Monster Hunter Wilds is still over a month away, with its second open beta scheduled for early February. However, IGN has confirmed another returning classic monster – Gravios, the fiery Flying Wyvern, last seen in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Check out roughly 13 minutes of the hunt below.
Capable of shooting fire, the Armor Wyvern is also capable of emitting flames from the underside of its body. Interestingly, the Wilds version can also release Sleep and Poison Gas. The latter featured in the sixth-generation titles (and is used by Basarios).
As for the reason behind Gravios’s introduction, director Yuya Tokuda told IGN, “When we were thinking about a monster that would fit the Oilwell Basin environment and would not overlap in gameplay terms when looking at the overall ecosystem hierarchy, we realized we could reintroduce Gravios in a way that felt fresh to play, so we decided to bring it back this time.”
You’ve probably noticed improvements to its look compared to previous titles. Executive director and art director Kaname Fujioka acknowledged that its “details, textures, and other aspects” have been “greatly improved.”
“While we maintained the hardness of its outer shell, we also had the team work hard on things like the depiction of the impact of Gravios’ laser-like attack when it hits the ground, which has been difficult to do until now. The monster now feels like it is actually there in that terrain. We were able to express how the actions of the monster have a reaction on the terrain, and we worked very carefully on those elements.”
On top of the fire laser shot into the ground a la Fatalis (with less area but still very dangerous), Gravios has other new attacks, though these are a surprise.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches on February 28th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. The next open beta runs from February 6th to 9th and February 13th to 16th for all platforms. However, it doesn’t feature the improvements announced following the first beta.
