Everything we learned in the latest Monster Hunter digital event

“Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak” is finally adding what players thought were missing in the original game.

The Monster Hunter Digital Event of May 2022 showed off a lot of information regarding the upcoming massive expansion for “Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.” This expansion will bring you, the hunter, to a new land called Elgado Outpost, which is tasked with the research of Malzeno, a new monster, and other monsters.

New Monsters and Master Rank: 

Seregios, the flagship monster from “Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate,” makes its appearance in “Monster Hunter Rise”. It is a flying wyvern monster that attacks with its sharp razor-like claws by diving down on hunters. It also uses its sharp scales to attack hunters at a distance and can cause the bleed effect, which hurts the hunter as they try to move.

There were two new subspecies of already known monsters shown and they are Aurora Somnacanth, a variation of the normal Somnacanth, and Magma Almudron, which is a variation of the normal Almudron. These new subspecies will change the element they utilize in battle and update the locale they are found in.

Malzeno is the flagship monster for the massive expansion, “Sunbreak”. It is an elder dragon, a species of monsters that have been seen to be so strong that they affect the environment they reside in. Malzeno uses smaller monsters to capture larger monsters and absorb their energy, and he can even absorb the energy of the hunter through the use of its “bloodblight,” which slowly takes away the life force of the hunter.

Alongside the various additions to the list of monsters in “Monster Hunter Rise,” the “Sunbreak” expansion is also set to add Master Rank back into the game. This is the highest difficulty that hunters can take on, and with this new update, monsters new and old are gaining even more moves to challenge the hunter. They have even been seen chaining two attacks to catch hunters off guard.

New Gameplay Aspects: 

Follower quests are a new addition to “Sunbreak,” where the hunter can take on single player quests and take along friends from the village to aid in taking down a monster. Each of the different followers the hunter takes along will have different weapons specialized to their own specific way of fighting. The things they can do aren’t just limited to attacking with brute force, but they can also heal you in battle, place traps, and even ride the monsters. Besides it being a fun way to interact with the characters you like in the game, you can also earn rewards exclusive to the follower-type quests, so it won’t hurt to try it out.

Besides adding another type of quest, the expansion “Sunbreak” is adding even more to the new wirebug mechanic that was added when “Monster Hunter Rise” first came out. There will be a new action for each weapon type, as well as the option to change between different wirebug moves during battle through a new mechanic called Switch Skill Swap, which lets hunters swap between two presets of wirebug moves. You can use this mechanic while staying still or you can use it to dodge the monster. With this, you can add a whole different way of playing the game while still in the same quest.

Preexisting mechanics in “Monster Hunter Rise” have also been shown to be updated alongside the release of “Sunbreak”. Prior to “Sunbreak,” hunters would have to use one of their two wirebugs to initiate a wall climb, but now you can do it without the need of one. They also have changed how a mountable monster works to where you can choose to keep attacking a monster in a mountable state instead of the game making you ride it the moment you touch them once, which is one thing hunters have wanted since day one. 

New Products:

In the digital event, they also shared all the things you can buy relating to the massive expansion “Sunbreak”. They have shown that you can get the regular version of “Sunbreak,” or the deluxe edition which adds cosmetics you can only get through the deluxe kit. Although there may not be anything special for those who get the normal version of “Sunbreak,” there will be a pre-order bonus for anyone who purchases the expansion before the release date, which will give you a costume for both your Palico and Palamute. 

They also showed that for the Nintendo Switch, you can buy three new amiibos which give you even more cosmetics for the game, as well as daily bonuses every time you scan them. There will also be a new pro controller design specifically for “Sunbreak,” which is similar to the original “Monster Hunter Rise”-inspired pro controller released over a year ago.

Overall, the digital event for Monster Hunter was great for people who were looking forward to learning more about the upcoming expansion. It gave people new information that they were looking for, information they weren’t expecting, and even more information that has yet to be shared so that everyone will still be excited for what’s to come.
[To be released on June 30, 2022, for Nintendo Switch and PC]