Sunbreak Co-op Multiplayer Guide | How to Join Friends

Monster Hunter Rise and Sunbreak can be played either solo or with friends via co-op multiplayer! Read on to learn how to play with friends on quests in multiplayer, create and join lobbies, post quests, difficulty scaling, and more!

Is Monster Hunter Rise Multiplayer?

Yes, Multiplayer is Possible!

Monster Hunter: Rise, along with its Sunbreak expansion, is playable solo or with others through multiplayer!

Take note that online multiplayer will require an internet connection (with subscription for consoles and the Xbox Game Pass). Local play is available only on the Nintendo Switch.

Up to four (4) players can join a hunt. This enables extended fun as having a team to play with makes some hunts a lot easier than when you're alone!

Crossplay is Restricted

Being able to connect with other players is restricted to within platform families. This means, for example, that only PlayStation title owners can play with other owners of the same platform.

In the case of Xbox Game Pass owners on PC, they can only play with other pass owners and Xbox platform owners. The game on Steam neither supports cross play and cross saves, and can only play with other Steam players.

Keep these details in mind when you have friends who own the game on different platforms!

Crossplay and Cross Save

How To Play Online Multiplayer

How to Setup a Multiplayer Lobby

1	Speak to the Courier Senri the Mailman located just near the Blacksmith in Kamura. If you are in Elgado, the Courier can be found at the Central Plaza.
2	Select the Play Online option. You can also choose Friends List to join the lobbies of the people in your Friends List, or the Mutual Likes List to find hunters you've played with and liked.
3	Choose to Find Lobby, Create a Lobby, Hunter Connect, or Search by Lobby ID.
4-1	Find Lobby: A list of available lobbies will show up on the screen in accordance with your lobby preferences.
4-2	Create Lobby: Allows you to create an online multiplayer lobby with multiple preference options.
4-3	Hunter Connect: Allows you to matchmake with other multiplayer lobbies based on your Hunter Connect tags. Click here to know how to setup your Hunter Connect tags!
4-4	Enter Lobby ID: This is the best option for playing with specific friends. A second screen may pop up, requesting a 4-digit passcode if the Lobby's owner has set one up.

Co-Op or Multiplayer for Consoles

Playing through consoles and the Xbox Game Pass will require a subscription for access to online multiplayer.

For the Nintendo Switch, Local Play is possible so as long as multiple consoles can be connected on the same local network. Join Requests will be available only through online play.

If you are playing on Steam, no subscription is required!

Available Platforms

Nintendo Online is Required for the Switch

A Nintendo Online Account is required to play online in Monster Hunter Rise. This is a requirement for the majority of the Nintendo Switch's game library to play online, and Rise is no exception.

Nintendo Online Pricing Plans

Xbox Live Gold is Required for Xbox

You need to be subscribed to Xbox Live Gold to be able to play Rise online with your friends on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

On the PC, you simply need to be subscribed to Xbox Game Pass to be able to play Co-Op if you're using the Game Pass to play Rise. Purchasing the game on Steam does not require a Game Pass from Xbox.
Xbox Live Gold Subscription

PlayStation Plus is Required for PlayStation

You need to be subscribed to PlayStation Plus to be able to play Rise online with your friends on both the PS4 and PS5.

Plans available are Premium, Extra, and Essential, and pricing varies on which subscription plan you you want.

PlayStation Plus Pricing Plans

How to Play Local Co-op

Local Co-Op Setup Guide for Switch

1	Speak to Senri the Mailman located just beside the stairs that lead to Fugen the Elder in Kamura Village.
2	Select the Play Locally button.
3	Choose to either Find Lobby or Create a Lobby. 1. One player will need to Create a Lobby first before others can join. 2. Other players should select Find Lobby to join the hosting player. If multiple players create a their own lobbies, they'll end up in separate games. 3. Choose the Create A Lobby with the padlock icon on the left if you prefer to set up a 4-digit passcode for your Lobby. Should players wish to leave the current lobby, they can simply select Leave Lobby from the Courier.

The Nintendo Switch produces its own ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection, so players are able to play local co-op on Monster Hunter Rise even on buses or trains!

The local co-op option is only available for the Nintendo Switch. For other platforms, the Play Locally option will not be available in the Courier.

How to Post a Multiplayer Quest

Posting Hub Quests

1	Speak to a Hub quest giver. In Kamura, Minoto the Hub Maiden will be available in the Hub to give Hub Quests! If you are in Elgado Outpost (available in Sunbreak), Hub Quests can be made through Chichae the Quest Damsel.
2	Hub Quests in the base game are primarily split into three: Low Rank, High Rank (Unlocked at HR4), and Rampage Missions (Unlocked around HR2). Event Quests also become available, and are added weekly. Completing the base rise story and having the Sunbreak expansion will give you access to Master Rank quests, which can be provided by any of the quest givers.
3	Select a mission from the list. A second prompt will show up for confirmation. TIP: Choosing the Accept via Join Request option will immediately send a Join Request for other players as soon as you depart into the quest.
4	Your lobby window will update with the chosen quest's information with a Depart button on the top left. Other players in the lobby can now join by using the Quest Board!

Hub Quests are the primary quests required in progressing the game. These also involve Rampage Quests in the base game.

Other options such as taking Event Quests and Expeditions are also available (Anomaly Quests and Investigations included in Sunbreak), and can be joined by others via the lobby or the Join Request feature!

List of Hub Quests

Posting Arena and Challenge Quests

1	Arena Quests and Challenge Quests work just like Hub Quests, the difference being that they come from other quest givers and only allow up to two players in a hunt. In the base game, these quests can be taken from Master Utsushi. If you are in the Elgado Outpost in Sunbreak, they can be taken from Master Arlow.
2	Simply pick a quest to host in your lobby in the same way you pick hub quests!
3	Once the quest is set, make sure your quest partner is ready and has joined in. Depart when ready! Once departed, both players will be brought to a menu to choose pre-set gear. Choose your gear and get ready to hunt.

Arena Quests and Challenge Quests are optional quests that can be hosted for multiplayer.

Up to two players can join, and these quests cannot be joined via the Join Request feature (mainly because deciding pre-set gear and a ranking for clear times are involved.)

Arena Quest Guide

How to Join a Friend's Quest

Use the Hub's Quest Board

1-1	Approach the Quest Board once someone inside the Lobby has posted a quest. These Quest Boards are always located near the hub quest giver in both Kamura and Elgado, and can also be found in the Training Area.
1-2	Alternatively, you can also access the Quest Board through the Action Bar on the lower right from anywhere.
2	Select the Join Hub Quest button and pick the quest from the list. WARNING: Selecting the Respond to Join Request button will take you to a random quest that opted to send a Join Request during their hunt.
3	Once you've joined the quest, your lobby window will be updated with the quest information.
4	Make sure to set yourself on standby once you are ready to join the quest host's departure into the quest!

Online Multiplayer Player Limit

A Lobby Can Support Up to Four Players

For Monster Hunter: Rise, a lobby can only support up to four (4) players at a time, a large difference compared to the previous Monster Hunter: World's sixteen (16) player lobbies.

This is in keeping the game's limitation in mind for its initial portable release, and it is also to promote a more intimate hunting party of four, giving the chance for forging lasting friendships.

Compared to the previous title where all player interaction before hunts were confined to the online-oriented Gathering Hub area, hunters in lobbies can now explore the rest of the village (and the outpost in Sunbreak). This covers even up to the Training Area!

Gathering Hub Guide

No Multiplayer During Village Quests

Village Quests are mandatory quests designed for solo play only. For these quests, prioritize maximizing the equipment and skills of your buddies and learning the ropes.

Because of this, the Send Join Request function is not available on all Village Quests.

In Sunbreak, all mandatory story quests are now kept to Hub Quests, so feel free to bring other players and friends along in these hunts!

Village Quest Guide

Arena Quests are Limited to 2 Players

Arena Quests can be done with up to two (2) players. This can be valuable if you are looking for a team-up against simultaneous monster battles in the Arena.

These quests are not subject to Join Requests. Therefore, only both hunters can access each others' Arena quests if they are in the same lobby.

Arena Quest Guide

Anomaly Investigation Limits Vary

.
At most, four players will be able to join certain Anomaly Investigation quests. But the party limit will vary depending on what Anomaly Investigation quest the host has set!

This means some quests will only allow up to two players max. To know if this is the case, you can check the Conditions section when picking an Anomaly Investigation at the Quest Counter.

Anomaly Investigations Guide

How to Use Join Requests

Send Join Requests in a Hunt

During a hunt, you can choose to send out a Join Request. This will only work if you have set up a multiplayer lobby, since being offline will have the feature greyed out.

You can easily send a join request during a hunt by going to the Start Menu then choosing Join Request.

Any hunter who takes the Join Request can join your hunt, regardless of whether your multiplayer lobby has a password or not.

Join Requests Guide: How to Join and Send out SOS

Activate Join Request in Quest Counters

You can decide to send out a Join Request via Accept via Join Request when confirming a quest from a quest giver.

Join Requests are only sent for the hunt as soon as you depart. You do not need to wait for someone to join your lobby. You can think of this as the equivalent of an online quick match.

Take note that being online connection is required for this feature. Join Requests are not available for local play.

How to Play Multiplayer in Sunbreak Demo

How to Play Sunbreak Demo Locally (Switch Only)

1	Launch the Sunbreak demo and choose Multiplayer.
2	Select Play Locally.
3	Choose to either Find Lobby or Create a Lobby. 1. One player will need to Create a Lobby first before others can join. 2. Other players should select Find Lobby to join the first player. If multiple players Create a Lobby, they'll end up in separate games. 3. Tick the Passcode box if you prefer to set up a 4-digit passcode for your Lobby.
4	If you created the lobby, select the hunt you want do and confirm your selection. You can choose to hunt Great Izuchi, Tetranodon, Astalos, or Malzeno.
5	Select the weapon you want to use and whether you want to bring a Palamute or Palico. Once you are all set up, choose either Standby for Departure to wait for all lobby members to be ready or Depart with Current Members to immediately start the hunt.

If you are playing the Demo version of the game, local play for the Nintendo Switch is available!

How to Play Sunbreak Demo Online

1	Launch the Sunbreak demo and choose Multiplayer.
2	Select either Find a Lobby, Create a Lobby. or Search by Lobby ID. You can select your target and language preference right after.
2-1	Find Lobby: A list of available lobbies will show up on the screen in accordance with your lobby preferences.
2-2	Create a Lobby: Choose your target preference, and whether you want to have a private lobby by adding a passcode.
2-3	Search by Lobby ID: This is the best option for playing with specific friends. A second screen will pop up, requesting a 4-digit passcode if the lobby's owner has set one up.
3	Select the hunt you want do and confirm your selection.
4	Select the weapon you want to use and whether you want to bring a Palamute or Palico. Once you are all set up, choose either Standby for Departure to wait for all lobby members to be ready or Depart with Current Members to immediately start the hunt.

The demo for all platforms also has online play to get you started if you are trying out the Sunbreak expansion.

Sunbreak Demo Guide and Monsters

Hunter Connect Features

Allows You To Connect With Similar Hunters

Hunter Connect is a new feature introduced in Monster Hunter Rise. This allows you to set Hunter Tags that filters the matchmaking process and pair you with hunters similar to you.

You can set different tags from your usual hunting active hours, hunting experience, and more!

How to Setup Hunter Connect

1	Open the Main Menu and select Hunter Connect from the Multiplayer Tab.
2	Choose the Add Connect > Create New Connect buttons on the next window. Input your desired Hunter Tags and choose the Create Connect once you're done. Take note that the tags of Hunter Connect Cards cannot be changed once you've created them. You can have up to 10 Hunter Connect Cards at any time and can be deleted if necessary.

Like Function and Mutual Likes

The Like Function enables you to send a 'like' to other hunters after every quest as a sign of a good job. You can choose to like up to three hunters!

When a hunter gives each other Likes at the end of the quest, they are both added on their respective Mutual Likes list. When a Mutual Like joins the hunt, you will also be notified.

Being a Mutual Like give permission to other mutuals to enter each other's lobbies as you please. Mutual Likes also makes it easier to join hunts with the same pool of people!

Hunter Connect and Like Function

Single-player Vs. Multiplayer

Monster Gets Increased HP

Scaling may vary depending on the quest Rank (Low/High/Master).

When playing multiplayer, the enemy monsters will have more HP than their single-player counterparts.

This is to ensure that the monster doesn't fall fast due to the increased number of damage it takes from multiple hunters.

This is also to account for the possibility of party-wide buffs from items and the Hunting Horn, a weapon which shines in multiplayer thanks to its melody effects.

Difficulty Scales Based on the Number of Players

Difficulty for multiplayer hunts scales based on the number of players present.

Based on the number of players in the quest, difficulty for that quest will adjust automatically. This can happen even if the number of players changes during a quest.

Increased Supplies in Multiplayer

Depending on the number of players in a quest, more supplies in the Supply Box will be added.

Items in the Supply Box can be divided equally among the players at the start of the quest, but every hunter is free to grab as much as they need.

Usually, you take only what is needed and leave some for others. But in a precomposed team, you can discusss among yourselves first each member's needs before taking supplies!

Up to One Buddy Can Be Brought

When playing solo, you can bring two buddies for your quest. However, playing multiplayer will only allow you to bring one (1) buddy for the quest. Pick either a Palico or a Palamute!

To set your primary buddy for multiplayer, you have to set that buddy as Buddy 1 on your Buddy Board.

When you set up a multiplayer game, make sure there will be players who can join your quest, since proceeding with the hunt solo means you will have one less buddy to help you!

Best Buddies to Bring

Can Be Easier than Single Player

Despite the monsters' scaled HP, taking on monsters in Multiplayer can be much easier than in Single Player mode.

Even if the fight can last just as long, each player will benefit from the monster being forced to focus on two to four targets instead of one.

But take extra caution since the amount of allowed carting is shared in multiplayer. If one falls in battle, that's one less chance to fall for someone else before quest failure. Bring recovery items like Dusts of Life to save your team from any impending disaster!

Best Item Loadouts

Great Teamwork Leads to Fast Clear Times

Having great team coordination online with other hunters opens up to a lot of opportunities for clearing hunts faster and overcoming difficulties.

With the right gear, teamwork, and practice, a pair, trio, or full team of hunters can attempt amazing speed runs.

If speedruns are not concerned, multiplayer can be a great source of farming materials quickly.

Everyone Gets Rewarded

Rewards in multiplayer are similar to solo play. Everyone gets material rewards, the difference being rewarded materials will still differ for each hunter according to the monster part's drop rate.

Breaking monster parts become much easier online, provided that your party can focus on breaking them.

The only trade is that the amount of zennies are split between members, which should not be too much of a problem since there are a lot of quests that can provide Golden Eggs and Platinum Eggs!

Zenny Farming Guide

Friend Points and Friend Vouchers

Accumulating Friend Points from completing multiplayer hunts allows you access to extra rewards such as sets of Dusts of Life and Armor Spheres!

Friend Vouchers are valuable items rewarded from accumulating Friend Points after every multiplayer match.

Look out for these Friend Vouchers, since as they can serve as great substitutes in melding talismans.

How to Get Friend Vouchers

Monster Hunter Rise Related Guides

Latest News and Game Info

All Latest News

All News Categories

All Other News