Which Monsties Should You Give A Second Element To In Monster Hunter Stories 3?

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Elemental attacks have always been key to battles in Monster Hunter, and that continues in Monster Hunter Stories 3. Now, your Monsties can even have two different elements, adding a new layer of strategy.

The game doesn’t fully explain this system, but here’s how it works: you gain a secondary element for your Monstie, even though they can already use skills of any element. This means when your Monstie performs a normal attack, it will automatically deal damage using the most effective element against the enemy. Here are the best combinations we’ve discovered.

As a gamer, I can tell you this game has endless possibilities! Seriously, you can mix and match almost anything, and you’ll probably discover strategies that work even better for you than what anyone else has thought of.

Rathalos

Any Element

Ratha is with you throughout the entire game, and even remains with you afterward. They function like any other Rathalos, but you have fewer options to customize them.

Having a second Rathlos allows for greater flexibility in how you nurture them, like giving them a different elemental affinity. The specific element isn’t important—it’s simply the option to customize them.

Stygian Zinogre

With Thunder

Once Zinogre is rescued, it can undergo two more transformations. First, it becomes Stygian Zinogre, gaining the Dragon element, and finally, it evolves into Thunderlord Zinogre with the Thunder element.

By making a few changes to Stygian Zinogre’s genetics and training, we can give it some of the powerful abilities of Thunderlord Zinogre, and also add Thunder as a secondary elemental attack.

Rey Dau

With Dragon

Rey Dau is a strong and visually appealing Monstie. They deal significant damage, possess a diverse range of Skills, and boast consistently high stats. Giving them additional elemental abilities further enhances their capabilities.

While any new type would be helpful, Dragon feels like the best choice. Its color scheme is great, and it would allow Pokémon to do more damage to the types they usually struggle against.

Tobi-Kadachi

With Fire

You start the game with a Tobi-Kadachi in your group, and although you can’t dismiss it permanently, you can remove it from your active party. This allows you to potentially obtain an even stronger Tobi-Kadachi.

You’ll first encounter dual-element Monsties with a Fire Tobi-Kadachi, and for good reason – it’s a fantastic combination. Skills like Burning Fang also suit Tobi-Kadachi perfectly, making it a seamless introduction to this feature.

Soulseer Mizutsune

With Fire

Once you’ve rescued a Mizutsune, you can create a Soulseer Mizutsune by raising it in the same environment as a Zinogre. They’re already powerful with their standard abilities, but become even more formidable when paired with an additional element.

The Foxflame Bubbles ability applies Burning to enemies, making the Soulseer a natural fit with Fire-based attacks to maximize the Burning effect.

Ivory Lagiacrus

With Water

Ivory Lagiacrus is a wonderful monster known for its Water abilities, but surprisingly, it only uses Thunder. This was a deliberate design decision to emphasize its electric powers, though it can make the monster feel a bit incomplete.

Honestly, giving these creatures the Water element feels totally right. Since I find them in Azuria, putting them in Mirror Lake just makes sense – it’s the fastest way for them to learn it, I think!

Ebony Odogaron

With Normal

Ebony Odogaron is a remarkably fast and powerful Monstie that you can obtain relatively early in the game. Its Dragon element is particularly effective against many of the toughest opponents.

Interestingly, many Elder Dragons and other monsters vulnerable to Dragon damage actually become weaker to Normal damage, either by their natural traits or when they change forms. Therefore, equipping Ebony Odogaron with Normal element makes it even more effective at what it does.

Arkveld

With Any

Arkveld, first seen in Monster Hunter Wilds and featured in Stories 3, are creatures defined by their ability to change and thrive in any environment. Though naturally dragons, they constantly seek to evolve and become something more.

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Arkveld isn’t weak to any specific element – they perform well against everything. Since they only have standard weaknesses to Dragon and Normal types, consider adding a third element to your team to exploit enemy weaknesses.

Diablos

With Any

Monsters like Ebony Odogaron, Diablos, and particularly the Black and Bloodbath Diablos, are known for their incredible speed and powerful attacks. While they deal a lot of damage overall, it’s all physical – they don’t have any elemental effects.

You can use any item to boost their abilities. In fact, creating a team of Diablos, each with a different element, would be incredibly powerful – no one could compete with you!

Malzeno

With Any

The game has many strong Monsties, but Malzeno stands out as particularly powerful considering how easily you can obtain it. You only need to complete one story quest to start finding its eggs, making it one of the best Monsties available.

These monsters naturally have the Dragon element, but adding another one can make them even more powerful. Feel free to choose any element that you think suits them best – they’ll be amazing no matter what you pick.

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2026-03-26 21:37