Monster Hunter Wilds is doing alright for itself, having smashed the 1m concurrent players barrier on Steam. And if you’re one of the many players who’ve doubtless nipped back into the character editor because you’ve somehow made a hunter that looks like potato with a moustache, you might appreciate knowing you can actually modify your character once for free before Capcom makes you cough up some cash.
The good news for anyone already regretting their character choices is that certain elements – dubious hairstyle, makeup, etc. – can be modified from your camp tent or the save select screen without impediment. However, more fundamental aspects of your hunter – gender, body shape, facial features, and so on – can’t usually be changed after confirming their designs early on unless you’re willing to pay real money. The same goes for your Palico.
Obviously, the fact you need to pay anything at all to tweak your character’s base design isn’t something Capcom deserves applause for, but it’s a stance the publisher’s taken since Monster Hunter World festooned the series with DLC – so it clearly isn’t planning a reversal anytime soon. However, in Wilds, the publisher does at least let you change your hunter and your Palico once for free, even if the slightly convoluted process means it’s not immediatley clear.
Fundamental character changes can, somewhat unintuitively, only be made from Wilds’ save select menu after the title screen, and only when you’ve got a Character Edit Voucher or Palico Edit Voucher tied to your account. These in turn, must be purchased as DLC – with three Character Edit Vouchers or three Palico Editor Vouchers costing £5.79 on Steam.
Don’t be in a rush to cough up, though; Capcom’s also released a Character Edit Voucher: Single Voucher (Free Trial Version), plus a Palico equivalent, that you can download at no additional cost – but only once for each one – then spend to access the character editor on the save select screen. And if you’re wondering, yes, I did almost pay change my stupid idiotic Palico after forgetting the free voucher existed – hence why I’ve now written five paragraphs about something you might already know.
Anyway, that’s that. Monster Hunter Wilds’ launch has been a big one for Capcom (so I expect there are more than a few players with a mild case of facial regret out there already), but there’ve been some understandable performance grumbles from players. Digital Foundry called the game “undercooked” on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (the PS5 Pro version fared better), and it’s also issued a stark warning that the PC version is experiencing “substantial technical problems. Hopefully they’ll be addressed before Wilds’ increases the challenge in April.
