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Monster Hunter World: Iceborne - New Monster Impressions and Gameplay
Subspecies aren't totally new to Monster Hunter World, but they're making a comeback to the series in a big way in the upcoming Iceborne expansion. We recently got to play the beginning of Iceborne, and some of the first few monsters we faced were three brand-new monsters: Nightshade Paolumu, Coral Pukei-Pukei, and Viper Tobi-Kadachi! They may look familiar, but these subspecies are more than just a reskin.We also noticed at least nine exciting quality-of-life improvements in Iceborne, but continue on to see gameplay of each new monster with hands-on impressions and comparisons to each of their parent species.
Iceborne: Nightshade Paolumu Gameplay Impressions
I absolutely adore Nightshade Paolumu, the emo-cousin of the Coral Highland's most coveted pom-pom baby. This subspecies is donned in dark purple, near-black fur and scales, and the tips of its wings are tinged green. Neon-blue stripes travel up Nightshade Paolumu's long neck, and when it inhales enough air, it inflates to reveal colorful "eyes," reminiscent of markings you'd see on a brilliant moth. Really, I can't wait to see its armor set and weapons!
Whereas Paolumu has nothing up its sleeve except wind pressure and air-projectiles, Nightshade Paolumu puts its enemies to sleep, too. On top of expelling huge mountains of sleep gas, it can also pepper clouds of it on the ground. Energy Drinks were a must for this fight.
New Monsters in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
As we fought, I broke a rule I should have internalized by now from all the Kushala Daora I've hunted: I flashpodded the monster without first checking where it would land, sending Nightshade Paolumu into a cloud of its own sleep gas. This resulted in some overly eager, and then very sleepy hunters, and one unscathed *puffersims.
Unlike Coral Highlands Paolumu, Nightshade Paolumu made its debut in the Wildspire Wastes. Also unlike it's pastel counterpart, it curls its tail into a sizable mass, which it then wields as a frantic hammer that strikes multiple times. It doesn't get stuck in the ground after this, either.My favorite of Nightshade Paolumu's attacks is when it ricochets around in the air like a violently deflated balloon. I used a Light Bowgun during this fight, so while I was never in immediate danger, this attack did cart a teammate. I still love you, emo puffball.
*Puffersims = Paolumu.
Iceborne: Coral Pukei-Pukei Gameplay ImpressionsWith Coral Pukei-Pukei's bright orange coloring (red when enraged) and firehose-like jets of water it sprays from both ends, it's hard not to make a firetruck comparison! Instead of putting out fires though, Coral Pukei-Pukei inflicts waterblight, which decreases stamina recovery. It's preferable to the Ancient Forest's Pukei-Pukei's poison, but Coral Highland's Coral Pukei-Pukei's water jets deal significantly more raw damage than the poison blobs and smoke clouds we're accustomed to.
To store mass quantities of water in its tail, Coral Pukei-Pukei must eat, like its cousin must do to build up poison. It its intro cinematic, it guzzled water from the squishy blue platforms that work like traps, and in battle in chowed down on Brightmoss and other plants.Like its forest-dwelling counterpart, the subspecies Coral Pukei-Pukei was pretty easy for me to read, which allowed me to follow my usual pattern of attack with success. When it starts spraying water though, that's a different story. These long-ranged line attacks look totally erratic, especially so when its airborne, but there must be a surefire way to dodge the circular-traveling beam with precision when practiced. Luckily, I was able to dodge, and then block with the Sword and Sword, to avoid the worst of it.
Iceborne: Viper Tobi-Kadachi Gameplay ImpressionsThe only subspecies with fought in the new locale, Hoarfrost Reach, was Viper Tobi-Kadachi. This subspecies' scales resemble fallen, decayed leaves, and it inflicts two status effects, and can do so pretty much simultaneously.
Viper Tobi Kadachi's tail is covered in needle-like spines which can inflict poison with numerous close-ranged attacks, but it can also fling those spines from a distance to accomplish the same.
Its saliva must be nasty, or its fangs filled with venom, because getting hit with a bite can cause paralysis. Luckily, I was never poisoned and paralyzed at the same time since I slammed Herbal Medicine as soon as I became inflicted, but it's certainly possible. And dying from poison while paralyzed or stunned is definitely one of the worst ways to go in Monster Hunter.Viper Tobi-Kadachi was our team's toughest challenge during our hands-on session, rivaling even the ferocious Barioth. I also apparently had a lapse in judgment and chose a weapon I'm not an expert with, which probably didn't help. What got two of us carted at the same time, though, was our expectations of Viper Tobi-Kadachi's attack range steering us wrong.While the Ancient Forest's Tobi-Kadachi's tail-slam attacks demolish targets directly in front of it, Viper Tobi-Kadachi's tail comes down at a wide angle—which proved fatal when we thought we were safe! Like most subspecies, Viper Tobi-Kadachi's attack cadence is a bit different, and that caught us off guard.One thing to note: all of this gameplay was captured from a work-in-progress build. We also fought a Beotodus, Banbaro, and Barioth during our time with Monster Hunter World: Iceborne; and Fulgur Anjanath made a few appearances, too! You can see Fulgur Anjanath Turf War with Viper Tobi-Kadachi in that video. Lastly, make sure to check out the 9 Exciting Quality-of-Life Improvements in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne we noticed. We'll have more from Iceborne to come, but to catch up on everything else so far, read 34 New Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Details.
Casey DeFreitas is an Editor at IGN who loves monster hunting, slaying, and catching. And no, Tobi-Kadachi no longer gives her trouble whether low rank, high rank, or tempered. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD.