Today, during PlayStation’s State of Play live stream, the release date for Monster Hunter: World’s massive upcoming DLC, Iceborne was finally revealed. This will be a major expansion which will add a new snowy environment called Hoarfrost Reach, including all new monsters to slay.
The trailer not only showed off the beautiful frozen setting, but also some wooded areas and non-snowy sections of the expansions, so it seems like you’ll be traveling across a variety of areas, or perhaps returning to previously visited environments with new monsters. Iceborne has a completely new story and takes place after the main game. It will include an new rank, called Master Rank that mirrors G-Rank from previous games.
You can view the trailer below.
After the trailer, we got more of an in-depth look at the expansion during the Spring Update Reveal stream.
The cold and snowy Hoarfrost Reach is the main new environment with the DLC. You’ll suffer from lowered stamina unless you have items to resist the cold, like a hot drink or pepper. However, there are some hot springs around the locale that will help you with your stamina regeneration. Hoarfrost Reach has familiar creatures, as well as some new ones, including some monkeys, that are, as expected, extremely cute.
Once you reach a certain point in the story, the area will open up and become the largest level in the game. Which is great because you’ll need all the room you can get to fight off some of the new monsters. One of these new beasts is the Banbaro, a very aggressive creature that will throw tree trunks at you and attack with its horns.
Beotodus is also a new monster you’ll have to fight. This creature likes to move around with half of its body buried in the snow. Most of its attacks will be made while it’s hidden beneath the snow, so you’ll have to figure out how to get it to come out. Plus, since Beotodus and Banbaro have overlapping living conditions, they tend to run into each other at times. We all know what happens when the monsters collide.
You’ll also see the return of Nargacuga, a fan favorite creature from Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite. It will act similarly to how it did in that game, but with Monster Hunter: World twists, like the inclusion of turf wars. But the flagship monster in the upcoming DLC is an elder dragon called Velkhana. It will use ice attacks that are sure to surprise fans, according to the live stream.
The new DLC will also include a new move set for the hunter to use, like the ability to use your slinger while your weapon is drawn, which will increase the level of strategy. You can also grapple yourself towards monsters using the new slinger mechanic called the clutch claw. Capcom included additional combos to your move set too, making it more effective when attacking enemies. It’s meant to have a more fluid feel that you’ll likely enjoy especially if you swerved off of the original game due to the combat. A lot of the new inclusions to the hunter’s move set are ones that make movement and attacking more efficient.
If you already own the base version of Monster Hunter: World, you only need the digital version of Iceborne which will cost $39.99. But if you don’t have the base game, you can purchase the physical version, Monster Hunter: World Iceborne Master Edition for $59.99. Or you can grab the Deluxe version for $79.99, which comes with a steelbook, extra DLC items such as new gestures, armor, and face paint, plus the base game and expansion. Iceborne releases worldwide on September 6, 2019.
[Source: Monster Hunter Twitch via YouTube and Capcom]
