Monster Hunter World is getting an expansion called Iceborne that could hardly be more beautiful for fans of the series. With every announcement, the hearts of hunters beat faster and here we tell you why.
The Background: A joyful shout went through the community of Monster Hunter World when Iceborne was announced. Particularly the long-time fans of the franchise had a huge wish fulfilled here.
With Iceborne, winter returns to Monster Hunter World. The new area Frostfang High Regions is covered in snow and icy winds blow through the land. The monsters have adapted to the weather conditions and hunters must do so as well.
Iceborne is one fan service after another
This is why fans are so excited for the winter map: Winter areas have been around in the series for a long time. Even in the second generation, there were snowy mountains, and later still ice deserts. Monster Hunter World is considered the fifth generation.
The ice maps are quite popular among fans as they are also especially challenging:
- To move freely in the area, players need hot drinks.
- Although the environmental traps were fully developed only in Monster Hunter World, there were already ice crystals in earlier parts that could fall on hunters.
- Through strong ice attacks from the monsters, hunters could be limited in movement by a freezing status effect.
This results in exciting gameplay that also provides a cool contrast to forests, swamps, and deserts. Already a year ago, players exchanged on Reddit and fan forums about how they dearly wished for a winter map.
This fan service is still in Iceborne: The winter map alone would probably have been enough for many to look forward to the expansion. But the fulfilling of fan wishes does not stop here.
Old, familiar monsters that are considered absolute fan favorites have been gradually unveiled for Iceborne:
With every announcement of these beloved old monsters, the fans became more excited and are looking forward to fighting them again.
Is there only old content in Iceborne?
There is so much new content: Iceborne comes with many new features that bring a fresh breeze to fans. There are for example:
- small monsters that can be ridden like a taxi
- new monsters like the elk-like Banbaro
- the new Master Rank which replaces the old G Rank
- a grappling hook that allows hunters to cling to monsters
In addition, there are also new attacks for the weapons, all of which have been revised somewhat. Additionally, the intelligent ecosystem of Monster Hunter World offers completely new possibilities to make the snow map even more interesting.
There are therefore numerous innovations for veterans that they can explore together with newcomers. Most players from the West only joined the franchise with World.
The forecast for Iceborne
Will Iceborne hit as hard as the base game? Monster Hunter World has made the franchise a global hit for the first time. The move from handheld to home console played a significant role in this.
The update offers new and old fans a lot of new content again. Capcom seems to be doing many things right with the expansion and shows that they understand the wishes and needs of the fans.
Especially the veterans had missed such things as the ice map or monsters like Tigrex. But new fans are also thirsty for new content. So far, both groups seem to be excited about the announcements of the update.
Something would have to go wrong for Iceborne not to be a worthy expansion for Monster Hunter World, the surprise from 2018.
When is the release of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne? On September 6, 2019, on the consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. PC players will have to wait until winter.
