With so many monsties to form a Kinship with during Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, you are almost spoilt for choice. Luckily, you have six slots in your party and three categories of monster to choose from, meaning you can take any of your favorites with you as you investigate the mysterious pits of the land.

Power monsties are one category that you must keep in mind as you build your team. They tend to be bulky and focus on hitting foes hard, but some of them have interesting tricks up their sleeves.

Updated October 29, 2021 by Ryan Bamsey: As more and more updates are piled onto Monster Hunter Stories 2, more and more monsties are finding themselves in the game. We’ve taken a few of the best new Power monsties and added them here.

13 Bulldrome

  • Genus:
  • Fanged Beast
  • Habitat:
  • North Kamuna Cape
  • Riding Action:
  • Dash

The Bulldrome can quite safely be called the MVP of the early game. This monster seems like it won’t be useful for very long due to its reputation as an easy hunt in the mainline games, but it does really well in this game. In fact, even once you gain Ratha in your party a Bulldrome makes for a great Non-Elemental alternative.

The Bulldrome’s attacks are risky. One has recoil damage attached to it and the other has low accuracy. Despite this, it’s still a great addition for the first few hours. When the Rite of Channeling is unlocked, consider adding some more reliable moves to its skillset and you have yourself a fantastic, long-lasting monstie.

12 Anjanath

  • Genus:
  • Brute Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Loloska Forest
  • Riding Action:
  • Roar

This game chose an Anjanath to be the first proper boss of the game and as a result, the monstie version gets a good showing here. It’s a Fire-elemental brute so it does compete for a party place with Ratha — who is mandatory in the party — but it’s still well worth considering.

An Anjanath is a self-sufficient monster that doesn’t require much micromanagement. It can buff its own attack with Heat Up and proceed to spread the Burn status around with Burning Fang and Burning Blast.

11 Monoblos

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Harzgai Rocky Hill
  • Riding Action:
  • Roar

The “Blos” family gets a good showing in Monster Hunter Stories 2, with both Monoblos and Diablos and their variants showing up. You can acquire Monoblos quite early if you have great strategy and luck by fighting the Royal Monoblos in Harzgai Rocky Hill.

The Monoblos is very good at what it does, namely hitting hard and being able to take a hit in return. It has high defenses that will be key in preventing heart loss during battle.

10 Ivory Lagiacrus

  • Genus:
  • Leviathan
  • Habitat:
  • Terga Volcano Base
  • Riding Actions:
  • Swim, Roar

This gorgeous Lagiacrus variant is a truly bulky beast with fantastic offensive stats. It can use these stats to inflict a ton of damage with a side of Paralysis or with an improved chance to Critical Hit, making this leviathan a versatile addition to the team.

In addition, the Ivory Lagiacrus comes equipped with the Large incarnation of the Overpower gene, meaning it can put a decent dent in the offensive skills of the enemy party. If you find that you already have heavy hitters covered by your Speed and Power monsties, chucking in an Ivory Lagiacrus might be the perfect decision.

9 Brute Tigrex

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Sadona Barrens
  • Riding Actions:
  • Dash, Ivy Climb

Another monstie that can be acquired as a Royal, the Brute Tigrex is a fantastic example of the best a monstie can be. This Power version of the usually Speed-attuned Tigrex still manages to have a large Speed stat but combines it with fantastic HP and a Crit Rate to die for.

This monstie is a master of Non-Elemental damage and no foe is safe from its Breakthrough Strike, which might lower the defense of its already unlucky target. Not only that, its Savage Roar is party-wide damage that might even knock enemies down, interrupting their plans.

8 Brachydios

  • Genus:
  • Brute Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Terga Volcano Base
  • Riding Actions:
  • Roar, Mega Breaker

This monster makes quite the impression in its story battle and it feels great to hatch one yourself. This monstie egg can be gained by forcing a Brachydios to retreat during the Grievous Goo Subquest which takes place in the region of Terga.

Brachydios is one of the best Fire attackers in the game and should be considered to replace Ratha as your main Power type monstie. With Fiery Aura all of its attacks may inflict the explosive Blastblight status effect, which makes breaking enemies apart so much easier.

7 Gravios

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Terga Volcano Base
  • Riding Actions:
  • Lava Dive, Roar

While quite a slow monster with a low Crit Rate and Recovery stat, the Gravios is still a force to be reckoned with thanks to its immense power and huge health pool. It has a very damaging Kinship skill and some devastating skills.

Spreading Beam will not only ignore the defense of the entire enemy party, but it has a high chance of inflicting Burn — one of the superior status effects in this game. In addition, it has the Sleep Gas skill which can really put some pressure on large enemy groups. Add more Gas genes from the likes of Basarios and Ruby Basarios and you have yourself a perfect status spreader.

6 Black Diablos

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Lamure Tower - 5F
  • Riding Actions:
  • Roar, Ground Dive

There aren’t many monsties more threatening than a Black Diablos. This beast has a huge health pool and a surprisingly great Crit Rate for a monster so slow. In addition to that, it has the fierce Maximum Horn Jab, which will deal massive damage to all enemies, in exchange for being automatically toppled over. Paired with Focus Power as a potent charging move, the Black Diablos is a fantastic monstie to use for finishing off troublesome foes, especially when hunting for eggs with Paintballs.

While it specializes in Non-Elemental damage, it’s worth considering adding some other attacks to the Black Diablos’s skillset as it has great attacking stats for every element except Ice.

5 Rathalos

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • North Kamuna Cape
  • Riding Action:
  • Fly

There was no way this game would force a monstie into your party for most of the entire game and not make it very good. Rathalos is decently powerful in pretty much every respect, making it a great all-rounder. Its Kinship skill is definitely worthy of a highlight as it’s great for breaking monster parts.

Note: You cannot encounter any Rathalos eggs until the postgame, Ratha is the only Rathalos available for the maingame.

Gene-wise, Rathalos has two great attacks. Venom Strike is a potent Non-Elemental damager with the potential for Poison, and Savage Fireball can spread Burn around while also being a great damage skill in its own right. When things are going badly, it even has Critical Eye which lets it avoid damage for the rest of the turn. As a mandatory monstie, it definitely makes a positive impression.

4 Nergigante

  • Genus:
  • Elder Dragon
  • Habitat:
  • Terga Volcano Base
  • Riding Actions:
  • Roar, Mega Breaker

Getting a Nergigante egg can be a bit of a chore, but it’s worth the effort. To get one, you must head to Terga Volcano Base and investigate Rare Monster Dens. Eventually, you’ll end up picking up a Nergigante egg but only once you have beaten the Nergigante boss in-game.

Your reward for this patience is one of the most powerful monsties available before the postgame. It has max Recovery, meaning it will be very easily healed by any support moves, and also max Non-Elemental attack. It’s a hefty brute with great defenses and vicious attacks too, such as the fantastic Calamity Smash which will devastate all enemies while providing the Nergigante with passive healing for a few turns - great to use with its stellar Recovery stat. Truly, you cannot go wrong with a Nergigante in your party.

3 Grimclaw Tigrex

  • Genus:
  • Flying Wyvern
  • Habitat:
  • Alcala (Super Rare High Rank Monster Dens) and Super Rare (Explore) Woodland Den Co-Op Expedition Quests
  • Riding Actions:
  • Dash, Ivy Climb

This vicious deviant can only be found in the wild once you have completed the game once and unlocked High Ranks Dens. It’s a full upgrade over the regular Tigrex breeds and its Kinship Skill Tigrexplosion is a spectacle to behold.

It’s a non-elemental monstie, so adding some potent offensive status moves through genes is a good shout. Toxic Sweep is a fantastic choice, as is Venom Queen. No matter what though, Grimclaw Tigrex is likely to be a fantastic damage dealer no matter the situation.

2 Rajang

  • Genus:
  • Fanged Beast
  • Habitat
  • : Everywhere (Super Rare High Rank Monster Dens and Super Rare Co-Op Expedition Quests
  • only
  • )
  • Riding Actions:
  • Nest Search, Mega Breaker

Rajang is notorious for being one angry monster and has terrorized plenty of players in Monster Hunter: Rise of late. This monster has absolutely massive offensive stats, with it’s Thunder attack stat being off the charts.

If you’re in need of a strong Thunder attacker, Rajang is undoubtedly the right pick. Its eggs can be found in any Super Rare High Rank Den, so get searching through them for a chance at acquiring your very own relentless beastie.

1 Hellblade Glavenus

  • Genus
  • : Brute Wyvern
  • Habitat
  • : Terga, (Explore) Fire Eggs Co-Op Expedition Quest
  • Riding Actions
  • : Monster Search, Mega Breaker

One of the monsties added in a post-launch update, Hellblade Glavenus makes a triumphant return to the Monster Hunter series in a blaze of fiery glory. This monster has a lot of health, a lot of power, and a lot of fire - being almost unparalleled in the latter.

It’s quite easy to make a very potent Blastblight build with Hellblade Glavenus, using genes like Explosion Gene, Bombardier Gene, and Inflict Ailment Gene. With these, you’ll have a great detonator in… Detonator, and plenty of room for other damaging skills if you come up against something resistant to Blastblight.

NEXT: Monster Hunter Stories 2 Complete Guide And Walkthrough