Monster Hunter: Flagship Monsters Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Malzeno, the most powerful flagship monster, drains life to boost strength and aggressiveness.
• Malzeno’s Bloodening form increases power, speed, and aggression, surpassing other elder dragons.
• Malzeno trumps other elder dragons with strong attacks and a malicious nature.

The Monster Hunter series is known for monsters of all shapes, sizes, and abilities that hunters must conquer to progress through the franchise’s various games. One particular subclass of Monster Hunter is its flagship monster. These powerful enemies are central to the Monster Hunter games, acting as promotional material for their respective games’ box art.

Usually central to their individual titles’ narratives, these monsters vary in strength from the most powerful elder dragons to common leviathans. Nevertheless, flagship monsters are not weak. Some in the upper echelons of power rank higher than most other creatures in the series.

11 Arkveld

Anticipated Force Of Nature

The mysterious Arkveld ranks the lowest on this list because hunters do not yet know anything about it. Arkveld is the flagship monster of the next game in the franchise: Monster Hunter: Wilds. A seemingly rare and powerful creature steeped in secret, Arkveld has a rugged appearance with large claws and a chain that looks like it can pack a punch. Although Arkveld is likely to be far stronger than most creatures on this list when Wilds releases, it ranks at the bottom due to its unknown attributes.

10 Rathalos

Fearsome Aerial Predator

The box art cover of Monster Hunter: Freedom, the infamous Rathalos, is present throughout much of the series’ games. Known for its dragon-like appearance, ability to burn hunters alive with its fire, and the poison that covers its feet, the Rathalos is no walk in the park, even for the most experienced hunters. While strong, the Rathalos is one of the weaker flagship monsters, highlighting the pedigree of this list.

9 Azure Rathalos

Powerful Blue Rathalos Variant

This distinctly blue version of the Rathalos is central to the first Monster Hunter: Generations, and the Azure Rathalos is far stronger than its normal counterpart. With stronger stats in nearly every department, the blue beast is a far grander challenge for hunters who pursue it.

8 Tigrex

Brute Strength And Aggression

Tigrex is an apex predator characterized by its unhinged behavior, which has hunters worn out before they even land a hit. Running at rapid speeds with a powerful bite, Tigrex is at the top of the Flying Wyvern classification regarding strength.

7 Nargacuga

Blazing Speed And Deadly Strikes

The giant bat-like creature Nargacuga rivals the speed and may even top the rate of attacks from the Tigrex. A beast with various abilities in its arsenal, such as spike shots and powerful wings that pierce like blades, Nargacuga is not a walk in the park, reserved for the most experienced hunters. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PlayStation Portable features this flagship monster in all its glory, capturing its terrifying might.

6 Magnamalo

Fanged Terror Of Malice

The most powerful non-elder dragon on this list, Magnamalo, is the main flagship monster of the Monster Hunter: Rise games. Also known as the Wyvern of Malice, Magnamalo is a large-fanged Wyvern that terrorizes whoever it engages with.

The beast possesses the ability of hellfireblight and uses gases from ingested monsters to attack opponents. Magnamalo is a savage animal that rivals Elder Dragons and is one of the strongest non-Elder Dragon monsters in the enture series.

5 Nergigante

Spike-Laden Fury And Speed

Elder Dragons are often difficult to rank due to their deviations in abilities and power. Despite coming slightly behind other Elder Dragon counterparts who are higher on this list, Nergigante is among the strongest Elder Dragons in the games. Nergigante is like a Tigrex on steroids, with devasting spike attacks, tail whips, claw maneuvers, and speed that can easily outpace the other monsters on this list.

Fueled with pure aggression and the ability to generate armor after attacks, Nergigante is a powerful foe central to Monster Hunter: World. The monster is seen as a rebalance of nature, feeding off of and killing other monsters to restore balance to the planet.

4 Kushala Daora

Tornado-Wielding Menace

A well-respected Elder Dragon and wind master, Kushala Daora, appeared in the art of Monster Hunter 2 when it was released in 2006. Kushala Daora can generate massive tornadoes and wind attacks to defeat hunters, and can even use the element to block attacks. Kushala Daora is no mean feat for any hunter, regardless of experience. The monster has various forms, such as risen and rusted variants.

3 Valstrax

Argent Comet Of Destruction

The Elder Dragon Valstrax is the Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate’s flagship monster. Known for its starship-like appearance with wings that shoot out flames resembling a rocket propulsion system, Valstrax is an extremely deadly Elder Dragon that soars to unreachable heights in the atmosphere before landing on foes. While not particularly aggressive, it can destroy airships with its devastating power.

2 Velkhana

Frigid Force Of Nature

Velkhana is among the strongest monsters in all the Monster Hunter games, specifically Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Velkhana is a large, majestic ice Wyvern that uses its ice powers to freeze whoever gets in its way.

Velkhana is central to the story of Iceborne, with players fighting the monster in numerous attempts to stop it from causing havoc in the new world. This monster has strong ice attacks, a brutally damaging tail attack, and blistering quick speed that requires hunters to get up close to have any chance of defeating it.

1 Malzeno

Life-Draining Malevolent Force

The strongest flagship monster in series history is Malzeno, an elder dragon that drains the lives of other monsters to power itself. A malicious and arguably evil elder dragon, Malzeno can turn into its Bloodening form after devouring the life force of other beasts. The form is especially dangerous, making the elder dragon far more powerful, quicker, and more aggressive. Malzeno has a range of strong attacks that outmatch other elder dragons in sheer strength.