Capcom
Every monster in Monster Hunter World requires a specific armor and weapon set to take it down in the most efficient way possible. So let’s break down the monsters and see the best build for all monsters.
Note: This article will continue to be updated as we play through the game.
Also, did you know you can create your own loadouts? All you have to do is head to any item box, select “change equipment,” then press the start or options button to bring up a list of loadouts. You can do the same thing from “manage items” to change which items you bring to battle.
Great Jagras
The Great Jagras is the first large monster you’ll fight, so at this point you don’t really need to worry about a specific build for the monster. The monster does not have any elemental attacks and doesn’t require any special weapon elements to combat it with. However, it is very weak to fire and strong against water. It’s also susceptible to every aliment.
It is recommended that you bring a greatsword, hammer, or bowgun ammo so that you can more easily break its head, legs, and stomach. If it ate something, you can attack the stomach so that it vomits out its prey and becomes severely weakened.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm
Chest: Anja Mail or Kulu Mail
Arms: Kadachi Vambraces
Belt: Anja Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Flammenzahn or Blazing Gunlance
The Anja Helm will boost the flame element of your flame weapon. Anja Mail’s Marathon Runner skill reduces the stamina cost of actions that continuously drain stamina such as sprinting, which is useful for keeping up with the Great Jagras. Meanwhile, the Kulu Mail boosts stamina recovery. So choosing between the two armors depends on if you tend to extend more stamina sprinting or dodging. The Evade Extender skill of the Kadachi Vambraces slightly increases the evade distance of your dodge which is great for getting out of the way of the Great Jagras’s wider attacks. Anja Coil should be worn just to get the set bonus. The Flammenzahn should be used with the Jyura Greaves to slightly extend charge times. The Blazing Gunlance should be used with the Anja Greaves to slightly boost the power of its shelling and Wyvern Fire attacks. Either way, you should have at least three Anja armor pieces on so you can get the set bonus which temporarily reduces stamina depletion when health is at 40 percent or below.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm β
Chest: Anja Mail α or β
Arms: Anja Vambraces α
Belt: Anja Coil α or High Metal Coil α
Legs: Anja Greaves α or Ingot Greaves β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Anja Cannon or Rath Gunlance II; Rathsblade II or Garon Strongarm II, any Bowgun
Charm: Blaze Charm
The Anja Helm, Anja Vambraces, and fully upgraded Blaze Charm will bring the Fire Attack skill to max level. The Anja Mail α can be used over the Anja Mail β to boost the Special Ammo Boost skill to the max if using a bowgun. Using both the Anja Coil and the Anja Greaves will boost the Artillery skill to maximum which raises the attack power of gunlance shells, Wyvern’s Fire, charge blade phial attacks, and sticky ammo. If you have both the Special Ammo Boost and Artillery skills, you can drastically boost the power of sticky ammo from a bowgun. You can use the High Metal Coil to increase gunlance shell capacity and charge blade phial capacity; the Ingot Greaves for a defense boost, or the Jyura Greaves to boost the fill rate of weapon gauges and charge rate of charge attacks. Either way, make sure that you have at least four armor pieces from the Anjanath family to get the full set bonus which not only temporarily reduces stamina depletion when at 40 percent or lower health but also increases the stamina cap.
The Anja Cannon has higher attack power and fire element power at the cost of a negative 20 percent affinity rate while the Rath Gunlance has a 15 percent affinity rate. The Garon Strongarm has lower attack and fire element power than the Rathsblade but has a much higher affinity rate. If using a bowgun, use the bowgun of your choice so long as it uses sticky ammo.
Kulu-Ya-Ku
The Kulu-Ya-Ku is a bit more mobile than the Great Jagras, and as such you should bring a speedier weapon like the dual blades or sword & shield to combat it with. It has no elemental attacks so you don’t need to worry about certain armor resistances. It is, however, weak against the water weapon element. You can more easily break its head with greatswords, hammers, and bowgun ammo.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Kadachi Helm or Jyura Helm
Chest: Kulu Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Kulu Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Madness Pangas or Jyura Shotel
Use the Jyura Helm when in the Wildspire Wastes as the Aquatics Expert skill will make it easier to move around the swamps. Otherwise go with the Kadachi Helm as it reduces the amount of stamina drained when doing moves like evading. Then wear the Kulu Mail to boost stamina recovery speed. The Jyura Vambraces will boost the power of your water element weapon. The Kulu Coil will extend the effect of items like drinks that boost attack and defense. Finally the Jyura Greaves will slightly boost the amount your gauges for Long Swords or Dual Blades grow. The Madness Pangas are dual blades and the Jyura Shotel is a long sword, so use whatever you prefer to use.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Kadachi Helm α or Strategist Spectacles α
Chest: Tzitzi Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces α
Belt: Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Jyura Hatchets or Dipterus
Charm: Flood Charm
The Kadachi Helm will boost the Constitution skill which reduces stamina depletion when performing moves like evading. The Tzitzi Mail, Jyura Vambraces, and only the basic level of the Flood Charm will boost the Water Attack skill to maximum. THe Tzitzi Mail will further boost the Constitution skill. The α version of the Jyura Vambraces adds the Aquatic Expert skill which makes it easier to move around in the swamps of the Wildspire Wastes but the β version adds a decoration slot. The Odogaron Coil increases affinity rate which will be further boosted by the effect of the Strategist Spectacles if one chooses to wear them over the Kadachi Helm. The Jyura Greaves increases the fill rate of weapon gauges for your dual blades and long sword. Both the Jyura Hatchets and the Dipterus have the water element and are fast weapons for a mobile opponent like the Kulu-Ya-Ku.
Pukei-Pukei
Okay, so here you’re going to have to start doing a bit more specialization. The Pukei-Pukei specializes in poison attacks, so naturally you’ll need armor to help protect against poison as well as a steady supply of antidotes so you can recover if you’re poisoned. It is also strong against the water element and weak against the thunder element. It’s also susceptible to the sleep and paralysis aliments.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Kadachi Helm or Ingot Helm
Chest: Kulu Mail
Arms: Pukei Vambraces
Belt: Kadachi Coil
Legs: Kulu Greaves
Weapon: Pulsar Shotel
The Kadachi Helm has high defense and the constitution skill which reduces stamina depletion when performing moves like evading, which you’ll be doing a lot when avoiding its spit attacks. The Kulu Mail steps up stamina recovery. The Pukei Vambraces have the poison resistance skill which can reduce the duration of poison or outright prevent it at level three. The Kadachi Coil increases the power of thunder attacks. The Ingot Helm further increases thunder attacks. Finally the Kulu Greaves increases affinity which increases the likelihood of a critical attack. The Pulsar Shotel is a long sword that balances high affinity with its strong thunder element.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Ingot Helm α
Chest: Legiana Mail α
Arms: Pukei Vambraces α
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Legiana Greaves α or Ingot Greaves β
Weapon: Kadachi Fang
Charm: Shock Charm
By wearing the Ingot Helm, Kadachi Coil, and the basic Shock Charm, you’ll raise the Thunder Attack skill to the maximum level. The Pukei Vambraces add much needed poison resistance. The Legiana Mail extends the invulnerability period when evading and reduces damage. Combined with the Legiana Greaves you can get the set bonus which gives you a good chance of receiving increased awards. Otherwise you can wear the Ingot Greaves for higher defense. The Kadachi Fang is an upgraded version of the Pulsar Shotel featuring more powerful attacks and higher affinity.
Barroth
So the thing about the Barroth is that it has a hard layer of mud around its body that will deflect weapon attacks. You can either use Slinger ammo to chisel it off or you can attack with a water weapon. However, once you get the mud off it will become strong against water but weak against fire. It’s also susceptible to poison, paralysis, and blast. It likes to shake off piles of muck off of its body, so bring armor that is resistant against muck.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Jyura Helm
Chest: Jyura Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Pukei Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Aqua Hammer or Blooming Hammer
All the armor sets in the Jyura family sport high defense, but many of them sport very useful effects for the fight with Barroth. The Jyura Helm has the Aquatics Expert ability which improves mobility in the swamps where the Barroth is located. The Jyura Mail grants increased mobility in the Barroth’s monster muck. The Jyura Vambraces increase the power of water attacks. The Pukei Coil increases the buildup of poison in monsters. The Jyura Greaves has the Focus ability which increases the charge rate of the heavy weapons you’re going to carry.
Heavy weapons like the Greatsword or the Hammer are perfect for a huge, slow monster like the Barroth. You can upgrade the Iron Hammer to the Aqua Hammer with Jyuratodus parts or to the Blooming Hammer with Pukei-Pukei parts. The former will grant you the ability to chisel off the Barroth’s mud armor while the latter will help you poison the Barroth and the Barroth won’t resist it after its mud is gone.
Be sure to take some water ammo in your Slinger as well as poison bombs.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Zorah Headgear α
Chest: Zorah Hide β
Arms: Zorah Claws β
Belt: Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α or Anja Greaves α
Weapon: Iron Demon III, Wild Hatchets III, Steel Gunlance III
Charm: Master’s Charm
The Zorah set is perfect for using weapons with the blast status effect. The Headgear and Hide boost the Blast Attack skill to maximum while the Claws can unlock the hidden blast element of weapons with its Free Elem/Ammo Up skill. Not only that, but the set bonus increases abnormal effect damage when landing critical hits. Ensure a high critical hit rate with the Odogaron Coil and the Master’s Charm. Boost the charge rate of your hammer or the gauge fill rate of your dual blades with the Jyura Greaves. Use the Anja Greaves if using the Steel Gunlance III to take advantage of its artillery skill.
Jyuratodus
The Jyuratodus is similar to the Barroth in that it also has a thick layer of mud covering its body that you can wash off with water weapons. However it’s much more slippery and mobile so you should probably switch to a faster weapon like the dual blades. Also, instead of being weak to fire after having its mud washed off, it is weak to thunder. It’s also susceptible to only stun. You’ll also have to be wary of its water-based attacks.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Jyura Helm
Chest: Alloy Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Kadachi Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Pulsar Shotel
The Jyura Helm has the Aquatics Expert ability which improves mobility in the swamps where the Barroth is located. The Alloy Mail increases water defense. The Jyura Vambraces increase the power of water attacks. The Kadachi Coil increases the power of thunder attacks. The focus skill of the Jyura Greaves will increase the speed of the Spirit Blade gauge of the Pulsar Shotel, granting you powerful attacks.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Ingot Helm α
Chest: Legiana Mail, Alloy Mail α, or Jyura Mail β
Arms: Kadachi Vambraces α or Legiana Vambraces α
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Legiana Greaves α or Gajau Boots α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang
Charm: Shock Charm
You’ll raise the Thunder Attack skill to maximum by wearing the Ingot Helm, Kadachi Coil, and the basic Shock Charm. The Legiana armor can be combined to form the set bonus of having a good chance of receiving increased rewards after a quest so long as at least two armor pieces are worn. The Legiana Mail and Vambraces also extend the invulnerability duration of dodging. The Alloy Mail drastically raises water resistance while the Jyura Mail raises muck resistance and negates the slowing effects of it. The Kadachi Vambraces extends the distance of your dodges at the cost of some water resistance. The Gajau Boots makes it much easier to move around in the swamps of the Wildspire Wastes where Jyuratodus likes to live.
Tobi-Kadachi
The Tobi-Kadachi is a speedy monster that jumps from tree to tree, so dual blades or ranged weaponry are recommended. As it moves around the forest, it builds up a charge that grants an electric effect to its attacks. This electric effect can make you more susceptible to being stunned. So be sure to wear armor that resists electricity. Better yet, use traps to keep it from moving around and building up a charge. It’s also weak to water and poison.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Kadachi Helm
Chest: Kadachi Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Kadachi Coil
Legs: Kadachi Greaves
Weapon: Madness Axe or Jyura Shotel
The Kadachi Helm not only provides thunder resistance but also has the skill of constitution which reduces fixed stamina depletion by 10 percent. The Kadachi Mail adds more thunder resistance and its skill prevents you from being knocked back during a jump. Since Tobi-Kadachi like to hang out in areas with lots of ledges and walls to jump off of, this is a pretty useful skill to have. The Jyura Vambraces increase your water attack. The Kadachi Coil is useful to negate the thunder weakness of the Jyura Vambraces. Finally the Kadachi Greaves boosts thunder resistance substantially thanks to its naturally high resistance and its Thunder Resistance skill.
The Madness Axe switch axe is the perfect balance between power, speed, and reach and its water element can chew through the Tobi-Kadachi. You can also use the Madness Pangas dual blades which are speedy and have the water element. Both can be acquired by hunting Jyuratodus.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Kadachi Helm α
Chest: Ingot Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces β
Belt: Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Kadachi Greaves α
Weapon: Jyura Hatchets or Dipterus
Charm: Flood Charm
The Ingot Mail and Kadachi Greaves massively boosts thunder resistance. The Kadachi Helm and Greaves boost the Constitution skill to maximum which reduces the stamina cost for dodging. The Jyura Vambraces boost the fill rate of your dual blade or long sword and the Odogaron Coil boosts affinity rate at the cost of slightly lower thunder resistance.
Anjanath
The king of the Ancient Forest sports strong fire attacks and devastating bite attacks. Despite being very large, it’s surprisingly mobile. However its weak to water weapons.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm
Chest: Anja Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Anja Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Madness Pangas or Jyura Shotel
The Anja armor pieces are chosen not only for their massive fire resistance but for the set bonus which reduces stamina depletion when at 40 percent health. The Jyura Vambraces are there to boost the power of your water attacks while the Jyura Greaves boost your weapon gauge fill rate.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm α
Chest: Anja Mail β
Arms: Jyura Vambraces β
Belt: Anja Coil α
Legs: Anja Greaves α
Weapon: Jyura Hatchets or Dipterus
Charm: Flood Charm
Just like with the low rank build, the high rank build utilizes armor made from the Anjanath itself to massively raise fire resistance. You also get the sweet set bonus that reduces stamina depletion when health is a 40 percent or lower and raises the stamina cap. The Jyura Vambraces and Flood Charm are there to increase water attack power.
Rathian
The Rathian is a flying monster that can quickly overwhelm you with its strong fire attacks and poisonous tail. Be sure to bring armor that resists both fire and poison as well as a weapon that can take advantage of its electricity or dragon weakness.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Rathian Helm
Chest: Anja Mail
Arms: Pukei Vambraces
Belt: Anja Coil or Death Stench Bowels
Legs: Anja Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Pulsar Shotel, Pulsar Strongarm, or any weapon with a dragon element
The Anja armor is here again for the fire resistance and the set bonus. You’ll also need the Anja Mail since you’ll be sprinting towards the Rathian a lot. The Artillery skill of the Anja Greaves boosts the power of explosive attacks such as gunlance shells or charge blade phial attacks. The Rathian Helm increases health while the Pukei Vambraces increases poison resistance. Use the Jyura Greaves if using a weapon with charge attacks or a gauge (like the Pulsar Shotel) if you don’t mind having slightly lower fire resistance.
The Pulsar Shotel has a nice vertical slash for hitting flying Rathians and can more easily sever its tail. The Pulsar Strongarm is tricky to use but devastating. Later in the game you’ll unlock the ability to forge a weapon with the dragon element. Take a dragon weapon into the fight as soon as you can as the Rathian is weaker to dragon than thunder. Also be sure to craft the Death Stench Bowels from the Sinister Cloth rarely obtained from Trailblazer Safaris as that boosts dragon attack power.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm α, Legiana Helm α, or Strategist Spectacles α, or Ingot Helm
Chest: Anja Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Pukei Vambraces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β or Rath Heart Coil α or Kadachi Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves α/β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Cutter, Elite Commission Axe III
Charm: Shock Charm, Wyrmsbane Charm
The Anja armor pieces add much needed fire resistance (especially the Anja Coil) and adds the useful set bonus of reducing stamina use if at 40 percent health or below as well as raising the stamina cap. Otherwise you can use two Legiana armor pieces to extend the invulnerability window for dodging, add a chance to reduce damage, and have the set bonus of adding a chance to increase quest rewards (just be wary of the relatively low fire resistance). The Pukei Vambraces and Rath Heart Coil used together completely negates poison, but if you have to use one use the Pukei Vambraces as that has the most poison resistance. The Kadachi Coil and Ingot Helm should be used if using a thunder element weapon. The Jyura Greaves can raise the gauge fill rate of your long sword or the charge rate of your charge blade.
Tzitzi-Ya-Ku
This ferocious raptor-like monster sports a blinding light that can lock you in place with a stun. However, it’s very weak to both thunder and ice weapons.
Low Rank Gear
Armor – Ice Build
Head: Legiana Helm
Chest: Legiana Mail
Arms: Tzitzi Vambraces
Belt: Legiana Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Glacial Shotel or Freeze Daggers
An ice weapon build requires the Legiana Coil to boost ice power. Then you can wear the Legiana Helm to reduce enemy attack damage and the Legiana Mail to extend the invulnerability window for dodges so you can evade the quick attacks of the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku easier. Having at least three armor pieces from the Legiana family also gives you the set bonus of having a chance to increase quest rewards. Tzitzi Vambraces are a must for reducing the effectiveness of the monster’s blind attack and the Jyura Greaves are there to boost the gauge fill rate of your long sword or dual blades.
Armor – Thunder Build
Head: Ingot Helm
Chest: Tzitzi Mail
Arms: Tzitzi Vambraces
Belt: Kadachi Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Pulsar Shotel or Pulsar Hatchets
The build here is similar to the one above only focusing around thunder weapons. Both the Ingot Helm and the Kadachi Coil will increase thunder power while the Tzitzi Mail will reduce the stamina cost of evading.
High Rank Gear
Armor – Ice Build
Head: Legiana Helm α
Chest: High Metal Mail β
Arms: Tzitzi Vambraces α/β
Belt: Legiana Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Stealer, Freeze Daggers II, Diablos Hatchets II or Bone Slasher III
Charm: Frost Charm or Awakening Charm
The Legiana armor raises ice attack and give you a chance of increasing quest rewards. The High Metal Mail and Frost Charm increase ice attack even further. The Tzitzi Vambraces protect against the monster’s stun attack. The Jyura Greaves’ Focus skill is perfect for long swords, dual swords, or great swords.
Speaking of which, the Freeze Daggers are well balanced but the Diablos Hatchets have higher attack power and a defense bonus at the cost of lower affinity and requiring the Free Element skill to activate its ice element. The Bone Slasher needs the Free Element skill active as well. The Zorah Claws and the Awakening Charm have this skill.
Armor – Thunder Build
Head: Ingot Helm α
Chest: Legiana Mail α
Arms: Tzitzi Vambraces α/β
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Legiana Greaves α or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang or Lightning Punisher
Charm: Shock Charm
You’ll raise the Thunder Attack skill to maximum by wearing the Ingot Helm, Kadachi Coil, and the basic Shock Charm. The Legiana Mail also extends the invulnerability duration of dodging. The Tzitzi Vambraces protect against the monster’s stun attack. The Jyura Greaves’ Focus skill is perfect for long swords, dual swords, or great swords. However the Legiana Greaves will not only raise your affinity slightly but when combined with the Mail will give you the set bonus of having a good chance of receiving increased rewards after a quest so long as at least two armor pieces are worn. Kadachi Fang or the Lightning Punisher are your best bet for weapons with thunder elements.
Paolumu
The Paolumu is a flying critter that attack with blasts of air and their rock hard tails. However, it has a number of weaknesses with the biggest ones being fire, blast, and stun.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm
Chest: Anja Mail or Kulu Mail
Arms: Kadachi Vambraces
Belt: Anja Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Flammenzahn or Blazing Gunlance
The Anja Helm will boost the flame element of your flame weapon. Anja Mail’s Marathon Runner skill reduces the stamina cost of actions that continuously drain stamina such as sprinting, which is useful for keeping up with the Great Jagras. Meanwhile, the Kulu Mail boosts stamina recovery. So choosing between the two armors depends on if you tend to extend more stamina sprinting or dodging. The Evade Extender skill of the Kadachi Vambraces slightly increases the evade distance of your dodge which is great for getting out of the way of the Great Jagras’s wider attacks. Anja Coil should be worn just to get the set bonus. The Flammenzahn should be used with the Jyura Greaves to slightly extend charge times. The Blazing Gunlance should be used with the Anja Greaves to slightly boost the power of its shelling and Wyvern Fire attacks. Either way, you should have at least three Anja armor pieces on so you can get the set bonus which temporarily reduces stamina depletion when health is at 40 percent or below.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Zorah Headgear α
Chest: Zorah Hide β
Arms: Zorah Claws β
Belt: Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α or Anja Greaves α
Weapon: Iron Demon III, Wild Hatchets III, Steel Gunlance III
Charm: Master’s Charm
The Zorah set is perfect for using weapons with the blast status effect. The Headgear and Hide boost the Blast Attack skill to maximum while the Claws can unlock the hidden blast element of weapons with its Free Elem/Ammo Up skill. Not only that, but the set bonus increases abnormal effect damage when landing critical hits. Ensure a high critical hit rate with the Odogaron Coil and the Master’s Charm. Boost the charge rate of your hammer or the gauge fill rate of your dual blades with the Jyura Greaves. The Iron Demon is preferred as it also has a high chance of stunning the monster if hit in the head. Use the Anja Greaves if using the Steel Gunlance III to take advantage of its artillery skill.
Great Girros
The Great Girros features paralyzing attacks and often has an entourage of lesser Girros with it. However, you can quickly take advantage of its weakness to water or sleep.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Legiana Helm
Chest: Girros Mail
Arms: Jyura Vambraces
Belt: Girros Coil
Legs: Ingot Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Madness Axe, Jyura Shotel, Madness Pangas, Aqua Slasher, or Mudslide Blade
The Legiana Helm offers high defense and a chance for attacks to not do as much damage. The Girros Mail helps resist paralysis which is a must have when fighting the Great Girros. The Girros Coil is also a big requirement as it negates the damage of the toxic clouds of the Great Girros’ habitat. Ingot Greaves are used for defense while the Jyura Greaves are used to boost the gauge fill rate of long swords and the charge rate of great swords.
The Madness Axe switch axe is the perfect balance between power, speed, and reach and its water element can chew through the Great Girros. You can also use the Madness Pangas dual blades which are speedy and have the water element. If you don’t mind fighting slower, the Aqua Slasher or the Mudslide Blade can be a big help too as the wide sweeping attacks can clear away packs of lesser Girros.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Girros Mask α
Chest: Girros Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces β
Belt: Girros Coil α
Legs: Ingot Greaves β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Water Tamtam, Jyura Drought, Dipterus, Jyura Hatchets, Water Golem, or Jyura Depth
Charm: Flood Charm
The Girros Mask not only looks fabulous but adds paralysis resistance and extends the effect duration and health recovery of hunting horn melodies. Add the Girros Mail to completely negate paralysis. The Jyura Vambraces raise water attack and the Girros Coil negates the toxic mists of the Rotting Vale. The Ingot Greaves raise defense while the Jyura Greaves raise the fill rate of long swords and dual blades as well as the charge rate of great swords and charge blades.
Radobaan
The Radobaan is a massive beast with strong rolling attacks and thick armor. Shattering its armor as well as attacking as it rolls is key. It is most weak to dragon and blast. Also bring armor that resists sleep.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Legiana Helm
Chest: Baan Mail
Arms: Death Stench Grip
Belt: Death Stench Bowels
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Dragonbone Cleaver or Dragonbone Basher
The Legiana Helm offers defense and a chance to reduce damage which is super useful for this fight. You can also use the Lumu Hat to raise your stamina recovery rate for stamina-heavy weapons like the hammer. The Death Stench Bowels will boost dragon attack while the Jyura Greaves and Death Stench Grip will boost charge rates better than if equipping each part on their own. The sweeping attacks of the Dragonbone Cleaver can attack the Radobaan while its rolling while the Dragonbone Basher does more damage and since the monster is so huge it’s easier to use a hammer.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Zorah Headgear α
Chest: Zorah Hide β
Arms: Zorah Claws β
Belt: Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α or Anja Greaves α
Weapon: Iron Demon III, Wild Hatchets III, Steel Gunlance III
Charm: Master’s Charm
The Zorah set is perfect for using weapons with the blast status effect. The Headgear and Hide boost the Blast Attack skill to maximum while the Claws can unlock the hidden blast element of weapons with its Free Elem/Ammo Up skill. Not only that, but the set bonus increases abnormal effect damage when landing critical hits. Ensure a high critical hit rate with the Odogaron Coil and the Master’s Charm. Boost the charge rate of your hammer or the gauge fill rate of your dual blades with the Jyura Greaves. The Iron Demon is preferred as it also has a high chance of stunning the monster if hit in the head. Use the Anja Greaves if using the Steel Gunlance III to take advantage of its artillery skill.
Legiana
The Legiana is a flying monster with damaging ice attacks which increase stamina consumption. However you can damage its membrane and slow it down. Thunder and poison attacks have also been known to be effective.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: High Metal Helm or Ingot Helm
Chest: Tzitzi Mail
Arms: Death Stench Grip
Belt: Kadachi Coil or Jyura Coil
Legs: Legiana Greaves
Weapon: Pulsar Shotel
The Tzitzi Mail has high defense and the constitution skill which reduces stamina depletion when performing moves like evading, which you’re going to be needing a lot for this fight. The Kadachi Coil, Ingot Helm, and Shock Charm will increase thunder attack. By wearing the High Metal Helm, Jyura Coil, and Legiana Greaves, you’ll increase the Ice Resistance skill to maximum. The Pulsar Shotel is a long sword that balances high affinity with its strong thunder element.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: High Metal Helm β or Ingot Helm α
Chest: Tzitzi Mail α or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Odogaron Vambraces α
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Legiana Greaves α or High Metal Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang
Charm: Shock Charm
The Tzitzi Mail and the Odogaron Vambraces add to the Constitution skill which reduces stamina depletion when dodging, which is useful if you’re hit by iceblight. Meanwhile the Legiana Mail raises the invulnerability duration for dodging and gives a slight chance of reducing damage while greaves add ice resistance. Wearing the two Legiana armor pieces together activates the set bonus of having a chance to receive more quest rewards. The High Metal armor pieces are there to increase ice resistance. The Kadachi Fang is an enhanced version of the Pulsar Shotel.
Odogaron
The Odogaron is a fast and frenzied beast that attacks with claws that can cause bleed. However, it is attracted to meat so use that to your advantage to set up traps. The Odogaron is weak to ice and paralysis.
High Rank Gear
Armor – Ice Build
Head: Legiana Helm α or Odogaron Helm α
Chest: High Metal Mail β, Odogaron Mail α or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Odogaron Vambraces α/β
Belt: Legiana Coil β or Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Stealer, Freeze Daggers II, or Diablos Hatchets II
Charm: Frost Charm or Awakening Charm
The Legiana armor raises ice attack and give you a chance of increasing quest rewards. The High Metal Mail and Frost Charm increase ice attack even further. The Odogaron armor can completely negate bleed if the Helm and Mail are worn together and also offers set bonuses. Wearing two armor pieces adds a stun effect to draw power while also increasing power and wearing four armor pieces prevents weapon sharpness from decreasing for a set time after sharpening. The Jyura Greaves’ Focus skill is perfect for long swords and dual swords.
Speaking of which, the Freeze Daggers are well balanced but the Diablos Hatchets have higher attack power and a defense bonus at the cost of lower affinity and requiring the Free Element skill to activate its ice element. The Zorah Claws and the Awakening Charm have this skill. Don’t bother with heavy weapons as those are too slow for the Odogaron.
Armor – Paralysis Build
Head: Odogaron Helm α or Girros Mask α
Chest: Odogaron Mail α
Arms: Kadachi Vambraces α
Belt: Girros Coil α
Legs: Girros Greaves α
Weapon: Dark Ripper I, Dark Scimitar I, Girros Nadja I, Glass Royale
Charm: Recovery Charm, Health Charm
The Girros Greaves and Coil boost the Paralysis Attack skill to maximum so they area must for this build. The Coil also negates the environmental effects of the Rotting Vale where the beast frequents. Use the Girros Mask if using a hunting horn. Wearing the Odogaron Helm and Mail together will completely negate bleed and also gives you the set bonus of adding a stun effect to draw attacks and increasing their power. The Kadachi Vambraces extends the distance of your dodge which will help a lot in this fight. Your HP can drain quickly in this battle so wear a Recovery or Health Charm to boost your survivability.
Rathalos
The Rathalos is essentially a larger and more formidable version of the Rathian, featuring the same devastating fire and poison attacks. Come prepared with dragon weapons along with fire and poison resistant armor.
Note: You can wear this build for hunting the Rathian as well.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Rathalos Helm
Chest: Rathalos Mail
Arms: Pukei Vambraces, Rathalos Vambraces, or Death Stench Grip
Belt: Anja Coil or Death Stench Bowels
Legs: Anja Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Sword, Dragonbone Cutter
The Rathalos armor pieces when worn together provide the skills of Fire Resistance, Attack Boost, and Weakness Exploit. The first two skills are pretty self-explanatory but the last one raises the affinity of attacks that hit weak spots by 15 percent. Wearing at least three Rathalos armor pieces gives you the set bonus of increasing elemental damage when landing critical hits. Anything that raises affinity will be very useful in this regard.
Any dragon element weapon with good range and quick attacks will do you well. Use the Dragonbone Sword for more defensive options and the Dragonbone Stabber for more damage and longer reaching attacks. The Dragonbone Cutter is tricky to use but devastating.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm α, Legiana Helm α, or Strategist Spectacles α, or Ingot Helm
Chest: Anja Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Pukei Vambraces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β or Rath Heart Coil α or Kadachi Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves α/β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Cutter, Elite Commission Axe III
Charm: Shock Charm, Wyrmsbane Charm
The Anja armor pieces add much needed fire resistance (especially the Anja Coil) and adds the useful set bonus of reducing stamina use if at 40 percent health or below as well as raising the stamina cap. Otherwise you can use two Legiana armor pieces to extend the invulnerability window for dodging, add a chance to reduce damage, and have the set bonus of adding a chance to increase quest rewards (just be wary of the relatively low fire resistance). The Pukei Vambraces and Rath Heart Coil used together completely negates poison, but if you have to use one use the Pukei Vambraces as that has the most poison resistance. The Kadachi Coil and Ingot Helm should be used if using a thunder element weapon. Keep in mind that the Rathalos is weaker to dragon than thunder. The Jyura Greaves can raise the gauge fill rate of your long sword or the charge rate of your charge blade.
Diablos
The biggest monster of the Wildspire Waste, the Diablos is a formidable beast. However, it is very weak to ice and paralysis.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Legiana Helm
Chest: Legiana Mail
Arms: Odogaron Vambraces
Belt: Legiana Coil
Legs: Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Freeze Daggers, Glacial Shotel, Freeze Blade, Frozen Core
Charm: Frost Charm
The Legiana Coil and Frost Charm will boost the power of your ice attacks. The Legiana Helm and Mail completes the set bonus and adds some more protection to taking attacks and dodging. The Odogaron Vambraces help reduce stamina use. The Jyura Greaves helps with the gauge fill rate of the Freeze Daggers and Glacial Shotel or the charge rate of the Freeze Bladeor Frozen Core.
High Rank Gear
Armor – Ice Build
Head: Legiana Helm α
Chest: High Metal Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Odogaron Vambraces α or Rath Soul Braces β
Belt: Legiana Coil β or Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Rath Soul Greaves β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Stealer, Freeze Daggers II, Diablos Hatchets II, Bone Slasher III, Frozen Core+, Gigafrost I
Charm: Frost Charm or Awakening Charm
The Legiana armor raises ice attack and give you a chance of increasing quest rewards. The High Metal Mail and Frost Charm increase ice attack even further. The Odogaron armor pieces raise affinity and give you the set bonus of adding a stun effect and increased power to draw attacks. The Rath Soul armor adds to the Focus skill which is perfect for long swords, dual swords, hammers, charge blades, and great swords. Not only that but wearing the two armor pieces grants you the set bonus of increasing elemental damage when landing critical hits.
The Freeze Daggers are well balanced but the Diablos Hatchets have higher attack power and a defense bonus at the cost of lower affinity and requiring the Free Element skill to activate its ice element. The Zorah Claws and the Awakening Charm have this skill. The Diablos is mobile but you can still get away with using great swords or hammers due to its size.
Armor – Paralysis Build
Head: Rath Soul Helm α or Girros Mask α
Chest: Legiana Mail α or Uragaan Mail α
Arms: Rath Soul Braces β or Kadachi Vambraces α
Belt: Girros Coil α or Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Girros Greaves α
Weapon: Dark Ripper I, Dark Scimitar I, Girros Nadja I, Glass Royale, Malady’s Kiss, Malady’s Fist
Charm: Recovery Charm, Health Charm
The Girros Greaves and Coil boost the Paralysis Attack skill to maximum so they area must for this build. Use the Girros Mask if using a hunting horn. Otherwise use the Rath Soul Helm to increase the power of your critical hits. If you don’t mind slightly less paralysis attack then swap the Girros Coil with the Odogaron Coil to raise the chance of getting a critical hit. The Kadachi Vambraces extends the distance of your dodge which will help a lot in this fight. You can also use the Rath Soul Braces to boost the gauge fill rate or charge rate of weapons. The Legiana Mail will make your dodges more effective and offer some protection with Divine Blessing and the Uragaan Mail will help you break the Diablos’ horns and tail along with its other parts sooner. Your HP can drain quickly in this battle so wear a Recovery or Health Charm to boost your survivability.
Pink Rathian
The Pink Rathian is exactly like the normal one except that it uses its toxic tails more often. However it still retains the weakness to dragon element weapons.
Low Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Rathalos Helm
Chest: Rathalos Mail
Arms: Pukei Vambraces, Rathalos Vambraces, or Death Stench Grip
Belt: Anja Coil or Death Stench Bowels
Legs: Anja Greaves or Jyura Greaves
Weapon: Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Sword, Dragonbone Cutter
The Rathalos armor pieces when worn together provide the skills of Fire Resistance, Attack Boost, and Weakness Exploit. The first two skills are pretty self-explanatory but the last one raises the affinity of attacks that hit weak spots by 15 percent. Wearing at least three Rathalos armor pieces gives you the set bonus of increasing elemental damage when landing critical hits. Anything that raises affinity will be very useful in this regard.
Any dragon element weapon with good range and quick attacks will do you well. Use the Dragonbone Sword for more defensive options and the Dragonbone Stabber for more damage and longer reaching attacks. The Dragonbone Cutter is tricky to use but devastating.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm α, Legiana Helm α, or Strategist Spectacles α, or Ingot Helm
Chest: Anja Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Pukei Vambraces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β or Rath Heart Coil α or Kadachi Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves α/β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Cutter, Elite Commission Axe III
Charm: Shock Charm, Wyrmsbane Charm
The Anja armor pieces add much needed fire resistance (especially the Anja Coil) and adds the useful set bonus of reducing stamina use if at 40 percent health or below as well as raising the stamina cap. Otherwise you can use two Legiana armor pieces to extend the invulnerability window for dodging, add a chance to reduce damage, and have the set bonus of adding a chance to increase quest rewards (just be wary of the relatively low fire resistance). The Pukei Vambraces and Rath Heart Coil used together completely negates poison, but if you have to use one use the Pukei Vambraces as that has the most poison resistance. The Kadachi Coil and Ingot Helm should be used if using a thunder element weapon. Keep in mind that the Rathalos is weaker to dragon than thunder. The Jyura Greaves can raise the gauge fill rate of your long sword or the charge rate of your charge blade.
Dodogama
The Dodogama is very similar to the Great Jargas only it can shoot explosive projectiles. It is weak to thunder and poison.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Dodogama Helm α, Strategist Spectacles α, or Ingot Helm α
Chest: Legiana Mail α
Arms: Rath Soul Braces α
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Elite Commission Axe III, Lightning Punisher I
Charm: Shock Charm
The Dodogama Helm provides resistance against blastblight while the strategist spectacles add to the affinity rate. The Ingot Helm, Kadachi Coil, and Shock Charm will boost the Thunder Attack skill to maximum. The Jyura Greaves and Rath Soul Braces can raise the gauge fill rate of your long sword or the charge rate of your charge blade or great sword.
Lavasioth
Lavasioths are lava-dwelling versions of the Jyuratodus and feature hard magma armor that softens up once it hops in lava. Poison is effective but you need the water element if you want any hope of breaching its armor.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Strategist Spectacles α
Chest: Tzitzi Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces α or Rath Soul Braces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Jyura Hatchets, Dipterus, Water Golem, Water Basher, Jyura Depth, Jyura Buster
Charm: Flood Charm
By wearing the Tzitzi Mail, Jyura Vambraces, and Flood Charm, you’ll be able to raise the water skill to maximum. Wear the Anja Coil for its fire resistance. The α version will give you more power to the Gunlance’s shelling attacks, the charge blade’s phial attacks, and other explosive attacks while the β slit will give you extra slot for decorations. Strategist Spectacles are there to raise affinity rate. The Jyura Greaves and Rath Soul Braces raise the gauge fill rate for long swords and dual blades as well as the charge rate for great swords, hammers, and charge blades.
Uragaan
The Radobaan’s distant cousin, the Uragaan features rolling attacks as well as scattering rocks that dentonate whenever it slams the ground with its jaw. If you can manage to roll it onto its side, you can mine its back for rare ore. The beast is immensely weak to water, poison, and stun.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Strategist Spectacles α, Dodogama Helm α
Chest: Tzitzi Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces α or Rath Soul Braces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Jyura Hatchets, Dipterus, Water Golem, Water Basher, Jyura Depth, Jyura Buster
Charm: Flood Charm
By wearing the Tzitzi Mail, Jyura Vambraces, and Flood Charm, you’ll be able to raise the water skill to maximum. Wear the Anja Coil for its fire resistance. The α version will give you more power to the Gunlance’s shelling attacks, the charge blade’s phial attacks, and other explosive attacks while the β slit will give you extra slot for decorations. Strategist Spectacles are there to raise affinity rate but you can use the Dodogama Helm to reduce your vulnerability to blastblight. The Jyura Greaves and Rath Soul Braces raise the gauge fill rate for long swords and dual blades as well as the charge rate for great swords, hammers, and charge blades. The Water Basher hammer is preferred as it can also stun the Uragaan if attacked on the head.
Azure Rathalos
The Azure Rathalos is just like the other Rathalos only more mobile, so just use the same build you use for regular Rathalos.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Anja Helm α, Legiana Helm α, or Strategist Spectacles α, or Ingot Helm
Chest: Anja Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Pukei Vambraces α
Belt: Anja Coil α/β or Rath Heart Coil α or Kadachi Coil
Legs: Anja Greaves α/β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Dragonbone Stabber, Dragonbone Cutter, Elite Commission Axe III
Charm: Shock Charm, Wyrmsbane Charm
The Anja armor pieces add much needed fire resistance (especially the Anja Coil) and adds the useful set bonus of reducing stamina use if at 40 percent health or below as well as raising the stamina cap. Otherwise you can use two Legiana armor pieces to extend the invulnerability window for dodging, add a chance to reduce damage, and have the set bonus of adding a chance to increase quest rewards (just be wary of the relatively low fire resistance). The Pukei Vambraces and Rath Heart Coil used together completely negates poison, but if you have to use one use the Pukei Vambraces as that has the most poison resistance. The Kadachi Coil and Ingot Helm should be used if using a thunder element weapon. Keep in mind that the Rathalos is weaker to dragon than thunder. The Jyura Greaves can raise the gauge fill rate of your long sword or the charge rate of your charge blade.
Black Diablos
Black Diablos is simply a more aggressive version of the Diablos, and has the same weaknesses to ice and paralysis.
High Rank Gear
Armor – Ice Build
Head: Legiana Helm α
Chest: High Metal Mail β or Legiana Mail α
Arms: Odogaron Vambraces α or Rath Soul Braces β
Belt: Legiana Coil β or Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Rath Soul Greaves β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Stealer, Freeze Daggers II, Diablos Hatchets II, Bone Slasher III, Frozen Core+, Gigafrost I
Charm: Frost Charm or Awakening Charm
The Legiana armor raises ice attack and give you a chance of increasing quest rewards. The High Metal Mail and Frost Charm increase ice attack even further. The Odogaron armor pieces raise affinity and give you the set bonus of adding a stun effect and increased power to draw attacks. The Rath Soul armor adds to the Focus skill which is perfect for long swords, dual swords, hammers, charge blades, and great swords. Not only that but wearing the two armor pieces grants you the set bonus of increasing elemental damage when landing critical hits.
The Freeze Daggers are well balanced but the Diablos Hatchets have higher attack power and a defense bonus at the cost of lower affinity and requiring the Free Element skill to activate its ice element. The Zorah Claws and the Awakening Charm have this skill. The Diablos is mobile but you can still get away with using great swords or hammers due to its size.
Armor – Paralysis Build
Head: Rath Soul Helm α or Girros Mask α
Chest: Legiana Mail α or Uragaan Mail α
Arms: Rath Soul Braces β or Kadachi Vambraces α
Belt: Girros Coil α or Odogaron Coil β
Legs: Girros Greaves α
Weapon: Dark Ripper I, Dark Scimitar I, Girros Nadja I, Glass Royale, Malady’s Kiss, Malady’s Fist
Charm: Recovery Charm, Health Charm
The Girros Greaves and Coil boost the Paralysis Attack skill to maximum so they area must for this build. Use the Girros Mask if using a hunting horn. Otherwise use the Rath Soul Helm to increase the power of your critical hits. If you don’t mind slightly less paralysis attack then swap the Girros Coil with the Odogaron Coil to raise the chance of getting a critical hit. The Kadachi Vambraces extends the distance of your dodge which will help a lot in this fight. You can also use the Rath Soul Braces to boost the gauge fill rate or charge rate of weapons. The Legiana Mail will make your dodges more effective and offer some protection with Divine Blessing and the Uragaan Mail will help you break the Diablos’ horns and tail along with its other parts sooner. Your HP can drain quickly in this battle so wear a Recovery or Health Charm to boost your survivability.
Nergigante
The flagship monster of Monster Hunter: World, Nergigante does not pull any punches. It’s body is covered in hard spikes that can deflect attacks. It will shed these spikes as it attacks, so attack the white regrowing spikes as they harden. Nergigante is weakest to thunder.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Ingot Helm α or Rath Soul Helm β
Chest: Rathalos Mail β
Arms: Rath Soul Vambraces α
Belt: Rathalos Coil α or Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Rath Soul Greaves β or Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Kadachi Fang, Lightning Punisher, or Elite Commission Axe III
Charm: Shock Charm, Awakening Charm
The Rathalos armor set bonus adds extra elemental damage to critical hits when wearing two armor pieces and prevents attacks from deflecting when wearing four armor pieces. The set bonus is achieved with armor from both the Rathalos and the Azure Rathalos. The helm boosts the power of critical hits and the mail boosts the affinity rate of attacks that target weak spots. The vambraces, coil, and greaves boost the Focus skill to maximum which boosts the gauge fill rate of long swords and the charge rate of great swords and charge blades. If you don’t mind losing the bonus of preventing attacks from deflecting, you can wear the Ingot Helm and Kadachi Coil to boost the power of thunder attacks. Just wear the Jyura Greaves to keep the Focus skill at maximum. Use an Awakening Charm to bring out the thunder element of the Elite Commission Axe III.
Teostra
Teostra can inflict both fire damage and blastblight, meaning that you’ll have to account for both kinds of attacks. The beast is weak to water and ice.
Ice Build
Armor
Head: Kushala Glare β or Dragonking Eyepatch α
Chest: Bazel Mail α
Arms: Rathalos Vambraces α
Belt: Kushala Cocoon α
Legs: Rathalos Greaves α
Weapon: Any weapon with an ice element
Charm: Frost Charm
Wear both the Kushala Glare and Cocoon as well as the Frost Charm to boost the Ice Attack skill to maximum. Alternatively, you can wear the Dragonking Eyepatch for the Weakness Exploit skill which significantly boosts affinity rate when attacking weak spots. The Bazel Mail will protect against blastblight. The Rathalos Vambraces adds tons of fire resistance while the greaves add the Weakness Exploit skill. Wearing both will make your critical hits deal more elemental damage.
Water Build
Armor
Head: Dodogama Helm α or Dragonking Eyepatch α
Chest: Tzitzi Mail α or Bazel Mail α
Arms: Jyura Vambraces β
Belt: Anja Coil α/β
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Dipterus or Jyura Hatchets
Charm: Frost Charm
The ice build above is preferred but if you only have a water weapon or don’t have access to Kushala armor then you can use this build. The Tzitzi Mail and Jyura Vambraces along with the Flood Charm will boost the Water Attack skill to maximum. The Dodogama Helm will protect against blastblight but you can also wear the Dragonking Eyepatch. Just be sure to swap out the Tzitzi Mail for the Bazel Mail if you do that. The Anja Coil will give you much needed fire resistance while the Jyura Greaves has the Focus skill which boosts the weapon gauge fill rate.
Kushala Daora
One of the most formidable and tricky to fight of the elder dragons, Kushala Daora surrounds itself with a shield of wind preventing anyone from approaching it and even deflecting bow and bowgun attacks if it gets too strong. You can weaken its wind shield with weapons that stagger it such as dragon weapons with Elderseal capabilities. It’s also very weak against thunder, poison, and blast.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Vaal Hazak Helm α or Ingot Helm α
Chest: Kushala Cista α
Arms: Kushala Grip β
Belt: Death Stench Bowels α or Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Kushala Crus β
Weapon: Nergal Whisper, Flying Kadachi Strikebow, Nergal Reaver, Kadachi Fang III, Nergal Lacerator, Kadachi Kaina III, Nergal Jack, Lightning Nemesis III
Charm: Wyrmsbane Charm, Shock Charm, Focus Charm
You can get by on the initial fight with armor that raises the Windproof skill to level 4 or 5, but if you want armor that doesn’t take up those precious skill slots you’d want to go with wearing at least three armor pieces from the Kushala set as that will completely negate wind pressure and make the fight a lot easier. In addition, the Cista raises the sharpness meter (but not past the maximum) as well as the focus skill, the grip extends the invulnerability period while evading, and the Crus extend the distance of your dodge which is all very useful in this fight. Use the Vaal Hazak Helm, Death Stench Bowels, and the Wyrmsbane Charm if using a dragon element weapon and the Ingot Helm, Kadachi Coil, and Shock Charm if using a thunder weapon. Weapons that use parts from Nergigante are your best bet as far as dragon weapons go as they have high Elderseal capabilities. You can wear the Focus Charm along with the Death Stench Bowels and Kushala Cista to raise the Focus skill to maximum which increases the weapon gauge fill rate for your long sword and the charge rate for your sword & shield or charge blade attacks.
Vaal Hazak
The Vaal Hazak uses the vapor of the Rotten Vale to protect itself and attack. If you become tainted by the vapor, then your health cap will be cut. The attack can be prevented by inflicting Elderseal onto it. The monster is very weak to both fire and dragon attacks.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Vaal Hazak Helm α
Chest: Vaal Hazak Mail α
Arms: Vaal Hazak Braces α
Belt: Death Stench Bowels α or Vaal Hazak Coil α
Legs: Vaal Hazak Braces β
Weapon: Nergal Reaver, Nergal Lacerator, Nergal Jack, Nergal Judicator
Charm: Focus Charm, Wyrmsbane Charm
Wearing three pieces of the Vaal Hazak armor family grants you the set bonus which allows health regeneration to go past the red portion of the health gauge, meaning that you can raise your health back to maximum if you keep avoiding its attacks. This works wonders with the armor skills of Recovery Speed which boosts the speed of health regeneration and Peak Performance which raises attack when at maximum HP. The Vaal Hazak Helm and Braces combined with the Death Stench Bowels raises the Dragon Attack skill to maximum. That way you can wear the Focus Charm and boost the Focus skill from the Bowels to level two. Wearing the Vaal Hazak Braces reduces the buildup of the monster’s Effluvia vapor. If you don’t mind losing a bit of dragon element power, you can wear the Vaal Hazak Coil instead of the Bowels and completely negate the buildup of Effluvia while also boosting the Peak Performance skill to maximum. If you do that, then wear the Wyrmsbane Charm instead of the Focus one to bring up dragon element power a bit.
Xeno’jiiva
The final monster of Monster Hunter World has devastating dragon element attacks, requiring a strong resistance against them. It is moderately weak to all elements but is weakest to poison.
High Rank Gear
Armor
Head: Dragonking Eyepatch α
Chest: Damascus Mail α
Arms: Dober Vambraces α
Belt: Dober Coil β
Legs: Dober Greaves α
Weapon: Buona Flora, Datura Blaze III, Royal Rose, Wyvern Blade “Holly”, Dear Hecatelia
Charm: Venom Charm II
The Dober armor family is the best when it comes to high rank armor with dragon resistance. The Dober Coil especially boosts dragon resistance. The Vambraces adds to the Stamina Surge skill which boosts stamina recovery rate as well as the Mushroomancer skill which grants helpful skills if eating a mushroom. The Greaves boost attack and raises the Stamina Surge skill to maximum. The Damascus Mail adds defense and the Focus skill which boosts the weapon gauge fill rate and charge rate for certain weapons. Finally, the Dragonking Eyepatch adds the valuable Weakness Exploit skill which boosts affinity rate when attacking weak spots. Use any weapon with a poison attribute that can take advantage of the Focus skill. Be sure to upgrade the Venom Charm to maximum.
Deviljho
Deviljho is weakest against dragon and thunder element weapons. Therefore your build should focus around these weaknesses. Don’t bother with ice element weapons as the beast is pretty strong against those. It’s also moderately susceptible to all status effects.
Dragon Build
Head: Vaal Hazak Helm α
Chest: Vaal Hazak Mail α
Arms: Vaal Hazak Braces α
Belt: Dober Coil β or Death Stench Bowels α
Legs: Jyura Greaves α
Weapon: Nergal Reaver, Nergal Crusher, Nergal Gouge, Nergal Gash, Nergal Lacerator
Charm: Dragon Charm, Health Charm
Specialized Tools: Vitality Mantle, Dragonproof Mantle, Health Booster
Wearing at least three armor pieces of the Vaal Hazak family gives you the set bonus of being able to regenerate health beyond the red portion of the health gauge. Otherwise health regeneration would stop after the red portion was filled. This bonus works well with the other skills granted by the armor pieces like Peak Performance which boosts attack when your health is full and Recovery Speed which speeds up the healing of recoverable damage. The armor also has the Dragon Attack skill which is necessary for boosting the power of your dragon element weapon. However, the Vaal Hazak armor is very weak to Deviljho’s dragon breath but the level two Dragon Resistance skill of the Dober Coil should balance it out. If you want to be a bit risky and don’t have any decorations that boost the Dragon Attack skill, then you can wear the Death Stench Bowels which further makes you weak to dragon but boosts your dragon element attacks and has the Focus skill which increases the gauge fill rate of your long sword and other weapons as well as the charge rate of your hammer or other weapons. The Jyura Greaves boosts the Focus skill even further. Then just add the Dragon Charm to boost your dragon resistance or the Health Charm to boost your health points. Then just use whatever dragon weapon you like best (we prefer the Nergigante weapons and their upgraded versions). The Dragonproof Mantle you get for beating Deviljho in the Special Assignment protects you from the effects of its dragon breath while boosting dragon element damage according to the Monster Hunter World wiki. The Vitality Mantle and Health Booster (whichever you prefer) are for survivalbility.
Thunder Build
Head: Ingot Helm α
Chest: Rathalos Mail β, Dober Mail α
Arms: Ingot Vambraces α
Belt: Kadachi Coil α
Legs: Jyura Greaves α or Rathalos Greaves α
Weapon: Anything with a thunder element
Charm: Dragon Charm, Health Charm
Specialized Tools: Vitality Mantle, Dragonproof Mantle, Health Booster
If you want something a bit more protective against dragon attacks while exploiting Deviljho’s thunder weakness or if you don’t have access to Vaal Hazak armor, this build is for you. Wearing the Ingot Helm, Ingot Vambraces, and Kadachi Coil will boost the Thunder Attack skill to maximum. The Rathalos Mail has the Weakness Exploit skill which significantly boosts the critical hit rate of attacks that target weak points (30 percent at level two and 50 percent at level three). The Jyura Greaves are a must have for weapons with gauges or charge rates but you can swap them out for the Rathalos Greaves to boost the Weakness Exploit skill to maximum if you don’t mind less dragon resistance. Then just slap on the Dragon Charm or Health Charm and add your favorite thunder element weapon. Once again you can equip the Dragonproof Mantle for protection from Deviljho’s dragon breath, or the Vitality Mantle or Health Booster for a better chance at living.
See also:
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Monster Hunter World: Best Build for All Monsters