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Crimson Glow Valstrax is the de facto "superboss" of Monster Hunter Rise. This elder dragon is a variant of the flagship of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Dragon energy constantly pours out of its body, and it can use that energy in a plethora of creative and deadly ways.
The armor set you can craft from Crimson Glow Valstrax parts is excellent. Unfortunately, you have to kill the thing to get the parts, which is easier said than done. There isn't any other fight in Rise quite like Valstrax. You'll have to know exactly how to approach this monster if you want to succeed.
How To Unlock Crimson Glow Valstrax
Crimson Glow Valstrax is a postgame monster. You will have to clear the Narwa the Allmother hunt first. Beating Allmother will fully unlock your Hunter Rank up to the hard cap of 999. Keep playing to increase your HR to 100. Master Hojo will give you the "The Crimson Glow" urgent quest. This quest takes place in the Shrine Ruins. The other monsters in the locale at the start are Mizutsune and Bazelgeuse.
There is an event quest in the Hub titled "Advanced: Crimson Calamity". It is possible to take this quest and fight Valstrax before HR 100. However, the Valstrax in this quest is stronger than the one in "The Crimson Glow". Its attacks do significantly more damage. Trying to beat Crimson Glow Valstrax early via this quest isn't recommended.
Crimson Glow Valstrax Weaknesses
Like most monsters, Crimson Glow Valstrax has the best hitzone values on its head. Standing by the head will make you an easy target for its wingarm stabs, though. It is safer to attack its tail, especially if you have a bladed weapon. The tail is easy to reach and Valstrax will have difficulty hitting you without turning around first.
Sometimes Valstrax will pause to charge its energy through the glowing reactor on its chest. This is when it's at its most vulnerable. Attack the chest while it charges. If you do enough damage, the reactor will explode, toppling Valstrax.
Crimson Glow Valstrax has equal weaknesses to fire, thunder, ice, and water damage. However, it is completely immune to dragon damage. Valstrax is also very resistant to status effects aside from Blast. As an elder dragon, it cannot be trapped.
Best Weapons And Armor
Elemental weapons (aside from dragon) are a good pick for this fight. Ranged players may have some difficulty, though. Most of Valstrax's dangerous attacks are projectiles and lasers. It will use these moves more frequently if the hunter is at a distance.
If you are a Bow player, consider the close-range coating. Don't forget to check the weapons your Buddies use too and change them if needed.
Crimson Glow Valstrax will frequently afflict Dragonblight with its attacks. Dragonblight will remove the elemental damage from your weapon as long as the status lasts. If you can fit the Blight Resistance skill into your build, do so. Also, try to increase your innate resistance to Dragon elemental damage.
Because of the massive hitboxes on Valstrax's attacks, skills that increase your evasion are also good. Evade Extender and Evade Window are on many different pieces of armor.
Hunting Crimson Glow Valstrax
One of the first things you will notice about Crimson Glow Valstrax is its wings. Valstrax can change the way its wings face, and the two "stances" have different movesets. With its wings in the normal position, Valstrax tends more towards wing stabs and other close-range attacks. It can also propel itself across an area in this stance. When its wings are backwards (with the wider end towards its head), it will use more of its projectile attacks.
One of its most dangerous attacks occurs in the wings-backwards stance. It will hold its two wings in front of itself and shoot a huge red beam. This attack has a pretty long startup, but there is a very real danger of getting trapped between the two wings if you are directly in front of the monster.
Even in the normal stance, Valstrax's wing stabs have a huge hitbox. Never stand directly in front of the monster, unless you are attacking its chest during a charge. Try to stand just behind its front legs. Most of its wing attacks can't hit hunters here.
When Valstrax is enraged, its wings will glow bright red. Several of its attacks will also leave clouds of dragon energy behind. The clouds will explode after a few seconds. Be mindful with your Wirefall. Sometimes it is better to just stay down rather than send yourself flying into Valstrax's trap.
Surviving The Ambush
Crimson Glow Valstrax retains its most infamous attack from its first appearance in Generations Ultimate - the Ambush. When Valstrax flies up into the sky and the "Crimson Glow Valstrax: Ambush" callout appears, sheathe your weapon immediately. Sprint away from the space Valstrax left. As it flies around, you will hear three pinging noises. After the third ping, it will crash.
Dodge right before the impact. If you are sheathed and running away from a monster when you dodge, you will do a diving evade. This evade animation consists of almost entirely invincibility frames, so if you execute it correctly you will avoid damage every time. Valstrax will only target one player with this move, but it is impossible to tell who it is targeting before the impact. The ambush can and will take out multiple players at once, so always do the dive evade. You gain nothing from trying to cut it close.
