As much as I'd love to provide you with advice, I'm in the same position as you. Perhaps some of the vets could give you some pointers.
The friend list is hilarious to look at, almost everyone who has MH is playing MH. Beautiful!
Btw, I updated MH (Wii U) and then transfered my save file from the 3DS to the Wii U, the process was smooth as silk and playing with the GamePad felt great.