How to defeat The Black Flame, Nu Udra

Monster Hunter Wilds’ Oilwell Basin is the game’s fire area, and after things go into disarray you’re faced with the terrifying explosive gorilla Ajarakan, which surely has to be the area’s Apex monster, right? Right?

Once you manage to fend off two of the Ajarakan pack, another monster sneaks out from the shadows and instantly wrecks the remaining ape like the chump it is—and this ancient creature is known to the people of the basin as ‘The Black Flame’.

After just going through a grueling battle, you’ll now have to figure out how to defeat The Black Flame Nu Udra and protect the people of Azuz. You’ll be thrust straight into this encounter after beating the Ajarakan, so make sure to head back to a camp and stock up on supplies (and perhaps some new armor) before you get yourself burnt to a crisp by this calamari conqueror.

What type of monster is Nu Udra?

Not only is Nu Udra a brand new monster making its debut in Monster Hunter Wilds, but it also marks the birth of a brand new Monster Type: the Cephalopod. This means that this is a unique fight that won’t be similar to any other monster in the series (barring ones that come after Nu Udra, of course). Cephalopod's defining traits are their tentacles, which give them multiple limbs to slap you with, and their ability to slink into tiny spaces to escape battle at a moment’s notice.

Nu Udra doesn’t come with any minions, so you’ll be fighting against it and it alone in Monster Hunter Wilds.

How to Fight Nu Udra

When you meet Nu Udra in Low Rank, you will have just battled two Ajarakan, which should give you enough materials to craft the Ajarakan armor set. I’d highly recommend this as it not only gives you a significant defense against the Fire element, but it also features the Partbreaker skill, which will be incredibly useful for dealing with those tentacles.

Given that the Nu Udra is a massive octopus, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise when I tell you that a majority of its attacks use its tentacles. These include lunging attacks, tentacle slams, and swiping the ground to knock you on your ass. This includes its little moustache, too, which will slap you about if you get too close.

Nu Udra also has two moves to look out for when it raises its tentacles. The first is a spinning move, which is telegraphed by the Nu Udra twisting two tentacles above its head. The other is when it raises them in front of its face, after which it will lunge its whole body forward. Nu Udra can also grab you, so you’ll want to have some form of pod ready to blast in its face.

The Black Flame lives up to its name when agitated, as it will go into a mode that covers its body in fire. In this state its attacks do more damage and its tentacles will shoot fire out of their ends, giving more range to its attacks. But that's not all: aflame, The Black Flame can access new attacks too.

The trick to fighting Nu Udra is that every single one of its limbs can be severed; this means once you deal with a few arms, its range becomes severely limited. The obvious ones to go for are the front two, as they are the two that get the most use. Make sure to take advantage of any wounds that appear on the tentacles to get rid of them ASAP.

Other Nu Udra attacks to look out for

• Slam – Nu Udra will lean back, exposing its disgusting underbelly to you before slamming itself forward onto you and dealing a massive amount of damage. Run to the side to deal with it.
• Fire turret – During the flaming mode, Nu Udra will curl itself up into a tower and start shooting a flamethrower blast at you. If you keep your distance, you shouldn’t have too much trouble dodging this, just run to the side.

High Rank Nu Udra attacks

For High Rank, the first time you fight Nu Udra it starts off in its flaming form and becomes far more aggressive during battle. It also gains access to a new move in this mode where it shakes, blasting fireballs all over the arena like an exploding firework.

For High Rank, the Ajarakan alpha armor set is once again a strong recommendation due to the same reasons as above (plus the Resentment skill isn’t half bad either). Or take the Rathalos set, which gives you the Evade Window skill, which will be useful for dodging all of those tentacles.

Nu Udra weaknesses

More icons denote more effective damage, with 1 being minimum and 4 being maximum. Elements not listed deal no bonus damage.

Nu Udra is weak to Water Element weapons, and by this point in the game you’ll have battled both the Balahara and Uth Duna, which should give you plenty of them to choose from. Plus, Dual Blades has a bespoke ‘Water Element Tree’ that is predominantly crafted with ores.

As for a High Rank rematch, you’ll still be relying on Balahara and Uth Duna for your Water-based weapons, but you’ll also have access to fellow Cephalopod Xu Wu, which offers some pretty strong Water weapons (albeit only for five weapons).

Typically for weapon recommendations, I’d say "go with the strong element on what you like", but since Nu Udra’s tentacles can be cut off, I’d highly recommend going with a weapon that deals slash damage. While blunt and long-ranged weapons are perfectly viable, you’ll have a much easier time with this fight with a weapon that can remove the monster’s main method of attack.

In terms of damage types, the ratings for Nu Udra actually have blunt damage taking the lead in the Head, Membrane, Tentacle and Torso areas. Which should make up for the fact that you won’t be cutting its tentacles off in battle.

High Rank Nu Udra materials

• Nu Udra Hide+
  • Target Rewards – 22%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 45%
  • Carving – 30%
• Nu Udra Horn+
  • Target Rewards – 11%
  • Broken Head – 100%
  • Carving – 11%
• Nu Udra Oilmucus+
  • Target Rewards – 22%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 43%
  • Carving – 23%
• Nu Udra Spike+
  • Target Rewards – 16%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 12%
  • Carving – 18%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 38%
• Nu Udra Tentacle+
  • Target Rewards – 11%
  • Carving – 13%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 60%
• Nu Udra Certificate S
  • Target Rewards – 8%
• Nu Udra Cerebrospinal Fluid
  • Target Rewards – 7%
• Nu Udra Flamegem
  • Target Rewards – 3%
  • Carving – 5%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 2%

Low Rank Nu Udra materials

• Nu Udra Hide
  • Target Rewards – 25%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 45%
  • Carving – 28%
• Nu Udra Oilmucus
  • Target Rewards – 25%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 43%
  • Carving – 23%
• Nu Udra Horn
  • Target Rewards – 11%
  • Broken Head – 100%
  • Carving – 11%
• Nu Udra Spike
  • Target Rewards – 15%
  • Wound Destroyed Reward – 12%
  • Carving – 18%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 35%
• Nu Udra Tentacle
  • Target Rewards – 11%
  • Carving – 13%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 60%
• Nu Udra Certificate
  • Target Rewards – 8%
• Nu Udra Cerebrospinal Fluid
  • Target Rewards – 5%
  • Carving – 7%
  • Carving Severed Arm – 5%