Monster Hunter Rise – how to play with friends online

Jim Hargreaves 26/03/21 Comments Closed

How do you play online with friends in Monster Hunter Rise? Multiplayer has always been a huge focus for the Capcom series since its debut almost two decades ago. Those early portable iterations were best played sat down with a group of friends though later Monster Hunter games have made it easier to connect with other hunters online using more robust network features.

Local play is still available in Monster Hunter Rise – we’ll briefly go over how to access this though we’ll mainly be focusing on how to group up online with those you either befriend in-game or have on your Nintendo Switch friend list.

The easiest way to squad up is to find Senri in Kamura village. This feline friend (also referred to as the courier) can be found in the main plaza, just to the left of chief Fugen. Speak with Senri and you’ll see a menu with options to play locally or online.

Local play is simple: create an offline lobby and others will be able to join if they’re nearby. You can still add a password to stop randoms from dropping in if you’re playing Rise at an event or a player gathering.

Going online will allow you to connect with friends around the world using the Nintendo Switch Online service – note that you’ll need an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to access Monster Hunter Rise multiplayer. Again, speak to Senri and you will be able to create an online lobby that is password protected. Each lobby can hold up to four players which is also the maximum number of hunters able to join a quest at one time.

Another way of broadcasting your server to friends is to take note of the lobby ID and share it with them. They will then be able to type this into the game manually to find your exact lobby.

Thankfully, there are simpler ways to play with friends in Monster Hunter Rise online. By popping open the courier menu, you can view which of your Nintendo Switch Online friends are currently online with the option to drop straight into their lobby (as long as they have space).

Similarly, you can see a list of hunters you have recently played with and, if you’ve both “liked” each other, request to access their lobby.

If you’re looking to expand your Monster Hunter Rise friend list then you can exchange Guild Cards which can then link you to a player’s Nintendo profile, allowing you to shoot over a friend request.

The Hunter Connect feature is also great for community building. This acts like a guild system of sorts, letting players join up to 10 Connects, seeing who’s online in each group and dropping into each other’s quests.

Whether buddying up with friends or looking for new ones, Monster Hunter Rise has got you covered. With a sizable wedge of content primarily designed with multiplayer in mind, we’d thoroughly recommend experiencing the game with others, especially as you push into that later content.