Kulve Taroth siege is vastly superior to Safi siege

[Lapu]

Ok, many of you may probably call this heresy but please read the whole post before going on an angry rampage that ends in breaking at least 5 keys on your keyboards.
I am of the opinion that the Kulve Taroth siege is a more enjoyable experience than the Safi siege. Let's take a closer look at the various categories by which that can be quantified.

Music: Let's be real here, both monsters have amazing BGMs. However, Kulve's is somehow more fitting and illustrates a journey in itself. Have you ever noticed how (almost) each area has a different theme and how each one perfectly underlines the situation you're in. First area theme is rather silent and seems as if it's being held back. This perfectly fits to the atmosphere of chasing the monster that doesn't even care about you. Now, in area 2 and finally area 4, the score gets more intensive until you here it in its full blown glory. But, this is not where it ends - even the victory bgm is special in that it conveys a feeling of accomplishment and "returning home" with all the wonderful loot and treasure that the hunters have gathered.
Safi on the other hand has a very intimidating theme(s). Even the first one starts with chanting. As you've probably noticed, those bgms are supposed to convey a feeling of overwhelming power and grandeur. However, what it lacks is the "story". It does not synergize as well with Safi's behavior and it does not feel special. Furthermore, there is no real difference in tone and atmosphere between the two safi themes. In subsequent runs it just becomes white noise and generic ominous chanting. (btw Ceadeus is another monster that achieved the same effect with it's bgms as Kulve).

Monster design: Safi is a very beautiful dragon hands down. There is no doubt that it is probably more aesthetically pleasing than Kulve (although I personally don't completely agree). However, this creates another problem that is comparable to what I just told you about the music: it's pretty uninteresting and not that special. Think about it, the monsters are the stars of this game. You don't remember Xeno Jiiva because it's a blue dragon that fires lazors, you remember it because it looks so peculiar, so alien, illuminous; like nothing you've seen before. The same is true for Kulve. How often do you see a creature that has similar features as her? Now Safi on the other hand...

Fight design: Here is the "experience" part that I'm talking about. The progression through the Kulve siege is much more fluid and completely uninterrupted whereas with Safi, you make a "cut" to the next area without actually chasing it down. A big thing for me is also the part breaks. When it comes to Kulve, you can see every part break. It is immediately visible if someone breaks a piece of her golden mantle and you feel as if you've accomplished something when the gold breaks and a bunch shinies drop to the ground. On the other hand with Safi, it's hardly even visible and not even really distinguishable from the parts that are only tenderized. It's really nothing to write home about when you manage to break something other than the tail (cutting the tail always feels amazing no matter the monster). And do I really have to say something about the attack mechanics? How Safi reintroduces brain-dead hiding behind rocks or a giant read bar/arrow that is completely out of place? Kulve's attacks feel more dynamic and it moves how you would expect it to actually move (it moves excatly like how it looks). Safi feels too sluggish for it's anatomy and design.

Siege drops/rewards/aftermath: I don't have to say anything about this, do I? Well Safi's system is vastly superior and probably nobody disagrees.
But all in all, you can probably understand now, why I still enjoyed grinding Kulve more than Safi even if it was more tedious.

Please tell me your opinions about this and let's discuss it in a polite and respectful manner.
(sorry for occasional errors in grammar/expression and I apologize for the clickbait title)

[McREEEEEE]

Yeah she's more fun to fight. She has some uh, questionable hitbox (the unreleased tail swipe and roll) but overall, she's more dynamic. Much more. Also Safi has mandatory part breaking objectives. After a few runs it becomes a chore

[Fregi]

safi BGM has some parts of Proof Of A Hero snuck in, though both are pretty good

[Lapu]

Messaggio originale di Dax23333:

I did loads of Kulve sieges back when it was the thing to do, but now with Safi... I don't bother.

It is EXACTLY the same for me. I certainly did over 30 P1 runs and over 100 in total for Kulve and AT Kulve but Safi really isn't interesting enough to keep me hooked for gathering all of the weapons. The P1 strategy isn't as interesting and exciting as it was for Kulve. Hell we even blew up stunning fireworks in area 2 and a had complete and intricate roadmap and everything. And now, what do we do with Safi? Aquashot water ammo spam and the only comparable thing is pushing it into the vines in the first area and dropping the boulder. Wow...just...wow...

[jrubz]

they kinda too different in monster design to compare on the same scale. It's a totally different fight.
I kinda prefer the safi fight for actually being totally possible single-run without tons of speedrunner tricks.

I also think Kulve's laserfire is just the scariest attack in the game. Not bad, but I've been hit too many times by it to enjoy it.

(Then again safi jiva has some extremely stupid attacks too, like that groundfist attack that he spams if you get anywhere near him with emnity, and it heals the wound...)

[Nerevar]

kulve was a prime example that overuseing rng layers is bad design. nuff said. it doesnt matter that her siege fight is better gameplay wise when the reward system is utterly unhuman stupid bs based on nothing but dumb luck that after even 100s of repeats wont grant you what you want/need. its just as bad as the lvl 4 deco bs right now. and that fact alone ruins kulve siege and makes it worse then safi. which is sad. but its reality.

[cua_bien02]

I agree that she's kinda fun to fight. For real though, for these kinds of events we all farm it to hell and back for weapons, so the RNG hell is a massive thumbs down and the positive stuff is lost in bitterness. 700+ weapons melded, and still no Kjarr bow fire.

[General Jelly Jiggler]

Overall I personally prefer the Safi Siege to the Kulve Siege. Phase 1 of Kulve kills so much enjoyment of the siege for me. The rest of the siege is pretty good but hot damn getting to it is a pain. I also feel like Kulve and Safi's theme are both so damn good.

As for rewards I STRONGLY prefer Safi's system since you can guarantee a weapon type drop. And the Awakening system allows for more customization for those who don't particularly care for meta chasing.

[CourtesyFlush09]

I would say that, as an overall fight, KT actually is better than Safi.

But in terms of their respective reward systems (which is the real reason why we fight these monsters in the first place), Safi wins hands down.

[crate]

Caverns of El Dorado area 1 is a pretty neat area. Too bad it's only in the HR Kulve siege. It even has gathering spots and unique endemic life.

[Zachmark571]

Same here. I liked Safi for the first 5 clears. Then it was just "ZZzzzZZZzzz". IMO the fight had nothing interesting to it. I grinded HR KT every day, at least 2hrs, since I just couldn't get the weapon I wanted. But the fight actually got more fun for me the more I did.

I had to actually prep and p1 clearing with a group was a blast (pun intended). The fact is, the fight against KT was more systematic. 1st phase: Know cannon placements, place bombs, drop boulders, I loved it always, especially the cannons. 2nd phase: Bombs, Bombs, Bombs and breaking everything. 3rd phase: drop rocks, dps her. 4th phase. Sleep, bomb, SMACK THAT FACE. The copious amounts of bombs and coordination of the squad was awesome.

Safi on the other hand: 1st phace: hit his arms 2nd phase: hit his arms/legs 3rd phase: same thing, but maybe tail too. Some even sleep bombed and smashed the chest. Safi felt like speedrunning Jyarodotus...

EDIT: Also some of her attacks are cooler, especially the wide fire breath

[Zeruel]

I'm in complete agreement here. I am also completely disappointed and miserable about MR Kulve Taroth. There is so much wrong with it. I wanted the entire siege experience. The time limit within a time limit is total BS and perfectly outlines the absurdity of their derivative re-write. Its my favorite MHW monster and I never grew tired of it. I'm so upset it's been reduced to a dull, single-serving event quest... I could just quit monster hunter over such an affront to my perfect golden sweetheart... So lazy and incomplete. I hate it.

[Bong-B Rippins]

Messaggio originale di Space Explorer:

I wanted the entire siege experience.

You're allowed to like what you like, but you are in a very small minority in this statement. So far, the siege fights have been Monster Hunter at it's absolute worst in every game. I would be surprised to see any more of them until the next entry in the series.

[CourtesyFlush09]

Messaggio originale di Space Explorer:

Its my favorite MHW monster and I never grew tired of it.

Lol what? You've never grown tired of her?

Something tells me you've never actually fought the original KT before.

[𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒶]

Music:
Really? You'll listen to their tracks a few times then mute them.

Design:
KT is just an oversized great jagras.
Safi is your average mythical dragon but still quite impressive, can't wait for the black ver.

Fight:
Seems like your forgot the part where most ppl did 14-16 mins of nothing but gather tracks, it was mind-numbing. You get to fight Safi since the start and can do p1 fairly easily.

Reward system:
I did so many KT runs yet only managed to get one kjarr ice cb and never managed to get a full collection of meta wps. I literally made millions by just selling the dupes.

Conclusion.
Safi is better in every single aspect and it's not even close.

[Bong-B Rippins]

Messaggio originale di ꧁Bunnyosaurus꧂:

Music:
Really? You'll listen to their tracks a few times then mute them.

Design:
KT is just an oversized great jagras.
Safi is your average mythical dragon but still quite impressive, can't wait for the black ver.

Fight:
Seems like your forgot the part where most ppl did 14-16 mins of nothing but gather tracks, it was mind-numbing. You get to fight Safi since the start and can do p1 fairly easily.

Reward system:
I did so many KT runs yet only managed to get one kjarr ice cb and never managed to get a full collection of meta wps. I literally made millions by just selling the dupes.

Conclusion.
Safi is better in every single aspect and it's not even close.

I specifically crank up my BGM for KT and I would be very surprised to hear that it is common for people to go out of their way to turn it off. The music is probably the least important point to talk about though.

I don't know what to say to your comment about Kulve's design. Just...No? Safi being an utterly unremarkable and generic looking dragon isn't really a problem, but the alien nature of Xeno's design and ethos was honestly really cool to me. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying it was a genuine disappointment to see that it's adult version tossed aside Xeno's design instead of iterating upon it. It's a huge improvement you can fight him from the beginning, but it's also a fact that Safi is embarrassingly slow and clunky. In my opinion the replayability of MR Kulve absolutely smokes this iteration of Safi.

Totally grant you that most of the siege version of Kulve was complete naff and the way it rewarded you was basically designed to induce frustration. Making her a soloable and straightforward quest without the absolute waste of time that was pursuit levels and track gathering has improved her greatly. They definitley didn't need to do the half assed measure of trying to encourage people back to HR to farm the weapons for who knows how many runs or be forced to meld them 3 crappy rolls at a time.

It's easy to say that Safi rewards are better because it let you do anything you wanted to make super insanely powerful weapons. The problem with this is it creates some pretty nasty power creep, and had the very damaging side effect of making the entire games roster of armor and weapons completely useless. I genuinely feel for console players who went such a ridiculous amount of time doing hunts with 4 people running masters touch, safi awakening, and safi weapons and never anything different.

Good design iterates on current playstyles in a tangible way, or creates new avenues for players to invest in the kind of skills they want to play. Safi ended up just boosting the way people were already playing. MR Kulve has finally given us desireable elemental options with flexible gearing. So I simply can't agree that Safi could be considered better in every way.