We’re back with another installment of our guides for Monster Hunter Rise! Our first guide gave us some tips on starting out, and if you’re a brand new hunter making their way in Kamura, check out our beginner’s guide here.
So you’ve created your likeness in the game and done a few quests. What’s next? Let’s jump in!

• You progress in the game by doing Key Quests from the quest givers Hinoa (for Village quests) and Minoto (for Hub quests). Village is single-player, while Hub can be done alone, or with friends or random online players.
• Key quests are those that have the red medallion icon beside them in the quest list. You’ll need to do a certain number of those (thankfully they’re now indicated properly) before an Urgent Quest arises: essentially, this is your promotion quest to the next rank of available quests.

• New mechanics can also unlock by increasing ranks in either the Village or the Gathering Hub. New equipment, new items, and sometimes more free stuff can be offered by Kamuran residents when you advance a rank.

• In online multiplayer, players can join quests that have already started: accept a quest with Join Request active, and you’ll be opening that lobby up for people to join along the way. Check out other players’ join requests if you want to join an active quest with open slots (max 4 per quest).
• A good practice is to find a weapon you like, and practice using it in Village quests (and the Training Area). If you hit a progress wall, like a particular monster you failed to beat – you can either work on upgrading/changing your gear, or get help online. Watching other hunters can help you learn a lot of things, too!

• In High Rank, there will be quests you can complete to unlock a new Switch Skill for your choice of weapon. They unlock at different ranks.
• Doing Village quests exclusively can advance your Gathering Hub Hunter Rank too, via Special License Tests. For example, completing a number of 4-star Village quests unlocks HR2 in the Hub.

• Arena quests can be a cool way to try out new weapons without having to buy/make them. Be warned: these can be difficult at times, since you are locked to a specific loadout of equipment for the quest, so you can’t bring your upgrades in the Arena quests from Utsushi.
• Always bring Traps and Tranq Bombs. Efficiency is key, and capturing monsters not only finishes a quest faster than slaying a monster, but also rewards a bit more loot. A monster’s map icon blinks bright blue once it is ready to be captured.
• Rampage quests are fun! It can be a way to get monster parts you have difficulty fighting, because it offers a new way of defeating them (in a surprisingly entertaining tower defense play mode).
• Ramp-up Skills are this game’s version of weapon augments from World – they’re tied to the weapon, and cost tickets rewarded from finishing Rampage quests. Keep an eye out for cool effects and buffs you can unlock – there are quite a number of cool stuff on top of the usual Attack and Defense boosts.
• Cannons in Rampage can fire Thunder and Piercing shots, which are quite more powerful than the regular cannonballs. These two special shots can be charged, and should be charged, by holding down the Y or X buttons respectively, to maximize the damage each point of ammunition provides.
• All defensive installations in Rampage have a limited supply you can place in a stronghold area: if you hit the limit already, placing another will remove the oldest-placed installation in lieu of the newly-placed one. Keep this in mind especially in online multiplayer, where different hunters may be overwriting each others’ placements and wondering where the hell their Ballistas went.

That’s it for now! Leave us a message or comment on our Facebook fan page if you have any specific requests, and stay tuned for the full review of Monster Hunter Rise!

Monster Hunter Rise is now available for the Nintendo Switch.