With the arrival of Monster Hunter World Iceborne we’ve been given a whole raft of monsters to face in the New World so here is the first in our series for the DLC to show you how to beat Velkhana. It’s essentially the apex predator for the new content and the new Elder Dragon to feature in the Iceborne story and quests, so you should expect it to be pretty difficult to take down.
AdvertisementIn fact it’s such a beast that even the developers struggled to finish it off in the first gameplay video featuring Velkhana which you can watch in full below. While the video doesn’t give too much away in terms of hints and tips it does give you a few ideas in terms of how to take on the beast. However, there is a lot more to take into account and the details in our how to should give you more than enough to go on in terms of beating the ice king monster.
Setup to beat Velkhana
The first thing to think about in terms of beating Velkhana is your setup as a Hunter, because this massive Elder Dragon can one-shot you from a number of its different moves, which are covered in more detail below. However, the first thing that you need to be aware of is that it can hit you with frost blight, which drains your health as you fight and results in you taking more damage from its attacks while suffering from the effects.
To counter this you’re going to need a good supply of Null Berries for each fight against Velkhana, so make sure you spend some time collecting these before heading into battle. As soon as you spot the effects of frost blight you should quickly take a Null Berry to take away the effects and allow you to fight against the monster better. The armour options discussed further down will give you some protection against this.
There are plenty of other preparation to do ahead of your fight, which will give you more chance of beating it. The first of these are specific to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and include getting and using both the Iceproof Mantle and the Temporal Mantle to take the edge off Velkhana’s more savage attacks when you can.
You obviously want high rank armour too, but you’ll also benefit from having ice resistant armour with the best options being Death Stench, Kushala or Legiana gear. Check the stats and build these up to your favoured combo before heading into battle against Iceborne’s Macdaddy monster.
AdvertisementThat leads on to more general preparations for fights against high-powered monsters in MHW and the first of these is to spend some time getting Streamstones and adding them to your gear to give you added strength and protection. Then there are more obvious options, which includes having a good supply of Mega Demondrug and Mega Armorskin to buff up your Hunter, potions for recovery and the all-important pre-fight meal, which you should use to either maximise your strengths or reduce your weaknesses against Velkhana.
In terms of the best weapon to take him to fight Velkhana, one thing to consider is your speed of movement. You can see in the video at the bottom of the page how much the hunter with a hammer faints in comparison to the hunter with the Kinsect Blade, who can move a lot quicker. Obviously, you’re going to want to fight with a weapon that you’re most comfortable with, and this is definitely the best approach, but if you are good with weapons that allow you to move quicker, like the blades, then you’ll have an advantage.
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How to react to Velkhana’s different moves
Now that you’re all prepared for the fight it’s time to start working on how to react to Velkhana’s impressive moves to stop you from taking too much damage from the beast. Firstly, if you do get hit by one of the ice blast shockers and your health is a little too close to fainting for comfort then you need to get out of the fight as quickly as possible to ensure you don’t take any more damage.
This is easier said than done, though, because Velkhana moves fast and has long-ranging attacks, so you really do need to be aware of what it might do next and be ready to roll like you’ve never rolled before. Obviously, you can potion-up as you’re sprinting away to give you more chance of recovery and to protect you from a second big hit, resulting in a faint.
It’s a good idea to try to run away from it in the direction it’s tail is pointing in, because the majority of its attacks are forward-facing and it pivots mostly in a 180 degree angle ahead of it. While it can still jump around to face you, this is much less likely if you’re trying to beat it in multiplayer than in single player, because it should be distracted by the other Hunters in the party.
As mentioned above, Velkhana is a fast moving Elder Dragon with long-range ice blast moves, so speed and your ability to roll fast will be key to being able to beat it. Be ready to roll at the slightest indication that it is going to do one of its big moves and keep an eye on it to see whether or not you need to run away from its long distance ice breath attack.
It throws down a lot of ice on to the ground from above when you’re in close, which deals a lot of damage, and the best way to avoid this is to be ready to roll at the first sign of it rearing up. The good news though is that this can then be used to climb up to mount it, giving you a good amount of time away from its attacks and the opportunity to deal damage to its head. The bad news is that this can get in your way if you are just heading in for simple attacks, so you’re definitely better off going for a mount option if you’ve got a big block of ice in front of you that can be climbed on.
The other big impediments to dealing damage on Velkana is the ice armour that it manages to equip itself with throughout the fight. This will be one of the first things that it does as soon as you attack and it will reduce the impact of your hits while it’s in play, similar to Nergigante’s armour spikes.
AdvertisementKeep chipping away at it and it will reduce over time allowing you to deal bigger hits later in the fight, but earlier on you definitely want to play a little cautiously. Eventually it’ll go completely and this is your opportunity to lay in on it, but be prepared for it to recharge the ice armour periodically before you beat it once and for all.
In addition to the ice blocks that it spins out close to your Hunter as you’re attacking, it can also spout ice up into the sky to fall down on you at a distance. As soon as you see it looking up into the sky get ready to roll out of the way.
The other thing to be aware of is that when you do get a knock down on it, giving you some free hits to its head, it can sometimes recover with an instant attack that sends out a series of ice block rings. You can see this in the video below just after the 4 1/2 minute mark, and once again rolling for all you’re worth is the best way to avoid getting hurt by it.
Finally, when it comes to general movement in the fight you definitely want to get in quick, do some damage and get out before planning your next attack. As it starts to take more damage and eventually starts to limp you can try to be a little more aggressive, but even here you’re better off being cautious if you’ve got the time to play with.
Other hints and tips to beat Velkhana
1. Take advantage of environmental factors like the boulders that drop from the roof in the crystal cavern in the video below or natural ledges to mount Velkhana.
2. If you’re playing with friends you might want to think about the different roles each of you will play. For example, one can be a gunner on the outskirts chipping away at Velkhana, while another could be a fast Hunter with the blades dealing constant damage and then another with a stronger weapons to rush in when the opportunity arises.
Advertisement3. If you see it doing the ice blast move off to the side this is a great opportunity to run in and get your biggest hits on its head.
4. Lastly, don’t forget about your Palico, both in terms of its setup and in-fight support options.
Velkhana fight gameplay video
In addition to the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Velkhana gameplay video above, you can find out more about the DLC over on the MHW website at https://www.monsterhunter.com/world-iceborne/us/.
