The Black Flame Details Revealed
Through a new segment with IGN, Capcom properly introduced the monster earlier known only as The Black Flame. It's name is Nu Udra, and it is the apex of the Oilwell Basin. This octopus-like monster that secretes black, flammable tar from its skin. It boasts a very unique design with its odd horns and tentacles. We know that Nu Udra is not an Elder Dragon since traps worked on it during the gameplay reveal, however beyond that its classification is unknown.
The Fight
Fitting its skeleton, Nu Udra moves in a variety of strange and unpredictable ways, swinging tentacles and slamming them into hunters with surprising range. The flames we saw in its reveal trailer are not yet present at the beginning of the fight, but it still possesses some real difficulty through its range and ability to catch you from unexpected angles. It is also worth noting that this hunt appeared to be in High Rank since the hunter had a weapon with white sharpness as well as the Defender Meal High food skill. While neither of these are a guarantee, white is the second highest level of sharpness, which normally is not available until High Rank. Similarly, High food skills often appear later on in the game as they are not unlocked until after all of their Low variants.
The fight is started by the hunter using a new environmental interactable called Blast Coal. Blast Coal essentially behaves as a barrel bomb, which when combined with the new mechanics where you can pick up and throw your bombs allowed them to start the fight by rolling several Blast Coals directly into the monster for some nice starting damage. Nu Udra did not use its flames at the start of the fight, but its unique way of moving still posed an interesting challenge.
Enrage Phase
After it had taken enough damage, Nu Udra roared and set the oil secretions on its skin ablaze, most likely entering its enrage phase. Along with its tentacle swings now hitting harder it flings burning oil from its body when it attacks, scattering flaming puddles to act as a hazard and restrict your movement. It also has a few new attacks, including a grab attack where it holds you with one tentacle and uses another to shoot fire directly onto you. Finally, it ends the phase by shaking all the flaming oil off of its body in a huge AoE attack. This attack leaves a large number of flaming puddles as it transitions back into its non-flaming state. We also saw it have a turf war with Ajarakan where it pinned it to the ground and bathed it in flames similar to the grab attack it uses on the hunter.
It is worth noting that this calm did not last long. Nu Udra quickly set itself ablaze again, seemingly faster than a monster usually returns to its enraged state. After continuing the fight for a bit, the hunter managed to cut off one of Nu Udras tentacles, which have the great detail of continuing to squirm after they are cut from its body. Nu Udra seemed to have a high number of breakable parts, which fits with its softer and rubbery body. Overall, Nu Udra is a very impressive monster. It has a creative and unique design, an unusual fight, and challenging attacks that befit an apex.
A Problem Resolved
Nu Udra's movement also provides strong evidence that Capcom solved the problems that came from monster bellies dragging on the ground. This sounds like a very minute detail, but it has a specific implication for a beloved monster. During the lifecycle of Rise/Sunbreak, The Monster Hunter team revealed that they wanted to add Lagiacrus to the game, but they had a problem. Lagiacrus drags its belly along the ground as it moves, and this belly drag was causing some serious problems interacting with the map geography. They were unable to fix the problem in Rise/Sunbreak, so unfortunately they had to move on. Just because bellies drag on the ground does not guarantee Lagiacrus will return in Wilds, but a significant roadblock to the return of one of the more popular monsters in the series is gone.
Written by: Brogangh
Reviewed by: Tenkiei
