Monster Hunter Rise multiplayer: How to join quests online and the SOS feature

Monster Hunter Rise is Capcom’s latest addition to the Monster Hunter series. Just as was the case with its predecessors, Monster Hunter Rise is best enjoyed with friends.

The aspect of the difficulty of monsters in Monster Hunter Rise multiplayer is quite similar to Monster Hunter World. The addition of more hunters into a party scales up the monster difficulty. But, what makes it worthwhile is the aspect of co-operation in a grand hunt.

Although Monster Hunter Rise streamlines the multiplayer experience through smart interface changes compared to its predecessors, for example, Monster Hunter World, it is still not the most intuitive system. This article will go into detail about getting other hunters into the party.

The online multiplayer system of Monster Hunter Rise

To play Monster Hunter Rise with other players, the first step is to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Individual memberships go for $4 per month, $8 per three months, and $20 per year. There is an option for an annual family plan that goes for $35 and can be availed by eight Nintendo account holders, across multiple systems.

The next step in setting up a multiplayer session is speaking to Senri, the Felyne courier, who can be found near the center of Kamura village. Hunters need to talk to Senri each time they want to join or exit a multiplayer session.

Under the menu that opens up when Senri is approached, players have to select "Play Online" in order to play with other players over the internet. The player will be presented with a few options like "find a lobby" or "search by lobby ID." There is also an option there to access the player’s Switch friend list and join them from there.

Players can also create their own private lobby from Senri’s menu, and set it up with a passcode.

There is also an option to connect to players locally which is a nice addition on top of the online counterpart.

How to start an online quest in Monster Hunter Rise

Now that the player has joined other players in a lobby, it’s time to check out how to start a quest. For that, the player needs to head to the Hub Quest board, which can be found near Minoto’s reception desk, and select a mission.

There are no restrictions in terms of the quests a player can embark on, in multiplayer. For example, a player can join a quest they haven’t unlocked yet themselves and they can even collect the rewards and materials from completing it. However, it won’t count as completed in that player’s game. So, once the player unlocks it in their game, they have to complete it again.

The last step before embarking on a quest is readying up by pressing the ZR button. This should, of course, be done after preparing properly for the quest.

Once the quest is over and the player wants to leave the multiplayer lobby, they need to again talk to Senri to leave the lobby.

Monster Hunter Rise’s SOS Flare system

There is also a join request feature, which is separate from the pre-made lobby system mentioned above. This allows a player to ask another player to join them in the middle of a quest, which might come in handy if they are having difficulty with their hunt. The helping player receives a "Helper Reward" if they accept a request at a lower Hunter Rank than them.

Monster Hunter Rise multiplayer experience

To initiate a Join Request mid-quest, the player needs to open the menu, then go to Quests, then Join Request at the bottom. This will now make the quest open for other players to join.

On the other hand, if a player wants to help with a Join Request, they need to head to the Quest Board, which is in the Hub area. Here, they need to select Respond to Join Request. All available Join Requests are shown for the player to select from.