How to beat Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds
Xu Wu weak points, strategy and items.
Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds are Cephalopods that uses mucus made by its tentacles to turn them into razor sharp blade-like weapons that are capable of throwing projectiles at you.
You won't have your first encounter with this monster until mid-way through Chapter Three of Monster Hunter Wilds, so you've got plenty of time to prepare for them and equip your Hunter (and Palico) with strong enough weapons or armor to give you a fighting chance against this beast.
On that note, here's our Monster Hunter Wilds Xu Wu guide, which includes Xu Wu's weak points and breakable parts, their attacks and how to counter them, plus items you gain from Xu Wu too.
And for even more help slaying monsters, check out our Monster Hunter Wilds monster list which includes all of the monsters' weaknesses and habitats.
Spoiler Warning: This page contains potential spoilers for Monster Hunter Wilds.
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If you'd like more assistance in your monster slaying, visit our Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough where all of our guides are listed.
Tips for defeating Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds
Here are some handy tips for defeating Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds:
- Special Attacks: Xu Wu doesn't have a Special Attack!
- Use ice-based weapons - Xu Wu is vulnerable to any elemental ice attacks, so using weapons of this kind will inflict extra damage on the beast.
- Stock up on Frostburst and Frostpods for your Slinger - As ice-based items, equipping these to your Slinger then firing them at Xu Wu will inflict damage.
- Poison status effect is highly effective - Inflicting Poison on Xu Wu will severely hurt the monster and give you the edge in the fight.
- Paralysis, Blastblight, Stun and Exhaust also work - Though not as effective as Poison, these status effects also hurt Xu Wu.
- Shock Trap and Pitfall Trap work well - We recommend prioritising using a Shock Trap if you've not got room for both, primarily because slowing down Xu Wu for a moment will give you time to heal or to get in some precise attacks on its weak point.
- Track Xu Wu - Use your tracking mode to target Xu Wu, this monster is swift and can easily get behind you in a few precise moves. Tracking them will make it easier for you to see where they've gotten to, and to get out of the way if needed.
- Destroy its wounds - As with all monsters, using Focus Mode to target and destroy Xu Wu's wounds will deal high levels of damage to it.
- Stock up on Health Potions - This monster may only have a few attacks, but they really do a lot of damage if you're caught by them. Having plenty of Health Potions on hand will help keep you alive for longer and increase your chances of success.
- Keep moving - Don't be fooled, Xu Wu moves fast and its piercing attacks can easily kill your Hunter. The safest thing to do is to keep moving and avoid standing in one place for too long.
- Don't give up if you faint - Your first fight with Xu Wu will come straight after another one, so you may be feeling the effects of that past fight and your pockets might be emptying out. If you faint, then don't worry, because this will be a great opportunity to refill your pockets at camp and then try again.
- Lure Xu Wu to other monsters - Xu Wu likes munching on other monsters in Wyveria, so if you lead it to one it'll engage in a fight with them over you (most of the time.) This gives you a chance to breathe and heal, set up a trap, or get in a few solid attacks of your own. Just try not to hit the other monster, or you'll have two problems to deal with.
Monster Hunter Wilds Xu Wu Weak Points
Xu Wu doesn't have an official weak point, but we found that targeting the head and mouth did significant amounts of damage to them.
The head, mouth, two front arms are breakable and the other four arms are severable on Xu Wu which gives you eight options in total for attacking them.
We recommend trying to break the two front arms first as this is what Xu Wu mostly uses for its piercing blade attacks. Breaking these will limit the attacks the monster can use and will lower its deadly attack options.
When it exposes its mouth you should go all in on it, attacking this on repeat will do increased damage on the beast and, if you unleash a powerful attack, you can actually knock the monster down for a moment.
Monster Hunter Wilds Xu Wu Attacks
Xu Wu has few, but deadly, attacks that it uses on rotation. Most of them are piercing attacks, which has earned it the nickname 'Piercing Assassin'.
One of the main ones it uses will be to create blades with its two front arms and then fire them out at you as projectiles. Xu Wu will fire one arm first, then the other straight after. To avoid getting hit, dodge out of the way as soon as you see the blades forming on the front arms.
Xu Wu will also slam their arms into the ground in an attempt to crush you if you're close enough. Again, the safest thing to do is attack and move, attack and move - don't stand still for too long.
Xu Wu uses a very similar attack to this that surrounds them in dust and debris, making it hard to see what they're next move will be. If this happens, stay on guard.
Once you get Xu Wu suitably angry it will start to raise all of its arms and create blades on them, then it will flail them around in an attempt to slice you if you're too close. It's easy enough to avoid this attack once you see the blades forming as Xu Wu doesn't tend to move around while doing this.
Another attack to watch out for is for Xu Wu to extend one, or both, of its long front arms to pierce you with them. This attack happens quickly, and if you're not fast enough it can seriously damage your Hunter. We found that as soon as Xu Wu is facing you and seems to focus on you for a second without doing anything else, this is the warning that they're about to use this attack. Dodge out of the way as soon as you see the arm extending.
Xu Wu's deadliest attack is when it tilts itself up and exposes its underside. It will then launch at you furiously and it can kill your Hunter in a single hit if you're not careful. To avoid getting caught by this, jump onto your Seikret and keep running away from the Xu Wu as soon as you see its underside.
Also, if you're too close to them, Xu Wu will try to slice at you by swiping its front arms left to right. If you're close to them and see an arm lift up, get out of the way.
One more attack to watch out for is when Xu Wu tenses and then launches themselves into the air, they'll try to land on top of you. When you see Xu Wu tense up, get as far away as you can from the spot you were standing in.
Monster Hunter Wilds Xu Wu Harvest Materials and Items
Here are the materials and items you can get from Xu Wu:
Low Rank Materials
- Golden Corneum
- Xu Wu Claw
- Xu Wu Hide
- Xu Wu Tentacle
- Xu Wu Fang
- Xu Wu Certificate
- Xu Wu Cerebrospinal Fluid
We will add High Rank materials as we find them.
Monster Hunter Wilds Xu Wu Locations
Xu Wu can be found in Wyveria and your first encounter with them will be during the 'Full Circle' quest in Chapter Three of the main story. During this quest, your scoutflies will track Xu Wu as it moves from area to area, making it easy for you to find and follow them.
Once you've beaten them during this quest, you'll need to wait for Xu Wu to reappear in the region before you can go after them again. You'll know that they're around when a pop up on the side of your screen says 'Xu Wu has appeared'.
We recommend making a quest for hunting Xu Wu as you can then use your scoutflies to follow it from area to area, making it easy to track it down if you lose it or can't find a clear path to it.
Should you capture or kill Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds?
Capturing or killing Xu Wu in Monster Hunter Wilds depends on your current needs surrounding the monster. If you're after specific materials that can only be claimed from Xu Wu's carcass, then you're going to have to kill one. However, if your needs are different, then capturing it may be the way to go. In short, the choice is yours but think about exactly why you're after the monster before making your choice.
That's all for now! If you're looking for more Monster Hunter Wilds help, check out our pages showing you how to craft armor and how to upgrade weapons.