The official first trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds‘ Ascendance expansion was released during Sony’s September 2026 State of Play, showing off a number of new story and gameplay details. While players are excited for more challenging Master Rank hunts, new Boosted Action combat features, and a new region to explore, the addition of new monsters is likely what fans are focusing on the most. Battles against returning creatures are mixed with fresh encounters with monsters the series has never seen before, creating an ecosystem of wildlife players are eager to encounter.
A number of new locations are coming to Monster Hunter Wilds through Ascendance, including areas like the fortified Madoi Stronghold and a series of floating islands called the Skybound Eyrie. This emphasis of aerial environments and the sky is reflected in the new monsters arriving in the game, who share that motif somewhat from what Capcom has shown. Other extra features in the game coming with the expansion are likely to make hunts change in every area too, even outside Ascedance‘s setting.
Coming back all the way from the original Monster Hunter, Lao-Shan Lung is a new Elder Dragon coming to Wilds‘ Ascendance expansion, rivaling Gogmazios in size and spectacle. This creature is a lumbering pile of destructive might, with it wandering the land being a potential cataclysm to anyone who dares remain in its path. Lao-Shan Lung seems to be the catalyst to the expansion’s story events, meaning it could be the first new monster you face.
Lao-Shan Lung is shown to be attacking the newly built Madoi Stronghold in the Ascendance trailer, standing on its hind legs to land devastating claw attacks against its enemies. The monster also seems to use its own elongated neck and jaw as a blunt weapon, slamming into stone and crushing would-be hunters on impact. This colossal creature is similar to Apex Monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, especially Jin Dahaad, the incredibly large siege monster that wielded the Ice element in the game’s main story.
Although Lao-Shan Lung doesn’t seem to have the elemental abilities of monsters like Zoh Shia, MH Wilds‘ “final boss,” its size alone is enough to make for an interesting monster fight. The trailer shows players riding their Seikret mount underneath the belly of Lao-Shan Lung, with its legs alone being about three hunters tall. Players will likely have to find weak spots to start attacking, while also using ballistas or cannons to disrupt the monster’s slow advance. However, with Lao-Shan Lung’s lore usually tied to fleeing an even greater threat, it’s worth thinking about why the Elder Dragon has arrived.
Coming back from past Monster Hunter games once again, the Elder Dragon Kushala Daora returns to torment hunters more than ever before. Notorious as one of the most annoying monsters to fight in Monster Hunter World and its Iceborne expansion, Kushala Daora makes sense to include in Ascendance, as it is tied heavily to wind and storms. This Elder Dragon shields itself with intense winds, using the air itself to push hunters away from it and knock them off their feet. This makes Kushala Daora difficult to fight without gear designed to make the monster’s pushback weaker.
Even if you do manage to get past the creature’s manipulation over wind, Kushala Daora is still a fierce aerial opponent that doesn’t give you too many chance to hit it. In a game like Monster Hunter Wilds, which already has airborne monsters like Hirabami, Rey Dau, and Seregios, Kushala Daora might become the strongest among those flying creatures. As an Elder Dragon, Kushala Daora comes equipped with metallic scales that can absorb some attacks too, meaning that finding weak spots will likely be crucial in hunts against it.
In the trailer, we can see that Kushala Daora does land on the ground, thankfully, but it uses large projectiles of weaponized wind against the player. This new monster to Monster Hunter Wilds is shown the least, so it’ll take time to understand what it is fully capable of in Ascendance. That being said, the new Boost Action moves on weapons could make this fight easier, giving players greater offensive mobility or attacks to deal with the Elder Dragon veterans are dreading to face again.
The new Skybound Eyrie region is set to introduce monsters unique to the region, and Capcom has eagerly shown off one in particular — Araketa. This monster has never been in a Monster Hunter game before, making its debut in Wilds as a poster creature for Ascendance for players to fight. This is by far the creature shown the most in the trailers, traveling in packs much like Yian Kut-Ku or Doshaguma from other parts of the game. However, unlike those monsters, Araketa dominate the skies together, dive bombing enemies in groups with a series of swift assaults.
According to official descriptions, Araketa is a large bird Wyvern that rockets across the Skybound Eyrie, also known as the “Jetstream Wyvern” based on its incredible speed. Araketa has a unique organ in their wings that allow them to produce air in propelling bursts, launching them forward like rockets to close in on prey or lost hunters. Much like other monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, the packs of Araketa players encounter are led by an Alpha monster, who will likely be the target of quests and defended by allies players will have to get rid of.
The turf wars for Araketa tease at the creatures ability to suddenly attack players fast, meaning quick blocking or dodges will be necessary for hunting it. While perhaps not as dangerous as the Elder Dragons in the expansion, Araketa represents ideas of agility and power that Ascendance encourages, for both its monsters and players. The new gameplay features you’ll have access to may be important for hunting Araketa, with the monster’s gear possibly having passive abilities that help broaden Ascendance‘s gameplay innovations.
Described as “An Elder Dragon that reigns over the heavens,” Gundoraja is also known as “The Black Sky’s Wrath,” indicating that it may just be the final boss of Ascendance. This monster was only briefly shown at the end of the expansion trailer, but much like Kushala Daora, this creature seems to have power over wind or storms. Close to something like Rey Dau, Gundoraja could create storms and call upon lightning to attack players, wrapping itself in clouds to protect itself at the same time.
What’s very impressive about this monster is how it resembles dragons of various folklore, with a serpentine body rather than a muscled form seen in traditional Monster Hunter Elder Dragons like Fatalis. In fact, this creature could be a deliberate contrast to Elder Dragons the series has seen before, creating a new spin that is just as intimidating as players would expect from a new monster with that status. A large horn almost makes Gundoraja look like a sentient tree branch, giving it a body that ties into nature more than most monsters in the game.
With increases to difficulty in this title being a top priority since its launch, a powerful Elder Dragon like Gundoraja could provide players the challenge they’ve been begging for. A Master Rank version of this Elder Dragon could easily become the strongest monster in the game, especially if it is given such a big role in the expansion. Among the new monsters revealed for Monster Hunter Wilds‘ Ascendance DLC, Gundoraja is by far my favorite, and one I’m excited to face alongside some friends.
