Monster Hunter Rise - part 2

I've played an additional 30 hours of Monster Hunter Rise since my last post. During this time, I've experimented with other weapons (hammer, dual blades, and bow), crafted several end-game meta armor sets, crafted many more decorations and talismen, and continued to train buddies. My hunter rank is 72.

The game is still fun, though I'm relying more on the online multiplayer interactions with random people to fuel spontaneity. Dual Blades is a fun weapon, and I'll probably focus on it after playing through Hammer more, which I am definitely enjoying. I expected to like Bow, but since I've played, almost exclusively, melee weapons in my time in Monster Hunter games, switching to ranged feels very weird.

Hunting for better talismen is annoying; I have a few that have a skill I want and a gem slot, and that's pretty much good enough. I've been able to farm monsters for decorations, which have gotten me most of the skills I want. When paired with following guides for end-game meta armor sets, I feel strong, but not overpowered. Monster Hunter is good about rewarding player skill increases, as well as character strength increases.

At this point, I think I've seen everything in the game - the additional post-story monsters, the apex variations, and the crimson something or other that has jet engines on its body (though I haven't fought it). I don't have another game to play right now, so I'm still going on hunts to get materials and have fun, but as I'm generally a very goal-oriented player, I'm starting to get blurry on what's next for me.