Monster Hunter Rise gets new Elder Dragons, a crossover with series’ next game

By Joseph Yaden Updated April 27, 2021

During today’s digital event, Capcom revealed what to expect from the Monster Hunter Rise 2.0 update and the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. Capcom showed off new gameplay and characters for the latter, and provided more details on the latest Rise update, which will include new monsters and lots more content to enjoy.

Chameleos has returned, alongside fearsome Elder Dragons, and Apex Monsters! 👅🔥🌪️#MHRise Update Ver. 2.0 launches in 10 hours! FREE for all players. pic.twitter.com/tiUFdNasWe

— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) April 27, 2021

Monster Hunter Rise 2.0 is a free update that will launch for Nintendo Switch on April 28. Most notably, it will include five new monsters: Chameleos, Apex Diablos, Apex Rathalos, and new Elder Dragons Teostra and Kushala Daora. We also received word that Apex monsters will appear during normal quests. Capcom also revealed it will be increasing the Hunter Rank cap past HR7, which will also tie into the game’s new armor sets.

At the end of the presentation, Capcom looked ahead at the future of Rise, noting that update 3.0 will be available at the end of May 2021. This 3.0 update will feature new monsters to take down, though it’s unknown if they’ll be new monsters or returning creatures from previous installments.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin received its third trailer, which showed off some of its new characters and a look at the Razewing Ratha. Capcom took a deep dive into the game’s combat, which will feature a rock-paper-scissors-style battle system.

Meet new characters and get a glimpse of Razewing Ratha's power in the latest trailer for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin!

Can Riders and Hunters work together in this epic tale? #MHStories2 pic.twitter.com/qrj9qj5Z1b

— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) April 27, 2021

There’s a crossover planned between both games. Players with Monster Hunter Rise save data will gain access to the Hunter’s Kamura armor in Monster Hunter Stories 2. Similarly, your Monster Hunter Stories 2 save data will net you the Default Rider armor in Monster Hunter Rise.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin will launch for Nintendo Switch on July 9, 2021.

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Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…

Gaming

Everything announced at the June 2022 Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase

Mario, Rabbid Peach, and more characters pose in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope key art.

Lagging behind a strong State of Play from Sony and an excellent Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase from Microsoft, Nintendo has now held a presentation of its own. It's not a full-blown Nintendo Direct, though. Instead, this June 28 presentation is a Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase, the first of its kind since 2020. As the showcase's name suggests, this is shorter than a typical Nintendo Direct and mainly focused on what third-party developers and publishers are bringing to Nintendo Switch in the coming months.
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First look at Return to Monkey Island gameplay
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After it was confirmed earlier this year, we finally got a deeper look at Return to Monkey Island's story and gameplay. It's got a distinct and pretty new art style and looks faithful to how the old Monkey Island games play, so hopefully, it lives up to series fans' lofty expectations. It will be released in 2022.
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Gaming

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak introduces a vampiric dragon

monster hunter rise sunbreak monsters malzeno

During the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak digital event, Capcom showed off a brand-new trailer featuring older monsters and new ones. The clip included the expansion's flagship dragon, Malzeno.

Malzeno is a vampiric elder dragon that captures monsters and steals their life force. It also has the ability to inflict the Bloodblight status, which causes hunters to slowly lose their HP in a tug-of-war fashion with it. In order for hunters to regain lost HP due to Bloodblight, it seems like they'll have to keep attacking Malzeno. If a hunter succumbs to Bloodblight, then Malzeno will use the life force to evolve into a more powerful form.

Gaming

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak refreshes the game in June

Hunters celebrate in the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion.

Capcom finally gave a thorough overview and revealed a release date for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak during a digital event today. This major expansion for the Nintendo Switch and PC Monster Hunter game will be released on June 30.
Monster Hunter Digital Event - March 2022
As Iceborne did for Monster Hunter World, players can expect this expansion to introduce plenty of new monsters, characters, and other content for Monster Hunter Rise players to sink their teeth into once they've made their way through the main game. Players must complete the seven-star hub quest "Serpent Goddess of Thunder" to access Sunbreak.
Sunbreak takes place in a new area called The Citadel and gives the player a new base of operations called the Elgado Outpost. From here, players will work with lots of new characters from a distant, Britain-inspired kingdom to take down The Three Lords, the gigantic monsters threatening that foreign civilization.
The Three Lords are Garangolm, a large monster that attacks with both fire and water elements, Lunagaron, an icy fanged wyvern, and Malzeno, an elder dragon. These won't be the only new monsters, as Capcom also highlighted the Blood Orange Bishaten and a new version of Astalosed in the presentation. The expansion will also introduce new Master Rank quests for hardcore players and new wirebug actions.
Alongside the release of Sunbreak, Monster Hunter Rise will receive a massive 13 GB update that will adjust game balance and character edit vouchers in addition to preparing the software for this expansion. Players can also expect amiibo of the "Canyne Malzeno" Palamute, "Felyne Malzeno" Palico, and Malzeno to release alongside the game, these will unlock special armor and let players get items from a daily lottery.
Overall, Sunbreak is stacking up to be a meaty expansion that will please Monster Hunter Rise players. It will cost $40 for those who already own Monster Hunter Rise, though new players will be able to pick up the Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Set for $70.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak will be released for both Nintendo Switch and PC on June 30, 2022, though Capcom teased that the expansion will get plenty of updates following its release