In recent years, most Monster Hunter experiences, including Monster Hunter Wilds, have been book-ended by a few familiar faces that fall into a particular category: elder dragons. Despite the term's rather vague definition (any monster with an ill-defined amount of strength and rarity), elder dragons remain a tried and true Monster Hunter staple and have appeared in every franchise title. Wilds is the first mainline entry to not include any elder dragons, which is a shocking departure from the previous title.

Upon reaching the upper end of high rank, it was a strange feeling knowing that the ever-present cast —the likes of Teostra, Kushala Daora, and Kirin — were, in fact, absent. In previous games, this trio, in particular, often served as the initial basis of MH Wilds' endgame. Upon more reflection, however, I've begun viewing the lack of elder dragons less in of what's missing and, instead, on what Wilds and the franchise as a whole gained from their exclusion.

Monster Hunter World Centered Around Elder Dragons

Sometimes Breaks Are Needed

Wilds' lack of elder dragons is especially jarring coming from World, which, along with its staggering number of huntable elder dragons, also had a story entirely centered around them. While these stories usually serve as tutorials before players can truly get into the classic Monster Hunter endgame, they do set the tone for the sorts of monsters that are available to hunt. As a result, MH World had a bit of an elder dragon overload, enough to make the classification even more muddled.

Besides the aforementioned trio, I assume many people imagine Fatalis at the mention of elder dragons. The penultimate boss, created in the original Monster Hunter, perfectly embodies the classification. Killing Fatalis is an achievement on its own, with it most recently serving as the final challenge of Iceborne. It is a little weird that something like World's Velkhana shares the same classification with Fatalis when, story-wise, Velkhana fulfills an equal purpose to Wilds Rey Dau, a zone apex encountered early in the story.

Elder Dragons were so prominent in the fifth generation that a new weapon mechanic, Elderseal, was created.

Beyond the now even more muddled definition of an elder dragon, because World and Rise shared their fifth-generation label, much of their rosters had overlap. Velkhana, Teostra, Kushala Daora, and Elderseal were present in Rise, which included a few other returning elder dragon additions. At this point, it's difficult to say how many times I've hunted these monsters across both games, with it being easy to see how elder dragons became so pervasive within the franchise and so noticeably absent within Wilds.

The Lack Of Elder Dragons Gives New Monsters A Time To Shine

The Four Apexes Are Fantastic End-Game Hunts

My initial disappointment, then, seemed to come from the absolute casualness of elder dragons in the fifth generation. Taking a step back and looking at the usual suspects of endgame farming in Wilds makes me glad that the elder dragons weren't included. I've always been fond of Kirin, the first elder dragon I hunted, but I've had that experience enough times. In their stead, Wilds has introduced a new set of monsters that are relevant throughout high rank and are a joy to hunt.

The apexes — Uth Duna, Nu Udra, Rey Dau, and Jin Dahaad — stand out in particular as both inspired designs and engaging hunts. Truthfully, with the more obscure definition of what an elder dragon should be, I see no fundamental difference between their difficulty and World's initial elder dragon roster. While the lack of familiar faces can be disappointing because of Wilds' status as a new generation of Monster Hunter, I firmly believe that Capcom made the right decision to ton back the now fatigued elder dragons and focus on something new for players to engage with.

Even Rathalos, which is included in every MH game, entered Wilds with its new Guardian spin, changing up the most iconic monster for its new generation debut.

Realistically, Wilds fit in all the monsters the standard development restraints allowed for. As such, including Teostra would likely mean the exclusion of another monster, and that trade is not one I would take. With Wilds 'own excellent final boss, Zoh Shia, not having a high-rank version, it's difficult to say what would have been further cut to accommodate the inclusion of the classic elder dragons. All in all, Wilds is a new generation of Monster Hunter; this is exactly the time to experiment and innovate on monster designs, not re-tread old hits.

Elder Dragons Will Likely Be Added

Reclaiming Their Status

I do not doubt that Monster Hunter Wilds will eventually include elder dragons. Title updates feel like the perfect place to bring back old classics, a far better option than clogging up the release roster with returning monsters. In any case, I don't believe that adding elder dragons will solve Wilds' difficulty problem, as, once again, the likely choices feel no different in strength to Wilds' apexes. Further, against my nostalgia, I feel that Wilds would do the franchise justice by holding off on including elder dragons for as long as possible.

The first elder dragon added to Wilds should be an original creation in an ideal world.

The first elder dragon added to Wilds should be an original creation in an ideal world. Doing so could re-establish the strength of the classification, pushing the scale closer to Alatreon or Fatalis and making elder dragon fights something to prepare for, look forward to, and overcome through trial and error. The fact that Zoh Shia is not classified as an elder dragon, or the massive Jin Dahaad for that matter, makes me look forward to the eventuality of a new one even more. Instead of throwing in a Kirin, perhaps Wilds' should use this anticipation for something entirely new.

The complete lack of elder dragons feels like a deliberate choice by Capcom, especially after the fifth generation of Monster Hunter. I doubt any hunter would bat an eye if the zone apexes were classified as elder dragons. The fact that they weren't and that the classics were left out may hopefully lead to a grand re-introduction of what an elder dragon is and why the monsters within that classification deserve to be there. In the meantime, there's plenty to hunt in Monster Hunter Wilds, even without the inclusion of elder dragons.