As a Temnoceran, Rakna-Kadaki is essentially a giant arachnid. It can inflict Fire damage (along with Fireblight) and shoot silk to bind players. Ice is its greatest weakness followed by Water with its head being the best weak spot for Cutting and Impact weapons. In terms of status ailments, only Iceblight is effective. Rakna-Kadaki is immune to Poison and Blast.
Rakna-Kadaki is quite interesting in that it has two states – a webbed “gown” and its “incubating” state. It can pull itself across distances with its silk, fire web projectiles and slam its abdomen down. Attacking its head is always advised but it may start spinning silk and trapping the player. A good method for creating an opening is to break the silk on any of its two legs – this will cause Rakna-Kadaki to collapse for a few seconds.
When the gown is broken, Rakna-Kadaki can spin silk onto its abdomen, which is the “incubating” state. Attack its abdomen but be careful of the fiery gas that emits from its body (especially since the monster can move will using it) along with the stream of fire it can unleash from its mouth. There is a slight delay at times when it emits gas from its body so take that as a cue to run away as quickly as possible.
From the front, it will begin spewing streams of silk while also smashing its front two legs down to attack. After some time, Rakna-Kadaki will spread silk over its legs, returning to the gown state and repeating the process. Like before, focus on two of its legs to bring it down, deal damage on its head when it’s down and when it goes into the incubating state, focus on its abdomen to win.
How to Defeat Rajang
Rajang returns in Monster Hunter Rise and is still as nimble and aggressive as ever. Like previous games, it inflicts Thunder damage and can cause Thunderblight. In its regular form, you’ll need to worry about getting stunned due to the blunt force of its attacks. Rajang is immune to Thunder, Fire and Dragon damage while being weak to Ice and Water. Iceblight and Blast are both effective ailments against it.
In terms of weak points, the head is a pretty good choice for Cutting, Impact and Shot damage. Even targeting the torso and forelegs works, though not as effectively. You might also want to target its tail since this will prevent it from strengthening its arms.
In its normal state, you’ll need to worry about its constant swiping, belly flops and a short range hook that it can execute. Perhaps its most dangerous move in this state is to grab the player, and slam them down before following up with a smash. Wiredash away when on the ground to avoid the brunt of this. Another attack to watch out for is when it sinks its hands into the ground and upends several rocks – Wiredash as soon as it starts doing this. Hit and run tactics are most effective when Rajang is in its normal state. Look for small openings, deliver some damage and then prepare to evade its next attack.
Once Rajang becomes charged with Thunder, the real challenge begins. Along with swiping with its fists, kicking with its hind legs if you’re behind it, grappling and charging, Rajang will leap up and slam down with force. It can also execute a monkey roll to a target some distance away. Finally, it will fire a blast of Thunder energy from its mouth (though it can also do this randomly in its normal state as well). Target its tail whenever possible to knock it out of this powered up state. While unleashing its Thunder blast, there’s a decent window for laying in damage.
If you’re having trouble finding opportunities to attack it, lay Pitfall Traps and Shock Traps when it’s distracted. You’ll need to plant them right at Rajang’s feet in these cases lest it avoid them.
How to Beat Wind Serpent Ibushi
Of all the monsters in the game, Wind Serpent Ibushi is the most interesting. It’s a Rampage Quest monster, meaning you’ll have different installations to help combat it. You’ll need to get through three hordes of monsters first. About 10 minutes or so into the third horde, Ibushi will appear. It inflicts Dragon element and, being an Elder Dragon, is weak to Dragon element as well (Fire and Water damage being the next best choices).
First, you’ll want to set up Wyvernfire near the door – when Ibushi gets close, they will attack it automatically. If Ibushi breaks through a gate, don’t waste time chasing it. Instead, use a Farcaster to quickly get to the next defensive line. The Counter Signals are also key – once they’re active, your weapon damage is massively increased. If none are active, use the Counter Gong to activate one.
The key to this fight is Ibushi’s windsacs, located on its back and tail. Attacking them causes Ibushi to fall and can thus allow for some heavy damage (attacking its head with Cutting and Impact weapons in this state is recommended). When it starts gathering rocks around it, find the Splitting Wyvernshot to interrupt it. If it happens to use the same move around a Dragonator, activate it to deal heavy damage and interrupt it again. Keep up the pressure while avoiding its attacks and Wind Serpent Ibushi should go down without much trouble.
Thunder Serpent Narwa
The final boss of the base game, Thunder Serpent Narwa is another new Elder Dragon for the franchise. It deals Thunder damage and Thunderblight (of course) along with Stun. Weaknesses include Dragon and Ice elements while it’s resistant to Fire and Water damage. Iceblight and Blast are effective ailments. Cutting and Impact damage are good against its head but when its chest, wing arm, abdomen, back and tail tip are charged, they can also become effective weak spots due to the presence of thundersacs.
Right off the bat, you’re going to want effective Thunder resistance to avoid Thunderblight. When the fight starts, immediately start targeting Narwa’s abdomen to damage its thundersac. Make sure to attack the thundersacs on the aforementioned areas (unless its fins get in the way, in which case, aim for the head). Like Ibushi, dealing enough damage to these will cause Narwa to fall and open it up for some damage.
Narwa can inflict some pretty strong attacks so make sure to use the platforms it creates to avoid them. When it starts spinning in the center, it will unleash an immense beam that sweeps the arena and end with a huge purple energy orb that causes immense damage. This cannot be blocked without Guard Up and will inflict Stun on the player. Using Farcaster or navigating to the higher platforms is a good way to avoid it though.
Use the cannon when it’s available to stun Narwa. Dealing enough damage will cause it to fall to the ground. You’ll also want to use the Splitting Wyvernshot, Dragonator and various turrets when they become available to inflict even more damage. At times, Narwa can also unleash several purple beams at once. Again, insure you don’t get hit by these without the Guard Up skill.
Keep up the damage and eventually, Narwa should be defeated. The game isn’t over yet though. Update 2.0 has added several new monsters to fight like Teostra, Kushala Daora and Chameleos while a proper ending will be coming in the next update.