Monster Hunter: World is a showcase of the best creature design in video games. From fire-breathing wyverns to weird birds to elder dragons, the game’s monsters are impressively realistic for imaginary creatures. But which one is the best?
Below is a totally subjective ranking of all 27 of Monster Hunter: World‘s showcase creatures, from worst to best, including the stupid names that my hunter squad has made up for them.
Obviously, this post shows every large monster that’s currently in the game – so if you don’t want any of them spoiled, look away.
27. Great Girros
AKA: Electrocobra
Hangs out in the creepy Rotten Vale but is actually a total pushover. I forgot that it existed about 10 minutes after I fought it.
26. Kulu-Ya-Ku
AKA: Boulder Bird
Seems cute and nice until it bashes you to death with a rock and then does a little victory dance. Regardless, I always feel quite bad for killing it. It’s pretty harmless compared to everything else on this list.
25. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku
AKA: Tzatziki, Flash Raptor
Mostly just an irritant who shows up when you’re in the middle of a fight with a better monster, then stuns you with the ridiculous range on its flash attack.
24. Zorah Magdaros
AKA: Big Z
Looks impressive, but all the quests involving Zorah Magdaros are boring. Instead of doing anything interesting, you’re stuck smacking a stalagmite that spews lava or laboriously loading a cannon.
23. Dodogama
AKA: Lava Toad
Am I the only one who thinks this guy is kinda cute? Well, at least until it hits you with blastblight and you suddenly explode.
22. Pukei-Pukei
AKA: Poison Poison Poison Poison Poison Chameleon
This bird-chameleon is notable for a) its wild poison tongue, and b) being the first monster to return in High Rank, a fight that looks totally easy until you try it and realise that your low-rank armour is now garbage and belongs in the bin.
21. Legiana
AKA: Butterfly Dragon
A beautiful, ethereal creature with wicked ice attacks. It has one of the best roars in the game, but it’s otherwise unexceptional.
20. Great Jagras
AKA: Jagger
Such a pushover he barely even registers on the challenge front, but his “swallow a herbivore whole and then waddle around with a comically distended stomach” schtick is adorable. I feel terribly sorry for him when Anjanath or Rathian shows up and beats him up.
19. Barroth
AKA: Big Boy Barry, Mud Rhino
Big angry rhino-dino who seems scary at first, but its hard-hitting attacks are so easy to avoid that it can be defeated with surprising ease. It can be cleaned with Watermoss after it has rolled around in the mud: “Wash the Barroth” is one of my favourite Monster Hunter distractions.
18. Kirin
AKA: Screwnicorn
Sometimes, when you see a familiar monster in World, you’re like, Awesome! Can’t wait to fight them again! Then the Kirin quest pops up and you think, Fuck that guy and his ludicrously powerful AoE lightning attacks. But Kirin is also one of the most majestic-looking motherfuckers in the whole game. Gotta give it points for beauty.
17. Kushala Daora
AKA: Kushkush
STOP CONSTANTLY BLOWING ME BACKWARDS WITH YOUR STUPID MASSIVE LEATHERY WINGS, YOU GIT.
16. Jyratodus
AKA: Not-Plesioth
Water-dwelling mud-covered piscine wyvern that’s more annoying than challenging to fight, due to its penchant for hanging out in swamps that restrict your movement.
15. Lavasioth
AKA: Hot Plesioth
Lava-dwelling rock-covered piscine wyvern that’s more annoying than challenging to fight, due to its penchant for hanging out in POOLS OF BURNING MAGMA.
14. Tobi-Kadachi
AKA: Tobes, Toby Maguire
Combination of electric dog and flying squirrel. Enjoys leaping onto tree trunks and then slamming down on you with a paralysing attack that renders you completely helpless. One of the best early monsters.
13. Radobaan
AKA: Ray-Ban, Spiky Boy
A fun spin (geddit?) on a classic monster (Urugaan), Radobaan is actually pretty tough when he’s angry. Kill five of ’em and you can craft one of the funniest armour sets in the game, or a kit for your Palico that makes it look a bit like a feline D.Va.
12. Uragaan
AKA: Urgy Burgy
Radobaan’s uglier, scarier cousin. Enjoys hitting you with its big face. Super annoying to fight because of the constant stagger and the fact that it is made of exploding rock-bombs.
11. Baselgeuse
AKA: Basil, Big Baz
The first time you see Basil here on a quest whilst you’re hunting something else, you think, I bet I can take that. Maybe you’ll even get some hits in. Then it busts out its bomber-plane attack, where it swoops over you and drops exploding scales everywhere.
10. Xeno’jiiva
AKA: Diva
So huge! So powerful! So many glowing orange eyes! There are shades of Seathe the Scaleless in Xeno’jiiva – it is an awesome beast, and a fitting finale, even if it’s a little bit easy to exploit. STAY AWAY FROM THE FACE.
9. Odogaron
AKA: Inside-Out Dog
A favourite amongst the Monster Hunter hardcore because the armour set is boss. Odogaron is one hell of a fight, an incredibly fast, mobile monster that inflicts a bleed effect that can only be staunched by standing still. It’s an evil combination.
8. Rathian
AKA: Queen Rath
What is Monster Hunter without Rathian? It’s easy to forget how scary she is the first time you face her: The first proper wyvern you get to slay. And no matter how many times you fight her, you’ll still sometimes get caught out by her evil poison tail swipe.
7. Rathalos
AKA: King Rath
The fight against Rathalos features one of the best moments in Monster Hunter: World – breaking the dam and getting swept, big angry dragon and all, from the top of the Ancient Forest right down to the bottom.
6. Diablos
AKA: Dibbles
Big horns, relentless aggression, extremely powerful attacks – Diablos is such a dick that he frequently prompts people to give up on Monster Hunter for good. But it’s such an iconic monster that somehow it’s still impressive every time you fight it. Special shout-out to its new Monster Hunter: World skill of literally jumping out of walls.
5. Vaal Hazak
AKA: Xenomorph, Val Hazmat, Vile Hazak
Vaal Hazak, master of death, garbed in entrails! Everything quakes before it. It literally emerges from a pile of offal. I was horrorstruck. One of the few genuinely disturbing monsters on the roster, with an Alien flavour to its design.
4. Paolumu
AKA: Hamsterpuff, Paolumu Faith
Hilarious overgrown fluffy bat that can puff itself up and float around looking furious. This is esoteric Monster Hunter creature design in a nutshell: It looks faintly ridiculous, but it can absolutely own you if you spend too long laughing at it.
3. Anjanath
AKA: Angie, Barney
Monster Hunter: World‘s poster boy does not disappoint. This big fiery T-Rex is one of the more satisfying fights in the whole game.
2. Teostra
AKA: Theo, Fire Lion
Now THAT is an elder dragon! Mean face, big mane, fur, claws and resplendent dignity.
1. Nergigante
AKA: McNergit
A truly awesome monster, well worth the build-up. Nergigante feels properly dangerous to fight, an imposing tower of claws, teeth, wings, horns and spikes.
Comments
10 responses to “Monster Hunter: World Monsters, Ranked”
I’m in low rank and just fought Diablos. What an awful beast. I had to go back and do some investigations (after a friend had to tell me how to turn them on) and it was way easier with my new snow gun and fire resistance, but tense as hell at the end.
AKA: Urgy Burgy
Uragaan’s nickname is and always has been “Jay Leno”. Where did “Urgy Burgy” come from?
Where is azure rathalos and black diablos?
You fail at the nicknames.
Kirin always has been, and always will be Kelbidrome
Uragaan is Jay Leno or Lenosaurus
Odogaron is Meat Doggo
Bazelgeuse is the B-52
Bazelgeuse – alternatively the Bagel Goose.
Hey, hey come on now. Tzitzi-bro deserves to be higher because he saved my ass so many times by randomly paparazzi’ing whatever I’m fighting and slinks off.
Wasn’t #26 in Deus Ex hiding in tunnels around the labs? 🙂
My family calls Paolumu Cat Face…after the Weeble animation.
Makes him even easier to laugh at
I thought Bazelgeuse nickname was Bagel. So that soon we can have bagel and pickle crashing your hunt together. But B-52 suits him well:D
I call him Beezlejuice. Like Beetlejuice, but more of a prick.
Tobi is a lizardlike sugar-glider. So cute!
And I sure hope no-one ever harms poor Haloumi – I mean, Paolumi. He is the cutest little poof-ball batmouse ever, and his captured sleepyface would melt even the hardest of hearts.