Monster Hunter World: watch gameplay of the new hub, Astera, and the new training area

TGS has proven to be very exciting for Monster Hunter World fans, thanks to plenty of new information and gameplay footage.

We recently got our first look at Monster Hunter World’s character creator, the Coral Highlands area, and we even got a glimpse of the hub town.

Called Astera, this hub is essential to the Monster Hunter experience, and here it looks to have everything fans of the series expect. Thanks to new footage, we got a much better look at Astera and what it actually houses this time around.

To start with, Astera has a research platform where you can track your research progress. The more you get familiar with monsters out in the world, the more rewards you get it out of them. This is also a good place to study monsters’ weak points, possible drops and so on, something that was never easily accessible in previous games.

In the video below, Arekkz takes a tour of the new hub, exploring every bit shown in the footage so far. Despite it being in Japanese, his knowledge of the series allows him to know exactly what’s going on.

Moving on to another big part of Astera, we have the smithy. The UI has seen a big quality of life update compared to the 3DS games: you’re now able to see armour pieces listed as sets, to make it easier for crafting. This is also where you can keep track of the weapons, their stats, and the materials needed to craft them.

For those new to the series, Monster Hunter World has a big training room specifically designed for players to test out their weapon combos (fight game-style), gear, damage stats, and more. This is a great addition, as it’ll save you a lot of the time needed to go out and test the gear.

Monster Hunter World is out January 26 on PS4, and Xbox One. The PC version does not yet have a release date.

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