At the launch of the PC version of Monster Hunter World, the most common complaint – outside of the seemingly unrealistically high specs – was the game’s various connection errors. Monster Hunter World PC online sessions have been plagued with disconnects of all sorts, with those happening mid-fight being especially aggravating. After taking some time to investigate, Capcom has today rolled out a new patch. Today’s update, available to download on Steam, brings the game’s version number to 151910. The update is focused mostly on addressing connection and matchmaking problems, which, as it turns out, are actually not all caused by the same issue. The update fixes the disconnects that happen shortly after joining an online session, as well as those that prevent players from searching for an online session to begin with. Disconnecting from a session during a hunt is trickier to fix, it would seem. Today’s update should reduce the number of these instances, according to Capcom, but the developer will continue to look into this issue. See below for the full change log: Fixed an issue where error messages would display and kick players offline when searching for online sessions. Teadjusted the matchmaking function to make it easier to find an online session via Search for an Online Session > Matchmake. Fixed an issue where error messages would display and kick players offline after having joined an online session. Fixed an issue where error messages would display and kick players offline while playing multiplayer. Fixed an issue where the error message “E_FAIL : hr” would display and the game would crash when switching to full screen mode. Whether you’re just getting started in Monster Hunter World yourself, or managed to hit a progression wall, be sure to bookmark our Monster Hunter World guide and return to it whenever you need assistance.<doc-sep>This dude is a lot easier to beat if your game isn’t constantly crashing. Monster Hunter: World finally came out on PC last week. It’s a hell of a fun game, but the PC version has some frustrating technical problems. Fortunately, fans and modders have been working on unofficial fixes to improve things while we wait for official ones. Advertisement I’ve been playing the PC version of Monster Hunter: World for a few weeks now. The game is in better shape than it was when Capcom first sent out codes, but it still has some significant problems. The most widespread relate to performance, online connectivity, and crashes, the third of which can apparently corrupt your save and cause you to lose all your hard-earned progress. Here are a few things I’ve done to get the game running better. 1. Install Kaldaien’s ‘Special K’ mod. Kaldaien, the same modder who made that brilliant graphics fix for the PC version of Nier: Automata, is back with a far-reaching remedy for many of Monster Hunter: World’s performance and stability issues. (Hat-tip to PC Gamer for catching this one.) It’s called “Special K” and it’s a cinch to install; you can find a download link and instructions on Steam. I installed the mod last night and was impressed with how many small improvements it brought. It made my game run stably on the newest Nvidia drivers when it previously hadn’t. After several hours of sustained play I never once had the ERR12 graphics driver crashes that previously caused me to roll back to an older driver. Special K also aims to rework how the game uses your CPU cores, which might give smoother performance for some. I noticed improvements on my end, but it could just be that I was finally using the optimized driver. (Others have reported that the game-optimized Nvidia driver actually gives them worse performance, so your mileage may vary.) Special K also adds the ability to take HUD-free screenshots, and finally (hooray!) makes it possible to alt-tab out of the game to check other apps without everything going to hell. 2. Try port forwarding to improve connectivity. Most people playing MH: World on PC are having connectivity issues, and during busy times it can be all but impossible to get into a multiplayer session with other people. Capcom acknowledged the widespread reports of connection issues yesterday on Steam, saying it is “currently investigating the cause of this and are working with Valve to resolve the issue as soon as possible.” Advertisement I like playing Monster Hunter solo as much as anyone, but I’ve reached the part of the late-game where I’m spending more and more time farming monsters for parts, which is far easier and more enjoyable with others. So it was frustrating when, yesterday, I got “error code 50382-mw1” over and over and was unable to connect. While looking through forum threads filled with other people discussing similar error messages, I saw several folks suggesting setting up router port forwarding to make it easier to connect. I am not a networking expert, but my understanding is that port forwarding has your router designate which incoming ports are talking to which outgoing ones, and can sometimes clear up networking issues in multiplayer games. I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, so I did. I followed the instructions over at portforward.com, which wasn’t too difficult. Advertisement I set up port forwarding after an hour of consistent failure to matchmake, and immediately got into a session on my next attempt. That’s anecdotal, of course, and I’ve seen others say that port forwarding didn’t help them get online. I’ve also had a few mid-session disconnects since setting it up, so it’s definitely not a cure-all. But if you’re getting connection failures as often as I was, it’s worth a shot. 3. Lower “Volume Rendering Quality” to improve your frame-rate. I mentioned this in my initial impressions of the PC port a little while back, but it bears repeating: if you’re having trouble getting the game to stay above 60fps, start by lowering the Volume Rendering Quality setting. That’ll remove some of the hazy sheen the game puts on everything, and should get you a healthy frame-rate boost. I have mine set to low, but some people hate the way the effect looks and turn it off altogether. Advertisement I’ve also seen some people say they get smoother performance by switching to borderless fullscreen, and some Nvidia users say that they got improved performance by rolling back to Nvidia’s 398.36 driver. 4. Backup your save. As is usually the case, the most worrying concerns from players involve the game corrupting or deleting their save files. It’s not clear if any specific thing in the game causes this to happen, but it seems like if the game crashes while in the middle of saving, you could lose all your progress. Advertisement As with Dark Souls Remastered earlier this year, the question is really, why take the risk? You can manually back up your save pretty easily. It’s located here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[Your Steam ID]\582010\remote There are also a number of ways to get Windows to automatically copy a file every so often, and one Reddit user has made a script that’ll do it for you. Since it takes all of a minute to back up your save, there’s no good reason not to. Advertisement Hopefully Capcom will release some game updates with official fixes for some of the problems outlined here, and hopefully the game’s servers will get more stable and consistent as we get a little further from launch. Until then, these tweaks should help get things running more smoothly.<doc-sep>Monster Hunter: World has hit PC, and it’s largely been a great time – though a handful of connection errors are making it tough to play the game with your hunting party. There isn’t a catch-all fix, but Capcom’s on the case, as the developers have finally commented on an issue that’s been plaguing users since launch. “We have been receiving numerous reports that players are experiencing connection errors several times after they depart on quests. We are currently investigating the cause of this and are working with Valve to resolve the issue as soon as possible.” You can see the announcement on the Steam community for yourself, but there’s not much more to it than that. No ETA for a fix, and no recommendations for affected players in the meantime. The errors have tended to be labeled as either 50152-MW1 or 83-MW1, and neither has reliable fix. Some players (and reportedly some Capcom support staff) have recommended port forwarding, while others are placing the blame on the Steam Chat update which revamped the friend list last month – and have provided a possible fix. Since MHW uses Steam groups to build your squad, the idea is that the revamp broke compatibility, and Capcom’s “working with Valve” comment may support that. (Or it may just mean they’re scheduling a patch.) You can either try some of the community fixes linked to above or wait for a proper patch from Capcom. Hopefully it won’t be long since – as our Monster Hunter: World PC review points out – it’s a terrific time and a solid port overall. Just be prepared to fly solo in the immediate future.<doc-sep>
Monster Hunter: World August 23 patch notes fix connection errors Players looking to co-op some hunts with friends should find the multiplayer a little more stable. It’s been a trying time for Monster Hunter: World players on PC as the game struggled to meet the demands of the users in the two weeks since launch. Frequent drop-outs made co-operation nearly impossible, and that’s if players were lucky enough to start an online session. All this should be about to change thanks to the August 23 patch. The patch notes center entirely around connection errors and trying to keep players online and in the game. Probably the most critical item on the list is the third bullet point which focuses on the error messages that “would display and kick players offline while playing multiplayer”. While this hasn’t fixed all occurrences, players should feel a little more confident that they will be able to at least finish a hunt without getting kicked after 10 minutes. Monster Hunter: World Patch Notes The following fixes have been made in regards to the connection issues: Fixed an issue where error messages would display and kick players offline after having joined an online session. Fixed an issue where error messages would display and kick players offline while playing multiplayer. This adjustment reduces the number of occurrences, though it does not completely resolve the issue. We will continue to investigate this matter. Fixed an issue where the error message "E_FAIL : hr" would display and the game would crash when switching to full screen mode. Important: You must update to the latest version of MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD to apply the fixes above. The latest version of the game is revision number 151910. You must close and reopen the game for the update to take place. You can verify the version number in the top-left corner when you launch the game in window mode. Keep in mind that you can only match with other players who have the same update version as you. Source: Steam The connectivity problems have been plaguing Monster Hunter: World, and although the work is long from finished, this is a step in the right direction. Be sure to check out Shacknews’ comprehensive Monster Hunter: World guide for more helpful hunting articles.