Better Know a Monster: Lagiacrus...Big Bad Blue

By ZANZIBAR

Laggy is the biggest water water baddie and poster child of Monster Hunter Tri. He employs a large number of lightning and dash attacks that can be very problematic for first time hunters.  He is found in the deserted island and the flooded forest and first time hunters should bring a few things along to aid in they're hunts. 


Lightning resists are of prime importance but should that not be an option then stun resistance can help avoid the effects of lightning blight or bringing along a full pouch of stormsender seeds to cure yourself. 


Lagiacrus is weak to fire so having a strong fire weapon can bring him down faster.  Perhaps more valuable than equipment is the knowledge to avoid his attacks. When it comes to lightning attacks he can shoot balls of lightning, a small discharge, a large discharge which looks like fireworks are going off and lasts longer than the small version. He can dash or spin dash which is much faster or can even add electricity to that. 


On land his attacks lose some range but he can coil up and swing his tail around, this attack is best avoided by hugging his left side between his legs. For first time hunters one of the best places to attack him is around his tail area when he's underwater, staying next to the ground will make it difficult for him to hit you. Hopefully this will help you bag your big water dragon. 

Better Know a Monster: Qurupeco

By ARCHON

The Qurupeco is the second boss-monster hunter's will come across in their adventure. He's a considerable step up from the Great Jaggi, but a relatively tight attack range makes his attacks easy to dodge.

The quirk is, that he can imitate the calls of other monsters and bring them too his aid. Wailing on him a little too hard? Oh don't worry, he'll call in a Great Jaggi, and now you are faced with not one but TWO boss monsters. Qurupeco doesn't like the way you are eyeing him? He'll call in a gigantic Rathian to rip your face off! Interrupting these calls and/or driving away the monsters they attract (with dung-bombs) is essential to victory. If you see your foe stand tall and start to bellow, hit him hard with a charge attack in the throat or head if you can, or throw in a sonic bomb to stop the call and momentarily stun him.

Knowing these things will bring you a long way toward victory, but the Qurupeco isn't really a lightweight. He'll charge toward you and bowl you over, biting downward. If you get too close he'll spin around and send you flying with his tail. Sometimes he'll hover just above the ground and spit wads of goo at you (get right in his face to avoid the spit and use a high-reaching attack).

In his most lethal attack, he jumps at you, banging the flints on his arms together and creating a fireball. Get caught by this one, and you will go flying and be set a-flame. Most of the time he claps his flints together twice before using this move so watch for the tell, and dodge or run at right angles to the direction he is jumping to escape. He'll usually attack three times with this so keep dodging. You can block, but even with the lance's shield, the attack takes some life away.

Focus your attacks on his throat or head using vertical slashes to take him down the quickest. A dull weapon will bounce off his wings or tail. Make sure to throw a paint pellet on him, as he'll fly to a new area when he feels he's getting beat. This makes him much easier to track down. Keep following, interrupt his calls, focus on his head and throat and you'll have him down in no time