If you can’t wait to be finished with work or school to blow the rest of the weekend on Monster Hunter: World, you aren’t alone. But many of the lucky Monster Hunter fans who took off work Friday are already finding their first major obstacle in the MHW campaign.
Allow us to introduce the Pukei-Pukei.
What is the Pukei-Pukei?
Pukei-Pukeis are poison wyverns that pair swooping attacks, utilizing their clawed feet, with long-range attacks that harm and contaminate any hunter unfortunate enough to be struck. They can be a bit tough to deal with early in the Monster Hunter: World campaign, when resources and equipment upgrades are scarce. But with a little practice and preparation you’ll be a master of Pukei-Pukei hunting before you know it.
What is the Pukei-Pukei's location in Monster Hunter World?
While there are no exact coordinated for the Pukei-Pukeis location, you'll find them spawning in the Ancient Forest. They aren’t quite as easy to find as the Great Jagras, which seems to wander out into the starting zone every time you spawn in the Forest. But it shouldn’t take more than a minute or two of wandering deeper into the map to find signs of life. Your current research level for the creature will dictate how much evidence you have to find before your scoutflies can pick up the scent. But you’ll be on a Pukei-Pukei’s path in no time.
So what do you need to kill a Pukei-Pukei?
Preparation is absolutely vital in Monster Hunter, as you’ll undoubtedly remember from our tips and tricks for MHW, but you don’t need to do a ton of prep before hunting the Pukei-Pukei. You should make sure you have a full stock of potions before departing Astera. Antidotes and Herbal Medicine are also heavily recommended when challenging the Pukei-Pukei (or any poisonous creature for that matter). Make sure you’ve upgraded all your armor and, if you’ve arrived here after a few failed attempts, it might be a good idea to wait for someone(s) to join your party before heading to the Ancient Forest.
If you’re struggling to deal with the creature’s poison attacks, several pieces of equipment offer bonuses to Poison Resistance. You might need to complete a quick mining expedition to gather the materials for an Alloy Coil, but it’ll definitely help out in the long run. The Pukei Vambraces and the Rathian Coil will also increase your poison resistance; however, both require creature kills (sometimes multiple) while the Alloy Coil just requires a bit of patience. Players can also build Poison Charm 1, once they have access to Charms, if they need a stronger buffer.
But how do you kill the Pukei-Pukei?
Positioning is as important -- maybe even moreso -- during Pukei-Pukei fights as it is during any other Monster Hunter encounter. The creature spits poison that will pool briefly and force you to temporarily break off your attack (to ingest an antidote) if your hunter comes into contact with the liquid. Pukei-Pukeis also generate large clouds of noxious fumes when they get desperate. Hilariously enough, the creature will even fart poison at you via an opening on its tail if you don’t sever the appendage. For this reason, we recommend focusing on the tail at the beginning of the fight and shifting focus to other body parts once you only have to worry about poison from one end of the creature.
Pukei-Pukei tails aren’t nearly as tough to remove as the heavily-armored appendages found on Rathalos, Nergigante and other wyverns. Once it has been severed, your next bet safest bet is probably unloading on the creature’s wings to limit its movement. You can’t completely prevent it from flying, but you can slow down the Pukei-Pukei. It’ll also resort to ground retreats if/when it decides to make a hasty exit. Just stay on either side of the creature, where it can’t whip you with what’s left of its tail or strike you with its tongue, and you should be able to avoid most/all of its poison attacks. Mounting the Pukei-Pukei is also pretty easy since it’s not nearly as tall as other large creatures in Monster Hunter: World
Here’s a quick video we captured this morning. Don’t expect your fights to finish this quickly. We decided to be bullies and go after a Pukei-Pukei who was much weaker than our hunter.
Here’s a quick visual reference, also available in your Monster Field Guide (once you have enough research), breaking down which weapons are best suited for breaking Pukei-Pukei limbs and which parts are most susceptible to breaking or removal.
And here’s the loot table for all low rank (anything rated 5★ or lower) Pukei-Pukeis:
Monster Hunter: World is out now on PS4 and Xbox One. The game hits PC this fall.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Monster Hunter: World news in 2018 and however long Capcom supports MHW in the months ahead.
