The Alatreon experience: How patience and preparation helped a noob solo Monster Hunter World’s first Black Dragon

Let's kick things off with a very unpopular opinion: "Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s Alatreon fight is fair."

Of course, we all know that's an outrageous and controversial statement, considering that the majority of the Monster Hunter community is out for blood when it comes to Alatreon. Players claim Alatreon is the most broken and overpowered addition to the monster line-up – hardly a fair combatant – and here I am claiming otherwise.

But don’t get me wrong, Alatreon is indeed "broken," the fight is brutal and almost always one-sided, and it's enough to put the difficulty of Sekiro’s NG+7 Isshin Ashina to shame. As a 3rd grade Bow main without a Bow Charge plus deco, even I've had my fair share of deaths with Alatreon.

Alatreon took 50+ attempts to complete (I stopped counting after 55) and it was only after I started to realize that I was going about the fight completely wrong that I was able to beat him.

And sure, guides did help me to a point, allowing me to understand some of the core mechanics of the fight along with the relevant hit zone values, but that was pretty much it.

Unlike with other tier 3 threats, there's no way of cheesing Alatreon (unless you're running the Insect Glaive, Kinsect only strategy) and Capcom has done an excellent job creating an arena that pits nothing but your hunting skills against the Blazing Black Dragon.

So how did an unskilled noob like me slay a Black Elder Dragon? Well, the answer is simple: I beat him through patience with a better build and preparation.

But before I go onto my experiences with the Alatreon fight and why I think it's actually very fair, I want to go over why the fight itself feels so daunting in the first place.

The anxiety of Alatreon's Escaton Judgement

The beauty of each Monster Hunter World and Iceborne expansion monster is that each one initially feels like a wall that seems impossible to break or scale.

But once you do overcome it, the feeling of accomplishment and the adrenaline rush that you get from it has no parallel.

It's not like Alatreon is the only hard enemy in Monster Hunter World. Every monster, from the Elder Dragons all the way to a Kulu-Ya-Ku, were hard once upon a time. In a game that stresses builds, counter builds, and proper preparation before each fight, no monster can be difficult for long.

I remember how impossible slaying Nergigante felt during my first few attempts, but after learning his elemental weaknesses and patterns I slowly got better. Now, beating him is second nature.

So what makes Alatreon so very different and controversial enough to split the Monster Hunter community?

Alatreon has a given set of patterns that he spams that can easily take you out. He has a large health pool as well, but not too big that you won't be able to do him in under 40 minutes, no matter what your build is.

(Image Credit: Capcom)

Even though his normal attacks hit hard, they have a definite tell, and dodging them (after some carting experience) will end up being a non-issue.

What makes and breaks Alatreon is his Escaton Judgement, which is by far the most overpowered move in Monster Hunter World. This ability forces you to play a short minigame with the Black Dragon and puts you on a timer that requires you to complete an objective before time runs out.

Alatreon also introduces the new “Elemental DPS check" mechanic. It forces the player to do a certain amount of elemental damage to Alatron to reduce the the Escaton Judgment's one-shot potential.

The move always left me with a sense of anxiety during the beginning of each attempt. It often forced me to make rash decisions that made me greedy for more damage and Alatreon would often punish me for it by combo-locking me into a quick cart.

I'd go back in again with my buffs and wait for the right time. I continually found that I wasn't doing enough damage as the clock ticked down.

(Image Credit: Capcom) A comfort build for a duo run, which did not end well. (Image Credit: Capcom)

The very moment the wingdrake lands in front of you is the moment from when the timer begins ticking down and hovering over your head, so every second matters.

The ‘horn-break’ dilemma

If one mini game was not enough, there's another Capcom introduced with Alatreon: canceling his element change by breaking his horns.

Now in the Ice stage and with my Safi fire bow, suppose I get the elemental DPS check and reduce the one-shot capabilities of Alatreon’s Escaton Judgement. I'll then have to break Alatreon's horns, or he'll change his element to fire and I won't be able to get the second DPS check for the next Escaton Judgement.

However, I can only break the horn when he's in his Dragon element. For my particular playstyle, getting the elemental DPS check is much easier than breaking Alatreon's horns.

With that in mind, there are two timers to keep in mind during the Alatreon fight.

Despite it all, Alatreon is still a fair fight

You might be wondering by now why I find the fight with Alatreon to be fair, even after having so many negative things to say about it.

For me, the fight was very fun. No matter how many times I got clapped by Alatreon in under 5 minutes, I always felt like getting back up.

It's the best solo fight for me in Monster Hunter World, and the prospect of facing him again always got me more excited than sapping the soul out of me.

Sure, the Escaton and horn break timer feel like oppressive forces weighing down on my shoulders, but once I got the hang of it I always felt like getting back up, no matter how many times I got smacked down. This is what an end-level, meta-defining final boss is supposed to feel like.

Alatreon was my coming of age as a hunter

No fight defines the adage "damage is the best form of CC" more than Alatreon. I rolled through most of the Iceborne expansion with comfort builds boasting defensive skills like Divine Protection and Recovery Rate, but those things don't matter against Alatreon thanks to the battle's DPS check.

The more defense I have on my build, the less damage I'm doing. That's why I was initially going about the fight the completely wrong way.

It was against Alatreon that I learned the value of damaging skills like Resentment and Agitator. Being the sorry excuse of the Bow main that I am, I just used to slot in max elements and use defensive comfort decorations for the rest of the build.

Alatreon showed me that if I'm not doing damage, then I'm not winning, Monster Hunter World is not meant to be played defensively.

Three points of Resistor and Health Boost were all the defensive skills that I needed to bring Alatreon down.

Alatreon Hitzone values by indiefaq.com

After trying the fight so many times and finally beating him, monsters like Rajang, Deviljho, and Lunastra don't feel as difficult as they used to. With enough patience and pattern learning, my counter to every monster improved dramatically.

Post-Alatreon, Monster Hunter World felt like a completely new game.

Alatreon pushes you out of your comfort zone

Alatreon is all about changing your hunting style. Sure, I was able to beat the entire game with the one single pattern over and over again, but Alatreon forced me to change my habits.

As a bow main, I already used elemental weapons, and I still had to compromise a lot of my style and mechanics to beat him. Now for those who just stick to "Raw Damage and Blast", the transition will be harder, but coming out of your comfort zone and trying something new is where most of the fun lies.

As soon as you learn a completely new way to hunt, Monster Hunter World will feel fresh again. It's this never-ending newness and freshness that makes me keep coming back to fight Alatreon with a new build every time.

He was the most fun I've ever had getting carted by a monster.