Uh oh, Monster Hunter Wilds isn't messing around anymore—its new high-rank monsters hit hard and often, hopefully putting the difficulty discourse to bed

If you've been listening to the seasoned, grizzled veteran monster hunters gathered around the campfires of social media, they'll tell you that Monster Hunter Wilds is easy. Back in their day, they had to climb up a hill both ways just to have a shot at killing a monster—series newcomers like me have it easy, rabble rabble.

I'm not here to say they were wrong, mind. I didn't cart once during the game's low rank story until the final fight—and I haven't been having too hard of a time in high rank, either (except for Gore Magala, which can go screw itself).

This might just be because I'm god's gift to videogames and a certified souls freak (I had to knock over Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss before they nerfed it) but hearing the way my compatriots talk about it, it is very much an easier entry ramp.

Well, those hardcore gamers are in for a treat with the game's latest title update which, by all accounts, has added a duo of far meatier challenges for high hunter-rank (HR) players to sink their fangs into. Those being Mizutsune (HR 21+) and Zoh Shia (HR 50), with an Arch-tempered Rey Dau soon to follow in a coming patch.

I've tackled Zoh Shia's new and improved form, and while I only carted once (technically zero times, since my Palico's once-per-battle revive kicked in, but I'm not about to make excuses for myself) it was absolutely a step up. I was also spoiled on a unique mechanic to deal with its gnarly AoEs, so I went forearmed with knowledge.

I absolutely had to treat Zoh Shia more like a FromSoftware boss than any other critter in the game—waiting for openings and reading telegraphed attacks. Even then, I still got wombo combo'd a couple of times. I was pleased to find out that my choice of dual blades is pretty dang good for this fight, too. By my own order, I will perfect dodge all of Zoh Shia's bullcrap. It took me about 21 minutes, even with a couple of stray hunters dropping into my game about halfway through the brawl.

Given this is Capcom's introduction to a new tier of difficulty, there's a ton of promise. I'm yet to try out Mitzutsune or its tempered version, because I have to write things today (like this article) but here's a clip of Reddit user T_Sheckler and their entire crew getting absolutely bodied.

Tempered Mizutsune doesn’t play around from r/MonsterHunter

I'm also not the only one feeling the heat with Zoh Shia. "For real, it was the hardest fight in the game for me so far," one besieged hunter replies in a thread. "I was expecting a steamroll like in low rank," adds another, "But I got my first quest fail from this asshole and his turbo fireballs."

It's worth remembering that this is all just a taste. Arch-tempered Rey Dau isn't even in the game yet. Capcom wasn't lying: The hardest battles are yet to come.