Monster Hunter Monster Class Tier List

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 19, 2025 11 Views 12 Min Read
Monster Hunter Monster Class Tier List



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The Sixth Generation of Monster Hunter is getting underway with Monster Hunter Wilds, and it’s bringing plenty of new monsters to hunt. Even though being a satisfying Capcom action-RPG is the fundamental reason why Monster Hunter has been so popular, compelling monsters with matching equipment sets have done a lot of work drawing new fans in. Monster Hunter Wilds is introducing the latest roster of brand new and returning beasts for players to hunt, and the huge environments built around these animals should provide the series’ most immersive experience yet.

Some fan favorites will have to be left out of Monster Hunter Wilds, but that’s only because there are now too many creatures to bring them all back every time. That’s what Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate was meant to do during the Fourth Generation, and it missed some. Dividing monsters into broad families, or classes, is the best way to keep track of them all, and even then some of the categories fall between the cracks. Certain classes will be in higher demand for MH Wilds than others, though whether that’s because they’ve produced strong examples or have been underserved is a different question.

Monsters in the Monster Hunter games

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S Tier — The Flagships

Flying Wyvern

Any Monster Hunter fan can confidently say that two monster classifications stand head and shoulders above the rest, and those are the Flying Wyverns and the Elder Dragons. Both are home to the largest number of flagship monsters in all of Monster Hunter, and Flying Wyverns in particular host the archetypical Monster Hunter mascot, Rathalos. Split between the “True” and “Quadrupedal” categories, Flying Wyverns have an enormous pool of species and variants for players to pick favorites from, and with each MH generation adding at least one popular Flying Wyvern, this class is here to stay.

Elder Dragon

Standing alongside the classic Wyverns in every Monster Hunter title are the classic Dragons. Representing Eastern dragon serpents, Western quadrupedal dragons, and a lot of stranger variants in between, like the draconic unicorn Kirin, Elder Dragons cast a wide net over Monster Hunter’s species pool. A general rule is that any being too strange or too strong to fit in Monster Hunter’s normal categories is probably an Elder Dragon, though the series’ original last boss, the ideal Western dragon Fatalis, left a strong enough impression to ensure that this eclectic group of endgame foes never strays too far from its founding principles.

A Tier — The Big Names

Flying Wyverns and Elder Dragons will stand uncontested as Monster Hunter’s most popular and populated monster types, but there are a few more that fans are always happy to see.

  • Fanged Beast
  • Brute Wyvern
  • Fanged Wyvern

The first two of these categories have some of the highest monster counts in the series, and they’re all home to many fan-favorite opponents. Zinogre was recently crowned Monster Hunter’s most popular monster, but the Fanged Wyvern has plenty of big-name competition. Congalala and Rajang of the Fanged Beasts once contributed to the class’s original “Primatius” name, and still serve as its main representatives as more general mammalian influences flesh out the class. Notably, MH Rise’s Palamute mounts are also considered Fanged Beasts. Meanwhile, the Fanged Wyvern Zinogre is accompanied by Rise’s Magnamalo and Sunbreak’s Lunagaron, alongside several other heavy-hitters.

However, nothing hits heavier than a Brute Wyvern. This class has carved out its own place in the Monster Hunter franchise as a strength-based archetype every generation needs to either contribute to or draw from, and a cursory glance at its names quickly reveals why. Barroth, Deviljho, Brachydios, Glavenus, and Anjanath all fill the class with subspecies introduced across the Monster Hunter franchise, and they’re just the better-known examples. It’s safe to say that the Brute Wyverns’ reputation is just as strong as their natural strength.

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B Tier — The Essentials

Lynian

Monster classes are already an esoteric subject, but bringing Lynians into the conversation makes for an even bigger headache. Split between the iconic Cat-Like Lynians and the downright bizarre Humanoid Lynians, these short creatures often serve as Monster Hunter players’ AI companions, and can also wander hunting areas. This makes them extremely varied, but also tough to put on a list, especially when one considers edge cases like Generations Ultimate’s playable Prowler Mode Felynes, and King Shakalaka’s status as a “large” boss monster. Ultimately, Lynians are a positive and necessary presence, but are more mixed when viewed purely as “monsters.”

Bird Wyvern

Extreme variety is the name of the game when it comes to Bird Wyverns, who are competing with Fanged Beasts to be the third-largest monster class. Split between the raptor packs of the Theropod Bird Wyverns and the assorted avian-reptiles of the Flying Bird Wyverns, this group holds a particular niche in the Monster Hunter franchise, like the Lynians and Brute Wyverns. Early in each major Monster Hunter, there is always at least one raptor pack with a larger leader and a smaller bird-like Wyvern, and often there are multiple. More than any other class, the Bird Wyverns aren’t many people’s favorite, but they have to be there.

Leviathan

Unlike the Lynians and Bird Wyverns, Leviathans are the opposite of essential, but they’ve stuck around for a reason. Introduced in Monster Hunter Tri, these amphibious beasts have accrued a lot of fame for their varied designs, and for MH3’s water combat adding a new dimension to their fights, even if it didn’t feel great. While the class has been retrofitted for pure land battles, it’s still gaining new members with each generation, and Capcom has acknowledged fan desire to see MH3’s flagship Lagiacrus finally get the recognition it deserves.

C Tier — The Stragglers

Unfortunately, things are about to speed up. The consequence of popular monster types getting a lot of attention is that others are left behind, leaving spin-offs like Monster Hunter Frontier and Online to keep them relevant.

  • Piscine Wyvern
  • Carapaceon
  • Amphibian

As a counterpoint to the Leviathans and aquatic Elder Dragons, the rest of Monster Hunter‘s aquatic life is not faring so well. Piscine Wyverns have largely been modified Cephadrome and Plesioth designs for their entire lives, and are still in need of a shake-up despite their senior status. Carapaceon crustaceans need something similar, even if their physically-distinct species and abundant subspecies have served them well. Finally, the Amphibians are a new class from Monster Hunter 4, and have only gained three major species before Monster Hunter Wilds. Even with Chatacabra as a confirmed Amphibian in MH Wilds, these frog-like fellows need some help.

Getting new large monsters is still a step up from being consigned to set dressing, and that’s where several of the remaining monster classes fall.

  • Herbivore
  • Neopteron
  • Temnoceran

Herbivores have it the best and the worst, as they are both totally composed of small monsters, and also essential because of that. Even if their individual species constantly get cycled out, they have to be there as much as the Flying Wyverns. The same can be said for the smaller Neopterons, but these insects have bosses too. There’s hardly any of them, and they all live in the Fourth Generation, but at least Ahtal-Ka was Generations Ultimate’s true final boss, and one of Monster Hunter’s craziest fights. Last are the arachnid Temnocerans, which had a paltry two major species before Wilds, but are at least adding Lala Barina to their ranks now.

D Tier — The Afterthoughts

It takes some effort to do worse than Monster Hunter’s spiders, but it’s almost impressive how little substance the remaining monster classes have.

  • Fish
  • Wingdrake
  • Snake Wyvern
  • Unknown / ???
  • Relict

Fish and Wingdrakes consist of minor wildlife, and are nowhere near as prominent as the Herbivores. The Fish are barely even a monster class, with only two registered “monsters” in the series using the title and the one called “Fish” actually being many animals grouped together. Meanwhile, Wingdrakes are more fleshed out, but Monster Hunter World just made them for fast travel. At least they made it to the Fifth Generation, which is more than the single Najarala family of MH4’s Snake Wyverns can say.

At first glance, the Unknown category seems to at least host a couple of flagship monsters, but that’s just a misdirect. MH4’s Gore Magala is the younger form of the Elder Dragon Shagaru Magala, which retroactively makes it the same thing; Gore is only classified as Unknown for story reasons, and time will tell if Monster Hunter Wilds maintains the tradition. Estrellian from Monster Hunter Online appears similar, but the game was shut down before this was clarified. The rest of the Unknown monsters are all from crossovers, special events, and spin-offs. Leshen and Ancient Leshen secured their own Relict class as a Witcher reference, but it is currently the only one-off crossover classification in the Monster Hunter series.

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