Monster Hunter Riseand its expansionMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakcontinue to grow with new updates adding the likes of Velkhana. The most recentMonster Hunteriteration has reached the fourth Title Update forSunbreakalone, increasing its monster and mission count yet again. New Anomaly Research and Event Quests are waiting for hunters, and another round of cosmetic DLC has become available. This isn’t the end ofMonster Hunter Rise’s content updates either, as more are promised for the future.
The focus of Title Update 4 is two new monsters for players to hunt. One is the Risen Crimson Glow Valstrax, an even further upgraded form of the Crimson Glow Valstrax. Both of these monsters are based on the flagship box-art monsterValstrax fromMonster Hunter Generations Ultimate, which strangely does not appear inMonster Hunter Riseitself. Speaking of flagship monsters, the other main addition toMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s Title Update 4 is the icy Elder Dragon Velkhana, something which might surprise fans. Not only is this because it’s a recent addition to the series that arrived late rather than not at all, but also because it feels like it’s undercut another Elder Dragon that should be present for similar merits – Nergigante.
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Adding Velkhana To Monster Hunter Rise is Rather Surprising
Velkhana is the flagship monster representingMonster Hunter World’sIceborneexpansion, being part of much of its marketing material. The beast is heavily involved inIceborne’s story, even serving as a sort of rival to the player. However, much like all cover art monsters, it’s not the actual final boss ofIceborne, with that honor going to Shara Ishvalda. No one expected to see Velkhana back so soon, yet here it is as the centerpiece of an update to the expansion ofMonster Hunter World’s sequel.
Some won’t complain that this frigid dragon has returned, but it feels like Capcom may have jumped the gun. There are still lots of other monsters that could make their way intoMonster Hunter Rise, and Velkhana appearing so soon after its debut feels like it’s hogging the spotlight. At the very least, players would like to see a return by the baseMonster Hunter World’s flagship monster before that ofWorld’s expansion. The Elder Dragon-hunting Nergigante received a fair amount of publicity in and out ofMonster Hunter World, even becomingplayable inTeppenalongside series mascot Rathalos. It’s a wonder why it hasn’t made the jump toMonster Hunter Riseyet.
Nergigante Deserves a Spot on Sunbreak’s Roster
Unlike most Elder Dragons, Nergigante is a straightforward and stocky creature, mostly using simple physical attacks. It does have rapidly growing spikes all over its body that it can use for armor and projectiles, but aside from that, its most distinct feature is its role. Nergigante is a recurring monster throughoutMonster Hunter Worldand evenIceborne’s main story, having been attracted to the same conflicts as the player since it preys on other Elder Dragons. With theElder Dragon count inMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakcontinuing to increase, it only makes sense for Nergigante or its Ruiner form to drop in again.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakprobably doesn’t have many more substantial updates left before the series moves on to its next major installment. If that ends up beingMonster Hunter World 2as many have assumed, Nergigante is high on the list of potential returning monsters. It would make some sense for it to skipRiseif that were the case, but it’s still strange to see Velkhana make it before Nergigante. Flagship monsters have better chances to make it into futureMonster Huntertitles, but as fans ofMonster Hunter Tri’s absent Lagiacruscan attest, there’s always someone who’s going to be left behind.
Monster Hunter Riseis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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