Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, the new expansion for last year’s Monster Hunter Rise, is definitely a step up in difficulty from Rise.
Sunbreak introduces Master Rank, a new tier of monster that can kill you and your team far more easily than the High Rank monsters from the base game. With this jump in difficulty, it can be difficult to adjust to Sunbreak — especially if you’ve taken a break from hunting since Rise’s Switch launch last year.
In this guide, we’ll give you some quick tips and reminders to keep you from failing your first few hunts in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
Don’t forget your hunting ritual
Before you start each hunt, it’s important to visit the item box and the tea shop in the new hub, Elgado outpost.
At the item box, you’ll want to refill on traps, potions, antidotes, barrel bombs, and any other items you may have used in your last hunt. The easiest way yo do this is to set up a loadout will all the items you want. Then simply re-equip your loadout at the item box before each hunt.
At the Tea Shop, make sure to eat a meal with your preferred Dango to increase your health, stamina, and activate any special perks.
Always use your box tools first
At the start of every hunt, when you get dropped off at camp, you’ll notice a Supply Box. This is a communal box that starts with items that you can use for free. The First-Aid Med+ potions are invaluable here, and they’ll keep you from burning through your own supply of Mega Potions. Similarly, the EZ Ration will let you build your stamina back up without needing to eat your own food.
Keep in mind that these items are limited per hunt, and shared among hunters. If you’re alone, take and use as many as you want. But if you’re hunting with a friend, be sure to share.
Save your Wirebugs for yourself
The Wirebugs in Monster Hunter Rise and Sunbreak are useful for getting around the map and reaching high places. But in combat they’re good for using the special Silkbind moves and saving yourself from danger.
With the increased difficulty of Sunbreak, it’s important not to overextend yourself. Try to always pick up a third, temporary Wirebug in the field. And make sure to hold onto at least one Wirebug at all times to help you catch yourself mid-air or dodge a devastating attack.
Take the five minutes to max your health out with endemic life
One of the more tedious aspects of Monster Hunter Rise — and Sunbreak by extension — is the need to run a pattern around the map to fill up your health and stamina by collecting differently colored birds. In High Rank Rise hunts, getting your health and stamina up to their max was a good idea. But in Sunbreak it’s essentially mandatory.
Monsters can kill you in a single hit or combo in Sunbreak, depending on your armor and perks. So if you want to avoid failing quests, it’s best to take a few minutes to run around the map and fill your health bar up before diving into a hunt.
Just wait for new monsters if you’re struggling
The same Wyvern Riding rules from Monster Hunter Rise apply to Sunbreak. That means that the other monsters on a hunt (not your primary target) are easy to get into a rideable state — at least for the first time each hunt.
Non-hunt monsters tend to rotate out every 20 minutes or so, which you can use to your advantage. If you’re running low on faints in a hunt, and also nearing the 20 minute mark, let the monsters rotate out and Wyvern Ride their replacements to help finish off your target monster.
Wyvern Riding is generally safe and deals massive damage to your target monster, so it’s an easy and efficient way to finish off a hunt.
Trap your target instead of killing them
Monsters tend to rage in their death throws, making it quite easy to fail a hunt in the final few minutes. So instead of risking it, wait for the blue skull to appear under your monster’s profile (your Palico will also tell you the monster is ready for capture with some cat-based pun), and capture it instead. Just drop a shock or pit trap, wait for the monster to fall victim to it, and then douse it with two Tranq bombs.
Note that some monsters, like Elder Dragons, can’t be captured.
Use the environment to your advantage
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak adds some potent wildlife to its environments, and you can use them to help take down the Master Rank monsters.
There are squids, for example, that will damage your target monster if they wonder too close. You can use the new Marionette Spider to pull your monster into a wall or building. Starburst Bugs now hang out on the side of cliffs, and act as an alternate target you can ride monsters into for big explosions. The Slicercrabs — my favorite new addition — are little turrets that hang out on walls and shoot at knocked out or trapped monsters.
If you pay attention to your surroundings, and memorize the locations of certain critters, you can help eek out some bonus damage.
Go back and farm a monster you know you can kill
If you get stuck on a boss monster that’s keeping you from leveling up your Master Rank, go back and farm a creature that you know you can handle. By doing this, you can gather a lot of parts together and build a powerful new weapon or armor set to use against the beast that’s giving you trouble.
While you should just choose the monster you enjoy fighting the most (or find easiest), you can make things even easier for yourself by farming a monster of the opposing element of the one you’re stuck on. Then the weapon you build should be able to exploit the weakness of the monster that’s in your way.
Source: Polygon
