Hunters,

Season 8 is entering its final stretch and the Season 8 Climax event is just around the corner!

During this event, monsters introduced in Season 8 will become more active, and you can enjoy more hunt rewards. Be sure to hunt plenty of Quematrice and Rathalos, which drop materials essential for forging and upgrading featured defense weapons, especially useful when facing Riftcharged Barioth!

In addition, the Mysterious Driftstones first introduced in Season 8 are making a return! Use driftsmelting to unlock the Season 8 debut skills Critical Range Boost and Reflection for your armor.

From Monday, March 9th to Sunday, March 15th, you can take on the Season 8, Wave 3 Base Defense. Upgrade your equipment, take on Riftcharged Barioth, and bring Season 8 to a triumphant close!

Dates & Times

Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (local time) – Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (UTC)

• Exception: Event Quests end on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)

Event Details

Monster Appearances

Activity is expected to increase for the following monsters.

• Quematrice
• Rathalos (including Riftborne)
• Diablos (including Riftborne)
• Khezu (including Riftborne)
• Astalos
• Goss Harag
• Silver Rathalos
• Nargacuga
• Ebony Odogaron
• Arzuros
• Bazelgeuse

Event Effects

• Increased rewards for slaying featured monsters

  • Receive two of each material in the first and second slots of basic rewards.

• More rewards for Hunt-a-thons

  • Receive two of each material in the first and second slots of basic rewards.
  • Chance of receiving 10 additional Rarity 1 materials from the slain monster.
  • Guaranteed fifth slot
    • Chance of receiving a Rarity 6 material in the fifth slot will be greatly increased to 20% (only for 8★+ monsters).

• Daily Quest reward increase

  • Receive double rewards from Daily Quests distributed between Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. and Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time).
    • Extra quests received through the Extreme Hunter Pass are also eligible.

• Driftstone bonus

  • Chance of receiving Mysterious Driftstone M or N from all large monsters.
    • Guaranteed to receive one from the featured monsters (regular driftstones will not drop).
    • Chance of receiving Mysterious Driftstone M or N, or a Crimson / Azure / Amber / Cyan / Pale/Black Driftstone from all large monsters, excluding the featured monsters.
  • Distance required for driftsmelting with driftstones obtained during this event period reduced to 1 km.

Skills From Mysterious Driftstones

The following skills may be granted by these Mysterious Driftstones. See the FAQ for more details.

• Mysterious Driftstone M: Critical Range Boost, Burst
• Mysterious Driftstone N: Reflection, Headstrong

About Monster Investigations

During the event, two types of Monster Investigations will be available. Each investigation will be automatically selected when its period begins.

Base Defense Investigation
Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Sunday, March 15th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)
Among the featured monsters, Quematrice and Rathalos will be especially easier to find.

Season 8 Climax Investigation
Monday, March 16th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)
Featured monsters will be easier to find.

Season 8 Climax: Special Field Hunt Ticket

By purchasing a Special Field Hunt Ticket, you can enjoy various bonuses to help you in your hunts! Exclusive quests will also be available only to ticket holders. Make the most of this ticket to enhance your hunting experience!

• Effects of the Special Field Hunt Ticket

  • Unlimited use of Paintballs.
  • Large monsters reappear in just 30 minutes.
  • The access range will be expanded by 50% at all times, and you will get double the materials from slaying small monsters and from gathering points.
    Cannot be combined with a Wander Orb, Wander Droplet, or Wander Powder.
  • Take on limited-time quests.
    No Hunter Medals will be awarded as quest rewards.

• During the following times, the only monsters that will appear on the field are: Astalos, Rathalos (including Riftborne), Diablos (including Riftborne), and Khezu (including Riftborne).

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• Separate tickets will be available for Mar. 13 (Fri), Mar. 14 (Sat), Mar. 15 (Sun), Mar. 16 (Mon), and Mar. 17 (Tue).

• Ticket effects will apply from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. (local time) on the corresponding date.

• Ticket sales are planned to begin around Mar. 9 (Mon).

• Tickets can be purchased via the in-app Shop, the Special Quests tab, or the Web Store. Purchases made through the Web Store include a bonus Item Box Expansion.

• The Extreme Hunter Pass is also on sale, making unlimited Paintballs even more effective by increasing your Paintball list capacity by +20. Be sure to combine them for maximum benefit!

Check the FAQ, which will be published on the day of the event, for more details.

Limited-Time Quests

Dates
Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)

Take on limited-time quests that include slaying Quematrice and Rathalos. Complete them to earn materials for the target monster!
These quests reward more Season Tier Points than usual.

Premium Quests

Premium Quests are quests that can be unlocked by exchanging gems in the in-game shop. Complete these quests to earn valuable rewards!
Please check the in-game shop for quest details.

• Purchase Premium Quests:
  Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Sunday, March 15th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)
• Activate Premium Quests:
  Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Thursday, April 9th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time)

Premium Quest Rewards

In addition to the above, completing each quest will grant Hunter Rank Points, Season Tier Points, and more. See the in-game Shop for details.

Purchase Limited-Time Layered Equipment

Find limited-time packs for sale in the in-game Shop!

Sales Period

Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. – Sunday, April 12th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (UTC)

The layered armor featured in the key art of Season 8: Interdimensional Defenders arrives to close out the season!

◆ Cyber Samurai Pack

• Cyber Samurai Layered Equipment
• Sticker × 2
• Pose × 1
• Background × 1
  • Comes in 5 parts: head, chest, arms, waist, and legs.

Additional Information

• All hunters who have completed the prologue can enjoy the event content.
• Event quests will automatically become available in the Special Quests tab to all hunters who have completed the prologue.
• Riftborne monsters will only start to appear after you have unlocked 8★ monsters on the field.
• Driftsmelting can be unlocked by completing the pre-season story.
• Appearances of volatile territories on the field can be unlocked by completing the pre-season story.
• The pre-season story refers to the period from the end of the prologue to the completion of Chapter 13: Sunderer of the Skies.
• Bazelgeuse will appear more frequently in volatile territories.
• Volatile territories will not occur more frequently during the event.
• During the event, Deviljho will not appear in volatile territories.
• Event quests will be available from Monday, March 9th, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. – Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (local time). Be sure to complete the quests and receive your rewards between these times.
• Driftstones can be obtained when you have space to store new ones.
• The distance required to smelt a driftstone acquired before the event period will remain the same even if it is smelted during the event period, but the distance required for a driftstone acquired by hunting a monster during the event period will remain 1 km after the event period ends.
• The distance required to smelt driftgems obtained by exchanging driftstone shards will remain the same during the event.
• Check in-game for details of the skills granted by driftstones.
• Quests and rewards are subject to change without notice.
• Check the FAQ for the opening hours of Hunt-a-thons and Elder Dragon Interceptions.

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