Yama Tsukami Guides


 * All information and strategies given in this guide are only guidelines to help you get an idea of how a monster could be fought. The below mentioned strategies and suggestions are purely based on the personal experience(s) of the author(s) and are in no way the ONLY and RIGHT way to hunt

=Authorship=

Credits go to Artemis_Paradox for writing and providing all information, weapon/armor suggestions and strategies except for the Lance Guide. Credit goes to Sentoryu_Raven for the Lance Guide.

=Introduction=

The Yama Tsukami is a elder dragon that resembles a flying octopus in some way. He's extremely big, has 4 tentacles, 2 giant whiskers and a very special mouth which he uses to literally suck in monsters and hunters. In most cases it results in instant-death, however with strong enough armor the move can be survived without guts and only if it's not enraged. In rage mode it will take Guts to survive the attack.

Because of his size his moves are very slow but devastating. Even with the strongest armor in the game he can kill you in 2 hits if you don't have max health.

He is the urgent quest for Hunter Rank 9.

=Behaviour=

During battle the Yama Tsukami is relatively passive when you compare him to other monsters. You'll be fighting him at the top of the tower from a platform. His attack pattern mostly consists of tentacles swings. Sometimes he also does a double tentacle swing or he slams both tentacles and whiskers down.

He can also unleash a explosive gas which resembles that of a Gravios.

He has 2 unique moves as well, the tornado (he floats up, stretches all tentacles and spins a few rounds), and the wind tunnel. He uses these 2 far less frequently than his other moves though, most of the times he uses regular tentacle swings.

But by far his most unique ability is the ability to summon Great Thunderbug. These thunderbugs are the same as normal Great Thunderbugs but they have 1 more ability. They can explode.

The Yama's sign of rage is when his eyes turn from red to yellow.

Yama's stomach shrinks in relation to his health. When it shrinks completely, he falls halfway down the tower. After a brief pause, he rises back up, stomach fully re-inflated. The third time Yama falls, he dies.

=Preparations=

Items

 * Potions/Mega Potions/Herbs/
 * Steaks/Rations
 * Tranq Bombs (more on this below)
 * Lifepowder (optional)
 * Mega Juice/Power Juice/ (optional)

Weapons
Any weapon that has either high raw or has the ice or dragon element. Some weapon recommendations for first-timers are:


 * Great Swords: Darkness Darkblade, Master Blaze, Brynhildr
 * Long Swords: Knockout Dragonsword/Smolder Dragonsword or Blango Destructor
 * Sword and Shield: Ice Fang, Azure Ogre Sword
 * Dual Swords: Icicle Daggers, Dual Dragon Ultimus
 * Hammers: Juggernaut, Axion, Claw of Doom
 * Hunting Horn: Demon's Darkflute, Glass Royale
 * Lances: Black Rain Darklance, DragonSealer "Null"
 * Gunlances: WanningMoonDarklance, Demonic Blizzard, Gun Chariot+
 * Bows: Abominable Bow II, Midnight Bow, Akantor Bow

For people who have already reached HR9 the weapon suggestions look more like this:


 * Great Swords: Eternal Destroyer, King Atillart Sword, Gaoren Cleaver, Daora's Tughril Beg, Black Fatalis Blade or Fatalis Legacy.
 * Long Swords: Hellish Slasher, Ukanlos Slicer, Daora's Raid, Red Dragonsword G, Blango Destructor G or LgndaryFatalisSickle.
 * Sword and Shield: Ice Fang, Daora's Maelstrom, Indigo Ogresword, True Black Dragon Sword, True Black Ruiner Sword or Ukanlos Soul Hatchet.
 * Dual Swords: Silhouette Sabers G, Dual Dragon Ultimus+, Fatalis Dual Sky or UkanlosRuinerBlades.
 * Hammers: Magnitude, Chaotic Order, Claw of Doom, AncientFatalisRuiner, Daora's Hyperborea or Ukanlos Trampler.
 * Hunting Horns: Ukanlos Horned Flute, Fatalis Menace Lute, AncienteFatalisLute, Glass Royale.
 * Lance: DragonSealer "Null", Daora's Regulus, Tru Blk Drgn Spr, Tru Blk Drgn Spr+ or Ukanlos Calamity.
 * Gunlance: TrueBlkDrgnGunlance, Demonic Blizzard, UkanlosBlazeGunlance, World's End.
 * Light Bowguns: Lava Storm, Owl's Eye Darkbow, Absolute Bow or Ukanlos Flame Bow.
 * Heavy Bowguns: Vor Buster, Destiny's Arm, Evil Wind Darkcannon or Ukanlos Cannon.
 * Bows: Akantor Chaos Bow, Dragon Bow Chaos, Glorious Victory II, Ukanlos Bow, Daora's Sagittarii or Exterminator Bow II.

Armors
For the Yama Tsukami it is recommended to use an armor that has the evade +2 skill if you don't feel like being too careful in your approach or if you want to attack all-out without having to watch your steps too much. Best example is the Narga X armor, which has both evade +2 and evade distance up. His moves are slow so it's really easy to roll through. However if you keep moving all the time you don't need any of these skills, just being careful and do what you have to do to avoid damage is enough.

Another suggestion is an armor with the Guts (prevents 1 hit kill moves killing you if your HP is above 65) skill. Easiest armor to get with this skill is Hermitaur Z, but Lava X is also an option. Later on in the game you can use Fatalis Z or Indra Shin for this, or just gem the skill into your armor.

For lancers the Guard Inc skill (isn't a must but it helps) is recommended to block the wind tunnel. This can easily be done by just guarding with your shield in the direction of the mouth.

If you cannot get any of these armors then stick with an high-defense armor and be a little more careful.

=Elemental Information=


 * The majority of Yama Tsukami's attacks are non-elemental, however his Explosive Gas does have the Fire Element.
 * His elemental weaknesses are Dragon and Ice. They both work equally well so either will do. He is extremely resistant to Fire, Thunder and Water though.
 * Ailments do not work on Yama Tsukami.

=Attack Points=

=Breakable Parts=

It is unknown what effect breaking the whiskers has towards your rewards.

=Yama Tsukami's Attacks=

=Battle Strategy(ies)=

General Strategy (basics)

 * All weapon specific strategies can be based off of the information written in this particular section.
 * His sign of rage is that his eyes turn from red to yellow.
 * His sign of weakness is his stomach inflating. When the fight starts you will notice his stomach is huge but as the fight progresses you will see it gradually inflate.

As soon as you enter the final area of the tower, you will see the Yama Tsukami slowly floating from outside the tower towards the arena, and then he'll slowly ascent. Unless you're gunning him it's no use trying to attack him yet. You'll have to wait for him to make the first move and then counter by quickly attacking either his whiskers or his tentacles while he is pulling them back.

The Yama Tsukami's moveset mostly consists of tentacle slams. He uses this most of the time and they can be easily blocked/evaded by running/rolling/diving and countered.

He has 3 types of tentacles slams: a single slam which is his slowest move, a double slam which is considerably faster than the single slam, and a quadruple slam which is his slowest but most devastating of them all. It also covers the widest area but can easily be blocked and evaded by diving and sticking out of reach of his tentacles.

In case of the single slam, run to the sides or roll and then attack that tentacle before he completely pulls it back.

Would he do a double slam the same strategy for evasion applies, though you should keep running to 1 side, you can attack either his tentacle or his whisker after evading this move. It should be noted that with correct positioning it does no require any movement at all to avoid damage from this move.

For the quadruple slam goes that you can either run out of reach of the tentacles, dive or if you have evade up skills you can roll through this attack by standing near the wall at the point where his whiskers will strike and roll at the right time. This last is quite risky however and highly unnecessary but if you feel heroic go do it.

His fire gas can be evaded in two different ways. At first you can run back to the wall and wait the attack out. Secondly, you can block the attack. For the former goes that you can get 1 or 2 hits max on the tentacle before he pulls them back after performing the move. For GS/LS/SnS/DS/Lance/Gunlance the unsheate attack will be sufficient. Archers and gunners can just keep on attacking from a distance.

Sometimes, but not very often, the Yama Tsukami will slam his only whiskers on the platform and remain motionless for a few seconds. One should take no reckless decisions at this moment as one of the following 2 scenarios could occur:


 * The Yama Tsukami remains motionless and will pull back after a few seconds.
 * The Yama Tsukami opens his mouth and generates a giant vortex.

This giant vortex is known as the Wind Tunnel and is his move powerful attack. Without the Guts skill this move is a guaranteed one-hit killer if the Yama Tsukami is enraged. However in multiplayer if one gets hit another player can prevent death of his companion by using a life powder or a potion with wide area before the victim hits the ground and dies. As for when the Yama Tsukami is in normal mode the Wind Tunnel can be survived without the Guts skill if one has a strong enough armor.

One of his other more dangerous moves is the Helikopter Spin as some people call it. The Yama Tsukami will slightly ascend at first, spreading all of his tentacles, then slowly descend while spinning and at last ascend again and spin slower before he finishes the move. This attack can be blocked and evaded. For the evasion goes that you (prefferably) roll to the edge of the platform, getting you as close to him as possible, crouch and remain motionless. Some people say that getting away as far as possible from him and crouch is the safest thing to do but that is nothing but a lie. In fact it is far more dangerous. His tentacles aren't flat but are rounded, resulting in some parts reaching lower than the others which could ultimately lead to you getting hit and die. As for blocking, this move will hit you several times and deal minor damage even with Guard +2 and is likely to drain all of your stamina.

His final but by far not most threatening ability is his ability to summon Great Thunderbugs. These aren't regular Great Thunderbugs though as in that they cannot paralyze you and have the ability to explode and send you flying. They don't pose a major threat but could easily get on your nerves. It's not necessary to kill them but it would make things slightly easier for you.

Additional Information

 * Throwing 2 tranq bombs will either make the Yama Tsukami either flinch or fall down. If the latter happens he will either fall down to the bottom of the area and remain there trying to get up. You can use this to get in a lot of attacks as it takes him quite a while to get up again. But he can also fall down halfway and pin his tentacles into the wall. He will form some kind of platform which can be jumped on which allows you to infinitely carve him and plant the Anti Dragon Bombs from the supply box.


 * When the Yama Tsukami falls down after having taken a considerable deal of damage he will ascend back to the platform again. However there are some anomalies that could occur here and it is important to know about them as they could mean the difference between life and death. It sometimes occurs that the Yama Tsukami ascends back but slightly lower or higher than his default floating height. The latter is convenient as it makes evading his Helikopter move much easier and safer but the former is dangerous. If he does the Helikopter Spin while he is on a lower height than usual crouching will not be safe anymore. In this case only blocking could grant some safety. Trying to quickly get off the platform is also useless as you will be send back on it immediately. Keep a close eye on this.

Great Sword Guide

 * Since all the information about how to fight has already been given in the general strategy section, this and the soon to be written sections won't cover combat as elaborately as the section above, and instead will focus on how you should attack, this will be your guide for counterattacks for all of his moves.

When he does his single tentacle slam, evade it and do a unsheathe attack on that tentacles and roll, then withdraw your weapon and wait for the next move.

When he does a double slam, simply evade it again and either attack the tentacle he last slammed with or attack his whisker. Start with an overhead strike and follow up with a spinning cut.

When he does his quadruple slam, evade and charge up your Great Sword. During the time given while he is recovering from this attack you can easily get in 2 fully charged overhead strikes on him, and likely follow it up with 1 spinning cut before he pulls his tentacles back.

When he does his explosive gas, run back to the wall, then just after the attack ended run back at him and do a unsheathe attack on either his tentacles or his whiskers. Then withdraw your weapon and await his next move.

When he slams only his whiskers on the platform you can get in 1 fully charged GS strike if you're quick, it's risky though. Withdraw your weapon after and wait for him to do the wind tunnel. If he doesn't do it (after some rounds you will know if he's going to do it or not by looking at the time he has been doing nothing while having his whiskers on the platform) you can get in 1 or 2 move attacks.

You can't actually counter his tentacle tornado, just crouch and wait the attack out. When he has ascended a little and is spinning slower you could try and land a fully charged strike on him, but don't count on it that you'll hit him. You'll need some luck for that.

At last when he is summoning the Great Thunderbug close in on his mouth and deliver a fully charged strike there to deal maximum damage.

If you during the fight manage to make him fall down to the bottom of the area, simply jump down and spam some fully charged strikes.

Long Sword Guide

 * Since your Long Sword is fast you can get in more hits after evading an attack than with a Great Sword, but you cannot block so it is more important than ever that your evasion is flawless. It is highly recommended to have an armor with evade +2 when using long swords. Examples are: Butterfly S/X, Narga X, Kusha X and Fata Z.

When he does a single slam, evade and perform a unsheathe attack, follow with a 2nd overhead strike and finish with the backswing, then roll and withdraw your weapon. Alternatively you can also perform a full spirit combo on his tentacle during the time you're given.

When he does a double slam, evade and close in on the whiskers, perform a double overhead strike and finish with a backswing.

When he does his quadruple slam, evade as usual and then go all out. Use every combo you can think of and don't worry about the spirit guage. It'll be filled again soon enough.

When he does his explosive gas you run back to the wall, then you run back at him and you can get in 1 overhead strike. Maybe a stab as well but only if you're quick.

When he slams his whiskers on the platform to possibly follow it up with the wind tunnel, just evade it and attack his body from the sides. Do not get near the whiskers. During this time you can get in a double overhead slash followed by a double spirit swing and a backswing, which you should use to win some space to escape the wind tunnel if he really is going to use that.

The same strategy goes for when he does his tornado spin, just crouch and wait. Before he returns back to his normal stance you can try and hit him with a overhead strike but don't count on it that you'll hit him. Only if you're lucky and you're standing exactly where his tentacles will start hanging again.

The best moment to attack is when he is summoning great thunderbugs. Get to his mouth and give it all you got. Perform a full spirit combo, in the progress you might even kill a few of the great thunderbugs.

And when he falls down entirely, you can do whatever you want. String together your most powerful combos. You can easily get in 3-6 full combos combined with a spirit combo during this time. Don't wast time here and go all out.

Sword and Shield Guide

 * The SnS is a very small weapon which grants you great mobility, can block attacks, its attacks are also fast and can be chained into devastating combos. The Yama Tsukami however, is very slow. It's almost unfair how much of an advantage you have when using a SnS. There isn't really any difference between the kind of counter-attacks you do after evading, with the SnS' speed you can perform a full combo after nearly every of his moves.

When he does his single slam, evade and perform a complete combo starting with the leaping overhead strike, ending with the spin cut. The spin cut might not hit him if you're not fast enough.

When he does his double slam, evade and you can perform a 5 hit combo on the whiskers, starting with the leaping move and ending with the spin cut.

When he does his quadruple slam, evade it and you can perform at least 4 full combos. Start at one of his tentacles while looking in the direction of his other tentacle. After a full combo, roll forward and repeat. Keep doing this till he pulls his tentacles back.

When he does his explosive gas run back to the wall and counter with a full combo on his whiskers or tentacles. You should be able to get in 3-4 hits while doing this.

When he slams his whiskers on the platform, evade it (if you have to) or block it. Then attack his body from the sides. You should be able to pull off a full combo. If you can't and he starts his wind tunnel while you're performing a combo just roll to the sides and run for your life.

When he does his tornado spin withdraw your weapon and crouch. It's futile trying to attack him, with your short sword you might only hit his tentacles once when they're hanging again.

When he summons the Thunderbugs close in on the mouth and give him a full combo for breakfast. Since you're way faster than with a GS or LS you can fight both Yama Tsukami and the Thunderbugs at the same much easier than with a GS or LS. However killing the bugs might be slightly harder due to low attack power and very limited reach.

If you manage to make him fall down the area you just do what you would do with any other weapon. Jump down and go all out.

Duals Swords Guide

 * Dual Swords are the fastest weapons in the game and grant great mobility but their main weakness is their inability to block. This is what makes them dangerous to use against a Yama Tsukami, because if he hits you, he hits you hard. But do not fear, dual swords have the ability to unleash massive combos which is exactly the reason why they are so good for a slow monster like the Yama Tsukami. The strategy applied is almost the same as for the SnS, thanks to the dual swords' speed you can perform a full combo after evading nearly any of the Yama's attacks. The only difference is that you can't block and that your sharpness decreases way faster than when using a SnS. Evade +2 is seriously highly recommended when using dual swords!

When he does a single slam, evade it and either perform a 9 hit combo (can be either the dashing attack and then hitting triangle till the end of the combo or ending the combo with a spinning cut somewhere in earlier in the combo), or you can perform a demon dance on the tentacles/whiskers, then roll and await the next attack. (It's better not to do this last thing while he is in rage mode)

When he does a double slam you just evade it by running to either sides and/or diving, or, if you're more experienced and were in a fortunate position before he started this attack, you only have to run away from the tentacle he slams, running towards the other tentacle and roll if necessary, then repeating this but the opposite way while he slams the other tentacle, and then unleashing a combo on his whiskers. Note for when doing this, be sure to be as far away from him as possible or it will still hit you. (You can apply this with most weapons)

When he is doing a quadruple slam, simply evade it as described above and then keep performing the demon dance on him until he recovers.

When he does his explosive gas run back to the wall, then roll towards Yama and you might get in 1-3 hits on either his tentacles or whiskers.

When he slams his whiskers on the platform you have enough time to perform 1 demon dance before he might do a possible wind tunnel. This is if you're near him as soon as he slams his whiskers down, if you're not close to him while he's doing this it is better to keep it at a incomplete combo and then rolling away from him so you don't get caught by his wind tunnel that might follow.

During his tornado spin there is nothing you can do but to crouch, sure while he ascends and starts to spin slower you can go into rage mode and perform a demon dance in the hopes of hitting his tentacle once, but don't count it.

When he summons the thunderbugs it is simple what to do, get in front of his mouth and either perform a regular combo or perform a demon dance.

Would it happen that he falls down to the bottom of the area, jump down and spam demon dances until he recovers.

Hammer Guide

 * Hammers are definitely a great way to take down a Yama Tsukami, but one should not forget that hammers are relatively slow compared to other weapons. This however, is compensated with having the highest raw power of any weapon type in the game, allowing to deal massive damage in short periods of time. Hammers grant reasonable mobility while drawn. But they cannot block. So it's important that when you're using hammers that you make sure you don't get hit. Since the Yama is always slightly in front of the platform, people should make good use of the super pound. The minor shockwave produced by the slam can hit the Yama's tentacles even when he doesn't attack.

When using hammers you should really use an armor with the evade +2 skill, it makes using them way more effective on Yama. It allows you to savely keep your hammer drawn while fighting it, which makes it easier to damage Yama as your unsheathe attack is the weakest attack a hammer can perform. This section will be giving advice as if you had your hammer drawn all the time throughout the battle.

When he does a single slam, evade by running to the sides and rolling if necessary, then close in on the tentacle and perform either a double overhead strike, or a lvl 1 charged swing. (that's the swing you perform when you press R and release it immediately)

When he does a double slam, evade by either running to any side while charging your hammer, so that when he finishes the attack you can super pound his tentacle or whiskers, or stay between the tentacles and try not to get hit and then unleash either a super pound or a double overhead strike. (If you have evade +2 this is absolutely save if your timing with rolling is correct)

When he does a quadruple slam, just evade it like you would with any other weapon and then spam triple pounds. Don't bother with super pounds, the triple combos deal more damage and are faster anyway. You can do a tornado swing though to start your assault, but it's better to keep it at triple pounds.

When he does his explosive gas, run back to the wall, start charging your hammer, run back towards Yama and unleash a super pound on his whiskers or tentacles.

When he slams his whiskers down, evade if necessary and charge up your hammer, then unleash a super pound on his sides. If you're quick you can pull off a triple combo, but it's risky, especially while he is in rage mode.

When he starts doing his tornado spin, withdraw your weapon and crouch. Wait out the attack, then when he is starting to ascend and you feel he won't hit you, charge up your hammer and try to get in a super pound.

When he is going to summon thunderbugs, either charge up your hammer and unleash a super pound in the mouth, then roll and try and get in a triple pound after it. Or just go to the mouth and keep it at a triple pound. Since you hammer has very high raw power you should be able to kill most of the thunderbugs while he is summoning them.

If he falls down the area, jump down and spam triple pounds anywhere you like.

Lance Guide By Sentoryu Raven

 * Although lance is slow when moving, its attacks are fast and are easy to combo as well as great reach, my recommended armor is Haku, although its hr6 you can get Guard+2 and Guard inc on it. These skills make a perfect tanking armor for Yama, with only 1 attack being able to hurt you while blocking. That being the tornado attack.

When he does a single slam, Block and upstab the tentacles. Simple yes?

When he does a double slam, Block and upstab the tentacles. See a pattern?

When he does his quadruple slam, once again block and upstab but since he stays on the floor longer, then backhop and upstab again. You can do this quite a few times.

When he does his explosive gas, block and you can try to get a few upstabs in.

When he slams his whiskers on the platform to possibly follow it up with the wind tunnel, attack it from the sides, if it does do the wind tunnel block it, it doesn't damage you with guard+2 and guard inc, you can then just upstab the mouth or throw 2 tranq bombs to make him fall.

When he does the Tornado spin, you can either block or duck, blocking gets you hurt but I've never been killed doing it.

When he summons Great Thunderbugs its the best time to attack, upstab at his mouth until he stops, watch out for thunderbugs exploding and trying to paralyze you.

And when he falls down entirely, you can do whatever you want. With a good elemental Ice or Dragon lance, I like to do 3 upstabs then charge until my stamina is about to run out then do the finishing attack, I then upstab until my stamina is full and repeat. If you have a high raw powered lance you can just keep upstabbing and hopping, that saves sharpness and you will still do alot of damage.

Bow Guide

 * Bows are practical weapons that can use a variety of status elemental arrows depending on their compatibility with coatings, as well can they reach monsters from a further distance. However, bows can't block, and since you're classified a gunner when using a bow your defense will be about half of that of a blademaster. A heavy hitter like the Yama Tsukami can nearly instantly kill you, for that reason you either need to know how to evade his attacks and be very careful, or wear an armor with the evade +2 skill and roll your way through his attacks. Withdrawing your bow takes some time and that could just be enough for the Yama Tsukami to kill you. If you can save yourself the time of withdrawing your bow all the time you will be able to fight the Yama Tsukami more effectively. For that reason: get a armor with evade +2! The Guts skill is also highly recommended.


 * There isn't really a strategy to bowing a Yama Tsukami, the same rules apply when it comes down to evasion as when you would melee him. And bows only have 2 attacks, that being a double swing with your arrow and your daily shots. There is no diversity between the counter-attacks for each of his moves. For that reason this guide will be summarized.


 * All types of shots are equally effective on the Yama Tsukami, Pierce, Rapid and Scatter all work equally well on him. However, pierce is more suited when aiming for the Eyes (his weakspot for gunners), Rapid is more effective for when aiming for his tentacles, and Scatter works fine in general. But because of the rapid decrease in power of the scatter shot as it flies it is better to use those for the tentacles, body and whiskers, because those are with the smallest range. Same goes for the Rapid shots, you should always keep a medium-close distance if you want to deal maximum damage with these kind of shots.

When the Yama does either his single, double or quadruple slam, keep running to either side to evade it. Then quickly charge your bow and shoot him.

When the Yama does his explosive gas, run to the wall and charge your bow, then immediately release it. You can shoot multiple times.

When he slams his whiskers on the platform keep a fair distance and shoot him with the pierce shots, or stay a little closer to him and shoot him with rapid shots.

When he does the Tornade Spin, withdraw your weapon if you didn't yet and crouch, wait out the attack, when he starts ascending and spinning slower, unsheathe your bow and shoot him.

When he summons Great Thunderbugs you can either keep shooting him from a distance with pierce shots or you can close in and use Rapid shots to quickly dispatch of the Thunderbugs. Due to their small size Rapid is ideal for taking them out, but since there will be multiple Great Thunderbugs scatter might also not be a bad idea to use.

And when he falls down entirely, just jump down and keep shooting him with your level 3 charged shots.