u/Ludoki

Took some inspiration from this video made by DarkEdgeTV to make the head, because I couldn't figure out how to do it.

• Teostra: There's legit nothing bad I can say about this monster, other than its lacking difficulty. Well rounded and incredibly fun. Fought this thing hundreds of times for decos, and I couldn't get tired of it.
• Coral Pukei-Pukei: Feels weird to place this goober in the middle of all these menaces, but its design, colors and goofy personality are just too good to place it anywhere else.
• Ruiner Nergigante: Overall a downgrade to Nergigante. The final, decisive dive bomb is replaced by a less powerful version that it does whenever it feels like it. Disappointing, but it's still Nergigante, so it's inherently a fun fight.
• Barioth: Feels like you either love it or hate it. And I love it. Dynamic part breaks are so cool.
• Acidic Glavenus: You'd think I'd place it wayyy closer to the original, but overall this fight feels less rhythmic than the original. Doesn't feel like a dance anymore because of its wide sweeping attacks.
• Xeno-Jiiva: Awesome design, love that its behavior actually shows it's a hydrogen baby that doesn't know how to wield its own immense power. The fight isn't the most engaging, though.
• Namielle: Oh boy. This one I feel will be the most controversial, and to be honest, this might be the least objective placement in my list by far. Its design just doesn't speak to me, and its attacks cover way too much area and can feel bullshit sometimes. It's cool on paper, a monster that wields both water and electricity, and uses the former to amplify the latter, but the execution just didn't do it for me.
• Brachydios: This ranking is assuming you have blast resistance 3, because otherwise it's down in D. By that point, there's no excuse not having that skill anyway, it's just 3 level 1 deco slots.
• Beotodus: If you look past the piscine wyvern generalizations, Beotodus is actually a pretty fun fight. Uses its environment very well, and it actually engages in the fight. It doesn't stall, and it sure as hell isn't a punching bag. I love the chainsaw sounds it makes before it attacks, too.
• Dodogama: HEAR ME OUT! It's the cutest thing in existence, obviously. But the fight is boring at best. Basically Great Jagras with Blast. For its design and its design alone, it's bumped out of C into B.
• Kushala Daora: This one is very weapon dependent, and I just so happen to mostly use weapon with medium to high range. If you keep your distance, and hit the head, this monster is actually quite manageable.
• Kirin: Same thing, very weapon dependent. High single-hit damage and precise weapons will be much more effective on this monster, and I just so happen to play these kinds of weapons.
• Tigrex: Used to hate this monster, until I came back to it with Lance. Now it's somewhat fun.
• Kulu-Ya-Ku: Same thing than Coral Pukei-Pukei, to a much lesser degree. Love its personality, so that bumps it up from C to low B.
• Brute Tigrex: Tigrex, but it roars WAY too much! Unlike Brachydios, getting earplugs 5 takes much more space than blast res 3, and doesn't make the fight any more interesting; just makes a slightly less aggressive Tigrex.
• Zorah Magdaros: Bumped up from "I actually hate this game" just because of the spectacle. Also I love Kaijus.
• Lunastra: Nevermind about Namielle, THIS one is the least objective placement. There is nothing good I can say about this fuckermother, other than its looks, and that's just because it looks like Teostra. You could have me and my whole family at gunpoint, and I still wouldn't bump it up the list. Fuck this monster.
• Behemoth: I started playing in 2024. By that point, Iceborne had already received its final update, and pretty much everyone was in master rank. Behemoth being stuck in high rank, and being a monster that requires a good party to defeat in high rank consistently, makes it impossible for me to properly rank on this list. Sorry, I came too late :P

All monsters are somewhat ordered within their rankings. Tried to keep S tier to a top 10 (the two bazels and zinogres are respectively considered as one). I haven't considered Arch-Tempered monsters for this ranking, because I haven't fought most of them fairly yet. Open to discuss!

Panicked a bit lol.

Even after all this time, gold crowns still manage to impress me with how big they can get.

It's flashy, it's mobile, and the counters feel awesome. Genuinely one of my favorite weapons.

I'm now considering doing a full lance playthrough, world and iceborne included. 2-years-ago me would've been disgusted by this.

Feels like whatever I do, I *cannot* play the melodies later in the queue first. It always plays them in order from top to bottom.

I've tried holding the button (circle or triangle) before pressing r2 to perform, pressing them at the same time, holding it after pressing r2... Always does them in order.

What am I supposed to do to play the melody I want in the queue?