With a new Monster Hunter World expansion, one of the most important additions is new monsters to hunt. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne brought in a ton of new monsters and monster variations to hunt down.
The expansion also takes place after the entire base game with a new hunt difficulty: Master Rank. As the name suggests, these new hunts can be extremely difficult for new hunters and veterans of the series alike. While the majority of the fights are difficult, these 10 behemoths stick out as the worst of the worst.
Updated on May 6, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: To take down these terrifying titans, it is highly recommended to target their weaknesses, for walking up to one of these huge monsters and swinging away aimlessly is a surefire way to get crushed. Be sure to avoid attacking them with elements that they resist as well, for this would make any hunt immensely more difficult. As one is tracking these colossal beasts around the expansive map, it is ideal to have a plan of attack in mind when approaching the lair or territory of each Iceborne threat.
10 Velkhana (First Fight)
Velkhana's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Thunder, Dragon, & Fire
- Status Weaknesses: Blast & Poison
- Resistances: Ice & Water
- Locations: All biomes
It's important to note that Velkhana isn't that tough of a fight except for being the target of the first story quest where you must take it down. The story quest is one of the tougher fights in the story because it's the first Master Rank Elder Dragon hunt and it has to be done without high-tier armor.
The fight is pretty brutal, even with the ice-resistant armor available at the time. If you haven't been using the grapple claw religiously at this point, this fight will force you to learn the new mechanic.
9 Zinogre
Zinogre's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Ice & Water
- Status Weaknesses: Poison, Sleep, Blast, & Stun
- Resistances: Thunder, Fire, & Dragon
- Locations: Ancient Forest, Coral Highlands, & The Guiding Lands
One of the monsters you face latest in the game, Zinogre is a giant electric wolf that is just a menace to fight. Not only is it large and obnoxious, but it also deals a ton of damage. Zinogre's signature move is to do 2 to 3 dive-bomb attacks back to back, with 2 of them landing very close to you.
If that nonsense wasn't enough to frustrate you, Zinogre also conjures electric balls of death that swirl around him. The death balls aren't enough to kill you unless you eat 2 or 3, but having to avoid a bunch of projectiles while not getting dive-bombed can be difficult.
8 Rajang
Rajang's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Ice
- Status Weaknesses: Blast
- Resistances: Thunder, Fire, Dragon, & Water
- Locations: The Guiding Lands
Added shortly after the release of Iceborne, Rajang is an absolute nightmare. The big ape that absorbs some electric powers from Kirin is a physically and elementally nightmarish offense.
Not only is Rajang physically aggressive and constantly in the hunter's face, when enraged he shoots beams of energy out that deal a ton of damage. Defeating Rajang takes a ton of energy and awareness to avoid getting nailed by either beams or his Donkey Kong-style attacks.
7 Shara Ishvalda
Shara Ishvalda's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Ice & Water
- Status Weaknesses: Poison & Blast
- Resistances: Thunder, Fire, & Dragon
- Locations: Origin Isle
The "final boss" of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, Shara Ishvalda is a real pain regardless of how great your gear is or how prepared you are for the fight. Regardless if it's the first time fighting it or the tenth, Shara Ishvalda combines tediousness with frustration in a two-stage fight.
The first stage involves fighting a massive, rock-covered tank of an Elder Dragon that is incredibly easy to fight but time-consuming to wear down. After the rocks are destroyed, an alien-looking creature is revealed to have been underneath and this is where the challenge comes in. Dodging an onslaught of laser beams proves to be very challenging.
6 Ruiner Nergigante
Ruiner Nergigante's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Dragon & Thunder
- Status Weaknesses: Poison, Sleep, Paralysis, & Blast
- Resistances: Ice, Water, & Fire
- Locations: The Guiding Lands
Nergigante is an insufferable nuisance in the main Monster Hunter World game, so it only makes sense the variation introduced in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is similarly a pain to deal with.
Nergigante is quick, deals a high amount of damage, and is spikey. That last part doesn't factor into the actual difficulty, it's just a visual representation of how annoying it is. It doesn't help that Ruiner Nergigante also shows up only at inconvenient times during other fights.
5 Barioth
Barioth's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Fire & Thunder
- Status Weaknesses: All status effects
- Resistances: Ice, Water, & Dragon
- Locations: Hoarfrost Reach
This saber-toothed tiger dragon is as deadly as it is cool. Like the majority of dangerous monsters in the game, Barioth is very fast and deals a high amount of damage. One of the first monsters discovered in Hoarfrost Reach, this beast comes along when most hunters are very much ill-equipped to be taking on the majority of new beasts, especially one as deadly as this.
While it doesn't carry the same danger further into the game, the tempered version serves as a strong reminder of why it gave you so much trouble the first time around.
4 Teostra
Teostra's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Water & Ice
- Status Weaknesses: Poison & Stun
- Resistances: Fire
- Locations: Wildspire Waste, Elder's Recess, & The Guiding Lands
It shouldn't surprise anyone that monsters who obliterated most hunters in the base game come back to wreak more havoc in Master Rank. Teostra is one of those monsters, perhaps the most fearsome of the main game, back to devastate more hunters in master rank.
This nuclear bomb of a lion is fearsome to fight and incredibly difficult. Between large amounts of fire swirling in the air and its use of explosives, Teostra is very difficult.
3 Savage Deviljho
Savage Deviljho's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Thunder, Dragon, Fire, & Water
- Status Weaknesses: All status effects
- Resistances: Ice
- Locations: All biomes
Another monster that loves to stroll in when you're in a different fight, the Savage Deviljho is a meaner and more menacing version of the regular Deviljho, who was already dangerous and mean.
The Savage Deviljho ups the ante with more powerful and frequent attacks, constantly barging in on hunts that the monster isn't supposed to be part of. Fighting the Deviljho is frantic due to its constant rage mode and quick, deadly attacks.
2 Gold Rathian
Gold Rathian's Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Thunder & Water
- Status Weaknesses: Sleep, Paralysis, & Stun
- Resistances: Dragon, Fire, & Ice
- Locations: The Guiding Lands
Rathians are not the toughest dragons around but they always put up a good fight. On the other hand, the Gold Rathian is a juiced-up, deadlier version.
Gold Rathian's most noticeable change is that it has much higher defense, with very few weak spots if the grapple isn't used effectively. This Rathian deals more damage than the others while also being quicker. The gold scales aren't just for show, this beast earned the right to look that slick.
1 Silver Rathalos
Silver Rathalos' Weaknesses, Resistances, & Locations
- Elemental Weaknesses: Thunder & Water
- Status Weaknesses: Sleep, Paralysis, & Stun
- Resistances: Fire, Dragon, & Ice
- Locations: The Guiding Lands
Just like the Gold Rathian, the Silver Rathalos is the highest tier of Rathalos; the deadliest and most dangerous. They share many similarities, including the shiny scales giving a high increase in defense and almost no weak spots.
The Rathalos has an increased damage output, along with improved chances at poison and burning effects. It's quick and dangerous but makes for a very fancy looking armor set. Like most monsters that aren't discovered until the "story" of Iceborne is completed, it's incredibly dangerous and will test the merit of any hunter, no matter how prepared they think they are.