How To Beat Gurdian Rathalos In Monster Hunter Wilds

In a series called Monster Hunter, you can bet you’ll be hunting quite a lot of monsters. They’re all over the place, in herds, as Apex monsters, subspecies, anything you can think of. Not satisfied with all that variety, Monster Hunter Wilds adds yet another – Guardians. These new mosnters are a bit unique though, and restricted to the Ruins of Wyveria.

Monster Hunter Wilds Review: Don’t Think, Just Hunt

Monster Hunter Wilds is a more approachable, if slightly more mindless Monster Hunter.

Guardian Rathalos is among the first of the Guardians you will battle, and they aren’t keen on letting you trample around their domain uninhibited. Without any other Rathalos so far to compare against them, fighting against the Guardian variant is a terrifying ordeal, but not an impossible one. Here’s how to beat them and everything they drop.

Guardian Rathalos – Strengths And Weaknesses

Guardians don’t quite work like other monsters in the game. While they fight much like their base variants, they come with copious changes that take advantage of the unique ecology of Wyveria. This means that even if you know how to fight the originals, the Guardians will still have a few tricks up their metaphorical sleeves.

To that end, it’s important to keep your environment in mind when fighting a Guardian, and Rathalos is no different. They can make massive explosions in pools of Wylkcrystals, and heal their Wounds as well. You have to keep proactive during the fight if you don’t want it dragging on for ages.

Weak Point – Mouth, Legs
Elemental/Ailment Weaknesses – Dragon, Thunder (for the legs). Susceptible to every ailment except Poison and Exhaust.
Elemental/Ailment Strengths – Poison, Exhaust, Fire. The Tail is immune to Water and Ice as well.
Best Weapon Damage – All weapons equally viable.

Thankfully, Guardian Rathalos has more than a few weaknesses for you to take advantage of. For one, both their head and legs act as weak points, while they are equally susceptible to almost every status ailment. That means any build can be effective against them. Just make sure to bring some flash bombs to actually knock them out of the sky.

Dragon damage is absolutely the way to go against them, though you’ll have to rely on the Wrymsbane Slinger ammo around the area instead, with Dragon element weapons being in quite short supply at the moment.

Best Equipment To Fight Guardian Rathalos

Guardian Rathalos can deal both Fire and Dragon damage, though the former is more common in their attacks, while the latter is most often encountered when they trigger Wylkcrystal explosions. With Dragon Resistance gear fairly limited as well, the next best set you can invest in would be the Nu Udra set, as it has quite high Fire Resistance for this point in the game.

In terms of weapons, any status build would be viable as long as it doesn’t rely on Poison, while a Thunder weapon is the next best thing you have after the Dragon element.

Guardian Rathalos – Fight Breakdown And Moves

Like the regular Rathalos it was made from, Guardian Rathalos is fast and can remain airborne for the majority of the fight, making them hard to target without Flash Bombs to ground them. On top of this, they are fierce with their claws and can swoop down on you at a moment’s notice. On top of this, the Guardian version can cause massive explosions while in Wylkcrystals, so mind where you’re standing.

One major difference between a regular and Guardian Rathalos is that the latter does not have the poisoned claws of the former.

Here is just about every move Guardian Rathalos can perform, and how best to counter it:

Move	Description	Counter
Hovering Fireball	Rathalos hovers in place for a moment before releasing a powerful fireball.	This is best avoided by staying close to Rathalos. If it is a charged fireball, keep some distance so you’re not caught in the area of impact.
Hovering Tail Swipe	While flying, Rathalos whips ahead of them to knock away hunters.	This can be easily blocked or dodged, so try to time your defense with the attack, or simply move away when you see it coming.
Descending Stomp	Rathalos preps their claws and dives to the ground. They may claw ahead of themself before completing the dive. This attack will explode Wylkcrystals.	Offset attacks are great here to counter them, though be especially careful you don’t time it poorly when over Wylkcrystals.
Firestream	While flying, Rathalos will swing in a circle while breathing fire.	Rathalos breathes in a circle all around them, though not underneath. As such, stand right under them to avoid this attack entirely.
Chomp	Rathalos will bite multiple times at the hunter in front of them while advancing slightly.	They can hold this run for quite a while, so dodging is difficult. Try an Offset attack or blocking instead.
Swoop	Rathalos will slash at you with their claws as they fly past multiple times.	This isn’t too hard to avoid, though can be performed quite quickly. Always be mindful if you see them flying towards you.
Grounded Fireball	While grounded, Rathalos will spit out a fireball. This can be multiple weaker ones, or a single powerful one that explodes on impact.	This is a standard attack when they’ve been grounded for a while, though they stay quite stationary during it, giving you plenty of time to assault their head.

As you can see, the majority of Guardian Rathalos’ attacks are in the air, making Flash Bombs an essential element in removing much of their threat. They’re still a competent fighter when grounded, though, so keep an eye on their more powerful attacks.

Guardian Rathalos – Drops And Materials

Guardian Rathalos comes with all the materials you’d expect, and plenty of them can be acquired from broken and severed parts as well. However, quite a few of its materials will most commonly be acquired from destroying Wounds, so make this a priority while fighting them.

Here is every material Guardian Rathalos drops in both High and Low Rank, ordered by drop rate:

Low Rank

Material	Where It Can Be Acquired
Guardian Rathalos Webbing	Broken Part (Left and Right Wings), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Scale	Wound Destroyed, Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Tail	Carving (Tail), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Shell	Wound Destroyed, Carving, Target Reward
Flame Sac	Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Certificate	Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Plate	Carving (Tail), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Scale	Wound Destroyed
Guardian Blood	Wound Destroyed

High Rank

Material	Where It Can Be Acquired
Guardian Rathalos Wing	Broken Part (Left and Right Wings), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Scale+	Wound Destroyed, Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Tail	Carving (Tail), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Carapace	Wound Destroyed, Carving, Target Reward
Inferno Sac	Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Certificate S	Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Plate	Carving (Tail), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Rathalos Ruby	Carving (Tail), Carving, Target Reward
Guardian Scale+	Wound Destroyed
Guardian Blood+	Wound Destroyed

Interestingly, a High Rank hunt for Guardian Rathalos does not become available immediately. You have to hunt one naturally in Wyveria first.

Outside of some upgraded versions of each material, the only entirely brand-new material High Rank Guardian Rathalos gains is the Ruby, which shares an incredibly low drop rate with the Plate. Since the Plate is not upgraded, it will have a higher drop rate by hunting Low rank Gaurdian Rathalos instead.