Xeno’jiiva, this baby Elder Dragon is the true final boss of the main campaign in Monster Hunter: World. Once you reach High Rank after driving off Zorah Magdaros, you’ll encounter a variety of stronger variants of the monsters you’ve already fought. Eventually, you’ll return to the Elders Recess to tackle this massive beast. This incredible Elder Dragon is a menace to the New World, and needs to be taken out. It’s up to you, indomitable Fiver, to do just that. However, that’s easier said than done.
Fighting Xeno’jiiva is an exercise in everything you’ve learned up to this point. Focusing on soft parts and reducing bounces is your first key element here. Breakable parts include the head, front claws, and wing tips. Being able to read the animations that Xeno’jiiva is doing and predict their attacks is even more vital though.
The big problem with dealing with this massive beast is that not only is the hitbox really unwieldy, there’s also two phases to this fight that change it’s offensive and defensive properties. One way to deal with these issues is to understand it’s elemental and ailment weaknesses.
There’s two choices here. You can either bring a weapon to hit 2-star Weakness throughout both phases, or you can switch between weapons back at camp. Poison weapons are a good choice. If you’re in a party, bring a mix of Poison and any Element for best effect. Now as for dealing damage, there’s some things to remember. Bring Barrel Bombs, if you’re using Bombardier, even better. These can get in some free damage if you place them around the arena and then lure Xeno’jiiva into them.
Xeno’jiva can’t be put to sleep and resists Stun and Paralysis pretty well, so opt for another build if you’re running these are your primary mechanics. Also, Flash Pods do nothing against this mountain of a Dragon, Dragon Pods are the only thing that will bring it out of the sky. You should see these dropped around the arena as you deal damage, be sure to pick them up if you don’t have some
Phase One
Xeno’jiiva will largely stick to the ground in this phase. He uses a combination of charging rams that can send players flying, as well as some elemental projectiles. His claw attacks has a short windup, but can usually be rolled under. The tail swipe has a much longer windup, and higher damage, and you need to get out of the way because there’s no rolling under this. There are also two forms of breath attacks, a single and triple beam.
For a bit of bonus damage, keep a look out for the four crystal pillars sticking out from the walls all around the arena. Shoot these four pillars when Xeno’jiiva is near them to bury it in some rubble for extra damage.
During this first phase, keep your DPS focused on it’s front legs and the end of it’s tail. But keep in mind that the tail cannot be severed until the next phase. A good strategy here is a Crit Draw build with Poison, I ran a Great Sword personally, and then just sticking underneath Xeno and doing draw attacks against it’s weakspots. Once you’ve dealt enough damage, he’ll take to the skies and fly to the upper part of the map, starting phase two.
Phase Two
This is the much more difficult part of the fight, because many of it’s weak points are now armoured, and it’s overall weaknesses change. The map itself will also change, allowing the beastie to take to the skies. One good thing with this new section of the fight is that it’s hind legs are now a weak point, so focus DPS on these when possible.
When you deal enough damage, the monster will “awaken”, starting glow red across it’s body. This is the most dangerous part of the fight, as it gains multiple attacks capable of one-shotting a Hunter. The big ones to watch out for, in addition to the other attacks from the first phase, are when Xeno’jiiva stands up on it’s hind legs. When you see this, get to cover, or better yet stand behind the monster but a few steps away. Depending on which attack he does, he’ll either sweep the ground around himself with an erratic beam, or he’ll slam his body down, then explode a small AoE of Dragon damage directly around himself.
Use the crystal pillars in this upper part of the map for cover from Xeno’jiiva’s breath attacks, and to close the distance if you’re a melee user. Also be on the lookout for it lowering it’s head and planting it’s feet, as this is a sign one of the breath attacks is incoming. There’s a tri-beam attack that you can dodge by standing in between two beams. The more dangerous version is an AoE beam that can only be dodged if you’re behind either the monster or cover. Be aware that these Dragons pick their attacks based on their relative position to a Hunter, so the further you are away, the more likely ranged attacks will come out.
Once you’ve managed to down this beast, carve it up to get those sweet rewards, and rejoice because you just beat the full Monster Hunter World campaign.
Monster Hunter World is out now for PS4, PC and Xbox One.
