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 Wildsadds yet another - Guardians. These new mosnters are a bit unique though, and restricted to the Ruins of Wyveria.

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 thattake 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.

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 theWrymsbane Slinger ammoaround 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 bethe 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, whilea Thunder weapon is the next best thing you haveafter 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 thatthe latter does not have the poisoned claws of the former.

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

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 may see, the majority of Guardian Rathalos' attacks are in the air,making Flash Bombs an essential elementin 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, andplenty 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 isevery material Guardian Rathalos drops in both High and Low Rank, ordered by drop rate:

Broken Part (Left and Right Wings), Carving, Target Reward

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 entirelybrand-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.