Congratulations, Monster Hunter Wilds players. Your game's the talk of the town right now, mainly because half the population of the world is playing it. There's one thing you can't have, though, no matter how hard you try. No, it's not issue-free PC performance. It's a day-one naked man mod for Wilds, which doesn't work with day-one Wilds. Yep, this exists, and it appeared on the game's Nexus Mods page at 7:03 AM UK time this morning, perfect for folks waking up and prepping to jumpinto a day of hunting monsters.
You can't do it, though, because you'll have to wait for an update. "Beta test game only. Cannot use in main game for now," reads the description of 'Nude Buff Male For Monster Hunter Wilds,' a mod allowing players to enjoy the game as a naked muscle man. It's the work of modder >rx_cn and was uploaded by another modder, RoxCian, on their behalf. They describe their creation—something aimed at making your hunter performance-enhanced—by replacing some gear in the game. Currently, the mod relies on another mod called 'Ultimate Realistic Penis Rig' which is as hard to read as it is to forget.
Thanks to the hard work of Capcom, crafting such a mod is easier than other Monster Hunter titles, >rx_cn notes. Yet, limitations abound: "Due to the limitation of six weights per vertex, jiggle physics of thighs are currently not included," and as if this wasn't enough, "only body texture can be used to fix the penis model." To add some humor, they also admitted, "May have some anatomy issues." Players have faced frustrations with microtransactions as well, especially with the introduction of Character Edit Vouchers.
Character Edit Vouchers have become somewhat of a sore spot among players. While smaller updates to your character won't consume one—like hair color or voice pitch—more extensive changes do require one. Reports from the Steam page indicate, "You can edit hair, eyebrow color, facial hair, makeup and clothing from the Appearance Menu... without using a voucher," but this is not the full experience many expected. Players can expect one free voucher but anything beyond this will require purchasing additional ones.
The vouchers come with costs: three vouchers for $6.99 or bundled edits for your Palico. This microtransaction model isn't new for the series; past games like Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise introduced similar systems. A Monster Hunter subreddit thread echoes the frustrations, with various comments like, "Worst part of gen 5 for sure," expressing dissatisfaction over the limits on character edits. Players argue beta games from other developers allow free and unrestricted customization.
This isn’t merely a minor inconvenience either, overlapping with early expectations of the expansive world Capcom usually provides. Many players, like one commenting, expressed, "When I return to a game I haven't played for a spell, I like to change my character's looks to keep it fresh, but this extends the work for costumes and helmets instead of identity updates."
To dig even more deeply, many modders have found workarounds for the limitations posed by these vouchers. The community's commitment is impressive, as is the modding scene's response to Capcom's monetization strategy. Yet there are voices pushing against the ownership of these mods; they argue they break the game’s immersion.
Gameplay mechanics haven’t gone unnoticed, though. The Light Bowgun, one of the game's ranged weapon types, continues to attract interest among players. Its versatility allows hunters to adapt to various combat styles, with options for different fire modes. The standard fire mode offers numerous ammo varieties, albeit with smaller magazine sizes and requires more frequent reloads. The enhanced fire mod, boasting bigger magazines, allows for rapid fire but doesn't offer as many ammo types.
The shooting mechanics for the Light Bowgun demand players to engage effectively by entering ADS (Aim Down Sights) mode, improving their damage output significantly. A recent piece noted, "When the player enters the effective range, an orange highlight appears around the crosshair, indicating the best distance for dealing the highest damage aim."
Backtracking to performance issues, 'Monster Hunter Wilds' has met mixed reactions from players discussing frame rates and graphical demands. The game is every bit as demanding as expected, relying on newer technology like DLSS and FSR. Reports from players highlight struggles with performance: "Many players have noticed significant drops to frame rates when engaged on the open maps, often dipping to the point where gameplay becomes impractical."
To cap it all, the community's mixed reception points to longer-term discussions expected around microtransactions and performance alongside gameplay improvements. Reports note, "It remains to be seen how the community will react to this long-term, whether players can learn to live with or work around the voucher limit,” as players explore the vibrant world of Monster Hunter Wilds.