The Guardian Rathalos is one of the first Guardian variants that you will face in Monster Hunter Wilds. It will be one of the hardest encounters in Low Rank, and if you are a beginner and new to the Monster Hunter series, then you might be struggling a fair bit.
While you can use the SOS Flare and call in other players or Support Hunters, going at it solo is where the actual fun of the fight is, as Guardian Rathalos is brutal and won’t hesitate to instantly 100-to-0 you if you are getting greedy with your attacks.
Below is a guide on how you can deal with the Guardian Rathalos in Monster Hunter Wilds and make the fight significantly easier.
How to find the Guardian Rathalos in Monster Hunter Wilds
Guardian Rathalos is a part of the story quest in Monster Hunter Wilds and you will meet this variant as early as Chapter 3 in Low Rank. It’s part of the “Faith Keepers” main mission and the monster is mainly seen inhabiting the Wyveria biome.
Its introductory cutscene is really cool, and as soon as it ends you will be going toe-to-toe with the Rathalos variant.
Guardian Rathalos Weakness and Status Effectiveness in Monster Hunter Wilds
The Guardian Rathalos is weak to Thunder and Dragon elements, so Ray Dau weapons will be the best bet when it comes to maximizing your DPS on its weak parts. Apart from that here are some of its effectiveness to look out for:
Effective status effects:
| Status | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Poison | 1 star |
| Sleep | 2 stars |
| Paralysis | 2 stars |
| Blastblight | 2 stars |
| Stun | 2 stars |
| Exhaust | No effect |
Effective items:
| Item | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Flash Pod | Effective |
| Sonic Bomb | No effect |
| Shock Trap | Effective |
| Pitfall Trap | Effective |
Rathalos part weakness to damage types and elements:
| Part | Sever | Blunt | Ranged | Fire | Water | Thunder | Ice | Dragon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | 4 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Neck | 2 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Torso | 2 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Left Wing | 3 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Right Wing | 3 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Left Leg | 4 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 2 stars | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Right Leg | 4 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | No Effect | 1 star | 2 stars | 1 star | 2 stars |
| Tail | 2 stars | 2 stars | 2 stars | No Effect | No Effect | 1 star | No Effect | 1 star |
How to prepare for the Guardian Rathalos fight: Best equipment and loadout
As the Guardian Rathalos encounter is part of the main story mission, you will be thrust into the fight right away without having much room for proper if you don’t know that the fight is coming up. You will encounter the variant right after the Guardian Doshaguma when you finally help Nata reunite with the rest of his clan. The Guardian Rathalos will interrupt the heartwarming reunion and you will then have to work to slay it.
This Rath variant deals both Fire and Dragon damage, so you will want to bring along a set of armor that has good resistance to both. However, in LR, you will be hard-pressed to find armor with good dragon resistance, as for fire res, two pieces of the Nu Udra set will do just fine.
For weapons try for Ray Dau equipment as they come with good Thunder damage and Affinity. Moreover, do not forget to cook up a meal and eat it for more HP, Stamina, higher defense with Kunafa Cheese, and more Elemental Resistance with Wild Herbs.
Thunder and Dragon Pod also help with the fight, so if you see them lying around before reaching the locale, make sure to pick them up for some additional damage.
Guardian Rathalos movesets and counters in Monster Hunter Wilds
The Guardian Rathalos has the majority of the movesets that a normal Rath brings to the table, minus the poisoned claws. It also has some moves of the Silver Rathalos thrown in which can catch you off guard.
Here is a list of some of the moves that you will need to watch out for and how you can counter it:
| Move | Description | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-air Fireball | The Guardian Rath will hover in place for a brief moment and then blast your location with a powerful fireball. The monster can follow this up with more fireballs.l. | As soon as you see the rath hovering and readying itself for the flame attack, you will need to close the distance and stay under it to avoid the attack. |
| Mid-air/Grounded Tail Sweep | Rathalos will hover in mid-air and sweep its tail around. This move will knock you down. The rath can perform this even when grounded as well. And will usually do it twice. | Block or dodge through the attack when you see it coming. Be aware of the follow-up sweep which does come in more times than not. |
| Descending Stomp | While in the air, the Rath will slam down after prepping its claws. This will cause an AoE explosion of Wylkcrystals in a small area. The monster can follow this move up with a claw strike forward. | Offset attacks can counter this very well as the attack is quite predictable. Apart from this just dodge out of the AoE. This move can take some time to get used to. |
| Airborne Firestream | When in the air, the Guardian Rathalos will swirl in a circle unleashing a breath of fire attacks. This move deals a lot of damage to your hunter. | You will need to close the distance and stand below the Rath. The fire breath goes out in a circle around it, not under it. |
| Multiple Chomps | The Guardian Rath will go for multiple bite attacks on your hunter. It will advance forward while doing the move so dodging backward will get you clipped by it. | I-frame your dodge into the bite, or use an Offset Attack, or just block it. |
| Slashing Claws | Rathalos will fly in and out multiple times, slashing at you with their claws every time they swoop in. | You will need to i-frame this move and dodge into the incoming swoop to avoid it completely. |
| Grounded Fireball Variations | These Grounded Fireballs come in a lot of variations. The Rathalos can either spit multiple weak fireballs at you or send out very big and powerful ones that do a lot of damage and have a bigger AoE. | The Rath will usually stay stationary during this attack. So the best counter will be to move up to the sides of its head and then punish it with your hardest-hitting combos. |
Tips and Tricks for beating the Guardian Rathalos in Monster Hunter Wilds
Here are a few tips and tricks that will make the Guardian Rathalos fight much more manageable in Monster Hunter Wilds:
1) Bring Flash Pods to the fight
The first and most important tip id to bring three Flashpods to the fight. When the Rath is in flight, using a Flash Pod on it will instantly knock it out of the sky and it will be vulnerable to your attacks for a long time. Make sure you are hitting it with your hardest-hitting combos during this time.
2) Always eat before the fight
Before the story cinematic begins before the fight make sure you eat a meal to boost HP and stamina and get higher Defense and more elemental resistance. If you forget to eat, you can escape by using your Siekret the Portable BBQ, eat, and come back with buffed stats.
Do not, if you are a Bow user, we recommend that you go for the Droolshroom for the Black Belt effect.
3) Use Traps
Both Shock and Pitfall traps are effective against the Guardian Rathalos. So don’t just keep them in your inventory. When you see that the Rath is grounded, make sure to use the traps and get some good DPS uptime on it.
4) Lure Rath into Turf Wars
If a GUardian Doshaguma is nearby, you can lure the Guardian Rath near it, and it will instantly trigger a turf war between the two. The monsters are capable of dealing a lot of damage to each other and knocking each other out. If the Rath gets knocked down, you will want to take the chance to unleash your best combos on it.
5) Use the right equipment for the job
As mentioned previously, make sure you have the right preparations done before the fight. This means, having armor with good Fire and Dragon resist, along with a weapon that deals either Thunder or Dragon damage and can inflict other status effects like Stun, Paralysis, and Sleep.
6) Don’t shy away from using the SOS Flare
If you’re having trouble taking the Guardian Rathalos on solo, then make sure to use the SOS Flare and summon friends, other players, or the various Support Hunters in Monster Hunter Wilds. Difficult hunts are best enjoyed in multiplayer, so take the help of others in the community before you are comfortable enough with the monster movesets and their various interactions.
Guardian Rathalos drops in Monster Hunter Wilds
Here is a list of all the Monster Parts that you can acquire from the Guardian Rathalos in Monster Hunter Wilds and from which part you can get them:
Low Rank Guardian Rathalos materials:
| Guardian Rath Material | Obtained From |
|---|---|
| Guardian Rathalos Webbing | ・Broken Part (Left and Right Wings) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Scale | ・Wound Destroyed ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Tail | ・Carving (Tail) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Shell | ・Wound Destroyed ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Flame Sac | ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Certificate | ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Plate | ・Carving (Tail) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Scale | ・Wound Destroyed |
| Guardian Blood | ・Wound Destroyed |
High Rank Guardian Rathalos materials:
| Guardian Rathalos Material | Obtained From |
|---|---|
| Guardian Rathalos Wing | ・Broken Part (Left and Right Wings) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Scale+ | ・Wound Destroyed ・Carving, Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Tail | ・Carving (Tail) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Carapace | ・Wound Destroyed ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Inferno Sac | ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Certificate S | ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Plate | ・Carving (Tail) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Rathalos Ruby | ・Carving (Tail) ・Carving ・Target Reward |
| Guardian Scale+ | ・Wound Destroyed |
| Guardian Blood+ | ・Wound Destroyed |
