Monster Hunter World was released back in 2018. It is a visual treat to behold, full of epic battles and has a simple, yet compelling story. As a Hunter arriving on an unexplored continent, you are tasked with researching the new exotic wildlife, helping to establish a research base, and exploring the beautiful wilderness. If you simply stand still in an area, you can see the ecosystem of each biome play out in front of you; every monster has their place and purpose in the cycle of life. One such monster is Zorah Magdaros. Lumbering, and mysterious, it only appears at the end of the game and is gone just as quickly. So here are ten things you might not know about this mighty beast.
10 Large Is an Understatement
Zorah Magdaros is categorized as a large monster, but this could quite possibly be the understatement of the century. It should be noted that even small monsters are taller than cars, but this beast truly deserves a different classification. This creature, when on its hind legs, stands at 25,764 centimeters tall. Now, this might not seem like a whole lot, but converted into feet, that comes out to about 845 feet! The latest iteration of Godzilla is a mere 393-feet tall, a little less than half the size. This creature even dwarfs King Ghidorah, who is 521-feet tall and one of the largest monsters in the Godzilla universe.
9 Real World Inspirations
As stated, Zorah Magdaros is utterly massive. It is so big that when it first appears at the beginning of the story, it appears your boat has run aground on a mountain. Only when the camera pans out do you see that you’ve actually crashed into a huge monster. This is continuous in your future encounters with Zorah Magdaros and you rarely get a full view of the creature. When you do, if you look closely, it's possible to see that the mountain upon its back is very much like a shell and it has a distinct beaked mouth. This all looks very similar to an alligator snapping turtle. Zorah can even retreat into its mountain shell like a turtle as well.
8 Legendary Resistance
As an Elder Dragon, Zorah Magdaros is made of stiffer stuff than your average monster. Of course, like all Elder Dragons, Zorah is immune to any trap laid out by the Hunter. However, most Elder Dragons can be stunned by a little yellow frog creature that lets out gas when attacked. Zorah Magdaros is immune to this as well. In fact, this monster is immune to all status effects. It can’t be poisoned, put to sleep, stunned, or paralyzed, be it via trap or ammunition. In addition, it is only weak to the damage elements of water and dragon. Everything else does very little damage to it.
7 Nearly Immune to Damage
Zorah Magdaros is nigh-indestructible. It is constantly exuding lava from its body. This lava cools and hardens into a tough, rocky exterior. Elder Dragons reach this status not just by being born this way, but by living a long time to grow more and more powerful. Throughout the long span of its life, Zorah would have been continuously secreting lava that would have been cooling and this would form layer upon layer of protective armor. This exterior makes Zorah Magdaros nearly immune to conventional weaponry that humans have access to. It all serves as a mere annoyance to the creature, such as a mosquito bite would be to us. The only weapon that does any damage is the mighty Dragonator, but even that doesn’t do much.
6 The Best Farm For Dragonvein Crystal
Dragon vein Crystal is a rare crafting material used in high-level armor, weapons, and tools. It can sometimes be given out as a reward for higher-ranking quests and can be mined in some areas. However, it is still only a chance. This could result in redoing a mission or reloading an area of the map over and over again to get the materials you need. For some weapons, you need ten of this material and it could take hours to farm the crystal this way. However, Dragonvein Crystal ALWAYS appears on Zorah Magdaros. It can be difficult to get to, as you have to traverse its back to find the mining points, but it will always be there.
5 You Cannot Kill It
The humans of Monster Hunter World, simply put, do not have the means to kill Zorah Magdaros, only drive it away. Its rocky armor is far too thick for an individual's weapons, large cannons, or large ballistas to penetrate. These all bounce off, simply annoying the monster. Hunters can only truly damage Zorah Magdaros in two ways. The first is by getting on the creature’s mountainous back. Zorah is constantly spewing lava from its body and this clusters together into Magma Cores much like pimples. The Hunter can attack these to break them. Doing this enough will cause Zorah to rear up, exposing its belly. The only large weapon at the humans’ disposal that even minorly hurts this beast is the large powered spear the Dragonator, that thrusts into its belly.
4 Zorah Magdaros’ Place in the Ecosystem
As stated, every monster in Monster Hunter World has a place and purpose. Just like real-life ecosystems, every monster you see acts in its niche. Monsters like the Great Jagras are a mid-level predator that prey on the herbivore monsters that live in the grassy area by the opening of the jungle. Elder Dragons, such as Zorah Magdaros are often the embodiments of elements or disasters and are at the top of the food chain. Zorah embodies fire and exudes lava from its skin and breaths it as well. Perhaps it's Zorah’s job to lay the groundwork for new ecosystems by creating fertile lava islands as it travels.
3 Zorah Magdaros Could Be Even More Powerful Than We Think
The driving force behind the story in Monster Hunter World is a natural event known as The Elder Crossing. Elder Dragons from across the globe travel to the New World to die and contribute their bioenergy to the ecosystem. Their power then goes on to create a unique and exotic life that exists there via the Everstream, a literal river of energy that nurtures the continent. Zorah Magdaros is making this very journey when we encounter it in the game. This creature is nearing the end of a life that most likely spanned millennia, if not more. It barely puts up a fight, merely walking through the obstacles the humans put up, and humans could barely hurt it. Just imagine this creature in its prime and the damage it could do.
2 Zorah Magdaros’ Story
Zorah is making the Elder Crossing as thousands of its kind have done before, but instead of going to the Elder’s Recess, where the Elder Dragons go to die to contribute its bioenergy to the New World, it's going to the Everstream, the source of it all. If it perishes there, the release of its massive energy will essentially overload the Everstream and destroy the entire New World. It is important to note that the Elder Dragons are sentient beings. Zorah knew that there was something else siphoning off the energy from the New World and that if it absorbs its bioenergy, it would be strong enough to do unspeakable damage and truly disrupt the natural order. So it heads to the Everstream to right this wrong and reset the New World.
1 Nergigante: Ally or Enemy?
As discusssed in the last section, Elder Dragons are sentient beings and Zorah is on a mission to save the New World and quite possibly the entire globe. The humans misinterpret this mission and drive it away from the Everstream, but Zorah has one ally to help it: Nergigante. This fearsome dragon appears every time Zorah does and attacks the assaulting humans. Nergigante is also aware of the danger growing under the New World and tries to help Zorah make it to the Everstream to put a stop to it. Nergigante never attacks Zorah; if it was hunting the mighty beast, why would it bother with the insignificant humans dotting its back? Zorah also doesn’t hurt Nergigante.