Monster Hunter is known for its challenging boss-like enemies and World has continued this trend. Perhaps the most satisfying part of fighting all of these bosses is learning their patterns and overcoming them. But once you've overcome one boss, the next appears and forces you to learn its patterns. This sense of progression is one of the best things about Monster Hunter and it continues all the way to the final story boss and even beyond.
While Monster Hunter has never been known for its storytelling, it still manages to do enough to make you excited to find out where it'll go and, more importantly, what kind of monster you will fight. World is no different in this respect and even takes it a step further by giving you very little concrete information on its final boss. With that said, here are 10 facts you never knew about Xeno'Jiiva, the Dark Light Dragon.
10 It Was Just Born
When you finally to fight Xeno'Jiiva, it's just after being born. As evidence of this, its roar does not sound nearly as threatening and bone-chilling as many of the other monsters you've fought. This doesn't mean it isn't a threat, though, as it can easily trounce you if you're not prepared. It initially focuses more on physical attacks that are not always effective but be warned, this doesn't last.
The longer the fight goes on, the more adept it becomes in fighting. It begins to use its laser more often and to greater effect. Furthermore, its attacks become increasingly more accurate and intentional and it even begins to fly, making it much more difficult to damage and kill.
9 It Is Clumsy
Because you interrupted its growth and caused it to hatch early, its, probably, not as big as it would be. Furthermore, it tends to be very clumsy in the initial parts of the battle. Standing on legs that it's not accustomed to and using laser breaths that it just can't quite get the hand of, Xeno'Jiiva stumbles.
The first part of the fight where it mostly attacks you physically, it's easy to read and easy to avoid. Xeno'Jiiva even tends to make holes in the ground that it trips itself up with. But don't have sympathy for it because it'll only grow more dangerous the longer the fight goes on. To that end, take advantage of its clumsiness while you can!
8 It Is Terribly Aggressive
Even though Xeno'Jiiva was just born when you fight it, that doesn't mean you should treat it like a baby. It doesn't deserve sympathy nor feelings of guilt because this dragon is clearly out to kill you. Sensing the potential threat that could come to it, it hatches early and immediately attacks, wounding one of your companions.
This might seem like really strange behavior for what is supposed to be a newborn but there are theories that it is something more akin to a butterfly. That is, it went into its cocoon form in order to change itself but leaves early to fight you off. Either way, it is clear that this newborn came out too early. It only has two eyes, despite the fact that it looks like it could have another six. It is also somewhat translucent, suggesting it wasn't finished with whatever it was doing.
7 Its Weak Spots Change
For the initial parts of the fight, all that needs to be done is to focus on the parts that you'd expect would be weak. Hit its head, chest or wherever you want, it's mostly about breaking off parts or attempting to cuts its tail for rewards. The only real weakness that Xeno'Jiiva has is to poison. Which makes some sense as it is a newborn creature. Elemental attacks are still fine but not necessarily efficient.
When Xeno'Jiiva goes into its critical mode, that's when you can really do some damage. His normal weak spots take even more damage and even the places that wouldn't cause it much damage before, such as the legs, now allow you to just wail on it. Be careful though, while it does take more damage at this point, it's also more dangerous.
6 It Attracted The Elder Dragons
Despite being in its cocoon form for most of the game, Xeno'Jiiva still managed to draw in Elder Dragons from across the sea. It did this by using some sort of Pheromone, though the game doesn't necessarily go into specifics here. Whether it is the cause of the actual Elder Dragon graveyard, where they go to die in the Rotten Vale, is unknown but it did make use of their deaths.
Xeno'Jiiva feeds off of the residual bio-energy of these dead dragons in order to grow. It is also the cause for Zorah Magdaros' endangerment of the New World. Therefore, it is the reason for many of the events of the story. Fitting, as it is the last boss of the game's story.
5 Defies Certain Game Mechanics
Throughout Monster Hunter World you will be introduced to certain game mechanics. Some of these mechanics were brought over from older games and some are completely new. Generally, all of the monsters you hunt will be susceptible to these techniques. Of course, there are exceptions which make sense, such as not being able to mount Zorah Magdaros.
Xeno'Jiiva is another exception but in an odd way. You can't mount it nor can you lure it. Not being able to lure it is one thing but the mounting might strike some veteran monster hunters as odd. Up until this point you've been able to mount any monster except Zorah. It could just be because of the heat but mounting weird monsters has been done before. In 4U, you could mount Fatalis and even Gogmazios. So why not Xeno'Jiiva? Maybe because if it grew up, it would be the size of Zorah but really, who knows?
4 It Came From Space
Much of the story in Monster Hunter World is about exploring this new world and solving its mysteries. But as you continue down this path, you start to hear of certain legends and whatnot. One of these is The Tale of the Five where the fifth dragon becomes known as the Sapphire Star.
It is heavily implied that Xeno'Jiiva came down along with the meteorite and unwittingly became part of this legend, though it could be that it was the ancestor to the one we fight. Either way, it goes along well with how Xeno'Jiiva looks - it's a big blueish dragon that shines brightly. Sapphire Star seems to fit its physical description quite well.
3 Unique To The Confluence Of Fates Area
Despite how often you get to fight different monsters in a variety of areas, Xeno'Jiiva can only be fought in the Confluence of Fates area. In some ways, this is a bit of a shame because of how amazing the different zones and areas are in Monster Hunter World. But this is, in many ways, continuing a sort of tradition within monster hunter.
Whether it's because of how ecologically devastating Elder Dragons can be or because it was easier on the game developers, many of the old Elder Dragons were limited to one area. From one of the most recent games, Gogmazios and Dalamadur, they were too large to fit within any area except one build specifically for them. Xeno'Jiiva is no different.
2 Etymology Supports Its Design
The name Xeno'Jiiva can be separated into two different words. The first of these, Xeno, appears a lot in media related to aliens, which further supports the whole from space angle. Xeno comes from a Greek origin and means alien but can also mean stranger, foreigner, refugee and guest-friend. This really shows how the developers wanted Xeno'Jiiva to be something strange in a game full of odd monsters.
Secondly, Jiiva or Jiva, means any being or entity imbued with a life force. This word, in particular, supports what Xeno'Jiiva is all about, living and growing from the bio-energy/life-force of the dead Elder Dragons.
1 Cyclical In Meaning And Mechanics
A further aspect of Xeno'Jiiva is the ability to fight it over and over again. This is obviously part of the game's mechanics, which gives you this option in the form of another quest so you can farm its materials and make armor and weapons. But there is one more aspect about Xeno'Jiiva which supports this and this comes from the Jiva part of its name.
In Jainism, Jiva is the immortal essence/soul of the being that survives physical death, allowing it to be reborn. A Jiva can either be a samsari or a mukta, the former case supports this in meaning that something is caught in the cycle of rebirths. But anyway, the game mechanic is there so the player can have fun, it's just a little something extra to learn how much meaning Xeno'Jiiva's name has.