Monster Hunter wilds beta: How to defeat Doshaguma

In the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, figuring out how to beat Doshaguma is your core competency test. As one of Wilds' newcomers to the roster, it's a mainstay monster of the Windward Plains region, and the quest to slay an Alpha Doshaguma is the beta test's default objective for hunter hopefuls proving their salt.

Still, that doesn't mean the burly pack monsters are any kind of cakewalk. Here's a handy guide for how to best Doshaguma—and Alpha Doshaguma—for anyone needing a few tips.

What type of monster is Doshaguma?

Doshaguma and Alpha Doshaguma are Fanged Beasts—Monster Hunter's term for the relatively small pool of mammalian monsters amidst its sea of large, angry lizards. They're massive, shaggy sand beasts, somewhere between a bear and a lion. They come in two varieties: the standard Doshaguma, and the Alpha Doshaguma—a larger, more aggressive specimen easily recognized by the crimson streak in its mane.

The "alpha" bit isn't just for show. Doshaguma are the first showcase for the new pack behaviors in Wilds. You can find solitary Doshaguma wandering the Windward Plains, but you can also find an Alpha Doshaguma accompanied by an entire Doshaguma pack.

Obviously, you'll be better off if you aren't trying to fight four monsters at once. If you're hunting an Alpha Doshaguma, you'll want to bring a Large Dung Pod, which can scatter a pack of monsters with its powerful stink so you can face them individually.

How to fight Doshaguma

In combat, Doshaguma are a fairly straightforward affair, relying purely on their claws and fangs (and the massive amounts of muscle packed behind them). That means there aren't any elemental attacks or ailments you'll have to worry about, but that doesn't mean the beasts are a slouch. If you aren't paying attention, you can find yourself taking some heavy hits.

Because Doshaguma is entirely a matter of dodging and countering its swipes, bites, and slam attacks, fighting them is a great training program for the basic rhythm of Monster Hunter combat. And thankfully, Doshaguma heavily telegraph their most dangerous attacks, which makes it easy to know when you should be making some extra space.

In short, Doshaguma will rear back before making almost all of its attacks, communicating exactly how it's about to try to hit you. Before it bites, it'll pull back and open its jaws. Before it does a slam attack with its claws—one of its more common attacks—it'll rear back on its hind legs and draw a foreleg back. Basically, Doshaguma teaches you how to fight it.

As Doshaguma enrages, its recovery time between attacks will shorten, and it'll start chaining more attacks together in sequence: Where it might normally do one claw slam, it might do up to three. If the Doshaguma roars and you notice steam shooting out its nostrils, expect to have to dodge a few attacks in a row before trying to get your own hits in.

How to deal with Doshaguma's heavy slam

One Doshaguma attack you'll definitely want to watch out for is its heavy slam, where it'll smash both its forelimbs into the ground before ripping up a massive chunk of terrain for an AOE attack. If you're not careful, you might dodge the initial claw slam and think you're safe to attack, only to get caught in the follow-up with some hefty damage.

Luckily, this attack has a longer wind-up than anything else in Doshaguma's repertoire. It'll go through a lengthy animation where it stands on its hind legs before slowly lurching forwards into the initial slam. If you notice a long pause like in the video above, make some space.

Other Doshaguma attacks to watch out for

• Spinning attack: Particularly when enraged, Doshaguma can continue one of its lighter claw swipes with a whirling follow-up that might catch you off guard. If it slashes at you with its claws, take a beat to make sure there's not a bigger attack on the way.
• Corpse toss: Like many predatory monsters, an exhausted Doshaguma might try to refill its stamina by running off to kill a small prey monster like a Ceratonoth. Stay alert as you sprint back into combat, because a feeding Doshaguma isn't defenseless: It can lift a dead prey animal and throw it at you as a projectile.

Weaknesses

Because the beta lacks the usual in-game monster guide, we won't know until the full release what elements and ailments Doshaguma is weak too.

However, it does have a few vulnerabilities you can take advantage of. Doshaguma can enter a kind of "super enraged state," where they apparently get so angry that their skin rips open and creates a bunch of wounds across their body. Unsurprisingly, they'll be more aggressive in the aftermath, but it provides some good opportunities to destroy those wounds with Focus Strikes.

Additionally, when it rears up on its hind legs for the heavy slam attack covered above, it's a great time to whip out a flash pod to temporarily blind the monster.