Capcom's wildly successful title Monster Hunter World is getting its first and last major expansion, called Iceborne, later this week. In addition to new gear to craft and monsters to fight, the expansion introduces players to the snowy land of Hoarfrost Reach. This area is roughly the size of the base game and features a brand new story that continues the main storyline forward. To celebrate the impending arrival of the Iceborne expansion, Capcom is giving away free high rank armor to players.

Known as the Guardian Armor set, the Monster Hunter World set is intended to help new players get a leg up on the monsters and to let existing players start the expansion on a high note. The Guardian Armor features skills that boost the player's maximum health by 50 points, increase healing effects by 30%, and give a chance at reducing monster damage by 50%. The level 3 Marathon Runner skill also slows stamina depletion when using actions that continuously deplete stamina by 50%.

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The better news is that this armor is available to all players right at the start of the game, even those who have not actually purchased the Iceborne expansion. Monster Hunter World players have two ways to get it:

monster hunter world guardian armor fight

New Characters

Players just starting out on September 6 will find this armor waiting for them towards the start of the experience. Players will need to ensure that their game is at least on version 10.10 as well.

As soon as players reach the Create Your Hunter screen, the option to equip the Guardian armor can be selected from the Default Armor option.

Existing Characters

For players who are continuing their journey from a previous save, the armor is available as long as the player has already been given their first assignment in Astera.

Next, these players should head to their rooms to speak to the Housekeeper in there. They can then select the Claim Add-On & Bonuses option to find the Armor Set: Guardian option. After selecting yes to retrieve the content, it can then be equipped. Players may also find another Capcom reward waiting for them in this menu as well. The Early Weapon Upgrade Materials Set provides a selection of materials that will help create and upgrade ore-based weapons.

Even though this will be the last major expansion for MHW, Capcom intends to continue supporting the game with smaller updates and special events for the time being. The creature Rajang, originally appearing all the way back in Monster Hunter 2, has already been confirmed as a post-launch free update. PlayStation 4 players are also getting another Horizon Zero Dawn special event, and Aloy's character armor this time is the Shield Weave Armor from the Frozen Wilds DLC as well as a Rattler style weapon.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne releases on September 6 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Source: Monster Hunter