Monster Hunter Wilds beta: How to defeat Chatacabra

Monster Hunter Wilds is set to feature a large number of monsters, both old and new, like the new “flagship” (aka scary) beast Arkveld, and the return of farting gorilla Congalala after almost 10 years. But only one monster can be your first prey, the one that basically volunteers for a whooping to show you the rope. Based on the opening story segment in the first beta, that honour goes to Chatacabra in Monster Hunter Wilds.

We went to-to-toe with this spiky boy in Wilds’ first beta, and this Chatacabra guide is aimed to help make your fight against it in the second open beta quick and painless (for you, anyway). Because there’s no gear progression in the beta, we haven’t yet filled out details on the best armor and skills to take into your hunt, but we’ll be bulking up this guide for the final game.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Chatacabra overview

What type of monster is Chatacabra?

Chatacabra is a new Amphibian monster making its debut in Monster Hunter Wilds. While it shares some similarities with Monster Hunter 4’s Tetsucabra (who has yet to be seen in a PC Monster Hunter), the Chatacabra is closer to a frog. Its main feature is its massive tongue, which is not only a good defensive weapon to whip enemies with but features adhesive saliva, allowing it to attach rocks to its limbs. Then it’s clobberin’ time.

While the frog description may not conjure up much fear, the Chatacabra is a hulking brute and has more in common with a gorilla than anything else. But it sounds more intimidating than it is in action: like the Great Jagras and Velocidrome of old, this starter monster isn’t a major threat.

How to fight Chatacabra

Chatacabra attacks to watch out for

Tongue Swipe – The Chatacabra will lunge upwards with its tongue out before going down and swiping it along the ground. For this attack, you’ll want to watch which side the Chatacabra throws its head back to, as the tongue swipe will always start on this side. Dodge in the opposite direction and try to get to the side or back of the monster to avoid it.

Tongue Lash – The Chatacabra will throw its head back with the tongue sticking out before lunging forward to smack you with it. Dodge to either side of the Chatacabra, as it only attacks in front.

Slam – The Chatacabra will stand on its hind legs with a fist raised before slamming itself to the ground, creating a slight AOE where the fist lands. This attack is fairly easy to dodge; all you need to do is keep an eye on which fist it raises and head the opposite way.

Belly Flop – The Chatacabra will launch itself into the air towards you before slamming its big spiky chin into the ground. This one is also pretty telegraphed and easy to dodge by simply running to either side.

Dash – The Chatacabra will stick its tongue out and rush towards you, pounding its fists and sweeping its tongue across the ground. Again, it’s not especially hard to dodge due to its slow speed and telegraphed animation.

Chatacabra’s weaknesses

Currently we don’t know what the Chatacabra’s weakness is in Monster Hunter Wilds officially.

However, if you take a look at the Amphibians previously featured in the Monster Hunter series—that being the Tetsucabra, Zamtrios, and Tetranadon—a pattern appears. Every Amphibian in Monster Hunter has so far been weak to the Thunder element, and given that the Chatacabra has no obvious resistances, we could see it being the case. Not that it matters in the beta, since you won’t be crafting weapons.

Chatacabra guide: Best weapons and armor

Best weapons against Chatacabra

Since Chatacabra’s main gimmick is attaching rocks to its limbs, and it has no obvious points to chop off, making us recommend a blunt weapon such as the Hammer or the Hunting Horn. These weapons will be useful for breaking the monster’s chin spikes away, as well as smashing any and all rocks it attaches to itself.

That being said, it’s the easiest monster in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta to fight, so you’ll be fine taking it on with any weapon you fancy; why not try them all out and see what clicks?

Best armor and skills against Chatacabra

Monster Hunter Wilds’ beta is too limited to give us meaningful choices around what equipment to wield against Chatacabra, but we’ll have more to say here when Wilds is out.