How to Increase Hunter Rank in Monster Hunter World
Level up your Hunter Rank and Master Rank in Monster Hunter World to gain access to harder content.
In an effort to become more powerful in Monster Hunter World, you’re going to be spending a lot of time attempting to increase your Hunter Rank and Master Rank. The whole point of increasing your Hunter Rank is to be able to play the tougher missions, as quests only get more powerful when you get more powerful. Though if you've played enough, you might realize that leveling up your Hunter Rank isn't a linear process.
Increase Your Hunter Rank
When you first begin Monster Hunter World, you’ll likely note that your Hunter Rank (HR) increases fairly consistently, with levels being added after major hunts. But after a while, especially if you take the time to grind out a full set of gear, your Hunter Rank might not level up at all, despite the fact you’ve just spent hours slaying tough monsters – like the mighty Nergigante.
Early on in Monster Hunter World, increasing your Hunter Rank is as simple as completing story missions. However, this will begin to slow down the further into the game you get, but your level will still be tied to the story.
After completing the main storyline, you will shift from having your Hunter Rank tied to the story to it being an XP bar that can be tracked through the Status menu. From here, every quest, whether it’s an Expedition, Optional, or Event like the Horizon Zero Dawn crossover, you will gain experience points that go toward leveling you up.
The value of increasing your Hunter Rank isn’t just so you can unlock higher HR quests, but because it’s a requirement for unlocking the rainbow pigment for your armor – which is obviously the most important reason.
Increase Master Rank
The Master Rank (MR) is a brand new addition introduced to Monster Hunter World with the Iceborne expansion. Much like the Hunter Rank, the Master Rank grants players access to better equipment, more difficult quests, and stronger monsters. In order to unlock Master Rank, you must perform a few tasks:
- Finish the last quest of the base game, Land of Convergence
- Reach Hunter Rank 16
- Speak with Enthusiastic Fiver
- Reach Hoarfrost Reach
Source: Monster Hunter World Fextralife wiki
As for increasing your Master Rank, there are quite a few ways to do this. Spending some time in the Guiding Lands killing creatures and monsters is a great way to get some more XP. Additionally, go out and hunt some Elder Dragons. These beasts are some of the most challenging monsters in the game and it's only fair that they reward a lot of MR XP. Finally, check the Quest Board for quests that reward bonus Master Rank progression. These are available every so often, so keep checking back.
Some players may notice that their MR stalls or stops going up, this is because you've yet to finish the Iceborne main quest. Finish the main story to reach Master Rank 23, at which point the cap will be removed and you can start really farming those levels.
Take a moment to look over our in-depth guide on the Guiding Lands regional monster list. This should help you pick what regions to level and what monsters are available within.
Now that you know how to increase your Hunter Rank as well as your Master Rank in Monster Hunter World and Iceborne, you can get back to the hunt! Check out our Monster Hunter World guide for other useful information!
