(Photo : Capcom / Screenshot taken from official website)
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne's latest major title update introduced one classic monster to Capcom's highly popular franchise, the black dragon Fatalis.
The return of this particular elder dragon marked a significant spike in difficulty for endgame Monster Hunter players. This is also fitting as Fatalis was the final boss of the original PlayStation 2 Monster Hunter game.
Many eager hunters who took on Fatalis when it was added in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne were met with despair. This was after they were burnt to a crisp by the black dragon's powerful flames.
Fortunately, this guide offers some useful tips, tricks, and general advice to help you reliably slay this massive dragon and forge its powerful equipment. You also have a choice of going either by yourself or with a team of other people for this particular challenge.
Unlocking Fatalis
The first thing you need to know is how to actually unlock the special assignment and subsequent quest for the black dragon. Fatalis is only accessible by players who finish the main story campaign of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, according to The Gamer.
You should at least be Master Rank 24 before you can unlock Fatalis. Once you reach that point, you can talk to the Seeker in Seliana if he has a purple exclamation point. He will then give you the special assignment "Across The Lost Path."
The boss for this quest is a Stygian Zinogre and completing it will unlock the Tundra and another new quest. You should then talk with the Pub Lass in the Gathering Hub to take on the "Point Of No Return" special recon assignment that unlocks Safi'Jiva.
You need to complete this quest so that you can receive the special assignment "Blazing Black Twilight" that pits you against an Alatreon. You do not have to finish this quest as you only need to watch the cutscene and you can abandon it and still unlock the Fatalis assignment "The Black Dragon."
Preparing for Fatalis
Now that you have unlocked Fatalis, you should start preparing what gear you need to survive and slay this powerful black dragon. When it comes to skills, defensive options are generally recommended for beginners until you get a hang of this monster's attacks.
One of the most recommended options is to have a Health augment on your weapon to keep you topped up throughout the fight. This minimizes the need to consume healing items that leave you vulnerable, RGJ said.
Health Boost is a good skill to have for the Fatalis fight so that you can survive the black dragon's powerful attacks. Even with endgame gear that is fully upgraded, a lot of the monster's attacks can one-shot you if you do not have any health bonuses.
You can also opt to get Divine Blessing to have a chance of significantly reducing Fatalis' damage every now and then. You can have this skill up to level 5, which reduces damage taken by 60% and is easier to proc.
Despite being an offensive skill, Partbreaker is good to have because it is almost mandatory for beginners to break Fatalis' head at least once. This reduces the damage of the monster's fire breath and lets you survive more often than not.
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The Fight
Going into the quest takes you to Castle Schrade and you need to mount a Wingdrake in order to get to the arena where Fatalis is waiting. The black dragon has three main phases that dictate how you should fight.
Fatalis has several attacks that you will see but the thing to keep an eye out for is the body slam and the flame nova attacks. The former is annoying because it can leave you pinned, keeping you susceptible to a follow-up attack.
The flame nova is a massive attack that covers the entire field and is guaranteed to kill a hunter unless they get behind cover, out of its area, or use a farcaster to go back to camp. The first happens after you deal 25% of Fatalis' max HP. During this time, you need to hide behind the massive metal object in the northeastern part of the arena.
This starts the second phase of the fight which unlocks the Roaming Ballista and gives access to more of the arena. This is a good chance to use the Binders to keep Fatalis locked in place and deal as much damage as you can, preferably on the head.
After taking 50% of its max HP as damage, Fatalis will do a second flame nova and the cover is up a ledge at the northern part of the map. You need to pull the lever to close the door and keep the flames from reaching you, be wary though, as players who are left outside will be damaged by the black dragon's attack.
When Fatalis takes more damage, it will fly to the southern edge of the map and do another flame nova attack. You need to get underneath it or directly to its sides to avoid the damage of the flames.
Continue dealing damage to Fatalis when you can and avoid the flame novas whenever they happen. Eventually, you will be able to slay the black dragon as long as you are patient and avoid being greedy with your attacks.
Other Tips
Overall, the Fatalis fight is arguably the most difficult that players will encounter throughout their Monster Hunter World: Iceborne journey. The main thing about this battle is to be patient and wait for opportunities to attack.
Being greedy and constantly attacking will leave you vulnerable to Fatalis' attacks that can one-shot you even at max health. Another tip is if you are fighting the monster in a group, try to coordinate who will be using the ballistae or attacking particular parts of the black dragon.
You should also try to take advantage of dodge roll invincibility frames to keep yourself safe from Fatalis' attacks, according to WindowsCentral. Mantles can also be used depending on your playstyle and if you want to be defensive or offensive.
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