Meet the mascot of Monster Hunter, the famed and feared Waffle—er, Rathalos! Ever roaming the skies as king of the clouds, Rathalos has mastered aerial combat and also packs a powerful arsenal of poisonous talon attacks and explosive fire breath. Rathalos is the male counterpart to Rathian, and the two are commonly seen together and can be a ruthless couple.

Attacks

Side Chomp: Rathalos will jerk its head towards the right side, and his tail will go up to the left. It does almost no damage and will just trip you.

Charge: Rathalos will charge in an attempt to simply just bowl you over. If you are attacking its hind legs and you’re in front of its knees, you will get run over still. Stay behind its hind legs and the charge will not affect you.

Fireball: Rathalos will shoot a fireball at you. Can do it on the ground or in the air.

Retreating Fireball: Rathalos will hop back into the air while shooting a fireball at the area close to where he was standing. He will always do this after roaring into rage mode, but can also do it spontaneously.

Aerial Triple Fireball: When in the air, Rathalos will soar high up, lock on to its target, and then fire three fireballs. Afterwards, it will take its time to fly back down to normal altitude, which is a perfect time to use Flash Bombs to bring it down.

Aerial Bite: When in the air, Rathalos will jerk its head towards the right, then try to bite at you.

Tail Whip: Rathalos has a long tail and will put it to good use by doing two 180 spins, whipping its tail through the air to send you flying. Stay between its legs or slightly in front to be safe.

Talon Strike: When in the air, Rathalos will soar up high, lock on to his target, then swoop down on you and maul you with his talons. It happens very quickly and can appear from nowhere, so be prepared to get hit and I hope you have Antidotes. Sometimes he will do this attack to pin you and if he succeeds he will then spit fire in your face. Swivel your joystick around rapidly to break out faster or toss a Dung Bomb to break out immediately. Afterwards, it takes time to fly back down to normal altitude, leaving it open to being flashed.

Aerial Charge: When in the air, Rathalos will fly forward to try to run you over. It will either pivot around in the air, or land with a screeching halt.

Diving Claw: If in an area with a lot of dramatic ledges, such as in Heaven’s Mount and Ancestral Steppe, Rathian will dive down from the higher ledge and then end with a talon strike.

Breakable Parts

Head: Some of his jutting scales will be broken off, leaving his head looking less spiky and more smoothed out.

Wings: Each wing can be broken. The webbing will be tattered and the wing talons will be broken.

Tail: Rathalos’ tail can be severed and carved.

Back: Best broken by mounting and toppling Rathalos successfully a few times. There will be light colored scars on his back.

Weaknesses

Elemental: Dragon, Thunder

Status: Blast