User blog:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Valstrax

Hello, and welcome to Monster Appreciation Week!

This week we look at  One of the Flagship Monsters of MHGU and the Offline Final Boss of the MHGU, Valstrax!



Interesting Facts About Valstrax

 * Valstrax is an old Elder Dragon that has been around since ancient times, only ever described in some tales and legends. It was considered to be an extinct species by the Hunter's Guild and Wycademy until they started exploring the skies with the Soaratorium, leading to the Elder Dragon finally being discovered.
 * It was nicknamed the Sky Comet Dragon (Japanese 天彗龍)/Silver Wing of the Evil Star (Japanese 銀翼の凶星)/Argent Comet because of how its legends described it: "Beware the red comet hurling through the dark. It portends a black future where the heavens and earth shall crumble into nothing. Despair shall alight before you in the form of an argent dragon with innumerable wings. It calls upon the very stars themselves to rend the earth."
 * In one legend, it is said that Valstrax appears once every few thousand years, heralded by a series of comet sightings.
 * There have been many sightings of Valstrax for the past few thousand years, but it was always mistaken for a red comet by eyewitnesses that thought it was just an unusual comet.
 * In the Ruined Pinnacle, some carvings of comets can be seen in the area (Zone 2 and 7). It is said that there were once many comets in the Ruined Pinnacle.
 * Valstrax has been seen flying all over the world, but has been encountered in the Ruined Pinnacle, Swamp/Marshlands, Jungle, Jurassic Frontier, Snowy Mountains/Arctic Ridge, Frozen Seaway, and Forlorn Arena.
 * Rarely, a red comet can be seen in the sky in some areas.
 * Valstrax does have wings, but they aren't the traditional kind of wings. Unlike other monsters that flap their wings for flight, Valstrax is able to fire beams of dragon from the tips of its wings. By firing large amounts of dragon from its wings, Valstrax is able to capture wind currents with its wings, allowing it to fly in the sky like a comet. By adjusting the amount of dragon it fires out of its wings, Valstrax is able to fire the energy out of them in a variety of ways.
 * It is said that Valstrax is able to reach the speed of sound easily.
 * By contracting its muscles and stretching its ligaments, Valstrax is able to extend the tips of its wings, turning them into deadly lancewings that can stab prey from a distance.
 * Some individuals are known to extend their lancewings out before spinning in place like Glavenus, cutting surrounding enemies in two.
 * Like a falcon, Valstrax has excellent eyesight that allows it to pinpoint its prey from the sky. However, this excellent eyesight makes Valstrax vulnerable to bright flashes of light.
 * When it breaths, the air goes into the special organs in its chest and is released out of its wings as its dragon energy. All of its breathing is in one direction: First mouth, then chest, and finally the wings. When it uses too much dragon energy, Valstrax is known to stop in place and breath in as much air as possible to refuel its energy, because the dragon energy puts a massive strain on its body and could potentially damage it internally if it doesn't maintain proper airflow. If it takes massive damage to its chest, the dragon energy will explode and injure it internally, leaving it vulnerable to attacks for a short period of time.
 * Like birds, Valstrax has air sacs as well.
 * From it mostly living in high altitudes, its nostrils are behind the spikes on its head so it can breathe efficiently.
 * Valstrax's metabolism is extremely fast, causing parts of its shell to fly off its body as it flies. When these burnt shells fall off, they are known to crash into the ground and create small craters. These shells can easily damage settlements once they crash land.
 * Most of Valstrax's destruction comes from these burnt shells crashing into the ground as it travels from place to place, causing native wildlife to flee, sometimes near settlements, from the sudden meteor shower it causes it as flies over.
 * Valstrax is known for crashing into airships, and even hunters, as it flies.
 * It doesn't seem Valstrax can handle the massive impact when it crashes into an object.
 * Even though Valstrax rarely ever lands, it is considered to be dangerous to encounter one from how aggressive they are.
 * Valstrax are predators that have been observed diving into the bodies of water to catch prey like Ludroth.
 * In the highest peak of the Ruined Pinnacle, a strange light is emitted from it. It is believed that this light has something to do with Valstrax becoming active again, thousands of years later.
 * Once used in rituals, its scales can withstand movement at the speed of sound.
 * Its scales are silver so it can reflect sunlight, reducing the amount of UV rays its body receives.
 * Valstrex's shell is light and strong, and able to withstand impact at the speed of sound.
 * Its claws have torn apart many unfortunate souls.
 * The tail glows like a comet.
 * The Spineshell is used to protect its back. Its sharp, glittering points look like sharpened blades.
 * The Mindstone is the source of evil heavenly omens. The owner gains the power of the red comet and to bring disaster.
 * Valstrax produces a slightly warm fluid in its body that emits a red light.
 * Originally, Valstrax was going to use magnetism, just like Rukodiora, before it was proposed it would use the Dragon Element.
 * Valstrax was even going to leave behind glowing particles as it fights, just like Shantien.
 * Early on in development, Valstrax was meant to be a High Ranking Monster beyond the Fated Four (Japanese 4大メインモンスターの上位に君臨する存在). The reason why the development team gave Valstrax Magala's skeleton is that they wanted to have parts on the monster that could freely change in battle. Magala's skeleton was perfect for this because it walked on all fours and used its other two limbs in battle, making it a powerful foe for any normal hunter to handle (Japanese 力強さを持たせるために4つの脚を地面に付けた体制の上で、 形状を自由に変えて扱える部位があってほしかったので、四肢とは別に翼脚を持つゴアの骨格のが適していた).