Monster Hunter: World's first expansion is out and Iceborne is proving to be an amazing piece of work. This expansion packs in all kinds of new content from a new locale, story, weapons, increased difficulty and a ton of new and returning monsters to hunt. With this much content, Iceborne is likely to double the amount of hours that dedicated hunters have already sunk into the game.
With all that said, the large amount of content can be somewhat daunting to see. Where should you begin and have you missed anything in your haste to jump right in? To help you out, here are 10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
10 Returning Monsters
One of the most exciting features coming in Iceborne is the return of older monsters. Monsters that are fondly remembered from the games before World and that veterans of the series will dearly enjoy hunting. This isn't just about the nostalgia, though, as these monsters add even more difficulty and rewards.
The returning monsters are: Tigrex, Nargacuga, Glavenus, Brachydios, Barioth, Zinogre, Yian Garuga and perhaps more to come. Most of these monsters, with the possible exception of Yian Garuga, are fan favorites that are sure to spice up your hunts and force you to learn their moves all over again.
9 New Environments
For anyone who has watched any trailers about Iceborne or played at all, they'll know that the Monster Hunter: World team hasn't let the quality drop at all. The new location that you get to experience is called Hoarfrost Reach. This snowy landscape is a beautiful sight to behold, especially because of how starkly different it is to the usual. Hoarfrost also comes with its own Headquarters called Seliana.
But Hoarfrost Reach isn't the only new locale that's been included. A new Master Rank only location known as the guiding lands can be explored. This unique area is the end-game for Iceborne and contains four eco-systems that level and de-level as the player explores them. They are the: Forest, Wildspire, Coral and Rotted regions.
8 Master Rank
Monster Hunter: World Iceborne finally brings something that so many veterans have been craving, G rank. G Rank has traditionally been the highest degree of difficulty in past games, it's attached to the kind of quests that require the player to really get good. In Iceborne, they decided to do away with the G and rename them Master Rank Quests.
In order to access these Master Rank quests and rewards, there are a few things you need to do. The most simple of these, besides owning Iceborne, is that you need to have completed the main storyline in World. This will put you at HR 16 and you will then need to speak to the Enthusiastic Fiver at Astera and go on an expedition with the handler. With all that done, simply make your make to Hoarfrost Reach and voila, Master Rank unlocked.
7 New Subspecies
Another exciting thing coming to Iceborne is the discover of new subspecies of many of World's existing monsters as well as some newcomers. Each of these new subspecies brings something extra dangerous to the hunt that you will need to be wary of and some of them are sure to surprise even the most hardened of Monster Hunter veterans.
The subspecies are: Viper Tobi-Kadachi, Nightshade Paolumu, Coral Pukei-Pukei, Shrieking Legiana, Fulgur Anjanath, Acidic Glavenus, Ebony Odogaron, Seeting Bazelguese, Blackveil Vaal Hazak and Ruiner Nergigante. Quite a list of dangerous monsters that promise to be challenging and rewarding.
6 The Clutch Claw
One of the most interesting new features for combat is the Clutch Claw. This attachment lets the hunter use their slinger to attach themselves to the monster. It sounds like a pretty basic thing at first but its usefulness cannot be underestimated. Not only does this mean that you can near-instantly engage the monster from a distance but it also has special combos depending on your chosen weapon.
The basics of the clutch claw weapon combos are dependent on what your weapon is classified as. There are two classifications, light and heavy. A light weapon will allow not just do damage but also cause the monster to drop a special type of slinger ammo. A heavy weapon will cause the body part that you attack with it to become a weak spot, temporarily.
5 New Weapon Combos
Every weapon received something new in Iceborne. Here are some examples. The great sword had its true slash damage buffed and it can now use the slinger while it's charging without losing any charges. The long sword has two new iai attacks, one that does decent damage and charges the spirit gauge a lot and another that does massive damage. It can also use the slinger mid-combo.
But weapons didn't just receive new moves to use on their own, many of them can be combined with the new Clutch Claw. Take the sword and shield, at first it looked like Iceborne was going do it a disservice by allowing everyone to use the slinger with weapon drawn. But in exchange, the sword and shield can do an uppercut with the claw after an evade and if you hit, you automatically attach yourself to the monster and perform an attack. Those are just a few examples of the new weapon combos in Iceborne.
4 More Elder Dragons
The Iceborne expansion adds even more new Elder Dragons for you to fight. Not including any variants, Iceborne adds three new Elder Dragons, two of which will be covered here. The first one is the Flagship monster of the expansion, Velkhana. This Ice Dragon is no pushover, as you will discover through the course of the expansions story. Just be wary of all the ice spikes it summons and if you're struggling, get some ice resistance on your armor.
The second Elder Dragon is Namielle, the Abyss Dragon. This lovely Elder Dragon uses water and electricity to combat you. Namielle will regularly use water attacks to not only try and dispose of you but also to saturate the surrounding area with said water. This means that not only must you be wary of what attack Namielle is currently doing but also where you're standing. If Namielle uses an electric attack on water, the water will explode and do a lot of damage to you.
3 Continuing Content Updates
Just because Monster Hunter: World has released its first paid expansion doesn't mean that even more new content won't be released. In addition to everything you get from Iceborne at this moment, an additional monster and locale will be released in just under a week. The monster is the ever feared but still fan favorite Rajang and the new locale is still somewhat of a mystery but promises to be volcanic.
Rajang is a monster that veterans to the series will know all too well. This is because he is possibly the most dangerous non-Elder Dragon in the world of Monster Hunter. His favorite prey is the Elder Dragon Kirin and if you want to take this beast on, be prepared for a very difficult fight. The new locale will be in the guiding lands and makes for a nice counter point to all the snow in Iceborne.
2 Horizon Zero Dawn Collaboration
Just as before, Monster Hunter: World Iceborne is having a collaboration with Horizon Zero Dawn. This time it's with Horizon Zero Dawn's own expansion, The Frozen Wilds and it looks to be another treat. The previous collaboration gave us armor that let you look like Aloy as well as her weapon and an outfit for your Palico.
This new batch of content looks like it'll much of the same, which isn't a bad thing, The armor and weapon are sure to beautiful and, hopefully, useful. The content will be released in November and December of this year, though details are a bit scarce. Either way, collaborations have been a tradition in Monster Hunter and it's good to see them continue.
1 A Sense of Humor
Monster Hunter has always been a series with a sense of humor and World and Iceborne are no different. Usually, this takes place in the form of joke weapons or quest dialogue. Iceborne continues this tradition with the most recently announced collaboration with Resident Evil. This collaboration's trailer really highlights the Monster Hunter team's humor as Leon and Claire travel through a slightly different Monster Hunter World.
There will most likely be armor to match them as well as Resident Evil themed weapons. But without a doubt the best parts about this collaboration are the zombie walk that the players can do during a hunt and the handlers new outfit. She's been outfitted as Mr. X, a villain from Resident Evil, to hilarious results. Either way, it's good to know that the series humor will live on, even if it is as part of the living dead.