What is Monster Hunter: World High Rank Mode?

Playing through Monster Hunter: World is like experiencing a long-form TV show where new thrills and twists are thrown in at every turn. You’ll just get used to one thing when the game goes, “I think you can handle something else,” and gives you a sweet new mechanic to learn. It’s one of the many reasons we love Monster Hunter: World. At one point you’ll suddenly receive High Rank content, and you’ll realize the past hours of gameplay were training you for this very moment – and it’s incredible. So let’s talk about High Rank content, how to unlock it, and why it’s so damn good.

How to Unlock High Rank Armor, Weapons, and Quests

Any hunter worth their salt is going to want to get their hands on High Rank content, as it means tougher armor, stronger weapons, and more challenging quests. Unlocking High Rank content is as simple as progressing through the main story until you fight Zorah Magdaros for the second time.

After kicking Zorah Magdaros’ ass again, you’ll receive a quest called “Invader in the Waste” that tasks you with hunting down an odd Pukei-Pukei. With this quest completed, you can return to Astera and speak with the commander to unlock all High Rank content. Things are about to get tough, so you’re going to want to improve your gear.

High Rank Weapons

With High Rank content unlocked, you can deliver a whole new world of pain to the monsters you hunt. You’ll note that the previously blacked-out area of the upgrade trees are now visible, and that weapons can be improved beyond simply upgrading them. High Rank weapons can now have decorations placed in them, little jewels which will boost specific attributes.

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By placing a jewel in your High Rank weapon, you can raise skills up to new heights. Putting a decoration in a weapon often means a piece of armor can be swapped out. Were you relying on the attack bonus from a piece of armor? Well with an Attack Jewel, you’re free to swap out that armor for something else, unless you want that next tier of attack damage.

High Rank Armor

Speaking of armor, High Rank armor is a whole other ballgame in Monster Hunter: World. Did you only just get a full set of armor you liked in the Low Rank content? Well throw it away because High Rank armor makes it look like a limping Great Jagras. High Rank armor offers greater defences, high upgrade ranks, and most important: two different versions.

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High Rank armor comes in Alpha and Beta flavors. These two versions look different from one another but also offer unique differences in skills, attributes, and slots. The Alpha version of High Rank armor has more in-built skills, but the Beta version of High Rank armor allows you to equip decorations. If the Alpha versions of armor contain all the skills you need, then that’s great. However, if you’ve got a decoration with better stats, Beta versions will likely be your preference.

High Rank Quests

Rounding off the High Rank content are the High Rank quests. Investigations, Bounties, and Optional quests now have High Rank counterparts, boasting greater rewards but also greater challenges. These are differentiated in the Quest Board by orange stars while Expeditions can be toggled between Low Rank and High Rank versions.

With High Rank quests unlocked, you’ll note some differences within the environment and even some of the monsters. New mining outcrops will appear, taking on a red color, and you’ll start noticing tracks of monsters that reveal they are stronger and more powerful versions of their Low Rank counterparts.

As one of our most anticipated video games of 2018, it’s no surprise that we’re still talking about Monster Hunter: World. The game just continues to impress, especially given that it reveals more mechanics as you play. Even after you get comfortable, High Rank shakes it all up, offering more armor options, deadlier weapons, more dangerous monsters, and High Rank rewards from completing missions. If you thought the Low Rank content was incredible, just wait until you unlock the High Rank content!