Rathian General Information¶

It’s somewhat surprising that you never have to fight a Rathian as part of the main story, although you DO have to evade one during The Best Kind of Quest. It’s not until after the assignment One for the History Books that you’ll unlock quests pertaining to it, as Royal Relocation tasks you with hunting one, and the quest Gettin’ Yolked in the Forest practically forces you to battle a Rathian to steal its eggs. Later on, after completing the two hunts for the First Wyverian (Horned Tyrant Below the Sands and A Fiery Throne Atop the Forest) you’ll get the quest Redefining the “ from the Armory clerk.

When High Rank quests start rolling around - after defeating the High Rank Pukei-Pukei in the mandatory Wildspire Waste expedition - you’ll be able to pick up the quests Brown Desert, Green Queen and The Sleeping Sylvan Queen, just in case you want to take on High Rank Rathian in two different locales. After defeating a High Rank version of Rathian, you should also unlock Special Arena: HR Rathian.

Rathian Strengths and Weaknesses¶

A trendsetter for many, many similar monsters to come, the Rathian’s head, wings and tail are all receptive to damage, with the head taking the most damage. The head, wings and body are all breakable, while the tail is severable.

As a fire-spitting monster, it should be no surprise that the Rathian is resistant to Fire, and because of its apperance, it should also not be surprising that it’s vulnerable to Dragon damage.

The Rathian is weak to Stun, and resilient to Blast and, unsurprisingly, Poison.

The Rathian can be an annoying foe. Despite its wings, it’ll stay on the ground for the majority of the fight, largely using its wings to move between areas, or to perform a potent, flipping tail strike. This attack can inflict Poison, so having some Poison Resistance ranks will come in handy, or failing that, Antidotes. The Rathian can also breathe fire, and will do so regularly enough that Fire Resistance, while not necessary, will mitigate damage and, if you reach a Fire Resistance score of 20+, will prevent you from being set on fire.

Rathian Attacks¶

The Rathian is a Flying Wyvern - both its specific monster categorization, and a fair lay description - and as such you should be prepared for aerial attacks, although frankly, aside from a somewhat mediocre dive attack it only has one aerial attack to be wary of, otherwise using its wings more for mobility rather than as a component to offensive maneuvers. This one note-worthy aerial attack is a vertical spin it’ll do in air, smashing the ground with its tail. Not only does this do a bit of damage, but it’ll inflict poison, too. This is the Rathian’s one attack that envenomates struck enemies, and while it does leave the Rathian vulnerable for a few seconds (if you can time your attacks to coincide with its landing), that doesn’t preclude it from using it again shortly afterwards, so don’t let your guard down just because you see this attack.

Other attacks include the usual bites and tail sweeps, and the Rathian turns enough during combat that there’s no clear favorable side to attack… although as usual, the monster’s head is the source of much of its offense. Namely, it can breathe fire, shooting a single blast of fire or a succession of three blasts. The Rathian’s fire damage isn’t as dangerous as the Anjanath’s was, but being set on fire is still annoying enough, especially since this monster can inflict another damage-over-time effect. The most annoying attack this monster has, however - and one it’ll continually employ - is simply rushing back and forth… which for some reason deals damage. Often times it’ll just pace back and forth, dealing damage to all who stand in between it and its destination.

Low Rank Rathian’s rare drop is a Rathian Plate, and while the Pink Rathian can also drop one, it’s more common from Rathian… and an easier fight, too. While a very rare carve and reward, breaking the head and body, or severing the tail can also get you one. High Rank Rathian is less likely to drop a Rathian Plate (it’s only a very rare carve or reward), but it can also drop a Rathian Gem, which can be obtained by breaking the head and body and carving the tail, or as a very rare carve or reward.