User blog comment:Kogath/Monster Hunter Generations Discussion/@comment-26170479-20160417152137/@comment-5569775-20160417155905

Depends, are you a glass half empty or a glass half full type of person?

They added a Heat Gauge that starts in Yellow and increase to Orange, then Red as you shell; pokes decrease the Gauge and it also decreases over time. In Yellow, you do less damage with pokes than in 4U, with Orange you either do as much or for some attacks more than in 4U and at Red you do a bit more than Orange. It'd be easier to get a better grasp of how the Gauge works by watching a Guide on YouTube.

Shelling across all types and levels was also nerfed; however, one of the Hunter Art's(the one that maxes out the Heat Gauge for a time) increases shelling damage.

Overall, it didn't get hit hard outright, but it takes more work to maintain your best damage output.