At Capcom’s latest Monster Hunter digital event, we got a look at what’s coming to the newest Switch hit Monster Hunter Rise as part of its first title update, which is releasing later today. Dubbed Ver. 2.0, the update brings a whole slew of new monsters while also shuffling some of them around and introducing new ways to fight them.
First and foremost are the new monsters. Ver. 2.0 of Monster Hunter Rise was already set to feature Chameleos, a dragon with the ability to camouflage itself. Alongside Chameleos are a pair of Elder Dragons, Teostra and Kushala Deora. Elder Dragons make up the top tier of monsters to hunt, so it’s fair to say that these will be a tough trio of monsters to take on unless you’ve been grinding away at Monster Hunter Rise since launch.
As well as introducing these Elder Dragons, the title update will bring Apex versions of series mainstays Diablos and Rathalos. The Apex Monsters that were already in the game, and could only be fought in Rampage Quests, are now being let loose on the wider world in standard quests. Additionally, Rise’s flagship monster Magnamalo will now appear in Rampage Quests.
In order to take on most of the new monsters and advanced quests that are being added, you’ll need to raise your Hunter Rank, which is being uncapped with the title update. Previously capped at HR 7, your rank will now exceed that and will adjust according to how many Hub Quests players have completed. You’ll now earn Hunter Rank points after every quest and continually be able to push the number higher and higher.
Once you’ve unlocked your Hunter Rank cap, players will also be able to forge layered armor, which is Monster Hunter’s take on transmogrification. You can graft the armor that you like onto an armor set you might not like, but has superior stats.
There will be new event quests rolling out throughout this title update’s lifetime, and players will be able to continue playing them once they’re downloaded, instead of them going away forever once the event is over.
As part of the update, though kind of separate, a new wave of paid DLC content is coming that will give everything from new hairstyles and armor to new voices (Fugen, the village elder, and Minoto, the quest maiden), emotes and stickers. There will also be a voucher that lets players re-edit their characters, and the first voucher is free.
At the very end of the showcase, the team teased what’s to come in the next title update coming in May. There will of course be more monsters coming, but the biggest news is that there will be a new story chapter that takes place after the game’s ending. Until they share more news of that, it sounds like it’s time to drop back into Kamura for the first title update.