Araketa is the first new monster Capcom has named for Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the Master Rank expansion arriving in 2027. It is a Bird Wyvern that flies in coordinated packs above the Skybound Eyrie, the floating locale that opens up once the mist over Wyveria’s skies lifts.
Quick answer: Araketa is a pack-hunting Bird Wyvern that flies at high speed using air currents blasted from its wings, with pack leaders issuing distinct calls that direct the rest of the group. It appears in the Skybound Eyrie and will be huntable when Ascendance launches in 2027.
Araketa monster type and abilities
Araketa is classified as a large monster in the Bird Wyvern category. Its defining trait is propulsion. It releases powerful air currents from its wings and rides them to cover long distances at speed, which is the reason it can hold a hunt together across the broken, gap-riddled terrain of the sky islands.
The pack structure matters as much as the individual monster. Leaders emit specific calls that command and coordinate the other members, so a fight is less about one target and more about a formation that repositions on cue. Footage shows a flock diving in unison and clashing with a much larger blue-green monster, which lines up with how the pack behavior is described.
| Detail | What is confirmed |
|---|---|
| Classification | Bird Wyvern, large monster |
| Behavior | Hunts in packs, led by a coordinating leader |
| Movement | High-speed flight over long distances |
| Mechanic | Powerful air currents released from its wings |
| Leader trait | Distinctive calls that direct pack movement |
| Locale | Skybound Eyrie |
Where Araketa appears: The Skybound Eyrie
The Skybound Eyrie is a new locale made of islands suspended high above the clouds. It contains open landscapes, ancient ruins, and endemic life that has never been catalogued. It only becomes reachable in the story after the mist covering Wyveria’s skies recedes.
Traversal is vertical. Hunters ride their Seikret and catch updrafts to glide between separated landmasses rather than running between zones on foot. That layout is what gives a fast, flying pack monster room to work.
The other new monster: Gundoraja
Araketa was revealed alongside Gundoraja, a newly identified Elder Dragon with a long serpentine body that emerges from the darkest storm clouds over the Skybound Eyrie. It can bend storms to its will. The two are separate reveals and serve different roles, with Araketa as the pack threat and Gundoraja as the Elder Dragon set piece.
Note: Elder Dragons return broadly in Ascendance, and their sudden arrival in the Forbidden Lands is the mystery driving the story. Lao-Shan Lung’s appearance is what sets the plot in motion, prompting the Expedition Team to build Madoi Stronghold ahead of its return.
What you need before you can hunt Araketa
Ascendance is an expansion, not a standalone release, and it has entry requirements tied to your progress in the base game. Meeting them ahead of launch means you can start the new story and enter Master Rank immediately when it goes live.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Base game | A copy of Monster Hunter Wilds |
| Hunter Rank | HR 40 |
| Quest | Complete the 7★ assignment “Awaking From a Dream” |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam |
| Release | 2027 |
You will know the prerequisite is cleared when “Awaking From a Dream” shows as completed in your assignment log and your Hunter Rank reads 40 or higher. If Ascendance content does not unlock at launch, the usual causes are an unfinished 7★ assignment or a Hunter Rank below 40.
If you have not played the base game, a free Prologue Demo lets you build a Hunter and Palico, play the opening, and test all 14 weapon types, with save data carrying into the full release.
How the Boost Bracer changes the fight
The Boost Bracer is new equipment that works through the Hunter’s Slinger. Activating it temporarily raises your combat capability and leans into whatever each of the 14 weapon types already does well, adding attacks, combos, and movement options during the window.
The intended loop is to use the Boost Driver ability to create an opening, then convert that opening during the temporary boost. Against a coordinated flying pack, that burst window is the practical answer to a target that keeps repositioning. Capcom has said more weapon-specific actions and additional mechanics will be detailed before launch.
Watch the Ascendance trailer
The full reveal shows Araketa in flight, the Skybound Eyrie’s floating ruins, and Gundoraja emerging from the storm.
A Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds is in development, and cross-play is supported. No exact release date for Ascendance has been confirmed beyond the 2027 window, and further weapon and mechanic details are still to come.
