Monster Hunter Wilds Chatacabra weakness, tips and strategy

Monster Hunter Wilds chatacabra
(Image credit: Capcom)

The Monster Hunter Wilds Chatacabra is the first monster you'll battle, and it's a giant toad with a fat tongue waiting to get smacked. However, the Chatacabra has plenty of other weaknesses you can exploit with care and intelligence too. Despite being the first boss of Monster Hunter Wilds, it's still no pushover, and subsequent encounters are unlikely to be much easier. With that in mind, knowing how to take down this toady titan is key so here's everything you need to know to kill the Chatacabra in Monster Hunter Wilds, including its weaknesses and some useful tips. Let's squash this frog!

Chatacabra weaknesses in Monster Hunter Wilds

Monster Hunter Wilds chatacabra

(Image credit: Capcom)

The Chatacabra in Monster Hunter Wilds has several qualities that players can exploit. Of course, you can use any of the Monster Hunter Wilds weapons to bring it down but you should use these strategies, tips, and techniques to bring it down:

  • Chatacabra is a largely front-facing melee-focused enemy, with little in the way of long-ranged attacks. Ranged fighters will have an advantage, and those in melee should try and stay behind it where possible.
  • Chatacabra's attacks are strongly telegraphed and target a wide area. It doesn't jab, it sweeps the battlefield with its claws and tongue, so use the warning to back away to a safe distance.
  • The forearms of Chatacabra are something that it periodically covers in stone to protect them, and enhance its melee attacks. However, you can break the stone with continuous targeted attacks, reducing its attack power by doing so.
  • The tongue is a weakness, but also something that Chatacabra uses as a whip-like melee weapon. One attack has the tongue droop on the floor for a few seconds afterwards - hit it with a Focus Strike to do massive damage and stun the beast.
  • Chatacabra is vulnerable to flash effects, falling boulders and more - all the environmental factors. If the world around you offers a chance to hurt it, it should be effective on one of MH Wilds' most basic beasts.
  • It's also vulnerable to Ice, Thunder, Stun, Paralysis, and Poison. You won't have access to these elemental effects on your first run in with the Chatacabra, but try to exploit its elemental weaknesses on subsequent hunts.

Chatacabra has all sorts of drops, including scales, shells, jaws, and the usual certificates so that you can craft some armor. It's far from being the best but since you beat the Chatacabra so early in the game, it's worth crafting what you can as it's marginally better than the default gear. You'll need a Monster Hunter Sharp Fang for the coil, so make sure you hunt some smaller critters as well.

Tougher beasts, such as the Monster Hunter Wilds Rey Dau offer greater rewards but have far fewer weaknesses to take advantage of making them a real challenge. Of course, the Chatacabra is just one of the Monster Hunter Wilds full roster, as you can find out over lunch!

Take a look at our Monster Hunter Wilds review, where we described it as "The new peak of the series and an early contender for game of the year".

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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