Hunters,

With the arrival of spring, Season 9: Skybound Scalestorm is almost here!

The wait is over! The insect glaive is finally coming to Monster Hunter Now. Command your Kinsect and unleash stylish midair attack actions as you take to the skies. Experience the exhilarating hunts that only Monster Hunter Now can deliver.

Seregios, Almudron, and Viper Tobi-Kadachi will also make their first appearance in Monster Hunter Now. Riftborne Zinogre joins the hunt as well, and weapons forged from Zinogre materials can be upgraded through style customization.

Friend Link also arrives, allowing you to team up with friends for a hunt no matter the distance. A new world of Monster Hunter Now begins! Take on formidable monsters you couldn’t slay alone and challenge newly added monsters together with friends.

The hunt continues in Season 9!

Update Date & Time

Thursday, March 19th, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. (UTC)

Update Details

Weapon Type: Insect Glaive Arrives!

The insect glaive is coming to Monster Hunter Now!

The insect glaive allows the hunter to empower themselves by commanding a type of bug called a Kinsect while hunting. It excels at leaping attacks and striking from midair.
When attacking, the Kinsect harvests extract. Once the Extract Gauge fills, the hunter enters a charged state. In this charged state, combos change and powerful attack actions become available.
Kinsects vary by weapon, with differences in attack actions and damage type, such as whether it’s a severing or blunt attack.

The Special Skill Descending Thrust (SP) can be activated even while attacking midair, driving a powerful strike down from above the monster’s head.

Arriving Monsters

• Seregios and Viper Tobi-Kadachi will appear on the field in low numbers.

Riftborne Zinogre Arrives

Date & Time

Thursday, March 19th, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. (UTC)

Riftborne Zinogre joins the hunt as a new riftborne monster, and weapons forged from Zinogre materials can be upgraded through style customization. Already imbued with powerful thunder element, Zinogre-material weapons become even stronger with style customization, and different style selections open up new movements. 14 weapon types, including the insect glaive, can be forged, so you can enjoy the hunt with your favorite weapon type.
For a limited time, the materials required to forge and upgrade Zinogre-material weapons will also be reduced.

From Apr. 3 (Fri) to Apr. 5 (Sun), a monster outbreak featuring Riftborne Zinogre will occur at exploration bases! Zinogre-material weapons are also featured defense weapons for Season 9 Wave 1, so take this opportunity to gather materials, upgrade your weapons, and prepare for Base Defense.

For details on the reduced material requirements for forging and upgrading weapons, check here.

New Skills

Soon you’ll have 5 new skills to master! These skills can be added to the armor of Seregios, Viper Tobi-Kadachi, and Almudron, all arriving this season. Make sure to utilize these new skills in your hunts!

• Skill: Attack Efficacy
  Effect: Attack power increases.

• Skill: Critical Strength
  Effect: Attack power increases per 1% of your weapon’s affinity.

• Skill: Advanced Water Attack
  Effect: Increases weapon’s water-element value when Water Attack Lv5+ is active.

• Skill: Advanced Burst
  Effect: Increases attack power when Burst Lv5+ is active.

• Skill: Combo Master
  Effect: Increases damage dealt after performing an action multiple times.

Introducing Friend Link: Hunt Together with Friends from Anywhere!

A new feature is coming that lets you team up with friends for hunts in Elder Dragon Interceptions and from your Paintball List, no matter the distance!

“It’s a tough monster, so I want to hunt with friends!”
“I want to take on the newly added monster together!”

Whenever the moment strikes, you can invite friends to a group hunt.

Group hunt recruitment notifications will be sent to friends who are playing at the same time. The more friends you have, the easier it is to gather a full party and enjoy Friend Link, so now’s the perfect time to add more friends!

Connect with friends anytime, anywhere.
A new Monster Hunter Now experience begins!

• Friend Link requires a Friend Link item, which will be distributed through supply items and other methods.
  Please check an upcoming notice for full details.

About Season 9 Base Defense

The final week of each month-long Wave (exploration period) at exploration bases will culminate in a Base Defense event, where you face off against powerful riftcharged monsters. These monsters have been heavily influenced by abnormal rifts and cannot be slain in a single hunt. You’ll need to team up with other hunters in your area and challenge them multiple times!

You can use any weapon in these hunts, but equipping one of the featured defense weapons for the corresponding Wave will earn you bonus Defense Points, while also weakening the Dimensional Barrier that surrounds these monsters. Forge and upgrade featured defense weapons throughout the month so you’ll be well prepared to take on the riftcharged monster!

(Example) Season 9 Wave 1 featured defense weapons:

• Weapons forged mainly from Seregios materials
• Weapons forged mainly from Zinogre materials
• Weapons forged mainly from Kirin materials

For the Season 9 Wave 1 base schedule, see here.

Get the Season 9 Pass

Get your hands on a new Season Pass for Season 9!
Once Season 9 begins, you will no longer be able to raise your Season 8 tier but you will still be able to claim any rewards for a period of time.

See the announcement when the season begins for more details on the Season 9 Pass.

Get Your Season Supply Items

Soon you’ll be able to add 250 slots with the Item Box Expansion available as a Supply Item!

More Monster Unlock Quests

Once Season 9 begins, Astalos, Goss Harag, and Quematrice will temporarily disappear from the field and will only return permanently once you complete their corresponding monster unlock quests.
Monster unlock quests become available once you have completed the pre-season story.

Eligible monsters from Season 8: Interdimensional Defenders:

• Quematrice
• Goss Harag
• Astalos

The latest update info and roadmap will be introduced in the official YouTube program MH Now Navi, coming Mar. 5 (Thu). Don’t miss it!

Additional Information

• Make sure to restart your app to enjoy the update.
• See the release notes for other update information.
• See the community forum announcement for additional notes and details on Season 9 and the update.
• Update and event details are subject to change without notice.

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