After taking a few weeks off from Monster Hunter Wilds, I decided to jump back in to hunt down Arch-Tempered Rey Dau and take part in the game’s Blossom Festival. After that, I joined a handful of Gore Magala and Jin Dahaad hunts, since I was still missing a few materials for a new build I had just come up with. That’s when it hit me, the Iceshard Cliffs, the game’s snow map, is a complete letdown compared to everything Wilds offers.
Apart from being the home of Jin Dahaad and Gore Magala, it doesn't bring anything substantial to the table. The rest of the area feels empty and barren, with little to no meaningful content. Even its selection of Frenzied Monsters adds nothing of value to the game’s otherwise overwhelming wealth of content.
The Iceshard Cliffs Could’ve Been More
These cliffs needed more attention. Aside from Gore Magala, Jin Dahaad, Blangonga, Nerscylla, and Hirabami, the area lacks the monster diversity you see in other biomes. It’s a step down from the rest, which are packed with multiple creatures and a wide range of resources to gather.
There’s just no real reason to explore Iceshard Cliffs unless you’re specifically hunting something that spawns there. It feels more like a transition zone, a stepping stone leading players into Suja and the Grand Hub, rather than a fully realized biome.
The Future?
I’m guessing Capcom is setting the stage to expand this biome in future Title Updates, or maybe even in the game’s next major expansion, which could land around mid-2026.
Lore-wise, Iceshard Cliffs is barren now, but in the past, it was home to a massive city built by the Wyverians, an ancient race Monster Hunter fans will recognize. When standing atop Suja, players can see the remnants of that lost city surrounding the peak, once filled with towering skyscrapers that belonged to this powerful civilization. But after they tampered with forces they couldn’t control, creating monsters like Zoh Shia, the entire city was wiped out in mere seconds.
Of all five major biomes in Monster Hunter Wilds, Iceshard Cliffs is, unfortunately, the weakest link. We’ve actually put together a full ranking of all the game’s biomes here, and you can probably guess which one came out on top.
The only thing that really saved Iceshard Cliffs for me was its battle theme. It’s easily one of my favorite tracks in the entire franchise, second only to Mizutsune’s theme from Monster Hunter Rise.
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