When Monster Hunter World launched in 2018 and exposed the franchise to a more global community, it brought with it its addictive gameplay loop. Then the Iceborne DLC expansion boosted the game's popularity further by helping the game sell over 20 million units.

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It's an action RPG that's all about "the grind" but manages to make the hard effort -- something many RPG fans of any subgenre dread -- incredibly entertaining. The DLC added even more thrilling large monster boss fights on top of what the base game provided, and even after the DLC's story closes, it has a solid amount of post-game content to keep players engaged in Monster Hunter's gameplay loop.

Complete Event Quests

Split image of the Master Rank select screen and Fatalis quest

Though Iceborne's story is thrilling in and of itself, there's plenty of exciting Master Rank quests to work toward unlocking afterward. There are certain monsters introduced through the DLC that are locked behind a certain Master Rank level, and Event Quests are a good way of leveling up that rank faster.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne has some hard Event Quests, but they simultaneously make for some of the most fun challenges of the game. Hunting Elder Dragons are one good way to farm Master Rank points. One of the monsters in the expansion that players have to beat the story -- among other tasks -- to fight is the legendary Fatalis, which is one of the most memorable quests in the game.

The Guiding Lands

Split image of players hunting Tigrex and Stygian Zinogre in Monster Hunter World

Iceborne introduces a zone as a feature to Monster Hunter World that is only accessible to players after beating the main story. The Guiding Lands is a sort of free-roaming zone players can progressively unlock more parts to that serves as a good portion of the endgame content. In it, rarer monsters that aren't native to the New World of the base game can spawn, including Tempered versions of them.

Once the update added the Tundra biome, it even brought in the daunting Stygian Zinogre as one of the spawns. Monster Hunter compares differently to other RPGs that handle grinding, and this feature works as an entertaining resource to grind Master Rank points as well as get rare item drops from monsters. The more that players research the large monsters they find there, the research level increases and brings in more monster spawns.

Craft New Armor/Weapon Builds For Master Rank Hunts

Alatreon armor sets in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Something else to pass time after the story's conclusion that's also productive is crafting new equipment sets. A major part of the Monster Hunter loop is grinding bigger, tougher monsters for materials to craft new gear to repeat the process. If players want to tackle some of the hardest endgame hunts Iceborne has to offer, crafting and experimenting with different armor/weapon builds is a must eventually anyway.

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The different variations and subspecies of monsters thrown at players, like Stygian Zinogre and Savage Deviljho, are massive obstacles. Repeating completed Master Rank quests and wandering the Guiding Lands for boss fights are ideal for gathering the crafting materials for gear to take on the endgame's most daunting challenges.

Hunter Helper Quests

The Monster Hunter YouTube channel's graphic for the Hunter Helper

The multiplayer aspect is one of the biggest elements and appeals of these games generally, and the Hunter Helper feature is a great way to encourage that further with the wider player base. The Hunter Helper feature incentivizes higher-ranked players to go back and help lower-ranked ones looking for help climbing through Iceborne's Master Rank system.

If a high-rank player helps a low-rank, the former can receive a Gold or Silver Wyverian Ticket, which lets allows for redemption of rare materials. Monster Hunter is a collection of Capcom's wildest bosses, so this mechanic is a great way for every participant of World's multiplayer base to get something meaningful toward their progression through the game -- in the endgame, or story.

 Unlock Trophies

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne cover art featuring its flagship monster

It's certainly for the gaming completionists, but clearing a game to 100 percent is a popular feat for players who want to go all out with progression. Monster Hunter would be a thrilling task for those types of players, as challenges of all sorts are present to complete.

Plus, the Iceborne expansion added in an extra 50 trophies -- including the platinum trophy -- on top of World's base game. Naturally, this makes for something for players who are willing to do it to focus on after dealing with both the main story and the other Master Rank quest endgame content available with some of Monster Hunter's strongest monsters.

Complete Collaboration Quests (Before Getting Removed)

Split image of Geralt and Aloy in Monster Hunter World

Capcom has had a variety of fun crossover collaborations with other franchises, including Horizon Zero DawnThe Witcher, and Final Fantasy. Players will want to get on top of these collaboration quests while they can, as it's been recently confirmed that Capcom will be removing select quests from Iceborne starting in December.

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For the time being, it looks like the quests to be removed will be for the Monster Hunter movie and crossover with the Assassin's Creed series. The movie's poor reception won't make this much to miss, but it's a sign that hunters will probably need to make the most of the others that currently remain.

Catch Endemic Animals

One of the rare endemic species in Monster Hunter World with the player

Endemic wildlife is a feature that made its return in the latest entry, Monster Hunter Rise, with some more mechanical emphasis on gameplay. However, in World and its DLC, they still provide some gameplay-centric benefits as well as cosmetic bonuses.

The Hoarfrost Reach region introduced in Iceborne brings in new endemic life, and some can be captured as well to be pets in the player's room. Recording them for research is good for completing the trophy list, and capturing others, which include some rare species, is a fun way to add a layer of cosmetic personalization to the game in between vicious hunts.

Craft Layered Armor

The Yukumo Layered Armor set in Monster Hunter World

Another welcome cosmetic feature the DLC brought was the addition of Layered Armor. Players will constantly be grinding toward their next armor and weapon sets, but Layered Armor only affects the appearance of the player's character and, as the name suggests, is the top layer over the "actual" armor.

Aesthetics is something many players crave in games where the playable avatar allows some degree of personal creativity, and this lets them have their favored designs without sacrificing the defenses that proper armor provides. It's a great excuse to use some of the more ridiculous-by-design and collaboration armor sets -- like Geralt and Aloy -- without worrying about getting mercilessly beaten down by a monster.

Complete Master Rank Special Assignments

Split image of Kirin and Rajang in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne DLC

After completing the Iceborne Master Rank story quests and in addition to the MR Event Quests, players can take part in Special Assignments. The Monster Hunter World base game has its own set of Special Assignments, but the DLC adds in a new set of Master Rank ones that feature exclusive monsters to it.

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They feature special and classic monsters like the mythical Kirin as well as variations of others like the Raging Brachydios and Furious Rajang. It's another great source of grinding materials for players to test and prepare themselves for the other endgame beasts they'll face.

Upgrade To Master Rank Equipment Augmentations

Augment upgrade screen in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Since a lot of the gameplay is geared toward boosting player stats to take on the next big challenge, taking advantage of Augmentaitons -- another feature from the base game -- will be ideal in the Master Rank of the DLC expansion. Players can augment their armor pieces to boost defense stats and weapons for damage and other side stats, including health regeneration and critical damage chances.

Something new to this feature for Iceborne, however, is that weapons can have attached custom upgrades as well. This is another mechanic that goes well with traversing the Guiding Lands as well since the necessary crafting materials will be needed for augments.

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