Latest Updates

Coffeboy just commented on Resident Evil Village Voice Actress Jeanette Maus Passes Away
Llama_Duck has just liked Resident Evil Village Voice Actress Jeanette Maus Passes Away
Blaze has just liked Resident Evil Village Voice Actress Jeanette Maus Passes Away
Tea has just liked Resident Evil Village Voice Actress Jeanette Maus Passes Away
Llama_Duck has just liked Tomb Raider and Kong: Skull Island Anime Shows Coming to Netflix
Llama_Duck just commented on Review-In-Progress: The Medium
Announcement Selected Bitty Boomers now on PROMOTION!
Tea has just liked Review-In-Progress: The Medium
Tea has just liked Tomb Raider and Kong: Skull Island Anime Shows Coming to Netflix
Blaze has just liked Tomb Raider and Kong: Skull Island Anime Shows Coming to Netflix

Who's Online

Guests: 62, Members: 11
Blaze
Radium217
HaseoVII
Aurydunn
TK
kamchatsk
TheOneMCMK
Tea
Butterrlettuce
TK
MARCEL_ZA


Please sign in to add comments
Tea
28 January at 10:13
Yakuza Like A Dragon PS5 Listed for for pre-order
WitSkapie
28 January at 8:54
Good morning!
eYss
28 January at 7:49
Morning everyone!
Yu-Gi
27 January at 13:02
@TheOneMCMK Thanks ! I will make sure to that. I am just still browsing.
TheOneMCMK
27 January at 13:00
just check out and select the option to collect in-store and pay in-store
Yu-Gi
27 January at 12:53
Hi there! I have been browsing your Tech section on the website.
I am interested in a few items, however I would prefer to pay upon collection instead. It that possible? I can order now and then come into store on Saturday to collect and pay.
phreak
27 January at 11:33
@tea: lol, looking at my list of pre-ordered games and going : RELEASE ALREADY!!! XD
Llama_Duck
27 January at 11:10
@Tea

Yes! I just hope it's not a bad... im always worried when a game goes dark for a time.... like trying to let people forget the hype... Thanks so Cyberpunk, people fear the Hype...
Tea
27 January at 11:07
So happy Biomutant finally has a release date
Playa Boy
27 January at 10:22
Morning All don't forget to game hard today
View all posts »

Cart Contents

Item: Price: Qty:
Total: R 0.00

View Cart
Checkout

Message Content


View All Messages


New Message
Outbox

User Content

Login / Register

Latest Poll

Has completing an excellent game ever given you post game completion blues?

This poll is restricted to members only

  • Home (current)
  • Retail
  • Brands
  • Forum
  • Events
  • Contact us
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Tech
  • About Us

Feature

Monster Hunter World Iceborne: How to Beat Alatreon (Solo and Team)

by Sam Aberdeen on 15 July, 2020

     

     

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne recently released a free update that introduced a new monster into the game - but not just any monster. Alatreon, the game's first Black Dragon, arrived in the New World to cause some havoc. For a bit of background context, Black Dragons in the Monster Hunter universe are considered some of the toughest monsters, period. As you might've seen in the last few days, Alatreon more than lives up to his Black Dragon name. Players have been struggling to beat this behemoth of a dragon, and understandably so. Alatreon commands all the elements, so finding a weakness is damn near impossible.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you speak to), Capcom have tweaked the fight to include a DPS check and have Alatreon cycle through a specific order of elements. After dozens of hours trying and failing, I eventually managed to formulate a strategy or two that lead me to beat Alatreon both solo and with a team. Hopefully these handy tips and tricks will come in handy, and lead you to victory as well.

Understanding Alatreon



Alatreon's fights, as they stand now, are broken up into three quests: one Special Assignment (which is mandatory) and two Event Quests. The Special Assignment, "Blazing Black Twilight", can be triggered by speaking to the Third Fleet Commander in Seliana, near the Elder Melder. She'll lead you to the Handler and co., who reveal that an Alatreon had been spotted in the valley where Safi'jiiva spawned. Naturally, your hunter is tasked with taking care of it, though suggests you form a team to do so (though it might actually be easier to tackle solo, but we'll get to that in a bit).

"Blazing Black Twilight" will be your first encounter with Alatreon. Upon entering the secluded battle area, you'll notice a couple of things: 1) you can't use Farcaster, meaning your only means of going back to camp is by cart, and 2) Alatreon hits like a truck, mixing up elemental AoE attacks to keep you on your toes.

First and foremost, Alatreon will perform a DPS check every six minutes or so in the form of an ultimate supernova called Escaton Judgement. There's no way to avoid this attack, but there are ways to mitigate its potential damage.

How the DPS Check Works



Your primary objective in this fight is to inflict as much elemental damage on Alatreon as possible while trying to break his horns. Faster weapons like the Dual Blades, Insect Glaive, and generally any quick weapon that can dish out elemental damage quickly is your most viable option, though heavier weapons like Great Sword and Gunlance are still okay to use, but they just don't deal as much elemental damage and can be quite a hindrance if you're playing solo, though might be more forgiving in a team.

How Alatreon's elemental stages work is quite simple (in the case of the Special Assignment): Alatreon starts in his fire phase, meaning you should be using ice or water weapons. This is a must. Dragon works fine too, but you'll be dishing out a lot more elemental damage using the opposing element. After a couple of minutes, Alatreon will enter its dragon phase. This is the most crucial phase because its the only phase where you'll be able to break his horns. Go for the head, and don't stop attacking even after his horns are broken.

You'll have to wait for one very specific cue from the Handler, who will tell you that you're doing a good job suppressing Alatreon's powers. If you hear this cue, you'll be able to survive the Escaton Judgement because you've dealt enough elemental damage to the point where the ultimate is significantly weaker. If you don't hear this cue from the Handler, break the horns or deal enough elemental damage in time, bad news. The Escaton Judgement will cart you.

Surviving Escaton Judgement



Now that we've differentiated between what is an insta-kill Escaton Judgement and what is a survivable one, there are a few ways to ensure you don't cart with its survivable one. The Escaton Judgement - much like Safi'jiiva's star-bomb Tsar Bomba - begins when the entire area is engulfed in either flames or ice (if its flames and you started Alatreon in his fire phase, good job, but if its ice and you started in his fire phase, bad news again... he's switching elements and you're gonna have a hard time in the next phase if you're fighting ice with ice).

When this very telegraphed ultimate begins, set up a health booster. It's also fine if you didn't pack one. When Alatreon lands his explosion, you'll notice your health begin to chip away. It's important that you have speed eating x3 for this next part. Make sure you bring along some Astera Jerky, as eating them restores you to full health immediately and also nullifies using those vital health items. Eating two Astera Jerky's should help you survive through the survivable Escaton Judgement. If you run out of Astera Jerky, other healing items work fine too.

Another way to survive the weakened ultimate is to equip a Vitality Mantle. The mantle will eat up most of the attack, and you'll be able to survive through it. Unfortunately, if it's a full-powered Escaton Judgement, abandon hope. I've tested many possible ways to try and survive it, and there's simply no way. The full-powered attack seems programmed to insta-kill you.

Beating Alatreon Solo



Now comes the fun part. While the Handler encourages you to fight Alatreon with a team, this is one of those times where we're not going to listen to the Handler. Fighting Alatreon solo might actually be the easier method, but this is also largely dependent on how confident you are in your skills. Make no mistake, it's still a tough-as-nails fight, but it alleviates some of the problems with fighting him as a team. For one, Alatreon doesn't scale his health and damage output, so you're fighting him in a weaker state than a four-person squad. Thus, breaking the horns becomes a far simpler task too. Breaking the horns works better with heavier, slower weapons like the Great Sword and Hammer, but remember, you still need elemental damage to weaken that Escaton Judgement.

Before you go full Leeroy Jenkins into the fight, though, I urge you to use a meal voucher and eat the Open Platter for a Felyne Safeguard. This adds one more faint to the limited 3 faints. The best thing about this is that if you don't survive the Escaton Judgement, you're only one faint down as opposed to an entire team eating dirt and failing immediately, and can safely return to camp where you can stock up on items and even change weapons depending on Alatreon's element.

You'll have two opportunities to drop Alatreon before the DPS check. He should take to the air twice if you're lucky, and this is where you can clutch onto his face and fire off stones to deal a good amount of damage (granted he's not enraged yet). The second time will always exclusively happen in the dragon phase, where he'll take to the sky again. If he's not enraged, simply drop him again. Your objective here is to deal as much damage to his head while he's down, breaking the horns and dealing high elemental damage.

What makes solo a bit of an easier fight is the extra faints (including Safeguard). You can even formulate a strategy around this, by even using the Escaton faints as a way to travel back to camp and restock. Last but not least, remember, elemental damage is king. The fight is only simpler for you if you use a weapon with high opposing elements to Alatreon.

Beating Alatreon in a Team



A lot of what was discussed solo still applies to Alatreon in a team, only his health and damage output will be scaled up to accommodate 2-4 players. It also means you have fewer chances of surviving through the Escaton Judgement. Your whole team will need to be on-point in this fight. More often than not, I found that the team is only as good as its weakest link. If you're thinking about being a healer with a cheap weapon, don't bother (especially since the Escaton Judgement will kill all the same). Your focus should be on dealing as much elemental damage as possible.

Keeping Alatreon down on the ground is very important, as every weapon (not just ranged) needs to be doing constant damage (it's a race against time here). Bring flash pods with you if he flies, or consider dropping him with a clutch attack. To save yourself the trouble of constantly getting blight from any one of Alatreon's elements, make sure to equip blight resistance x3. Team work and a good understanding of the monster's mechanics are a necessity, so make sure you're with a squad that's able to exploit every trick in the book when it comes to beating Alatreon.

Hopefully this handy guide helped you, and always remember, master those elements!


Sam Aberdeen

Writer. Enthusiast of all things geek. Legend has it he completed Final Fantasy VII without a memory card.

Follow Sam on See more articles by Sam

Please login to post comments.


More Features

Feature

Review-In-Progress: The Medium

There is a lot riding on The Medium. After a delay from December last year, it represents the first ...

27-01-21 Read more

Feature

Little Nightmares 2: 10 Things You Should Know

Little Nightmares 2 is right around the corner, and we are incredibly excited to jump back into the ...

26-01-21 Read more

Feature

Resident Evil Village 'Maiden' Demo Impressions

Capcom's iconic survival horror franchise, Resident Evil, has come a very long way since its origins...

25-01-21 Read more

Feature

Five Scariest Resident Evil Moments

When it comes to horror games, Resident Evil is perhaps the most popular in the gaming world. Capcom...

21-01-21 Read more

Feature

Top Three Hitman Destinations

Hitman 3 releases on Wednesday and in celebration of the World of Assassination I’m looking back at ...

18-01-21 Read more

Feature

Five Call of Duty Games with Great Campaigns

Activision's Call of Duty series may have become synonymous with the multiplayer scene, especially following...

13-01-21 Read more

Feature

CES 2021: ASUS ROG Unveils Laptop Line-Up Refreshes and a Jaw Dropping New Product

CES 2021 kicked off on Monday but due to Covid everything is online. But that hasn’t stopped ASUS from...

12-01-21 Read more

Feature

Monster Hunter Rise Demo Impressions - A World Apart

Monster Hunter Rise’s new demo has recently rolled out, a spiritual successor to the critically acclaimed...

12-01-21 Read more

Feature

Five Most Anticipated Anime of 2021

It's the exciting start of the new year, and gaming isn't the only thing on our minds at Nexus Hub. ...

11-01-21 Read more

Feature

Five Most Anticipated Games of 2021

We've reached the next level of the decade, and 2021 promises to be another stellar year for the gaming...

05-01-21 Read more

Load More

Latest Reviews

9

Review: Hitman 3

7.5

Review: Corsair K60 RGB PRO

8.5

Review: Corsair Katar Pro Wireless

8

Review: DOOM Eternal (Switch)

8.5

Review: Asus Zenbook Flip S

9.5

Review: Corsair K100 RGB

Browse All Reviews

What's Next

04
Feb

Werewolf: The Apocalypse

05
Feb

Nioh Collection [PS5]

23
Feb

Persona 5 Strikers [MULTI]

18
Mar

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake [MULTI]

23
Apr

Nier Replicant Remake [MULTI]

21
May

Deathloop [PS5]

Latest Podcasts

Checkpoint Chat: Drink Your Lasagna

EPISODE 130

Oops! Your browser does not support this audio.

Esports Central: Public Response to Twitch feat. G_kayy

EPISODE 97

Oops! Your browser does not support this audio.

Dum Dum Die: So you wanna be a DM with Adeeb Hawa, Kyle Gray, Michelle Haward, and Carla Harris

EPISODE 172

Oops! Your browser does not support this audio.
Browse All Podcasts
Tweets by NexusHubZA
  • Digital
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Opinion Pieces
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • About Us
  • The Team
  • Our Scoring Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Retail
  • Game
  • Watch
  • Read
  • Collect
  • Wear
© Copyright AWX 2016 | Privacy | Terms & Conditions