The Qurio virus has rampaged the very foundation of the endgame experience of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. It plagues monsters, turns them rabid, and eventually causes them to wear themselves out to death. However, players have seen this similar reaction in a previous Monster Hunter game, in the form of the Frenzy virus.
Currently, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak has both the Qurio and the Frenzy viruses in the game, but not to the same extent. This guide will help Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak better understand the history of the Frenzy virus and its current effect in the game.
What Is The Frenzy Virus?
The Frenzy virus was originally an infectious disease caused by the monsters of the Magala family. These included the Gore Magala, Chaotic Gore Magala, and Shagaru Magala in Monster Hunter 4. This disease affected not only the hunters facing the beasts, but also the other monsters around them.
If a hunter in Monster Hunter 4 is infected by the virus, it halts their natural healing abilities, making it impossible to recover without using a healing item. This also applies in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. Monsters, on the other hand, are a different story. When a monster is afflicted with the Frenzy virus, they become rabid, increasing its strength and speed and virtually doubling its natural aggression. They will attack anything on sight, until they die within a few days from over-exhausting themselves.
In Monster Hunter 4, the virus had spread throughout the game, essentially making the endgame experience hunting down all Frenzied monsters. However, in very rare cases, some monsters would actually be able to suppress and overcome the fatal effects of the virus while keeping the benefits. This resulted in a unique transformation known as the Apex State.
The Apex State
The Apex State is more or less the same as the "Risen" State in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, where a monster would overcome the effects of the virus and use it as a weapon. They received an 80% damage reduction from all attacks, immunity to all traps, and could not be affected by status or elemental effects. These monsters were in a tier of their own, and only a handful of hunters fought these beasts and lived to tell the tale. Popular monsters, such as Deviljho, Zinogre, and Diablos, were some of the few that transcended into the Apex State in Monster Hunter 4.
The Frenzy Virus In Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak has blended both the Frenzy virus and Apex monsters in its own way. For example, while the Frenzy virus is currently present in the game with the return of Gore and Shagaru Magala, it doesn't have the same effect it did in Monster Hunter 4, where it afflicted other monsters.
Instead, a new virus has taken over that role in the form of the Qurio virus. The Qurio virus is essentially the same as the Frenzy virus. If a monster is afflicted with it, it becomes ravenous and stronger. It will continue to hunt everything in sight until it dies from exhaustion.
Apex Monsters
Monster Hunter Rise did re-introduce Apex monsters into the mix, but they aren't the same ones affected by the Frenzy virus from Monster Hunter 4. Instead, Apex monsters in Rise have survived attacks from the Elder Dragon Ramage and underwent a minor transformation, turning them into Apex monsters. However, they do bear a striking resemblance to previous Apex monsters.
Essentially, the Qurio virus was a way for the developers to re-introduce "frenzied" monsters once more without making Gore/Shagaru Magala the main focus. The system has worked flawlessly thus far, and the virus has even given monsters like Chameleos the opportunity to become one of the most challenging fights in the game. However, how far the Qurios virus will go remains to be seen. It ha only just begun to affect lower-tier Elder Dragons, and it may become even more frightening if it starts to mutate the upper-tier ones. Either way, hunters should begin preparing, as the fights from here on out will only get more difficult.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is now available for the Nintendo Switch and PC.