Head off on expeditions or investigations to the Wildspire Waste and while you’re there, search for blue tracks until you fill your research bar for the unknown monster - revealed as Teostra once your investigation is finished - and talk to The Huntsman. The order doesn’t really matter, so long as you complete both of these objectives. Once done, be sure to Chief Ecologist and this quest should start.

Hunt - Teostra¶

Unlike Kushala Daora, there are significant - borderline necessary - preparations you can make before this fight. Teostra is a Fire elemental dragon, and it’s fire attacks aren’t an accessory to its primary form of offense like, say, the Anjanath’s was - fire is the primary mode of attack. That being the case, you’re making the fight far harder than it has to be if you attempt it with a Fire Resistance score of less than twenty. Not only does this have the obvious benefit of reducing fire damage you sustain, but at this threshold it should also prevent you form being affected by the burning status, which will force you to roll to extinguish the flames, wasting time, stamina, and possibly leaving yourself vulnerable to further attacks.

As for your own offense, Teostra is weak to Water and Ice, making them primary choices for weapons. While it’s not particularly vulnerable to any ailments, Poison is probably your best bet if you’re going to make use of one. Stay away from Fire elemental attacks, obviously. Failing any of that, you can bring to bear Elderseal weapons, but as with most foes, its effects are of questionable value, at best.

When your preparations are made, travel to the Elder’s Recess and make your way to the fiery recesses of AREA 12, where you’ll find a new path open to the west, leading to AREA 13 - Teostra’s lair. Naturally, an Elder Dragon fond of fire would reside in some of the more… inhospitable parts of the Elder’s Recess, so grab some Chillshrooms and down a Cool Drink on your way. Upon witnessing your intrusion into its lair, Teostra will display its own fiery temper, and move to assert its dominance.

Teostra, perhaps more-so than most Elder Dragons, is defined by the element to which it is attuned. Like Kushala Daora it’ll shroud itself in its favored element as the fight goes on, and like Nergigante, as the fight goes on and its powers build, it’ll start attacking more aggressively, prioritize some attacks over others (usually using more fire attacks as its flame aura builds) and even gain access to new attacks.

At first Teostra will fight without the benefit of its fire shroud, using a healthy mix of physical attacks and fire attacks, most of which aren’t terribly powerful. One of its more common attacks is to breathe a short-range arc of fire in front of it. Before most of its fire breath attacks it’ll rear back and inhale, and while it doesn’t take terribly long for it to accomplish this, it’s still a fair visual cue indicating the impending attack. While usually focusing on the front, Teostra can also quickly turn around and bring this attack to bear on enemies behind it. In addition to this, it can perform a longer-range line of fire, during which it’ll turn its head and sweep a large swath in front of it over two passes. Teostra can also perform an over-the-shoulder bite against foes flanking it, and a tail sweep (two lashes) against opponents in the rear.

Not surprisingly, Teostra has plenty of charge attacks as well, including the ever-popular “run back and forth” “attack”, a pouncing charge attack, an aerial, diving charge attack (usually how it transitions from air to land, which is to say, violently) and a shorter range charge which rends the ground and which Teostra ends by spinning around. Speaking of flight, while Teostra can fly, it rarely does so… at least, in comparison to Kushala Daora. It’ll usually restrict flight to moving between areas, performing the aforementioned dive, and breathing a torrent of fire, during which it’ll fly forward and sweep the fire back and forth as it goes.

As the fight wears on, Teostra’s fire aura will build. Changes in its status are usually accompanied by a roar. In the first stage, Teostra is naked, while in the second stage it is wreathed in flames. In its third and final stage of power building, it’ll leave trails of fire on the ground, which will cause you to take damage when you’re standing on this fire, and may set you on fire if your Fire Resistance isn’t up to snuff. During these last two stages, Teostra will be more inclined to use some of its more powerful attacks, including one where it emits a circle of spark-clusters around it in a circle, which then spread outward from Teostra. These will explode in time, but will also detonate on contact with a careless hunter, although there are usually gaps between the clusters sufficient for you to pass through.

When its powers are at their fullest, Teostra will fly into the air and start charging up, generating sparks about itself. After building up for a few moments, it’ll detonate a blast centered on itself, dealing massive damage over a wide area. Either flee from this attack, or use a well-timed Flash Pod to knock it out of the sky. Either way, after this attack is over its fire aura will be done and it’ll start building up power again. It also has another nasty, although rarely-used attack with which it can punish stunned, cowardly, or recuperating hunters by causing a mass of sparks to accumulate near them, build up, and explode. Even with decent Fire Resistance, this attack can deal tremendous damage. Only sharpen your weapons when Teostra vacates an area or if you have some ranks in Speed Sharpening, and if you must eat to recover your health, don’t stop moving while you do so!

Teostra’s fire build-up can be countered with Elderseal weapons, but since its super nova blast attack presents such a fine opportunity to knock it out of the air, it almost doesn’t seem worth it if you can get the timing down and nail it with a Flash Pod. Other than that, use Ice or Water weapons and try to inflict the Poison ailment and keep the pressure up.

Teostra will start the fight in AREA 13, but will move between AREAS 11, 14, 9 and 8 before retreating back to AREA 13 to recover from serious injuries. In its lair, it’ll be predictably violent, and the terrain will even respond to its anger, with magma flaring up seemingly in time with its attacks. In this stage of the fight, its charge attack will leave behind a fire trail, and you’ll have to be more wary of environmental hazards. Despite the apparent absurdity of the notion, there’s no problem with laying down some Mega Barrel Bombs to inflict some fitting payback on a sleeping Teostra - your bombs won’t explode despite the fact you’re literally placing them on a lava-riddled floor.

Teostra’s head, wings and tail are especially receptive to damage, with the head being the prime target. The head and wings can be broken, and the tail can be severed. Teostra is weak to Water and Ice and resistant to Fire, and while not particularly weak to any ailment, it’s more vulnerable to Poison and Stun than the others.

After returning to Astera you’ll automatically end up chatting with the Commander, who muses about what has the Elder Dragons all riled up. Essentially, he’s got a lot of nothing to say. Speaking of which, talk to The Huntsman and he’ll lavish you with commendations, acknowledging you as one of the best hunters out there. D’aww…

As usual, talk to the Armory clerk and she’ll have another quest for you. You’ll never guess what it is, too… that’s right, she wants you to hunt down a Teostra in the Wildspire Waste, and will give you the quest A Blaze on the Sand to facilitate such an encounter. In return, she promises yet another hunter tool.