Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Master Rank explained, from how to level to Master Rank cap estimate
How to reach the true end game.
Master Rank and its associated missions are the main reason to pick up Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak.
Master Rank (or MR) is a lot tougher than what you’re used to in High Rank, and while there is some obvious overlap - with fan favourites like Anjanath and Rathian making a comeback in MR - the monsters you know and love will become much more aggressive, and break out attack patterns you haven’t seen before. Aknosom, for example, gets an extended combo, and a much more aggressive flying kick.
You know what this means - grab a sword, a friend (Monster Hunter is best when someone else is being the bait) and start swinging for the fences.
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How to unlock Master Rank in Monster Hunter Rise
Good news for those who want to get started quickly with Master Rank - MR1 unlocks automatically as soon as you complete Sunbreak’s first mission, which is Uninvited Guest - Hunt a Daimyo Hermataur, at the Shrine.
If you're only just starting your Monster Hunter Rise journey, then you can learn how to start Sunbreak to reach this point.
For those of you who didn’t play back in the era of Monster Hunter 2 on the PSP, Daimyo Hermataur is a big red crab that not only wails on you with its hammer-like claws, but shoots high-power jets of water at you.
It’s a pretty easy fight - it has to be since you’ll still have HR equipment at best, and you can take it down immediately after beating Narwa with zero grinding for better gear. However, if you’re struggling or like to be super prepared, bring a thunder-element weapon and wear armor that affords high levels of water protection.
After you beat the big bad crab, events transpire and you find yourself in Elgado - an outpost for the Kingdom.You’ll be introduced to Admiral Galleus, the leader of said outpost, and Elgado’s answer to Fugen.
Watch the cutscene and read the dialogue that follows, and you will automatically unlock Master Rank, putting you firmly at rank MR1. That was easy.
You have also now unlocked the Elgado Outpost mission hub. It works very much the same way as Kamura, and after a brief tutorial mission explaining how Switch Skills work, you will be able to swap between the two hubs - the Move Around the Village command has been replaced by a far more elegant Open World Map option.
Learn how to start Sunbreak - the first expansion - and from there, how to unlock Master Rank, use Switch Skill swap, and progress onward with our Monster Hunter Sunbreak walkthrough. There's also a monsters list, as well as individual pages on beating Garangolm, Lunagaron and Shogun Ceanataur. For the base game, we have a number of Monster Hunter Rise tips and lists of ore locations, bone locations, weapon types, how to use Insect Glaives and Kinsects, details of how to join friends in multiplayer, how to capture monsters and learn about wirebugs and great wirebugs.
How to level up your Master Rank in Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak
Raising your MR (or Rising it, if you will), is as simple as completing missions for your new hub maiden, Chichae, the Quest Damsel. Yes, that is her name. Yes, I know.
All of the game’s MR missions are found via the Online quest hub. Don’t worry, you can do them offline and solo, but they’re always easier (and often more fun) with a friend.
Although Sunbreak does add a variety of single-player missions that unlock as you level up in MR, completing them doesn’t affect your rank. Feel free to tackle them at your leisure!
Levelling up in MR is exactly the same as in HR - do a set number of Key Quests until you unlock an Urgent Quest, which is usually ‘go hunt a given monster in a given location’.
Monster Hunter Rise Master Rank cap estimate
We all know that the real game begins after the end credits - even if it takes about 45 hours to get to this point, after the 20 hours it took to speedrun the main game.
Completing the story missions will see you reach MR 6, with the Master Rank cap then unlocking. The exact cap isn't known - but with High Rank having a cap of HR 999, as per previous Monster Hunter games, it's likely the same here.
Levelling up from unlocking the cap after MR 6 works the same way as HR. Complete MR quests to rank up and unlock new Urgent Quests at every milestone rank.
If you were wondering if MR points stack ahead of the cap unlocking, then according to players on reddit, they don't - completing the story will see you at MR 6 regardless, so if there's any bonus quests you want to play simply to contribute to your Master Rank, it's best waiting until you have seen the credits roll and the cap raised first.
The first Urgent Quest unlocks at MR10, so go out there and get hunting!
Best of luck with your journey up the ranks!