How to unlock access to Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

Don’t expect to jump into the new Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak content if you’re just starting the base game for the first time. The same is true if you didn’t finish the base game’s main campaign through Hunter Rank (HR) 7 and reach the second set of credits.

To start your Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak experience, you need to complete the Serpent Goddess of Thunder quest and defeat Thunder Serpent Narwa for the first time.

The quests that unlock Sunbreak

You can only access the quest by completing Gathering Hub Urgent Quests until it becomes available. Completing Serpent Goddess of Thunder will put you into HR 7, and when you return to Kamura, Elder Fugen will have a new request for you: your first official Master Rank quest.

The request is to hunt a new monster that’s invaded the Shrine Ruins, one that shouldn’t be there. Your task is to hunt a Daimyo Hermitaur, a giant crab beast that uses monster skulls as a second shell. During the cutscene that plays once that hunt is complete, you’ll meet Dame Fiorayne, who along with her sister Rondine, will request your presence in the kingdom.

How to prepare for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

You don’t have to join Fiorayne immediately if you don’t feel up to it, especially if the Daimyo Hermitaur gave your trouble. Once you accept to accompany Fiorayne, you won’t be able to return to Kamura for a little while during the Sunbreak tutorial period. Even with the best High Rank gear, many of the MR1 monsters are surprisingly strong, and if you raced to the Serpent Goddess of Thunder quest, you probably aren’t properly equipped to handle them.

Once you do take the plunge into Sunbreak and start equipping Master Rank gear, expect to find base game content to be trivialized. This is especially handy if you need High Rank materials for jewels — including Physique, Weakness Exploit, and even Master’s Touch — as the monsters with the materials you need will no longer be a threat. You’ll unlock more craftable Decorations as you progress the Sunbreak storyline that will take Master Rank materials, but not for a while.