User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Barioth (5th Gen)/@comment-30261954-20200209054829

Before Iceborne, the only psuedowyvern I genuinely liked was Tigrex. Barioth and Narga (at least the Generations version) both suffered from fights that weren't that fun, not bad either but nothing to make them something I'd want to hunt. This changed with Iceborne however, and Barioth's new incarnation has become one of my all time favorite monsters and easily takes a place in my personal top 5 monsters in the expansion.

Barioth has always had an amazing design that breaths creativity. The head that is literally a Smilodon with scales always made it unique from the get go, but the rest of the body remains just as unique. The wings being covered in fur already contasts them from the ones of its breatheren, but the unique yet logical foot claws on both its fingers and sole along with the Rath esque spikes on the wing finger just bring this uniqueness out. While I could go further about what makes the design unique, the lore aswell keeps stands just as interesting. The way it eats makes so much sense when you look at how delicate the fangs of its inspiration were. The fact that it can fly pretty well just makes it you guessed it, so unique compared to other psuedos. How they mate is taken straight from real world solitary predators and the fact they give birth to live young is something you might not of thought about but the minute you learn about that it just makes so much sense

Barioth's new fight by far and away blows its old incarnation out of the water. For once it's legitimately threatening the first time you fight it with its fast and brutal speed and less awkward moments where it stands there and just stares during its tells or after an attack trying to line it up. This is a monster that makes you feel it is an apex predator and backs up how dangerous its lore makes it out to be. The wing break mechanic feels so much more warranted now can change a hunt from hard to easy just like that, and the fact you can break one during a single KO or trap does mean you can cripple it quite early on in the hunt. The tells are relatively obvious and for me at least were as to learn and take advantage of as Nergigante's, although it never becomes as much of a pushover.

Some of Barioth's most notable attacks are where it jumps across the area and puts some distance between you and it, but once the wings are broken it becomes ridiculously easy to get underneath the Barioth which more times than not will cause it to focus on attacks that will keep it in a similar spot and allow you to keep wailing on it if you can avoid said attacks.

Would also like to mention its intro and that nice reference to the removal of it ambushing you when you enter an area, I loved that part of the old fight.