Monster Hunter Wilds: How To Avoid Zoh Shia’s Fire AOE

Everything you need to know about Zoh Shia in Monster Hunter Wilds, and how you can easily avoid the monster’s fire AOE attack.

Zoh Shia is easily one of the most challenging monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds, especially after Title Update 1. While the Low Rank variant of the monster posed a considerable threat, its recently introduced High Rank variant is significantly more difficult. Not only does the High Rank version have more HP and defense, but it also comes with new abilities that make it a force to be reckoned with—even with endgame gear.

While most of Zoh Shia’s attacks can be dodged fairly easily, at least in the first couple of phases, it does have a few combos that can catch you off guard. One such combo is the fire AOE, which has the potential to one-shot even the tankiest endgame builds.

Thankfully, this attack can be easily avoided once you understand the special mechanics behind it. Here’s everything you need to know about Zoh Shia’s fire AOE attack and how to avoid it.

What Is Zoh Shia’s Fire AOE Attack in Monster Hunter Wilds?

Zoh Shia, much like other Guardians is a Construct. As such, many of the monster’s attacks include the use of Wylk in some form or another. In fact, in the first two phases, Zoh Shia regularly uses Wylk Crystals to amplify its elemental attacks. The Wylk Crystals are essentially great conductors of elemental energy.

Once Zoh Shia creates Wylk Crystals on the ground, any following elemental attack gets amplified as soon as it comes into contact with the crystals. This not only increases the range of the elemental attack but also its intensity (damage output). Surprisingly enough, the Wylk Crystals are a double-edged sword for Zoh Shia and can be used to deal damage to the monster.

At the start of the second phase, Zoh Shia retreats to the center of the arena and creates a massive array of Wylk Crystals. The monster then follows it up with a massive barrage of fire AOE attacks, which, as soon as they come into contact with the crystals, reach the extreme ends of the arena. This essentially leaves you with little to no space to stay safe from the fire elemental damage.

Furthermore, this AOE attack inflicts Fireblight almost immediately, akin to Fatalis’ fire breath. While you can try to heal through this attack in Low Rank, doing so is almost impossible in High Rank.

Thankfully, there are multiple ways to easily avoid this attack, without taking a single ounce of damage.

How To Avoid Zoh Shia’s Fire AOE Attack

There are essentially two different ways to avoid Zoh Shia’s fire AOE attack. The first method is fairly easy but also a bit risky. You need to fall back to the extreme edge of the arena (preferably using your Seikret) as soon as you see Zoh Shia initiating the AOE attack. Zoh Shia always telegraphs the AOE with a lengthy wind-up animation, followed by a roar.

While this method is quite simple, it also comes with the risk of confining you to a very small part of the arena. Additionally, it leaves you open to Zoh Shia’s follow-up attacks. The second method, while a bit more complicated on paper, is actually easy to execute and allows you to retaliate almost immediately.

This method essentially uses the Wylk Crystals against Zoh Shia itself. The arena where you fight Zoh Shia is littered with Dragon Pods and Thunder Pods. While these throwables do very little damage to the monster, they serve a different purpose in battle. You’re meant to use these pods on the Wylk Crystals to detonate them. Detonating multiple crystals can cause a chain reaction that ultimately deals damage to Zoh Shia. At the start of the fire AOE attack, quickly fire a Dragon or Thunder Pod near the crystals to detonate them.

Doing so will free up part of the arena, limiting the range of the AOE. Furthermore, destroying the Wylk Crystals also allows you to attack Zoh Shia immediately after the AOE subsides.

Additional Notes

To expedite the process of detonating the crystals, keep Dragon or Thunder Pods equipped on your Slinger before the second phase starts. Note that Flash Pods do not work against Zoh Shia.

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We provide the latest news and create guides for Monster Hunter Wilds or MH Wilds. Meanwhile, you can check out the following Monster Hunter articles or catch us playing games on Twitch and YouTube:

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