How to Defeat Espinas in Monster Hunter Now: Complete Battle Guide

Facing the fearsome Espinas in Monster Hunter Now? This venomous Flying Wyvern can be intimidating with its poisonous spikes and aggressive attacks, but with the right strategy, you’ll emerge victorious. Our comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know to defeat this thorny adversary.

Monster Hunter Espinas Quick Battle Reference

Understanding Espinas: The Venomous Threat

Espinas is physically similar to a Rathian, but alongside scales its body is covered in hot pink spikes full of venom and rough green armor plating. This Flying Wyvern introduces unique challenges with its combination of poison attacks, fire damage, and aggressive charging patterns.

Key Behavioral Traits

• Always starts sleeping – exploit this with wake-up attacks
• Becomes more aggressive when enraged but flesh softens for increased damage
• Covers wide areas with charges and breath attacks
• Uses consecutive poison and fire attacks

Essential Pre-Battle Preparation

Equipment Recommendations

Weapon Selection:

• Frostmoon Paleblade+ (Lunagaron’s Longsword), the Mighty Soulromancer (Magnamalo’s Insect Glaive), or the Amber Snapfrost+ (Barioth’s Switch Axe)
• Focus on Ice or Blast element weapons for maximum effectiveness
• Prioritize slashing damage types over blunt weapons

Armor Strategy:

• Equip gear with resistance to the Fire Element for defense
• Poison Resistance skills are crucial for surviving venom attacks
• Wearing equipment with Poison Resistance reduces the likelihood of entering the Venom state or even prevents it altogether

Essential Items

• Antidotes and Herbal Medicine for poison management
• Mega Barrel Bombs for the initial wake-up attack
• Fire resistance consumables for extended battles

Combat Strategy Breakdown

Opening Phase: The Wake-Up Attack

Espinas will always be sleeping in a nest at the start of every hunt. Exploit this mechanic by maximizing the wake up slap multiplier (2x) and start strong.

Best wake-up options:

• Place Mega Barrel Bombs near the head
• Use Great Sword’s True Charged Slash
• Hunting Horn’s Sonic Bloom Silkbind Attack

Mid-Battle Tactics

Target Priority:

1. Head – Highest damage multiplier but hardest to hit
2. Legs – The parts that take the most damage from Hunter attacks are the Wyvern’s Legs, Abdomen, and Head
3. Abdomen – Consistent damage opportunity
4. Wings and Tail – Break these despite higher defense for valuable materials

Movement and Positioning:

• Stay mobile to avoid wide-area charge attacks
• Use habilidades de resistencia para combatir la parálisis y el veneno de los ataques respiratorios (Use resistance skills to combat paralysis and poison from breath attacks)
• Position yourself at the sides rather than directly in front

Rage Mode Management

Espinas run riot with charge attacks when enraged, but the increased blood flow softens their flesh, so lay on the pain when you get the chance!

During rage mode:

• Increase aggression – the monster takes more damage
• Stay alert for more frequent charge attacks
• Focus on weak points for maximum damage output

Elemental Damage Strategy

Primary Weaknesses

• Ice damage – Most effective overall
• Blast damage – Espinas is weak against Blast and Ice, elements that you can find in weapons of monsters
• Water damage – Good secondary option

Status Effect Management

The battle becomes significantly easier when you understand Espinas’s poison mechanics:

• Poison affects health regeneration
• Venom is more dangerous than regular poison
• Fire attacks can cause burn damage over time

Advanced Battle Tips

Timing Your Attacks

• Attack during recovery frames after Espinas’s charge attacks
• Focus fire when sleeping or stunned for maximum damage
• Break parts systematically – wings and tail first, then focus on head

Team Coordination (Multiplayer)

• Designate roles – some focus on healing, others on damage
• Coordinate wake-up attacks for maximum initial damage
• Share resistance items and coordinate healing

For more Monster Hunter Now guides and mobile gaming strategies, check out our gaming section for comprehensive battle tactics and equipment recommendations.

Rewards and Materials

Defeating Espinas rewards you with unique crafting materials for the new Espinas armor set, featuring skills like Pursuit and Vital Fire that enhance your hunting capabilities.

Hunt Espinas in the official Monster Hunter Now mobile app and check Niantic’s help center for additional gameplay tips and strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions