Monster Hunter Wilds Datamine Hints More Than One Variant of Arkveld

Everything you need to know about the variants of Monster Hunter Wilds’ flagship, Arkveld, hinted at, by dataminers and the Open Beta.

Arkveld is easily one of the most majestic monsters that have been revealed so far for Monster Hunter Wilds. And that’s completely justified considering it’s the flagship monster of the new title. However, it seems there’s more than what meets the eye when it comes to Arkveld. Dataminers and players have found evidence in the recently released Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta that the flagship monster might feature multiple “variants.” Monsters having variants isn’t a new concept in Monster Hunter. Both Monster Hunter World and Rise’s flagships had variants, i.e., Ruiner Nergigante, Scorned Magnamalo, and Primordial Malzeno. However, Capcom usually keeps variants of flagships reserved for post-launch expansions.

But it seems in the case of Monster Hunter Wilds, we’re getting variants of the flagship within the base game itself. Here’s everything you need to know about the variants of Arkveld that have been datamined from Monster Hunter Wilds’ Open Beta.

Arkveld Variants Hinted At in Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta

In-game description of Arkveld (Image via Capcom)

In the second Open Beta for Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom has added two new monsters for players to hunt — Gypceros and Arkveld. Surprisingly enough, the Arkveld that the Beta comes with is titled Chained Arkveld. This quite possibly is a subtle hint at it being a variant. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, variants are essentially a different type of the same monster. Variants often exhibit the same properties as their regular counterparts, albeit with slight changes, often elemental. For instance, Ruiner Nergigante, a variant, exhibits the same attack patterns as the regular Nergigante. However, it also has the additional ability to inflict Bleed damage.

Furthermore, some variants often come with characteristic changes, like in the case of Silver Rathalos and Gold Rathian. Although it’s yet unclear whether Arkveld will have similar variants, its “Chained” description does hint at something like that. Some players are speculating the possibility of a more powerful “Unchained” variant of Arkveld in the game. This can be an end-game monster that serves the same purpose as the Tempered or Apex variants from the previous Monster Hunter games.

Arkveld: Description and Abilities

Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds (Image via Capcom)

As of writing this article, Arkveld is a monster that’s shrouded in a veil of mystery. Very little is known about the behemoth, apart from its ability to siphon elemental energy from other monsters. Arkveld is classified as an Extinct Species, which is a completely new category for monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds. Surprisingly enough, Arkveld shares a ton of similarities with some of the past flagships and iconic monsters in the series. Arkveld moves around the battlefield a lot like Malzeno. It also uses its tail to attack Hunters, pretty much like Velkhana. Furthermore, if the monster’s ability to siphon elemental energy is anything to go by, it might also be able to shift elements, akin to Alatreon.

The Advanced Hunting Quest for Arkveld describes it as a “legendary monster known only through written records.” Even Alma, the Handler in Monster Hunter Wilds, describes Arkveld as a mysterious monster about which the Guild has little to no information.