In-Depth Powderstone FAQ
FAQ written by Yedokai, Copyright 2004
Originally created on November 20, 2004

Version: 1.3


Update Information:

v.1.3
February 22, 2002 - Changed "R3 signal" to the correct "L3 signal"

V.1.2
December 1, 2004 - Added "Whoops!" section


Contents
1) Introduction
2) Preparing for Powderstone
3) Preparing for the Run
4) The Run
5) Whoops!
6) Top 5 Reasons to Become an Expert Powderstoner
7) Credit
8) Contact and Copyright


1) Introduction

One of the most-feared online missions in Monster Hunter is the Powderstone
mission.  Most people hate it.  They won't do it unless they really need to,
and once it's marked as cleared on their list they'll never touch it again.
Even Hunters with Rank 20 abhor it.  So, Powderstone must be really tough,
right?
Wrong.
The fact is, most players do poorly at Powderstone because it can't be defeated
with mindless brute force.  Your Red Dragonsword and full Auroros armor don't
mean a thing in this mission.  Sorry kids, but you're going to have to use your
brains on this one.  Additionally, even if you know how to do Powderstone, it
can be difficult to find 3 accomplices that are also up to snuff and won't let
you down.
It's very difficult to try to explain something to someone else online in
Monster Hunter, especially when players are impatient and want to go-go-go.
That's why I'm writing this FAQ.  Players with Powderstone difficulties can
read this FAQ and understand how the mission should be done, and players who
already know how to do it can refer other players to this FAQ instead of
wasting 10 minutes explaining the finer details.  Hopefully this FAQ will help
at least a handful of people.


2) Preparing for Powderstone.

Alright, so you've decided to try Powderstone out.  Good for you.  You'll need
to prep first.  Here's what you'll ideally want for the mission to be a smooth
success:
- 4 players; 3 will be "Runners" and 1 will be a "Guard"(more on this later)
- 1 Mega Juice for each Runner
- 5 Flashbombs for the Guard
- 3 Cold Drinks for everyone
- 1 Paintball

That's it!


3) Preparing for the Run

In the Powderstone mission, your goal is to move 3 Powderstones from one end of
the map to the other.  This act is referred to as "The Run."  There are a few
things you need to do to prepare for the Run though.

The plan is to carry the Powderstone from Zone 8 to your base.
The path will be:

8 --> 7 --> 6 --> 4 --> 1 --> Base

Now, if a monster attacks you while you have a Powderstone, you'll drop it and
have to start over.  That's bad news.  So, our first goal is to kill all
monsters in the areas we'll be walking through to make our travels easier.

Zone 8 doesn't have any monsters in it, so it's clear.

Zone 6 has some Apceros dinosaurs in it.  They're easy enough to get rid of, so
do so.  Now it's clear.

Did you know that when a Powderstone is first picked up, new monsters appear in
Zone 7 and Zone 1?  For this reason, someone needs to go to Zone 8, pick up an
Powderstone, and drop it as soon as possible after you start the quest.  This
will make the new monsters appear, and once they appear, you can kill them.

After dropping the Powderstone, Zone 7 will be filled with Vespoid and Ioprey.
Take them out to clear the zone.

Similarly, Zone 1 will be filled with Bullfango.  Killing them will clear the
zone.

Zone 4 is all that's left, but it's a problem area.  No matter how many monsters
you kill, more will keep coming, so we can't clear it.  Don't worry about this
for now.

So, we need to clear Zones 7, 6, and 1.  Here's the most efficient way to do
this by giving each person on your team specific orders:

Player 1 - Goes to Zone 8 and drops the Powderstone, then starts to clear
          Zone 7.

Player 2 - Goes to Zone 6 and clears it, then helps player 1 with Zone 7.

Player 3 & 4 - Wait until the Powderstone has been dropped(at which time
              Player 1 should signal with the L3 signal) and then go to
              Zone 1 and clear the Bullfango. 2 players are used here
              because Bullfango can be a pain.  When Zone 1 is clear,
              they should go help with Zone 7.

Also, along the way someone might run into a wyvern.  It's a good idea to
throw a Paintball at the wyvern to keep track of it, though it's not
absolutely necessary.

So, all the zones are clear.  Time to Run!


4) The Run

Everyone should gather in Zone 8.  Before commencing, everyone should take a
Cool Drink to make sure their old one doesn't wear out during the Run, which
can cause panic and confusion.  A Runner's job is to carry a Powderstone to
the red box in your home area, and a Guard's job is to protect the Runners.
So, in more detail, let's break the jobs down:

Guard - The most important job.  A good Guard can make up for the presence of
terrible Runners, and a poor Guard will jeapardize the entire team's success.
Use teamwork and don't try to show off.  The Runners are counting on your for
their safety.

The Guard enters every zone first while the Runners wait in the previous zone.
When it is safe to enter the zone, he uses the L3 signal to let them know they
should proceed.  There are 2 requirements for a safe zone.  First of all, if
there is a wyvern, he must not be too close to the entrance where the Runners
will appear.  The Guard will need to judge this himself.  Second of all, and
more importantly, the Guard must allow the wyvern to see him.  You see, when
a wyvern first notices that a hunter is near, it will let out a roar.  This
roar will cause Runners to drop their Powderstones.  For this reason, it's
important to make sure the wyvern sees you and roars before you allow your
Runners to enter.  Once these requirements are both met, signal the Runners.
Of course, if there is no wyvern in the zone, he should just signal the
Runners to proceed.

If a wyvern is in the zone that the Runners are in, it is important to do your
best to keep it from harming them.  There is no flawless way to do this, and
the Runners will have to do a few things(which I'll talk about later) to fend
for themselves, but you can help.

First of all, simply being in the same zone as the Runners gives the wyvern
an extra target to think about.  This is good!  Now instead of the wyvern
always dashing after a Runner, there's a 1/4 chance that it will dash towards
the Guard.

If you have a very strong weapon, it is possible to "stun" the wyvern.
However, from what I've seen, this doesn't work very well, and it hinders
the Guard's ability to keep up with the Runners if he is fighting a wyvern.
Don't do this!  If the wyvern seems like it will be causing trouble, use some
of your Flashbombs on it.  To properly use a Flashbomb, don't throw it
straight at the wyvern. Throw it so it will explode somewhere in front of
the wyvern. Flashbombs can only work if the wyvern can see them, so make sure
they land in front of him.  I wouldn't recommend using more than 3 Flashbombs
in this manner.  Aditionally, with good Runners, the wyvern won't pose any
threat and this will be unnecessary anyway.  Above all else, it's important
to remember that simply fighting a wyvern does nothing to "distract it"
and nothing to protect your Runners.

When the Runners reach the end of Zone 6 and are ready to enter Zone 4, as
always the Guard enters first.  However, we know what to expect; there won't
be any wyverns, and there will be a gang of Ioprey waiting.  Signal for the
Runners to enter.  It is important that the Runners enter as soon as they hear
the signal so that they can all enter at the same time.  About 2-4 seconds
after the Guard gives the signal he should throw a Flashbomb towards the
middle of the room.  After a few seconds of walking forwards, he should
throw a second Flashbomb.

The reason that the Guard has to do things EXACTLY like this is because of the
strange way that enemies work in Monster Hunter.  To make it short, if the
Guard throws the Flashbomb before the Runners enter the area, the Guard's
monsters will be dizzy, but when the Runners enter, the monsters they see will
NOT be dizzy.  Basically, if the Runners don't see the Flashbomb go off, it
never happened.  This can be hard to wrap your mind around for some players,
and it's not the easiest thing to explain either, but don't worry about it.
Just do it.

It's possible that there may be an Ioprey that doesn't get stunned.
No worries.  The Guard should attack this Ioprey to keep it busy, making sure
that he does not bump any of his Runners.

Once the Runners all make it to Zone 1, the job of a Guard is almost done.
All that's left to do is congratulate them on a job well-done like a good
Guard should.

Now, the job of a Runner can be tricky for some people.  In actuality, it's
probably more difficult for players to learn to do properly than the job of a
Guard.  Still, you can do it.

Runners will follow their Cool Drinks with a drink of Mega Juice.  This will
give them infinite stamina for some time - more than enough time for the Run.
Now they'll pick up their Powderstones and book it towards the home area.
Remember, you should always be running, and with infinite stamina, you won't
have to worry about accidentally dropping the Powderstone.

The main skill that a Runner needs to be able to perform is moving the camera
while running.  It's not as hard as it sounds.  Here's how to do it:

A typical player will hold the controller with their left index finger on the
L1 button and their thumb on the left analog stick.  Instead, we want to move
that index finger down to the directional pad.

To hold the controller properly while doing this maneuver, you'll need to
change the way you hold the controller with your left hand.  Keep the right
hand the way you normally hold it.  With the left hand, simply roll your
index finger from the L1 button down to the directional pad.  Don't lift your
finger up; just roll it down the controller, curling your finger a bit more
to reach the buttons.  Your controller should be stabalized on the left side
between your palm and the last three fingers of your hand.  Normally your
thumb will be pointing towards your right hand while holding the analong stick.
When your hand is in the proper place, your thumb should instead be pointing
towards the controller's cord, but this might not be exactly the case
depending on the size of your hands.

Now, you won't be pressing the directional pad with the tip of your finger.
You'll be pressing it with the side of the tip of your finger.  Practice doing
this.  All you'll need to do is rotate the camera left and right.  Practice
running in a variety of directions while rotating the camera.  Remember, your
movements don't have to be perfect.  You have more than enough time and very
little to worry about.  Just a good feel for the system should be enough.

So, why do you need to be able to perform this impossible and unnatural skill?
Well, as it turns out, when you're running away from something, it helps to be
able to see it.  Apparently, when you see what something is doing, it's easier
to react in the proper way.  The thing you'll be reacting to is a wyvern.  So,
let's say there are two Runners.  One has the camera behind them like normal.
The other is running but has the camera turned behind them to see the wyvern.
The wyvern makes a movement that indicates it is about to spit a fireball.
Which Runner is more likely to be able to dodge the fireball?  More to the
point, which Runner knows the fireball even exists so that he can have the
slightest chance of dodging it?  Keeping your eye on the wyvern is vital.
If it charges you, start moving to the side.  If it shoots a fireball, you
start moving to the side.  Dodging a wyvern pretty much just means moving to
the side a lot.  Additionally, when moving, try to think ahead about where
you will go if the wyvern charges you.  Don't walk in the middle of a path;
walk on the edge of it.  That way you have more room to dodge should the
wyvern run straight towards you.

Should something go wrong in Zone 4, it can be a pain for Runnesr to avoid
Ioprey.  Still, it can be done.  The best way to avoid Ioprey is to move in a
zig-zag pattern.  Alternate your zigs and zags about every second, and always
keep moving in the general direction of the next zone.  Hopefully you won't
have to deal with this, but if you have the ability to make up for a Guard's
mistake, all the more power to you as a Runner.

..and that's that!  There's a lot to know, but the actual performance is
pretty simple and straightforward.  There's always the chance that something
will go wrong or something unexpected might happen, but if you know these
basic rules, you'll be able to handle almost any situation.  Good luck!


5) Whoops!

Not everyone will be an expert at Powderstone, and accidents happen.
Don't get discouraged; you can still win!

If one player drops a Powderstone during any part of the Run, they should
go back and get a new one ALONE.  The Guard and remaining Runners should
stick together and follow the normal strategy.

When both Runners reach Zone 1, the Guard should go assist the other Runner.
The two Runners should also come to assist once they have delivered their
Powderstones.  Remember, simply being in the same zone as the last Runner
will give all of the enemies there more targets to consider, so even if you
have run out of Flashbombs, you can still help.  Spread out.  In Zone 4,
try to attack Ioprey that aren't close to the Runner to help them out.
With some nifty zigging and zagging, you'll have that last Powerstone in
the box in no time.

If two Runners happen to drop their stones, the Guard should not waste
any Flashbombs; it's not worth it for just one Powderstone.  Instead,
everyone should help the remaining Runner get to the box(similar to the
"last Runner" strategy above) before commencing a new Run.  This new
Run should still have 3 Runners, even though you only need 2; this will
lower the odds of there being a need for a 3rd Run.


6) Top 5 Reasons to Become an Expert Powderstoner

--5-- It will get you Commendations which you'll need for some fancy items.
--4-- There are 3 Powderstone quests in the game, so you'll have to sometime.
--3-- You can amaze players by doing such a "difficult" mission with ease.
--2-- Hoping to get lucky will waste a lot of your time with failure.
--1-- It's your first step towards being a man.(even if you're a woman)


7) Credit

A special thanks goes out to every member of every group I've ever
Powderstoned with.  There are far too many individual players to actually
remember or name every one, but because of you all I've been able to learn
from both my mistakes and others about the tricks of Powderstoning.

Thanks to Capcom for making such an innovative and great game, which will
undoubtedly bloom into a barrage of sequels.

Thanks to GameFAQs for always being there for gamers and giving me a place
to house this FAQ.

Thanks to Darthmdm25 for pointing out the fact that I wrote R3 signal
instead of L3 signal.


8) Contact and Copyright

Copyright - 2004 Yedokai

If you find any problems with this guide or have comments, please contact me.
My email address is [email protected], or you can find me on Monster
Hunter as 0neWing(that's a zero, not an Oh).

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