Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance Just Brought Back a Giant Nightmare, and Now the Hunt Is Going Into the Sky

Capcom just gave Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance its biggest reveal yet. Lao-Shan Lung is back, years have passed, an entire hunting region is floating above the clouds, a storm-controlling Elder Dragon has appeared and all 14 weapons are getting explosive new Boost abilities. Apparently Master Rank was not dangerous enough on the ground.

Monster Hunter Wilds already gave us sandstorms, lightning dragons, enormous herds and monsters that occasionally made the weather itself feel personally hostile. Ascendance has looked at all of that and decided the logical next step is to put the monsters in the sky.

Capcom dropped a huge new Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance trailer during today's State of Play, finally showing what actually happens after Wilds' ending. The answer involves Lao-Shan Lung returning, a several-year time skip, a fortress built specifically because everyone is terrified it might come back, a completely new region above the clouds, two newly revealed monsters and a Boost Bracer that changes combat for every weapon in the game.

And somehow Lao-Shan Lung is only the beginning.

Lao-Shan Lung Comes Back and Basically Ruins Everyone's Week

Ascendance begins after the main Wilds story, when the Expedition Team suddenly encounters Lao-Shan Lung, the colossal Elder Dragon that first appeared all the way back in the original Monster Hunter era.

Calling Lao-Shan Lung “large” feels slightly dishonest.

This thing is less of a monster and more of a geographical event with legs.

Capcom says its arrival leaves the Expedition Team essentially powerless while it devastates the Forbidden Lands. Instead of solving the problem immediately, the story then jumps forward several years. During that time, the Expedition has built Madoi Stronghold, a fortified base specifically designed around preparing for Lao-Shan Lung's eventual return.

That time skip is much more interesting than I expected.

Characters have actually aged. The world has moved on. Nata, who spent Wilds as the young Keeper slowly finding his place, is now a full member of the Expedition Team and heads into the new region alongside his Wudwud partner Bangard. Players are already joking about redesigning their own Hunters to look older when Ascendance releases.

Monster Hunter normally lets us return to a familiar hub where everyone has apparently spent six months waiting beside the same cooking pot.

Ascendance actually letting time pass feels surprisingly refreshing.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance First Trailer

The Skybound Eyrie Looks Absolutely Ridiculous

While the Expedition is preparing for Lao-Shan Lung, the mist covering the skies above Wyveria finally clears.

And there is apparently an entire ecosystem floating above everybody's heads.

The new region is called the Skybound Eyrie, a huge collection of floating islands filled with ancient ruins, open landscapes and completely new endemic life. Hunters can travel between its islands using Seikret, with the original Ascendance reveal showing mounts gliding between pieces of land suspended high above the Forbidden Lands.

It is one of the coolest environments Monster Hunter has attempted in years.

Wilds already put a lot more emphasis on changing environments and ecosystems than previous entries. Skybound Eyrie gives Capcom an excuse to push that vertically too. Monsters can attack from above, travel between islands and apparently use the enormous open skies as part of their ecology.

Which brings us to Araketa.

Araketa Does Not Hunt Alone

Araketa is a newly discovered Bird Wyvern capable of using powerful air currents from its wings to travel huge distances at high speed.

That part is manageable.

The problem is that they hunt in packs.

Capcom says pack leaders can issue distinctive calls that coordinate the movements of other Araketa, and today's footage shows multiple creatures moving together rather than waiting politely for the Hunter to finish fighting one at a time.

Monster Hunter has obviously used groups of smaller monsters before, but a proper large-monster pack built around coordinated aerial movement could be genuinely nasty.

One flying monster knocking me over is irritating.

Six of them having a team meeting about how they are going to do it feels personal.

Capcom has already confirmed that Araketa will be huntable in the first public Ascendance demo at Tokyo Game Show 2026, so we should find out very soon whether the pack behaviour is actually important or just something that looks terrifying in a trailer.

Then Gundoraja Shows Up and Brings Its Own Weather

And then there is Gundoraja.

The newly revealed Elder Dragon appears from the dark clouds surrounding Skybound Eyrie and can apparently bend storms to its will, wrapping the battlefield in violent weather and lightning. Capcom has described it as a newly discovered Elder Dragon rather than a returning monster, making this our first proper look at one of Ascendance's major new threats.

Its design is fantastic.

Long, serpentine body. Huge wings. Lightning everywhere. Lives in the sky.

Very subtle.

Some fans initially thought the creature shown at the end of the trailer might be Amatsu, but Capcom has confirmed Gundoraja is entirely new. Others are already wondering whether this is Ascendance's flagship monster, although Capcom has not officially called it that yet.

That distinction matters because Monster Hunter expansions usually have another major monster waiting somewhere behind the marketing.

Iceborne had Velkhana.

Sunbreak had Malzeno.

If Gundoraja is not the final headline monster for Ascendance, Capcom may still be hiding something much worse.

Wonderful.

Every Weapon Is Basically Getting a Turbo Button

The monsters might be bigger, but Hunters are becoming considerably more ridiculous too.

Ascendance introduces the Boost Bracer, new equipment connected to the Hunter's Slinger that expands all 14 weapon types.

The basic idea is surprisingly simple. Staying aggressive and using special Boost Driver attacks builds energy. Once enough energy is available, Hunters can enter a temporary Boost state, enhancing their weapon with additional attacks, combos, mobility and defensive options depending on what they are carrying.

And visually, it looks slightly insane.

Weapons basically start behaving like someone installed a small jet engine inside them.

Ascendance: Boosted Action Overview

The Great Sword footage already shows enhanced attacks and a brutal-looking double Offset Slash, while other weapons appear to gain completely different combo routes and movement options.

Monster Hunter fans noticed the Capcom DNA immediately.

The system has already been compared heavily to Nero's Exceed mechanic from Devil May Cry, where aggressive timing effectively turns a giant sword into a revving engine. One of the largest Reddit discussions around the Boost Bracer immediately started making Devil May Cry and Vergil comparisons, while GamesRadar and PC Gamer noticed exactly the same thing.

Monster Hunter has apparently reached:

What if Great Sword, but more engine?

I approve.

The Boost Bracer Also Has One Very Big Problem to Avoid

This is probably the part I am most curious about.

Monster Hunter expansions always introduce something that changes how we hunt. Iceborne had the Clutch Claw. Sunbreak built heavily around Wirebugs and Silkbind attacks. Some players loved those systems. Others eventually felt forced to use them because ignoring the new mechanic meant deliberately playing less efficiently.

The Boost Bracer could run into the same problem.

Fans are already worried that the system might become the main focus of combat instead of another option, especially because Wilds already gives Hunters powerful tools through Focus Mode, Wounds and increasingly flexible weapon movesets.

If Master Rank monsters are balanced around everyone constantly entering Boost, we could end up with another mechanic that feels mandatory.

If Capcom gets the balance right, though, this could be one of Monster Hunter's most entertaining expansion systems.

The good news is that Capcom has also said additional weapon attacks and mechanics that are not tied directly to the Boost Bracer are coming, so Ascendance is not simply putting one glowing button on every weapon and calling it a day.

Master Rank Is Finally Here

Ascendance also brings the thing Monster Hunter veterans have really been waiting for: Master Rank.

That means harder hunts, stronger monsters, new equipment and the traditional expansion-level difficulty jump that usually reminds everyone who spent High Rank bullying monsters that they were never actually good at the game.

To begin Ascendance, Capcom says players need the base Monster Hunter Wilds, must reach Hunter Rank 40, and have completed the 7-star quest “Awaking From a Dream.”

The expansion is also investigating some much bigger ecological changes. Guardian Monsters are apparently spreading beyond their normal habitats, Elder Dragons are appearing throughout the Forbidden Lands and Lao-Shan Lung's arrival seems connected to whatever is destabilising the ecosystem.

So this is not simply:

New island. Please kill everything on it.

There is an actual mystery connecting the expansion back to Wilds.

Ascendance Suddenly Looks Much Bigger Than “More Monster Hunter”

The first reveal in June already looked promising, but today's trailer makes the scale much clearer.

Lao-Shan Lung is back. The story jumps several years. Nata grows up. Madoi Stronghold exists because everyone is preparing for another catastrophe. Skybound Eyrie completely changes the geography of Wilds. Araketa introduces coordinated pack hunting. Gundoraja controls storms. All 14 weapons are being expanded. Master Rank is finally arriving.

That is a proper expansion.

Not three monsters and a new hat.

And there is still plenty Capcom has not shown.

We do not know Ascendance's exact release date. We do not know its full monster roster. We do not know whether Gundoraja is truly the flagship. Capcom has already teased returning Elder Dragons including Kushala Daora, and the company is releasing more Boosted Action footage for the individual weapon types as it builds toward Tokyo Game Show.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance launches in 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The base game is required.