Monster Hunter Rise innovated upon the open maps and exploration elements of its predecessor, Monster Hunter World, but was a relatively small experience compared to older entries. The 2017 Switch title Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate served as something of a celebration for the franchise with 93 Large Monsters from across series' history. Rise has about half that amount with 46, though its upcoming Sunbreak expansion will introduce plenty of returning and new monsters.
With Sunbreak releasing on June 30, Capcom has announced a number of additions. New features include Follower Quests that let players team up with NPCs like Hinoa and Minoto, as well as the ability to change up Switch Skills in the field. However, arguably the most important part of this "massive expansion" will be Master Rank quests - the equivalent of G Rank in prior Monster Hunter titles. The "Three Lords" around Elgado Outpost are headlining this content alongside new subspecies for Bishaten, Somnacanth, and Almudron, but Capcom has also confirmed returning monsters like Seregios.
Monster Hunter: What is Seregios?
Every game in the Monster Hunter franchise has what's called a "flagship monster" that graces its box art and acts as a major threat in its main narrative. For example, 2006's Monster Hunter on PS2 featured Rathalos as its flagship monster. Monster Hunter Rise featured Magnamalo, a samurai-plated Fanged Wyvern, but Sunbreak will swap it out for the vampiric Malzeno; similar to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne changing out the base game's Nergigante for Velkhana. This follows a long-standing pattern of "Ultimate" editions featuring new flagship monsters, as was the case when Seregios took over for Gore Magala in 2015's Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
Seregios is a Flying Wyvern that can be found in most environments, but is often associated with arid desert terrain; as seen when Seregios was teased to appear in Monster Hunter Rise's Sandy Plains during the May 2022 Monster Hunter Digital Event. The monster is primarily weak to Thunder and Ice element attacks, but itself does not wield an element. Rather, Seregios is known for inflicting the Bleeding status ailment using its talons and unique yellow scales that can puff out like quills. Its activated state is often compared to a pinecone, much like Monster Hunter World's Bazelgeuse whose scales explode.
When Seregios isn't tossing its scales like throwing knives, it is known for doing acrobatic maneuvers to hit opponents with sweeping attacks. Regular members of the species tend to fight with other wyverns like Rathalos for dominance, but a special Apex Seregios served as the chief threat in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - displacing other monsters. Despite getting ready to appear in its third "set" of mainline games after 4 and Generations, a subspecies (the Fire-wielding Demonic Seregios) has only appeared in Capcom's mobile spin-off Monster Hunter Explore.
What Seregios Will Bring to Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
Monster Hunter Rise fans should be excited for Seregios because it offers one of the most unique weapon gimmicks in the franchise. All of its weapons have increased Sharpness (white-tier and above) and Affinity (critical hit chance), but more importantly they have a self-sharpening attribute. When a Seregios weapon is drawn, the player can sharpen it just by dodge-rolling. While this is faster for anyone who finds themselves dodging often during hunts, it is slightly less useful given Rise makes whetstones an indefinite item that can be used while riding one's Palamute.
The armor skill system in Monster Hunter Rise is also different from what it was in 4 Ultimate and Generations, which means Seregios gear could have different benefits. However, most of its original skills revolved around conserving stamina and keeping Sharpness high, which will likely remain thematically consistent. Ultimately, one of the main reasons to be excited for Seregios' return is how it adds to the growing hunt catalog alongside other veteran monsters such as Astalos and Shogun Ceanataur. It should be interesting to see what other surprises await when Sunbreak releases next month.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for PC and Switch. Its Sunbreak expansion launches on June 30, 2022.