Zorah Magdaros

Zorah Magdaros is less a monster and more a walking volcano. It is the colossal Elder Dragon at the heart of World’s early story, and the whole Research Commission spends a big chunk of the campaign trying to figure out where it’s going. You don’t fight it in Master Rank, so this is a base game giant.

Out in the wild

It rises from the earth and moves across the New World like a living mountain, with magma glowing in its shell. Nobody in the Commission knows where it is heading or why, and that mystery drives the first part of the story.

Where you meet it

You first run into it in the 4-star Low Rank assignment One for the History Books. The big showdown is the 6-star High Rank assignment A Colossal Task in the Everstream, where the Commission tries to drive it away. Nergigante crashes the party in that one.

How the fight goes

Your normal attacks barely scratch that shell. On its back you hunt down the magmacores, glowing heat organs that you destroy to weaken it, while magma rains down on you. In the final stretch you fire cannons from a barrier and use ballistae to keep the flying Barnos off you. Zorah Magdaros isn’t slain here. The goal is to push it away from the Everstream.

Hunter’s tips

• Fire Resistance is a must. Its magma gives you fireblight.
• Focus on the magmacores while you’re on its back, and mine the ore spots you find there.
• Bring plenty of healing, since Nergigante can show up during A Colossal Task too.
• At the barrier, keep the cannons firing and shoot down the Barnos that buzz around you.