User blog:Aandrew07/Discussion of the Week: Leviathans

 Welcome to Discussion of the Week: Leviathans!

Good day, one and all! I know, I know, it's kind of a bummer for me to interrupt out stream of 'generation' DOTWs, but we've decided to give it some time before we shine the spotlight on 3rd gen as a whole. After all, we're still missing half of it! Anyway, this week, I thought we might instead discuss our slippery friends, the leviathans! This is a fairly recent yet thoroughly fleshed-out and varied set of monsters, so let's get the ball rolling!



Lagiacrus


Let's start things off with the original leviathan himself, the Lagiacrus. We first met Lagiacrus on that lowly gathering quest in the early hours of Monster Hunter Tri. He swam circles around us in his unfamiliar aquatic home, and scared us out of our newbie armour with that earth-shaking roar. In my opinion, Lagiacrus is an expertly crafted monster. His design is inspired, varied, natural, and all kinds of badass. The vanilla version of the Lagiacrus offers the middle ground by being both proficient on land and in the water. I think I like the 3U version with the much brighter blue body, but that's just me. A truly fitting flagship for Monster Hunter Tri, and the leviathans themselves.

Lagiacrus Subspecies


Remember when we didn't know that this was a subspecies until a week after he appeared in the MH3G reveal trailer? Anyway, this subspecies of Lagiacrus lives a terrestrial lifestyle, and his battle reflects this. He boasts super powered electrical attacks, quite a few, if I remember correctly, and easily rivals Agnaktor as the most formidable land-based leviathan. Points for a pretty colour scheme as well.

Lagiacrus Rare Species


Okay, last Lagiacrus, I swear. Anyway, late in the game, we are introduced to an absolutely KILLER subspecies of Lagiacrus, one that totes what I consider to be one of the best colour schemes in town. Lagiacrus Rare Species is both jet black and entirely aquatic, in stark contrast to his bleached white and entirely terrestrial cousin. He performs many amped-up (get it?) electrical attacks with some seriously cool black lightning. Though I can't imagine he's top dog in the UW ruins, what with the Ceadeus Subspecies hanging around, he can certainly put the hurt on lowly hunters like us.

Royal Ludroth


Royal Ludroth pretty much acts as Baby's-First-Leviathan. He attacks with a very general, manageable moveset, and does not come at you too quickly or ferociously. That said, to a new hunter, the R. Ludroth can be quite the challenge. Notable for being one of only two species of leviathan that have a minion (in this case female) form, the Ludroth. I personally really like the sponge mechanic. It does a good job of demonstrating to beginners a leviathan's movesets on land and in the water to prepare them for the tougher guys yet to come.

Royal Ludroth Subspecies


A purple, poison subspecies of the Royal Ludroth. I always found this one to be the epitome of Capcom-laziness. Not only does it feature no new attacks, and simply delivers poison damage rather than water, it's not even capable of swimming in MH3U. Now granted, we've gone over a few ecological reasons for this, but it still irks me. I kind of like the pale skin though, and the white spots on its mane are adorable.

Gobul


Oh, Gobul. We missed you! Gobul is the first near-entirely aquatic leviathan, and certainly the most unique-looking. It is a master of camoflage and deception, cleverly using its angler-lantern and plant-like chin growths as bait for unsuspecting prey. Gobul offers a unique and unexpected break from the normal Leviathan routine by having an entirely exclusive moveset optimized for underwater smackdowns. I think it's absolutely criminal that Gobul didn't recieve the subspecies treatment in MH3U. Maybe it could have been some colourful variant that swam in the totally-swimmable Area 7 of the Mountain Peaks-Oh just forget it....

Nibelsnarf


Nibelsnarf is another unique leviathan with an entirely exclusive moveset. The battle with Nibelsnarf is underrated if you ask me. It's a lot of fun! And the fishing mechanic on this one certainly adds a cinematic flair to the battle. I love his design, with the intoxicating blue and yellow underbelly countered by the dry, weathered back. His gigantic mouth and massive teeth are intimidating and allow for some very cool charging and biting attacks. All of the equipment is modeled after military gear such as rifles and knives, which I find strange but very cool nonetheless. Certainly looking forward to his maiden voyage to the west in only a few short weeks!

Agnaktor


A formidable monster indeed. Agnaktor is lightning fast and extremely powerful in his homeland of the volcano. Causing damage becomes impossible once his armour-like hide solidifies on his body, leaving the hunter's blade to bounce off helplessly. I've personally always loved Agnaktor for a number of reasons. The armour density mechanic is new and exciting, his design is razor-sharp, and his roar is absolutely awesome when coupled with the movements of his body and the screen-blur effect. Just when we though Leviathans were getting boring, Capcom goes and throws us a lazer-shooting, lava-spewing curveball.

Agnaktor Subspecies


Brand new design with an altered model? Check. New element? Check. New environment? Check. Altered gameplay mechanics? Check. Yep, I'd say Agnaktor Subspecies is one of the best there is. He's got everything that a great subspecies should have, and Capcom cleverly switches up the battle by making the ice armour work in complete reverse to the lava armour. In addition, fire weapons even help to destroy the ice armour quicker, how cool is that? Not only is Agna Sub an Ice-type, he's also largely a Water-type, meaning that his attacks can trample many different armour sets. All in all, one of the best subspecies in the series and a wonderful addition to the leviathan family.

Kuarusepusu


Though I have Frontier now, I have not yet faced the Kuarusepusu, so forgive me if I make a mistake or omit some information. Kuaru is a land-based leviathan that can jettison crystalline spines from its body to cause damage to the hunter. It is a thunder type monster whose attacks are augmented depending on the weater, which is pretty freaking cool if you ask me. He has enough unique moves and attacks to separate himself nicely from the rest of the pack, and as such I count him as one of the most unique members of the leviathan family.

Questions!
- Which is your favourite Leviathan and why?

-What is the coolest attack performed by a Leviathan monster?

-If you could design a Leviathan, what would it be like?

<p style="text-align:left;">-Favourite piece of equipment forged from a Leviathan?

<p style="text-align:left;">-What is your overall opinion on the Leviathans as a class?

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<p style="text-align:left;">That's it folks, be sure to comment with your thoughts on these ten wonderful monsters. Thanks for reading and have a great day!