Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak: How to Beat Astalos

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak introduces a large number of creatures to hunt. Some of these creatures are brand-new, while others are returning from prior games in the franchise. Astalos is one of these monsters, and it may be faced in the demo of Sunbreak. This flying wyvern can charge itself with electricity and use it to stun hunters with its crest, wings, and tail. To defeat Astalos, players must be mindful of its speed and strike each part of its body separately.

Astalos’s Attacks and Attributes

Many of Astalos' attacks, as one might imagine, can cause Thunderblight, making the chances of being stunned by Astalos significantly higher. Without the ability to avoid being stunned, players should keep a large supply of Nulberries on hand to use as needed. Some of Astalos' strikes can be deflected, but only weapons with strong defending skills, such as the Lance, should do so. The recoil of Astalos's successive moves will easily knock back weapons with weaker guards, such as the Sword & Shield. When furious, Astalos' speed and ferocity increase dramatically, and its electric moves become even more difficult to avoid.

Astalos' primary assault strategy is to use any sections of its body that are imbued with lightning. The most prevalent attack method used by Astalos is pounding its wings against the ground. These attacks are normally well-predicted, but due to their large hitbox, it can be difficult to avoid them without diving. It can also use its crest to attack. Boltreaver Astalos' crest will create a sword of lightning to slam down on the player, which may be familiar to Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate players. This is one of its most powerful attacks, therefore avoid it at all costs. Astalos also uses its tail to fight, sometimes projecting an electric beam and other times simply sweeping it across the ground. Players should strive to stay close to Astalos's front if they suspect the tail will be used for an attack, as the unusual and wide angles it covers can throw some hunters off balance.

When Astalos is in the air, he doesn't have many attacks and usually flies back down before long. Slamming its tail into the ground to generate an electric sphere and diving from the air to slam its arms against the floor are two of its air attacks. Its most lethal attack entails flying into the air while charged with electricity, then slamming back down and causing an electric explosion all around it. This assault will uncharge all areas of its body, however, any hunter caught in the blast will take a lot of damage. When Astalos is in the air, players should simply avoid it until it lands. It can also blast electricity from its mouth in addition to these skills. This usually results in sparks moving diagonally across the floor, and it can also be combined with a simple forward-moving ball of energy. Although its damage is relatively moderate in comparison to its other attacks, players should still try to avoid it.

How to Beat Astalos

While Astalos appears to be a formidable foe at first glance, it has a number of flaws that players can exploit. Astalos will charge its body parts during the battle, causing them to flash and crackle with green lightning. Attacking these sections does greater damage, and breaking them while they're charged weakens Astalos's abilities. If Astalos is captured in a Shock Trap, these areas of its body will be charged immediately. If you've worked out how to properly dodge Astalos' blows, charging it to deliver more damage can be beneficial. Weapons with the Ice and Water elements, if prior games are any indicator, will be effective in delivering even more damage to the soaring wyvern.

Many of its assaults, especially some of the devastating new Switch Skills introduced in Sunbreak, will leave Astalos wide open to the player's own techniques. This is especially true for attacks that require it to slam its wings or tail down, as it will pause before continuing on to the next assault. Astalos is also vulnerable to Flash Bombs, which would send it reeling to the ground if used while it is in the air. Wait for it to finish its strike before moving in and employing some of your own devastating moves. You'll easily defeat Astalos if you put in enough time and effort!