Monster Hunter Now Halloween event starts October 26
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Scopely Explore confirmed Monster Hunter Now's Halloween 2026 event, running October 26 to November 8 with returning themed gear and two exchange hubs.
Scopely Explore announced on Thursday (22) the "Monster Hunter Now Halloween 2026" event, which brings the seasonal armor and weapons back to the augmented-reality mobile game and introduces two exchange hubs. The celebration runs from October 26 at 9 a.m. local time to November 8 at 11:59 p.m., split into two parts. The headline addition is the Jack-o'-Head armor, which gains the new Partbreaker (Halloween) skill, with its effect multiplied tenfold during the event and part-break rewards doubled. The event marks Halloween and builds momentum for Season 11: Ashes of Ignition, which brought Brachydios and Aurora Somnacanth to Capcom's game.
The studio detailed the schedule, bonuses and rewards in a press release and on the official event page. The approach follows previous seasons: reward players who hunt during the window with themed equipment, extra materials and short-term goals, without requiring purchases to take part in the main activities.
What changes on the Jack-o'-Head
The Jack-o'-Head armor, a fixture of October events since the game's early days, is getting a skill overhaul. Previously tied to group synergy, it now grants Partbreaker (Halloween), Advanced Partbreaker and Pursuit. The update removes the Solidarity (Halloween) skill, which changes the piece's role in defensive builds and turns it into a more offensive option for hunters who want to break parts faster.
The mechanic is straightforward: Partbreaker (Halloween) increases damage accumulated on breakable parts by 5%. During the event, that value is multiplied by ten, reaching a 50% increase. The multiplier applies only to the seasonal skill, not to the regular Partbreaker skill, and it activates only when the piece is equipped as actual armor. Worn as layered equipment, the Jack-o'-Head grants no skill effects.
"Increases part damage accumulated on breakable parts by 5%. If active during the Halloween event, the effect is multiplied by 10."
The Ghost Balloon armor also returns. Both pieces can be forged with Reissue Halloween Forging Tickets earned from specific event quests and upgraded with Halloween Armor Upgrade Tickets handed out at the exchange hubs. The developer recommends restarting the app after the update so the skill changes display correctly.
Halloween weapons get style customization
The seasonal Skullwhistle and Squawkscythe weapons are back and, for the first time, support style customization. The feature lets hunters change a weapon's appearance and parameters, and the materials needed to unlock and level those options come from hunting 8-star or higher large monsters, Elder Dragon Interceptions, the Event Exchange Hub, the Halloween 2026 Pass and other activities. The Cawscythe is also part of this year's forging pool, and all three weapons join the featured defense weapons for Season 11 Wave 2.
Until November 15, material requirements for upgrading Halloween-exclusive equipment are heavily reduced. During that window, hunters can level up and overgrade gear using only Weapon or Armor Upgrade Tickets, without spending zenny or gatherable materials. Once the period ends, the tickets are no longer required, but the types and quantities of other materials increase, so delaying upgrades means paying more later.
Scarecrow Legs: the event's new leg armor
A limited-time Premium Quest arrives in the in-game shop with its own rewards. Completing the "Halloween 2026: Scarecrow Legs Quest" grants the forging ticket for the new Scarecrow Legs armor, plus ten Friend Link Tokens and ten Tracker Scopes. The piece comes with Critical Ferocity Lv2, a skill that lowers weapon affinity but grants a small chance to boost negative-affinity damage. It also has one driftsmelting slot, unlocked at grade 8.
Two exchange hubs and the Harvest Cloak
The first hub, the Halloween 2026 Exchange Hub, runs from October 26 to November 8. There, Halloween 2026 Exchange Tokens, earned by slaying large monsters, defeating or repelling elder dragons and completing quests, are traded for rewards. The main items are the Harvest Cloak layered chest equipment, an exclusive guild card background and Halloween Armor Upgrade Tickets.
"Collect Halloween 2026 Exchange Tokens by slaying large monsters and completing other activities, then trade them for Halloween-themed Harvest Cloak layered equipment!"
Starting November 2, the second hub opens: the Halloween 2026 EX Exchange Hub. It uses EX Tokens, obtained only by hunting and breaking parts of Kulu-Ya-Ku carrying pumpkin-shaped rocks. These monsters appear in low numbers on the field but can also be found through the Monster Tracker during the event. Among the available items are Black Diablos Riftshell, a riftborne material, Aurora Somnacanth Archshell, a rarity 6 material, and the Limited Ultra Hunting Ticket.
Two deadlines matter: tokens for both hubs can be collected until November 8, but the hubs stay open until November 15, and exchangeable materials are removed from the Item Box when the exchange period ends. Limited Ultra Hunting Tickets must be used by November 22.
Schedule, monsters and bonuses
The event is split into two parts, and the list of monsters appearing more frequently changes between them. All times follow the player's local time zone, which in practice creates different windows for hunters in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
| Stage | Period (local time) | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Part I | Oct 26, 9 a.m. — Nov 2, 8:59 a.m. | Exchange Tokens, Harvest Cloak, Halloween 2026 I quest |
| Part II | Nov 2, 9 a.m. — Nov 8, 11:59 p.m. | Pumpkin-rock Kulu-Ya-Ku, EX Tokens, EX hub |
| Reduced materials | Oct 26, 9 a.m. — Nov 15, 11:59 p.m. | Ticket-only upgrades, no zenny or gatherables |
| Exchange hubs | Until Nov 15, 11:59 p.m. | Redeem items before closing |
In the first week, Aurora Somnacanth, Black Diablos (including the Riftborne variant), Somnacanth, Legiana, Stygian Zinogre, Espinas, Brute Tigrex and Bazelgeuse appear more often. From November 2, the lineup adds Azure Rathalos, Glavenus, Brachydios, Viper Tobi-Kadachi, Kulu-Ya-Ku and Deviljho, while keeping Aurora Somnacanth and Black Diablos. The elder dragon Velkhana becomes more active at Elder Dragon Interception points.
The event bonuses are broad. Group hunts guarantee the second material slot, part breaks yield double rewards, including special parts, access range grows by 50%, and materials from small monsters and gathering points double. More riftborne and dimensionally linked monsters appear as well. On the driftstone side, Mysterious Driftstone V is guaranteed from featured large monsters and elder dragons, while other large monsters guarantee Crimson, Azure, Amber, Cyan, Pale or Black driftstones, with driftsmelting distance cut to 1 km.
Why the event matters for the season
Halloween 2026 lands days after the start of Season 11: Ashes of Ignition, which introduced Brachydios, Aurora Somnacanth and the volcano habitat. By concentrating tickets, materials and themed gear into two weeks, the studio creates a progression loop parallel to the season, letting participants speed up upgrades that would otherwise take weeks of gathering.
The timing is also crowded. On November 14 and 15, Osaka hosts Monster Hunter Now Carnival 2026, with the debut of the elder dragon Amatsu and Riftborne Nargacuga. The short gap between the two events makes November one of the busiest stretches of the year for the community, which is coming off a third-anniversary celebration that handed out a free grade 10 weapon and rental sets for all 14 weapon types.
The Halloween mobile landscape is competitive in 2026. Titles such as Raven 2, which opened a themed dungeon with rewards through November 11, and Horizon Walker, which leaned on seasonal events to retain players, are fighting for the same attention window. Monster Hunter Now's difference is its physical component: the game requires players to go outside to hunt, which makes the expanded access range and group rewards central arguments for engagement.
How to take part
Every hunter who has completed the prologue can access the content. Event quests appear automatically in the Special Quests tab, and Hunt-a-thons and Elder Dragon Interceptions run 24 hours a day during the period, compared with the usual window of roughly 6:15 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. The Halloween 2026 Exchange Hub remains open until November 15.
There is also an official Discord campaign: between October 26 and 30, players can post Halloween layered-equipment looks in a dedicated thread; selected entries and voters receive redemption codes for items. The developer notes that quests and rewards may change without notice and recommends checking the in-game schedule.
For hunters aiming to maximize the event, the advice is to prioritize forging the Jack-o'-Head in the first week, when the part-break effect peaks, and to save EX Tokens for Black Diablos and Aurora Somnacanth materials, the most valuable items for those progressing through Season 11. Further details and any adjustments will be published on the official Monster Hunter Now page and community channels.
With information from Inven Global and the official Scopely Explore announcement. Read more mobile gaming coverage in Games.
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