You're standing in front of a glowing Rathalos egg, heart pounding, hoping for those heavy weight wobbles and a smell that'll make Navirou lose his mind. We’ve all been there. If you’ve spent any time in Mahana Village or the snowy peaks of Loloska, you know that the monster hunter stories 2 monster list isn't just a spreadsheet of stats; it’s basically your roadmap to not getting absolutely wrecked by a High Rank Elder Dragon. Honestly, the game does a decent job of introducing you to the basics, but it leaves out the gritty details about which monsters actually pull their weight when the difficulty spikes.
It’s huge.
With over 120 monsters total—though "only" around 81 of them are actually rideable Monsties—the variety is staggering. You’ve got your classic bird wyverns that you’ll probably bench after three hours, and then you’ve got the heavy hitters like Bloodbath Diablos that make the endgame feel like a totally different genre.
The Power Creep is Real: Ranking the Monster Hunter Stories 2 Monster List
Let’s get real for a second. A0 Pukei-Pukei is adorable, sure. But once you hit the post-game content and start facing off against Fatalis or the Deviants, that poison spit isn't going to save you. The way the monster hunter stories 2 monster list is structured follows a very specific power curve. You start with Velocidrome—your basic "starter car"—and eventually trade up for literal gods.
The heavy hitters usually fall into the Elder Dragon or Deviant categories. If you aren't hunting for Teostra, Kushala Daora, or Velkhana, you’re essentially playing with one hand tied behind your back. These monsters don't just have higher base stats; they have better kinship skills and more open gene slots right out of the gate.
But wait.
Stats aren't everything. A common mistake players make is ignoring the "Rider Actions." You need a diverse team. If your entire party is filled with Elder Dragons but nobody can "Swim" or "Ivy Climb," you’re going to miss half the treasure in the dens. It’s annoying. You’ll find yourself swapping out a literal god for a Nerscylla just because you need to reach a chest. Keep a Great Jaggi or something similar in your back pocket for the early utility, but don't expect them to survive a hit from a Rajang later on.
The True Kings of the Endgame
When people look at the monster hunter stories 2 monster list, they usually skip straight to the bottom to see the legends. And for good reason. Silver Rathalos and Gold Rathian are absolute units. They were added in the Title Updates and they completely shifted the meta for Fire and Non-Elemental builds.
📖 Related: Is the PlayStation 5 Slim Console Digital Edition Actually Worth It?
If you're building a "Power" specialist, you cannot do better than Molten Tigrex. The sheer raw damage output is disgusting. It’s loud, it’s angry, and it shreds through health bars. On the "Technical" side, something like the Kirin or its Oroshi variant provides a level of speed and precision that makes the Rock-Paper-Scissors combat system feel almost unfair to the AI.
Honestly, the "Speed" meta is dominated by Nargacuga variants. The Silverwind Nargacuga is arguably the best "Speed" monster in the entire game because of its crit rate. You stack some Critical Eye genes on that thing, and you’re seeing red numbers every single turn. It’s satisfying.
Gene Smashing and Why Numbers Lie
You might see a monster on the list and think it's weak. You’re wrong. Well, mostly. Thanks to the Rite of Channeling, you can technically take a Yian Kut-Ku and give it the soul of a Boltreaver Astalos. Does it make the Kut-Ku "good"? Sorta. It makes it viable for the main story, but the base stat growth will always hold it back in the Tower of Illusion.
The monster hunter stories 2 monster list is a guide to potential, not just current power.
Think of it like this:
- Tier 1 (The Cannon Fodder): Aptonoth, Bullfango, Velocidrome. Use them, love them, leave them.
- Tier 2 (The Mid-Game Workhorses): Rathian, Anjanath, Zamtrios. These guys will get you through the volcanic regions.
- Tier 3 (The Apex Predators): Zinogre, Brachydios, Lagiacrus. This is where the game actually starts.
- Tier 4 (The Elite): Elder Dragons (Nergigante is a beast early on), Deviants, and the "Rare" species.
Nergigante is actually a weird anomaly on the list. You get access to it much earlier than the other Elder Dragons. Because of its "Ruinous Strike" and self-healing capabilities, it’s probably the single most important addition to your team for the mid-to-late game transition. If you don't have a Nergi, you're doing it wrong.
Elements Matter More Than You Think
In the first game, you could change a monster's element. In Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, Capcom basically nuked that feature. It sucks, I know. Now, a monster’s natural element is its permanent home. This means your monster hunter stories 2 monster list needs to be balanced by color.
👉 See also: How to Solve 6x6 Rubik's Cube Without Losing Your Mind
If you go into a fight with six Fire monsters and run into a Mizutsune, you’re going to have a bad time. Water monsters are actually surprisingly rare in the high-tier brackets. Soulseer Mizutsune is your best bet there, but getting those eggs requires some serious grinding in the co-op dens.
Don't overlook the "Non-Elemental" category either. While it sounds boring, monsters like Bloodbath Diablos deal neutral damage that isn't resisted by much. It’s a safe bet for blind encounters where you don't know what the enemy’s weakness is yet.
How to Actually Complete Your Collection
Completing the Monstipedia isn't just about luck. It’s about knowing where to look. Some monsters are "Story Locked," meaning you can't find their eggs until you see the credits roll. Others are "Location Locked."
Take the Palamutes, for example. You can't just find them in a random hole in the ground. You need to use the Palamute Tickets in the Co-op Quest board. It’s a bit of a grind, but having a ninja dog that can jump and climb is worth the effort.
The "Rare Den" spawning mechanic is another thing that drives people crazy. You’ll spend forty minutes resetting the map just to get a gold-glowing cave. Pro tip: use the Prayer Pot. Use a Finding Charm. It increases the rate of rare eggs by a noticeable margin. If you aren't using charms, you're essentially wasting your time.
Misconceptions About the "Best" Monsties
There’s this idea floating around that you only need one team. That's a lie. To truly master the monster hunter stories 2 monster list, you need a "General Use" team and a "Boss Shredder" team.
The boss shredders are usually built around status ailments. Teostra is great for "Blastblight," which chunks health. If you can pair that with a monster that has a "Detonator" skill, you’re looking at massive burst damage.
✨ Don't miss: How Orc Names in Skyrim Actually Work: It's All About the Bloodline
Surprising detail: The Aptonoth is actually a meme-tier god. Its Kinship skill forces the enemy to skip a turn. If you build an Aptonoth with high Kinship recovery, you can theoretically lock down some of the hardest bosses in the game. It’s hilarious, it’s stupid, and it actually works. It just takes a ton of "investing" (aka feeding it the souls of much cooler monsters).
Navigating the Post-Game Chaos
Once you hit the end of the story, the list expands with "High Rank" versions of everything. This is where you find the Deviants. Monsters like Grimclaw Tigrex and Dreadqueen Rathian.
These aren't just palette swaps. They have entirely different move patterns. The Dreadqueen, for instance, focuses heavily on "Severe Poison." If you don't have a way to cleanse that, your party will melt in three turns. The monster hunter stories 2 monster list at this level becomes a game of counter-building. You look at what the boss does, and you pick the Monstie that specifically negates that threat.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Hunt
- Check the Retreat Conditions: Don't just kill everything. If you want a specific egg, look up the monster's retreat condition in the Monsterpedia. Throwing a Paintball when they are below 15% HP helps, but breaking specific parts with certain weapon types (like a blunt hammer on a head) usually boosts the retreat rate significantly.
- Focus on "Rainbow" Genes: When looking at your monster hunter stories 2 monster list, pay attention to the bingo board. A rainbow gene acts as a wild card. It doesn't give a stat boost itself, but it connects any color or pattern, which is vital for getting those 135% damage bonuses.
- Don't Ignore the Subspecies: Often, the "Azure" or "Stygian" versions of monsters have vastly better move-sets than the originals. Stygian Zinogre, for example, is a Dragon-element beast that outclasses almost every other Dragon type until you get to Deviljho or Fatalis.
- Farm Co-op Dens Solo: You don't actually need a human partner for co-op dens. You can go in with an AI partner. This is the fastest way to farm the "Super Rare" (SR) dens for Elder Dragon eggs. Just save your bottles of caps to buy the SR tickets from the Melynx Inc. NPC.
Basically, treat the monster list as a living document. You'll constantly be swapping genes, replacing old favorites, and hunting for that one perfect "Extremely Heavy" egg. It’s a cycle of growth that makes the game addictive.
The real secret isn't just finding the rarest monster; it's about building a team that covers all three attack types (Power, Speed, Technical) while maintaining enough utility to actually navigate the world. Get out there, start sniffing those eggs, and don't settle for anything less than a gold glow. Or, if you're feeling brave, go find that Aptonoth and show Fatalis who the real boss is.
Next Steps for Your Journey
- Visit the Melynx Inc. shop and dump your Bottle Caps into "Stable Blueprints" first. You can't collect the full monster list if you don't have room to store them.
- Head to the Lulucion Smithy and check which monster parts you need for "High Rank" armor sets, as this will dictate which monsters you should be farming for eggs and materials simultaneously.
- Run a "Finding Charm" at the Prayer Pot before every expedition to ensure the eggs you pull have the maximum number of locked gene slots.