Pink Rathian General Information¶

Encountering the Pink Rathian the first time is quite an involved affair, requiring you to find “??? Rathian” tracks while on expeditions, optional quests or investigations. Gather enough research and you’ll unlock the assignment Old World Monster in the New World. After completing that, you’ll unlock the optional quests Pretty in Pink and A Cherry Wind upon the Reefs and after the mandatory Elder’s Recess expedition you’ll unlock the quest Special Arena: HR Pink Rathian.

Pink Rathian Strengths and Weaknesses¶

The Pink Rathian’s head is the part most receptive to damage, followed by the wings and tail. Both the head and wings are breakable, and the tail is severable.

Sharing the same resistances with the Rathian, the Pink Rathian is resistant to fire and weak to Dragon.

The Pink Rathian also has the same ailment resistances as the normal Rathian, being susceptible to Stun, strong against Poison and Blast, with Sleep and Paralysis somehwere in the middle.

The same threats that made the Rathian annoying are present with the Pink Rathian, too, as like its less gaudy counterpart the Pink Rathian can use its breath to set hunters on fire, and its tail strikes may inflict Poison. Get a Fire Resistance score of twenty or higher to make yourself immune to taking fire damage-over-time, and get three ranks of the Poison Resistance skill to prevent another nuisance source of damage. Other than that, bring a weapon that can hit flying foes, as the Pink Rathian prefers to remain airborne far more than the normal Rathian.

Pink Rathian Attacks¶

The color may be different, but a Rathian’s still a Rathian. Okay, that’s not entirely fair, but most of the attacks are the same as those employed by a normal Rathian, albeit at much, much higher damage. The Pink Rathian can inflict poison damage with its tail, as well as spit fire, as could the original Rathian.

In fact, if there’s a tangible difference between the Pink Rathian and the normal Rathian, it’s how much the Pink Rathian will use its tail, including its incredibly painful spinning tail lash attacks, which it’ll spam with no sense of decency whatsoever. It has two of these attacks, the standard vertical flip, and a more diagonal tail lash, both of which can inflict poison and deal heavy damage. Flash Pods will help deter it when it decides to stick to aerial assaults, so be sure to bring those along - they’re far more useful against the Pink Rathian than the Rathian.

Otherwise, expect to see many of the same attacks the Rathian used - the triple fireball, the “pace-back-and-forth-which-somehow-counts-as-an-attack” attack, and various bites, tail sweeps and claw attacks. The Pink Rathian is also far more aggressive than the normal Rathian, so expect it to fly about and attack more frequently. Positioning and patience are key - be content with a few, safe, small attacks when there’s an opening.

The Pink Rathian has two very rare drops - the Rathian Plate and Rathian Ruby. Since the Rathian Plate can be obtained from farming Low Rank Rathian, there’s no reason to bother hunting a Pink Rathian for one. As for the Rathian Ruby, it’s a drop unique to the Rathian and Pink Rathian, and while it’s a very rare carve, you can increase your odds of getting one by breaking the head or back, or carving the tail.