The big monsters' strengths and weaknesses in the action RPG
MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD
With over 30 gigantic beasts to contend with in Monster Hunter: World, you'd be forgiven for not knowing which weapon, armor or item is the best choice when joining the hunt.
Fortunately, we've put together a simple and easy-to-use guide on each of the large monsters that lets you know the best elemental type to use against them, as well as what defense you should be using and some helpful battle tips.
We don't want to spoil the surprise of confronting a majestic Elder Dragon for the first time, and this guide runs in the order (roughly) of which monsters you will encounter in the game's main missions and side missions - so don't worry too much about reading up on creatures that you haven't encountered yet!
If you haven't bought the game yet (shock face) and want to give yourself a head start with the stronger Samurai Set Armor, as well as other fancy cosmetics, be sure to grab the Monster Hunter: World Deluxe Edition from Fanatical. Plus, don't forget to add the Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne expansion to your Fanatical Wishlist!
Great Jagras
Location: Ancient Forest
Elements: N/A
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Fire
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder and Ice
Resistant against: Water
Weak areas: Head, Stomach and Legs (front)
Notes: The Great Jagras can consume smaller creatures, which causes its stomach to enlarge and makes it stronger when attacking. However, it becomes slower and weaker to attacks - deal enough damage and it will vomit its meal out!
Kulu-Ya-Ku
Location: Ancient Forest, Wildspire Waste
Elements: N/A
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder, Dragon, Ice and Fire
Resistant against: N/A
Weak areas: Head, Arms
Notes: Kulu-Ya-Ku is quick and tends to attack straight on, as opposed to sweeping attacks. Occasionally, it will pick up a small boulder which makes it difficult to attack its head - when this happens, use stones or other items in your slingshot to make it drop the boulder.
Pukei-Pukei
Location: Ancient Forest
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Poison (Decrease Hunter's health over time)
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Fire and Ice
Resistant against: Water
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Pukei-Pukei will often try to spit poison at you, and if it hits you, you'll need to recover before your health slow drains down. Be sure to take antidotes and other potions that will cure poison. Try to sever the tail to stop Pukei-Pukei from using poison attacks later in battle.
Barroth
Location: Wildspire Waste
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Waterblight (Causes stamina decrease and slower stamina recovery)
Top weakness: Water (If Barroth is covered in mud) and Fire (not covered in mud)
Secondary weaknesses: Ice
Resistant against: Thunder, Fire (mud) and Water (no mud)
Weak areas: Arms, Tail and Head
Notes: Barroth has a very strong head and will cause some damage if it hits you, it can also disperse mud which players get stuck in. The best thing to do is to stay side-on and make use of its weaker areas - the arms, tail and underbelly.
Jyuratodus
Location: Wildspire Waste
Elements: Water
Ailments: Waterblight (Causes stamina decrease and slower stamina recovery)
Top weakness: Water (If Jyuratodus is covered in mud) and Thunder (not covered in mud)
Secondary weaknesses: N/A
Resistant against: Water (no mud), Thunder and Fire (mud)
Weak areas: Head, Tail
Notes: Jyuratodus will often swim in water and mud to avoid attacks, leaping out to try and knock Hunters down. You can use the Puddle Pod ammo for your slingshot to remove mud from its body.
Tobi-Kadachi
Location: Ancient Forest
Elements: Thunder
Ailments: Thunderblight (Increases the chance of being stunned)
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Fire and Ice
Resistant against: Thunder
Weak areas: Head and Tail
Notes: Tobi-Kadachi is agile and tends to leap onto nearby walls and trees before it performs dangerous drop attacks. Hunters can also use the Bone Set Armor in battle as the Thunder Resistance boost will help your defense.
Anjanath
Location: Ancient Forest, Wildspire Waste
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time)
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder and Ice
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head (upper jaw and scalp) and Tail
Notes: Anjanath is persistent. It's close range attacks can be tough to dodge and it also likes to jump lengthy distances to attack you - then there's the fire breathing part! Try to stay close from its side and if you suffer Fireblight in battle, roll 3 or 4 times to recover (or roll once into water).
Zorah Magdaros (Elder Dragon)
Location: N/A
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Water and Ice
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Stomach and Back (the gap under its shell)
Notes: Battling Zorah Magdaros is a lot different to any monsters before as the fight takes place in stages. First, attack the 'cores' located on its body - but be warned, these cores will frequently explode and damage Hunters in the blast radius.
Nergigante will also turn up during the fight, but you don't have to fight it unless you travel to the top of Zorah Magdaros. When you arrive at the defense wall, use the Cannons, Heavy Artillery and Dragonator located on the ship below to damage Zorah Magdaros before it destroys the wall.
Paolumu
Location: Coral Highlands
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Wind Pressure (Likely to knock Hunters to the ground)
Top weakness: Fire
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder
Resistant against: Water
Weak areas: Head and Neck
Notes: Paolumu rarely lands and, when it does, it tends to use a charge attack. The monster becomes stronger when it puffs up its neck, so use ranged weapons and slingshot ammo to deflate it.
Wearing three pieces of the Kushala Armor can withstand Paolumu's Wind Pressure ailment.
Tzitzi-Ya-Ku
Location: Coral Highlands
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Stun (Immobilizes Hunters for a set period of time)
Top weakness: Thunder and Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Fire, Dragon and Water
Resistant against: N/A
Weak areas: Head
Notes: The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku uses a blinding light attack to stun and confuse enemies. One sure way to prevent this is to damage its head and break them, making the fight incredibly easy.
You can also trap the monster in environmental 'jelly pods' found in certain areas of the Coral Highlands.
Radobaan
Location: Rotten Vale
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Sleep (Causes the player and sometimes its Palico to fall asleep during battle)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Ice
Resistant against: N/A
Weak areas: Head (upper jaw and scalp) and Legs
Notes: Breaking the spines covered across Radobaan's body will help decrease its damage capabilities. Its main attack method involves rolling around a small area of the map.
Legiana
Location: Coral Highlands and Rotten Vale
Elements: Ice
Ailments: Iceblight (More stamina is used when performing actions)
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Fire
Resistant against: Ice
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Legiana will often stay airborne and can use a series of Ice attacks that will damage the player - both direct hits and walking over ice on the ground. The monster has a membrane covering its body and, if you can inflict enough damage, you'll be able to break the membrane and slow it down.
Odogaron
Location: Rotten Vale, Coral Highlands
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Bleeding (Damages the player during movement)
Top weakness: Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder
Resistant against: Dragon
Weak areas: Head, Legs (front) and Tail
Notes: Odogaron has a nasty bite and tends to swipe at Hunters, as well as a somersault type attack which can knock you down. The monster goes into 'rage mode' most of the time, so be sure to dodge its attacks to tire it.
If caught by its claws, Hunters must crouch down for a few seconds to cure Bleeding.
Rathalos
Location: Ancient Forest
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time), Poison (Decrease Hunter's health over time), and Stun (Immobilizes Hunter for a short period of time)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Rathalos shoots fire balls from its mouth and tends to stay airborne. Damaging its wings and using Flash pod ammo in your slingshot can ground it, making it vulnerable to attacks.
Diablos
Location: Wildspire Waste
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Stun (Immobilizes Hunter for a short period of time)
Top weakness: Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Dragon and Water
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Stomach and Wings
Notes: Diablos' main attack sees it burrow under the ground and launch itself out next to the player. Hunters will need to keep an eye on the ground and dodge its attack.
Severing its horns and tiring the monster will also help.
Rathian
Location: Ancient Forest, Wildspire Waste
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time), Poison (Decrease Hunter's health over time)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Rathian not only breathes fire, it also inflicts poison by performing a somersault attack with its tail. As with other flying types, attempt to damage its wings and use slingshot ammo to ground it.
Great Girros
Location: Rotten Vale
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Paralysis (Paralyzes Hunters for a short period of time)
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Fire and Ice
Resistant against: Thunder
Weak areas: Head, Legs (front) and Tail
Notes: The Great Girros is pretty quick and calls out to smaller Girros monsters to aid it in battle. If you stay away from its fangs and charge attack, you should be able to deal with it in no time.
Pink Rathian
Location: Wildspire Waste, Coral Highlands
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Poison (Decrease Hunter's health over time)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Compared to the standard Rathian, Pink Rathian has tougher scales on many parts of her body, so make sure that your weapon is charged or well sharpened throughout the battle.
Nergigante (Elder Dragon)
Location: Wildspire Waste, Elder's Recess
Elements: Physical (Uses brute force attacks)
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Dragon
Resistant against: N/A
Weak areas: Head, Horns and Legs (front)
Notes: Nergigante is quick and powerful and Hunters will need to be on their toes to dodge its attacks. It can grow spikes across its body which will begin to harden and turn black - once they turn black, they become hard to hit and may deflect attacks on areas that are normally weak points.
When performing its Dive Bomb attack, the spikes will shatter and could potentially hit players - but it also means that the weak points can be attacked while they regrow.
Azure Rathalos
Location: Ancient Forest, Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time) and Poison (Decrease Hunter's health over time)
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Ice
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: The Azure Rathalos is more mobile than the standard species, but it can be countered in the air. When grounded, it cannot perform consecutive attacks and is easier to attack.
Bazelgeuse
Location: Ancient Forest, Coral Highlands, Rotten Vale, Wildspire Waste and Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time)
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Dragon and Ice
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Not only does the Bazelgeuse swoop down and slide along the floor, taking out whatever stands in its way, it also drops pods onto the ground that - once ignited - will explode.
Black Diablos
Location: Wildspire Waste (High Rank)
Elements: N/A
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Water
Resistant against: Fire & Dragon
Weak areas: Head, Chest and Wings.
Notes: The Black Diablos doesn't do well against Paralysis, so be sure to use Shock Traps to help stop it in its tracks. Similar to the standard Diablos, it will burrow under the ground and attack from below, but is more aggressive when resurfacing.
Dodogama
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Blastblight (Damaging explosion after a set period of time)
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Water and Ice
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head and Tail
Notes: The Dodogama collects materials in its mouth which are explosive - if you're quick enough, you can detonate these materials while it still has them locked in its jaws. Its movement is similar to the Great Jagras, so watch out for rolling attacks.
Lavasioth
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Thunder and Ice (when Lavasioth's skin is not hardened)
Resistant against: Thunder and Ice (hardened), and Fire (not hardened)
Weak areas: Head and Stomach
Notes: Lavasioth is very similar to the Jyuratodus, except for the difference in lava and muddy water! Sound advise would be to craft Cool Drinks or wear heat protected armor as the battle will often take place deep into the hot lava swamps.
Its armor is weaker just after it emerges from lava, so be sure to attack swiftly.
Uragaan
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Sleep (Causes the player and sometimes its Palico to fall asleep during battle) and Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time)
Top weakness: Water
Secondary weaknesses: Ice and Dragon
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head (upper jaw and scalp) and Stomach
Notes: Uragaan uses its huge jaw to slam down on its opponent, which also creates a shockwave. It can also disperse small explosives similar to the Bazelgeuse.
Try to use poison and stun attacks and traps to bring it down, and you can also mine its back for ore while it's toppled over in battle!
Lunastra (Elder Dragon)
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Heat (Decreases Hunter's health if no heat resistance is enabled or equipped)
Top weakness: Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Dragon
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Head, Wings and Tail
Notes: Using the Fireproof Mantle suit is key to avoid consistent heat damage, as well as using Cool Drinks. Lunastra emits blue dust which can be explosive if hit with fire or Crystalburst ammo.
Kushala Daora (Elder Dragon)
Location: Elder's Recess, Ancient Forest
Elements: N/A
Ailments: N/A
Top weakness: Thunder
Secondary weaknesses: Dragon
Resistant against: Water and Ice
Weak areas: Head, Legs (front) and Tail
Notes: Kushala Daora deals out physical damage and has tough, steel-like skin, so make sure that you aim for the weak points and keep your weapons charged and sharpened. It produces a Wind aura tornado which prevents anyone moving towards it, but be cautious as Kushala Daora may try a surprise attack from inside the Wind aura.
Kulve Taroth (Elder Dragon)
Location: Caverns of El Dorado
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time)
Top weakness: Ice
Secondary weaknesses: Water and Dragon
Top Gold Weakness: Thunder
Secondary Gold weaknesses: Water
Resistant against: Thunder (If not Gold) and Fire
Gold resistant against: Ice
Weak areas: Head and legs (front)
Notes: The interesting part about the Kulve Taroth is that it can appear both in Gold and non-Gold colors, meaning different elemental weapons will work best. If you're unsure, equip Water as this works on both types.
The horns can be easily broken with ranged and melee attacks, and be sure to use heat resistance items as the Caverns can be very warm!
Kirin (Elder Dragon)
Location: Coral Highlands
Elements: Thunder
Ailments: Thunderblight (Increases the chance of being stunned)
Top weakness: Fire
Secondary weaknesses: Water and Ice
Resistant against: Thunder and Paralysis
Weak areas: Head and Horn
Notes: Kirin is pretty much a horse/unicorn, so don't expect aerial attacks. It can summon lightning strikes and its body can deflect attacks when enraged by electric. Sound advise would be to dodge its attacks and aim for the head!
Teostra (Elder Dragon)
Location: Wildspire Waste, Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time) and Blastblight (Damaging explosion after a set period of time)
Top weakness: Water and Ice
Secondary weaknesses: N/A
Resistant against: Fire
Weak areas: Heads, Wings and Tail
Notes: Teostra is agile and ferocious, its presence causes an increase in temperature around it, meaning players will need to use heat resistance. One major attack to look out for is its explosive attack when it engulfs itself in flames and begins to fly upwards.
Once you see this happening, be sure to distance yourself as this can result in an instant faint if caught in the explosion.
Xeno'jiiva (Elder Dragon)
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Dragon
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time) and Dragonblight (The elemental properties in Hunter's weapons are less effective)
Top weakness: Poison
Secondary weaknesses: N/A
Resistant against: Sleep
Weak areas: Head, Legs (front) and Tail
Notes: When raged, Xeno'jiiva performs powerful stomps that are followed by explosions. Heat resistance is also advised as its beams cause the ground temperature to increase.
Hunters can prevent Xeno'jiiva from performing long range aerial attacks by shooting it down with ranged weapons and slingshot ammo.
Vaal Hazak (Elder Dragon)
Location: Rotten Vale
Elements: N/A
Ailments: Miasma (Rotten aura that causes damage)
Top weakness: Fire and Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Ice
Resistant against: Water
Weak areas: Head, Stomach and Tail
Notes: Vaal Hazak is relatively weak to attacks across its body, but Hunters must be vigilant when staying close as it emits a potentially fatal vapor (Miasma) around it. Players will need to use Antidotes and healing items to combat the Miasma.
A good strategy is to lead Vaal Hazak from its lair and into one of the more commonly used areas of the Rotten Vale to prevent being cornered by its attacks - players returning to this mission after the first attempt may well find it roaming around the 'Vale anyway.
Deviljho
Location: Ancient Forest, Coral Highlands, Rotten Vale, Wildspire Waste and Elder's Recess
Elements: Dragon
Ailments: Dragonblight (The elemental properties in Hunter's weapons are less effective)
Top weakness: Thunder and Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: Fire and Water
Resistant against: N/A
Weak areas: Head and Stomach
Notes: Hands down one of the toughest monsters you will face, Deviljho is dangerous at long and close range. One of its strongest attacks sees it make huge swipes with its head and upper body across the floor, usually in sequences of three hits.
It's recommended that Hunter's equip the Dragonproof Mantle when in battle against this beast.
Behemoth (Elder Dragon)
Location: Elder's Recess
Elements: Fire and Thunder
Ailments: Fireblight (Decreases health over a period of time), Thunderblight (Increases the chance of being stunned) and Bleeding (Damages the player during movement).
Top weakness: Dragon
Secondary weaknesses: N/A
Resistant against: Thunder and Fire
Weak areas: Head and Tail
Notes: It's vital that Hunters use Dragon elemental weapons to deal critical damage on this very difficult monster. Making use of the destructible stalactites (large, sharp rocks that can be triggered to fall down) will help take a big chunk off of Behemoth's health.
Work as a team, avoid its powerful meteor showers and... good luck!
