Monster Hunter Wilds‘ big expansion has been revealed and it’s called Ascendance. It’s taking players to the sky and pitting them against Elder Dragons. It’s arriving sometime in 2027. Oh, there’s also a Switch 2 port in development.
Capcom is calling Ascendance a “massive” expansion, which should mean it will essentially feel like Monster Hunter Wilds 2.0. That ambitious scope certainly feels apparent in the DLC’s first trailer which shows hunters ditching the Forbidden Lands for the floating ruins of an ancient Wyverian civilization in the sky called the Skybound Eyrie. “Elder Dragons are coming,” warns Capcom. “Prepare yourselves!”
As with all big Monster Hunter expansions, Ascendance will bring not just a new location but also new abilities, gear, and new legendary monsters to hunt in Master Rank. Here’s a look:
In a developer interview, expansion director Takuro Hiraoka called out some of the specific elements that will set the expansion apart from the base game. One of those is the floating islands themselves, which let players ride updrafts on their mounts to navigate the landscape’s new verticality.
Another big addition is the Booster Bracer, a new bracelet on their hunter’s wrist that players can activate to imbue their attacks and abilities with extra power. It’ll also give a players greater mobility in a pinch, helping them react more quickly to the tougher enemies they’ll be facing in the expansion. Those include the massive Elder Dragons like Kushala Daora and several others, in addition to other monsters stalking the Skybound Eyrie.
Capcom also quietly revealed that Monster Hunter Wilds is in development for Switch 2. The long-rumored port doesn’t have a release date yet, but it seems safe to assume that Ascendance will be part of that version of the game too, at least eventually. How exactly is Capcom going to get a game that’s struggled with performance even on PC to feel and look good on Nintendo’s new portable? I have no idea, but it’ll be cool to see the latest mainline entry in the franchise expand to a new platform and hopefully bring with it cross-play and cross-progression.