By Kotaku | Created at 2026-09-29 15:27:44 | Updated at 2026-09-29 19:33:48
5 hours ago
It’s been nearly two years since the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, and developer Capcom has been steadily refining the game after a fairly rough launch. While still a massive seller and largely well-received by fans today thanks to a steady stream of updates and new events, at launch Wilds received criticism for the poor optimization of its PC version and for streamlining and lightening the challenge that the series traditionally offered. Monster Hunter Wilds is in better shape now, and with the upcoming Ascendance expansion, the developers aim to supercharge the game even further.
The Ascendance expansion made its big debut at Tokyo Game Show 2026, and we heard from Wilds’ core creative team on the game-changing upgrades and quality-of-life improvements that the expansion will bring. With the Ascendance expansion launching in 2027, the developers are keen to share what’s to come and how the first two years of Monster Hunter Wilds have changed things for them.
“With Monster Hunter Wilds, we received a lot of feedback from a wide range of players—this includes those who started their Monster Hunter journey with Wilds as well as longtime, dedicated fans of the series,” said Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. “The entire development team has been reviewing that feedback and working hard to meet the community’s expectations [for the future of Monster Hunter Wilds]. We’re applying the experience and insights we’ve gained not only to updates for Wilds, but also to our upcoming expansion, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance.”
Improving the Monster Hunter Wilds foundation
Fittingly, the new story campaign for Ascendance picks up several years after the events of Monster Hunter Wilds and the hunters’ guild’s efforts to restore the Windward Plains. After the elder dragon Lao-Shan Lung returns and destroys the guild base, the crew returns years later with more experience and better gear to venture into the aerial territory known as the Skybound Eyrie, take down even more vicious monsters, and face new threats to restore the lands above and below.
What makes Ascendance a more interesting expansion than Worlds‘ Iceborne or Rise‘s Sunbreak is that it’s not just a continuation of the story with new monsters and hunts; it’s a chance to refresh the game. According to game director Takuro Hiraoka, Ascendance is aiming to be the next big step forward for Monster Hunter Wilds.
“To put it simply, the concept behind Ascendance is a true evolution of Monster Hunter Wilds,” said Ascendance game director Takuro Hiraoka. “While Wilds serves as the foundation, we want to build on what worked well, while thoroughly improving and raising the overall quality of areas that we felt could or should be improved, as well as aspects where we’ve received requests for improvement from our players. Our goal is to make the overall experience, including both Wilds and Ascendance, something that even more players can enjoy.”
Along with the new location of the Skybound Eyrie, which has more vertical and visually complex terrain to navigate—a great change of pace from zones such as the Windward Plains and Scarlett Forest in Wilds—there’s also a suite of new hunts, new gear to craft, and new monsters to battle. To match these fiercer enemies, including the Araketa and its minions that attack in unison, players can amplify their skills with the new Boost Bracer ability, unlocked in the Ascendance campaign.
With the Boost Bracer, hunters can now unleash a super attack with their chosen weapon, along with a limited-time boost phase that amplifies their combos and strikes. It’s not quite a Monster Hunter version of the Devil Trigger from Devil May Cry, but it carries a similar concept: supercharging players for a limited time. The boosted attacks really elevate the familiar action of the fights, and it’s pretty awesome to see a full squad unleash some anime-inspired super moves that can really lay into fiends. Of course, this will likely kickstart a new debate among fans about whether the boost bracers are a welcome addition to Monster Hunter. And that’s certainly a fair discussion to be had.
Adding challenge with Master Rank difficulty
Another thing the developers were keen to share as one of the big improvements introduced by Ascendance is a more challenging endgame for Monster Hunter Wilds. One of the main criticisms of the base version of Wilds was that its streamlined difficulty and overly generous resources that could trivialize some encounters. Along with Ascendance offering a refresh of encounters, the expansion will also bring the return of the Master Rank difficulty—the series’ most high-stakes encounters for veteran players.
“We’re aware that we’ve received a wide range of feedback regarding areas such as streamlining, difficulty, and endgame content,” said Hiraoka. “With Ascendance, we’re introducing a new quest rank, Master Rank, and first and foremost, we want to make sure it delivers the level of challenge and depth that players would expect from Master Rank. As players progress and quests become more difficult, we want to create that desire to think, ‘I want to craft that armor,’ or ‘I want to make a set with this element,’ then craft and use it to take on the next level of difficulty. We want players to fully experience and enjoy that core Monster Hunter gameplay loop. Of course, we also plan to offer endgame content and opportunities for players to really delve into. Once players have obtained the equipment they’ve been working toward, we aim to provide challenging quests where they can put them to use and truly test their skills.”
The Ascendance expansion looks like it may give Monster Hunter Wilds a good shot in the arm. With its endgame focus, it suggests Capcom is aiming to build a more satisfying, top-level experience for those who have already dived into Wilds‘ open-world zones. And with the return of the elder dragons and other legendary Monster Hunter beasts like Teostra and Khezu, Ascendance might be the breakthrough Capcom’s beast-slaying game needs.
