Elderseal is a new attribute introduced in Monster Hunter: World that has many hunter scratching their heads trying to figure out its purpose. While it doesn't have a lot of use for most of the monsters in the game, it's incredibly helpful when facing certain Elder Dragons, and we'll tell you how it works.

Essentially, using a weapon with Elderseal will prevent certain monsters in Monster Hunter: World from using their special aura abilities as often and can seal away their rage. These monsters are all Elder Dragons, and including Kirin, Teostra, Kushala Daora, and Vaal Hazak. Each can build up powerful auras, which can cause significant trouble for hunters if left to grow.

The Effects of Elderseal

If you've fought Kirin, you'll know how difficult it can be to damage it when it becomes enraged and lightning begins to rain down on you and your group. Once its skin hardens, weapons will reflect off of it and deal little to no damage at all. Elderseal can help reduce the level of its enraged phase and remove its hardened skin, allowing hunters to break through and start taking it down.

For Teostra, Elderseal will reduce its flame aura, which can prevent long-range weapons from penetrating the beast and can damage melee fighters. Teostra is especially dangerous due to its extremely powerful special move, Supernova, that will one-shot unprepared hunters. Elderseal can actually prevent Teostra from using this by suppressing its flame aura. No flame aura means no Supernova, which means there's less risk of failing a mission in one fiery blast.

Elderseal will also reduce the wind aura for Kushala Daora. Its wind aura, which works like a barrier, can get strong enough to push hunters away and is particularly frustrating for melee users. The aura will also prevent long-range weapon damage. With enough hits from a weapon with Elderseal, the wind aura will be removed, allowing the group to move back in and continue the beatdown.

Finally, there's Vaal Hazak, which is all about using effluvia effects to cut a hunter's health in half. With an Elderseal weapon, hunters can reduce the amount of effluvia it produces. This means melee users can get in close and personal without fear of a dramatic shave in their health.

It's also worth noting that some hunters believe Elderseal is also effective against Nergigante, while others will claim it has no effect at all. It's difficult to say for sure, since Elderseal isn't listed as useful against the Elder Dragon in the monster guide. Nergigante also doesn't have any obvious aura to dispel, so the effects of using Elderseal may not be as apparent as it is on other Elder Dragons. Thus, using Elderseal on Nergigante is really up to the hunter's discretion.

How to Get Elderseal

Certain weapons come with the Elderseal attribute and they will have one of three levels: low, medium, or high. The higher the Elderseal, the more effective it will be against Elder Dragons. Decorations can be used to boost the effects of Elderseal, but only on weapons that already carry the attribute. Additionally, equipment like the Dragonseal Earrings will also bolster the effects of Elderseal. If you're looking for armaments that come with a high rating of Elderseal, then you'll want to start crating weapons made from Nergigante.

Another source of Elderseal comes from Dragon Pods. This is slinger ammo that occasionally drops from Elder Dragons. These can be used to inflict Elderseal damage and dispel those pesky auras.

Speaking of weapons, it appears that a new weapon type could be added to Monster Hunter: World in the near future. The Japanese Twitter account for the game posted an image of all the currently available weapons in keychain form, with the addition of one mystery key chain hidden behind a question mark. This isn't confirmation of a new weapon, of course, but speculation between fans is flying, and many are hopeful that this is the case.

Crafting Elderseal weapons can get expensive, so if you're short on cash, you might try investing some time farming money in a special event that has recently returned to Monster Hunter: World. Triple Threat Throwdown is a 6-star level quest that pits hunters against a Great Jagras, a Great Girros, and a Dodogama in the special arena. If you come equipped with a Bandit Mantle and a fast weapon, you'll walk away with plenty of monster parts to sell for a handsome profit.

Monster Hunter World is available now for PS4 and Xbox One with a PC version slated for this fall.