How to start the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak DLC and access the Elgado Hub

Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak is the expansion to 2021's Steam and PC follow-up to Monster Hunter World. The game made waves as it returned to handheld platforms – and, by many accounts, is one of the best Monster Hunter games out there.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Discussion | New Features, Monsters and Skill switch

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Sunbreak, following on from the events of Rise, introduces a new hub, new maps, and new monsters, and extends the game with a whole new Master Rank to fight through. There are also upgrades to traversal, some quality of life changes, and re-considered Wyvern Riding techniques.

For veteran Monster Hunter Rise players that have reached the end game in the base version of the title, you should be able to simply walk into the new hub, Elgado, without pause. For everyone else, though, there are certain Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak starting requirements that you will need to fulfil before the expansion becomes available.

On this page, you'll find:

• How to start the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak DLC
• How to beat Narwa, Serpent Goddess of Thunder
• How to access Elgado Outpost

How to start the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak DLC

There is one major requirement you need to complete before you can start Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. That is:

• Complete 7★ Hub Quest: Serpent Goddess of Thunder

All progress from the base game will transfer over to the expansion when played on the same system, but if you want to play Sunbreak on PC but have a Switch game save, you'll be unable to do so.

The 7-star Hub Quest, Narwa; Serpent Goddess of Thunder, basically comes right at the end of the Hub quests in the base game – so you will need to power through the game and defeat this (often annoying) final boss to be in with a chance of victory.

How to beat Narwa, Serpent Goddess of Thunder

After clearing all the key quests and urgent quests in Monster Hunter Rise, you'll be met with one final challenge: Narwa, the All-Mother. This is a tough fight if you go in unprepared, but a couple of hit tips will help you come out on top in this half-siege, half-hunt mission.

Read on below for some quick tips to make this fight easier:

• Eat Dango that offers Thunder Resistance at the canteen (especially important if you have negative affinity to Thunder). If you can reach 20 points of defense versus Thunder, you will even become immune to Thunderblight.
• Equip a Healing Palico. Support Palicos are all well and good, but you're going to want an AI companion that can heal you – especially as Narwa gets closer to death and starts pumping out arena-filling thunder attacks.
• Use siege weapons. They're not just there for show; using the Ballista (first phase), Machine Cannon (second phase) and cannon (final phase) of the fight will break parts of Narwa's body for more loot, and knock the Elder Dragon out of the air, to boot. Also, mounting the platforms the weapons are on often gets you out of its AoE attack range.
• Watch out for big attacks. Often, if Narwa flies high, powers up, or summons tornados or storms, something big and horrible is coming. This is usually telegraphed by scenery changing in the arena. Mount stones, Wirebug up to platforms, or get behind cover and you won't eat over half your life bar in one hit.
• Be aggressive. Melee players especially need to keep the pressure up; the closer you are to Narwa, the less likely you are to be bodied by the AoE attacks or tail whips. Focus on the head, claws, and lightning sacs on the beasts underside. Even non-hammer players can knock it down with a sustained assault.
• Counter. Narwa's thundersac emit a charged glow after performing specific attacks; this is your oppertunity to focus on the sac to deal bonus damage. Do enough, and you'll get a free knockdown where you can focus on the head or claws. Look out for oppertunities to focus on the sac, and use your best combos when you can.
• Watch out for Divine Ire. The most brutal attack in the fight is the beast's Divine Ire. The upshot? It takes a long time to charge; simply use one of the four cannons that appears during this period to lay down fire on the dragon (you can hit it anywhere) and you should be able to prevent the attack from happening.
• Don't neglect the Dragonator and Splitting Wyvernshot. These big bits of artillery can speed up the fight quite a bit – if you use them at the right time. The Dragonator lives in the wall of the arena, and hte Splitting Wyvernshot can be triggered from a device towards the edge of the arena. You're going to want to activate either of these during Narwa's build-up phases, or when it's knocked down – otherwise you'll waste it. And it's a shame to waste a damage count in the 1000s, right?

How to access Elgado Outpost

Similarly to Kamura Village, the new hub, Elgado Outpost is a base of operations for all hunters working for the royalty of the Monster Hunter world's Kingdom city and region. This will be your home in the Sunbreak expansion.

Once you have cleared the last quest in the base game, you'll have one more task. Speak with Rondine, and she'll send you to the Shrine Ruins to fight a Daimyo Hermitaur. Once you're finished, you receive a prompt to talk to Master Utsushi in the Gathering Hub in Kamura. Simply activate the chat, talk through the converstaion, and select yes when prompted to be taken to the new location witha short introductory cutscene.

Following this cutscene, you will be placed in Elgado. Talk to all the members of the new otupost with prompts above their heads to get the ball rolling, and enjoy the new story – and new threat! – you will need to tackle in Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak.