I missed this being announced a few weeks ago. We're about three months out from the expected G-rank expansion. More details:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1446780/announcements/detail/3203755690113449313

Looks like a pretty standard expansion package for a MH game. I do wish they'd add more than one new zone, but I guess it is what it is.

I'm sure I'll buy this at release, especially since I have a friend group I play these games with, but after having put hundreds of hours into every installment of this franchise since Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP, I must admit that I'm beginning to suffer from a little Monster Hunter fatigue. We'll see how long it holds my attention!

I feel ya man. Or rather... felt? I was in the same spot as you when I got around to the endgame of GU (XX in my case). There was so little technological improvement over the years, and the gameplay kept getting more and more fast/light in a way that didn't gel with me the same way that this series did when I started at P3rd.

Then came W/IB with its MASSIVE tech improvement and a slight return to a little more heavier feeling weapons, breathing such a nice bit of fresh air into the game that it got me playing a combined 1000+hrs for PS4/PC. Getting the monsters to behave more naturally, both in their natural habitats and during combat was a huge plus too.

I'm a little cooled on Sunbreak because Rise swung the needle WAAAAY towards fast/light combat again, without fully inheriting W/IB's tech improvements... But like you, I'll probably buy day 1 and get my money's worth in fun and play time, if nothing else. I'm hoping the eventual "MH6/MHW2" will correct course a bit and try to innovate in ways that doesn't go against the series' charms.

One mechanic from Rise that I hope won't be carried over into the inevitable sequel is the permabuffer gathering. In past games you'd increase your max health and stamina simply by drinking a max potion and eating steaks/rations, respectively. In Rise, if you want max health and stamina (and attack and defense!) you need to spend about ~5 minutes running around the map collecting different-colored floating bug things. Against easier monsters this probably isn't strictly necessary, but against the hard ones it's something you should really be doing to be fully prepared. And it's just... needless busywork. It takes time away from the combat for no good reason. They'd been gradually stripping away the gathering busywork from past games, so seeing them add this mechanic in was disappointing.

(I've seen people argue that such collecting should be viewed as optional, designed for weaker players who need more prep, while vets can just go straight to fighting the monster. Um, no, at least not the harder fights. I mean, it's telling that for arena quests in which there are no permabuffers to collect in the wild, they put one giant one in the camp that maxes you out on everything. That very much seems to say that they intend you to have these buffs.)

I still haven't gotten to Iceborne in World, so...

A new trailer just dropped at the top of the Capcom Showcase:

The trailer reveals another new map (a redone island/jungle map from MH2), and the return of the following monsters: Hemitaur, Ceanataur, Barioth, Gore Magala, Astalos.

I am particularly excited about the map and the return of the crustaceans. The previous trailer had led us to believe there would be only one new area, which was pretty disappointing, but adding this second one really helps (MHFU was also my first MH game, so I have some nostalgia for that stage). And I always loved fighting the crabs, particularly Hermitaur, they're just so different from any of the other monsters, I missed the variety.

So this has reinvigorated my interest somewhat. Also, there's a demo coming out tomorrow.

Ah, Gore Magala.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was the breakout entry for me after crashing my head in to Freedom 2 and Tri and bouncing off. It's nice to see the purple, frenzy wyvern back!