The wait is almost over for all of you PC Monster Hunter fans! Soon the massive expansion to the critically acclaimed Monster Hunter World will be out on the PC and to prepare for your return to the New World with Iceborne.
There’s a lot to take in with Iceborne, as there are new places to discover, new mechanics to figure out, and most importantly more monsters to hunt! Here are some tips we have for all you base game veterans who are going to be venturing for the first time into the freezing new territories that the expansion brings.
Learn to use the Clutch Claw
Iceborne gives you a new tool to you help you in your hunts, and the Clutch Claw is as essential as they come. This handy grappling hook lets you get closer to a monster quickly but instead of simply doing mounting attacks, your presented with multiple ways to deal the pain. One is simply attacking the part you hooked onto to wound that monster’s part, temporarily letting you deal more damage to it while the other is the Flinch Shot.
Grappling onto a monster’s head will let you change the direction it’s facing and, provided you have slinger ammo and a few situational conditions, you can empty all your ammo into the monster’s face making it kiss the wall or fall off the edge of a platform knocking it down for free damage. Although quite risky since a monster simply won’t let you grapple on them, the Clutch Claw is still worth learning to increase your chances of beating monsters.
Relearn your weapons
You may need to relearn your moves since there have been changes to way you use them, especially with incorporating the new Clutch Claw tool. Spending a bit of time training will all be worth it as these new moves help you take on Iceborne’s unforgiving pack of monsters.
The Lance, for example, has a new Clutch Counter move where you will parry a monster’s attack using the Clutch Claw letting you automatically grapple onto the part that hit you and wounding it. The Great Sword also now benefits from letting you fire slinger ammo after your first hit, letting you skip right away to doing the True Charge Attack where another change is in this 2-part attack the last hit will deal more damage provided the first attack hits. These are just some examples of the weapon tweaks in Iceborne so hit the Training Area and discover what’s new with your favorite weapons.
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Make yourself at home in the new hub base
The new hub base Seliana will be your warm cozy home in the frozen lands of Iceborne. It won’t take too long to get comfy as compared to Astera, it’s fairly smaller and some of the NPCs take on multiple roles like being both the Botanical Garden and Argosy. Overall, it’s faster to get to the shops that you want to go to and that alone may be enough reason to stick to Seliana more than Astera.
There’s also a new facility called Steamworks which is a good source to stock up on valuable items like Max Potions and Armor Spheres if you’re saving up on crafting items. Just simply guess the combination to win a prize and reap your rewards!
And don’t forget about the new gathering hub! Aside from the usual arm wrestling and drinking the night away, there’s now more ways to pass the time like a footbath and playing with your Palico or just relaxing in the steambaths or hot springs. It’s actually way more fun to hang out in Seliana that you may have to let Astera go.
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Familiarize yourself with the new areas
The Hoarfrost Reach will be your new playground, and the various monsters here will be your new playthings, or maybe YOU will be their plaything. Either way find the time to get to know the lay of the land because apart from the new monsters, you’re gonna be battling the elements too.
If you noticed a lack of use of the Hot Drinks in the base game well that’s not the case here. The cold will drain your stamina gradually so you’ll need to Hot Drinks to keep warm. Fortunately, Hot Pepper plants and Hot Springs are found throughout the Reach so better familiarize yourself with their locations. It also goes without saying that since this is a new area, there are new items to gather and new pets to catch and let loose in your room!
Befriend the new Grimalkynes
The Hoarfrost Reach is home to the Boaboa, the new Grimalkynes you will be encountering in Iceborne. We really hope you’ve been befriending all the Grimalkynes from the base game (yes even those vicious Gajalakas) as that is a requirement to make these new tough furballs your allies in a hunt.
A benefit to befriending them will let you unlock the very useful Raider Ride tool. This will enable you to call a critter like a Girros or Jagras and let you ride it, and let it automatically track the monster for you. It’s very convenient as you can sharpen or use items while you ride and when you see your prey you can jump from your ride’s back letting you do a potential mount attack. Your ride will be doing all the running so your stamina won’t be drained! So we can’t stress enough that Raider Ride is a new very useful feature in Iceborne so better get to know those Boaboa when you get the chance.
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Finish Optional Quests
It’s not new that occasionally NPCs will be requesting you to tackle certain quests for rewards, and Iceborne is no exception. As a matter of fact when you get the chance, try to finish these optional quests asap as the rewards will include upgrades to your existing Mantles. Certain quests for example will upgrade your Thunderproof Mantle to a Thunderproof Plus making them more effective in hunts.
Another upgrade is adding decoration slots to your Vitality Mantle, although you will need to equip it in a hunt for the decoration skills to take effect. The point is as you progress through the game, do take the time to finish NPC quests as the rewards will be a big benefit in hunts. Of course we’re referring to quests that buff up your equipment, but if you also want new decorations for your room or new ingredients for the cafeteria there’s those too!
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Hunt in the Guiding Lands often
Even after you’ve finished Iceborne’s main storyline, the hunt still continues as doing so unlocks the Guiding Lands, which is one giant area which combines all previous areas in the game, including Iceborne’s Hoarfrost Reach. It’s only accessible through expeditions so no worries about fainting and failing quests, though the rewards you get will decrease if you do get carted.
Hunting monsters that correspond to their natural habitat will level up that particular area of the Guiding Land, and the higher the level of an area goes, the better the gathering materials will be and it will prompt rarer subspecies of monsters to appear in that area. Said materials from gathering or monster carves are as important as ever since they may be used to improve your weapons and armor further using the new Augmenting system, be it adding a health regen or letting you set higher level decorations on your weapons, not to mention letting you upgrade your armor more by increasing the armor sphere limit! If you want better gear from the rarer monsters like the Silver Rathalos or Scarred Yian Garuga, the Guilding Lands is the place to be.
And that’s it! Iceborne is a heck of an expansion and is surely a must play for all Monster Hunters out there. If by any chance you haven’t played it yet, check out our beaming review of this amazing DLC add on to an equally amazing game!
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
