Monster Hunter Wilds' Zoh Shia Took A Great Lesson Out Of The Best World Collab
The monster Zoh Shia from Monster Hunter Wilds took a fantastic lesson out of the best Monster Hunter World collab from 2018 and it could be replicated with a future update. Wilds is the newest installment in the popular monster-hunting franchise by Capcom, following the successes of World (2018) and Monster Hunter Rise (2021). The game takes the classic formula and many of its renowned monsters and introduces brand-new mechanics and creatures to hunt. Among them is Zoh Shia in Monster Hunter Wilds, the final monster in the main campaign, even if Arkveld is the cover monster for the title.
Like the many Guardians found in the final portion of the campaign, Zoh Shia is a Construct. It is a creature that has been feeding off the Dragontorch and beating it is pivotal to not only conclude the main story arc and bring peace to the Forbidden Lands but also make hunters move into High Rank hunts – and with them, obtain new High Rank armor that allows them to face even tougher monsters that appear after you beat Monster Hunter Wilds. Zoh Shia offers a grand fight, but there is a particular aspect of its moveset that is enticing.
Zoh Shia Has An Aggressive Move That Can Wipe The Hunters’ Party In Monster Hunter Wilds
It Can Be Difficult To Avoid Zoh Shia’s Most Powerful Attack
Zoh Shia is an extremely aggressive monster that not only has heavy-hitting moves, but a rather irritating range and speed that can make even ranged hunters struggle with it if they are not used to its moveset. Furthermore, Zoh Shia encases its entire body in a type of crystalline armor that can make it even tougher to damage it and take advantage of wounds via Focus Mode Attacks in Monster Hunter Wilds. Even with all of its might compared to other monsters from the campaign, Zoh Shia stands out even further with a powerful ability that can wipe the team.
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During the later stages of the fight against Zoh Shia, the monster will start to charge a powerful attack that hits, essentially, the entirety of the arena it fights in, near the Dragontorch. This move takes a while to start, allowing players to find cover behind some of the crystals that are spawned around the arena, which helps them mitigate a portion of the incoming damage, or use the Seikret to move away from the arena-wide blast. If unprotected or without a meal in Monster Hunter Wilds, this move can easily drain your HP and make you fail the hunt.
Zoh Shia’s Move In Monster Hunter Wilds Resembles Behemoth’s Meteor From World’s FFXIV Collab
Both Attacks Target A Large Zone & Put Hunters At Risk Of Fainting
Zoh Shia’s huge inferno blast is, currently, one of the most powerful and dangerous moves from any monster in the game, but it seems heavily inspired by one of the best monsters in the series, which actually comes from a Monster Hunter World collab with Final Fantasy XIV. Back in 2018, World had a crossover event with the critically acclaimed MMORPG that brought forth a series of content to the monster-hunting title, including a Dragoon armor set for hunters, a Gae Bolg Insect Glaive, and, most notably, an adaptation of FFXIV’s Behemoth as a monster to hunt.
The crossover event also featured a special Dragon Soul Kinsect, a Behemoth-inspired costume for Poogie, and several titles, backgrounds, and emotes from FFXIV, including the legendary Dragoon Jump. FFXIV also received Monster Hunter World content, such as a Rathalos Trial, armor, a Rathalos mount, and several other items.
Behemoth is considered one of the strongest monsters from World, especially when players are unaware of its moveset. Aside from being huge, having rough attacks, and incredible range, Behemoth also had a trick up its sleeve: Meteor. Replicating its classic team-wiping move from the MMORPG, Behemoth was capable of summoning a Meteor onto the field, and, upon impact, the attack would make any unprotected hunter to immediately faint. This move was so powerful and wide-encompassing that, even if players were outside the area in which the fight was taking place, Behemoth’s Meteor would hit them.
Behemoth’s Meteor would even knock out hunters that were recovering at camp in Monster Hunter World.
The secret to avoiding damage from this particular attack was hiding behind Comets that would be placed by Behemoth on the battlefield. Like the creature’s move in the MMORPG, Meteor is a well-telegraphed attack that strikes everything, but the small areas behind the Comets that are left on the field – upon impact, hunters leave the area unhurt, while the Comets all shatter from Meteor’s power. It was an MMORPG mechanic that was brilliantly translated to World, and it immediately came to mind once I saw Zoh Shia’s blast in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Even if there are key differences between Behemoth’s Meteor and Zoh Shia’s blast, the potential to wipe the team with an arena-wide attack and effectively force players to reset the hunt is shared among both fights. Surely, Zoh Shia’s blast isn’t as punitive as Behemoth’s Meteor, nor does it have the map-wide range that made Behemoth such a memorable fight in 2018. Even so, it shows that this sort of mechanic is still well within Capcom’s memory and a future update could bring forth a monster in Monster Hunter Wilds to match Behemoth’s strength.
Monster Hunter Wilds Should Have A New Crossover Event With FFXIV
The Title Could Collaborate With Other Franchises, Too
Ideally, Monster Hunter Wilds would have a brand-new crossover event with FFXIV. This sort of event would largely benefit the game following its release, which saw three million copies sold in three days. While the game’s public will likely tone down in the upcoming months, events with new monsters to hunt and gear to craft are what keep the game alive. That was what happened with World, for example. With an even wider audience and FFXIV having reached its peak with Endwalker, this would be a great excuse for a new collab, even if Behemoth isn’t the featured monster.
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Given Rise’s collab with Okami, this could be repeated as a means to further advertise the franchise, which is set to have a new game soon, a new event with the Capcom franchise could see Orochi or any of the original game’s bosses translated into the current monster-hunting title. There are many possibilities to play around with, and, given past experiences and how successful the new release is, I’m hopeful that the future of Monster Hunter Wilds will include a monster on Behemoth’s level.
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