Monster Hunter World: Iceborne guide – how to beat the Beotodus

The Beotodus is the first large monster you’ll encounter in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Luckily, even if you’re a bit unprepared for this fight, you’ll have an infinite stock of retries during this first expedition into the Hoarfrost Reach, giving you ample time to weigh up this newest threat.

As a Piscine Wyvern, the Beotodus will try and spend as much time beneath the surface as possible, burrowing under ice and snow in this frigid new region, waiting to get the drop on unsuspecting hunters.

Compared to some of the other early Master Rank monster you’ll be fighting, the Beotodus can be a bit of a handful, especially if you’re coming back to Monster Hunter after a long break and are in need of a refresher.

How to prepare for the Beotodus

A lot of the monsters you’ll come up against in Iceborne are of the ice element (it’s in the name, really). As such you’ll want to try and get your hands on a decent fire element weapon to tackle the Beotodus, preferably rank 7 or 8.

The Beotodus also has a two star weakness against thunder and a one star weakness against water which gives you some other options to fall back on. It’s also susceptible to all ailments with blast being particularly effective.

It will all soon become second nature, but you’ll want to keep a few things in mind whenever venturing into the Hoarfrost Reach. Hot Drinks are a must to prevent your stamina bar from shrinking in the freezing conditions. Nulberries are also your friend with some monster able to inflict Iceblight – this debuff will force you to consume more stamina whenever performing strenuous actions.

Beotodus strategies and tips

As with any Piscine Wyvern, you’re primary goal here is to pluck the Beotodus from beneath the surface. Doing so will limit the monster to slower, weaker attacks while exposing it to a barrage of incoming atacks.

The quickest way of doing this is to remove the layer of snow on its back. This is done by simply attacking the head, back, and tail until the snow clears. Keep in mind that the Beotodus will periodically roll around in the tundra to replenish its main defence.

The Beotodus has a few main moves it likes to fall back on. Like other Piscine Wyverns, it will burrow underground, making a beeline for your position before surfacing to deal a moderate amount of damage. It uses other familiar attacks too, lunging and slamming with its head, swinging out its tail, and shoulder barging.

If you see the Beotodus coiling backwards into the snow, it may be about to perform one of its more powerful attacks, leaping at you like a torpedo. Learning to time you blocks and dodge rolls is essential to winning this fight.

Another attack to watch out for is a tail swipe that will cover nearby hunters in snow, inflicting Iceblight. While not particularly devastating on its own, the drain on your stamina could leave you in a rough spot. Chow down on a Nulberry, retreat to a hot spring, or find another means of thawing out.