Monster Hunter Wilds: How To Beat Ajarakan (Tips, Strategies, Weak Points)
As you progress through Monster Hunter Wilds' campaign, you'll eventually find yourself in the Oilwell Basin, a sweltering region where magma bubbles under the surface and powers an enormous iron forge. The Oilwell Basin is home to a variety of creatures that thrive in the heat. Some of them simply enjoy its warmer, drier clime, while others actively feed on the eternal subterranean fire to make themselves more powerful. One of those is Ajarakan, a Fanged Beast-type monster. It's a strong and surprisingly fast creature on its own, but Ajarakan is even stronger in numbers.
During the main story quest "Ajarakan Ablaze," your activities in the Oilwell Basin will cause a calamity, Magma will spew from the ground, and hordes of Ajarakan will run amok, laying waste to the town of Suja until you show up to put a stop to them. This is a difficult, chaotic hunt at lower levels, especially if you're not anticipating its rapidly shifting conditions. But like every monster, Ajarakan can be easily beaten with the right equipment, preparation, and strategies. Here's everything you need to know to defeat this simmering simian in Monster Hunter WIlds.
How To Prep For Ajarakan
What To Bring
You'll fight your first Ajarakan shortly after completing the story mission "Fight or Flight," so if you have time in between the two hunts, you should take a moment to restock your inventory. You may also encounter Ajarakan later in the Wyveria region once you've unlocked it. Make sure you have a full stock of Potions, Cool Drinks, and Nulberries if possible. You'll need to continuously use Cool Drinks throughout the fight in order to keep your body temperature down, and prevent yourself from steadily losing HP due to the high heat.
Chillmantle Bugs will also provide insulation against Ajarakan's extreme heat, if you're lucky enough to find one.
Ajarakan can inflict a couple of different status effects, both Fireblight and Blastblight, so make sure you also bring the necessary materials to deal with them. Fireblight will tick down your HP over a 30-second period, while Blastblight will cause your character to explode after a certain amount of time has passed. You can cure both status effects either by using Nulberries, or by dodge rolling three times. I found Ajarakan to be pretty weak at range, so if you can get your distance in time, you may be able to simply roll these status effects away.
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Equipment that grants resistance to Fireblight and Blastblight is a good idea for this fight. Ajarakan also has a Weak Roar, and may inflict Minor Tremors, so items with the Earplugs or Tremor Resistance skills can come in handy as well. If you plan on using tools to weaken or capture Ajarakan, Flash Pods, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps are all reasonably effective. Sonic Bombs, however, may not work on this particular monster.
Ajarakan's Weaknesses & Status Effects
As a fire-based monster, Ajarakan is weak to both Water and Ice damage. If you wield any weapon of those two elements, you'll deal extra damage - although you don't necessarily need them to win the fight. Just keep in mind that Ajarakan is extremely resistant to Fire-elemental damage, so you should not, under any circumstances, choose a Fire weapon for this fight.
The following table breaks down all of Ajarakan's elemental and damage type weaknesses by body part. The efficacy of your attacks may vary based on where you aim them, depending on the element of your weapon. As per usual, the more stars, the more damage you'll do with this element.
Cut | Blunt | Ammo | Fire | Water | Thunder | Ice | Dragon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head | 3 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | Ineffective | 2 stars | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Left Foreleg | 3 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | Ineffective | 2 stars | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Right Foreleg | 3 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | Ineffective | 2 stars | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Belly | 2 stars | 2 stars | 2 stars | Ineffective | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Back | 2 stars | 2 stars | 2 stars | Ineffective | 2 stars | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Left Hind Leg | 2 stars | 2 stars | 2 stars | Ineffective | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Right Hind Leg | 2 stars | 2 stars | 2 stars | Ineffective | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Tail | 3 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | Ineffective | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Tail Tip | 3 stars | 3 stars | 3 stars | Ineffective | 2 stars | 1 star | 1 star | 1 star |
Ajarakan is also equally susceptible to all the status effects listed below:
- Poison
- Sleep
- Paralysis
- Blastblight
- Stun
- Exhaust
So, in general, Water is the best element damage to use in this fight, but Thunder, Ice, and Dragon are all reasonably decent, too. All physical damage types are equally effective against Ajarakan, so if you don't have a suitable weapon to hit its weakness, you can make do with whatever non-elemental gear you have. Ajarakan's weakest areas are closest to its front and rear; its back and hind legs are a little stronger.
Ajarakan's Weak Points & Moveset
Weak Points & Breakable Parts
Strongly armored with molten metal, Ajarakan only has one weak point: its arms/forelegs. Its back is breakable, and its tail can be severed for extra rewards. Breaking Ajarakan's back increases the likelihood of Ajarakan Ridges dropping, while severing its tail may earn you Ajarakan Tails in addition.
Ajarakan's Moveset & Strategies
In general, Ajarakan is very melee-focused. It uses its strong arms to slam the ground in front of it, and its heavy tail to attack behind. I found its tail attacks to be very clearly telegraphed, so I had the most luck avoiding damage while fighting it from behind. It'll occasionally leap around the arena, or slide itself across the ground, using its armored back to deal damage and send you flying.
One great strategy against Ajarakan is to stay at range, using a weapon like the Bowgun to deal damage from afar. Ajarakan will occasionally throw itself in your direction or throw molten rocks at you, but you can easily dodge out of the way and keep shooting.
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In melee range, you'll be putting yourself at risk: Ajarakan is surprisingly fast for its size. However, it has a long cooldown period between its attacks, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to get up in its face. Because it's fairly low to the ground when hunched over, Ajarakan is also very susceptible to aerial attacks, which can help you mount it for extra damage.
If you're fighting Ajarakan in the Oilwell Basin, you'll have a unique opportunity while it's next to the forge. If you shoot your grappling hook at the lever on top of the forge, then press circle/B to activate it, the forge door will slam open, dealing massive damage to the monster. Ajarakan will occasionally bang against the door, trying to get at the molten metal inside, so time your attack while he's performing this lengthy animation.
Ajarakan Materials & Rewards
All Low-Rank Ajarakan Drops
The table below includes every material you can get by beating a low-rank Ajarakan, including the frequency with which they drop. Higher frequency means you'll find these materials more often. Remember, you can always break certain parts or capture Ajarakan to increase the likelihood of getting more or rarer materials.
Material | Frequency |
|---|---|
Ajarakan Scale | 3 |
Ajarakan Shell | 3 |
Ajarakan Ridge | 3 |
Ajarakan Tail | 3 |
Ajarakan Jewel | 2 |
Ajarakan Certificate | 1 |
Ajarakan Marrow | 1 |
With your newly obtained Ajarakan parts, you can begin crafting along the Ajarakan weapon tree, a series of Blast-elemental weapons. You can also spend them on the Ajarakan armor, which is a pretty powerful set of mid-game gear that makes it easier to break large monster parts. Either way, getting a few Ajarakan materials can set you up for success in Monster Hunter Wilds.
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