Espinath

Espinath is an elusive Flying Wyvern from the region of Mezeporta that has been recently discovered in the New World. Making its appearance as a Master Rank Exlusive DLC monster in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.



Physiology
Espinas is physically similar to the likes of a Rathian, but alongside scales its body is covered in hot pink spikes full of venom and rough green armor plating. A long, pink, venom-filled horn protrudes from the front of its head, in a similar fashion to Monoblos.Venomous thorns also protrude from its body, wings, tail, feet, and head. Its body, tail, and feet are bigger and more muscular than those of other Flying Wyverns. It has four pink claws upon its feet. Red-orange veins will appear when it is enraged, similarly to Tigrex.

Behavior
Espinas is an unusually passive Flying Wyvern. In the wild, it can almost always be found sleeping. Even when disturbed and woken up, it still responds disinterestedly to any attacks, casually walking back and forth whilst relying on its thick hide to protect itself.

However, if enough damage is dealt to Espinath, it will become enraged. When this occurs, it turns its full attention to the aggressor and will attack them brutally without hesitation: charging aggressors down, ramming them with its horn, and unleashing intoxicated fireballs.

Placement In Food Chain
Minimal - Extremely Low - Low - Average - High - Extremely High - (Apex) - Legend

Main Prey: Meat (the common Kestodon, Aptonoth, Mosswine)

Arch-Rivals: Deviljho, Rajang, Yian Garuga, Bazelgeuse

Behavior Towards Other Monsters
In-game, Espinath pays little to no attention to the smaller monsters around it. This also applies to larger monsters until such of the like decide to provoke it, in which case, Espinath will turf war with the aggressor.

Tracks
Tracks: Intoxicated Thorns, Intoxicated Scar, Carcass

Specific Locale Interactions

 * Espinath is often sleeping on the corner of Sector 12 in the Ancient Forest, within the shrub and a distant away from the radius of the Suspended Boulders.


 * In the Wildspire Waste, it is instead sleeping on the corner-centre of Sector 2, hidden within the shrubs.


 * Its extremely rare that Espinath ever wakes up by itself - when it does, it will walk around before flying into another sector of the locale and attacking an Aptonoth/Apceros to eat its carcass before returning to the same area where it was found sleeping and proceeds to continue its sleep.


 * Unprovoked Espinath is completely passive, similarly to Nargacuga, Tobi-Kadachi and Kushala Daora in Monster Hunter World. It will acknowledge your existence with random curious glares but it ultimately won't attack you unless you attack it first.


 * It will occasionally grind its tail onto the ground which leaves behind Intoxicated Thorns which can be gathered to collect tracks and gain points.

Abilities
Espinas has the ability to shoot toxic fireballs that cause both Poison and Paralysis upon impact. In addition, most of its physical attacks cause poison status as well due to the toxic thorns all over its body. Espinas also has the ability to charge at great speed whilst ramming with its horn.

Rage and Tired States

 * Rage State: The veins around its body will start pulsating red while white smoke will emit from its mouth. Its movements are 1.85x faster.
 * Tired State: It will leak saliva from its mouth - it will fail to shot out any fireballs from its mouth - it will trip over when doing a charge - its movements are 0.75x slower.

Mounts
The hunter climbs Espinath in the exact same fashion that the hunter mounts any other Flying Wyvern. However, the thorns on its back will deal continuous damage to the hunter while they're mounted, to balance this out, Espinath stays tripped for a much longer period of time compared to other monsters that are tripped from mounts.

Minor Notes/Alterations

 * When hit by one of its standard physical attacks and possibly poisoned - it will inflict the regular Poison status. If hit by any of its fireball-based attacks and definitely poisoned - it will in inflict the Deadly Poison status.


 * If a hunter is able to hit Espinaths legs right when its doing a charge attack, it will trip to the ground for several seconds before getting back up - this loses effectiveness when its done more than once until Espinath becomes immune to it.


 * Due to Espinaths immunity to poison, the likes of Poisoncups will not affect it but Paratoads will.


 * If the hunter has put an Espinath to sleep, it will drop a shiny which is usually a Large Wyvern Tear.


 * The gap between Espinaths non-enraged state and enraged state is bigger than any other monster in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.


 * The Alpha Armour set uses the FX Espinath armour design while the Beta Armour set uses the GX Espinas armour design.

The Reiji and Divol Armour designs come in layered armour that can be unlocked - each of the two requiring 1x Espinath Ticket.


 * The Zenith Espinas Armour set is also a layered armour choice that requires 1x Espinath Ruby and 5x Espinath Tickets in order to unlock it.


 * Its Weapons have both poison (200 Poison) and paralysis (200 Paralysis) as attributes and both are extremely high on infliction.

Taxonomy
Espinas is an Elder Dragon-Level Flying Wyvern species that is well-known for defeating an Elder Dragon: whichever elder dragon it was is entirely unknown but its speculated to have either been a Kushala Daora, Yama Tsukami, Teostra or Rukodiora.

Habitat Range
Espinath in the New World can be encountered in the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste. They've also been spotted in the Guiding Lands

Ecological Niche
Due to the spines that adorn it's body it is shown that it is at the top of the food chain in the locales that it inhabits. Common prey include Kelbi, Mosswine and Aptonoth although it will make prey of whatever it can if truly ravenous. Espinaths adaptations put it at advantages against the likes of Rathian, Anjanath, Rathalos, Diablos and Plesioth but it still has to compete against the likes of Yian Garuga, Deviljho, Rajang and Bazelgeuse.

Biological Adaptations
Espinas get the title, Thorn Wyvern, due to the many thorns found throughout their body. The thorns are very tough, sharp, and ooze poison when Espinath is angered. The miasma, from the thorns, is enough to stop someone from touching the thorns. The hardness of its shell is abnormal to a point where most attacks are repelled, though some scars can still be seen. It isn't easy to damage this shell without Espinath being angry. If greatly damaged while the threat is attacking or if the threat is truly a danger, Espinath will become aggressive as a last resort. Blood veins will be seen on its body, making its armor softer but also allowing it to move faster. By making its armor softer, it makes it so the armor doesn't inhibit its movements. This means that Espinath gives up defense for a good offense. While enraged, Espinath are able to breath poisonous fireballs at their enemies. These fireballs not only burn prey but, also poisons them. These poisons not only slowly kill prey but also can even paralysis prey. Even if a creature survives a blast from the fireball, the poisons will eventually spread throughout the body.

Behaviour
The Espinas is an entirely docile creature, until it is enraged. Espinas are known to lay perfectly still while sleeping due to this being their hunting style. While sleeping, the green color gives it good camouflage in its environment, making it just mimic the background though not perfectly. If prey is close enough, they may or may not strike it. Compared to other Flying Wyvern species, the hunting style of Espinas isn't at all very aggressive. Usually if attacked to a point where it wakes up, Es-pinas won't bother to attack the threat. The reason why is because of its thorny body being the perfect defense and offense. They use this to their advantage and usually wait for the threat to give up. Espinas will occasionally swing their tail, flap their wings, and bite at enemies to make them give up quicker.

Lore
In the Old World - the fabled Espinath is known as the Ruler of the Great Forest due to it successfully fending off an Elder Dragon from its territory without much injuries which put it on the same levelled vein as them. Confirming just how powerful the Wyvern is.

The discovery of Espinath in the New World is a new one and not much information is known about it besides the fact that it retains the passive and volatile nature of their Old World Counterparts. This makes the Commission wonder if there are any other visitors from Mezeporta in the New World.

Attacks
''Espinath gains brand new attacks while also having several moves from its HC variations. Still retains its passive behaviour when not-enraged, showcases most of its brand new attacks when it is enraged.''

Calm
''Note: Espinath will take many hits before actually waking up from sleep. When awakened, it will wander around aimlessly and proceed to yawn several times. It will on occasion do mild attacks. - No sharpness can pierce its thick hide, the only part of its body that can be hit without bouncing is the tip of its tail and its stomach.''

Slow Bite: It will rear its head slowly and proceed to bite in front of it in an attempt to hit the hunter.

Body Shake: It will shake its body around to mildly injure any hunters extremely close to it.

Tail Sweep: It sweeps its tail from side to the side to the left and the right before sweeping it to the left again.

Horn Thrust: It will rear its head at a hunter and proceed to thrust its horn upwards into the air, sending the hunter flying if they're hit by this attack. Inflicts Poison.

Stomp: It will lift either its left leg or right leg and proceed to slam it into the ground which causes Tremors.

Enraged
''On a certain threshold of damage done to it, Espinath will become enraged and will turn its full attention to the hunter. The veins around its body will glimmer around its body in a red hue while the Wyvern huffs white smoke - its entire body can now be pierced with a minimum of Green Sharpness, lowering Espinaths defense values. When enraged, Espinath will attack any and all hunters and palicos on sight zero regard.''

Note: when weakened, it will stay Enraged until death.

Charge: It will instantly charge forwards at extremely high speeds - homing in on hunters/palicos if they're in its line of sight during the charge.

Alternating Charge Bite: Sometimes when doing a Charge, it will alternate to a different direction mid-charge before then proceeding to bite the targeted hunter.

Charge + Horn Thrust: After doing a Charge, it will often combo-chain with an instant backwards turn to charge again and then thrust its horn at the targeted hunter. Inflicts Poison.

Triple Charge: It will Charge multiple times in a row, sometimes standardly but will often combo-chain each of its charges with alternating moves mid-charges.

Charge + Hipcheck Combo While charging, if the hunter was able to roll away from it, the Espinath sometimes will immediately turn to the side and hipcheck directly at the hunter.

Charge + Fireball Barrage: While charging, it is able to alternate directions and shoot a barrage of fireballs while running to the side of the hunters direction: shooting up to 5 before stopping. Being hit by the fireballs inflicts Noxious Poison and has a 50% chance to inflict Paralysis.

Stomp + Charge Combo: It will lift up either its left or right leg and stomp the ground which causes Tremors, Espinath will then take a step backwards and instant-charge the stunned hunter.

Wing Flap + Tail Slams: It will flap its wings repeatedly which unleashes mild gusts of wind that blows hunters away before it then leaps and slams its tail on the targeted hunter, it then proceeds to slam its tail in different directions three times in a row before stopping.

Wing Flap + Intoxicated Triple Fireballs: It will flap its wings repeatedly which unleashes mild gusts of wind that blows hunters away before it then shoots multiple fireballs that get caught in the wind gust and sweep away at the hunters general direction before fading. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight - has a 50% chance to inflict Paralysis.

Intoxicated Fireball: It will rear its head and position its body and wings before then shooting a fireball from its mouth (identical to the Rathian/Rathalos ground fireball attack). Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight - has a 50% chance to inflict Paralysis.

Intoxicated Fire Bite: It will rear its head downwards and proceed to bite in a standard Flying Wyvern fashion except a blast of flame occurs during the bite which increases the radius of the attack and inflicts Noxious Poison alongside Fireblight. (This attack is very reminiscent of Pink Rathian's fire bite attack from 3rd/4th gen).

Fire Bites + Tail Sweep: It rears its head downwards to perform a flame bite but also walks forward to perform another flame bite before sweeping its tail in a 360 degrees angle from the left side.

Upwards Fireball Launch: It will rear itself upwards almost upright and shoot 3 intoxicated fireballs before then flying backwards and occasionally shooting a fourth. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight. (This was base Espinas's signature move in Frontier).

Many Intoxicated Fireballs: It will shake its body and take several steps back before rearing its head high into the air and shoot a fireball, starting from a right angle before then shooting a large barrage of fireballs as it continues to tilt its head to the left with each fireball it shoots out. Shooting up to 10 fireballs in a single succession in a 180 degrees semi-circle. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight.

Omega Intoxicated Firenova: It shakes its head around before a flaming steam emits from its mouth constantly, it will proceed to attack normally for 20 seconds until it proceeds to fly high into the air, its veins glimmer bright briefly before the Espinath unleashes a large fireball that hits the ground and creates a large-sized AOE of intoxicated flame while several explosions of the intoxicated flame occur all around the AOE. The flame can drain through the hunters HP if they're inside it but likely won't cart as it fades away after 5 seconds, the impact fireball attack can potentially OHKO hunters that have less than 600 defense and inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight.

Forwards Body Shake Thrust: It shakes its body around before charging in front of it briefly before biting at the target hunter and doing a horn thrust attack in a single combo succession. Inflicts Poison.

Body Shake Hipcheck: It will shake its body around before aiming its side at a hunter and hipchecking at the targeted hunter which deals very high damage.

Aerial Charge: It flies into the air and proceeds to divebomb at a hunter before then immediately chaining its divebomb attack with a homing charge attack.

Aerial Triple Explosion Flame: It flies into the air and rears its head upwards before then unleashing a large fireball that explodes onto the ground and triggers several more explosions in a larger area-of-effect. It is capable of doing this multiple times in a single succession - it almost always lands to the ground after doing this attack. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight - has a 50% chance to inflict Paralysis.

Aerial Flaming Divebomb: It flies into the air while its mouth starts huffing an aura of flame - it then proceeds to divebomb at a targeted hunter, during the impact, a stream of flame emits from its mouth which spreads a medium distance before fading away. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight.

Intoxicated Firewall: It rears its head downwards while a stream of flame forms from its mouth, the Espinath will take several steps backwards and proceed to spit out an aura of flame with a purple-coloured hue that gets larger and larger - the Espinath stops breathing the flame and flaps its wings several times to send the wall of flame outwards, spreading out before fading after either hitting area borders or fading after 5 seconds. Inflicts Noxious Poison and Fireblight. The size of the Firewall is based on how long Espinath breathes out the flame.

Intoxicated Flame Barrage Combo: It does its Intoxicated Firewall attack but then proceeds to immediately charge into the flamewall at the hunters position before then immediately doing the Omega Intoxicated Firenova and then flying downwards into the side and doing the Many Intoxicated Fireballs attack - ending off with a Stomp + Charge Combo and an Intoxicated Fire Bite. This combo-range of attacks is lethal and can cart entire parties of hunters in mere seconds. Its almost always in an exhausted state after successfully pulling off the entire attack, thus rewarding the hunters with many free hits.

Physical Damage Effectiveness
Base HP: 8020~8420 (Solo)

Head
Impact: N/A

Cutting: N/A

Ranged: N/A

Body
Impact: N/A

Cutting: N/A

Ranged: N/A

Wings
Impact: N/A

Cutting: N/A

Ranged: ★

Legs
Impact: ★

Cutting: ★

Ranged: ★

Tail
Impact: ★★

Cutting: ★★

Ranged: ★★

Head
Impact: ★★★

Cutting: ★★

Ranged: ★★

Body
Impact: ★★

Cutting: ★

Ranged: ★

Wings
Impact: ★★

Cutting: ★★★

Ranged: ★★

Legs
Impact: ★★

Cutting: ★★

Ranged: ★★★

Tail
Impact: ★

Cutting: ★★★

Ranged: ★

Element Effectiveness

 * Fire = N/A
 * Water = ★
 * Thunder = ★
 * Ice = ★★★
 * Dragon = ★★

Status Effectiveness

 * Poison = N/A


 * Sleep = ★


 * Paralysis = ★★


 * Blast = ★★


 * Stun = ★★


 * Blind = ★

Note: Espinath is completely immune to Poison.

Storyline
Strange sharp thorns can be gathered from the Ancient Forest once the DLC completes installation, gathering just one immediately grants a new mission to talk to the Commander.

In either Astera or Seliana - the Commander gathers the research commission to identify the background on the thorns but to no avail, the group then starts wondering if its a brand new creature that they have never seen before. The hunter is then given the Special Assignment to hunt down a Rathian that has been "behaving strangely"...

''When the Rathian enters Sector 2 while weakened, it will be met face to face with a strange Wyvern that seems to look similar to the Rathian but... different. Its glimmering eyes indicate that it is enraged as it glares at the Rathian. The Rathian proceeds to attack the unknown Wyvern in which the Wyvern responds with a tail whip, Rathian hovers to dodge the tail whip and moves in to tackle it before then being penetrated by the wyverns horn right into th gullet. The Rathian dies from the impact as the wyvern unleashes a roar that causes the fauna to run in fear, the Wyvern then turns its attention to the hunter and charges at them without hesitation. The hunter trips and seemingly is about to be blasted with fireballs but then the Huntsman jumps onto its back briefly while avoiding its thorns and jumps to the side while slashing its wings which causes the Espinath to flinch. The Huntsman readies his longsword as the flying wyvern gets back into position and glares at the huntsman, preparing to shoot a fireball but then suddenly, the Handler leaps from the bushes and shoots a Dung Pod at the Wyvern which causes the Wyvern to leave the vicinity. The Huntsman and the Handler rush to your hunter to check on you before the screen fades to black.

''Your Hunter awakens from their bed and walks outside to be greeted by the Admiral, Commander, Serious Handler, Handler, Huntsman, Field Team Leader and Excitable A-Lister. The Huntsman mentions about the wyvern they encountered and talks about an encounter with it he had in the past, "a Wyvern from the region of Mezeporta, Espinath, known to have fought off an elder dragon and won with little to no injuries, a truly fabled creature". The other members discuss about the creature while the Commander suggests "Whatever triggered that creature into such a state of rage, a creature with the power to fight off or even kill elder dragons that is angry is a huge problem!". An Fifth rushes into the conversation, apologising for his barging in and states that a "Wyvern with thorns has made its way into the Ancient Forest and is causing a huge disturbance", then goes on about the danger it poses if it decides to attack Astera. The Commander then gives you a Special Assignment to hunt down the Espinath once and for all before it starts wreaking a havoc that can cause severe damage to the ecosystem.

Quests
N/A

Espinath vs Anjanath
Espinath will yawn in front of the Anjanath in which Anjanath responds with a bite at its carapace, the Anjanath has 1500-2000 damage dealt to it when it bites the carapace, letting go as the thorns pierce its tongue, screaming in pain. Anjanath is also inflicted with poison after the Turf War.

Espinath vs Rathian
Espinath will yawn in front of the Rathian in which Rathian responds with a tail whip that misses as Espinath turns to the side, Rathian then proceeds to grab Espinaths back but then take 1200-1800 damage as a result as Rathian lets go and trips onto the ground due to the thorns puncturing her toes. Espinath will then walk off while Rathian flies away.

Note: This Turf War is the same with Pink Rathian.

Espinath vs Rathalos
Espinath will yawn in front of the Rathalos in which Rathalos responds with a fireball into Espinaths face, Espinath mildly flinches from this and proceeds to whip its tail at Rathalos to which Rathalos dodges, the Rathalos then attempts to grab onto its wings with his claws but then Espinath aims its horn and punctures Rathalos's stomach, Espinath then hurls Rathalos and tosses him onto the ground, dealing 2200-3000 damage to the Rathalos. Espinath will then yawn and walk off while Rathalos flies away.

Note: This Turf War is the same with Azure Rathalos.

Espinath vs Diablos
Espinath will yawn in front of the Diablos in which Diablos responds with its hallowing scream before then getting ready to charge, Espinath notices this and proceeds to get ready to charge as-well. As both charge at each other, Espinaths horn penetrates Diablos's neck and then rams Diablos, sending the Desert Tyrant tumbling down into the ground with 2200-3000 damage dealt to it. The Espinath then flies away while Diablos burrows and goes elsewhere.

Note: This Turf War is the same with Black Diablos.

Espinath vs Nargacuga
Espinath will yawn in front of the Nargacuga in which Nargacuga responds with a tail slam, the tail slam slightly flinches Espinath but Nargacuga's tail winds up stuck on Espinaths carapace, the Espinath bites the tail and proceeds to spin Nargacuga around before then slamming the Wyvern of Wind onto the ground, dealing 2200-3000 damage to it. The Nargacuga squirms away while Espinath walks off.

Espinath vs Tigrex
Espinath will yawn in front of the Tigrex in which Tigrex responds with a boulder dash which flinches Espinath a fair bit, Tigrex then leaps onto its back to attempt to bite Espinaths neck while ignoring the spikes puncturing its scales but then Espinath hovers its wings to fly into the air which sends Tigrex tumbling down onto the ground, Espinath then falls on top of Tigrex, dealing 2200-3000 damage to Tigrex. The Espinath walks off while Tigrex squirms away.

Espinath vs Glavenus
Espinath will yawn in front of the Glavenus in which Glavenus responds with seering its tail into the ground and getting into position to fight. Espinath looks the other way, waiting for Glavenus to strike but Glavenus's glare onto its shell makes it understand how thick its carapace is so it decides to surge its tail straight to Espinaths neck, Espinath notices this and immediately hovers upwards into the air, dodging the tail slice and proceeds to aerially charge to Glavenus's side and ram its horn into Glavenus's torso, sending the Glavenus tumbling to the ground, dealing 2200=3000 damage to it. The Espinath flies away while Glavenus walks off.

Espinath vs Zinogre
Espinath will yawn in front of the Zinogre in which Zinogre responds with a charge and tail slam, which flinches Espinath. Espinath dodges Zinogre's aerial flip and proceeds to grab fly and divebomb at the Zinogre mid-air, sending Zinogre flying while its body is penetrated by Espinaths horn, Zinogre tumbles onto the ground with 2200-3000 damage dealt to it. Espinath flies away while Zinogre runs away.

Espinath vs Yian Garuga
Espinath will yawn in front of the Yian Garuga in which Yian Garuga responds with a charge, Espinath thrusts its horn at the bird wyvern, Garuga dodges this and proceeds to tail flip Espinath which deals 500-1000 while also flinching Espinath, Yian Garuga then slams its beak into Espinaths belly, dealing 1700 damage to Espinath. Espinath gets enraged and slams its tail onto Yian Garuga's head, dealing 500-1000 damage to the Bird Wyvern before then ramming its horn into Garuga's underside and charging while ramming Garuga's belly. It then tosses Garuga onto the ground, dealing 1700 damage to Yian Garuga. Espinath flies away while Yian Garuga gets up and remains in the same area.

Espinath vs Bazelgeuse
Espinath will yawn in front of the Bazelgeuse in which Bazelgeuse reponds with a divebomb, the impact combined with the concussive explosions deal 1000-2500 damage to Espinath, resulting in Espinath getting enraged and flying backwards while shooting a fireball at Bazelgeuse's bombs, triggering all of them to explode at once, Bazelgeuse flinches before then Espinath charges and jams its horn into Bazelgeuse's neck while also stomping the Bazelgeuse's body, dealing 1000-2500 damage to Bazelgeuse. Bazelgeuse gets up and flies away while Espinath remains in the same area.

Espinath vs Deviljho
Espinath will yawn in front of the Deviljho in which Deviljho responds with a tail whip which flinches Espinath right before Deviljho grabs Espinaths neck and proceeds to slam it onto the ground, dealing 1000-2500 damage to Espinath, Deviljho lifts Espinath up into the air, right then, Espinath will become enraged and proceeds and use its tail to slam Deviljho's belly which causes Deviljho to flinch and let go, Espinath hovers and immediately divebombs at Deviljho, ramming its horn into the Brute Wyvern's neck and then running as Deviljho's impaled neck is dragged along with the flying wyvern, the Espinath then tosses the Brute Wyvern onto the ground before then then proceeding to continuously stomp the Deviljho over and over with sheer ferocity while biting its head and ravaging it, dealing 1000-2500 damage to the Deviljho. Espinath remains in the same area while Deviljho gets back up and walks off.

Espinath vs Rajang
Espinath will yawn in front of the Rajang in which Rajang responds with it grabbing a boulder from the ground and jumping into the air to slam the boulder onto Espinaths back, dealing 1000-2500 damage to Espinath and causing it to fall over, Rajang runs over to attempt to punch its head but then Espinaths tail swipes against Rajangs leg which causes the Fanged Beast to trip, then Espinath rams its horn into Rajangs belly and runs while dragging the impaled Rajang with it, Rajang proceeds to punch its back multiple times but to no avail, Espinath grinds the Rajang into the floor before then throwing Rajang extremely high into the air and crashing down onto the ground extremely hard, dealing 1000-2500 damage to the Rajang. Espinath remains while Rajang walks off.

Espinath vs Espinath
Espinath will yawn in front of the other Espinath in which the other Espinath will also yawn, they then both walk off in separate directions with no damage dealt to one another.