One of the things Monster Hunter has always done well is that it takes these epic showdowns with fantastical beasts and turns them into just another day at the office.
A giant flying wyvern is getting in the way of your sleep? Don’t worry, It’ll be dead by morning. Your girlfriend thinks the phallic leech wyvern is cute? It’ll be a hat in about 15 minutes if it stops roar-spamming.
Now, with Monster Hunter Wilds, I’ve been on the fence about the big open world and the idea of starting quests out in the field. I enjoy the desk-work vibe of hunting monsters. But during the Open Beta, as I was wandering the fields, suddenly, a thunderstorm happened. The Doshaguma I was hunting was suddenly struck from the sky, as the yellow glow of Rey Dau, the region’s apex predator, appeared from the sky.
It wasn’t until later that I realized you could take a Quest from the Quest Counter to hunt down Rey Dau, but the idea of camping out in the field waiting for one to spawn was, well, exciting. I’d go walking around the world, taking note of the landmarks or even bullying the odd Chatacabra. But the moment lightning strikes, it’s on.
The Quest For Rey Dau
A quick check of the map, a hurried waypoint-checking. The squeezing of R1 as the Seikret rides to the spot. Once Rey Dau appears, all other quests are off because that Wyvern’s gotta go. It helps that as is tradition of Monster Hunter betas, the biggest boss puts up a hell of a fight. Rey Dau’s multiple variations of its beam go from love tap to instant kill, with your only respite being how it seems to be slightly immobile after using up its energy.
It’s so easy to have a grudge match with this thing because of how quickly hunts go south. I’d been given the quintessential Monster Hunter experience of a rando Longsword user joining my hunt only to Spirit Tank a beam to the face, using up one of our precious Faints before he disconnected and left. Rey Dau suffers no fools, and if you don’t know that seeing it plant its wings on the ground like a siege tank is the signal to run like your rent was due, chances are you’re about to wake up back at camp.
The point of Rey Dau is that it punishes every big mistake you make: just watch its explosions and suddenly catch your party going down. Heck, even its turf wars are much of the same. I’ve seen Balahara get shot right in the head, and I’m suddenly given credit for breaking parts on monsters that should have known better in the first place.
It’s not like the fight itself is entirely one-sided. Like all flying Wyverns Rey Dau can be flashed out of the air, slamming it face-first into the dirt as you target all its wounds. Heck, you can even get it with vine traps or pitfall traps if you so desire. But the pinnacle is a giant Grounding Stone column where it usually rests. All massive structures in Monster Hunter exist to be dropped onto something, and this Grounding Stone basically exists to spite Rey Dau in particular.
It’s this kind of make-your-own-narrative that makes Monster Hunter WIlds new exploring mode so compelling. After the better part of a week trying to hunt Rey Dau, my only successful solo run came on the last day. While it’s not like it carried my wounds from previous runs, it’s hard to not fantasize like it was the same jerk every time.
My desk-job dragonslayer is still there for when I just need quick materials for an upgrade. But as long as there’s a thundercloud in the sky, I know, deep in my heart that that yellow freak is ready for round 2. Monster Hunter Wilds launches February 28th, 2025.
