In today's Monster Hunter Rise live event, Capcom showed off several new additions to the game. Among those additions are a new locale to hunt monsters in, as well as the reveal of several returning monsters and one new one.
The new location in Monster Hunter Rise is called the Frost Islands, and as one might expect, it will serve as the home of several arctic dwelling monsters. According to the lore given by the developers, the Frost Islands was once a nest for various dragons. Many attempts were made to slay these dragons, but none of them were successful. The Islands are meant to have a "creepy atmosphere" with its dark caves and ruined ship, likely a relic of one of several failed attempts to slay the dragons of old.
Most players, however, will be most interested in the monsters that will be found in the new area. Capcom certainly delivered on this front, revealing six new monsters that reside in the Frost Islands and one monster who lives elsewhere. More information about the flagship monster, Magnamalo was also provided.
The seven monsters revealed were:
- Goss Harag
- Barioth
- Khezu
- Great Baggi
- Lagombi
- Tigrex
- Mizutsune
All but one of these monsters should sound familiar to long time Monster Hunter fans. Goss Harag is a completely new monster, a fanged beast. Goss Harag is able to use its own ice breath to fashion a blade on its hand which it then uses to strike at the player. It was also shown to be able to create a shockwave attack that sends rocks flying at hunters.
Barioth and Tigrex will be familiar to anyone who played the most recent Monster Hunter entry, Iceborne. They are both flying wyverns with similar builds who are quite agile. While Barioth can also blast hunters with whirlwinds of ice, Tigrex relies more on brute force as it charges hunters. Khezu is also a flying wyvern, but is very different from Tigrex and Barioth as it uses its long neck and electric attacks to engage with hunters. Khezu was previously shown in Japanese footage, but this is the first time it is being shown officially worldwide.
Great Baggi, the bird wyvern, is of similar fare to the previously revealed Great Izuchi, but uses attacks that cause its prey to fall asleep. Lagombi, a fanged beast, is a rabbit-like creature that slides around on its stomach and hurls snowballs at hunters.
Outside of the Frost Islands, Mizutsune returns. Mizutsune is a leviathan type monster that is part kitsune and part sea serpent. It uses jets of water and bubbles to attack hunters. Mizutsune was a monster many hoped would be returning given its design fit well with the more Japanese inspired aesthetic of Rise. Finally, Capcom showed off more of Magnamalo, revealing that it uses a mysterious gas that "looks like hellfire" to attack players. It also appears to be able to apply a unique debuff, but no further info was given.
Monster Hunter Rise launches March 26, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.