“The Final Stand” is more than just another free title update for Monster Hunter World. It’ll be the last free title update. That makes sense! It’s been about a year since the Iceborne expansion injected new life into the game. And we’ve gotten a score of major content drops since then. As is the way with Monster Hunter games, about a year after the “complete” edition, things are winding down. MHW bucked a lot of trends when it hit consoles in 2018, but this is one gun Capcom is sticking to.
This doesn’t mean MHW is going away! You’ll still be able to play the game and go online for years to come. Not to mention new event quests and other small additions are still on the docket. But The Final Stand — including its new monster — will be the last noticeably unique expansion. Presumably we’ll have Monster Hunter World 2 (or whatever the successor is called) to look forward to sometime after that.
But The Final Stand is noticeably unique. It reintroduces Fatalis, a mysterious monster from the very first game in the series, to MHW. That includes a reimagined version of Castle Schrade: the area players fought Fatalis the first time. So MHW is finally returning to the old world for a time.
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You can see as much in the teaser trailer for Fatalis. A new character who goes by the General appears to bring New World Hunters via boat to the series’ original landmass. There you can battle Fatalis for new weapons and new armor that come with fresh skills. Capcom was coy about what those skills offer, but hinted that, because Fatalis is at the top of the food chain in MHW, they will be pretty spectacular.
Fatalis will enter the fold on Oct. 1, 2020 as part of the fifth Iceborne title update. That’s just after the current crop of returning seasonal festivals ends — meaning you want get any gap between stuff to enjoy for the next couple months.
Also adding new armor (presumably) is Arch-Tempered Velkhana. This is the second AT monster in Iceborne after Namielle. And we’re sure to get a new set of Velkhana Gamma gear to go with it. Though its release date is only listed as “Available Fall” of this year.
Once you’ve got your items, why not slot them with some better Decorations? The skill stones will be easier to acquire: the Elder Melder is gaining a new level of crafting, Carved and Sealed Feystones will have higher chances to become rare Decorations, while Sealed Feystones get better drop rates. That’s in addition to more altogether new Decorations and higher levels of Charms (which also confer skills).
If you care about fashion over function, there’s even more good news. Master Rank Layered Armor is finally around the corner! This will let you craft fully cosmetic versions of all armor in the game (MMO players might know this as a transmog system). And that’s great news for anyone who loves to look good while they fight hard.
In the lead-up to these extras, Capcom is introducing one new event quest every week for three weeks, which take place in the Seliana Supply Cache. That’s where folks fight Velkhana with a mounted machine gun in the Iceborne campaign… Previously it only appeared in the main story. Now the locale will house other Elder Dragons for you to repel.
These include tempered versions of Kushala Daora (Sept. 11-17), Teostra (Sept. 18-24), and Lunastra (Sept. 25-30). It’s not yet clear what kind of rewards we can expect from each of them, however.
Speaking of event quests, the newly updated MHW road map includes room for an in-game fall festival. Following in the footsteps of the “Autumn Harvest Fest,” this will be a Halloween themed scream called the “Fun Fright Fest.” As such, it will include spooky gear for Hunters, Palicos, and the Handler.
You can see absolutely all the update details for yourself in the latest Dev Diary (embedded above). But be sure to check back here for thoughts on the new content, guides, and more!
