How much harder are hunts without your palico?

[RedDeadRevenge]

Also would it still be viable to play with a slow moving weapon like the switch axe or great sword?

[Xilo The Odd]

depends on how you fight.

no palico equals no 2nd target for the monster to swing at.

BUT

this will teach you how to truely solo a monster the right way. with his focus soley on you it takes out some of the random running around, so for a weapon like lance or gunlance, not having to chase after your target as much is nice.

[Roy]

switch axe isn't slow at all. don't forget to hit R after doing the axe swing, and to switch modes after attacks. rolling in axe mode, weapon drawn, you can get around quick.

that said, you'd be attacked and focused on more, and it'd a little longer being healed by only potions. it'd definitely still be easy for a seasoned hunter. Tri was my first MH game, and I didn't use AI support once in it. it was more fun to rely only on myself then. and you learn more sooner that way.

[BurlsoL]

Not necessarily harder, just more teadius with many weapons since you don't have the attack openings that having a secondary target allows. Instead of being able to punish when a monster turns its back to you, you're more reliant on hit and run damage since you won't have any chances to use items before the monster moves.

[lmaogg]

Palicos can be a burden at times tbh. AI is wonky and they actually "fly" to you when you run too far away, which leads to monster charging at you while you are healing/sharpening.

[UnhappyCLOWN]

You can still do it. But I don't know why someone would.
1) Plunderblade. Why pass up on more loot?
2) It's a meat shield.
3) ... Plunderblade.

[Madame Greya]

I've lost count of how many times my little dude has saved my ass with a clutch vigorwasp spray when I was stunned and at low HP, so you will have a harder time.

Though I doubt it's going to be an immense climb in difficulty. It depends on how much you rely on your palico and what kind of gadgets they use.

[Linguistically Inept]

you lose possible damage and utility, but atleast in previous games some people used to prefer it for the reliability it gave fighting monsters... havent tried it in world personally; palicoes feel much more powerful in world both in damage (especially with meolotov) and utility (especially with coralhorn)

[Destinate]

It also depends on the environment. I play DB a lot and I know if I dash to some wall, I will able to jump over the monster and hit them. They won't able to do anything to me when I do that.

[Madame Greya]

Palico is also a fantastic distraction in solo hunts, and they seem to take far less damage than you for whatever reason. Either that or they're i-frame roll champions and I'm missing something. I always laugh in solo Diablos hunts when it burrows, then goes after the cat. Yes, take priority on the cat, not the dude in armor swinging around a weapon made out of your slain parents/children/friends.

[Tomoebi]

Originally posted by RedDeadRevenge:

Also would it still be viable to play with a slow moving weapon like the switch axe or great sword?

switch axe isnt slow, its fast compared to great sword. even faster than shamurai imo

[Infern]

Just have the palico use Choral Orcestra... (So many buffs that actually made Nergigante's dive bomb only do 1/8 damage instead of the usual half) :P

[Hammer Of Evil]

the heal is super useful, and allows you to take risks to get hits on the monster much more often than if you didn't have it.

minus the heal adds a lot of difficulty, minus the entire palico is probably a bit worse.