay he’s doing this attack so I should stand here and begin my combo at this time to get the damage off” it’s super satisfying to me. There’s none of that with this guy. I’m happy for all you guys who love the thrill and adrenaline rush but this is too much for me lol

I have yet to do all the new 7* Quests but Risen Valstrax is a very chaotic fight. I do have some issues with it actually tracking you with his wing uppercut move, making it a little difficult to dodge him if you aren't up close to his face, which that itself makes for a dangerous answer when his other moves are also dangerous up close. But other than that I don't have too much of an issue with the fight. The Ambush feels like you have to GTFO and I flee to an area he can't reach just so I don't get hit by it

I remember my first Monster Hunter game, Freedom Unite, the game was so tough that I literally filled a book with notes about the sets of equipment + items I used to defeat each monsters, just to help me. But I still think MHFU is my favorite game

Definitely one of my favorite monsters so far! Love Valstrax, now so even more! Can't say the same about the slogfest that is Velkhana though.

Worth the challenge, and it's been a while to see this hecc of a hunt.😄

As a dual blades and glaive player, the entirety of risebreak was a breeze, Risen valstrax is the first one that made me use my brain in a fight, and I'm loving it, we need more of this.

“Is Sunbreak too aggressive?” This is hilarious after people have been making fun of Rise/Sunbreak being too easy since launch.

I've fought Valstrax so many times between MHGU, Rise, and base Sunbreak that I was able to adapt pretty quickly to Risen Valstrax's fight. I took it down on my first attempt with only one cart taken. I main IG, so I have an edge in that I can actively attack the wings while others won't have as easy of a time doing, and it also keeps me almost as mobile as the monster. I can dodge and dip out of any particular situation a lot faster than other weapons, and I haven't had much problems countering it with Advancing Roundslash (which is probably the trickiest counter in the game because of the startup lag imo), either. Base Rise's Crimson Glow Valstrax was basically MHGU's G Rank Valstrax with a few bells and whistles, base Sunbreak's Crimson Glow Valstrax throws new moves into the mix, and Risen Valstrax feels so much fresher than ever before!

Risen Crimson Glow Valstrax is genuinely a badly designed fight. There's nothing wrong with hyper aggressive monsters, there's nothing wrong with monsters that do ridiculous damage, there is something wrong with a monster that does both. Every attack WILL two shot you and some will straight up one shot you. That's fine, but when the monster just doesn't fucking let up EVER it becomes frustrating. This isn't a fun fight, there's nothing fun about spending the entire fight healing because if you don't heal after every attack that hits you you'll just die when the next attack hits. And you WILL get hit with its ridiculous sweeping attack and AOE that has hitboxes that span the entire map. It isn't a fun fight. Furious Rajang is hyper aggressive and keeps you on your toes, but in turn it doesn't do all that much damage and it has a very low health pool. Fatalis does a shit ton of damage but isn't overly aggressive. RCGV has everything, a ridiculously aggressive moveset, attacks that do way too much damage AND an inflated health pool. Nothing about the fight is fun, I didn't even feel good the first time I killed it, I was just angry because of how ridiculous of a fight it was. If this is the future of Monster Hunter it can be without me.

This was fight was so exciting and kept me on my toes. After several hunts, my boyfriend and I finally completed the quest. Reminds me of when we defeated HR pink Rathian in 4U with only a few minutes to spare.

Reminds me of the Furious Rajang fights prior to Rise. In IB, he had almost zero endlag on his attacks.

I can't wait for the final Title Update where will finally get afflicted arc tempered apex risen Crimson Glow Valstrax.

It's funny because with lance I didn't really struggle with him. I just blocked what he did and learned which moves I can counter better than others. I was kinda amazed how little tick damage his combos did through my shiels. Gunlance the same. Wide shelling and just shell at him and block his attacks. Sticking constantly under him limits so many of his options and everything that can get you there is easily blocked. But once you have to actually dodge his attacks and then position right for counters I can totally see how this is insane

I want to be afraid on a hunt. There isn't enough of that in Sunbreak.

4:53 Val: Why are you running?! WHY... ARE YOU RUNNING?! But honestly very true and I love Val even more because of this, also *AGGRESSION* might be a key word in the conversation of why Old Hunters say new world is too easy.

Risen Valstrax gave me the adrenaline I had soloing extremoth for a while. its a fun fight. i actually love it.

Smoothest transition to a subscribe segment I’ve ever seen, MY GOSH!

Risen valstrax forced me off switch axe to insect glaive and I love when monsters are so difficult they force me to change up my play style completely

Man I dunno, it felt awesome to me personally, finally something that actually made me triple cart for the first time since iceborne fatalis in release. Kinda find it funny though all the people saying sunbreak and rise are way too easy and now suddenly they change their tone the moment they cant meta-fuck a monster to death in 5 minutes on their first try. Its nice to finally have a monster i need to actually respect. It doesnt give you any room to breathe. You get the feeling that you're actually walking into a bossfight, instead of the monster walking into a bossfight (against you)

You asked for Frontier, you get Frontier

I have to catch up on sunbreak after a long time away, but I liked it the first time zinogre punished my wirefall as it does that triple stomp. The game was criticized by some as being too easy…well capcom listened! Love it

This aint that bad, says i a frontier player. The monsters are faster sure but are less agressive and nigh-unkillable then they could be Oh and dont forget, he is bloody mr160

I'm playing a hunting horn total defense build i need 25-30 minutes but i can beat Risen Valstrax 😅 it's definitely my favorite risen elder dragon his moveset is amazing and while he is a great challenge he is still a fair challenge if you don't go for damage 😅 use a defense build if you have problems it might take longer but it's better to beat it in 30 minutes than cart 5 times in a row 😁

We have never gone too far until we reached the fronteir.

How do you have available combos on the screen during a fight?

I would equate this hunt to a secret boss in Kingdom Hearts. Usually in KH you need to be really fast and aggressive with each boss, and it's relatively easy to find openings to heal. When I first fought against Sephiroth in KH1 and KH2, that all changed. It was, like the video said, a bit of fresh air to get a challenge. It didn't really seem too unfair once you figure out a pattern to a pretty aggressive boss.

Honestly I believe that valstrax being overly agressive is not only gameplay-wise, but also narratively great. You are not fighting your average angry monster. You are fighting a massively irritated elder dragon (one that is a final boss in generations ultimate offline campaign) that is out to kill anything in sight. Valstrax is in a frenzied rage, so rational and slow thinking gets exchanged for attacks that tend to combo into each other.

This sounds similar to the dance of early psp games but uptempo. There is a rythm but in the early games both you and the monster were slower and had less moves. It was a slow valse now it's a fast tango

His new ultimate is my favorite monster attack in the game. The scream of his wings when he charges to hit you with the stab after the spin is chef's kiss. I love my autistic jetpack dragon

regular valstrax ifrom base rise is also KINDA like risen too, the charge into dive into explosion is done by crimson glow too and it also has the the combo claw slam + wing slam TWO TIMES into explosion

Haven't had this much fun with a monster since i discovered some difficulty increased monster mods on MH: World, it's been a blast getting my ass beat until you start recognizing the patterns well enough to kick back against the monster and eventually win!

I hope they add a risen Lucent nargacuga, I feel like the developers have been leaving him out recently. but that could be just as an epic of a fight

I'd see this as a good thing because it actually makes the monsters feel like monsters, while also proving to be a challenge. Sure it's not fun just dodging all the time but we can also find ways to force monsters to stop their combos via flash bombs, staggers, traps, etc.

This is basically going back to their basics and is better than just caressing through every quest without any planning or grind!! 👍🏻👍🏻

I'm loving the powerlevel risen valstrax is at. I play insect glaive so the first few time fighting it were a pain as stamina management can be a big issue. But the more that I fight it, the more that I really rolling into the monster protects you from alot of attacks. I feel like the difficulty of this monster is the highest its ever been for sunbreak but can be made way easier or harder depending on the weapon you choose. IG doesn't have inherent counters so I have to spend a lot of time dodging and weaving through attacks just so I can optimize time. compared to weapons like LS and DB that have counters and can get close really easily.

He's challenging but far from a serious difficulty spike compared to the rest. Fatalis from iceborne...now that's a difficult fight

I didn't have problems with him last time I played. Did they change him recently?

My first mh game introduced Valstrax this monster single handedly nearly made my last mh game as well. Learned get a big shield and high guard and and become that unmovable object against that unstoppable force.

now this is a true risen elder because you fear it and its fun hunting something so scary.

I honestly need help . 14 hour shifts 3 days at most on a lucky day off . Rank 50 . MHR been playing for weeks . Went into sun break and I just decided to take a nap out the window . Any help with charge blade builds I can pour these off days into so I can enjoy rather than deploy my switch out the window

Idk if they had gone way too far when it comes to monsters and updates. But in the monster’s’ defense, they did allow a breather or two after certain attacks.

Risen Valstrax is the first monster since like...maybe 3U where it feels like the player is completely outmatched by the monster, and given that you're a little human fighting typically giant monsters, that makes sense for MH. It feels desperate, like any mistake could be your last, and that's not something I've gotten from MH for a long time. It's a sweaty, nerve-wracking hunt in the best way.

Im glad that we get fights like that we need more fights like fatalis from iceborn

The Risen Valstrax makes me sweat my palm

Yeah, the "follow up" AI system was quite a shock for me when I first faced Velkhana in World. I guess they found a more suitable and balancing use by recicling the same concept with the later monsters for sunbreak

The problem with MR vasltrax is still there, you cannot stop the first charge vasltrax does, ignoring it being stupidly fast, the damage threshold is too high

Risen Shagaru followed up on this new trend. I can't even begin to imagine how crazy will Primordial Malzeno be 😢😢😢

The problem I have is that I either have to run healer builds to keep everyone else alive, or do everything alone so that I can play the way I want too. This ended up sucking all the fun out of Iceborne with the last two title updates for me, as I had to do the same there. This difficulty over fun mentality they get with these monsters has been making me dread title updates.

hello bro. Im new to monster hunter what is that move on 1:18 where the sharpness is restore? Thank you.

As a bow user taking potshots in between dodging is an experience why I love the bow but it kinda pissed that "Dragon piercer" has become so dangerous to use it feels like being left out from other weapons. Unless I have enough time to get used to the monsters then it's less painful and I can get pretty good "Dragon piercers" that stagger a charging monster.

i want even MORE aggressive monsters. most things are too easy when you get perfect gear

I can learn to live with the challenge. What I can't live with is the grind it takes to reach them. I've yet to reach scorned Magnamalo yet because I just don't feel doing it. I've been a vet of monster hunter for a long long long time, and I absolutely wanna fight the new monsters. I just don't have the time or patience to grind out that much.

i've reached mr999 and have been actively using all 14 weapons, and imo risen val is kinda ridiculous mainly because of the charge up move being so fucking random despite the fact that the topple you can get from preventing him charging up is the key of the hunt.

Lance is great in this fight, aggression is always welcome when holding a lance

Then there's me... With a impenetrable shield... "you wot?" xD

I really love this fight, its like different from before, many punishing move, after i get used to risen valstrax then comeback to grind anomaly research, hoo boy the difference when fighting anomaly f rajang is much easier now

Valstrax just cant be hated.

When I finally battled the valstrax I finally felt like it was truly a monster hunter game

Here’s my general idea the base of Mh dlc should be an equal fight but post game monsters, endgame monsters should be incredibly punishing like you said this is a perfect thing as the monster is in control exactly what endgame Mh should be

Here’s hoping they make the rest of the risen monsters on a similar level of challenge and engagement

I enjoyed the Risen Shagaru Magala fight because of how aggressive it felt. I felt I was dancing with it, with my gunlance.

The hazard treatment Lucent has been given is something I'd like wholesale for all the monsters in the anomaly system. Would give them a nice shakeup beyond just bigger numbers, since them simply being stronger, and spongier isn't enough imo.

that thing made my head hurts more than AT Velkhana

A variant of a variant of my favorite monster, with the best fight in the best game. I couldn’t be happier.

If a monster can be beaten within 50 minutes by playing it safe and attacking when you have the opportunity, then no, it’s not too far. As a beginner, one of the key obstacles you must overcome balancing your aggression with knowing when to fall back, and when to quaff a potion. Sometimes this means taking attacks of opportunity (when a monster is down or flinches) and turning them into Heals or WireBuffs of opportunity. Sticking to the general guideline of not letting your health really fall below 60% without taking the time out to heal is also one of the best strategies to overcome a tough hunt (unless you’re trying to proc a skill) You can use your first cart to play more haphazardly, but just remember, the hunt is a Marathon, not a short race. If you pace yourself, most hunts can be completed. I would say any- but I’ve not played every quest in the MH series.

Valstrax has been a cake walk I think I've died to him like 2 different times and it's when I first played him and in the event quest against him

There were saying "if they attack you from the ground, go fly" most valstrax atk focus on ground if you succed doing air dodge it should be easy to avoid its chain atk

Haven't played sunbreak yet. But for me it was the legendary Velkhana from world. Took me almost 5 hours to finally take it down.

This is my opinion. But I haven't really been vibing with the master rank experience so far. I noticed in Iceborne it felt like I was retreating more than I was actually attacking. I've experienced G-Rank difficulty in games prior, but I don't remember feeling as powerless as I did when I played the MHW expansion. I have yet to play Sunbreak, but it seems like it'll follow the same pattern. So nowadays it seems like it might just be best for me to play the base game experience, and just leave it at that. But I'm gonna try Sunbreak and see how it goes.

I like how hard this bastard is every time me and the boys go to fight him we’re scared the whole time because one screw up and your nearly dead or just dead its pure adrenaline that I feel like the other monsters lack the fear the feeling of fighting a superior being that will end if you don’t keep your composure something I hope monster hunter goes further into

My discord friend took me to Risen Valstrax along with other discord members and man even though I was still MR 50 that time using HBG Magnamalo Sticky Slicing build it was fun, what’s weird for me though was they kept getting the aggro even though I’m pelting valstrax with slicing Stickies and even pierce xD

Wonder if I should expect guard break galore when I attempt this with Lance.

Aß a lance main: if i counter an attack and theres a follow up attack i simply counter it again

I completely agree with the opinion that the game is becoming more aggressive, however I don’t feel it much since I main dual blades in this game and that allows me to play reactive since I have at least 2 counters and 1 of them pretty frame 1. I can see how dealing with him can be rough for the average player or other weapons

Danced with RCGV yesterday using my decked lance build damn felt like a slug fest...damn a boxing match for sure

Risen valstrax: fairness what's that?

I don’t care if he’s to aggressive it was so fun playing him and I cannot wait for risen shaguru

To sum up. “Shit.!.They.Evolve”

I love it being this aggressive, sure I struggle to get a hit in while using great sword, lance, heavy bowgun, or long sword (only ones I went against it with so far), there’s something intriguing about it and I 100% understand why the monster that’s faster than sound attacks so quickly

There is one thing I do have to say about Risen Val and its that hes a bitch and a half to fight with chargeblade, since elemental is pretty much out of the park with the dragonblight and inconsistant damage i have to stick to impact which is fine, however thats not my problem. My problem is WHENEVER HE HAS AN OPENING TO AN ATTACK HE RAISES HIS HEAD EVER SO SLIGHTLY AS TO AVOID ANY IMPCT PHIAL TO CAUSE A KNOCKPOUT. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Not to mention his already rather high stun resist. thats not the only thing either 90% of his openings arent even long enough for CB to finish its animation before hitting me with one single attack that deals 70% of my health.

Removing time limits & increasing cart limits beyond a certain monster difficulty might help balance things out.

I think Risen CG Valstrax is honestly Capcom's response to those players who complain that Monster Hunter's difficulty is too easy lol

Oh this Valstrax fight really reminds me of the original g rank MHGU fight, its intense and fast fight

I honestly loved playing against Risen Valstrax, I tried beating it with each weapon but I was most successful with the Gunlance, I wish the other Risen elder dragons were that hardcore

I liked monster hunter because of the dance between monster and hunter. Every dance is different so you must adapt. Then theres the one woman who tries to lead the dance then causes chaos for the group

I have little problem with valstrax, I having a tough time with Risen magala though. The huge hitboxes and multihits are hard to fight especially for a GS user. Considering they changed how the GS works, you really only get to deal good damage via tackling and taking damage. Which is a no go the higher you get with rank and especially with multiple hits. It's a real problem and only weapons that can parry or dodge everything like LS will shine by the end of it.

I just remember struggling to kill the kut ku in 2006, never fought this thing but it looks crazy.