He's by no means the toughest monster you'll come across in Monster Hunter World, but he's certainly the most iconic. How to kill Rathalos in Monster Hunter World is a question many newcomers will ask, so we've pieced together a handy guide with some key tips.

Monster Hunter World Rathalos: How To Kill Rathalos in Monster Hunter World

Rathalos is a big angry dragon and a fairly stereotypical one at that. But where most dragons you see in film simply set you and your surroundings aflame, Rathalos has a backup plan - poison. Antidotes are a must against any Rathalos as, just like its queen, the Rathian, this guy will inflict poison frequently if given the chance.

Unlike Rathian, who typically poisons with her tail during a backflip animation, Rathalos digs deep to inflict poison with his claws. You won't be poisoned by simple coming into contact his talons - which you will a lot - but usually only during a specific move animation. Look out for when there's a large gap between you and the Rathalos. If he arches his claws toward while in slightly flying above ground, chances are he's about to quickly lunge at you with the intent to poison. It's a very fast travel, too, so be sure to roll or dive out of the way just as he sets off.

By far the biggest annoyance with Rathalos is his tendency to stay up in the air. A more prominent feature when he's enraged after a lengthy fight, he'll spend several minutes gliding around the area spitting fireballs, grabbing at you with his claws, and setting the ground beneath him on fire with a short spread flamethrower.

It's not gaurneteed, but most Rathalos quests will be interrupted by more large monsters just like the rest of them. The most common for a Rathalos is, of course, Rathian. They share many of their favorite zones, but tossing a dung pod at either one should see them seperate. Just bring a few, because they'll reunite a few times throughout the fight.

While bow/bowgun users won't really have much trouble here, a melee-heavy team will struggle to land a hit when he's in this state. For that reason alone, just like antidotes, flash pods are a must. You can make these from Flashbugs found in various places in a zone (use your map) or farm them from HQ. Flashpods are your go-to ammo for any monster whether they're on the ground on or in the air, so keeping a steady supply of Flashbugs coming in will always prove useful.

Whenever Rathalos goes into the air for what feels like a century, just anticipate his next movement and fire a Flashpod where he can see it. You'll knock him out of the sky and give your team plenty of time to fight back. Use you longer combos at the start, though, as Rathalos usually follows up a recovery with a fireball around his head area. Keep an eye on your surroundings, too, as a few areas (notably the winding tree) of the Ancient Forest houses a few stationary Flashbug clusters that you can trigger with a move or slinger shot from a distance.

Monster Hunter World Rathalos: Rathalos Weaknesses

As far as weaknesses go, Rathalos is actually susceptible to a great amount of them. Ice and Dragon elements are fine choices here, but aiming to inflict ailments like Paralysis, KO, and Sleep will open up the opportunity for plenty of free hits. Even Poison can take hold of Rathalos with enough hits, dealing a fixed 20 damage every second or so. If you're aiming to cover elemental weaknesses, give your Palico a weapon that can inflict a staggering status ailment. Rathalos is susceptible to so many that it's best to cover as much as you can.

As ever, blade users should prioritize the tail, while blunt damage users should focus on the head. When firmly on the ground and fairly tired, Rathalos will resort to spinning to hit sweep away with his tail. Usually twice. Melee-users can usually just roll underneath him to avoid this, but cutting off the tail will drastically reduce its effective range. The same goes for many monsters.

Wearing down Rathalos means a slower attack pattern. The king of the jungle may frequently charge at you or run forward while you're under his toes, knocking you away like a discarded can. On occasion, he'll do this two or three times (back and forth) and finish off with a stationary chomp with his fangs usually starting from your left and finishing slightly to the right. You'll just want to roll away from these advances and strike back once it's safe.

One final thing to note is to abuse the Rathalos' nest. When in the Ancient Forest, Rathalos tends to start in and retreat the dam area in the upper levels. Flying back to the camp in Area 17 gives rapid access to the point. If Rathalos is asleep, you're likely good to go on a capture. Just trap and tranq bomb as usual.

If you're after a kill and carve, you can either wake Rathalos up and stand near the dam (blackened logs/wood opposite the cliff edge) to have him blow it up with attacks meant for you, or blow it up manually with barrel bombs or blast attacks like the Gunlance Wyvernfire ability.

Once it breaks, water will rush out and sweep Rathalos into the area down below where it'll stay knocked down for a good 10-20 seconds. Which should be plenty of time to deliver the final blow.

Soon, you'll be taking on the more ferocious Azure Rathalos. Don't forget the flashpods.