Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Out of all the monsters in Monster Hunter World, knowing how to kill the Nergigante is probably going to be the most important. If you don’t enter this fight prepared, you’re going to have a tough time. To ensure your success, it’s best to learn about the Nergigante weaknesses and strategies to use against it. The Nergigante fight begins with the quest, A Wound and a Thirst.
Last updated on March 2, 2020 at 1:02 a.m. EST.
Nergigante’s main weakness is Thunder for 3 stars, with a 2-star rating for Dragon. For those that have gone all-in on Fire, Water, or Ice builds, Nergigante is only somewhat weak to those element sources. Here’s a list of Nergigante’s weaknesses to Elements and Ailments:
As for what body parts to focus on, remember to utilize your Hunter's Notes for the infinitely valuable monster weakness information. Nergigante has two breakable areas, it's head and tail, with the tail being a severable point. As for its weakpoints, the horns, face, and front limbs are your primary targets. Players using blades should pay attention to the horns and arms, hammers need to focus on the horns and head, while those using ammo are limited to the horns.
Before you even enter the same area as the Nergigante, you will want to prepare for the fight by visiting the Canteen and eating whatever meal will give you the most health. If you’re comfortable with how much health you have, opt for a meal that increases the amount of damage you can deal or one that increases your defences.
Ensure you take in the following items to improve your chances of success. If you don’t have the Vitality mantle, make sure you unlock it before progressing further.
Obviously, the more health potions you have, the better, and you can also take along some rations to quickly regenerate your stamina. The Flash Pods and Flashbugs are absolutely essential for creating some breathing room. When shot at Nergigante’s face, the Flash Pod will temporarily blind the monster and send it into a rage. Take this opportunity to heal, sharpen your blade, reposition, or use your Palico gadget.
Speaking of Palico gadgets, make sure you take in the gadget you’re most comfortable using. The Coral Orchestra is excellent for additional buffs, the Vigorwasp can be handy and may save your life in a pinch, the Shieldspire will draw a lot of aggro and give you some breathing room.
While the Flashbug gadget will help stun Nergigante, the trap will be useless. Taking in the Plunderblade isn’t a good idea for your first attempt, especially if you’re struggling, and the Meowlotov Cocktail can be helpful if you’re managing to avoid taking damage but you’re not dealing enough damage.
Before you even consider hunting the Nergigante, it’s important to formulate a strategy. One of the first things of note is that Nergigante is an Elder Dragon, meaning it cannot be trapped. For this very reason, you will need to attack it until it stops moving.
The Nergigante’s physical appearance must also be taken into consideration as the spines are not merely cosmetic. These spines sprout from the beast over the course of the fight, can be fired out in a shotgun blast, and will eventually harden into armor if left unchecked.
Though Nergigante doesn’t deal any elemental damage, it does a considerable amount of physical damage. This is dealt through its claws, movement, as well as its spines.
Once you reach Nergigante, you will want to stand just outside of his sphere and apply your buffs, whether it’s a Palico gadget, Might Pill, or putting on the Vitality mantle. When the fight starts, your main objective will be trying to keep a medium distance to Nergigante. Bait its attacks, and dodge to the side and punish its legs.
Over the course of the fight, Nergigante will grow spines, which are used to great effect. You will want to pay close attention to when Nergigante slams its head into the ground, this move is followed by the monster ripping its head out of the ground and firing a burst of spikes in a straight line. If you are in front of Nergigante when this happens, there’s a good chance this will be a one-hit kill.
You will also want to look out for when Nergigante turns black. At this point, it will begin doing a flying-slam move. From the point where Nergigante is in the air, to its point of contact, will be a death zone. Dodging this attack is critical, use your mobility to dive to the side and, hopefully, out of the line of carnage.
When Nergigante moves to a new location, take that moment to restock your supplies or wait for your buffs to recharge. If Nergigante moves down into the fiery area, use a Cool Drink and try to pull him into the hallway, lest you take undue heat damage.
During the entire fight, remember to use your Flash Pod to stun Nergigante. Doing this when you’re low on health will ensure he gets his focus off of you. Keeping 10 Flashbugs on hand lets you create more during the fight without needing to go back to the camp site to restock.
Any time you faint, take the opportunity to eat some more food at the canteen near the campsite. While the food has diminishing returns, it will at least give you slightly more health.
When Nergigante begins to limp and retreat back to his nest, fire some Flash Pods at him to keep him in the area to deal more damage. Fighting him in his nest can be extremely challenging, hence why you want to deal as much damage as possible while outside of his nest. The room is full of traps that can hurt you and he becomes enraged, thrashing about and attacking with more ferocity which is difficult to deal with in such a small space.
It can be a good idea to save your Vitality mantle for this final section, as it will very quickly prove its worth. Once you have Nergigante on the ropes, don’t let up, but also remain vigilant. Back out of the room if you need to, but don’t let him sleep, lest he regenerate health.
The Nergigante is undeniably one of the more difficult monsters to fight and kill in Monster Hunter World. The Nergigante’s weaknesses are few, and it is extremely aggressive, making it a real challenge to deal with. However, with the right strategy and preparation, it’s certainly possible to overcome. Be sure to check out our Monster Hunter World guide for more helpful articles.