Monsters in Elder’s Recess¶

This expedition doesn’t start out too exciting, just follow the Admiral (picking up the odd bug as you go) and listen to them talk about Nergigante. After you exit the tunnels you’re walking through and reach the wider expanse of the Elder’s Recess and watch the obligatory “new area” cutscene, the Admiral and The Handler will discuss the strange behavior of monsters, which updates your goals.

You’ve got two objectives, one short-term, the other long-term. For the short-term goal you need to thoroughly explore the Elder’s Recess and locate the three large monsters that dwell here - the Dodogama, Lavasioth and Uragaan. Long-term, you’re looking for traces of Nergigante, which is much like the search for the Pink Rathian. As you explore - in this area or elsewhere - search for monster tracks, as you’ll need to research Nergigante to progress the story. Nergigante tracks will be marked by blue Scoutflies.

As for the local monsters, the Dodogama can often be found north of camp, in AREAS 8 and 9. Uragaan also can be found to the north in AREA 3, but will also roll down to AREAS 6 and 5, as well. Finally, Lavasioth can be found in the western, underground lava chambers, AREAS 7, 10, 11 and 12. Due to the sweltering heat in this areas, however, you’ll constantly take damage while you’re in them… unless, that is, you drink a Cool Drink first. You can craft these by using Chillshrooms, three of which can be found in AREA 3, and during this expedition you may want to consider returning there several times to harvest these and craft yourself some Cool Drinks.

Normal expedition rules apply here; you can fight the monsters you come across, and Dodogama isn’t too much trouble, but they will leave after a while, so don’t invest too many resources in fighting a monster that’s been around a while.

New Materials in Elder’s Recess¶

Not only are there new monsters in this area, there’s new endemic life, small monsters, and new materials, as well. Be sure to search bonepiles and mining outcrops to obtain these materials, which include the following:

You can also find Vespoids, Barnos and Gastodons, the last of which are new small monsters. New materials you can obtain from these beasts include the following:

Setting Up Camp: Elder’s Recess I¶

While most of this expedition is pretty open-ended, requiring much searching for monsters and their tracks and general running-about, there is one more concrete objective you can tackle, and there’s no good reason not to get it out of the way while you’re here. From the Southern Camp head northeast through AREA 2, then turn northwest into AREA 3. On the eastern end of this area are two paths, on leading up to AREA 4, with another leading down to AREA 8. Head south and drop down a vine-covered cliff to reach AREA 8, then crawl through a hole near some Honey to find a spot suitable for a camp. This starts the delivery request Setting Up Camp: Elder’s Recess I, which requires you to gather a Barnos Hide+, a Monster Bone+ and 750 Research Points. Might as well try to get your hands on these while you’re here, so you can complete it at your leisure when you return to Astera.

After the Expedition¶

When you’ve spotted all three new monsters, this expedition will be declared a success and you’ll be prompted to return to Astera. Head back when you’re ready, and when you arrive you’ll find yourself being chatted at by the Commander, who warns you the Elder Dragons have started showing up all over the New World. While the Commander assumed Nergigante is involved, there’s just not enough information to come to a firm conclusion, so… get out there and keep hunting!

After returning from Elder’s Recess, new optional quests will be posted on the Quest Board, enticing you to hunt some of these new monsters you discovered. Also, as is the norm after completing a story-related expedition, there are now numerous exclamation points floating around Astera. There’s a lot to do, and plenty of incentive to do it, not the least of which is the promise of more intel on Nergigante, which you can pick up as you complete some of these quests and delivery requests. Furthermore, as you tackle optional quests, even MORE quests and delivery requests will become available.

These quests will be covered below, and you can do as many or as few of them as you wish as you search for information on Nergigante. New ingredients, hunter tools and options at the Ancient Tree are all rewards you’ll earn, along with Zenny, Research Points and materials gained while completing said tasks, so it’s highly encouraged you attend to these.