Monster Hunter Rise High Rank explained: Current HR cap, how to unlock High Rank and Hunter Rank Points explained

High Rank in Monster Hunter Rise is where the fun really begins.

As with previous Monster Hunter games, monsters and their associated hunts are split into two categories - Low Rank, and High Rank. The latter tasks you with tougher monsters and higher level gear to farm as a reward - with your current High Rank (or HR as it's often referred to by the community) representing your progression through the end game.

Following the April 2021 '2.0' update, the previous High Rank cap was unlocked - allowing players to collect Hunter Rank points.

This Monster Hunter Rise page explains how to unlock High Rank, the current HR cap, and how Hunter Rank points work.

On this page:

Monster Hunter Rise: Hunting 101 - Overview

For more help on Monster Hunter Rise, check out our weapon types list, in-depth Insect Glaive page, wirebug guide, Jewel lilies locations and how to use Traps and Tranq Bombs to catch monsters.

How to unlock High Rank in Monster Hunter Rise

When you first play Monster Hunter Rise, you are in Low Rank. This isn't mentioned as such - but know all the initial quests in either the Village and Hub quest tracks are in this rank.

High Rank is only available in the Hub missions, unlocking once you hit the four star quests.

However, it's not the only way to unlock High Rank; we recommend playing through the Village quests, since as you reach the higher stages you'll unlock licences which allow you to jump up the Hub quest chain, helping you get to High Rank without starting over from scratch.

These licenses are pretty challenging - tasking you with hunting multiple creatures in one go - but it means you can progress through the Village story and get to the juicy end game content in the Hub at the same time.

If you'd rather just go with the Hub, know that the Village quests are particularly useful for beginners and solo players, since they are designed to be easier to complete than Hub missions, which has a particular focus on the end game and multiplayer.

What is the current High Rank cap in Monster Hunter Rise, and how do Hunter Rank points work?

At launch, Monster Hunter Rise had a High Rank cap of 7 - also known as HR7.

Following the April 2021 2.0 update, this raised the cap to HR 999, as with previous Monster Hunter games.

The update also saw players automatically start at HR8 once they have reached the end game. From there, you can progress through ranks by earning Hunter Rank points.

This is a progression system which you can earn by playing through pretty much any quest. Reports at the update's launch suggest new quests can unlock 1-2 ranks per hunt.

If you had played the end game before the update, know these Hunter Rank points weren't being 'banked' for the update's arrival, as with what happened when players reached High Rank in Monster Hunter World - meaning everyone will start at HR8, and have to work their way up.

The HR cap being unlocked also introduced the following, as copied verbatim from the official patch notes:

• New monsters will appear in Village and Hub quests.
• New monsters will appear in the Rampage.
• New quests, Arena quests, and requests will be available.
• New weapon trees, armor, items, and Petalaces will be available.
• New skills and Rampage Skills will be available.
• Armor upgrade level cap will be raised.
• New decorations will be available to forge at the Smithy.
• Layered armor will be available to forge at the Smithy.
• Palico and Palamute layered armor will be available to forge at the Buddy Smithy.
• Palico and Palamute level cap will be raised to level 50.
• Default level for Palico and Palamute hired from the Buddy Scout will be raised.

Learn how to start Sunbreak - the first expansion - and from there, how to unlock Master Rank, use Switch Skill swap, and progress onward with our Monster Hunter Sunbreak walkthrough. There's also a monsters list, as well as individual pages on beating Garangolm, Lunagaron and Shogun Ceanataur. For the base game, we have a number of Monster Hunter Rise tips and lists of ore locations, bone locations, weapon types, how to use Insect Glaives and Kinsects, details of how to join friends in multiplayer, how to capture monsters and learn about wirebugs and great wirebugs.

How can you prepare for the Monster Hunter Rise end game ahead of the April update?

The following section was from a previous version of the page, and discussed how you can approach the end game ahead of the April update. We are keeping this section as the points discussed may still be useful as general end game pointers.

Getting there means facing the toughest monsters - which also means you can farm some of the toughest armour and most powerful weapons. It won't be easy, and it's best to figure out a build beforehand then work towards it.

There are as many viable builds as there are ways to play Monster Hunter Rise, so be as creative as you please - though whatever you go for, make sure you upgrade it to its max potential as soon as you possibly can.

How to craft the most powerful gear in Monster Hunter Rise

Upgrading armor in Monster Hunter is straightforward, though it can be sped up considerably with a little bit of good housekeeping.

One of the quickest ways to earn the high end armour spheres you'll need to level up your gear is by making sure you're always ticking off optional quests in the multiplayer - these are obtainable and can be checked in at the hub quest counter, so make sure picking these up then dropping them off is part of your regular routine when away from the hunt.

How to earn money fast in Monster Hunter Rise

Upgrading armour takes a fair amount of parts and spheres, but it also takes hard cold cash - and when you're speeding armour through the ranks towards the end of the game, it can take a considerable amount of money too.

One of the quickest ways to earn decent cash in Monster Hunter, aside from grinding through quests, is clearing your inventory of items and parts you no longer need - and once you've reached High Rank and are working through the endgame, you'll likely have acquired a fair amount that can be offloaded.

Just be mindful when selling it on, though - if you've an interest in exploring a particular weapon tree, you'll still need to build the base weapons to access the more powerful stuff, so just know exactly what you can bear to part ways with before raking in the cash.

Wanting to go further? We have a page on Master Rank, available for those who start Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak.