The "end" of Monster Hunter: World (MHW) is generally considered to be the completion of all major assigned quests, culminating in the Hunter Rank 100 assignment. While the main story campaign concludes earlier, the true progression and final challenges of the base game extend well beyond that point.
The Progression to MHW's True End
Unlike traditional games with a single concluding cutscene, Monster Hunter: World's "ending" is a journey through increasing challenge and unlocked content.
- Main Story Completion: Players first complete the primary narrative arc, which involves tracking and confronting powerful Elder Dragons in the New World. This wraps up the initial story and unlocks significant post-game content.
- Post-Story Hunter Rank (HR) Progression: After the main story, your Hunter Rank becomes the primary measure of progression, unlocking more challenging optional quests, investigations, and special assignments. Reaching specific HR milestones triggers new "assignments" that must be completed to remove HR caps and advance further.
- Key Hunter Rank Milestones: The game guides players through a series of HR-gated assignments, each presenting a new challenge and raising the effective HR cap. These include:
- HR 29 Assignment: Upon reaching HR 29, a specific assignment becomes available. Completing this quest allows your Hunter Rank to increase beyond its initial post-story cap, opening up a wider array of content.
- HR 49 Assignment: Similar to HR 29, reaching HR 49 unlocks another crucial assignment. Beating this challenge further expands the HR cap and introduces even more formidable monsters.
- HR 100 Assignment: This is widely regarded as the true end of the base game's structured content. The HR 100 assignment has the highest Hunter Rank requirement for any quest in the original Monster Hunter: World. Successfully completing this quest signifies that you have overcome all the most challenging assigned quests the game has to offer, effectively "beating the game" in terms of its core progression path.
| Hunter Rank (HR) Milestone | Significance in MHW's Progression |
|---|---|
| Initial Story Finale | Concludes the main narrative; unlocks end-game loop and HR progression. |
| HR 29 Assignment | Removes the first Hunter Rank cap, allowing HR to increase further. |
| HR 49 Assignment | Removes the second Hunter Rank cap, leading to even tougher challenges. |
| HR 100 Assignment | Considered the true end of the base game's assigned content; highest HR requirement for any quest. |
While your Hunter Rank can continue to increase indefinitely beyond HR 100, and there are countless optional quests, event quests, and gear optimization paths to pursue, the completion of the HR 100 assignment marks the culmination of the base game's progression system.
