Back in the glory days of Monster Hunter World, it had a pretty fun crossover with the perennial MMORPG FINAL FANTASY XIV. But that was 7 years ago, and now we’re two Monster Hunters later. Which is a great opportunity to bring the two series together again for Monster Hunter Wilds!
As announced and briefly shown off during the opening night showcase of Gamescom, Capcom and Square Enix are working together, transplanting their monsters and aesthetics across digital boundaries. So, who is getting what?
Chocobo Mount is what MH Wilds needed the Most
Monster Hunter Wilds is getting, first and foremost, a chocobo mount in what most likely is going to be a full-body skin for the Seikret. It does feel like a natural course of things, given how close the two lovely creatures are in concept, at least until Seikret starts running on all fours.
Additionally, Wilds will get two extra monsters. One is more in the “endemic life” category: the classic cactuar which had also made its appearance in MH World and would occasionally spray its needles when startled, as it should.
The other whole, proper large monster: the Omega frame, coming into the Forbidden Lands as Omega Planetes. Will it be a special boss fight the way Behemoth was? Probably, the mechanical entity would feel out of place if it roamed the locales alongside typical MH monsters.
This content (and surely some interesting weapons and armor that haven’t yet been shown) is planned to arrive with Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 3, scheduled for late September.
On the other side, Final Fantasy XIV will get to fight Guardian Arkveld, the flagship monster of Wilds. There is even a handy guide to unlocking this fight, which is absolutely hilarious both in and out of context.
Step 1: Create a character in FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Step 2: Reach level 100 AND Complete the main scenario quest “Dawntrail”.
The communities have already likened it to the “Draw the rest of the f***ing owl” meme, because it’s a lot gameplay you need to clear to get there.
Unless, of course, you choose to purchase a Tales of Adventure boost for, oh, paltry 25 bucks to just skip ahead the apparent progression. Which would be, frankly, a net loss, because FF14 is a remarkable game and its storyline gets a lot of praise, don’t rob yourself of the experience.
FF14 players will get to beat Arkveld up sometimes in Early October, so… I guess get yourself a FF14 sub and start working through these expansions? You have a few months, surely you can do it! You’ll get a Seikret mount, too!
The Monster Hunter Wilds / Final Fantasy XVI crossover event is looking interesting, hopefully once details start flooding in there will be more to tell. For now… get ready for a wicked hunt!