Monster Hunter Rise: Hardest Monsters In The Game

Now that Monster Hunter Rise is available on PC, new players will be testing their hunting skills against the most vicious monsters in the series yet. The newest installment of the beloved franchise sticks to the series’ roots as players endlessly battle large monsters, carve them for materials, and craft new armor and weapons.

For new players on PC or those who have sunk in hundreds of hours on the Nintendo Switch version, there’s always a hunger for a challenge. Luckily, Monster Hunter Rise has no shortage of boss fights that will leave players scurrying for your health items. These monsters are some of the toughest the franchise has ever had to offer.

Updated February 15, 2024, by Blaise Santi: Monster Hunter Rise received its massive DLC expansion, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, in summer 2022. Since then, the game has received numerous updates adding in new content. Much of this new content includes the addition of new monsters, whether they’re variants of creatures that hunters have already encountered in Monster Hunter Rise, or returning monsters from installments of the series’ past. However, only a few of them deserve to be named some of the hardest fights in the game. Players may also have an easier time taking down these difficult enemies with more information about which weapon elements are best used.

15 Tigrex

A Roaring Menace

Tigrex is one of the most iconic monsters in the entire Monster Hunter franchise, making its debut back in the second generation. Uniquely, it is one of few monsters that does not inflict any status effects. Instead, it proves itself to be a fearsome foe with its overbearing roars and incredible speed, especially once it gets agitated in the heat of the hunt.

For less experienced hunters, fighting the Tigrex will be quite a challenge if they don’t come prepared with the Earplugs skill or proper defenses. It can be an especially difficult hunt depending on the map. Tigrex hunts in snowy locales, allowing the monster to use its terrain to its advantage by throwing chunks of ice against hunters with weakened stamina.

14 Espinas

The Slumbering Forest Dragon

Espinas is fairly uncommon in the Monster Hunter series, originally appearing in the PC titlesMonster Hunter Frontier 2.0 and Monster Hunter Online. It didn’t make its debut in the mainline series until the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak DLC. It’s a surprisingly difficult fight thanks to its scales, which are more impenetrable than other Flying Wyverns.

While some hunters may think Espinas proves easier due to its frequent sleeping, the monster’s invulnerability makes it difficult to do any meaningful damage against it. Once it is awake, however, the Espinas will deliver an onslaught of attacks, including paralysis-laden fireballs, poisonous thorns, and a horn that does not shy away from hurting hunters.

13 Shagaru Magala

The Golden Angel

Shagaru Magala made its debut in the Japanese-exclusive Monster Hunter 4, as one of the final monsters players encounter in the game. It’s an evolved form of the Gore Magala, an Elder Dragon which inflicts hunters with the Frenzy Virus. This virus has a deadly effect on players, removing their ability to recover health over time and leaving them vulnerable.

Although the Gore Magala is a terrifying enough battle, the Shagaru Magala is even more intimidating. It’s much stronger than its previous form, with its own set of advanced attacks. What makes this battle even harder in Sunbreak is that the Shagaru Magala is no longer encounter in a singular area, meaning players will have to chase it down to defeat it.

12 Malzeno

A Bloodthirsty Terror

The mascot of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is Malzeno, which is also one of the few brand-new monsters to appear in the expansion pack. This vampiric Elder Dragon is shown through cutscenes to be vicious towards other monsters, even strong ones like Rathalos. However, players have even more to worry about when facing this dreaded final boss.

Malzeno is capable of inflicting a brand-new status ailment known as Bloodblight, which will not only remove natural health recovery, but also slowly drain players of their health. To make matter worse, the Malzeno is capable of a powered-up state known as the “Bloodening,” making it even more fearsome to battle. For this fight, brings lots of extra health items.

11 Gaismagorm

From The Abyss…

As if Malzeno wasn’t tough enough, there’s a secret final boss waiting for players after they defeat the Elder Dragon. Gaismagorm, a massive dragon clawing its way out of an abyss, is notable for being the rival to Malzeno. At the same time, it is capable of inflicting players with the dangerous Bloodblight as well, as well as having access to Blastblight, too.

To defeat Gaismagorm, hunters will need to work extremely hard as a team, utilizing nearby Dragonators for the perfect moment to strike. It’s one of the most Lovecraftian monsters in the entirety of the Monster Hunter franchise, making it a true menace to hunters of all strength levels. That being said, defeating it will cause one hell of an adrenaline rush.

10 Khezu

The Silent Killer

At this point in the franchise, fighting the Khezu is like a rite of passage. Early in the game, it’s certain to be a brick wall for players expecting an easy journey to become an expert hunter. With its long-reaching neck and lack of theme music, the challenge of fighting Khezu is unmistakable.

Thankfully, after enough fights, Khezu can become an easy-to-predict monster. If players can expertly time their evasions of Khezu’s most-used attacks, such as its leaping electric shock, they might be safe. Nevertheless, Khezu might take the crown as one of the most annoying monsters in the game.

9 Goss Harag

An Abominable Antagonist

Goss Harag is similar in scale to smaller Large Monster like Lagombi, Arzuros, and Volvidon. However, don’t be fooled by its size, as this monster can become a headache for less-experienced hunters. Its signature move sees the cold-terrain monster creating icicle blades from its own bodily fluids that it can fire at hunters.

Like many monsters, Goss Harag also gets significantly harder as it becomes enraged. However, during this enraged form, its weak spots are colored red, which is helpful to players who are struggling to get any good damage on this guy. Remember to pack some Nulberries for the Iceblight.

8 Diablos

The First Generation Fiend

Diablos has been a consistently difficult monster since its appearance in the first installment of the franchise, Monster Hunter. It appears again in Monster Hunter Rise, and shows no mercy to new or veteran hunters. Its most dangerous ability is its tendency to burrow underground and surprise hunters by returning to the surface, horns-first.

Despite its difficulty, Diablos rewards successful hunters with an armor set boasting skills that increase players’ guarding ability and stamina recovery. Within several hunts, Diablos might even become easier to hunt to some expert players. That is, until they face the Apex Diablos.

7 Magnamalo

Rise Up Against The Flagship Monster

As the monster appearing on the box art for Monster Hunter Rise, Magnamalo does not disappoint hunters who come in expecting a fight to end all fights. Nicknamed the “Wyvern of Malice,” Magnamalo deals a unique status ailment to players known as “Hellfireblight.” Similar to the Blast element, this status effect causes naive hunters to explode when knocked back.

Magnamalo appears as one of the Large Monsters central to the single-player story in Monster Hunter Rise, meaning that new hunters may encounter him as early as 5-star quests in the Village. However, defeating Magnamalo gives players access to his brand of weapons, which carry the very useful Blast element.

6 Rajang

The Super-Saiyan Simian

If Khezu proves to be a headache for veteran Monster Hunters early on in the game, fighting Rajang feels like a Hunting Horn to the helmet. Rajang made its debut in the Monster Hunter franchise all the way back in Monster Hunter 2 for Playstation 2, where it surprised late-game hunters with its vicious speed and brute strength.

When Rajang enters its golden-furred Rage Mode, every hunter new and old quakes in their armor. However, opportunities to have an easy time fighting Rajang might be more available than ever in Monster Hunter Rise. With increased aerial mobility thanks to Wirebugs, as well as weapons like Insect Glaive, certain skilled hunters may be able to show off by easily tackling the dreaded ape.

5 Chameleos

Invisible Intruder Alert!

Like Rajang, Chameleos was originally introduced in Monster Hunter 2, and the Elder Dragon reappears in Monster Hunter Rise. This time around, Chameleos is no less difficult than in previous iterations of the franchise. Since Chameleos can turn itself invisible, hunters are lucky if they can even hit the monster, let alone kill it before carting three times.

Chameleos is an exercise in how obnoxious a monster can be. Its abilities include releasing fog that decreases visiblity, spewing toxic clouds, stealing players’ items, causing wind that rivals Kushala Daora’s attacks, and spitting gas that increases fatigue. It’s safe to say that the best hunts against Chameleos are ones that go quickly.

4 Teostra

Fighting This Monster Is A Blast

Teostra has been a flagship Elder Dragon since its debut, but the monster’s re-introduction in the 4th generation games breathed new life into it. With the introduction of the Blast element in Monster Hunter 4 (which was a redesign of the Brachydios’s Slimeblight in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate), Teostra became able to trigger massive explosions with its fiery powder.

No matter how advanced a hunter’s armor and weapons become, Teostra never becomes easier to fight. However, defeating him several times might be worthwhile, as the Teostra’s weapons, like Magnamalo, carry the Blast status effect. It’s always satisfying for a hunter to turn the tables on monsters by using the very status effects that give them such a hard time during fights.

3 Narwa the Allmother

A Combined Catastrophe

As if the Thunder Serpent Narwa wasn’t difficult enough, its Allmother variant appears when the Narwa absorbs its “king,” the Wind Serpent Ibushi. In this combined form, Narwa the Allmother not only deals its typical Thunderblight status effect, but it can also control the wind like Ibushi.

As one of the final bosses of Monster Hunter Rise, Narwa is not easy feat for hunters of any level of experience. However, there’s nothing like the rush when Narwa the Allmother is defeated, and hunters can start crafting with its materials.

2 Crimson Glow Valstrax

Scares Coming From The Sky

The original form of the Valstrax first appeared in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, which was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch in North America. The Crimson Glow variant makes its first appearance in Monster Hunter Rise, and proves more aggressive than its original form. Crimson Glow Valstrax even intrudes on fights with other monsters, not unlike the fan-favorite Deviljho in previous Monster Hunter titles.

Many hunters, especially series veterans, will find themselves challenging the Crimson Glow Valstrax over and over just to beat it once. Even with a full party of four, it can easily triple cart a group of hunters with its devastating comet-like attacks. If veteran hunters struggled in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate against the original version of Valstrax, just wait until Crimson Glow Valstrax appears.

1 Apex Rathalos

The Series Staple Gone Psycho

Apex variants of Large Monsters make their debut in Monster Hunter Rise, and they are no joke. Only six Apex monsters currently exist in the game, but they’re all far more powerful and aggressive than their non-Apex versions. While the normal Rathalos can be easily overcome, the Apex Rathalos is similar in behavior to other variants of Rathalos from games of series past, like the Dreadking Rathalos in the Monster Hunter Generations games.

Apex Rathalos was added to the game via an update in April 2021, and like the other Apex monsters, only appears in Rampage hunts. This makes it somewhat easier to fight than if it was a normal hunt, but don’t be fooled. Apex Rathalos makes most other monsters in the game look like a walk in the park.

Monster Hunter Rise is now available for PC and Nintendo Switch.