Monster Hunter Rise came out last year to rave reviews from critics and fans. Despite the game initially shipping without a proper endgame, it still impressed players with its expanded mechanics from Monster Hunter World. It also added all-new elements to the gameplay with Wirebugs, Wyvern Riding, Palamute Buddies, and the Rampage tower defense mode. Monster Hunter Rise proved to be a great Monster Hunter for newcomers on the Switch and quickly rose to become the second best-selling title in the franchise even before its Steam port came out in January 2022.
The game is poised to get even better once Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak releases in the summer of 2022. This massive expansion is expected to add new monsters, quests, weapons and armor, story elements, and more difficult hunts. It will be comparable to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and the re-releases of past Monster Hunter games before it. Still, fans are more than willing to get their hopes up for a few more features than advertised, and there are a number of things Capcom could add to Sunbreak to make it memorable.
Master Rank
This feature is highly likely but is still worth bringing up. Monster Hunter games have always used a system where a given generation’s game is released, then an upgraded version of that game is released later with new, harder content. This manifests as the “G Rank," or Master Rank as it is localized, and serves as the next step up from Low Rank and High Rank. Monster Hunter Rise has suffered somewhat from exceptionally easy single-player content, so a Master Rank would do wonders to improve Sunbreak’s replayability.
Climbing and Swimming Monsters
Monster variety is of the utmost importance in a Monster Hunter game, and Rise certainly has a lot of different monsters. Sunbreak is guaranteed to add many more. However, it would also be nice to take advantage of Rise’s massively increased mobility through wall-running and Wirebugs. For that reason, monsters that demand some degree of climbing or swimming could be worked back into the series after a few games’ absences. Monster Hunter 4’s titanic Dalamadur would be ideal for Rise’s movement, forcing players to dodge its attacks from across the map and fight their way up its body. Lagiacrus, Monster Hunter Tri’s flagship monster, could also finally make its return alongside less frustrating swimming mechanics. The Wirebug could be the final piece Monster Hunter’s past dynamic battles were missing.
Apex Armor and Up-To-Date Layered Armor
Going into Sunbreak, Capcom needs to pay close attention to the armor it adds. Not only should Master Rank get its own armor, but Apex monsters should also yield unique sets. This would encourage players to fight them more. Layered armor also needs to be a priority, with new armor sets immediately available or able to be unlocked as layered armor. It is a glamour system that allows hunters and buddies to appear dressed in any set of armor, even if stats-wise they are wearing something else. Player appearance is every bit as important as properly gearing up for the hunt at hand, so Monster Hunter World’s issues with layered armor being limited and playing catch-up at the end of the game’s life should not be repeated.
Cross-Progression or Crossplay
It has already been confirmed that Capcom will not be adding cross-progression to Monster Hunter Rise due to the complexity of doing so. However, that doesn’t rule out Sunbreak, and Capcom now knows that players value the feature. The extra development time could enable it to work something out. Though if that doesn’t happen, fans could still be appeased by crossplay being implemented for Rise between the PC and Switch skews. It’s important to keep an online community united, and entice more people in with quality-of-life features.
Prowler Mode
The last of these features is the least likely, but would definitely please some fans. Prowler Mode was first introduced in Monster Hunter Generations on the 3DS and made a return in Generations Ultimate. The mode allows players to play as a Prowler Palico and serves as an alternative way to experience the game. It can be accessed almost immediately and cuts out a lot of the item grinding that World went on to remove for all players. It’s a great way for newer players to experience Monster Hunter, and still gives older players plenty of new ways to hunt. Because of its depth, it isn’t likely to show up in even a gameplay-altering expansion, but being able to play as a Palico riding into battle on a Palamute or another monster would bring a smile to many hunters’ faces.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now on PC and Switch. Sunbreak releases Summer 2022.