During PlayStation’s State of Play showcase on May 30, 2024, the first gameplay trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds was finally revealed. The trailer shows off beautiful landscapes and a bunch of new monsters we’ve come to know and love from previous entries in the series, as well as a deep dive into Monster Hunter Wilds’ fully open-world mount system.

One understated detail from the trailer was a new weapon interaction that has never been seen before. Around the two-minute mark of the trailer, the player character, known as a Hunter, escapes a monster on foot while wielding a sword. After mounting his feathered mount with a quick whistle, the Hunter seamlessly switches from his sword to a long-range rifle. He uses this new firearm to fire at the monster while still atop his mount.

Neither swords nor guns are new to the Monster Hunter franchise, but something in this event series certainly is. For starters, in previous entries, attacking from a mount was limited to specific items, and didn’t include your own weapon. It’s possible that this will show that while riding your mount in Wilds, you’ll have a unique shotgun-like rifle to continue your assault on the monster while you run. That would be some heavy firepower for running away, though.

The sword used in the series bears similarities to the series’ favored weapon type, the Greatsword. The weapon used after that could easily be a light bowgun, a weapon type that has appeared frequently in the series with gun-like characteristics. This could mean that hunters will be able to bring two different weapons into the field and switch between them in a brand new feature for the modern Monster Hunter. The game has always relied heavily on the preparation aspect of a hunt, and choosing the best weapon for the job is part of that preparation.