There’s quite a lot more to do in Iceborne after the credits roll. Getting there, however, is no easy task. You first have to beat the final boss of Iceborne in Monster Hunter: World. This so-called Old Everwyrm doesn’t get an official title until after you put it in the ground for the first time. But its armor and weapons really make a name for themselves. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to the final boss in Iceborne. Now let’s get out there and strip this sucker for parts!
A quick note: we won’t spoil exactly what the Old Everwyrm or its armor sets look like in this final boss guide. However, we do talk about the creature itself and mention its real name at the very end of the article. If you don’t want any spoilers at all… Best not read this particular Old Everwyrm guide.
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The battle against the final boss occurs shortly after you beat Namielle for the first time. You will first embark on an assignment called “To the Guided, a Paean.” This actually has you fight a subspecies of Nergigante called Ruiner Nergigante. If you win, you will immediately begin “A Paean of Guidance.” This is the actual fight against the Old Everwyrm, a.k.a. the “final” boss of Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne. Again, there is plenty more to the game even after you beat it, but this is where the expansion decides to roll credits.
You won’t be allowed to restock after the fight with Ruiner Nergigante. However, you will get a full three lives to play with, and you can restart the assignment from this stage from now on. You don’t have to fight Ruiner Nergigante again every time you try!
That being said, the final boss itself is split into two phases. The first isn’t very tough. You’ll be faced with a big, bulbous dragon made of rock. The idea here is to just chip away at the monster’s face and chest — breaking off pieces as you go along. It’s similar to the early stages of the Kulve Taroth siege. This version of the Old Everwyrm is slow and doesn’t even do much damage. However, it can turn parts of the ground into quicksand that slows you down similar to snow and knee-high water.
The boss uses a mix of tackles and slams, like a brute wyvern, while occasionally scraping at you with its “hands.” These appendages look like wings, but without the membranes holding them together. You can actually avoid the “fingers” by standing in between the gaps as they scrape along the ground. However, if the final boss charges, you will still take damage if its body hits you. It’s often better to “Superman Dive” away from the beast, rather than step between its massive fingers.
Sometimes the creature will sink into the dirt to protect its soft underbelly. This doesn’t save its head, however, so it’s best to just get up close. That way you can wail on its noggin and mostly avoid the deadlier range of its over-sized hands. The creature is slow and lets you get a lot of free hits in, so try to stagger it out of attack animations by going to town on it. During this phase and throughout the fight, watch out for the rocks below you to start quaking. This indicates they’re about to erupt upwards.
Final Boss Guide Phase 2 – Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne
Most of the first phase of the final boss fight is a learning experience. Once you remove its craggy hide, the real Old Everwyrm is revealed. This bug-eyed beast is faster than the rock form and has many more ranged attacks. It can also unleash a super-move that devastates most of the arena. On the bright side, the arena itself gets a lot bigger. You have more room to move around in during this phase.
Many of the moves from the first phase also remain during the second. The Old Everwyrm will still rake at you with its (now much thinner) fingers. It can also tackle forward with a big bite — telegraphed by it opening its mouth, rearing back, and cocking its head. That’s the good news, actually. The final boss of Iceborne doesn’t get that much faster. And most of its attacks are very obvious. You just need to learn the tells and not get greedy. That goes double for avoiding the super-move.
Getting up close to the monster — right under its head — is still a fairly viable strategy. This will protect you from a lot of attacks. However, the monster can now scrape its claws from the outside in, towards its own body from the sides. This will catch you off guard if you’re only focusing on its head and torso.
In addition, the Old Everwyrm can now fire beams of pressurized air from its “fingertips.” There are a couple of widespread moves that do this right in front of the boss. But it will also fire small, occasional follow-up beams after melee attacks — trying to catch you off guard when you thought you safely dodged a swipe. Don’t assume you’re safe if you aren’t watching where the fingers are pointing!
Speaking of pointing: the last boss always indicates where it’s about to blast with “targeting beams.” These thinner lines of hot air take a second to charge, then grow into damaging blasts. They also waver back and forth a bit. That means it’s very, very hard to dodge them at mid-range. The trick is to recognize when the sweeping attack is coming, then either get in close or run very far away. Close is usually better since it allows you to attack while the monster is distracted.
The most powerful “normal” attack during this phase is also an air blast. The final boss will pull back, bringing its hands in front of its face, and fire a massive pillar of energy straight ahead. It’s not a one-hit-kill, per se, but it is a real smasher. Luckily there is also a (much larger) telegraph beam, just like with the individual shots. Run to the sides or Superman Dive to avoid the impact. You can also block this attack with Guard Up, but the beam will impact you multiple times and drain tons of stamina.
Throughout this phase, the Old Everwyrm will continue to turn the ground into quicksand. But this time that’s much more important! The bubbling rock explosions will only erupt from these sand traps. You can avoid them by simply avoiding the quicksand. More importantly, you will need to duck and weave between sandy areas to dodge the ultimate attack.
This move has a huge windup, but also affects nearly the entire arena. It’s the number one killer for players new to the fight and can easily eat up all three of your carts at once if you’re playing with a full squad.
The attack — an explosive tornado of rock and wind — has one major tell. It’s the only time that the final boss will submerge itself underground during phase two. Rather than show its upper body, however, it will completely disappear beneath the earth. Then it will swim away (like Diablos or Beotodus) as far away from the player(s) as possible. When it reemerges, it will begin charging up the tornado for a few seconds and finally unleash it on the whole room.
The safest place to be at this point is near the boss — just off to its right or left sides. The tornado actually fires in a cone shape on the ground. So there are always safe wedges near its flanks. Although the boss will usually follow the ultimate with a normal, close-range attack immediately afterwards. Be prepared to dodge or block the follow-up. You can follow the path of the monster underground by watching its trail, and start heading to where it’s about to stand before it even pops out. Just make sure to avoid the sand! It will slow you down considerably.
Final Boss Tips & Tricks – Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne
Of course, you can also just use a Farcaster at any point during the windup. That will return you to camp and let you restock, to boot. In fact, it’s a good idea to always have a Farcaster on hand during this battle! There is no other way to return to camp without it. As such, we also recommend bringing a Health Booster. The Old Everwyrm mission is a slow battle of attrition. The free healing from a Health Booster will save you time spent healing and returning to base.
Here are some other general tips for how to beat the final boss of Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne.
Weaken the back legs. A lot of this beast’s moves leave its back legs and lower torso exposed. Neither is the optimal place to deal damage, but they are quite a lot safer to stand beside. Weakening these zones with the Clutch Claw will net you more damage in the safest manner possible.
Slinger Bursts don’t bring the monster down. You can still make it slam its head into the wall for big damage. The impact will even hold it in place for a few seconds! But the head and chest won’t become any easier to hit.
Get behind the hands. When the Old Everwyrm prepares its big beam attack, you can actually stand behind the blast itself. There’s a “safe” space between its enfolded hands and head. With the right weapon (e.g. a Lance or Gunlance), you can stay inside here, feet firmly planted, and poke at its head. It’s still somewhat risky, however, as getting too far off to either side will catch you in the back splash of the attack. It’ll do in a pinch, though!
Bring the right tools. In case you missed or skipped it above, a couple of items come in real handy during this fight. Namely the Health Booster and a Farcaster will pay huge dividends.
Try playing alone. Look… This really stinks to say, but it’s the truth. Monsters with huge, potentially lethal super attacks are tough to fight alone. Anyone that ever battled Arch-Tempered Lunastra can attest to that. It’s often better to go into these battles alone — at least at first. That way you can’t get a game over from one attack killing three or more people.
Keep all this in mind and congratulations! You’ve just beaten the last boss of Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne. The fleet will reveal this so-called Old Everwyrm to actually be called Shara Ishvalda. And you’ll get access to some absolutely gorgeous armor sets. The set bonus is pretty nice, too, as it powers up all your Monster Hunter mantles.
