History ThatOneBoss / MonsterHunter

** Perhaps the worst and most fearful spell that he possesses is the ''Ecliptic Meteor''. The Behemoth summons a gigantic meteor which, while it has a significant delay before landing, has a nearly map-wide area-of-effect and is a OneHitKill ''no matter what''. Not even the Lance with Guard up or any mantles will save you. Your only chance is to hide behind the smaller Comets that Behemoth dropped beforehand, but should Behemoth destroy those or if you're in a bad position, all you can do without some serious cheese is say hello to the cart. Finally, the Behemoth ''will'' cast this ability [[LastDitchMove before he dies]], which means that he can potentially end your mission [[ShaggyDogStory even if you were seconds away from tasting sweet victory]]. In the Extreme version of the quest, not only will he drop the Meteor without Comets to cause a TotalPartyWipe if you fail to do enough damage to him in the last phase, doing ''too much'' damage may ''also'' cause him to do this [[DoWellButNotPerfect (as both Comets and Meteors are based on damage thresholds, the former of which can be skipped)]], which in either case means you're screwed.

* If a normal Behemoth wasn't bad enough, a special event quest has you fight a ''Tempered'' Behemoth (or "Extremoth") with a massive ''51,800'' HP, more deadly attacks, the standard Tempered [[ContractualBossImmunity accumulated resistance to statuses]] (notably making Flash Pods less effective at cancelling Charybdis), and more finicky Ecliptic Meteors that can cause an instant team wipe if you didn't meet a fairly specific set of conditions. Fortunately it's a completely OptionalBoss unless you really want the Drachen Layered Armor.

* Behemoth also has a grand total HP count of 34,000 which is comparable to a full-party Kulve Taroth and Xeno’jiva, although its health doesn't scale with more players. This means that Behemoth can only be reasonably fought on multiplayer by its design[[note]]This wouldn’t be a big deal were it not for the fact that Multiplayer requires a PS+ or Xbox Live account(which aren’t cheap). Meaning that some players will never be able to defeat Behemoth and obtain any of the rewards for defeating it. Not that this hasn't stopped some players from accomplishing solo Behemoth runs anyway.[[/note]]. The Tempered Behemoth (or "Extremoth") in its special event quest tops this with a massive ''51,800'' HP and more deadly attacks, although fortunately it's a completely OptionalBoss unless you really want the Drachen Layered Armor.

** Perhaps the worst and most fearful spell that he possesses is the ''Ecliptic Meteor''. The Behemoth summons a gigantic meteor which, while it has a significant delay before landing, has a nearly map-wide area-of-effect and is a OneHitKill ''no matter what''. Not even the Lance with Guard up or any mantles will save you. Your only chance is to hide behind the smaller Comets that Behemoth dropped beforehand, but should Behemoth destroy those or if you're in a bad position, all you can do without some serious cheese is say hello to the cart. Finally, the Behemoth ''will'' cast this ability [[LastDitchMove before he dies]], which means that he can potentially end your mission [[ShaggyDogStory even if you were seconds away from tasting sweet victory]].

* Behemoth also has a grand total HP count of 34,000 which is only comparable to Kulve Taroth and Xeno’jiva[[note]]On Multiplayer[[/note]]. This means that Behemoth can only be reasonably fought on multiplayer by its design[[note]]This wouldn’t be a big deal were it not for the fact that Multiplayer requires a PS+ or Xbox Live account(which aren’t cheap). Meaning that some players will never be able to defeat Behemoth and obtain any of the rewards for defeating it. Not that this hasn't stopped some players from accomplishing solo Behemoth runs anyway.[[/note]].

** Its Arch-Tempered version is [[DamageSpongeBoss just as bad as Arch-Tempered Nergigante]], if not worse, and is a nasty surprise for players who thought they could just steamroll it with Fatalis gear or the like. Its HP is more than doubled to make it only slightly less tanky than Fatalis, almost everything it does can kill in one or two hits even with maxed defense and ice resistance, and it gains [[IncreasinglyLethalEnemy a special aura that gradually makes it more powerful and resistant to damage as it's attacked]] (though you can temporarily suppress it with dragon weapons, especially from Fatalis). In addition, it gains a few new tricks: most notably, its LimitBreak is now a semi-regular attack, with its [[OneHitKill potentially fatal]] spinning ice breath bypassing even Guard Up and freezing survivors in place to be impaled by the icicles after. On top of this, Velkhana can now [[CounterAttack pin you down with a follow-up charge attack]] if you attempt to recklessly use the Clutch Claw on it (unless if there's an opening), which even shreds right through the Temporal and Rocksteady Mantles. You can't even cheese your way through this quest due to its 30-minute time limit, which forces hunters to play as aggressive as possible due to Velkhana's already glaring durability.

* Fatalis has more than earned its spot as the last boss monster introduced in ''Iceborne'', and it lives up to its reputation as TheDreaded and the original game's FinalBoss, being [[LightningBruiser highly mobile]], [[DamageSpongeBoss very sturdy]], [[NoSell completely immune to Elderseal and Stun]], [[ContractualBossImmunity resistant to Sleep, Poison and Paralysis, which will work]] ''[[ItOnlyWorksOnce exactly once]]'', [[AttackAttackAttack extremely aggressive]], and overwhelmingly powerful enough that it can [[OneHitKill finish you off in one shot]] with damn near ''all'' of its attacks unless you've beefed up your defense and fire resistance. Think Plunderblading parts off of it and using them to craft its armor to use against it will help? Good luck with that because while the Transcendence and Inheritance set bonuses are powerful indeed, said armor has ''-5'' Fire resistance per piece, so you'll have to be ''very'' careful. The arena where you're fighting Fatalis has cannons and ballistas to even the odds against it, but have fun actually ''using'' them without something to keep Fatalis from noticing you, because it's [[ItCanThink smart enough to focus on anyone that gets too close to them]]. In addition, its [[SignatureMove Schrade's]] [[ThatOneAttack Demise]] attack will be used at fixed health intervals and can result in an invariable OneHitKill or even a TotalPartyWipe if you aren't positioned to avoid it. On top of that, once it enters its [[TurnsRed Hellfire Mode]], pretty much everything it does will erase your health bar twice over unless you break its head first; this can be made easier by slamming it into a wall with a Flinch Shot,[[note]]While it's on four legs; doing this when it's standing up will only force it onto four legs and do pitiful damage.[[/note]] which deals massive damage to its head, but this will ''always'' enrage it, meaning that you're likely going to spend most of the fight with a royally pissed off Fatalis (though that's a good thing ''if'' you have Agitator Secret). And if that wasn't bad enough, you must slay it in ''30 minutes'' (as opposed to the standard 50). To make things a bit fair though, the fight with Fatalis has more breathing room than Alatreon: the first two Schrade's Demises may cover the entire arena, but there are clearly-designated safe spots where you can avoid the brunt of the damage: each Schrade's Demise from the third one onwards have cone-shaped firing ranges that grants safety if you can get close and to its side, and the Dragonator can shave off 10% of its HP and leave it stunned if you survived long enough to fire it off. In addition, its Special Assignment gives you ''[[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity five attempts]]'' instead of the usual three (though this does not apply to the Event Quest unlocked afterwards). But make no mistake, even with the extra tools and comparatively fair mechanics, Fatalis is definitely [[WorldsStrongestMan the strongest AND most dangerous monster]] you've ever fought, bar none, and slaying it would be your biggest crowning achievement in the entire ''Monster Hunter'' mythos.

** Its Arch-Tempered version is [[DamageSpongeBoss just as bad as Arch-Tempered Nergigante]], not only because it has [[IncreasinglyLethalEnemy a special aura that makes it even more powerful and durable when attacked]] (though you can still suppress it with dragon weapons, especially from Fatalis), but also its [[OneHitKill potentially fatal]] spinning ice breath can bypass Guard Up and it can [[CounterAttack pin you down with a follow-up charge attack]] if you attempt to use the Clutch Claw on it (unless if there's an opening), even with the Temporal and Rocksteady Mantles. You can't even cheese your way through this quest due to its 30-minute time limit.

* Alatreon gets [[DifficultySpike a massive difficulty upgrade]] in the expansion: The boss fight against this [[LightningBruiser very aggressive]] [[ElementalPowers multi-elemental]] [[MasterOfAll Elder Dragon]] is essentailly a race against time to suppress its power so you can at least survive its [[OneHitKill Escaton Judgement]], coupled with [[WakeUpCallBoss a brutal wake-up call about elemental matchups]]. Because Escaton Judgement is only weakened by elemental damage, you'll be [[CharacterSelectForcing forced into bringing the right elemental weapon to counter Alatreon's Active element]], and you must break its horns to prevent it from switching to the opposite Active element, otherwise you won't be able to reliably weaken the next cycle of its Escaton Judgement. Things continue to get nastier, since Alatreon can inflict every elemental blight, including the long-lasting Dragonblight that [[AntiMagic prevents you from dealing any elemental damage]] unless you have Nulberries or maxed Dragon/Blight Resistance. Additionally, Alatreon [[CycleOfHurting never stops chaining one large-scale attack after the other]] and has a tendency to stay airborne for prolonged amounts of time, so you're forced to exploit the few openings it gives you to do any meaningful damage, compounded by the difficulty of using the Clutch Claw on it due to the lack of terrain for a Flinch Shot and nearly all of its moves potentially throwing you off. And unlike in Shara Ishvalda's case, you can't go back to camp unless you faint, which means there's no escape from Alatreon's Escaton Judgement except for passing the elemental DPS check. You'll also have to slay it as a requirement to unlock Fatalis, though the good news is [[OptionalBoss you don't need to complete the Alatreon Special Assginment]] because there's another one where you can take on an Alatreon with [[GlassCannon much less health]] instead, although its massive damage and aggression is still intact.

* Flaming Espinas is no less dangerous than the original, as while it no longer inflicts Paralysis, it's considerably more aggressive and trades its Paralysis for Defense Down, which makes you way more vulnerable to its frequently spammable physical attacks and can potentially lead to an abrupt OneHitKill. Its fireball attacks are also enhanced to cover a wider area, and it can also start using a near-fatal supernova like Teostra once damaged enough, except not only is it even more of a guaranteed cart due to inflicting Fireblight and Poison while ignoring any shields, it can do it ''twice in a row'' when it's low on health.

** Risen Kushala Daora doesn't do as much damage, but makes up for it with many, many tricky alterations to its existing moves that are designed to throw off hunters used to Kushala's normal moveset, such as new combos and trickier tornado barrages, along with some of its old moves now using its wind to cover more ground. Once it's Risen, its attacks will become more devastating (particularly its Dragon energy dive, which now has a much larger explosion) and it'll start chaining them together in new ways to mix things up even more, potentially finishing off hunters who thought they had evaded an entire combo already.
** Risen Teostra proves to be even worse than its Tempered and Arch-Tempered counterparts from the previous game: nearly all of its attacks, especially its fire/blast moves, have their damage cranked up so high that even grazing one will often tear off two thirds of your health, and the stronger ones can outright finish you off in one shot without enough defense or Spiribirds. And between its much wider [=AoE=] moves, delayed explosions to throw you off, and its tremendously increased speed and aggression, you're ''going'' to get hit. Once it's Risen, not only can it start to use its fire and blast attacks simultaneously, all of them start to cover a much wider area, and its supernova will also create a flaming shock wave to throw you off if you thought you could avoid it normally.

* Primordial Malzeno, the final monster and TrueFinalBoss of ''Sunbreak'', shows how truly dangerous a Malzeno can be in its prime before its bond with the Qurio. It has agility and strength surpassing a regular Malzeno, who was already a significant LightningBruiser, and boasts ''a vastly different'' moveset with many powerful physical attacks that hit much harder and can combo three to four times in a row, leaving little room to recover and dealing massive damage to even players with high defense. In particular, its wings, which are now wielded like a "sword and shield", have just as much reach as Valstrax and can be used in various ways, catching players off guard as it can combine these with its tail and claw attacks (such as a "shield bash" followed by a "lance thrust" from its tail). Once the Qurio start infecting Primordial Malzeno, it reaches insane levels of power through a similar Bloodening mode and then the further Bloodrage mode, upon which its FlashStep is upgraded to the point of TeleportSpam, it spams moves much faster together with wider-reaching new Qurio attacks to keep you on edge, will start to [[ConfusionFu mix up its combo strings to throw you off]], and can unleash a '''''[[LimitBreak Qurio bombardment and Supernova]] [[LimitBreak preceded by a]] FlashStep directly above the target''''' if not knocked out of the state fast enough. Finally, [[TurnsRed once it's low]], it'll go even further beyond with its [[SuperMode Bloodlust state]], which is a ''permanent'' state of absolute fury that causes Malzeno's aggression to skyrocket, and lets it endlessly chain powerful attacks and teleportation ''without stopping,''[[note]]It can also lock on to one particular hunter during its longest combo chain[[/note]] instantly overwhelming players unless they've brought their absolute best. A Bloodlust Malzeno does have some obvious openings after each large chain of attacks due to [[FightingFromTheInside resisting the Qurio infection]], but considering how overwhelming its raw power and speed during its offensive are, half of these chances will be spent just trying to recover from the beatdown, if not walking back from the nearest base camp. As a result, Primordial Malzeno is not only one of the strongest FinalBoss Elder Dragons to have ever graced the franchise, but is also worthy of the title of [[RedBaron "Legend Resurrected"]], and it will take ''everything'' you've learned throughout ''Rise'' and ''Sunbreak'' to bring down this [[EmpoweredBadassNormal mythical guardian knight]].

[[folder:Frontier Series]]

* Shogun Ceanataur. This GiantEnemyCrab can extend its pincers for long-reaching attacks that not even Gunners are safe from, make lunging attacks for massive damage if not an instant cart, or just plain bulldoze Hunters with its pincers spread out. It took a leave of abscence in the third generation and in ''4'' (''Ultimate''), then came back in ''Generations Ultimate'' with the ability to inflict Bleeding to Hunters on top of its usual abilities, and retains that property in ''Rise: Sunbreak''.

* Apex Zinogre is ''[[FromBadToWorse way more difficult]]'' than any other Apex Monsters when you confront it in both Rampage and Hunting Quests; it uses its ultimate attack on installations before resuming the attack on the final gate, making it difficult to counter. It also sends its Fulgurbugs to destroy any Hunting Installations around it, crippling your offensive if you're not under the effects of the Counter Signal. In Hunting Quests or Anomaly Investigations, Apex Zinogre is also a ''gigantic'' pain in the ass, instead being a hyperactive and ''very'' damaging spaz who simply [[BulletHell flings a barrage of enhanced Fulgurbug attacks at you continuously]], Thunderlord Zinogre style. With all the Fulgurbugs flying around the screen, it's a feat in and of itself to get a breather in; since most of its attacks can inflict Thunderblight, you'll more than likely end up getting stunned and eating a faint with [[JustForPun lightning speed]].

* Barioth is already expected to be this for those who already hunted it before in the previous games, but it's ''also'' a WakeUpCallBoss for those who are still sticking with [=HR=] equipment. Before hunting Barioth, you should consider the main reasons why hunting it can be proven difficult: 1) the wings on its forelimbs take less damage from cutting and piercing attacks, 2) there aren't many available pre-[=MR3=] Armors that have both high defense and ice resistance at the Smithy, and 3) it gains [[ThatOneAttack a powerful leaping slam attack that can pin you down]]. However, hunting Barioth [[GoddamnedBoss can be managable]] if you break [[AchillesHeel its forelimbs]] to topple it and hamper its mobility. Its ''Frostfang'' variant, however, is on a completely different level and even more frustrating to hunt than its regular counterpart, since it can do the leaping slam ''twice'' when enraged and trades the ice twister spit for more ice attacks, especially if you're up against a ''Tempered'' one.

* Hunting Bazelgeuse is already a chore, but that was nothing compared to Seething Bazelgeuse, who is basically [[TookALevelInBadass a beefed-up version of Bazelgeuse itself]]. Its scales can explode on their own, and deal more damage whenever it's superheated (which can be indicated by [[TurnsRed the scales' color changing from reddish orange to bluish purple]]). It also gains a few new moves like [[TheRival Savage Deviljho]], such as performing a double tail swipe that can connect with a tail slam and a double headbutt attack as well as flying into the air, and scattering its scales around the area before performing a vertical divebomb attack. Most of all, unlike Savage Deviljho, hunting Seething Bazelgeuse is part of an Assigned Quest after slaying Velkhana, who is already a ThatOneBoss itself. Fortunately, Seething Bazelguese is not an Elder Dragon, so capturing it can end the hunt early, and its Assigned Quest is also an expedition when you encountered it the first time.
* Shara Ishvalda, the [[RedBaron "Old Everwyrm"]] and FinalBoss of the expansion's main story, is [[DamageSpongeBoss a tough nut to crack]]. The first phase of this boss fight is manageable due to being a MightyGlacier and you can strip off its rock armor quickly by either toppling through [[BossArenaIdiocy a boulder trap]] or bringing a Blast weapon. Once you did, though, it becomes a LightningBruiser capable of stunning you with [[ThatOneAttack a wide variety of]] [[SpamAttack pressurized air beam attacks]]. If Shara Ishvalda's health is low, it'll use its FinishingMove, the giant air sphere, which not only has a ''very wide'' [=AOE=] range, but is also capable of a OneHitKill, though you can still either retreat to safety with a Farcaster or wear a Vitality/Temporal Mantle to avoid eating a faint before Shara Ishvalda drops it to the ground. And that's not all, Shara Ishvalda can also slow down your movements by turning the ground into quicksand in ''both forms''. So unless you have maxed Stun Resistance ''and'' Aquatic Expert, then you're in a world of pain. Fortunately, just like in the first phase, there are three more boulder traps to topple Shara Ishvalda in the second phase but if you botched the timing, it would just destroy them with one of its attacks.

* While Brachydios is difficult but somewhat manageable, its Raging variant definitely raises the difficulty. For starters, it's significantly larger than its normal counterpart, meaning that it has much larger coverage with its attacks and can cross through areas much more quickly, and every single one of its attacks will inflict [[HavingABlast Blastscourge]], causing those afflicted with the debuff to explode after a certain amount of time has passed or upon being hit for an even greater amount of damage, sometimes enough to get them fainted in one hit. Furthermore, when its head, arms, and tail are covered in Flashpoint Slime, dealing enough damage to them will cause it to fall to the ground and explode, dealing a good amount of damage to the Hunters; this is very likely when you're attempting to combo a downed Raging Brachydios, which wastes time that could've been spent wailing on it (though if you keep up the attack consistently enough, you'll "disable" its Flashpoint Slime and prevent this for as long as you can do so in a certain timeframe). And this is ''before'' the phase where [[KaizoTrap Raging Brachydios imprisons you in its own lair]], rendering you unable to retreat (even with Farcasters). To put the cherry on top, you can't use Traps while fighting Raging Brachydios on its last legs because it would spread its Flashpoint Slime all over the floor, and since its quests are clearly listed as ''Slaying Quests'', you must finish it off instead of bypassing what's left of its HP by capturing it.
* Alatreon gets [[DifficultySpike a massive difficulty upgrade]] in the expansion: The boss fight against this [[LightningBruiser very aggressive]] [[ElementalPowers multi-elemental]] [[MasterOfAll Elder Dragon]] is essentailly a race against time to suppress its power so you can at least survive its [[ThatOneAttack Escaton Judgement]], coupled with [[WakeUpCallBoss a brutal wake-up call about elemental matchups]]. You'll be [[CharacterSelectForcing forced into bringing the right elemental weapon to counter Alatreon's Active element]], and you must break its horns to prevent it from switching to the opposite Active element, otherwise you won't be able to reliably weaken the next cycle of its Escaton Judgement. Things would continue to get nastier, since Alatreon can inflict every elemental blight, including the long-lasting Dragonblight that [[AntiMagic prevents you from dealing any elemental damage]] unless you have Nulberries or maxed Dragon/Blight Resistance. Additionally, Alatreon would [[CycleOfHurting never stop chaining one large-scale attack after the other]], so you're forced to exploit the openings it gives you to do any meaningful damage. And unlike in Shara Ishvalda's case, you can't go back to camp unless you faint, which means there's no escape from Alatreon's Escaton Judgement except for engaging its fight mechanics. You'll also have to slay it as a requirement to unlock Fatalis, though the good news is [[OptionalBoss you don't need to complete the Alatreon Special Assginment]] because there's another one where you can take on an Alatreon with [[GlassCannon much less health]] instead.
* Fatalis has more than earned its spot as the last boss monster introduced in ''Iceborne'', and it lives up to its reputation as TheDreaded and the original game's FinalBoss, being [[LightningBruiser highly mobile]], [[DamageSpongeBoss very sturdy]], [[NoSell completely immune to Elderseal and Stun]], [[ContractualBossImmunity resistant to Sleep, Poison and Paralysis, which will work]] ''[[ItOnlyWorksOnce exactly once]]'', [[AttackAttackAttack extremely aggressive]], and overwhelmingly powerful enough that it can [[OneHitKill finish you off in one shot]] with damn near ''all'' of its attacks unless you've beefed up your defense and fire resistance. Think Plunderblading parts off of it and using them to craft its armor to use against it will help? Good luck with that because while the Transcendence and Inheritance set bonuses are powerful indeed, said armor has ''-5'' Fire resistance, so you'll have to be ''very'' careful. The arena where you're fighting Fatalis has cannons and ballistas to even the odds against it, but have fun actually ''using'' them without something to keep Fatalis from noticing you, because it's [[ItCanThink smart enough to focus on anyone that gets too close to them]]. In addition, its [[SignatureMove Schrade's]] [[ThatOneAttack Demise]] attack can deal a massive amount of potentially fatal damage unless you break its head first. This can be made easier by toppling it with a Flinch Shot through the wall[[note]]While it's on four legs; doing this when it's standing up will only force it onto four legs and do pitiful damage.[[/note]], which deals massive damage to its head, but this will ''always'' enrage it, meaning that you're likely going to spend most of the fight with a royally pissed off Fatalis (though that's a good thing ''if'' you have Agitator Secret). And if that wasn't bad enough, you must slay it in ''30 minutes'' (as opposed to the standard 50). To make things a bit fair though, the fight with Fatalis has more breathing room than Alatreon: the first two Schrade's Demises may cover the entire arena, but there are clearly-designated safe spots where you can avoid the brunt of the damage: each Schrade's Demise from the third one onwards have cone-shaped firing ranges that grants safety if you can get close and to its side, and the Dragonator can shave off 10% of its HP and leave it stunned if you survived long enough to fire it off. In addition, its Special Assignment gives you ''[[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity five attempts]]'' instead of the usual three (though this does not apply to the Event Quest unlocked afterwards). But make no mistake, even with the extra tools and comparatively fair mechanics, Fatalis is definitely [[WorldsStrongestMan the strongest AND most dangerous monster]] you've ever fought, bar none, and slaying it would be your biggest crowning achievement in the entire ''Monster Hunter'' mythos.

* Magnamalo, the [[{{Mascot}} flagship monster]] of ''Rise'', flip-flops depending on when and how you fight it the first time: In the Hub [=LR3=] Quest, it is one of the toughest hunts since it's in an Urgent Quest in order to attain [=HR3=], but it's a fairer hunt at the Urgent [=LR5=] Village Quest. Regardless, it's not listed here for no reason, for it's [[LightningBruiser very agile]] (even more so than its fellow Fanged Wyvern Zinogre, for example it can [[WoundedGazelleGambit fake out a knockdown only to roll back up and attack immediately]]), [[HitboxDissonance hits like a freight train]], can suddenly pull off different combo moves involving its long tail (which comes real fast and has a ridiculous range to boot), and similar to fighting against Brachydios, its Hellfireblight (which is essentially Blastblight that ''cannot'' be negated by maxed Blast Resistance) can ramp up your damage taken upon being hit, but sometimes ''you don't even notice that you got Hellfireblight'' until its too late (since it can inflict this on you through some not-so-obvious attacks).[[note]]Fortunately, Wiredashing to get rid of Hellfireblight will leave behind a stationary flame that can damage and potentially knock down Magnamalo if it runs into it[[/note]] And then its "tail boost" can launch itself to tackle anyone standing almost ''anywhere'' at blinding speed, especially when it's fully enraged (as a FinishingMove) or by launching itself ''and'' its prey in a Turf War ''right upon you'' to potentially cause an instant faint. And as always, when you hunt Magnamalo in HR and MR Quests, ''[[TheGlovesComeOff all bets are off]]''; this fiery and barbaric tigrine Fanged Wyvern's unpredictability, Hellfire attacks, and insane damage output makes it one of the most dangerous apex monsters to hunt in the game. One of the few saving graces of the fight is that since Magnamalo isn't an Apex variant or an Elder Dragon, you can end this pain in the ass of a hunt early by capturing it.

** Risen Kushala Daora, although not dealing as much damage as Risen Teostra, makes up for it with many, many tricky alterations to its existing moves that are designed to throw off hunters used to Kushala's normal moveset, such as new combos and trickier tornado barrages, along with some of its old moves now using its wind to cover more ground. Once it's Risen, its attacks will become more devastating (particularly its Dragon energy dive, which now has a much larger explosion) and it'll start chaining them together in new ways to mix things up even more, potentially finishing off hunters who thought they had evaded an entire combo already.
** Risen Teostra proves to be even worse than its Tempered and Arch-Tempered counterparts from the previous game: nearly all of its attacks, especially its fire/blast moves, have their damage cranked up so high that even grazing one will often tear off two thirds of your health, and the stronger ones can outright finish you off in one shot without enough defense or Spiribirds. And between its much wider [=AoE=] moves, delayed explosions to throw you off, and its tremendously increased speed and aggression, you're ''going'' to get hit. Once it's Risen, not only can it start to use its fire and blast attacks simultaneously, all of them will more likely than not saturate everything around them with fiery death, and its supernova will also create a flaming shock wave to throw you off if you thought you could avoid it normally.

* Primordial Malzeno, the final monster and TrueFinalBoss of ''Sunbreak'', shows how truly dangerous a Malzeno can be in its prime before its bond with the Qurio. It has agility and strength surpassing a regular Malzeno, who was already a significant LightningBruiser, and boasts ''a vastly different'' moveset with many powerful physical attacks that hit much harder and can combo three to four times in a row, leaving little room to recover and dealing massive damage to even players with high defense. In particular, its wings, which are now wielded like a "sword and shield", have just as much reach as Valstrax and can be used in various ways, catching players off guard as it can combine these with its tail and claw attacks (such as a "shield bash" followed by a "lance thrust" from its tail). Once the Qurio start infecting Primordial Malzeno, it reaches insane levels of power through a similar Bloodening mode and then the further Bloodrage mode, upon which its FlashStep is upgraded to the point of TeleportSpam, it spams moves much faster together with wider-reaching and new Qurio attacks to keep you on edge, will start to [[ConfusionFu mix up its combo strings to throw you off]], and can unleash a '''''[[LimitBreak Qurio bombardment and Supernova]] [[LimitBreak preceded by a]] FlashStep directly above the target''''' if not knocked out of the state fast enough. Finally, [[TurnsRed once it's low]], it'll go even further beyond with its [[SuperMode Bloodlust state]], which is a ''permanent'' state of absolute fury that causes Malzeno's aggression to skyrocket, and lets it endlessly chain powerful attacks and teleportation ''without stopping,''[[note]]It can also lock on to one particular hunter during its longest combo chain[[/note]] instantly overwhelming players unless they've brought their absolute best. A Bloodlust Malzeno does have some obvious openings after each large chain of attacks due to [[FightingFromTheInside resisting the Qurio infection]], but considering how overwhelming its raw power and speed during its offensive are, half of these chances will be spent just trying to recover from the beatdown, if not walking back from the nearest base camp. As a result, Primordial Malzeno is not only one of the strongest FinalBoss Elder Dragons to have ever graced the franchise, but is also worthy of the title of [[RedBaron "Legend Resurrected"]], and it will take ''everything'' you've learned throughout ''Rise'' and ''Sunbreak'' to bring down this [[EmpoweredBadassNormal mythical guardian knight]].

* Velkhana, the [[{{Mascot}} flagship monster]] of ''Iceborne'', may look stunningly beautiful at first glance but at the same time, it's an ''incredibly irritating'' Elder Dragon with a sharp tail that's difficult to consistently predict (even if you cut it off, [[DismembermentIsCheap since it would quickly build a replacement anyway]]), lots of [=AOE=] attacks, and worst of all, [[ThatOneAttack a commonly]] [[SpamAttack spammable]] BreathWeapon that not only covers a lot of area, [[ArmorPiercingAttack but can ONLY be blocked with Guard Up]]. All of this wouldn't be all that bad if not for the fact that [[LightningBruiser it's quite agile as well]]. An even worse variation is the one fought in [[ThatOneLevel the beta version]]: Instead of 20-35 minutes like the other quests or extended time, you only had ''15 minutes'' to actually slay it. The greatest enemy was not Velkhana but the timer itself, as most Hunters failed the quest due to running out of time instead of fainting. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0CE2deo_vE This short animation accurately describes the whole thing.]] That being said, its [[CripplingOverspecialization overreliance on its tail stab and ice attacks]] would leave its head wide open for free hits or toppling with a Flinch Shot. Its ''Sunbreak'' incarnation pulls no punches either, as while you're likely considerably faster and packing a lot more combat tools, its ice attacks slow down your Wirebug Gauge cooldowns instead of doubling your stamina consumption, it can utilize several moves previously exclusive to its Arch-Tempered version, and it now has a ''second'' FinishingMove. Hope you're not letting your guard down against that Velkhana because [[RemovedAchillesHeel the Clutch Claw is not available for that game]] and you're in for one ''helluva'' hunt.
* Arch-Tempered Velkhana is [[DamageSpongeBoss just as bad as Arch-Tempered Nergigante]], not only because it has [[IncreasinglyLethalEnemy a special aura that makes it even more powerful and durable when attacked]] (though you can still suppress it with dragon weapons, especially from Fatalis), but also its [[OneHitKill potentially fatal]] spinning ice breath can bypass Guard Up and it can [[CounterAttack pin you down with a follow-up charge attack]] if you attempt to use the Clutch Claw on it (unless if there's an opening), even with the Temporal and Rocksteady Mantles. You can't even cheese your way through this quest due to its 30-minute time limit.

** Risen Teostra. Nearly all of its attacks, especially its fire/blast moves, have their damage cranked up so high that even grazing one will often tear off two thirds of your health, and the stronger ones can outright finish you off in one shot without enough defense or Spiribirds. And between its much wider [=AoE=] moves, delayed explosions to throw you off, and its tremendously increased speed and aggression, you're ''going'' to get hit. Once it's Risen, not only can it start to use its fire and blast attacks simultaneously, all of them will more likely than not saturate everything around them with fiery death, and its supernova will also create a flaming shock wave to throw you off if you thought you could avoid it normally.