Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak will give players plenty of challenges both during and after their journey through the expansion’s story. One such challenge comes in the form of a monster known as Espinas. This devastating beast first appeared in Monster Hunter Frontier, a Japan-only MMO that took pride in giving its fearsome foes over-the-top abilities. An update to Sunbreak even added the Flying Wyvern’s flaming subspecies, trading away a portion of its status inflictions for even more devastating firepower. Players of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak should know how to defeat Espinas and Flaming Espinas by taking advantage of the monsters’ weaknesses and watching out for their powerful attacks.
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Espinas and Flaming Espinas in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak — Weaknesses, Attacks, and Abilities
Espinas is first encountered in a 4-star Master Rank quest as part of Sunbreak’s main story. It’s particularly weak to the Ice element, which you should have access to thanks to Barioth or Lunagaron. Its head and legs are its weakest points, and it can’t stand up to Paralysis or Blast ailments particularly well. In exchange, Espinas can deal poison, paralysis, and fireblight all at once, quickly draining a hunter’s health with no chance of recovery. You can try and build up some resistance with some Antipara Jewels or using a Talisman with Paralysis Resistance, but your best bet is to avoid its breath attacks at all costs. A direct hit from its fireballs will leave you paralyzed, so dodge them or use some of the new Switch Skills as effective counters!
Many moves Espinas uses involve it bashing its entire body against the player, either by charging at them or hip-checking anyone nearby. You’ll want to keep a close eye on its attacks, dodging away from its body or through it to avoid them entirely. It doesn’t get very creative with its fire moves, so if you can avoid the lingering pools of poison and flame they leave behind, you might not even need to stock up on ailment-recovering items or skills. You can break its horn, wings, and back, and Espinas can even have its tail severed! Exploit its weaknesses effectively and even this Frontier-original monster won’t be a match for you!
Flaming Espinas is similar to Espinas in many ways, but its paralysis is replaced with acid that lowers the player’s defense. It’s also weaker to the Water element rather than Ice, and its overall damage output is higher as well — mostly because it was added in an update. To top it all off, Flaming Espinas has a new move where it unleashes a powerful explosion capable of instantly defeating even the toughest hunters. It might occasionally follow this up with a second explosion fired from above, so don’t get too daring after the first blast! Luckily, both of these explosions are heavily telegraphed, and any players with some points in Evade Extender will easily be able to escape them. Fight this foe just like you would with Flaming Espinas, but play it extra safe so it doesn’t catch you by surprise.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is available on the Nintendo Switch and PC. It will also be available on PlayStation and Xbox devices in Spring 2023.
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