User blog comment:Lord Loss/Discussion of the Week: Brute Wyverns/@comment-1758220-20130115014030

Alright, let's do this:

Barroth: Wow, what a way to introduce the Brute Wyvern family. He packs a good punch at beginner level, showcases the all-new Brute wyvern moveset and substitutes enough of his own unique attacks to make him special. The designers did a great job of making him feel realistically adapted, and one of my favourite features of his design are the nostrils on top of his crown so that he can breathe while submerged. Contrary to Loss's opinion, I rather like the brown and orange colour scheme of this guy, though the mud coating does ruin this a little. I'm glad to see Barroth has become one of the 3rd-gen favourites among fans. Also, points for a great roar.

Jade Barroth: Probably one of the better premises behind a subspecies. His U-turn charge and double crown-slam are kind of annoying, but they're the kind of on-your-toes attacks that a high-rank monster should have. His beautiful green and beige colour scheme is always striking to me (especially with those bright red eyes), and his larger crown makes sense as it warms the tundra air, again ramping up the realism.

Uragaan: God, I used to hate this guy. The quakes, the sleep gas, the impenetrable chin that always got in the way. But you know, he's not all bad. I like his design, for one thing. Rugged and hearty, suitable for the volcanic environment. More cool adaptations here, such as the tar coating on the underbelly to trap ornamental stones. I like the mixture of agility and freight-train hitting power on display here, makes Gravios seem like more of a slow, easy-mode bastard than he already is. I've always liked the lighting effects on Uragaan, with the shiny metallic sheen his hide gives off, and the underglow of the lava always looks good reflecting off of his underside.

Uragaan Subspecies: And the award for "most annoying subspecies ever" goes to...Seriously though, what the hell. Stink attack here, stink attack there, it's nuts, and if you haven't brought any deodorants well then you may as well just abandon the quest. His metallic paint job isn't too shabby, though I'll never understand why his chin is near-molten.

Duramboros: A very nice monster, if you ask me. One of my favourites from 3rd gen actually. He's got a really unique moveset that combines cues from all the other members of the brute family, and throws in his own bag of tricks with the centrifuge-tail. They did a really good job of making him look slow, lumbering and otherwise docile. The elephant-like feet, bison horns, rhino-like skin fols and even the Ankylosaur-esque plate design invoke images of herbivores that can seriously mess up your day, and they've combined them to create a design that sells that concept very well. He's good for multiplayer quests because of the huge health pool he has, although he's one of those monsters that gets really easy when he's drained of stamina.

Rust Duramboros: You know, I really want to like this guy. They gave him a rather nice new coat of paint, and even bothered to make it resemble the juvinile form quite a bit. That said, the new axe tail was a bit of a missed opportunity, as it doesn't really do anything new with it. I wish theyhad given him some new tail attacks that take advantage of the altered club. The symmetrical nature of the tail club is a lot more pleasing to the eys than the rather jumbled one from the common species.

Deviljho: Yes, yes, capcom we get it. Deviljho is really powerful and hard to fight. Now could you please stop throwing him into every high rank quest and 90% of all "warning" quests and just let him be? Anyway, yeah I guess he's pretty cool but his status as an uber-favourite is something I've never quite understood. I don't find his fight particularly fun. though it's definitely refreshingly challenging. In addition, his design is kind of...lacking. it's just a big green dinosaur, though I do like the chin spikes that layer into the teeth on the bottom jaw. I think a crocodilian skin texture like that on the back of Ceadeus might have been a better fit than the spiky one he has now.

Brachydios: Only two more months! Anyway, I'm not a major fan of his design, though I've definitely warmed to it over the months. Yes, the horn looks stupid, but the armour plating and ridges along his back look really cool, and the fists themselves are pretty great now that I know that there are indeed fingers tucked in behind them. He does a great job of being unique, for sure. His moveset is almost completely exclusive, and his usage of the blast slime as environmental hazards is awesome. It's too bad he got shorthanded just as Narga did in Unite in terms of importance, they really need to stop doing that to expansion flagships. Also, I'm going to try to craft, but never use the blast-element weapons made from him, too OP for me.

Abiorugu: *sigh* Whatever. I don't have any opinion on any Frontier monster at all, not because I don't play it but because I just don't care. He looks pretty cool I guess, though he's hilariously out of place in the Snowy Mountains and the colour scheme is just a little too close to that of Espinas. I can't comment on his gameplay because i've never watched a video of him, but he looks pretty Deviljho-y from the trailer I watched. Maybe if Capcom goes nuts and throws him (and other MHFO monsters) into some other game I might ave some more opinions on him.