Forum:Barroth Guide by Bonaparte (Lance)

Basic Info
Guide made by: Bonaparrte (with regards to User:DA_BEAST for general lance strategies)

Guide for: Barroth

Game: MH3

Rank: Village ★★★☆☆

Weapon Type
Lance: (Spiral Lance). The water-based damage targets the Barroth's elemental weakness when it is covered in mud, which is most of the time.

Armor
Rhenoplos Armor if you don't want to use any decorations. Alternatively you may use Ludroth Armor for the Constitution bonus and decorate it with 5x Weather Jewel+ to avoid the Mud effect.

Additional Items

 * Supply Items (provided)
 * Well-Cooked Steaks
 * Mega Potions
 * Paintballs
 * When the Barroth is underground, it will not show up as a blip on the tracking radar. However, the area that it is in will be highlighted, so pay attention to that.
 * Cha-Cha's Fluffy Mask is useful for tracking the Barroth instead of paintballs. However, if you pay attention you can track the Barroth's direction when it leaves an area due to the dust clouds it stirs up.

Preparation

 * Before engaging the Barroth, max out your stamina. This is a lengthy fight, and you'll be doing a lot of dodging.
 * Whenever the Barroth changes areas, take the time to top up your health, stamina, and reload your weapon.

General Defense

 * Block, block, block! You will be spending most of your time really close to the Barroth, and since it thrashes a lot, and dodging/evading is not an option with the lance.
 * Move, move, move! When blocking your stamina will not regenerate unless you move or attack.  Since blocked attacks drain your stamina, you need to keep moving to prevent it from being depleted.

General Offense

 * Your best strategy with the Barroth is to only counter-attack. Otherwise you will risk not being able to block an incoming attack.
 * The Barroth's weakest area is the lower torso, and that is most easily hit when the monster is standing above you.
 * The Barroth's chin will be exposed to your lance when you're under the Barroth and the monster has its head down on the ground.
 * Even though they are not the weakest area, hitting the Barroth's heels is not a bad idea. If hit enough times the Barroth will fall over, leaving its belly exposed to your attacks.

Reacting to Specific Attacks

 * Charge: This is the Barroth's most devastating attack, but also the most predictable. The monster will lower its head to the ground, then come barreling at you.
 * Block and creep towards the Barroth. Turn around immediately once it hits you, or you will be knocked off your feet by its tail.
 * Once under the Barroth attack while blocking.
 * Tail Sweep: The Barroth will do a half turn twice, clockwise, and do a wide sweep with its tail. It will end up facing in the same direction that it started.
 * Face the direction from which the tail will be coming at you. Once it's hit you face the Barroth and attack while blocking.
 * Shake: The Barroth will shake like a dog, and chunks of mud will fall in a wide area around it.
 * Don't attack, even if you believe that you're safe. Odds are you can still be hit by a mud bomb, and you will get water blight.
 * Head Smash: In this attack the monster will smash its head into the ground, spewing mud in front of itself.
 * Block the attack, then counter.
 * Roll: The monster will roll in mud to give itself a fresh coating.
 * Block, but don't attack until the Barroth gets back up. That way you will ensure that it's weak to your weapon's element (if you followed my suggestion of using the Spiral Lance.

Other

 * The most annoying thing when fighting the Barroth are the insects plaguing most areas. Fortunately for you, by standing close to the thrashing Barroth they will die from its thrashing.