Exoprimal game keys were provided by Capcom
It’s Hunting Season
It’s no secret that I adore Exoprimal, and I’ve made it pretty clear that I think the media has treated the game unfairly. However, as long as Capcom continues making the game even better, and people who enjoy the game keep talking about it, I think Exoprimal is in for some long-term success.
This is already evidenced by the fact that you still get into a match in under a minute, despite the media landscape making every attempt to kill the game on arrival.
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Past Seasons were already pretty good, and Exoprimal Season 3 is in many ways, the biggest yet, with plenty of meaningful additions, including a really cool Monster Hunter collaboration. That said, it does also expose a few points where Exoprimal could stand to improve going forward.
New Exosuit Variants
Four new Exosuit variants have arrived, the beta variants of Deadeye, Roadblock, Skywave, and Barrage. Just like the other variants, each one is a nice side grade of the existing suits that adds more variety without fundamentally changing the suit’s role. Alongside these new suits are a host of new modules and a new stealth rig.
Unlocking the suits requires you to be level 10 in the previous alpha variant of that suit, so there is a bit of legwork involved to access them if you haven’t played a given suit very much. However, it doesn’t take long, and the act of doing so gives you time to familiarize yourself with the basics of the core and alpha suits so that you better understand the changes.
Deadeye Beta receives an energy machine gun that has a suppressive effect similar to Krieger’s minigun. When aiming down the sights, you can charge up powerful energy blasts instead. The gun itself has unlimited ammo, but can overheat, and managing that heat is the key to doing well with the suit. You can outfit Deadeye Beta with mods that focus on keeping the gun hot or powering up your charged shots.
Deadeye Beta can output an incredible amount of damage if you manage your heat well, especially on dinosaur weak spots. The charged shots also excel at taking down flyers and sniping enemy Exosuits.
Barrage Beta requires a similar kind of careful management, although his new flamethrower does need to be reloaded. Barrage Beta goes all in on fire damage and lighting things on fire. He has a significantly shorter range than his other suits but can output a constant stream of damage up close.
Skywave Beta goes full support. Her primary attack homes in on and heals teammates, but deals no damage. She can charge it up to launch a powerful plasma shot, but damage is definitely not her focus. Instead, she can provide a ton of healing while charging up a new Stellar Veil gauge that allows her to temporarily shield a teammate. A well-timed shield can completely save a teammate in a tough situation and is super useful against both, Dinosaurs and other Exosuits.
Roadblock Beta is a more offensive version of Roadblock and is by far the hardest version to use. But it is very effective when played well. Roadblock Beta trades the energy shield for a large steel one. This means Roadblock is far less effective at blocking swarms and choke points. However, his new shield can unleash an energy wave counterattack that deals damage based on the amount of damage the shield has absorbed. Doing so puts the shield on a temporary cool down.
Roadblock Beta excels at dealing with large dinosaurs, especially when keeping them outside an area defense zone. His counter wave also means you can clear crowds as long as you carefully manage when and where you block.
All four Exosuits are great additions to Exoprimal. The only issue I have is how common they are in every game. Since only four variants were added in season 3, it somewhat skews the well-balanced meta since everyone obviously wants to play the new suits. That, however, will iron out over time and go back to normal until the next set of variants launch.
The Jungle, Neo Triceratops, and Ratholos
A new Jungle map has been added to Exoprimal’s map rotation and looks visually fantastic. It really gives off the sense of fighting inside Jurassic Park, which is super cool. The Jungle map cycles the same mission types found in other maps but in its own way. There’s also just something inherently awesome about seeing a T-Rex charge at you amid the tall trees and large fences.
From now until the middle of February, there is a Ratholos hunting event going on as part of the Monster Hunter collaboration. During standard gameplay, you will find tracks, and if enough players scan the tracks, it can trigger a 10-player co-op fight against the king of the skies himself. Rathalos.
The fight is a really cool one, especially if you’re a fan of Monster Hunter. Rathalos has a few Exoprimal-specific tricks up his scaly sleeves but largely fights the way he does in Monster Hunter. The entire fight is filled with Monster Hunter music and Leviathan making references to the game. Taking down Ratholos a few times earns you some new Monster Hunter cosmetics.
I do wish the fight itself was harder though, given Ratholos’s long-standing reputation of slapping down hunters from its own game. I’m also not super keen on the event itself being time-limited. I do hope Ratholos is added to the standard rotation in the future, or at least a part of the Savage Gauntlet mode.
The new Neo Triceratops boss on the other hand is by far the hardest one in the game. The Neo Triceratops has a huge host of moves that it changes and employs throughout the fight and is one of the most well-designed boss fights I’ve played in any game in a long time. It has several stages to its madness, and your tactics have to change throughout the fight in order to keep pace. I really feel like it gives every Exosuit its own time to shine which is nice.
That said, the addition of the Neo Triceratops brings an overall issue with the 10-player co-op boss raids to the surface. They are all too easy, including Rathalos.
A large part of what makes the boss raids fun is the fact that they don’t show up all the time. However, when you have 10 experienced players fighting against a boss, and they only lose 1 or 2 respawns out of 30. The excitement fades somewhat. The other bosses outside of the Neo Triceratops could do with a tune-up in the future.
Cosmetics & Other Stuff
There’s a huge host of new cosmetics, including Monster Hunter-specific ones, like the super cool Nergigante armor for Barrage, Skywave’s nifty take on Kirin, and Roadblock’s incredibly ugly Rajang skin. There are also a few, smaller additions like Monster Hunter emotes, stickers, and keychains.
Beyond that, how matching making and missions are generated has been further tweaked. I rarely, if ever, am forced to sit through the beginning mission anymore. I’m instead matched in a much larger variety of challenging mission types. That’s a pretty big deal, as being forced to play the easier early missions was one of my gripes near Exoprimal’s launch.
The new additions added in Season 3 help spice Exoprimal up with even more variety. The new suits, mods, and stealth rig offer new strategic options to your roster of gameplay styles. Finally, the new map and boss fights add additional mission variety.
To be completely honest, if Exoprimal never added a single thing post-launch. It would still be one of the best multiplayer games released in years. Each addition that has come with the seasons is really just icing on a dinosaur-sized cake, and I can’t wait to see what future seasons bring.
If you haven’t played Exoprimal yet, you should. But if you still aren’t convinced, maybe I can sway you with some of the other pieces I’ve written about the game. Such as my Exoprimal Review, or Five Reasons You Should Be Playing Exoprimal. If you would like some tips before diving in, be sure to check out my Exoprimal Tips & Tricks Guide.
Happy hunting folks!
