How to Beat Kulve Taroth in Under Twenty Minutes in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Kulve Taroth is a new monster added in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin’s second free title update. Unlike many of the game’s monsters, it’s impossible to get a Kulve Taroth egg and hatch one as a monstie of your own. Instead, it’s fought as a boss in the timed co-op quest “The Goddess of Gold.”

Defeating Kulve Taroth will give you access to the weapons and armor crafted from the materials it drops, but the quest rewards themselves are also very worthwhile. Particularly, an SR ticket is the reward for finishing “The Goddess of Gold” in under 20 minutes, which is actually a fairly challenging time constraint even for experienced players.

The Basics

Here are some general rules and tips for completing Kulve Taroth’s quest as quickly as possible:

• Avoid all unnecessary monster encounters. You cannot flee from them and they do not stop the timer.
• Use cool mist to prevent the zone’s heat from exhausting your party.
• Have at least some healing items, like ancient potions, dust of life and vital essence. These probably aren’t 100% necessary, but they can save you if an AI partner makes some bad plays.
• It’s probably best to avoid online play. Online play tends to add a lot of latency to in-battle gameplay and the timer does not pause for this. Instead, queue locally and use an AI partner if need be.
• Deadly horn jab is a massive time saver. Kulve Taroth is immune to it, but the quest also requires you to beat an Astalos and Brachydios. Potentially defeating both of them on the first turn can easily shave 5+ minutes off your clear speed.
• Use gear and monsties that cover Kulve Taroth’s weaknesses, which are detailed later in this article. Leveling up to 70+ will also make the quest much easier, though it isn’t necessary.

Beating Astalos and Brachydios

On the two paths leading to Kulve Taroth at the far end of the dungeon are an Astalos and a Brachydios. Beating both of these is required for finishing the quest. As mentioned earlier, the monstie skill deadly horn jab is easily the best way to deal with them, as it can potentially defeat them on the first turn. If you choose not to go that route, their weaknesses and attack patterns are as follows:

• Astalos is weak to ice. Blunt attacks work well on any part of it. Slashing attacks work well on its stomach and tail.
• Astalos initially uses technical attacks. Once electrified, it switches to power attacks. While flying, it instead uses speed attacks.
• Brachydios is weak to water. Slashing attacks work best on its head and body, while blunt attacks work best on its fists. Its tail is weak to piercing attacks.
• Brachydios starts the fight using power attacks. Once enraged, it uses speed attacks. Several of its attacks inflict blastblight.

The fastest way to handle the Astalos and Brachydios is to defeat one on the way to Kulve Taroth and one on the way back.

Kulve Taroth

Unlike the other monsters, deadly horn jab won’t work against Kulve Taroth, so you’ll have to beat it the old-fashioned way. Its weaknesses and attack patterns in the first phase are as follows:

• It starts the fight using technical attacks. Once enraged, it switches to power attacks.
• During this phase, it is weak to thunder attacks. Its legs are weak to slash and blunt attacks, while its tail is susceptible to attacks from any weapon.
• When it doesn’t target anyone, it is about to use a skill. Many of these hit the entire party for a ton of damage, so using guaranteed dodge skills and other forms of mitigation is recommended.

Once you beat it in the first phase, it scurries off to the back of the cavern. Kulve Taroth’s weaknesses will change at this point and so will its attack patterns; here’s a list of these for phase two:

• Kulve Taroth will begin the second phase using speed attacks. Once enraged, it will switch to power attacks.
• At this point, its weakness will change to ice. Blunt and slashing attacks work well on both its horn and body, but avoid piercing attacks. Many ice monsties are weak to its fire attacks, so be mindful of this.
• Once again, a failure to target any particular party member indicates that it will use a skill hitting everyone instead. Continue using guaranteed evasion skills or other mitigation.

It’s probably best to bring at least one weapon for each phase. The Kirin Bolt Maximus, Thunderlord Hammer and Zephra Wingbeat are all good options for phase one. For phase two, the Noble Ana Palas, Elderfrost Oppressor, Elderfrost Mauler and Sonorous Eisfyl work well.

For armor, the Boltreaver Armor+ is a good all-around option. The Hellblade Armor+ gives strong fire resistance as well as Tenacity if you aren’t getting it from a talisman. If you want a more offensive approach, you can use Kirin U Armor+ for Ice Boost (XL) or Kirin Armor+ for Thunder Boost (XL).

That should be all you need to know to beat Kulve Taroth in under 20 minutes and get a free SR ticket. The ticket reward isn’t repeatable, so you’ll only be able to get it once, but it’s well worth it to do so. Happy hunting!