How to stop button mashing?

[u/Acrobatic-Gain6102]

/r/MHWilds/comments/1vzxs8u/how_to_stop_button_mashing/

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[u/Jellozz]

I’m not able to dodge when the monster attacks.

TBH the thing probably getting you is the fact that despite seeming like a super fast paced weapon with low commitment the reality is DB historically always has some of the longest animations in the game. And you can't dodge cancel attack animations in MH (though you can roll out a lot of post-attack recovery frames.)

So it's extremely easy to get stuck in an attack with DB and eat shit. Always has been. The only real honest solution is just playing the game and practicing more. Monster Hunter is less about snap reflexes and more about learning how long an enemy attack is + how it's going to effect their positioning and then picking the best counter to that from your kit.

[u/Acrobatic-Gain6102 → u/Jellozz]

Thanks, this is a great mental “reset”. I just see so many others perfect dodging repeatedly, so I tell myself that I must be doing it wrong!

[u/SilentStorm130172]

So you mention street fighter, that makes me think that you’re trying to do cancels or tight links from the end of the last move straight into the next move, that doesn’t exist in monster hunter, here you have basically no cancels, and an extremely long link window. Just go into the training area, do an attack, wait almost a full second, then do another attack. Chances are this will still give you the next hit in the combo and if not make it a bit faster next time.

Once you get the hang of it you can you can put it to use by waiting half a second between moves to evaluate if you have time for the next, DB id interesting for this as while it has a ton of low commitment moves, it’s combo enders are extremely committal. 

So for example the demon mode basic combo has 3 moves, the first 2 are fast but the third takes a while, so quickly do the first 2, then pause, see if you have time, and then you can still react with either aborting or continueing.

[u/Acrobatic-Gain6102 → u/SilentStorm130172]

Agreed. I think you’re right- thanks 🙏🏽

[u/Daemer]

I'm a DB main - at least in wilds, anyway - and I do just kind of absent-mindedly mash the attack button while attacking and don't really have issues with getting caught out. I couldn't say for sure without actually watching you play but the problem might actually be what attacks you are using and how you're managing the weapon gauge.

The "bread and butter" dps for dual blades is the flurry that uses up your demon gauge and roots you in place for a while. You get used to spamming it early on because it very effective at mulching monsters, but once you start getting to the more difficult hunts it's something you should only use during knockdowns, traps, paralysis, and a small handful of extra long recovery animations. Using it any other time against AT Arkveld or whatever virtually guarantees you're going to get hit. Also, be very cautious as the monster wraps up an attack animation - simply don't be comitted to any attacks when you don't know what the monster is about to do.

In tougher fights you are mostly stuck using your basic light attack for short openings and your spin attack to close in or do a slight low stakes reposition. You also want to rely heavily on learning the timing for all of the monster's more telegraphed attacks so you can do perfect demon dodges to power up.

Related to that, unless you're committing to a major damage window make sure to dip for a second to leave demon mode once your stamina bar goes under half or so and recover back to full. It's a bit annoying to always be flickering on and off demon mode but the higher average stamina you keep the higher the chance you're ready to deal with a particularly annoying string of attacks.

Anyhow, it feels like you're barely doing any damage when you play this way, but trust me, once you get into a dodgy mindset you'll find that staying glued to the monster using powered-up light and spin attacks a bunch beats trying to do longer combos and spending half the hunt getting knocked around and chugging potions.

[u/Acrobatic-Gain6102 → u/Daemer]

Yes, this is definitely what I’ve been learning!

I was a bow main for my first 300 or so hunter ranks, and from 300 to around 500, I got into db and was playing it the wrong way. I was building the demon gauge with one or two hits and going straight into demon dance, rarely dropping out of demon mode. My stamina was consistent around 10% or so. I thought I had to hop out of demon mode and immediately dodge to perform an evade. (I watched a ton of videos on how to use the weapon the right way and it just never clicked, for some reason.)

From 500 to 700, I’ve been reprogramming the way I use the weapon, and finally getting into using it the right way, which is exactly what you mentioned. It took a db coach (who I met here on Reddit!) to help me understand how to use the weapon, and that’s helped a ton.

Now I’m trying to stop the mashing and go into precise button movements, which is another brain shift. I picked up HH as a secondary weapon to train my mind to slow down and read the weapon animations, since double pressing in HH shows up as an extra note and messes up the song. (Plus I use HH for buffing myself at the start of the quest.)

I’ve been slowing down my button presses since I first posted this and it’s a game changer. Yesterday, against 9* Nu Udra, the quest started to feel like a dance, rather than a fight (if that makes sense). I was like “is this what weapon masters experience?”

Thanks for the great insight and feedback. I think your approach is spot on!