How to prepare for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Monster Hunter: World’s Iceborne expansion is on its way. Here’s what you need to get done before Capcom releases Iceborne Sept. 6, 2019 on consoles (and later on Windows PC).

Table of contents

• Hit Hunter Rank 16
• Complete the Palico side quests
• Complete Optional quests
• Complete Event quests
• Gather some Ice-resistant gear
• Pick your weapon type ahead of Iceborne
• Save your resources
• Practice, practice, practice

Hit Hunter Rank 16

If you want to start Iceborne on day one, you need to reach Hunter Rank 16 first. All you need to do to reach HR 16 is complete the main story. Once you’ve seen the credits roll, you’re ready for Iceborne.

If you haven’t reached HR 16, you should start hunting right now. The campaign in Monster Hunter: World will likely take you about 30 hours or more — and even longer if you want to pick up some powerful gear along the way.

This is technically the only thing you need to do before Iceborne hits. But Iceborne is the Master Rank expansion, and it’s going to test not only your skill but your gear as well. If you have the time, you should prepare as much as possible.

Complete the Palico side quests

In each locale, there are a group of local Palicoes called Grimalkynes. If you find them on an expedition, you can earn very helpful equipment for your own Palico.

If you’re planning on hunting alone in Iceborne, the Palico’s Coral Orchestra will likely save your life. It works like a tiny Hunting Horn, and it buffs your hunter in all sorts of ways that make the fights less punishing.

Before Iceborne drops and you face a bevy of new monsters, you should make sure your Palico has everything it can to help you out.

Complete Optional quests

Capcom

In Monster Hunter: World, there are plenty of quests to keep you busy. In addition to the main Assignments, Optional quests give you monster parts and cash.

Find the Optional quests that NPCs around Astera send you on. You can tell which Optional quests are side quests by the little speech bubble next to them. Focus on these to get new items.

These Optional quests usually offer small rewards, but everything adds up. You can increase the size of your garden, earn new Mantles to protect you from Monsters, or even unlock new ingredients for the Canteen.

Complete Event quests

Monster Hunter: World almost always has an Event quest going on. You can access these limited-time quests by going to the bounty board and selecting Event.

Events often offer very powerful gear pieces that you can add to your monster hunting arsenal. It’s also a nice way to get cute items from other games, like Dante’s sword from Devil May Cry or a Mega Man suit for your Palico.

Some monsters like Kulve Taroth are only available in Event sieges. Kulve Taroth gives powerful gold weapons and armor pieces that mash up different monster parts. This event is a great way to get a decent version of every weapon type in the game. If you like experimenting with new tools, try to run a few Kulve Taroth hunts before Iceborne.

Capcom has a schedule for Monster Hunter: World events on its website.

Gather some Ice-resistant gear

Would you believe that Iceborne is an ice-themed expansion? While not every monster Capcom has revealed is ice-themed, many are. Currently in Monster Hunter: World, there is only one monster that inflicts ice damage: Legiana. Unless you’ve been hunting Legiana nonstop, chances are you don’t have a lot of great ice gear. Solve that problem and grab some ice resistant pieces before Iceborne.

If you have the time, farm some armor with ice resistance. You can grab some those parts from Legiana, Kushala Daora, and even Xeno’jiiva. Using these anti-ice armor types can completely nullify Iceblight — an obnoxious status effect afflicted by ice monsters in Monster Hunter: World that will likely carry over to Iceborne.

Pick your weapon type ahead of Iceborne

Iceborne will be tough, and you’ll need to be in top fighting condition when it drops. Your first few hunts in Iceborne probably won’t be the best place to practice a new weapon type or even master a weapon you’ve recently learned.

Before you get your hands on the expansion’s new monsters, make sure you’re completely comfortable with the weapon (or weapons) you want to hunt with.

Save your resources

While you’re following our advice and picking up new gear in Monster Hunter: World, maintain some self-control. Don’t spend all your monster parts, money, or hunter points on preparing for Iceborne just to be broke when the expansion starts.

Horde as many resources like mushrooms, ore, bones, bugs and other pieces until you can make a more informed decision in Iceborne. You never know what you’ll need in the new expansion, and you definitely don’t want to go back to an old location to gather when there’re new monsters to hunt.

Practice, practice, practice

Capcom

If you played tons of Monster Hunter: World at launch, it’s possible that you’ve already finished everything we suggested. You know your weapon backward and forward, you have all the gear sets, you’re loaded up on resources, and you’ve completed all of the quests. Good for you!

But Master Rank still won’t be easy — it’s in the name! If you stepped away from Monster Hunter: World at all, you shouldn’t wait to come back until the day Iceborne launches. If you’re a pro, jump back in and hunt some Elder Dragons like Nergigante, Vaal Hazak, or Kirin.

If it’s been a bit too long to jump into the deep end, try hunting a hard monster like Deviljho or Diablos instead. Eventually, you should still work your way up to the toughest fights and take down that Tempered Kirin. You should be hunting Elder Dragons with ease if you want to be ready for Master Rank.