We know that we’re getting Monster Hunter Wilds‘ first expansion, Ascendance, at sometime in 2027. Initially, we were expecting to see more about the game at either Gamescom 2026, but it seems we’ll have to wait until later this month to see more about the expansion during Tokyo Game Show, instead.
Well, that’s not entirely true: Capcom has begun publishing videos about each of the game’s 14 different weapon types as of today. The first video, which focuses on the Great Sword, introduces a new modifier you can use (and which will be available for all weapons) called ‘Boosted Actions’. The publisher promises to release one new video a day, dedicated to each weapon… taking us to 15th September and the beginning of TGS, as it would happen.
So, what are boosted actions? “Ascend to Master Rank with the Boost Bracer, a new hunting action that expands the abilities of each of the 14 weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance,” Capcom explains in the blurb for the video above. “Build Boost Bracer energy by staying aggressive with your attacks, then activate Boost with a special Boost Driver attack, or other unique actions per weapon. Boost enables abilities such as new combos and enhanced attacks, allowing you to seize control of the powerful threats that await you.”
In case that word salad has you a bit confounded, here’s what Boosted Actions allow you to do with the Great Sword:
- Fling forward with the Boost Driver.
- Unleash explosive charged slashes.
- Chain together offset attacks.
See the trailer below for a specific breakdown on how that all actually works. From what I can tell, it seems that there are three ways to enter the ‘Boosted’ state – by activating a Brace Boost move (slow, but big damage), by activating ‘Quick Boost’ (which switches you into stance), and by comboing into ‘Boosted’ by performing a specific combo. This will, no doubt, give us a whole new resource ecosystem to think about when fighting. I can only assume that dealing damage and exploiting enemy monster wounds will allow you to fill up the meter that determines how and when you can use ‘Boosted’ mode. There appears to be three charges – but this could alternate depending on the weapon.
In the video at the top of this article, you can see quite a few teasers about how all this is going to work. There are some amazing looking moves on offer for us; a really impactful and punchy hammer moveset that looks like it allows you to ‘perfect guard’ more easily, opening up a more aggressive style of play (and resulting in a sort-of Hammer-based shoryuken, amazingly). The Charge Blade seems to have a ‘counter hadoken’, and the Great Sword (dedicated video below) opens up versatility with a whole new aerial moveset.
Safe to say, then: I’m hyped. It seems Capcom is pushing us to go much faster and more offensive with our playstyle here, assumedly because the monsters we’re going to get introduced to (and reintroduced to) are going to be equally as aggressive. Given the complaints about difficulty that plagued the game at launch and beyond, I can only imagine the community will actually embrace this change with open arms.
Monster Hunter Wilds is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, with a Switch 2 version in development. Ascendance is due out in 2027.
