Monster Hunter Sunbreak: Complete and Thoughts!

Made it in time for Xenoblade 3.

Complete as in, all quests complete, including Afflicted and Solos

This is expected, but it is an improvement from Rise. Most importantly, the story completes without you having to wait a month+ for free DLC. You also have elder dragons, etc

Thanks to the nerfs and buffs, the balance of the weapons is probably better now, though I personally only really used Charge Blades. Also, since I am used to the Charge Blades from 4 and 4G, I mainly can only do the good old guard and attack stuff. That weird chainsaw axe thing? Nah, can't do it. Having the ability to guard at any time just really makes things easier. There are a surprisingly small amount of attacks in this game that cannot be guarded, and even immensely deadly attacks like Valstrax's giant laser can be blocked with a bit of damage.

So yeah, who needs the nerfed Longsword?

Also, Ultra Burst Elemental Phials is so fun to use, because you can just spam that and anything weak against an element will due in a few minutes.

I did use the Dual Blade for Rajang though, since he moves way too much to keep up with the Charge Axe.

The Solo mode where you fight alongside NPCs is really fun, although since it seems the damage they deal to the monsters is nerfed greatly, so you just end up using two NPCs who can use Hunting Horns.

The monsters, music, all of that stuff that are usually good are still good in this game, but I guess there are three shortcomings for this game.
1. Afflicted monsters have way too much health. I don't think Frenzy monsters had buffed health, but every changed version after Frenzy just has to include giving them a huge chunk of health. Sure, make them hit harder. But just dragging on the fight longer? Meh.

Also, you can't upgrade most weapon to their final form unless you fight them, multiple times.

2. They just threw away Rise's special modes. They didn't bother to make them better or anything. They were just like, okay, no more tower defense.

3. As always, there isn't really any post-game content. Unlike Guild Quests, you can't just spent endless hours trying to get the ultimate weapon and bragging rights. You do all the quests, all the achievements, and that's it. You've gotten everything the game offers.

True, I haven't gotten all of the achievements yet myself, but let's face it. The only thing time-consuming there is getting lucky enough for a monster really big or really small to appear.

Still, I think it is a much more solid game than Rise. Though improvement is something I expect, and I can't say they actually went above and beyond. They did what they needed to do.