Today, Capcom hosted a livestreamed presentation to go over the upcoming Sunbreak expansion for Monster Hunter Rise. The company had a lot to show for the massive DLC drop, such as the new outpost where players will be taking on quests, new monsters, new story details, and even a look at some combat abilities for hunters to take advantage of.
With all of these new details coming out of the 20-minute presentation, this article will round up all the major reveals and announcements that Monster Hunter Rise players need to know.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Release Date and Price
The first thing that most Monster Hunter fans will want to know about Sunbreak is its official release date and pricing. It was revealed during today's digital event that the paid DLC will be launching on June 30, 2022, for Switch and PC. As for the price of the expansion, the standard digital edition will be $39.99, which was the same price for the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World. The pricing details weren't discussed during the presentation, which was an odd thing to leave out, but the information was later posted to Capcom's press site.
There is a more expensive version of the Sunbreak expansion, dubbed the Deluxe Edition, that comes with bonus content such as layered armor sets, gestures, and hairstyles --this one goes for $49.99. There's also the limited Collector's Edition of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak that's physical only and comes with a digital code for the Deluxe Edition of Sunbreak, as well as physical items like a sticker pack, a pin, steelbook case, and an amiibo of Malzeno --this one goes for $99.99.
New Hub Town
Sunbreak will take players out of Kamura Village, and throw them into an entirely new area called the Elgado Outpost. It's a research town in a distant land that has a more medieval vibe to it compared to the old-school Japanese aesthetic of Kamura. Players will still have access to all the necessities that any hunter needs, like a Smithy, a Merchant, the Canteen, and there's even a new young female NPC to give out quests named Chichae.
New Monsters
Several new (and returning) monsters were shown off during the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion, but there are three particular ones that players should be aware of as they comprise the Three Lords. By teaming up with the Kingdom's Knights of the Royal Order, it'll be up to players to take down the monsters to save the land. The three monsters are Malzeno, the flagship monster, Garangolm, and Lunagaron.
According to the official Monster Hunter site, Malzeno is an Elder Dragon "covered with elegant silver scales." It can essentially drain the life force from other creatures and can even take on a more "sinister appearance" after doing so. Garangolm is another brand-new monster to the series that uses its rock-hard body to deflect most attacks from hunters. It also has a relationship with nature and can use a sap-like fluid to harden the ground it walks on, as well as its body.
And then there's Lunagaron, a beast-like wyvern that resembles a wolf with icicles popping out of its body. It apparently has an organ in its body that can immediately chill the air it breathes in, which doesn't sound like a good time if that frozen air is blown on hunters.
Returning Monsters
As far as returning monsters go, it was revealed that the ferocious electric-using Astalos is making a comeback after first appearing in Monster Hunter Generations on the 3DS. Bishaten from the base version of Monster Hunter Rise has a variant called Blood Orange Bishaten that focuses on using attacks that can potentially burn players if they're not too careful. And, players have already known about Shogun Ceanataur from a previous announcement, but it's a large crab-like monster that makes a return from Monster Hunter 2.
New Moves and Tools
The update that comes on the same day as the Sunbreak expansion will give players all sorts of new ways to traverse the locales and fight monsters. There will be new Silkbind Moves for all 14 weapons, wall-running has been improved, allowing players to run on walls without performing a Wiredash, new types of Wirebugs make an appearance, and there are Marionette Spiders that can be picked up and used to take control of a monster and essentially pull it towards any direction of their choosing, potentially causing monsters to topple over.
Details are scarce, but there will also be new tools for Palamutes and Palicos, such as a mounted gun.
New Locales
Capcom has been quiet on revealing all the new locales for the Sunbreak expansion, but the company did show off one of them today, and it's called Citadel. Instead of focusing on just one type of environment, it seems this locale will be massive and will have snow-topped peaks and lush forests, as well as abandoned medieval castles and gunky swamps.
Monster Hunter Rise has five locales for players to explore, so fans can expect a few more to be announced for Sunbreak as the early summer launch date approaches.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for PC and Switch. The Sunbreak expansion launches globally on June 30, 2022.
Source: Capcom