User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Chameleos (4th Gen)/@comment-5020152-20160514003628

CHAMELEOS

Concept: Whenever someone asks me about Monster Hunter, Chameleos is the monster that I most often find myself using as an example. Taking a dragon, combining it with a chameleon, and giving it tons of Poison to throw at unfortunate hunters? That’s Grade-A creativity right there. 9/10

Design: Chameleos is undoubtedly the most adorable monster in the game. Just look at that cute face and tell me otherwise! Chammy combines the best traits of all different kinds of reptiles into one amiable package. The frill of a frilled lizard? The googly eyes and long tongue of a chameleon? The tail of a gecko? The fangs of a viper? The deadly venom typically associated with the reptile family? Chammy has it all! Best of all, he takes all these reptilian traits and somehow works them flawlessly into the design of a flying elder dragon. Then there are the colors, those pastel shades of pink and purple that instantly fade away only to pop out at you again when Chammy reappears. And finally, the hesitant way he walks is absolutely perfect for his cautious, yet curious, personality. He’s a great monster, no doubt. 10/10

Sounds: No frightening roars from this dragon, no sir. Chameleos gurgles, chirps, and chatters to himself as he fights. His music is, once again, perfect, as it sums up the mystery and suspense of fighting something that you cannot see. It gets even better when Chammy covers the area in thick mist, and the music becomes noticeably muffled. The faded music really sells the theme of “Oh damn, where’d he go?!” 8/10

Gameplay: In my opinion, Chameleos is the easiest of the elder dragons. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not difficult in his own right. Chammy moves around the battlefield erratically – moving slowly at first before suddenly speeding up and catching you by surprise. That sticky tongue of his can be used to steal items, which is INFURIATING in most cases, while all of his projectile attacks inflict Poison. Chameleos can also flap his wings to manipulate the poison clouds around in tricky ways. Until he gets enraged, Chammy employs a rather passive approach to battle. Most of this is old news for people who have fought this dragon in the past, but in 4 Ultimate, Chammy has a huge amount of brand-new tricks that he brings to the table, making him feel almost like a completely different monster. 7/10

New Stuff: Remember, in MHFU, how Chameleos used to stay invisible for literally the entire hunt? In 4 Ultimate, it’s much easier to keep track of Chammy because he doesn’t disappear nearly as often. However, he’s also twice as aggressive and has a wide variety of new attacks to screw you over with. When enraged, he can swamp the battlefield with fog that makes it difficult to see. Chammy has also sacrificed his acid-spitting and his green gas for more venom than the Gigginox from MH3U could ask for. Personally, I’m on the fence when it comes to all this new material. I do, in fact, prefer the old Chammy – his lack of aggression and variety of status conditions were perfect for the sort of monster he is. But I love what they’ve done to change him in 4 Ultimate, so my opinion is rather compromised. 6/10

Equipment: HG Earplugs, Fire Res +15, Status Atk +2, Wind Res (Hi), Status Crit, Capture Guru, and Tremor Res. Those are the skills that my gemmed-up Chameleos armor set has, giving me a resistance to almost anything a monster can throw at me. Seriously, Chameleos equipment is perfect end-game material. The weapons have fantastic designs – the Insect Glaive and Bow come to mind, being a scepter and a magic wand/spellbook combo, respectively. They also have ridiculous Poison attributes as well as a good amount of slots for Decorations, and the armor is probably one of the best in the game for reasons stated above. It gets even better when you realize that Chammy is the easiest elder dragon, and farming for his materials is no problem at all. I highly, highly recommend making Chameleos gear, because it will serve you well no matter what monster you fight. 10/10

Cutscene: The way that Chameleos pops in and out of existence before jumping down on the hunter with one hell of a nightmare face is fantastic. For the first time in the entire series, Capcom has succeeded in making this goofy chameleon absolutely horrifying. “SURPRISE, MOTHERF*CKER!” 10/10

Summary: One of the most uniquely-designed and interesting monsters in the whole series, Chameleos is the epitome of creativity in a cute, quirky package. With lots of poison, invisibility, and an unhealthy dose of kleptomania, I can see why people would have issues with this monster, but I’m a big fan. He’s an all-powerful elder dragon, but he’s so dang cute that I just wanna give him a big cuddle. Overall 8.5/10