User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Leshen and Ancient Leshen/@comment-15446856-20190830130702

This second big collab comes in two different flavours. First, the good one.

The normal Leshen is a breath of fresh air. Finally! An update monster that is good! Sticking to its roots, the assignment is a single player only quest and a actually includes a story. Yes, a story. In Witcher fashion they actually kept the investigation style of gameplay and even has you talking to characters and seeing exactly how the Leshen is causing harm to the environment from its existence. You even have side-quests alongside the main one. Best of all, you have a reason to do these side-quests! You can save a Pukei-Pukei and it will help you during the last stage of the Leshen battle. And by helping the Gajalaka's save their Chieften you increase the chance of getting the Gajalaka Bombardment trap in the game. Do both, and an Attack Jewel is given. The monster itself is also great, it is the most unique monster in the game by far. Its unlike anything in the game, a supernatural humanoid tree spirit that possesses Revoltures and Jagras to attack, as well as summoning roots from the earth. And of course, the music that plays during its fight is amazing.

I hope we get another monster in an update like the normal Leshen in Iceborne, because it is the high standard for them.

Now for the bad flavour, Ancient Leshen.

Ancient Leshen throws absolutely everything that was good about the regular Leshen into the acid pools in the Vale. Capcom, why the fuck is this thing a multiplayer-focused monster? The Behemoth is still the ultimate insult to solo players, but the Witcher series has always been a single player game. There is no reason whatsoever other than making a hard monster for them to do this. Like holy shit, 66,000 HP? The highest health pool in the game goes to a crossover monster. As others have explained below it is a truly abysmal fight, you cannot attack it without taking damage yourself, motherload of AOE spams, and a pin you need another player to escape from or you cart. And speaking of Behemoth, they even had the gall to give this thing its own Ecliptic Meteor attack where it releases Revoltures everywhere. Only fought this thing to get the Research Levels on it to max, will never attempt to slay it like Extreme Behemoth unless Iceborne gives us armor powerful enough to counter it solo.

Normal Leshen is what I hope future crossovers will be like, while Ancient Leshen is what I hate the most.