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Printed: September 17, 2026
The Teostra rears up earlier than me, all flames and fury, explosive mud spitting out round my hunter. It is scary, however I’ve fought tons of of this iconic elder dragon in my profession, and I do know precisely what I ought to do: hunker down with my Lance’s Energy Guard and absorb the devastation earlier than unleashing my very own counterattack. Then I understand, ‘What’s life and not using a little danger/reward?’ That is Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, in spite of everything. I ignite my Increase Bracer and fling my lance bodily over my head to come back crashing down in a vicious Boosted Offset Crushing Blow, sending the beast reeling. It feels good to be again.
The Increase Bracer is Capcom’s massive gambit for Ascendance, the Monster Hunter Wilds DLC that may carry us into Grasp Rank problem with a brand new, full-length marketing campaign and, presumably, the ultimate implementation of the RPG’s long-form endgame. It is a system that fees up each over time and as you combat, with as much as three shares that may be saved on the backside of the display. Relying in your chosen weapon kind, you employ this to both ramp up your current assaults and blocks, or unlock all-new strikes. It is instantly paying homage to Wirebug strikes in Monster Hunter Rise; a comparability I make with happy glee.
You’ll be able to push into Increase Mode in a number of methods. Every weapon has a selected ‘Increase Driver’ that is utilized by urgent a three-button combo (my demo is on PS5, so the format is triangle, circle, and R1). This sometimes features as a niche nearer or different type of initiation – as famous, the Lance’s possibility is definitely an Offset assault, the counter system launched in MH Wilds that permits you to interrupt sure enemy strikes if timed accurately. Alternatively, a few of your combos will allow you to activate increase halfway by way of them, corresponding to earlier than the climactic hit of the Lance’s poke combo, or whereas charging up a Greatsword chop.
As soon as Increase Mode is lively, it lasts till the meter alongside the underside burns out, and the way that impacts you performs in a different way for every weapon. Whereas my demo’s two-mission restrict gave me comparatively little probability to experiment, I would group these into two broad classes for all of the weapons I attempted: people who really feel like ‘enhanced movesets’ and people who really feel like ‘expanded movesets.’
The Lance may be very a lot the previous. As soon as boosted, I am basically taking part in with a Superlance. My primary assaults pump out harm quicker and more durable, whereas my guard is (even) extra strong than normal, in a position to shrug absolutely anything off. The working cost assault closes in faster and with a beefier leaping thrust. This may sound a bit of ‘underwhelming’ in comparison with weapons that get a extra distinctive suite of additives, however it truly feels so good to rework into this Tremendous Saiyan powerhouse that I did not thoughts in any respect.
When the Teostra strikes areas, I swap out to a different favourite of mine, the Hammer, and that is very a lot in camp two. Increase Mode right here turns me right into a human cannonball, flinging me into the air with the Increase Driver’s spinning uppercut after which cartwheeling again to the bottom in a path of my selecting. In powered-up kind, I can quick-hop whereas charging or just dive ahead with a large overhead assault that closes the hole to bonk enemies in even the smallest home windows of alternative. It feels simply as unfair because the Lance, however in a really totally different means.
“Wait,” I hear you cry, “Grasp Rank Monster Hunter is all in regards to the problem. Why would I wish to be overpowered?” It is a honest concern after the comparatively pleasant endgame of base Wilds, though Capcom actually proved it had loads of tough encounters up its sleeve with the brand new monsters and different updates that rolled out over time. As sturdy as we may be, that solely will get you thus far – and it permits the developer to make our opponents even scarier. Monster Hunter Rise’s Sunbreak growth was an ideal instance of this.
The opposite hunt I took half in got here earlier than our pricey toaster, and it was towards an Alpha Araketa within the new Ascendance location, the Skybound Eyrie. This set of floating islands is actually fairly, though it solely additional emphasizes every zone feeling like a standalone fight area moderately than a contiguous world. The Araketa is a whole newcomer, and as an M2-tier mission is presumably pretty early into the growth, which makes its high-octane moveset significantly notable as an indicator of what is to come back.
Propelled by bursts of air, the Araketa can unleash sudden, jarring sprint assaults and even has the aptitude to swing excessive into the air and are available crashing down. It isn’t fairly the rocket-powered assaults of Sunbreak’s Crimson Glow Valstrax, however that it even invokes such a sense suggests we could possibly be in for an growth crammed with some very speedy foes. I’ve a sneaking suspicion all of these highly effective Increase Mode assaults will not simply be there for enjoyable – they’re going to be almost important for survival.
I take a look at out two extra weapons towards the Alpha Araketa and its pair of lesser companion birds. The Sword and Protect is group ‘enhanced,’ with a Increase Driver that leaps you ahead and could be chained right into a grounded slash or a leap into the sky. When you’re boosted, you’ve got entry to much more methods to chain your varied strikes collectively, letting you shortly slide between skyborne assaults, Excellent Rush combos, and an extra, twirling twist on the already devastating Charged Chop.
The Longsword is group ‘upgraded,’ after all: Capcom could not assist however flip its ludicrous arsenal of counters and high-speed flurries as much as 11. You’ll be able to bust out much more dashes and slashes whereas in Increase Mode, with essentially the most flamboyant of the combos ending up within the weapon’s signature Iai Stance to set you up for something that comes your means. Longsword has grow to be a favourite amongst many (myself included) for good purpose, and if you happen to loved its base-game kind you will solely be grinning extra right here.
In tune with that prime tempo of fight, it appears wounding is taking a slight backseat. Wounds that you may exploit with Focus Strikes are actually nonetheless current, however they felt much less prevalent than in base Wilds (though I’ll word that it is onerous to identify their pink glow amongst Teostra’s crimson fur and flickering flames). The Araketa had very resilient limbs, and its most accessible goal was a spot on its face that appeared to solely grow to be accessible throughout particular moments, like Rey Dau’s post-railgun restoration or Gypceros’s flash charge-up.
Combating Teostra felt acquainted, however he actually had a number of distinctive methods up his sleeve. He might linger on two legs to throw off your timings, had some nasty mud spreads that would shortly catch you in explosion metropolis if you happen to weren’t cautious, and even snuck a shock second half onto his most dangerous transfer that left me rolling again into base camp, laughing. I am simply hoping the Ascendance roster does not lean too closely on faces we have seen in current video games on the expense of recent ones, or not less than extra obscure returners.
Exterior of that, my time with Ascendance is tantalizingly temporary, solely serving to go away me wanting extra. I had a good time with each the bottom recreation of Wilds and its post-launch updates, however what I bought to see has thus far offered me on the Increase Bracer as extra of a significant growth to fight moderately than a gimmick that would get irritating. Taking part in on PS5 Professional means I am unable to add a lot touch upon efficiency, however what I performed felt good, so hopefully that is indicative of additional work on prime of Capcom’s prior enhancements.
Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance is about to launch in 2027. In true Increase Bracer vogue, spending simply a few hours with the DLC has already reignited the fireplace in my soul, and I count on I will be dipping again into the bottom recreation within the coming weeks to scratch that itch. There are nonetheless many inquiries to be answered, from the rest of the growth’s roster to how well-paced its endgame expertise will probably be, however I am completely prepared to search out out.
