Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak played – New monsters and varied hunting areas

With just under four weeks left, starting June 30th, you can embark on fresh big game hunts in Monster Hunter Rise for PC and Nintendo Switch. The upcoming Sunbreak expansion not only includes fresh monster spawn with the Three Lords, but also comes up with other exciting innovations. In advance, I was able to go on the trail of the ice wolf Lunagaron with a local hunter team and put the intelligence of a computer-controlled fellow hunter to the test in one of the brand new trailer quests.

The citadel, one of Sunbreak’s new hunting areas, stretches around a ruined, medieval-looking castle. The extensive terrain offers a range of different landscapes, such as dense forests, rugged mountain massifs or ice landscapes. Together with my fellow combatants, I set out in search of the fanged wyvern Lunagaron, a gigantic ice wolf that could have come directly from Norse mythology. In general, monsters and environments in Sunbreak have a more Western look, which is also the case for the other two monster masters, the dragon Malzeno and the colossus Garangolm, reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster. Not that Monster Hunter Rise didn’t feature a mix of cultures here and there in the main game, but now it’s already starting to look distinctly medieval in Europe. I like it.

The current location of the potential victim is displayed on the overview map and the hunt begins. What is immediately noticeable: Your hunter has become more agile and can now run up walls quickly without first using a rope beetle for a rope sprint. This doesn’t work everywhere, but most vertical hurdles can be taken without slowing down. Otherwise, it’s best to get on the back of your Palamut as often as possible, your faithful dog companion will take you to your destination quickly and safely. This is also necessary, because the time for the mission is running relentlessly. Lunagaron always withdraws quite a bit after attacks, disappears into one of the extensive cave systems or sometimes appears on the opposite side of the map.

But the monster doesn’t escape our squad for long and it’s happily beaten from all sides. I chose dual blades for the outing, which have new silkbinding actions and switching arts. The Skid Slash Combo Switch Art performs a hard attack while dodging, and the Silkbinder Circle Slash pierces your weapon deep into the monster’s flesh. All 14 weapon types, such as morph axe, lance, insect glaive or greatsword, have new actions. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try more spectacular attacks, but I’ll definitely make up for it.

What else is new in combat? For example, the exchange art exchange, with which you can switch between two individual equipment sets at lightning speed. During the process, you perform a swap-dodge movement that quickly gets you out of the danger zone in tricky situations and lets you land a little away from the monster, ready to fight. I really liked both species of rope beetle. These are available in a ruby ​​and gold version and both have the effect that you can swing onto a monster faster and, as a rider, deal powerful damage from above. It’s been possible since Monster Hunter Rise, but I’ve always had a hard time executing this action. This works much better with the bugs, which leads to exciting fight scenes. For example, the fugitive Lunagaron encounters a block-headed Garangolm and a turf war immediately ensues. Thanks to the rope beetle, I was able to climb first on one monster, then on the other, and thus draw a lot of life energy up to the monster, the ice wolf, twice. Another effect: with the ruby ​​rope beetle you cause significantly more damage as a rider, the gold rope beetle ensures that more materials are dropped.

In addition to the local group hunt, I was also able to play one of the new follower quests. You go on a cooperative mission with a character you meet in Kamura and Elgardo. You cannot give orders to your companion, who comes with their own Palico and Palamut, but you have to rely on the AI ​​skills in battle. And they are impressive. In the follower quest I played, Desert of Dancing Blades, Arena Master Arlow joined me on a hunt for a Seregios in Sandy Plains, a new desert environment in Sunbreak. A tough chunk, as it quickly turns out, and I looked at the clock with an anxious look. Only 50 minutes to survive the many phases of the fight and finish off the flying dragon seemed very tight to me. But Arlow acts cleverly, sets traps, heals me and himself in time and does great damage again and again. If all followers are such an asset, then I look forward to the numerous quests of this kind.

Unfortunately, after the two quests, I had to call it a day, and the hunting fever had just got hold of me again. But I’ll catch up on that soon and practice diligently to internalize all the new actions and attacks. Then I also dare to do quests with the newly added master rank difficulty in Sunbreak, which should make even seven-star missions seem like a relaxed stroll. I definitely feel up for the challenge.