Monster Hunter World's 10 Most Frustrating Fights, Ranked
Monster Hunter: World has some of the toughest fights around. But which ones are the most frustrating?
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The titular monsters of Monster Hunter World aren't always fun to fight, and in some cases, they're a massive pain in the ass. Seriously.
The Kirin can zap you, the Nergigante can crush you, and the Anjanath can straight set you on fire. Beasts come in all shapes and sizes in Monster Hunter World, and nearly all of them exist solely to make your life hell.
The prolonged, drawn out battles with beasts like the Kirin, Anjanath, and Pink Rathian are fun-right up until you get caught out by a nasty attack they've been hiding up their sleeve. No creature in Monster Hunter World is a pushover by any means, but we've ranked the elite few that are the biggest pain in the ass to fight.
10. Kulu-Ya-Ku
Alright, hear me out on this one. This pesky chicken look-alike doesn't seem dangerous at first glance, and that's because while the Kulu-Ya-Ku is by no means one of the strongest beasts in Monster Hunter: World, it's undoubtedly the most annoying when it's backed into a corner.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku has a pecking attack which is basically unstoppable, and to add insult to injury it'll throw your Hunters backwards onto the ground if you're not guarding at the time. Another infamous habit of the Kulu is to pick up a nice rock and pummel you into the ground with it.
This rock phase is annoying for two reasons: one, because the Kulu-Ya-Ku has yet another unstoppable attack in its arsenal, and two because the rock itself acts as a shield for the Kulu until you discover that you can take it out with a sling attack. Since a tiny rock can apparently block the attacks of a massive Hammer, the Kulu-Ya-Ku ranks up there as one of the more annoying beasts in Monster Hunter World.
9. Bazelgeuse
Monster Hunter World likes to save the Bazelgeuse (it's pronounced Bagel Goose) to be the predator of the Wildspire Waste, which in real terms means he likes to drop in and carpet bomb half the map whenever you've got your hands full with a Diablos or Barroth.
The Bazelgeuse is a massive pain in the ass because it always seems to rear its head at the worst time possible. Got a Diablos limping on the way back to its lair? Here's the Bazelgeuse to swoop down and flatten you with its talons. Got a surprise attack in on a Barroth? The Bazelgeuse will be there in a moment to throw napalm strikes down on you.
It's quite telling that there isn't a quest dedicated specifically to the Bazelgeuse in the main story of Monster Hunter World. Capcom evidently wanted the monster to function more as a random encounter out in the Wildspire Waste, and it effectively makes the Bazelgeuse an annoying sheriff with fire bombs at its disposal.
8. Diablos
Diablos tends to get lost in the mix when compared to the likes of Anjanath and Nergigante, but it can nevertheless prove problematic even for speedrunners. As the apex predator of the Wildspire Wastes, the Diablos is naturally that area's strongest monster. And while you're likely to have maxed out your low rank armor by the time you fight it, it can still give you plenty of trouble.
What mostly makes Diablos tough is its propensity for digging down and bursting out of the ground for major damage, which can be tough to avoid. It also is primarily weak to ice attacks-an element that you're unlikely to have at this point in the game. Thus, what can seem like a relatively easy fight can rapidly become a grueling grind. It isn't helped by the fact that the Wildspire Wastes are the most annoying area this side of Rotten Vale, with sticky sand and tall dunes impeding your progress at every turn. For extra fun, there's also the Black Diablos, which is even meaner. Yikes. [Diablos Guide]
7. Azure Rathalos
Azure Rathalos has everything that makes the vanilla Rathalos fight a pain: It flies around, it can inflict you with Fireblight, and its fast. Fun! Its main saving grace is that you fight it in the Elder's Recess instead of the Ancient Forest, meaning that you're not always having to chase it around the map. Plus, you don't have to deal with crashing through the canopy to the ground below like the Ancient Forest, which is always nice.
The Azure Rathalos is a tough one, though. As a purely optional fight, Azure Rathalos will give even veteran hunters trouble. It's even more fun when you have to fight the Azure Rathalos and the vanilla Rathalos at the same time. By and large, Monster Hunter: World's winged dragons are the nastiest in the whole game. And Azure Rathalos is no exception.
6. Anjanath
The Anjanath is present almost from the start in Monster Hunter: World. It has a tendency to crash other monster battles, grabbing them up in its massive jaws and generally scaring doing its best to scare the hell out of you. It's Monster Hunter: World's version of the Worf Effect-it establishes the Anjanath's power by having it destroy other monsters.
When it comes time to actually fight the Anjanath, you will quickly realize that its displays of power weren't just for show. The Anjanath is big, strong, and more than capable of shredding your paltry low level armor. Worse, if you can knock down its health a bit, it will suddenly start breathing fire. And if it catches you with a full blast, you will definitely die.
Later on, the Anjanath becomes a bit less of a threat. But its relative position near the start of the game makes it one of the toughest fights in the game, especially for newcomers. [Anjanath Guide]
5. Odogaron
The Odogaron, or Clifford the Big Red Dog as he's otherwise known, is one of the angriest beasts in all of Monster Hunter World. He's got a nasty habit of leaping around the battlefield, jumping from ledge to ledge and swiping down at you as he goes. Add excess bleeding damage to his attacks on top of this, and he's a real pain to deal with.
Apart from the trusty Flashfly Cage that your Palico can equip, there's simply no reliable way to stop the Odogaron in its tracks and turn the battle in your favor. Even if you do manage to chop its tail off (which will take you a good few minutes of hacking away), the Odogaron goes into rage mode straight after, leaping around and and swiping at you with both its claws and teeth.
If this was a competition for the downright angriest (or maybe edgiest) creature in Monster Hunter World, the Odogaron would surely take top spot. As it is, he'll have to settle for fourth spot, which is still enough to induce rage in even the best Monster Hunter World players out there. [Odogaron Guide]
4. Vaal Hazak
Vaal Hazak is part of what you might call Monster Hunter: World's Elite 4, and its easily the toughest of the bunch. This Elder Dragon lurks in the Rotten Vale, and its favorite trick is to poison you and halve your life bar. Hopefully you have lots of Nulberries on hand.
The good news is that the Vaal Hazak fight comes near the end of the game, so you should have plenty of high rank gear, a strong weapon, and lots of consumable. That makes this encounter much more manageable. But that doesn't make Vaal Hazak any less capable of killing you in an instant if you're not careful. The other Elder Dragons are difficult in their own way, but the fact that it's so tough to take on solo gives it the edge over its counterparts. [Vaal Hazak Guide]
3. Pink Rathian
I wrote a whole article about how Pink Rathian was my white whale. It has all the ingredients of being an extremely hard monster to take down: tough armor that isn't easily pierced by weapons, poison, and fast and highly damaging attacks. Worse, it comes during that awkward period when you're still transitioning into high rank armor, which means a lot of grinding before you can finally get over the hump. The flipside of all this is that the Pink Rathian fight did more to sell me on Monster Hunter than any other fight in the game. It was truly awesome, and a gaming memory that will last a lifetime. [Pink Rathian Guide]
2. Kirin
First introduced in a limited event, no one suspected that a graceful unicorn look-alike would make playing Monster Hunter World a living nightmare. It's a bit like when the unicorn is running loose at the end of Cabin in the Woods-you think it looks nice, but then it skewers a guy against a wall with its horn in a heartbeat.
The Kirin might not seem it at first glance, but it's actually one of the deadliest opponents in Monster Hunter World, especially if you plan on taking down the Tempered version of the beast. The trouble with the Kirin is that it can set up barriers of electricity all across the battlefield, which appear in a multitude with barely a moments notice.
It's not that the Kirin is a ferocious beast like the Nergigante, and perhaps what makes it so frustrating to fight is that it shouldn't look like a difficult enemy to take down. Instead, the Kirin can toy with you or any one of the fellow Hunters you bring along to face it, manipulating the battlefield with a thousands volts at a time. Just a single tap from the electrical energy, and you can say goodbye to any health bonuses you got at the Meowscular Chef's canteen. [Kirin Guide]
1. Nergigante
This horned hellball is the Elder Dragon gatekeeper of Monster Hunter World, fighting tooth and nail to prevent you from taking down the four remaining Elder Dragons that follow in its wake.
The Nergigante isn't just a tough opponent-it's one of the most ferocious monsters around, which is saying something in a game featuring beasts like the Anjanath and Rathalos. The Nergigante is utterly relentless in its many attacks, and any one can spell death for you or any of your teammates if you put a single foot wrong.
There's a reason that the Nergigante-related quest is the most commonly seen under the SOS Flare section of the Quest Board in Astera. Even the best laid plans from the most skilled Hunters can go out the window quickly as soon as the Nergigante rears its head. The supreme Elder Dragon can crush you into the ground from above, or pelt you with razor-sharp rocks from any angle, meaning you've always got to be on the move against the Nergigante. [Nergigante Guide]