Killing Rathalos Using Hammer - Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

Rathalos is the King of Dragon in Monster Hunter series. Most people have difficulty fighting it first time but once you learn its attack pattern, you just need to have patience to wait for an opening. This guide will teach you how to kill a Rathalos using Hammer. But for other weapon hunters can still benefit from this guide to know the opening for attack. Before we start, let's learn more on the Rathalos. There are 3 species of Rathalos:

• Rathalos (weak to Ice / Dragon)
• Azure Rathalos (weak to Water / Dragon)
• Silver Rathalos (weak to Lightning)

In early stage, you can find Rathalos quest in Gathering Hall. Search for HR1 2-star quest with title "Hunt the Rathalos!". Rathalos carve usually used for fire base weapon or Rathalos armor. For this quest you will fight in Forest & Hills map. Fighting Rathalos on this map is annoying because it frequently go to area 9, where the map is narrow and hard to see due to camera angle. Therefore you need to wait for him at area 3, 4, or 5. You will need Earplug skill to fight Rathalos.

When you see the Rathalos, don't attack immediately. Wait for him to see you first. You can throw a paintball as Rathalos likes to fly around. If you are Hammer user, you will be using Superpound and Triple Pound to attack. When Rathalos do this:

1. Fireball (Ground)
When Rathalos slowly turn around to face you, he will most likely shoot fireball. Just run beside his head and start charging your hammer. When he finish shoot fireball, do a Superpound on his head.

2. Aerial Attack (Sky Kick / Fireball)
This is a favourite, you are guarantee to land a Superpound on his head. Whenever he jump up to do his aerial attack, just stand below him (on his shadow). He will not able to attack you. Once he finish his attack, you will hear a scream, start charging your hammer (you can charge earlier actually). Rathalos will always try to face you, therefore you just turn around and run some distance away from the shadow and wait for him to land. When he land, Rathalos head should be right in front of you, unleash your Superpound on his head, then roll to your left.

3. Dash Bite
Rathalos will dash at you, if it cannot hit you, it will try to bite you. To avoid, just roll away. At this moment, you can attack whatever you want (Short charge, Medium charge or Superpound). If you know you can make it stagger, do a Triple Pound.

4. Glide Attack
Rathalos will charge at you and then fall down. You will charge your hammer and chase him. You will stop right behind his tail. This part is tricky and he will do any random attack after this. If Rathalos is in rage mode, before he gets up, just do a Superpound then roll away. Why, if he does backflip fireball, you will hit him. If he does tail spin, you may avoid his attack and if you are lucky, you may hit him. If Rathalos is in normal mode, once he gets up, do a Superpound. When he turn to you, you should be able to hit his head, then roll to your left. If he does backflip attack, you will miss but you didn't get hit.

5. Roar
If you have Earplug skill, this is a good opening to do Triple Pound. Else just do Superpound.

Why roll to your left?
Starting from Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Hammer can stun if you hit on the head. The probability is around 15-30%. When Rathalos is stunned, if will fall to your left. After you roll to your left, you should be standing right in front of a stunned Rathalos. From here you can just do 2 Triple Pound from where you are standing. Neat. Sometimes, I can do 3 Triple Pound if I'm pushing it.

Hope you learn something from here. See you on the hunting ground.