To start Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, you have to be at Hunter Rank 16. Many players who just want to get into the new content want to know if there’s a way to boost your character in MHW straight to HR 16 so you can play Iceborne straight away. We’ll cover whether or not boosting to HR 16 in Monster Hunter World is a possibility below.
Can you boost your character to HR 16 in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne?
MHW: Iceborne is a traditional expansion, something that is relatively rare these days. Most players are used to either regular DLC, which usually plays out as a sort of side story to the main game, or MMO expansions. Iceborne works more like an old school PC expansion like Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction, so you have to complete the base story before you can access the new story.
To trigger the quest to start the Iceborne content, you first have to complete the main story of Monster Hunter World. Upon completing the hunt for Xeno’jiiva in the quest “Land of Convergence,” you automatically obtain Hunter Rank 16. Upon returning to Astera, you’ll be given the opportunity to investigate a sighting of a Legiana in the Ancient Forest which begins Iceborne.
Unfortunately, there’s no character booster in Monster Hunter World that lets you jump straight to Iceborne. Your Hunter Rank is locked by quest, and you simply cannot reach HR 16 without playing through the main story. This is a blessing in disguise as Iceborne is tough, and without the experience, you gain from going through the main game you won’t do well. Even if a theoretical booster handed you a character equipped with all the best weapons and armor up to Iceborne, this game is heavily skill-based, and the monsters of Hoarfrost Reach are tough even for experienced players.
The main story of Monster Hunter World takes around 25-35 hours to complete, so if you want to play Iceborne, you’ll need to look at investing at least that much time.
