Capcom hinted that Monster Hunter Now is getting a “huge update” sometime this December on Tokyo Game Show 2023. While the developers only teased one new monster for the update, the community has uncovered a whole case of treasure trove instead through data mining. If you’re curious about what Capcom and Niantic are cooking for December, here are all currently known leaks from the Monster Hunter Now data mine.
New Monsters, Weapons, and Features in Monster Hunter Now December Leaks
In a now-deleted Reddit post, the Monster Hunter Now December data mine leak lists at least four new monsters. Interestingly, Niantic stealth-released one of them during the first Diablos Invasion community event in late September 2023:
- Azure Rathalos.
- Banbaro.
- Black Diablos, appeared in the Diablos Invasion community event. But not yet part of roaming monsters.
- Pink Rathian.
Meanwhile, another leak from 4chan mentioned five other monsters, with one also already confirmed by Niantic and Capcom:
- Barioth.
- Coral Pukei-Pukei.
- Lavasioth.
- Radobaan.
- Zinogre, which has been confirmed will be released as a part of a big update in December.
The Banbaro and Barioth data mine leak could indicate that Monster Hunter Now will be getting a Snow biome in December. Perfect timing for a winter-themed update. It’s not known if Lavasioth and the Lava or Volcano biome are coming in the same update.
The monsters’ weaknesses in Monster Guide list Dragon Element as being strong against Rathian, Rathalos, and Diablos. However, at the time of writing, we still can’t craft even a single Dragon weapon. According to the leaks, it seems the Dragon Element and two other Statuses, Sleep and Blast, will be coming soon.
In terms of new weapons, the Monster Hunter Now December leaks claimed that four weapons’ animations and mechanics are said to already be in the game files. The weapons are Dual Blade, Charge Blade, Lance, and Gunlance. On the other hand, anything that mentioned Switch Axe and Heavy Bowgun are only sound effects files so far.
Judging from the pieces of evidence, it seems Dual Blade will be the first new weapon introduced into Monster Hunter Now, though. Aside from the leak, a number of Monster Hunter Now players were sent emails with a Dual Blade picture in it by Niantic. Whether or not this is a mistake or a teaser, no one knows. But Niantic has yet to take down any social media posts about the email.
Lastly, the Monster Hunter Now December data mine leaks mention several new items and features. Including Well-Done Steak, Traps, and even Melding Pot with a list of Decorations. Like in mainline titles, Decorations should be used to increase your Armor Skill level. Meanwhile, some of the Hunters on online forums speculate that Traps will work like Pokemon Go‘s Incense this time around. Instead of being used for capturing monsters, they might increase the spawn rates of monsters.
There’s a huge chance that not all of the leaks will be released in the upcoming update. Or even at all. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see which Monster Hunter Now data mine leak will become true come December 2023.