In Monster Hunter World, players will find themselves hunting a variety of monsters, ranging from relatively small creatures to mammoth beasts. While some of these monsters are pushovers, others pose significant threats, and will challenge even the most dedicated Monster Hunter World players.

While selecting the hardest monsters in Monster Hunter World, we decided to rate each monster's difficulty by how hard they typically are when first encountered. Otherwise, this list would likely only consist of Elder Dragons.

With that in mind, here are the seven hardest monsters in Monster Hunter World.

7 Bazelgeuse

Unlike other monsters in the game, Bazelgeuse doesn't have a specific habitat. Instead, players will find this ferocious beast in all different regions, often getting in fights with other monsters. Bazelgeuse's tendency to show up in the middle of hunts is what makes the beast so difficult to overcome, as its exploding scales and fire breath can easily incapacitate unprepared players while they're trying to focus on their target.

6 Black Diablos

Diablos is already considered one of the more challenging monsters in the game, so the even stronger Black Diablos is no joke. Black Diablos is a female variant of Diablos, and while she has all the same deadly attacks and weaknesses as her male counterpart, she is significantly more aggressive. What makes Black Diablos and Diablos in general challenging to hunt is because of how the monsters ram players with their powerful horns, leaving them stunned and open to additional attacks that can easily kill them. Anyone hoping to stand a chance against Black Diablos will want to make sure they have the best armor possible beforehand.

5 Kushala Daora

Monster Hunter World players that primarily use melee weapons will find Kushala Daora to be one of the most difficult fights in the entire game due to this Elder Dragon's desire to constantly be in the air. Even when players are able to land hits on the beast, its metallic armor is difficult to penetrate, meaning they will constantly have to keep their weapons as sharp as possible. If Kushala Daora's significant defenses weren't enough, the beast also has its fair share of deadly wind-based attacks that can deal significant damage to most hunters.

4 Nergigante

Nergigante is one of the most recognizable monsters from Monster Hunter World. Not only has the impressive beast been featured in plenty of promotional material, but it also shows up numerous times over the course of the story. The first couple of times players encounter Nergigante fail to do the beast justice, as when the real fight begins, it's clear that this Elder Dragon eater poses a significant challenge. Despite its size, Nergigante can also be incredibly agile, lashing out at players with ferocious speed and stunning them with its powerful attacks.

3 Odogaron

Odogaron is definitely the least threatening looking monster on this list, but it still earns its spot. Odogaron is very fast, and it has a tendency to cause bleeding, which is cured by crouching and standing still for a period of time. This obviously leaves players open to even more attacks from the monster, which can spell doom for many. As time goes on, Odogaron will seem less threatening, but the first time players have to hunt one down will humble them, as it's one of the tougher fights in the early sections of the game.

2 Pink Rathian

While we could have included the Rathalos variant, Azure Rathalos, here as well, Pink Rathian edges it out because it's a monster that players are forced to fight to progress through the story. Pink Rathian is presented as a serious threat right off the bat, with players having to complete special expeditions to find mysterious Rathian tracks that allow them to face off against this monster in the Coral Highlands. Pink Rathian has the same attacks as the original, but like the Black Diablos, it is far more aggressive, meaning even veteran hunters may find it a challenge. What makes the fight especially difficult is the Pink Rathian's ability to poison players, and then leave them very little time to consume any antidotes or other healing items.

1 Teostra

Arguably the most challenging Elder Dragon players will find in the Elder Recess, Teostra is an aggressive, overpowering beast. Players will need to go into this fight with proper armor to avoid constantly finding themselves on fire, and even then they can be one-shot killed by some of Teostra's more powerful attacks. Destroying its horns will make this fight a little easier, but even then Teostra is still one of the more challenging monsters in the game.

When it comes to how difficult a monster is in Monster Hunter World, everyone's experience may be a little different depending on what weapons are being used and the quality of players answering SOS flares. Because of this, one monster that seems difficult to many may come across as fairly easy to others, so there's definitely room for debate about which monsters are the most challenging. For example, while many players found the fight with Nergigante to be challenging, someone managed to beat the creature in less than a minute - solo.

Which monsters did you find to be the most challenging in Monster Hunter World? Let us know your picks in the comments below.

Monster Hunter World is available now for PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC release planned for later this year.