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Monster Hunter Wilds did not launch with full underwater weapon combat because making underwater battles work alongside ground combat effectively means building a second combat system. Former series producer Shintaro Kojima described the added work as “like making a separate game.” That helps explain the challenge, but it is not a confirmed statement of Capcom’s specific decision for Wilds. The game later added a limited underwater Lagiacrus encounter in a 2025 update.
Why is full underwater combat such a large undertaking?
Underwater combat is not simply ground combat with a swimming animation. It changes how a hunter moves, attacks, and interacts with the environment, while the ground-based system still has to work as before.
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In a post dated August 24, 2024, former Monster Hunter producer Shintaro Kojima said that adding underwater combat to a game with ground battles is “like making a separate game.” AUTOMATON WEST’s translation captures his point: the extra work is difficult and substantial. AUTOMATON WEST reported Kojima’s comments and development context.
The changes affect more than locomotion. For Monster Hunter Tri, underwater play needed its own movement, animations, and combat behaviors. Some familiar actions and items also had to be adapted: for example, kicks became shoulder tackles, while traps and bombs had to account for objects floating in water rather than resting on the ground.
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- Wild New Adventure – Monster Hunter Wilds follows the story of a special Research Commission investigating the Forbidden Lands. Fully voiced for the first time in the series, the hunter is joined in their journey by a colorful cast of characters, including a Palico partner, Guild-appointed Handler Alma, trusty smithy Gemma, and the mysterious child Nata. Together, the team ventures into an unexplored new frontier where surprises await around every corner.
- A Living World – The Forbidden Lands spans multiple biomes with dynamic identities, such as the Windward Plains and Scarlet Forest, where the ecosystems shift between vibrant seasons brimming with life, and unforgiving climates where monsters fight over limited resources. Changes in the landscape will impact the creatures that live there and push hunters to adapt as well.
- New Monsters and Wildlife – Monster Hunter Wilds features a variety of new creatures, ranging from herds of small species to large monsters – some of which roam the Forbidden Lands in packs. Every creature hunters encounter in the wild has carved out a special place in its habitat and possesses unique attacks and behaviors.
- Players can also now ride atop the Seikret, an agile new mount enabling hunters to traverse difficult terrain, perform actions like sharpening weapons on the move, and switch between two weapons while out on hunts!
- Evolved Hunting Action – The series’ acclaimed action-packed gameplay is back and more exciting than ever! Hunters can look forward to tracking down monsters with an array of new moves, special abilities, equipment, and more. The action also now flows seamlessly from cutscenes to gameplay, resulting in a new level of immersion.
Those examples illustrate the design burden; they do not prove that underwater combat was universally disliked or technically impossible. Nor did Kojima’s general explanation establish a definitive internal reason for Wilds specifically.
What did Monster Hunter’s directors say before Wilds?
In a 2017 interview about Monster Hunter: World, director Kaname Fujioka said the team had worked hard to make underwater action function, but decided its time and effort were better spent on other parts of that game. He also said he was personally attached to the idea and might want to try it again someday, while making clear he could not say what the future would hold. GameSpot’s interview with Fujioka records those remarks.
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- Hunt giant nature-infused bests – Survive their attacks, learn from their behaviors, and use your Karakuri and your weapons in combination to cut these creatures down to size.
- Craft your hunting grounds – You are the only one in Azuma able to wield the Karakuri technology.
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- Gear up to hunt, hunt to gear up – Create your character, then gather materials from each hunt and build an array of armor and weapons.
Fujioka was talking about the decision for World, not predicting what would happen in Wilds. Taken together, his comments and Kojima’s later explanation show why underwater battles can compete with other development priorities: the team must create and tune a parallel set of combat interactions, not just add explorable water.
Does Monster Hunter Wilds have underwater combat now?
Yes, but only in a limited, encounter-specific form. Wilds launched without general underwater hunting combat. Its second free title update went live on June 30, 2025, and added Lagiacrus along with a reworked underwater encounter. Windows Central reported that ordinary weapons cannot be used underwater in this fight: hunters instead use the Slinger to activate environmental traps, grapple onto Lagiacrus, and use a knife. Windows Central’s update coverage describes the encounter.
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That makes the update a return to underwater fighting in a narrow sense, not a restoration of Tri-style underwater weapon combat across the game.
How does the Lagiacrus encounter compare with Tri’s underwater combat?
| Aspect | Monster Hunter Tri | Monster Hunter Wilds Lagiacrus encounter |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Underwater combat was a broader part of the game’s hunting system, with its own movement and adapted actions and items. (AUTOMATON WEST) | A limited, encounter-specific underwater fight added in the June 30, 2025 second free title update. (Windows Central) |
| Ordinary weapons underwater | The cited coverage discusses underwater combat and adjusted actions, but does not specify weapon availability in a way that supports a direct comparison. (AUTOMATON WEST) | Ordinary weapons are unavailable underwater in the reported encounter. (Windows Central) |
| How the fight works | Underwater movement, animations, and actions were adapted for the environment; examples include shoulder tackles and changes to how traps and bombs function. (AUTOMATON WEST) | The reported tools include the Slinger, environmental traps, grappling onto Lagiacrus, and a knife. (Windows Central) |
What can we conclude about Wilds’ launch decision?
The available comments explain why full underwater combat would demand substantial design and production work, and Fujioka’s account shows that a Monster Hunter team previously chose to spend that effort elsewhere. They do not document Capcom’s definitive internal decision for Wilds. The careful conclusion is that the work involved helps explain why full underwater combat was absent at launch, while the later Lagiacrus encounter demonstrates a more constrained way to bring underwater action into the game.
Quick Recap
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- Wild New Adventure – Monster Hunter Wilds follows the story of a special Research Commission investigating the Forbidden Lands. Fully voiced for the first time in the series, the hunter is joined in their journey by a colorful cast of characters, including a Palico partner, Guild-appointed Handler Alma, trusty smithy Gemma, and the mysterious child Nata. Together, the team ventures into an unexplored new frontier where surprises await around every corner.
- A Living World – The Forbidden Lands spans multiple biomes with dynamic identities, such as the Windward Plains and Scarlet Forest, where the ecosystems shift between vibrant seasons brimming with life, and unforgiving climates where monsters fight over limited resources. Changes in the landscape will impact the creatures that live there and push hunters to adapt as well.
- New Monsters and Wildlife – Monster Hunter Wilds features a variety of new creatures, ranging from herds of small species to large monsters – some of which roam the Forbidden Lands in packs. Every creature hunters encounter in the wild has carved out a special place in its habitat and possesses unique attacks and behaviors.
- Evolved Hunting Action – The series’ acclaimed action-packed gameplay is back and more exciting than ever! Hunters can look forward to tracking down monsters with an array of new moves, special abilities, equipment, and more. The action also now flows seamlessly from cutscenes to gameplay, resulting in a new level of immersion.
- Crossplay Multiplayer – Alongside the option to enjoy the story of Monster Hunter Wilds solo, hunters can join up to three other players across any platform to explore the world together and take on the game’s challenges as a hunting party or receive aid from notable story characters as Support Hunter NPCs.
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