Boss battles can range anywhere from being a slight break in the repetitive gameplay loop in some games, to being the centerpiece of combat and progression in others. In the case of Monster Hunter Rise, boss fights take the latter option, with almost every single monster worth fighting in the Monster Hunter series essentially being an elongated boss encounter.
Given how important the boss fights in the games in this series are to the core gameplay experience, it's strange that the most impressive class of bosses haven't had much of a showing in Monster Hunter Rise at launch. In other entries in the series, the Elder Dragons are the ultimate test of both gear sets and player skill, but these fights are mostly missing from the most recent title on Switch.
Elder Dragons in Monster Hunter: World
A strong place to start for the prevalence of Elder Dragons in the Monster Hunter series would be the game that introduced the majority of worldwide players to this type of enemy. Not only do Elder Dragons make up many of the final bosses, like Monster Hunter World: Iceborne's Shara Ishvalda, but also the bulk of the late and endgame content. Hunts against enemies like Teostra and Vaal Hazak make up the final stretch of both the high rank missions of vanilla Monster Hunter: World as well as the master rank that eventually appeared in later DLC.
In addition to the Elder Dragons that appeared in the launch version of Monster Hunter: World, others monsters like Lunastra and Kulve Taroth were later added in free title updates. This eventually lead to one of the strongest Elder Dragons in Monster Hunter, Fatalis, eventually being added as the final update before Capcom moved from World to Rise. As a result, players now making the move from Monster Hunter: World to Rise are running into a lack of this meaningful endgame content as they come up against the strongest monsters the Switch title has to offer.
Elder Dragons Currently in Monster Hunter Rise
Now that Monster Hunter Rise is selling like crazy and more players jump into what Capcom has ready for the next title in the series, many are finding that the endgame empty when compared to World. Not only do the credits begin to roll before even reaching high rank, but this next step of the game's content only has two new enemies that aren't normally available in low rank and village quests. That isn't to say that fights against the endgame enemies that are currently available like Magnamalo or Goss Harag are underwhelming, though.
As of the time of this writing, there are currently two Elder Dragons in Monster Hunter Rise, the final Rampage boss Ibushi, and the high rank's final boss Narwa. This essentially means that players aren't given too many chances to test their skills and builds against the new systems available that Capcom has introduced to Monster Hunter Rise. Both of these fights also take place in their own versions of siege combat that gives players ways to speed-up the fights a bit with special weapons that aren't available anywhere else.
The Curious Case of the Missing Kirin
One prime example of how the lack of Elder Dragons leaves Monster Hunter Rise with a feeling of something being missing is the omission of fan-favorite monster Kirin. While this specific monster looks more like a unicorn than a dragon, it is still considered among the Elder Dragon classification and is often an introduction to these types of encounters. Of course, there are some other reasons that the missing Kirin has rubbed fans the wrong way, namely with the iconic Monster Hunter armor that can be farmed from this Elder Dragon.
Regardless of what fans are looking for when it comes to fighting the Kirin, having a monster that has appeared in almost every game since the very beginning go missing is disappointing. While it isn't unheard of for Kirin to be left out, since the Elder Dragon didn't appear in any version of Monster Hunter Tri, the idea that Monster Hunter Rise is looking to usurp World makes this removal strange. However, it is possible that most of what is missing might eventually arrive in future updates, the same way that World continued to add new monsters and Elder Dragons after launch.
Upcoming Monster Hunter Rise Content
Capcom hasn't exactly been secretive that there will be updates coming to Monster Hunter Rise, along with the events and crossovers that players have come to expect from the series. So, it's more than likely that there will be more monsters coming to the game in future updates, possibly including Elder Dragons like Kirin and other series mainstays. Whether or not this means players can expect to see new monsters coming anytime soon is still up in the air, but nothing is really out of the question at this point.
As far as predictions go, the two most prevalent assumptions by fans sees either Kirin being the next monster to appear, or everyone's favorite death pickle, the Deviljho. Considering that Deviljho was one of the first monsters to be added to Monster Hunter: World, there's a chance that this could be the more likely case. Still, expanding the list of Elder Dragons that can offer more difficult challenges to players would be a better way to go for a game that is already one of the easiest and most welcoming in the Monster Hunter series.
Monster Hunter Rise's Rampage Mechanics are Perfect for Elder Dragons
Looking again at the Narwa and Ibushi mentioned above, these two fights show exactly how Monster Hunter Rise might have actually set itself up to create a unique type of Elder Dragon fight. In the case of the fight against Ibushi, players are pitted against the monster during the new Rampage mode, which acts as a pseudo Tower Defense game. It's a new take on Monster Hunter's siege fights that allows players to place their own defenses instead of having to make due with what has been laid out beforehand.
However, it's the Narwa fight that takes the mechanics from Monster Hunter Rise's Rampages to a whole new level that works perfectly for the elevated impact of fighting an Elder Dragon. Having weapons appear and disappear throughout the fight, with different phases bringing in stronger artillery for the player to use temporarily, is a fantastic use of an otherwise underutilized mechanic from older games. The pacing of when and how some of these weapons appear could be tweaked, even in the Narwa fight, but could give a whole new dynamic to fighting other powerful Elder Dragons like Kirin, or even massive enemies like Zorah Magdaros.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now on Switch.
