Capcom has pulled back the curtain on Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance with a new trailer shown during PlayStation’s latest State of Play, giving hunters their first substantial look at the massive expansion’s new story, monsters, setting and gameplay additions.
Scheduled to launch in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance will continue the story of the base game while pushing the hunt into an entirely new environment. This time, hunters won’t just be exploring another corner of the Forbidden Lands. They’ll be heading above the clouds.
The expansion picks up after the events of Monster Hunter Wilds, with the Forbidden Lands Expedition Team facing a threat that is anything but routine. The colossal Elder Dragon Lao-Shan Lung suddenly arrives, leaving devastation in its wake and forcing the Expedition Team to prepare for its eventual return.
That looming threat leads to the construction of Madoi Stronghold, a massive fortress intended to give the Expedition Team a better chance of surviving Lao-Shan Lung’s next appearance. However, the destruction and upheaval also have another consequence. As the mists that have long obscured the skies above Wyveria begin to clear, a mysterious region is finally revealed.
Known as the Skybound Eyrie, the new locale consists of islands suspended high above the clouds, with ancient ruins and previously undiscovered endemic life waiting to be explored. It looks like a significant departure from the environments found in the base game and should give hunters an entirely different backdrop for the battles ahead.
The story will also revisit characters who have continued to develop since the conclusion of Monster Hunter Wilds. Nata, the young Keeper, has taken on a more active role alongside the Expedition Team and is now accompanied by Bangard, a Wudwud who has become particularly fond of him. The pair will assist the team as strange abnormalities begin appearing throughout the Skybound Eyrie.
Those mysteries appear to be connected to some particularly dangerous inhabitants. The trailer teases previously unseen Guardian Monsters as well as Elder Dragons invading the Forbidden Lands, suggesting that Ascendance will substantially raise the stakes for veteran hunters.
Of course, no Monster Hunter expansion would be complete without new creatures to track, and Capcom has already introduced two major additions.
The first is Araketa, a large aerial monster that relies on powerful air currents generated by its wings to move through the skies at incredible speeds. Araketa also hunts in packs, with the pack leader using distinctive sounds to coordinate the others. That behaviour could make encounters considerably more unpredictable, particularly if hunters find themselves surrounded by an organized group rather than dealing with a single target.
Then there is Gundoraja, a newly revealed Elder Dragon with a very different presence. This enormous serpentine creature possesses the ability to manipulate storms, giving it a suitably intimidating role among the expansion’s new threats.
Lao-Shan Lung’s return is arguably the biggest surprise of the trailer, however. The enormous Elder Dragon has been absent from the series for some time, and its arrival in Ascendance appears to be directly tied to the events that shape the expansion’s story. Its sheer scale also makes it an especially fitting threat for an expansion that is quite literally taking hunters into the skies.
Capcom isn’t only adding new monsters and environments, either. Ascendance will introduce the Boost Bracer, a new piece of equipment designed to give hunters additional combat options when dealing with the expansion’s more demanding encounters.
When activated, the Boost Bracer temporarily grants access to new attacks, combos and mobility abilities, potentially allowing hunters to approach familiar weapons in entirely new ways. Capcom has confirmed that additional abilities for each weapon type and further gameplay mechanics will be revealed closer to launch.
The expansion will also introduce Master Rank content, bringing a significant increase in difficulty for players who have already mastered the challenges of the base game. With returning Elder Dragons, new monsters, a mysterious region above the clouds and additional combat abilities, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance appears to be aiming for considerably more than simply adding another batch of hunts.
The first trailer provides only an early glimpse at what Capcom has planned, but the combination of a returning series giant like Lao-Shan Lung and an entirely new setting gives Ascendance a strong identity of its own. The Skybound Eyrie in particular could become one of the expansion’s most interesting additions if Capcom uses its vertical environment to introduce new ways for hunters and monsters to interact.
With Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance currently targeting a 2027 release, there is still plenty of time for Capcom to reveal additional monsters, weapons, abilities and story details. For hunters who thought their journey through the Forbidden Lands was coming to an end, it looks like the real adventure is about to go considerably higher.