The Lavasioth is a shameless reskin of the Jyuratodus, but enough differences remain to justify discussing this in detail. First, note that the Lavasioth is the only creature native to the Elder’s Recess that exclusively inhabits the dangerously hot areas, thus necessitating Cool Drinks for the duration of the battle. It’s lair is in AREA 10, but you can expect it to mount a significant portion of its offensive in AREA 11, while moving to AREA 7 isn’t unheard of.

Hunt - Lavasioth¶

As the Jyuratodus moved through mud, the Lavasioth moves through rock and magma, and there are quite a few similarities between their attacks in these cases. The Lavasioth loves to slither around on its belly, a relatively slow, low-damage meandering “charge” attack whose primary purpose is to leave a trail of lava in its wake. You should expect significant portions of the ground - whether by the actions of the Lavasioth or due to the natural elements in the area - to cause damage if you tarry on them. In addition, the Lavasioth is fond of doing belly flops to strike foes under it, and since both of these attacks usually start with the Lavasioth standing on its fin-legs, you should be wary of both when you see it standing.

Whereas the Jyuratodus spit mud, which drained your stamina if you were caught in it, the Lavasioth spits globs of explosive magma… much like the Dodogama. These are usually more easily blocked, however, and come in two forms, one being much more painful than the other. It can spit magma in succession (usually after it slithers into a pit of lava), but it can also perform relatively quick spits at any time, even out of lava. The Lavasioth also isn’t above burrowing through solid rock, surfacing to take a quick bite at intruding hunters. If you see it’s tail while burrowed, be on guard, as the after the Lavasioth spins underground it’ll bound out from the rock and attempt to crush nearby foes. Both the launching and the landing can inflict damage.

Add to this the usually assortment of bites and tail lashes and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Lavasioth. Fire resistance is quite welcome in this fight, as the most dangerous of Lavasioth’s attacks are from fire. In fact, its melee attacks, while persistent, are relatively weak, the Lavasioth’s goal being to weaken you with multiple, small attacks and health loss through contact with fiery surfaces before finishing off foes with a magma blast.

In this battle of attrition, the Lavasioth is aided by its spectacular armor, which covers its back, limbs and tail, leaving only the head and belly vulnerable to damage. This rock-hard armor will cause most attacks to bounce off the Lavasioth, and there’s not much you can do about this until the Lavasioth eventually seeks the shelter of nearby lava. When it takes a dip in lava, it may be harder for you to reach (and here it’s inclined to take its time and spit at you repeatedly) but the magma it’s swimming in is also softening up its armor. After such a dip, renew your attack with vigor, as your attacks will find more purchase on the Lavasioth’s hide. When exposed to air for enough time, the Lavasioth will cool down and its armor will harden again.

Its head, body, fin and tail are all breakable, and the head and belly are the most receptive to damage - especially the head. The Lavasioth, like the Jyuratodus, has different elemental weaknesses depending on whether its armor is lava-softened or hard. When softened it’s resistant to Fire, and weak to Water, but when hardened it’s very, very minorly susceptible to Fire damage, less vulnerable to Water, and resistant to Thunder and Ice. In any event, it’s greatly susceptible to Poison, and while its armor mitigates damage well, the Lavasioth doesn’t innately have a great amount of health. Inflicting it with poison comes highly recommended, as those twenty-damage ticks really add up, and will make the task of killing or capturing Lavasioth go much, much faster.