If you’ve spent any time wandering the murky swamp biomes of Monster Hunter Wilds, you’ve almost certainly had a run-in with one of the most infuriating early-game bird wyverns around: Monster Hunter Wilds Gypceros. This bright purple and teal creature looks almost goofy at first glance, with its bobbing head and wobbly walk, but it will catch you off guard fast if you don’t know its tricks. I lost my first three hunts against it because I kept getting blinded by its flash attack right as it charged, then poisoned before I could get back on my feet. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to hunt it efficiently, farm its rare loot, and avoid its cheapest attacks every single time.
Key Monster Hunter Wilds Gypceros Behavior and Attack Patterns to Watch For
Gypceros isn’t the hardest hitting monster in Wilds, but its attack patterns are designed to catch new players off guard. Most of its moves have very short tells, so you need to pay close attention to its body language at all times. The most common attack you’ll face is its flash, which it triggers by puffing up its bright purple chest for half a second before emitting a blinding light that stuns you for 3 full seconds. Never stand directly in front of it for more than two seconds, that’s the exact range it uses for both its flash and its follow-up charge attack.
It also has a poison spit attack that leaves a small pool of poison on the ground for 10 seconds, which will drain your health slowly even if you only step in it for a second. When it’s irritated, it will run around in random circles, leaving poison pools everywhere it steps, so you’ll want to keep your distance until it calms down a little. I’ve noticed it gets far more aggressive when it’s near deep mud pools, too, because it uses the mud to refill its poison glands faster, so you’ll want to pull it away from those areas if you can. If you see it start to limp and run off to a hidden nest, that means it’s low on health and ready for capture, so don’t push it too hard if you’re farming for extra loot.
Gypceros Elemental and Status Weaknesses to Exploit
Like most bird wyverns in the Monster Hunter franchise, Gypceros has very clear weaknesses you can exploit to cut your hunt time in half. Fire is its biggest elemental weakness, especially when you hit its head crest or the soft tip of its tail. A rarity 3 fire long sword or fire bow will deal 2x more damage than any other elemental type, so it’s worth switching to a fire weapon before you head into the swamp. Blast status also works really well, as its soft skin takes extra damage from blast explosions, while thunder is only moderately effective. Water and ice weapons do almost no damage, so leave your ice greatsword or water dual blades at home for this hunt.
When it comes to status effects, stun and paralysis work best, as they give you plenty of time to focus attacks on its head crest. Poison is obviously completely useless, and sleep only works once before it builds up resistance. Breaking its head crest completely disables its flash attack, which is the single biggest quality of life improvement you can get during a Gypceros hunt. Once that crest is gone, you only have to worry about its poison attacks, which are far easier to dodge.
Step-by-Step Tips to Beat Gypceros Without Wiping
Even if you’re using the right weapon, Gypceros can still catch you off guard if you don’t come prepared. I’ve put together a short list of must-have items and tricks to make every hunt go smoothly, even if you’re playing solo with low-rank armor:
Once you’re in the fight, focus all your initial attacks on its head crest. If you’re using a ranged weapon, aim for the crest directly, and if you’re using a melee weapon, wait for it to finish an attack then hit the head once or twice before dodging back. Once the crest breaks, you can shift to attacking its legs to trip it, which gives you 10 full seconds of free damage on its tail or body. If you see it feign death, don’t approach it, that’s a trick it uses to lure players in, and it will jump up and release a massive poison AOE that can one-shot low-rank players. I learned that the hard way on my first hunt, I tried to carve it early and lost all my progress right as I was about to finish it off.
When it runs away to the mud pools to heal, follow it as fast as you can, because if it sits in the mud for 10 seconds, it will regenerate half its health and get unlimited poison spit for a full minute. You don’t need to kill it right away when it’s low on health, either. Setting a trap near its nest and capturing it will get you way more rare materials than carving it, so it’s always worth the extra 30 seconds to set up a trap instead of going for the final kill.
All Gypceros Carve and Capture Loot, and What It’s Used For
Farming Gypceros is worth the effort, even if you don’t need its materials right away, because its armor set is one of the best early-game sets for tackling swamp biomes and other poison monsters. Low-rank Gypceros hunts will get you common drops like Gypceros hide, poison sacs, and Gypceros scales, which are used to craft a wide range of low-rank weapons and armor. The rare drop for low-rank hunts is the Gypceros rubbery hide, which has a 12% drop rate from carves and a 32% drop rate from captures, so always capture if you’re farming for this material.
The rubbery hide is the key component for the Gypceros armor set, which gives +2 poison resistance, +1 stun resistance, and a small boost to item usage speed, making it perfect for hunts against Pukei-Pukei or Rathian. High-rank Gypceros hunts drop hardened Gypceros hide and broken Gypceros crests, which are used to craft the mid-rank version of the armor set that adds a fire attack boost skill. The Gypceros tail carve has a 15% chance to drop a shiny pearl which sells for 12,000 zenny, so if you’re short on cash, farming Gypceros tails is one of the fastest ways to make money in the early and mid-game. You can also get the pearl as a bonus reward for breaking its tail mid-hunt, so it’s worth taking the time to cut the tail off before you capture or kill it.
Once you get used to its attack patterns and learn to focus on its head crest first, Monster Hunter Wilds Gypceros goes from being an infuriating roadblock to a quick, easy farm. Its armor set will save you a ton of hassle in later swamp hunts, and the shiny pearls you get from its tail make it a great way to earn extra zenny when you need it. If you’re still struggling to beat it alone, bring a friend along: two players focusing on its head will break the crest in under a minute, making the rest of the fight feel trivial. Just remember to not fall for its feign death trick, and always pack enough nullberries to counter its poison attacks, and you’ll be farming Gypceros materials in no time.