(sources further down in this comment) 00:00 - Intro 02:37 - Regional Species 04:30 - Anjanath Cult 07:05 - Fire Nation 09:31 - Frontier 11:55 - Monster Recycling 14:57 - Guild Knights 17:30 - Outro Sources: MH3U Quest Descriptions MHW & MHR Armor Descriptions Hunter's Encyclopedia G, III, IV Monster Hunter Illustrations I, II, III Making of Monster Hunter: World CORRECTION: Guardians are a type of Guild Knight, not the other way around. Among the knights, there are the 12 "true" Guild Knights, which are the ones tasked with hunting poachers.
On the Frontier, how much of it is present compared to Human-Civilized areas? I like to imagine it more like a gradual gradient, and not just a clear divide, like for example, cities like Riveru and Verudo on one end, and the Hunting Grounds ingame on the other, with everywhere else inbetween this spectrum
@@Gundam_mug_liker Imagine a sizable group of Anjanath worshippers, dressed in full armor, approaching threateningly a scared merchant, then stopping in front of him, and one of them goes: "We want that plushie."
@@auditor7613 yep, Fatalis is so dangerous that any mission involving it are rarely made public just to avoid panic. I mean, this thing lay waste to whatever city it resigned in Iceborne
Much like in our world animals tend to steer clear of civilization because they might be strong and dangerous but humans have numbers and theirs not many places to hide. A Rathalos could attack a city but it’d probably have to be desperate. The Fire Nation uses Monster attacks as training for their soldiers after all. Monster Hunters would absolutely be seen as a bunch of freaks for willingly living in the untamed wild in that sense but Monster Hunters still have their place because in World we’re sent first to survey new land and theirs missions that boil down to “Monsters are getting dangerously close and we don’t have the resources to deal with it ourselves”
Man, Monster hunter lore is so interesting. It would be very cool to have a game, where you play as a guardian or even a guild knight, that can also properly show the world of monster hunter outside of monster hunting
I’m playing 3U right now and the Moga Sweetheart has this funny tendency to refer to a guild guidebook for tips on monsters she introduces to you which has such “useful” advice as “whatever you do, don’t get crushed!” and stuff like that, which has me convinced that in a lot of parts of the Monster Hunter world the guild is made up of a lot of crazy people held together by duct tape and dreams and I kinda want that to be true lol
That part of the game gave me an idea, a game where you play as a hunter who has either left the guild or was kicked from the guild, you continue to hunt monsters while having to evade a guild knight.
I know most people couldn't care less about the lore or story in MonHun games, but as a lifelong RPG fan as well, I love these little hidden tidbits and possible story ideas that Capcom could explore or expand upon. The idea of there being a larger civilized world beyond the Frontier where we mainly play the games in is so cool to me. It could be similar to how in Monster Hunter Stories, the Riders and the Hunters are so culturally different in their approach to monsters too.
I mean monster hunter is a arpg so I mean of course if your playing it, your probably going to be at least somewhat interested in the lore, less why would you play it? If its just for the boss battles than you would only play a couple of them not really be a fan at least thats what i think..
I have a scalding hot take, which is that World overdid things with the focus on ecology in Monster Hunter (I am not saying Monster Hunter should have no ecology, I just prefer the way it was handled in the older games), and I really hope the next Monster Hunter spends a lot more time exploring human and wyverian civilizations/lore and the effect monsters have on them. But my first game was 4U, which arguably has the most character interaction in the series (you visit 5 different locales in the village story!) so I know I have a bias towards that sort of thing. A bias, but it does feel unappreciated by the fandom that cares so much about the nature of the monsters and nothing of the people we’re trying to hunt with and protect.
I don’t think any player truly like mh only for the gameplay but for some it is a big focus (which is fine). Personally lore and ecology is my favourite part of the games
Wow, I didn't know about the Guild Knights being limited to twelve in number. That's probably a good thing, when you consider that they're the only people legally allowed (by Guild law) to kill humans. There's also probably a test of character that prospective knights go through to weed out anyone who would abuse the position.
But how do they do their task with 12 people only, there's possibly an entire group of poacher made up of extremely high leveled hunters like us Or they are just that strong
@@陳嘉宇-y4q The Guild's influence is extremely strong, so it's very unlikely a large number of Guild Hunters would go rogue at once. Also, the most skilled Hunters make huge amounts of money from the quest rewards, so there's no monetary motivation for going rogue either.
@@陳嘉宇-y4q The possibility is still there, but as JanusHoW told you, Hunters have better oportunities within the law of the Guild. They will receive money, have access to certified blacksmiths and have the right of use every Guild's facilities ALL AROUND THE GLOBE with the exception of Aya Kingdom. Is like having US Passport and deciding to become illegal immigrant in Somalia. But there's always people that evil or that stupid who would break the law, go poaching and sell the materials to some shady black market. Or even to Aya Kingom or other places not related to the Guild. AFAWK monsters are EVERYWHERE. There's no reason to think Aya is populated by normal cats and dogs and cattle. They MUST have some protection of some sort. Maybe their own Guild, or who knows. So maybe they can offer protection to rogue hunters due their hatred for the Guild. It's an interesting topic tho.
@@陳嘉宇-y4q "..and only the best of the best, the absolute pinnacle of both Guardians and Hunters are granted this legendary name." high level doesn't mean highly skilled.
Really fun detail, the warrior wyverian riders which oppose you during the story of Stories 2, actually wear that Anjanath armor. That really matches to what you're sharing about the idea of there being an anjanath warrior-cult.
imagine trying to eat Monster Hunter world monsters with team rwby but deku is the waiter and there's a ultra instinct Argonian is the cook and careless whispers by seether starts playing what would you do
@dre Cults follow and watch over elder dragons and their territory zealously. Some cults are peaceful and have worked out deals with the guild while others are more devious in their intent and don't care whom they hurt or gets in their way for the betterment and wishes of the elder season they follow. Some elder dragons are too dangerous to have followers (Nergagante), while a secret cult is working on plans to revive their dead elder dragon (Fatalis). The guild, hunters, and cults push to make a thrilling story for the players.
Running a custom campaign that uses elements of MH as part of its setting. Mine has a doomsday cult for Fatalis. It also counts Grigori from Dragon’s Dogma as an elder dragon, and Majidonga from Patapon as a brute wyvern.
@@MrNickPresley a friend I play mhgu with is doing the same thing all by themselves and I would like to know if you have any videos showing your progress?
Another interesting bit of MH lore that not many people seem to know is that the monsters Akantor and Ukanlos are named after gods in their world. Back in Freedom 2 Akantor was a never before seen monster and was completely unknown to the Guild. As the Guild were tracking it and trying to corner it in an area of the volcano they were also evacuating the people of nearby settlements. The locals told the Guild members that the monster was likely the "Black God" from their legends. With not much other information to work from the Guild named the new monster after that god from their legend, which is Akantor. The same applied to Ukanlos named after the "White God" when it appeared in Freedom Unite/Portable G 2. All of this is stated in the Hunting Life magazines on the bookshelf in the player's room
I have been playing FU and I was planing on cheeking the bookshelf someday for the same reason, there is some good lore in them. Another thing that I have seen in FU is that there's a material named Master's Skull which seems to be the skull of a deceased hunter, which is used to upgrade some weapons and the idea of using human bones to craft hunting gear is pretty...interesting
It actually "does" in some way. But most of the time is gameplay-wise. For example, you cannot attempt to hunt the newly discovered Metal Raths in Iceborne without master rank of at least 70. Requisites are extremely low, again, gameplay-wise, but it influences you in some sort. Also the rank you're holding, low, high or G/master rank is also a measurement of how skilled you are and that determines which kind of quests the Guild assistants can assign to you. In fact, Guild Card is just like your RL ID card. And I suppose leveling up your rank wouldn't be a matter of a few weeks or months, maybe hunters spend YEARS in low rank 1 or 2 stars before they're skilled enough to be considered available to tackle some monsters we as players are sick of slaying. But more relation between your guild card and your rank would be nice for sure.
Your character is considered to be a "once-in-a-generation" Hunter - capable of extraordinary feats worthy of legend and absolutely blasting through the ranks at a seemingly impossible rate. Most NPC Hunters probably never get past Low Rank in their whole lifetime, but your character goes from the very bottom of Low Rank to G/Master Rank in what's probably a few short years.
Another fun example of monster recycling are GUs final bosses both Narkarkos and Athal Ka are based on very early designs from the time before mh1 when they hadnt quite figured out the aesthetic and themes of the series, Athal Kas giant mech is an obvious reference to the infamaous "Equal Dragon Weapon" concept art and Narkarkoses first phase where it hides its true body, is based on concept art of a two headed mummie snake...
@@bobisuncanny2760 yeah Im happy to see that they haven't abandoned some really cool ideas, fighting Vaal sucked but the concept of the monster has to be one of my favorites for an elder dragon
I have that too but in Japanese I always thinking to myself that unused monster concepts in early Monster Hunter are an inacurate or an exagerated depiction of monster made by early scholar trying to studied them. It is like in the real life, early schoolar often because of their limited knowladge, made some inacurate and exagerated illustarstions and facts about exotic nature from far away land. You can search some early depiction of animals like Hipo, or Whale made by medieval schoolar who has limited knowladge of the subjects in that time.
I actually love the details about how the games take place in the frontier and how most people's lives are completely different from what we see in the games. I really hope we get to explicitly see this in game
For the monster design recycling tidbit, Vaal Hazak is a great example of this! There are old concepts of fungal/rot monsters, and Vaal is the modern completed version of those.
Same Reason why rathalos is king of the sky. One is a old scary bedtime story from generations before, the other is an apex predator, dominating the Environment u life at ;)
I would honestly love to see you cover old monster hunter concepts and scrapped ideas if given the chance. Especially the concepting phase of the original MH. It was planned to be much more darker, violent, and gritty with thing's such as goblins and classes as well. Its actually surprising how the game turned out and is an interesting look into the desgin process behind the team. Not many people talk about it, and if they do, its only the equal dragon weapon. But the equal dragon weapon was just one thing of many tossed around in early concepts
As someone who's relatively new to the Monster Hunter community (I started in World), the amount of lore just hidden away in the games fascinates me. I think Monster Hunter has some of the most interesting worldbuilding I've seen in a game, it's just a shame that a lot of it is hidden away in flavourtext and obscure artbooks, though I guess that makes it all the more special when you discover something interesting about the wider world of Monster Hunter tucked away in a weird place.
I honestly love lore that isn't just fed to you through a main story. Finding out new things about places, creatures or other things simply through that one otherwise irrelevant npc or even collectibles that hold no importance in any other aspect is great because it feels realistic. Even in real life you don't learn everything because it's taught in school or something. You find a book that looks interesting and find stuff. You hear of a topic by passing a conversation by chance and think "huh, that sounds interesting". A good mix between being taught and finding things by chance is what makes worldbuilding not just better, but more believable
Im glad I’m not the only one fascinated by the fire nation ! My Hunter in 3U and onwards is loosely based on the Fire Nation Princess that gives some of those quests, if she was to take arms herself
Holy shit that ad timer was genius, never seen any other RU-vidr do that to be honest I wish we got a spinoff monster hunter game where we get to play as a guild knight or a field researcher so we can explore more of this terrific world. It could be an open world game or hell maybe even a town builder where you collect materials for every successful quest. Theres so much you can do in this universe and i love it. Great video, been meaning to watch it for a while. Instant subscription 💙
Dude I love the Anjanath Cult! He's my all time favorite monster and after reading the armor descriptions, I made my character's autowords match to make it seem like he was a part of it!
The Anjanath cult is especially interesting, because in MH: Stories 2, the group of riders that attempts to kidnap Ratha are also wearing anjanath armor. I feel like these have to be related.
Absolutely loved this. As someone who's only ever player MHW, I know so little about the lore, especially surrounding the old world. The game really doesn't focus on that at all. I also find the lore of the felynes and the wyverians super interesting and obscure too.
Really enjoyed this videos man! Thanks for making this kind of content, makes me enjoy the game twice as much. I've played monster hunter since the first game and videos like yours really make the monster hunter world come to life, thanks again.
Freedom Unite has countless quests that has juicy lores in it and i love reading them if I'm stuck from choosing quests lol. I wish there would be a part 2 of this in the future
Imagine a game where we play as Guardians or Guild knights! It would be great for exploring the world outside of monster or a perfect opportunity if they wanted to make sequel to World/Iceborne where after slaying Fatalis you're hired into the Guild
Guild Knight I recently learned a bit of their lore, but the fire nation is something I remember seeing alot in the text of Quest mostly because of not having all of the corage to face It or simply Styian zinogre. Thanks for the vídeo
As far as the Anjanath Cult thing goes, there are multiple people in monster hunter stories two that show up as enemies. Look up a few videos of playthroughs, you'll see a little over a dozen of them.
This is really cool, I had no idea the world was this well developed. I wish more focus would be put on world building, the mh setting has so much potential.
Interesting stuff. I appreciate the tags in the bottom left showing which game the footage is from and the music cue in the top left showing which song is playing.
Great vid! I was low key hoping to see Ahtal-Ka weapon descriptions being mentioned, but there was a lot in here that was really cool, like the Anjanath Cult.
As a lore fanatic, I love your videos since I am new to the series and would love to learn more about the world and the creatures I'm hunting. Thank you for the awesome content.
Something to note about the “frontier” is that it’s a parallel of sorts to the country side in our real world civilization. People in cities often look down with disdain on country folk, but cities would die of starvation if it weren’t for the people working day and night in the country side.
I really love your lore videos about Monster Hunter. It is fascinating how much of lore information is spread througout the whole francise. Keep it up man
I really enjoyed this as a long time MH lore fan, I didn't know that bit about the fire nation but I do have some inkling about the others posted. I would like this to continue and explain other theories such as the ancient civilization or wyverian species or even the EDW.
The technology of the Monster Hunter world fascinates me. I'd love to see a breakdown of how they technically have access to advanced machinery and even computers but they specifically choose to limit their use to ensure a proper balance with nature. According to various offhand comments throughout the series, they have the ability to use long distance communication, metallurgy, medicine (including neuroscience), and more, but only a handful of places in the world are allowed to manage and use the equipment needed.
anjanath pink dino armour could almost be same as Nargacuga armour where they came from respective tribes and live their lives based on the behaviour of the monsters (difference being nargacuga being ninja/swift and sneaky ppl and Anjanath being, Out loud fighters
Curious that the guild knight armor comes mid-late game in every game, as if your character at that period of MH time is turning into one of the 12. Oh boy how I'd love to see a guild kight game and seeing a reference to all those Hunters' histories we've been playing
The armor is often duplicated, but it does not grant the authority the real deal has. There's probably something the real Guild Knights have to distinguish themselves from the ones who just wear the armor for kicks.
iirc, in Generations, one of the housekeeper lass you can select is actually an undercover guild knight, the one who goes through your item box. It's said that she goes through hunter's stuff to find evidence of wrongdoing and then she'll execute them in their sleep, or something. The one that goes "Hey ho hunterino"
Wow that Anjanath cult seems like a missed opportunity for WORLD. Imagine if the players interacted with the tribe and have quests to earn their alliance with the guild. Definitely would’ve been interesting, but still it’s a fun tidbit of lore.
it'd be interesting to see in the next MH games to feature these factions especially those evil or rogue factions like poachers, slavers or black markets.
Same. I would love to have a human antagonist story going on in the background while I play. Not fighting them directly, but performing actions that help disrupt them. I just refuse to believe the MH world has zero evil or selfish people lol
I've been working on a piece of fan-fiction based on MH:Rise Sunbreak, so learning little tidbit like this that I can use to flesh out the world more and seed the story with possible plothooks later is just fantastic. I will definitely be seeking out more of your videos.
This has to be one of my favorite MH series videos so far! As another nerd who ingests some of the obscure flavor texts of the game, I really hope to see more of this in the future! 😁👍✨
I know I was late, but Anjanath cult does get some recognition in Monster Hunter Stories 2, the main villain employs Riders with Anjanath armor, all of them never opens their helmet (so far at least, haven't finished the game yet). Weirdly none of them Riders ride Anjanath as their Monsties. From what I gather so far, I think Anjanath cult is part of an apocalypse cult.
I find it so fascinating the idea of Guild Knights. I would love to know more about them in a future video if there is more information about this legendary hunters! Amazing video as always ❤
It's really cool rhat you mentioned the Fire Country, that one quest by the Fire Country Princess, "A Burnt Offering", where you have to hunt an Uragaan and Agnaktor to stop her from being sacrificed was one of the most memorable ones lol
Never knew about the knights, that's pretty cool! Not did I know about the weird views on hunters most of the world had! That's interesting, love to learn new stuff about this world!
I hope we see a story with a guild knight in the future. Their lore gives a reason for not having hunter pvp (which wouldn't fit mh anyways) but still gives the opportunity for an evil human villian(though idk if that would work in mh, maybe with the right set-up).
I *ADORE* lore bits like this! Thank you for hunting them down and putting them all into video format. Really hope that you do more of these, as I have been trying to learn more tidbits like this throughout the years, especially from older games. I only know of a few things from MH 4U up to the present, and reading through various quest, item, and armor descriptions. Very cool, keep up the good work, and please consider making more videos like this one!
I absolutely love learning about the Lore of Monster Hunter, it can be so in depth and well thought out yet so hard to aquire or learn about. This video made me realize I could be part of the anjanath cult lmao I love everything around Anjanath and using its armor and weapon. Wonderful video!
Like morning breakfast for me! I recently purchased the MH World artbook and reading it feels like I'm examining another spec Evo book which is wonderful. I feel this cements my relationship with MH.
Don't be upset if you don't know a lot of these; Gravios is the adult form of Basarios, a simple fact that my friend who's been playing Monster Hunter SINCE BEFORE THE CHARGEBLADE CAME OUT didn't know.
this guild fact makes the power scaling of mhw so much better for humans from strongest to weakest would probably be: 1. Sapphire Star (can kill multiple elder dragons) 2. The 12 Guild Knights (can solo an elder dragon) 3. The Huntsman (can at least fight an elder dragon) 4. The Admiral (was about to fight an elder dragon with his bare hands)
ReFramework! Its a general modding/debugging tool for Rise and comes with freecam and timestop (although both are a little buggy and need some tweaking for personal use)
honestly i would love a monster hunter game that was straight up just being a guild knight hunting monsters and criminals. like imagine hunting some rouge hunter as they try to use an elder dragon as a distraction to escape or kill you
Also Fire Nation, again from MHS2, I think they're talking about Nue Tu Village. A secluded Wyverian village tucked away in a mountainous region, surrounded by lava cavern. Mostly traditional hunters but they can't hunt large monster by themselves because the lack of weaponary and seclution to outside world to hire Hunter from other region. All Rider and Hunter previously thought the village is just a legend because how secluded their village is.
When you said 'locked away in the text boxes that only weirdos read' I said that same thing, then laughed at the follow up. Spent HOURS reading every character (especially Kagero's) in rises text boxes after every urgent quest. Truly one of my favorite channels on here, love your content so much!
Talking about recycling monster designs, in the World book theres a concept for Xenojiva that had it looking like an oceanic sea slug specifically the Glaucus atlanticus with all its tendrils and stuff. It looks very similar to Wind Serpent Ibushi in some regards.
Poachers seem like they would be an interesting rare encounter during a hunt. A poacher could use iron/alloy gear or a random low to mid tier monster gear set. You could have one spawn on a map with no indication that the poacher is in the area except mabye some dead small monsters scattered about. The poacher then tracks and fights a random monster on the map,leaving if victorious. Should the poacher(s) spot the hunter(s) they will either flee or attack the hunter(s) to silence the witness(es). The main difference between the types of poachers would be a divide between regular poachers and rouge hunters. Regular poachers would have a limited set of available weapons. (Sword and shield, bow, double blades and I'd give them a billhook like polearm as an option) Where as rouge hunters get the full weapon roster as available options. While combat with a poacher would be rare/very rare should a poacher take down the mission's target monster it could be considered a mission fail. The two types could also have different voice lines and attitudes,with regular poachers being somewhat afraid of the Hunter(s) and will take the flee option more often and will be less successful in monster fights. Rouge hunters could be cocky and cruel, a dark inversion of the player. One that might see a hunter as just more dangerous game, something to test their might against. Also a perfect excuse to have a track called 'Proof of a Villian' for a rouge hunter fight. This could also be an excuse to have guild knights and guardians have some side story missions set around aiding them. After all the world is a massive place and if there are only 12 guild knights they must be stretched rather thin, after all it sounds like the frontier would be a perfect place for the lawless to hide.
I like to think for MR and maybe some missions in HR it’s the opposite, you’re hunting a Kushala Daora or kirin and you just see this other hunter completely decked out in crazy gear and they’re like some super high profile underground poachers with badass names like the adjdicatjon or some else
This is one of those videos where i was like: "wait, its already over? I want more!" Great content! Even after 4000 hours i had no clue about this kind of lore existing. I guess we need a Vaatividya for MH-Lore. Definitely subbing.
Monster cults and other occult worship are likely some degree of widespread. In Rise, Khezu fangs are said to be used in dark magic rituals, for example.
@@emblemblade9245 to be clear, the description does not make it look like it's a cult OF Khezu, it just says its fangs are used BY people that practice dark rituals, so it could be a demon cult or witch coven for all we know.
This is too cool! Anjanath is my favorite monster in World, I have all of the weapons and the armor is my favorite set! I had no idea there was a whole tribe of Anja Warriors though. I wonder how one joins such a people?
Can you do a lore on the HUNTER itself? How are they so powerful beyond real life human? How can they jump from the top of the mountain and lands like nothing happens How are they have strength to swing giant sword, hammer, etc. for a long duration without tired? Maybe in MH universe the oxygen is more dense, thus their lungs adapt to heavier concentration of oxygen, allowing more stamina, maybe? What's their biology, etc.
