Capcom finally put real details behind Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance. The first full trailer, shown during PlayStation’s State of Play, laid out the expansion’s setting, its two named new monsters, a stack of returning ones, and the new combat gadget that changes how all 14 weapons play.
Quick answer: Ascendance launches in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. To start it you need a copy of Monster Hunter Wilds, Hunter Rank 40, and a cleared 7★ assignment called “Awaking From a Dream.”
Release window, platforms, and player count
There is no day-and-month date yet. The expansion is dated to 2027 and nothing more precise has been confirmed. It is a paid expansion in the mold of Iceborne and Sunbreak, not a free title update, and it requires the base game to run.
| Detail | Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Release | 2027 (no exact date announced) |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam |
| Genre | Action RPG |
| Players | 1 offline, 1–4 online |
| Cross-play | Supported |
| Type | Massive expansion, base game required |
What you need before Ascendance will unlock
Two conditions gate the new story and the new difficulty tier. You need to be Hunter Rank 40, and you need to have completed the 7★ assignment quest “Awaking From a Dream.” Clear both and Ascendance’s campaign plus Master Rank quests become available when the expansion launches.
Master Rank is the top difficulty tier in modern Monster Hunter, sitting above High Rank, with its own quests, weapons, and armor. If you have already finished the base game’s main story, you have almost certainly cleared the requirement without thinking about it.
Note: the assignment name is exact. If you are checking your progress, look for “Awaking From a Dream” in your completed quest log rather than a similarly worded 7★ hunt.
The two new monsters Capcom named: Araketa and Gundoraja
Araketa is a Bird Wyvern that hunts in packs. It flies fast and far by pushing powerful air currents out of its wings, and pack leaders use distinct calls to steer the rest of the group. Expect it to fight as a coordinated flock rather than a single target.
Gundoraja is the headline reveal, and the reason the snake talk started. It is a new Elder Dragon with a long, serpentine body that moves through the air like it is swimming, and it can bend storm clouds to its will. In the trailer it emerges from the darkest clouds over the new sky region while characters warn about a monster that controls the weather.
Beyond those two, the trailer showed creatures Capcom has not named yet. A heavyset new wyvern tangles with a Rathian, a spiky rolling lizard gets used as an environmental weapon, and an oily, tar-like parasite crawls out of a downed Guardian Doshaguma. Those are on screen but still unlabeled.
Returning monsters shown in the trailer
Lao-Shan Lung is the one that matters most, because the entire story hinges on it. The colossal Elder Dragon turns up in the Forbidden Lands, wrecks everything in its path, and forces the Expedition Team to build a fortress. It appears again later stomping toward the stronghold’s dragonator wall while a Rathalos circles overhead.
| Monster | Where it shows up |
|---|---|
| Lao-Shan Lung | Assaults a ruined fortress lined with cannons and ballistae |
| Kushala Daora | A desert environment, followed by dual blades gameplay |
| Rathalos | Flying above the stronghold’s dragonator wall |
| Rathian | Fighting the new wyvern, and again as a Guardian variant |
| Seregios | Combat footage |
| Nerscylla | Combat footage |
| Yian Kut-Ku | Brief teaser clip |
| Doshaguma | Brief teaser clip, plus a Guardian corpse hosting the parasite |
Skybound Eyrie and Madoi Stronghold: the two new places you’ll spend time in
Madoi Stronghold is the new hub. The Expedition Team builds it in the mountains after Lao-Shan Lung’s first rampage, specifically to survive the dragon’s eventual return, which is why it bristles with cannons, ballistae, and a dragonator wall. The trailer walks through the rebuilt version with Nata, Alma, and the Palico Bangard on hand.
Skybound Eyrie is the new locale. The mists that hid Wyveria’s skies clear away over the course of the story, exposing a floating region above the clouds made of open landscapes, ancient ruins, and endemic life nobody has catalogued. You reach it on flying mounts, and vertical movement is the point.
Boost Bracer: the new combat mechanic
The Boost Bracer is a new piece of gear that hooks into your Slinger. Activate it and you enter a temporary Boost state that amplifies whatever your weapon is already good at, unlocking extra attacks, combos, and movement options for the duration.
The intended loop is straightforward. You use the Boost Driver ability to create an opening on the monster, then spend the Boost window attacking while your hunter is stronger. All 14 weapon types get their own version of this, and Capcom has been drip-feeding per-weapon breakdown videos ahead of launch. More weapon abilities and additional mechanics are still to be revealed.
The story picks up years after Arkveld
Ascendance runs past the ending of the base game and then jumps forward several years. Lao-Shan Lung’s arrival leaves the Expedition Team unable to do anything but watch, and the time skip covers the period where they dig in and fortify. Nata, the young Keeper from Wilds, has grown into a full member of the team and now hunts alongside Bangard, a Wudwud who has attached himself to him.
The mystery driving it all is ecological. Guardian Monster habitats are spreading well beyond where they should be, Elder Dragons are pushing into the Forbidden Lands, and the trailer shows Wylk puddles seeping across regions and warping the ecosystems around them. A Rathian saturated with purple Guardian energy fights in the Windward Plains, which tells you the corruption is not staying put.
How to get ready before 2027
Everything else is still open. Capcom has said more weapon abilities and gameplay systems are coming, and the unnamed creatures from the trailer, the rolling lizard, the bulky wyvern, and whatever that tar parasite turns out to be, have not been formally introduced. A precise launch date has not been announced either, so 2027 is all there is to plan around for now.
