Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Monster Hunter World - Anjanath strategy, Anjanath weakness, and how to get Anjanath Fang, Plate, Tail, Scale and Nosebone

How to take down fearsome T-Rex style foe Anjanath.

Anjanath is one of the first - and most dangerous - creatures you'll encounter in Monster Hunter World.

Whether you're tackling it in the wild or as part of the key quests, there are a number of Anjanath strategies and weaknesses to learn about, and when you're ready, the many ways to get Anjanath Fang, Plate, Tail, Scale and Nosebone.

Elsewhere, our Monster Hunter World tips can help you decide when to get, what to forage and what to do between hunts, and our Monster Hunter World walkthrough and guide can help with main quest and story progress.

How to prepare for Anjanath the first time

Anjanath is your first real test in Monster Hunter World. Stalking the northern routes of the Ancient Forest even from the start of the game, Anjanath is an intimidating foe even when you have to encounter one as part of the story.

By the time you do have to take one on, you'll have visited the Wildspire Waste and encountered a vast array of creatures. This gives you plenty of farming opportunities to upgrade your weapons and most importantly, craft new armour sets.

Though you can take it on with very basic equipment - we managed to do it with just a Jagras armour set and a fully upgraded set of Bone Dual Slicers - the more armour you pack, the easier your life will be.

It's your choice whether you want to have a bit more leeway in battle with some improved defence or go in without needing to grind and be more cautious, but either way, there are some attacks you absolutely need to be aware of to survive.

Anjanath location

Anjanath is in the Ancient Forest, situated around the north and north west, walking around areas 7, 8 and 9 and as the battle progresses, retreating the 13 and 14. Walking around the first few areas should be more than enough to quickly tracks for the Scoutflies to hint his trail.

Anjanath weakness and strategy

Anjanath weaknesses:

  • Fire - Null
  • Water - High
  • Thunder - Medium
  • Ice - Medium
  • Dragon - Low
  • Poison - Medium
  • Sleep - Medium
  • Paralysis - Medium
  • Blast - Low
  • Stun - Medium

Anjanath is not only a threat because of its sheer strength, but how surprisingly agile it is, bounding over vast distances even when you think you're safe from harm. It's also surprisingly difficult to mount (it can and will leap up to a vantage point quickly), so expect to go toe-to-toe for most of the battle.

As with any monster encounter, observe Anjanath as much as possible to observe its attacks and behaviors, just to get a feel for how it moves. Attacking the legs is the best bet, so keeping at a middle distance and always moving allows you to roll out of the way of any sideways or front on attacks.

Standing too far away will allow it to charge and leap at you, and since you'll be focusing on its legs for damage, being able to quickly run in, attack and out again is your best bet.

You can also be in front of Anjanath and roll into it at an angle when it does a snap attack, then follow up with an attack if you fancy it.

Where Anjanath gets particularly nasty is when its 'gills' appear along its back. Not only does it seem to get more aggressive and quickler, but it'll also dispatch some nasty fire attacks.

Both are telegraphed in advance; one is a 180 degree spray that is easily dodged for a follow-up attack, while the other is a extremely powerful and remarkably far reaching flamethrower blast that will one shot you with ease.

We've lost count the amount of times we've positioned ourselves at what we thought was a safe distance out of the way and just finishing imbibing a potion, only for this to appear out of nowhere and take us back to camp. In short, keep eyes on where Anjanath is whenever it's breathing fire and stay mobile at all times. We'd recommend using a Vigorwasp cure to keep you moving.

Anjanath will then continue to alternate between those two phases, even until it's downed. The key is to take your time and be patient regardless of how good your armour is, as Anjanath can knock you down in just a handful of attacks, or in the case of the flamethrower burst, just one when you least expect it.

Obviously having more defence allows you to risk close encounters and take a few knocks, but we'd recommend extreme caution either way.

It's also worth noting Anjanath can and will pick fights with other creatures during the battle, including the even more powerful Rathalos. Though this can work out to your advantage - Rathalos can knock off a useful 750 hit points from Anjanath - both can turn their attention to you at the same time.

Keep an eye on both of them at a good distance, and be ready to retreat. You can always take a long route round back to Anjanath and hope Rathalos is making trouble elsewhere.

How to get Anjanath Fang, Plate, Tail, Scale and Nosebone

The following materials are available from Anjanath depending on what you break off, carve or receive as a reward:

Anjanath Low Rank materials list:

  • Anjanath Fang (Head broken; also carved, reward, dropped)
  • Anjanath Plate (Head broken, Tail Carved, also carved, reward)
  • Anjanath Tail (Tail Carved, also reward)
  • Anjanath Scale (Legs Broken, also carved, reward)
  • Anjanath Nosebone (carved, reward)
  • Other quest rewards: Monster Bone L, Flame Sac

If you want to increase your materials gains, then consider learning how to capture monsters to get even more for your efforts.