Your first quests in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate aren’t overly difficult. They’re in place to teach you the basics of the game to learn the ins and outs of the fighting mechanics. However, after a few easy quests you’re quickly thrown into the fray, as you must find and defeat the Great Jaggi. If you decide to head out on Expeditions, you’ll encounter the Seltas, Velociprey and Yian Kut-Ku.
These monsters can be difficult to defeat if you’re not ready for each battle. That said, we compiled a list of tips that should get you through these battles with relative ease. Once you have your feet wet, it shouldn’t be too difficult to take on the monsters that come after these guys.
Great Jaggi
The battle against the Great Jaggi is not a one-on-one bout. Instead, the Great Jaggi has a horde of smaller creatures surrounding it. Focus on the weaker monsters first while your Felyne companion keeps the Great Jaggi occupied. Try to keep the camera facing the Great Jaggi so you know where it is at all times. If it moves closer to you, shift your focus to lesser monsters a bit farther away.
Once the other enemies are down, turn your attention toward the Great Jaggi. While in most cases it’s best to stay behind the Great Jaggi to avoid its frontal attacks, it also uses a tail swing that can be difficult to see coming. Because of this, stay to the side of the Great Jaggi, but be ready to dodge if it turns towards you. The goal is to stay to its side while pummelling it with attacks. Any weapon works, but a heavier weapon can take out the lesser enemies with ease, so that may be your best bet.
Seltas
When you encounter the Seltas, the first thing you need to do is tag it with a paintball. This will allow you to track its movements when it flies away. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to take down the Seltas before it flees for the first time, so tagging it with a paintball means that you’ll save time looking for it when that happens.
Once you’re ready to engage the Seltas, it’s important to stay as close to it as possible. If you stand away from the monster it will shoot multiple projectile attacks in a wide spread in front of it. These can be difficult to avoid if you’re not prepared, but if you’re to the side or behind the monster, you won’t have to worry too much about this. If you stay close to the monster it will limit how often it uses this attack.
Almost all of the Seltas’ attacks are frontal. If you stay to the side or behind it you won’t have much to worry about. The main issue against the Seltas is the fact that it can fly. If you have a ranged weapon it can be a little easier to take down, but that also means you’re susceptible to the projectile attack. A heavy weapon works best if you want to avoid that while still inflicting solid damage. Just make sure you sheath your weapon when you need to close in on it quickly. Your movement speed is generally lower when you have a weapon out. Finally, when you see the Seltas perform a spin attack, back away until the spinning stops.
Velociprey
Much like the Great Jaggi, the Velociprey fights alongside a few monsters. Focus on taking down the lesser monsters first, then turn your attention toward the Velociprey. The biggest thing to note about the Velociprey is that it jumps around quite a bit. This will cause you to run around a lot, unless you’re using a ranged weapon. While a ranged weapon certainly helps for this battle, switch to a melee weapon and attack from close range.
When the Velociprey jumps away, sheath your weapon and quickly run back over to it. Move to the side of the monster and unleash your weapon again. It’s important to center your camera on the Velociprey as soon as you get to its side so you can attack it head-on. This also helps you avoid its frontal attacks while still inflicting as much damage as possible. Have items that increase your stamina at the ready because you will run quite a bit during this battle.
Yian Kut-Ku
The Yian Kut-Ku has a variety of attacks that you need to be aware of. Make sure you have a weapon with a vertical swing because horizontal attacks only work from specific angles. It’s much easier to attack with a vertical swing so you don’t have to worry about having your horizontal attacks deflected. Stay to the side of the Yian Kut-Ku to avoid its tail attack that hits behind the monster, and the pecking attack that hits in front of it.
From time to time the Yian Kut-Ku will dash forward, then fall. If you’re at a distance and it dashes towards you, quickly dodge to the side. If you’re right next to it when it begins to dash, sheath your weapon and follow it as quickly as you can. At the end of the Yian Kut-Ku’s dash, it falls to the ground and is unable to attack for a short time. If you’re right next to the Yian Kut-Ku when this happens, you can take advantage of the situation by unleashing an array of attacks for significant damage.
