The Monster Hunter World: Iceborne monsters really add a lot more gameplay to an already massive game. Not only will you come up against more powerful variants of monsters you already know and love/hate, but there are a host of new beasts to take down as well. Whether you’re a pro hunter or you’re just jumping in, a bit more knowledge will always come in handy when facing down Monster Hunter World: Iceborne creatures that can kill you in one hit.
Iceborne also features an exciting new story that continues on from the ending of Monster Hunter World, allowing players to continue their current save file in a new adventure. If that wasn’t enough, Iceborne will also expand the arsenal of available actions that your hunter can perform, so be prepared to use plenty of flashy new moves and sizzling slinger combos when fighting your gigantic foes. Make sure you check out all the confirmed, rumoured, and wanted monsters below to arm yourself with the knowledge needed to take them down. For in-depth guides on each of the monsters listed, where available, be sure to visit the individual links in the descriptions. Happy hunting!
Blackveil Vaal Hazak
Element: None, but uses Effluvia to attack
Weakness: Fire, Dragon, Ice, Thunder
A corrupted version of the already unpleasant Elder Dragon, Vaal Hazak. This variant is covered in toxic spores that fall off of its body as it moves around. It breathes a decaying gas that can halve your health until you cure the Effluvia build-up. It can also fly up into the sky before unleashing clumps of the spores around it and can quickly change a harmless battlefield into a deadly one. Bring a weapon that it’s weak to and make sure you’ve got your Effluvia resistance as high as it can go to survive.
Namielle
Element: Water and Thunder
Weakness: Fire, Dragon, Ice
An Elder Dragon that can unleash torrents of water from its body and flood the battlefield. It has complete mastery over water, but it can also generate electricity in its body before unleashing Thunder attacks, all of which are made far stronger by the water that covers the battlefield. It’s got an almost jellyfish-like quality to it and is quite stunning to look at and to fight against. Make sure your Water and Thunder resistance is high as possible, and you should have no issue taking down Namielle.
Ruiner Nergigante
Element: None, but can inflict Bleed
Weakness: Dragon, Thunder
Everyone’s favourite spiky boi is back, but angrier than ever. What sets this version of Nergigante apart is the sheer quantity of spikes that cover its body. It’s said to have survived an absurd amount of battles and still has a hunger for Elder Dragons. It flings spines out of its body as it attacks and is a little more aggressive than the normal version. If you’ve fought the normal Nergigante enough then this one shouldn’t pose too much of a problem, but it can still one-shot you, so do be careful.
Shara Ishvalda
Element: None
Weakness: Ice, Water
Known as the Old Everwyrm in ancient lore, Shara Ishvalda is a titanic earth dragon that uses the very ground itself to both attack its prey and defend itself. You’ll need to be prepared for a long battle, and it's definitely worth bringing along a Blast weapon if you’ve got one. It attacks using a mixture of brute force and powerful gusts of wind. It can also turn the ground into quicksand to impede your movement, and often does so before launching massive AOE attacks.
Yian Garuga
Element: Fire
Weakness: Water, Dragon, Ice
A black, scaly bird wyvern with an impressively dangerous beak, the Yian Garuga isn’t dissimilar to the Rathian, with the ability to spit fireballs and poison with its tail. It also really likes shouting, meaning you’ll have to be prepared by maxing out the Earplugs skill. As long as you’ve got high Fire Resistance and you’re immune to poison, you’ll have a good chance of taking this very angry bird down.
Scarred Yian Garuga
Element: Fire
Weakness: Water, Dragon, Ice
Much like the normal Yian Garuga, this is one incredibly irate bird wyvern that is likely to come at you with non-stop aggression. The main difference between this version and the Yian Garuga is that it can now stun you more effectively, and it has a sizeable attack and health boost. This means that unless you’re in good high-end gear, you’ll probably fall foul of its tail swipes and wind up carting in one hit.
Brute Tigrex
Element: None
Weakness: Water, Thunder
This version of the Tigrex is somehow even more aggressive. It has darker colourings and a darker personality to match. While many of its moves remain the same, it chases its prey down even more doggedly and isn’t likely to give you any time to recover. You’d be wise to boost your Earplugs skill and ways to resist stun as well. Don’t expect an easy fight here.
Silver Rathalos
Element: Fire
Weakness: Water, Thunder, Ice
A silver variant of the Rathalos that boasts increased firepower, a substantial boost to its lifeforce, and the ability to breathe hellfire. It still maintains the ability to poison you as well, so expect a tough fight. Worse still, it can combine attacks with the Gold Rathian, which makes it far deadlier and harder to deal with. Use Water weapons to have the greatest chance of success.
Gold Rathian
Element: Fire
Weakness: Thunder, Water, Ice
A gold Rathian that has developed an even more dangerous version of the poison hidden in its tail. It uses this to rapidly drain the life from its prey and any would-be predators. It makes its nest with the Gold Rathian, and the combination of the two is terrifying. It also has access to hellfire, so you’ll need to be well equipped to survive an encounter with these stunning wyverns.
Stygian Zinogre
Element: Dragon
Weakness: Thunder, Fire, Water
A Zinogre that has developed a symbiotic with Dracophage Bugs. It’s a powerful variant of an already might monster. This one has the ability to fire Dracophage Bugs like bullets, and can deal massive damage at any range. Unlike the normal Zinogre, it’s incredibly dangerous when it is charging up, so you’re better off sharpening your weapon or healing as it does so. It also becomes weaker to elemental attacks when it toughens its skin. This is a very dangerous creature with an incredibly striking look to it.
Rajang
Element: Thunder
Weakness: Ice, Water
This horny monkey packs a mean punch, gives a crushing hug, and even has the ability to go Super Saiyan. Well, it turns gold when it’s angry, and that’s basically the same thing. Rajang is exceptionally territorial and will attack any and everything that comes into its domain. Not only that, but it can also shoot Thunder from its mouth. Make sure you’ve got a high defence and are resistant to Thunder.
Safi’jiiva
Element: Fire, Dragon
Weakness: Dragon (Elderseal)
Safi’jiiva is the fully grown version of Xeno’jiiva, which is itself an impressive Elder Dragon. There are unique mechanics at play with this beast, and you need to be aware of all of them. Safi’jiiva will focus its attacks on the hunter that is doing the most damage; however, if a hunter can’t sustain its focus, it’ll enter an incredibly dangerous enraged state. This operates more like a typical raid boss than anything, with players needing to take on specific roles like tank, DPS, and healer to hunt the creature efficiently. It also has a huge attack that can kill in one hit and can’t be dodged; the only way to avoid this is to hide behind the rocks that are scattered around the map. It’s an incredibly hard fight, but the rewards are well worth it.
Banbaro
Element: None
Weakness: Dragon and Fire
Banbaro uses its gigantic antlers to charge down hunters, launching anything that dares to get in its way. This rampaging Brute Wyvern is known to pluck trees from the ground and form snowy boulders by dragging its antlers across the snowy terrain before sending them hurtling towards its foe. its bulky nature can make it rather difficult to dodge, especially when Banbaro uses its enraged charge attack. Make sure to dive or block the charge, as it will deal heavy damage and can even result in an untimely demise. Banbaro’s bulky nature, gigantic antlers, and colossal tail make this Brute Wyvern a threat to those that underestimate its power.
Beotodus
Element: Ice
Weakness: Fire and Thunder
Beotodus may be the first large monster you’ll encounter when entering the frozen fields of the Hoarfrost Reach, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. This Piscine Wyvern loves to bury itself deep in the snow, remaining hidden until it is ready to launch a deadly ambush. The sharp fin atop its head allows Beotodus to swim freely through the snow and emerge for blisteringly fast takedowns. Fighting Beotodus can be a little tricky due to the thick snow which surrounds the area as it reduces your overall mobility, making it all too easy for the snow-loving shark to take a few hefty bites out of you. As a result, it’s recommended that you pack a few Sonic Bombs to force Beotodus to the surface and reduce the time it spends lurking in the snowy depths below.
Nargacuga
Element: None
Weakness: Thunder and Fire
Nargacuga has been a fan favourite ever since its glowing red eyes struck fear into those that played Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP. This incredibly agile monster uses its bladed wings and spiked tail to unleash devastating attacks, while its strong leg muscles allow it to jump long distances and effortlessly traverse harsh terrain. When enraged, Nargacuga’s tail spikes will start to protrude and its eyes will glow red. It’s important that you know when Nargacuga is enraged, as it’s the only time you’ll be able to cut off its tail and use pitfall traps on it. You can force Nargacuga into its enraged state by throwing a Sonic Bomb at it, but if you throw one just before it leaps, you’ll knock it over and be able to get some free hits. Just be sure to bring a Thunder or Fire element weapon to ensure you’re dealing as much damage as possible.
Tigrex
Element: None
Weakness: Thunder and Dragon
Tigrex is no stranger to the chilly elements, but unlike many other monsters, Tigrex does not wield any elements itself. Instead, this Flying Wyvern uses its brute strength to beat its opponents down. Tigrex's muscular forelegs allow it to charge down foes with incredible speed, while its serrated teeth and claws can effortlessly shred through both skin and bone. Even Tigrex’s ear-splitting roar is strong enough to blow away and hurt nearby hunters, so be sure to keep your distance when this monster enrages or rears up. Tigrex may seem like an unstoppable freight train at first, but if you avoid his charged attacks you’ll be able to get a few hits on his head. Great Sword and Hammer are fantastic choices here, as they deliver enough single hit damage to flinch and knock him over.
Velkhana
Element: Ice
Weakness: Fire, Thunder, Dragon, and Water
The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Velkhana is the flagship of this massive expansion. It’s size is deceiving, because while it may not be as large as some of the other Elder Dragons, it’s just as powerful. You’ll fight it off twice before you truly have to track it down and put it down. It’s a ferocious and frenetic fighter that can summon a flurry of ice attacks including icy breath, forming huge hailstones in the air above you, and even summoning ice walls to block your escape. On top of all of this, Velkhana uses its spear-like tail to attempt to skewer you. You’ll need to bring a Fire weapon to do the most damage, but a high Elderseal rating will help a lot as well.
Glavenus
Element: Fire
Weakness: Water, Ice, and Dragon
The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Glavenus was introduced in Monster Hunter Generations, where it was regarded as the top-dog of the Fated Four monsters. It's a Brute Wyvern with an enormous tail and sharp jaws which it uses to great effect. Its jaws can sharpen and heat its tail, enabling it to unleash fiery sweeping attacks, especially when enraged. It can also hold fire in its throat as fuel for breath attacks or to enhance its powerful bites. You can break Glavenus' tail to reduce its attack range, and if you deal enough damage to its head while it's enraged, you'll stun it for several seconds, which gives you a big opening to deal some damage.
Acidic Glavenus
Element: None (armour debuffs)
Weakness: Fire, Thunder, and Dragon
The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Acidic Glavenus is a deadly subspecies that uses its sulphur-coated tail to shred through its enemy’s armour, applying a debuffing effect to all those hit. While the ordinary variant relies on its jaws to heat up its tail and deliver fiery breath attacks, Acidic Glavenus focuses on lightning-fast tail hits to slice and dice hunters. When Acidic Glavenus sharpens its tail, the debuffing acid disappears and in turn it receives increased attack power and added mobility. While Generations’ Glavenus remained stationary for the majority of its moves, Iceborne’s variant moves while attacking, so you’ll need to keep on your toes if you wish to take down this ferocious subspecies. Pay special attention to the three different states (sharpened, normal, sulphuric) and be ready to dodge those swift sword swings.
Shrieking Legiana
Element: Ice
Weakness: Thunder and Fire
Shrieking Legiana is a variant of Legiana that has adapted to the wintry lands of Hoarfrost Reach. This Flying Wyvern specialises in freezing its prey with the powerful chill it emits from its tail, so make sure you bring plenty of Flash Bombs to limit its mobility. Cutting off Shrieking Legiana’s icy tail will make the fight a lot easier as its ability to freeze the terrain will greatly diminish, allowing you to be a lot more aggressive in your approach. Just like the regular Legiana, its loudmouth cousin has relatively little health, so you should be able to make short work of this monster by bringing Thunder or Fire weapons.
Barioth
Element: Ice
Weakness: Fire and Thunder
The new Monster Hunter World Iceborne Barioth shares a lot of similarities to its Flying Wyvern relation, Nargacuga. Barioth uses its fangs and claws to effortlessly run through the snow, and its icy attacks are known to fatigue even the most seasoned of hunters. Trying to keep up with this monster when it’s unleashing movement-impairing and stamina-draining attacks can be incredibly difficult, especially when moves with similar tells take you by surprise. This fight is all about quick reactions and knowing when to punish Barioth’s high-speed attacks, putting an emphasis on dodging and looking for those juicy counters.
Brachydios
Element: None
Weakness: Ice and Water
Brachydios originally exploded onto our screens with the release of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, but it looks like Capcom have teased its return in the latest developer diary video. This highly-aggressive monster is known for its tremendously powerful AoE explosions that can wipe parties in a matter of seconds. The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Brachydios uses its stumpy fists and deadly horn to deposit puddles of explosive slime which explode after a short time. Meanwhile, any players that happen to get hit by Brachydios’ fists will get coated in slime, causing them to take explosive damage if they don't remove it by rolling or using a curative. Unlike other Brute Wyverns in the Monster Hunter series, Brachydios isn’t hampered by a lack of agility – in fact, it can cover huge amounts of ground by leaping through the air and running down hunters at terrifying speeds. You’ll need to keep your cool if you wish to survive Brachydios’ explosive attacks.
Fulgur Anjanath
Element: Thunder
Weakness: Ice, Water, and Fire
Fulgur Anjanath is one of the first subspecies introduced in the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion. While World’s Anjanath relied on its fire-based attacks to burn its foes to a crisp, the new Monster Hunter World Iceborne Fulgur Anjanath takes a more shocking approach to combat. This Brute Wyvern uses the Thunder element to empower its physical attacks, causing massive amounts of damage to those that are unfortunate enough to get caught within its jaws. To make matters even worse, Fulgur Anjanath can also unleash electrifying ranged attacks that explode upon impact. Throughout the fight, Fulgur Anjanath will continuously store electricity and ramp up its attacks, so it's imperative that hunters find a way to reduce its charge.
Ebony Odogaron
Element: Dragon
Weakness: Ice, Fire, Thunder, and Water
If you thought the lightning-fast attacks of the regular species of Odogaron were tricky to handle, then you’ll want to take extra care when fighting the new Monster Hunter World Iceborne Ebony Odogaron. The Ebony Odogaron is not only more vicious than its World counterpart, it also delivers Dragon elemental attacks. If a player happens to get hit by any of Ebony Odogaron’s Dragon-based moves, they’ll lose the elemental power on their weapon, severely reducing their overall damage and hindering their DPS until the status effect is removed. While World’s Odogaron relied on its agility to deliver precise attacks, Ebony Odogaron opts for wide range hits that cover more ground and deliver even greater damage.
Viper Tobi-Kadachi
Element: Poison and Paralysis
Weakness: Thunder and Ice
As the name suggests, The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Viper Tobi-Kadachi has an affinity towards poison. This stealthy predator overwhelms its attackers by barraging them with deadly plumes of noxious gas, while its incredible speed can quickly leave complacent hunters in the dust. Avoiding Viper Tobi-Kadachi’s tail should be a top priority for any hunting party looking to minimise the risk of being poisoned, so be ready to dodge its venomous plumage. If you wish to avoid falling prey to Viper Tobi-Kodachi’s Noxious Poison, then make sure you pack plenty of antidotes to instantly cure this health melting effect. Iceborne’s new variant is a lot more mobile than its regular counterpart and taking it down can prove challenging, especially when using Icerborne’s more cumbersome weapons. While Viper Tobi-Kodachi’s tail sweeps and aerial moves may be incredibly fast, they do have decent delays after their initial attack animations. As a result, it’s often best to unleash the bulk of your attacks during these brief opportunities as you’ll invariably break or stagger the monster, making it easier to grab rarer quest rewards.
Coral Pukei-Pukei
Element: Water
Weakness: Ice and Thunder
The Monster Hunter World Iceborne Coral Pukei-Pukei is not only more vibrant than its World counterpart, it also has a bunch of fresh moves and a different element to boot. This monster is the supersoaker of Iceborne as it unleashes jets of water from its tail, inflicting hunters with waterblight whenever they happen to get caught in the firing line. As a result, it’s recommended that you pack a few Nulberries to ensure that your stamina recovery remains at its normal rate. Once enraged, Coral Pukei-Pukei will take to the sky and bombard its foes with high pressure jets of water that can instantly obliterate low health hunters, so make sure you keep well away if you wish to avoid an untimely demise. You can deal tremendous amounts of uncontested damage to Pukei-Pukei when it's busy guzzling water from one of Coral Highlands’ gigantic plants, giving you plenty of time to break specific parts.
Nightshade Paolumu
Element: Sleep
Weakness: Fire and Water
The Monster Hunter: World Iceborne Nightshade Paolumu now has much darker markings and uses sleep powder to incapacitate its foes. Packing energy drinks is essential when hunting Nightshade Paolumu as you really don’t want to be caught dozing off when this beast comes flying towards you. Just like regular Paolumu, the Nightshade subspecies can be toppled over if you apply enough damage to its legs, giving you plenty of opportunities to KO it once its been knocked down. Be wary of the pockets of sleep dust that Nightshade Paolumu scatters around the map as it can use both its wings and tail to blow them towards grouped hunters, forcing those caught into a deep slumber that can often result in a frustrating death. It also tends to stay in the air for long periods of time, so it’s best to bring an Insect Glaive or a long-ranged weapon if you want an easier fight.
Seething Bazelgeuse
Element: Blast
Weakness: Thunder, Ice, and Dragon
The Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Seething Bazelgeuse takes an already frustrating enemy and gives it even more range. Much like the normal version of Bazelgeuse, the Seething variant will be throwing around explosives and you’ll have to be very aware of your surroundings if you want to stay alive. If you take a Thunder, Ice, or Dragon weapon then you’ll have an easier time of things, but don’t expect this beast to be a pushover.
Savage Deviljho
Monster Hunters all over the world know the normal version of the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Savage Deviljho as The Pickle. Given that the normal version is already an incredibly aggressive creature, the fact that this one is even more so should give you pause. It can often be found charging into the middle of your hunts against other monsters. You just have to hope that it takes your side instead of the thing you’re hunting, otherwise you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.
Zinogre
Element: Thunder
Zinogre is another fan-favourite monster seeing its return in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. It’s fast, powerful, and can summon Thunder to strike you. Zinogre has no interest in letting anything be, and if it sees you will likely hunt you down. You’re best bet is to lay into it as it charges up its mighty Thunder attacks and try and stun it. If you do so, you’ll have a slightly easier fight ahead of you for a short while. If it fully charges, then it becomes more aggressive and even faster, so you’ll need to time your dodges well to come out the other side of this hunt.
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