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- All Strategies as of now and information has been written by Artemis Paradox
Introduction[]
The Rathian is a female fire elemental wyvern. She has a male counter-part named Rathalos. The Rathian isn't much different from a Rathalos in attacks and behaviour. Except that the Rathian can do a triple fire ball attack, and a backflip. She doesn't have the aerial attacks the Rathalos has as well.
Behaviour[]
The Rathian Tends to charge at you, after a few charges usually follows a fireball. Most of the time after 2-4 charges. The fireball attack is indicated with the Rathian turning very slowly, the amount of fireballs spit is indicated by an inner noise the rathian makes. The Rathian prefers staying on the ground, unlike rathalos who is more for aerial combat.
The Rathian will do a backflip sometimes and this is indicated by the rathian taking 1-2 steps backwards, and then a summersault follows.
The Rathian can follow you when charging, meaning that if you run to the sides she'll follow you instead of just a straight charge, this usually results in her doing multiple charges before finally falling.
When near death she'll limp and sleep in Area 7 (Jungle) and Area 5 (Forest and Hills).
New in MHFU: In the G level at the Gathering Hall and the Felyne Elder Nekoth quests the Rathian has an slightly improved moveset. Which consists of the ability to perform a backflip instantly without warning after spitting fireballs, and when flying back her landing animation is somewhat more sophisticated and she can perform another attack faster than in the lower ranked missions.
Items[]
Bring[]
- Herbs/Potions/Mega Potions.
- Paintballs.
Optional[]
- Cool Drinks. (for when hunting her in the desert)
- Trap Meat.
- Pitfall Trap + Tranq Bombs. (Catching)
- Barrel Bombs.
- Mega Juice. (For DS, hammer users and archers)
- Flash Bombs.
Avoid[]
- Sonic Bombs. (But I think you already realised that)
Weapon Requirements[]
It's highly recommended to have a weapon with at least green sharpness, and good raw attack power is also needed to dispatch of this monster quickly.
Weapon Suggestions[]
Note: Expert = HR4 and up.
- Great Swords: Ravager Blade+( newbies), Khezu Shock Blade/King Thundersword (experts).
- Long Swords: Devil Slicer (newbies), True Devil Slicer (experts), Red Dragonsword or Smolder Dragonsword (experts).
- Sword and Shield: Eternal Strife (newbies), Azure Ogre Sword (Experts), Black Dragon Sword (experts).
- Dual Swords: Cutlass+ (newbies), Guild Knight Sabers (Experts), Dual Dragon Ultimus (experts), Eternal Schism (Experts).
- Hammers: Anvil Hammer (newbies), Great Nova (experts), Onslaught Hammer or Diablos Chaos Broker (experts).
- Hunting Horn: Khezu Horn+ (newbies), Gold Recorder (experts).
Element/Ailment[]
The Rathian is the weakest to the dragon element. The elements Ice and Thunder also work great.
If you're going for an ailment you would like to bring a Stun weapon. Which when you stun her will give you all opportunity to go all out on the head, break her wings or cutting her tail.
Armor[]
The Rathian is a Fire elemental monster, meaning some of her attacks will be fire elemented. For this an armor with positive fire resistance is recommended. Her physical attacks being rather strong it's also wise to have an armor high raw defense. Even though she looks a little like a dragon she surely isn't so don't bother with dragon resistance.
What To Attack[]
| Body Part | Damage Dealt |
|---|---|
| Head | Most (Weak Point) |
| Neck | Mediocre |
| Legs | Decent |
| Wings | Mediocre |
| Tail | Mediocre-small |
Breakable Parts[]
| Body Part | How to Break | Broken After |
|---|---|---|
| Head Crest | Attack the head. | 1 - 2 Staggers |
| Wing Claw (Both Wings) | Attack the wings | 1 Stagger |
| Tail | Attack the tail anywhere near the tip of it with a cutting weapon. | Usually during the first stagger, sometimes after 2. |
- Tail gives 1 carve.
- Breaking the head gives a small (actually the highest) chance of getting a Rathian Plate or Rathian Ruby and in G rank (MHFU) a chance of obtaining a Heavenly Rathian Scale.
- Breaking Head Crest and cutting the Tail can result in extra scales in the rewards.
- Breaking only 1 wing claw already gives a Rathian Claw in the rewards in some of the MH games. (Not MH1 I know)
Attacks[]
- Charge
- Multi Charge: Usually 3 charges in a row without the rathian sliding on the ground, is recognised by her following you when running to the sides during her charge.
- Fire Ball
- Triple Fire Ball
- Back Flip: Poison upon contact
- Double Backflip (Since MH2)
- Bite
- Tail Swing
Battle Strategie(s)[]
General (the basics)[]
As soon as you enter the area the Rathian is in decide whether to kill the minions first if there are any, or run behind the Rathian as long as she hasn't spotted you yet and throw a paintball. Now she has noticed you but she'll first be looking around for a few seconds without attacking, while she's doing this you should focus your attacks on the tail to cut it as soon as possible. Or not, you can also slash away at the wings or do anything else.
The Rathian will charge at you, she does this most of the time. While she's doing this just simply evade the attack by remaining close to her and on her sides or behind her so you won't be in her path. This charge is indicated by the Rathian making 2 fast turns of 90 degrees, she'll always charge after this. Once she has passed you run towards her and (if you didn't do it yet) get a hit on the tail, which will be hanging low at this time. The Rathian though can do this charge (however without her sliding after the charge) several times in a row, this can be recognized by the Rathian following you if you run to the sides while she's charging at you. This is why you should remain close on her sides or behind her, so you can evade this attack. If you're far away this attack will surely hit you, diving usually results in being hit anyway as she continues the move.
The Rathian can also spit fire balls. Either 1 or 3. You can know how much it will be by listening to the noise that the Rathian makes before spitting the fireballs. When she does this she's totally open to any attack, she need time to recover from the attack so you can safely attack any point you want. Tail can be easily reached, the wings though are a bit hard to hit if you don't use a lance or gun. During the triple fire ball (which she does more frequently when enraged) you can perform a Fully charged GS or Hammer Strike.
The Rathian can turn 180 degrees and swing her tail, this can be done both counter- and clockwise. You can stay under her and slash away at the legs during this move. This move is evaded by rolling away from the tail or underneath the Rathian. It's actually not a good time to attack her unless you're a gunner.
The Rathian has a most deadly attack and that's her back flip. Since Monster Hunter 2 she even gained the ability to do 2 in a row. This move deals major damage as well as poisons you for a long time. Even with the tail cut she can poison you with it though the range is greatly decreased. This move can be foreseen by the Rathian doing a step or 2 backwards, lowering her head and then leaping forward with the back flip. If your timing is correct you can land a charged GS strike or Super Hammer Pound on her head.
When the Rathian is close to death she will start limping and try to rest in another area. From this point on you can capture her. If you fail to kill/catch her during her limping scene just follow her to the area she rests in and kill her there.
Great Sword[]
- Take the above strategy as a base.
- This Section only tells when to use what attacks during which attacks of the Rathian.
After A charge of the Rathian run towards her and either do a hit on the tail or charge a GS strike and let it go when she has turned at you just before she charges, do this after a normal hit on the head so this charged GS strike (no matter lvl of charge) will stun (headlock) her if your GS is highly raw powered. The most common way to respond to a charge is running towards her head after her charge, do a quick-draw vertical slash and roll away before she turns. For high powered GS 2 hits will headlock her and thus a vertical - horizontal slash can be done repeatedly. However this should not be done during her rage mode.
For her tail spin you can attack her after a turn (180 degrees) has been finished and then roll away from the head/tail. A quick-draw vertical slash is the ideal attack for this moment.
During her Fire ball you should do a Charge GS strike on the head or tail. For the tail you can also (if your GS doesn't bounce) do a few vertical strikes, but charged hit is the best choice. It's safer to do this during the triple fire ball. However while the Rathian is enraged it's a little more dangerous to do this, but a charged GS strike is still possible if set up early enough. If it turns out a single fireball just cancel the GS strike at the charge level it is and roll away from the head.
To counter the back flip stand diagonally in front of the rathian and prepare a GS charged attack just after the backflip before she hovers above the ground for a second. Or just do the normal quick-draw attack followed by a horizontal swing.
Long Sword[]
The Long Sword can't block so more caution is required if you want to make it out of battle alive. Attack the head to fill the spirit guage as quickly as possible and use spirit attacks during fireballs and a single spirit attack during turns and evade it with the backward jumping slash.
After evading a regular charge run after the Rathian and do a quick-draw vertical strike + a 2nd vertical strike on the tail. (Or any other body part) and roll sidewards before she turns. Another option is to do the double vertical strike on the back of the wing webbing while the Rathian is standing up, or just run to the head do this 2x vertical slash and roll out of the way. It's more important then ever to stay close on the Rathian's sides or behind her in case she might do her multiple charge again. If you're far away you're pretty much screwed, remember you can't block and diving doesn't help either. If there's a big rock (desert zone) nearby that the Rathian can't pass through run behind it and evade the attack from there.
During the Rathian's triple fire ball attack do not hesitate to do a 5 hit combo on the head or do several vertical slashes on the tail. On the head you can do the quick-draw vertical slash, followed by a sting and then another 2 vertical slashes and roll out of the way just in time. For the single fire ball attack only do a double downward slash and roll out of the way.
When the Rathian turns tail you can wait for her to finish her turn and do the backward slash that makes you jump backwards on her head and easily evade another tail spin.
For the backflip you should try to get behind her while she's about to land and try cutting the tail. A double vertical slash followed by the backwards jumping slash is a wise combination if attacking the head at this moment.
Dual Swords[]
Dual swords are very fast like sword and shield but the downside of this weapon is that you can't block. In return they have a demonization mode which allows greater combos and deals better damage. The strategy remains the same as always, attack the head. Don't bother breaking the wings since Dual Swords have a very short reach. You can try to cut the tail when she does a fire ball by using the side ward spin or doing the demon dance.
When she does her charge just go out of the way, there's no point in trying to stagger her in the midst of her charge when using dual swords. When you evaded the charge run after the rathian and wait for her to turn so you can determine if it's safe to attack or not. When she's standing up you can land a hit or 3 on the legs and quickly roll away.
When the Rathian does her fireball attack (remember to listen to her inner roar) go into demonization mode and perform a demon dance on her head and then roll out of the way. You can also do a regular combo.
When the Rathian turns tail do not close in on her but stay at a distance the size of her tail, though you can land a spin cut on her head when she just finished a turn.
When the Rathian does her backflip you can go into demonization mode and close in on her since her wind won't affect you. When she just landed her tail will be on the ground giving you a perfect opportunity to attack and cut it. You can attack her head, but keep in mind that the Rathian can do a double backflip. Don't take unnecessary risks, don't attack the head unless she had just done a double backflip.
Hammer[]
Hammers are slow and lack the block ability but in exchange they have a tremendous attack power, stagger rate and the ability to knock out monster if hitting the head enough. Use this to dominate in combat. The base of the strategy is to attack the head as many times as possible. Because attacking other body parts most of the time results in Bouncing off, regardless of your sharpness levels.
When the Rathian Charges at you just run out of the way, before she stands up charge your hammer and release a super pound on the head from the sides and quickly roll away from the Rathian. When the Rathian follows you when running just keep running and dive if necessary. She'll continue charging when this happens and because you can't block you might have to dive several times. Do not try to land a triple pound after a charge.
When the Rathian does a fireball first listen closely to the inner growl she makes, it tells if there will be 1 or 3 fireballs. Stand 2-3 steps away from her head, when she spit the fireballs do a triple pound on the head and roll away from the wings and keep a distance in case she might do a tail spin.
When the Rathian does a tail spin you have 2 options since there are usually several spins:
- Charge your hammer and release it when she stops spinning or when her head is in reach.
- Think about where the head will be after 2 turns, take place, when she turned and her head is in reach, do 1 overhead pound and roll away.
When the Rathian Does her backflip go out of the way and then you have 2 choices:
- Charge your hammer and release a super pound when she lands, then roll to the sides in case of a 2nd backflip.
- Just before she lands you start the triple pound. (Only do this when you have a very strong hammer, this is very risky).
Since you will be attacking the head all the time, it won't be a surprise if you knock her out, when this happens, don't waste your time with super pounds, instead do triple pounds. If done correctly you can land 2 triple pounds before she recovers.
Hunting Horn[]
Just playing the basic notes gives you running speed with weapon drawn and playing the same notes for the 2nd time gives you ESP for a short period, use these 2 effects to dominate battle, but becareful when playing music, it leaves you open and takes a few valuable seconds so use this wisely.
When the Rathian has charged and she fell over, either do the overhead pound on the legs, or wait for her to turn at you and do the super pound or 1 diagonal swing and roll away. When the Rathian does her multiple charges withdraw your weapon and keep running, however preferrable is to always keep a distance 1.5x the size of her tail, and when she does this multiple charge you can evade it by circling around her, guaranteeing you won't get hit.
When the Rathian does her fireball wait for the fireball attack to be done and then land 2 diagonal swings on the head or do the overhead pound, then roll away.
When the Rathian does her tail spin take place on the position her head will be after 2 turns and when her head is in reach do 1 diagonal swing or overhead pound and roll away.
When the Rathian does her backflip wait for her to land and just before she does so do the overhead swing and roll away, you can also do 1 or 2 diagonal swings but since she can do 2 backflips in a row it's safer to do only 1.
Avoid attacking the tail as hammers and hunting horns can break it and deal good to no damage to it, legs can be comboed with diagonal swings when the Rathian does fireballs and turns tail (with rolling between the legs of course).
You'll most likely knock her out and when this happens go to the head and keep doing diagonal swings till she snaps out of her confusion.
Don't forget to play music every 2-3 minutes for the running effect, throw a flashbombs if you don't get any chances to play music under normal circumstances or flee to another area, play music and then go back to the Rathian and continue fighting. And avoid the wings without having activated the ESP.
Bow Guide[]
Since your defence is at least half of that of a blademaster it is more important than ever to be very careful approaching her. It becomes less dangerous to approach her if you have an armor with earplugs. Which will be very valuable due to you as a gunner taking nearly double damage from attacks and being unable to block. Since your bow has a good reach you can safely attack from medium-large distances. The Rathian isn't a very big wyvern, but a medium size. For that reason pierce shots might not be as effective as they would be on a plesioth, but they're still more effective than scatter. For the Rathian either use a bow with Rapid Shots (preferred) or Pierce Shots. The pierce shots are to be shot from wing to wing or from head to tail, easier however would be to shoot the head with a rapid shot.
When the Rathian charges at you, run to the sides while drawing your bow, when she has passed you approach her and depending on the kind of shot you're going to use either shoot her from tail to head immediately or if you got rapid shots wait for her to turn while running the same direction she's turning, and release a rapid shot on her head from a diagonal angle. Rapids shots are most effective when used at a medium-close distance.
When she does her fireball (1 or 3 it doesn't matter), just simply evade by running to her sides, then release your shots. It's a great timing to shoot her from wing to wing with a pierce shot. If using rapid or scatter, aim for the head.
When she does her tail spin just get away from her and shoot her, you can try and position yourself so that her turn will get her into the position so you can shoot her from wing to wing, or from head to head. It's up to you what you do, think ahead while she's doing this and then shoot her with the appropriate kind of shot.
When she's going to do her backflip get away from her and try to shoot her wing with a rapid or scatter shot. Also an option is to get in front of her after her backflip and release a rapid shot on the head or a pierce shot from head to tail.
Artemis Paradox 06:08, 22 April 2009 (UTC) From the beginning of the page till this signature is all written by me.
Video Guide[]
Newbie Guide Rathalos and Rathian by MHNoodles.
