Even three years after its launch, Monster Hunter World continues to be Capcom's most successful game. World introduced a more worldwide audience to this addictive and challenging gameplay loop of fast-paced and grueling boss fights, and the DLC expansion pack added dozens of hours' worth of content.
With it, the introduced Master Rank system brought back some classic monsters from the series' past as well as some new ones in Event Quests. Many of these monsters' unique attack patterns and elemental abilities made for an excitingly fresh variety of experiences for players looking for more.
Muscle Monkey Madness
Rajang is one of the most notorious legacy monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise that gave players heated fights. Even during the monster's PS2 debut, the Monster Hunter franchise had its contrast with other action-RPGs, but boss monsters like the Fanged Beast-classified ape can hit arguably just as hard in the popular modern-day games Thunder elemental damage.
It can enter a Super Saiyan-inspired enraged mode to worsen things and is intensely territorial and relentlessly aggressive by default. In the Iceborne expansion, the event quest "Muscle Monkey Madness" tasked players willing for a special challenge to handle two of them at once in the game's arena map.
The Cold Never Bothered Me
Part of an Elder Dragon duo also from Monster Hunter 2, the Empress of Flame Lunastra always makes for a gritty fight regardless of the quest conditions. Iceborne's "The Cold Never Bothered Me" Master Rank Event Quest had players hunt a tempered Lunastra.
The Tempered State is a condition that can affect any large monster in the base game and DLC. It heightens their aggression and increases their damage output. She's a Fire and Dragon elemental monster and has a variety of movesets from both close and long range. Likewise, the latter types of moves also feature some daunting area-of-effect fire attacks that can also keep the ground ablaze. This makes tracking her patterns harder while simultaneously watching where not to step or roll into.
Day Of Ruin
Completing the Queen/King Elder Dragon duo is the Emperor of Flame Teostra. The "Day of Ruin" Iceborne Event Quest is essentially the equivalent for Lunastra's, as this one pits players against a tempered Teostra. The Flame King also has a wide variety of attacks like his female counterpart, making it difficult for players to find moments of respite between attacks.
On top of that and the Fireblight-afflicting moves, Teostra also has unblockable attacks in his arsenal. This makes players have to opt for hit-and-run tactics as getting greedy and lingering too long into combos can be easily punished.
In The Tempest's Wake
Another bane of Monster Hunter fans' existence in-game is the fabled Elder Dragon Kushala Daora. MH2 introduced a solid amount of difficult monsters that would carry onward in the franchise, and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne gave fans another uphill climb during "In the Tempest's Wake." This fearsome foe makes things rough for a few different reasons, with a major one being that Kushala Daora is often airborne.
Hunting in groups with a bow user or other ranged weapons, including the flash pod items, would come in handy, but its Wind Pressure Aura makes things even more complicated. This pushes players away, making it harder for melee users to deal damage close. Kushala has even been recently patched into the franchise's latest entry, which surely makes it one of Monster Hunter Rise's strongest monsters even after the fact.
A Reason Behind The Hunger
Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii removed some features going into future games, but one feature to be a fan-favorite mainstay is the near-indomitable World Eater Deviljho. The nomadic monster made a comeback for World, and one of his most punishing quests was the Iceborne Master Rank "A Reason Behind the Hunger."
This quest throws players in the Elder's Recess map against one of the monster's most brutal alternate forms. Savage Deviljho is an upgraded version of the original species in terms of power and level of aggression. It's something worth noting before taking it on, as the base Deviljho is already in a perpetual state of rage. The Savage subspecies is driven by being endlessly hungry, and can both deal and tank an enormous amount of physical punishment.
We Three Kings
In "We Three Kings," players are sent into the Special Arena map introduced in the Monster Hunter World base game for one of the most intense hunts. It requires the player to hunt a Kirin, Kushala Daora, and a Teostra. Kirin is a unicorn/Elder Dragon that's also another MH2 debutant and has long since proven it's more than formidable.
It's incredibly fast and can use wide-ranging Thunder-based attacks as well as accompanying Thunderblight. When enraged, it's covered in lightning that deflects several player attacks. This quest then puts hunters through a gauntlet by following up with the aforementioned Elders Kushala and Teostra.
The Survivor
Zinogre is another fan-favorite monster that debuted in the Japan-exclusive Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for PSP and even now has inspired some great Monster Hunter Rise fan art. And in Iceborne, "The Survivor" Event Quest has hunters go up against one of its most famous (and nightmarish) subspecies: Stygian Zinogre.
The Hell Wolf Wyvern has heightened power and aggression from its main version, adding to its Thunder abilities with the power to imbue Dragon elemental traits into its attacks. It can mix up its melee combos to throw players off their rhythm in addition to its claw slams and aerial dives, and also is able to fire homing projectiles that can inflict Dragonblight.
Fade To Black
An Elder Dragon of legend originating from the first Monster Hunter for PS2, the mythical Fatalis makes its return in Iceborne, featuring in the "Fade to Black" Master Rank event. Reaching certain story beats in the DLC are required to unlock this quest, and going to fight The Dark Demise in the Castle Shrade is something pulled out of a fantasy novel.
Given that this map is a single large area, fighting Fatalis can be broken up into a few "phases." On top of that, "Fade to Black" is timed to 30 minutes, shaving off from the usual 50 minutes allotted in most quests, though, hunters are allowed five faints. The surrounding siege weapons will be needed and knowing when and where to find shelter is a must, as Fatalis has some monstrous Nova breath attacks. As the phases proceed, it gains new and increasingly more dangerous attacks.
Scores Of Ores
Returning from its introduction in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on the 3DS, the hard-hitting Brachydios is a Brute Wyvern and features in the Event Quest "Scores of Ores," requiring hunters to defeat a tempered version of the monster. Its anatomy is mostly characterized by the hard club-like fists that can deal heavy physical damage.
Along with that is the green slime his punches leave behind, which Brachydios can trigger explosions that also inflict Blastblight. Elemental ailments are something it has in abundance, including the Iceborne ailment Blastscourge. Combining all of these side effects with a version in a tempered state makes for a nightmarishly fast-paced fight.
Ode To The Destruction
In the main storyline of the base game, Nergigante is poised as one of the major threats of this New World, and the Master Rank "Ode to the Destruction" quest pits hunters against a daunting variant of it. They're required to hunt a tempered version of the Ruiner Nergigante, with its variety of added boons to make it harder to break down.
The deadlier and harder-hitting attack patterns are supplemented with the Ruiner's ability to harder its offensive and protective spikes even faster. It does this as its health is being chipped down and forced into its enraged mode.