Who is Gore Magala? Elder Dragon's origins and abilities explained ahead of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

It is certainly a great time to be a Monster Hunter fan, as new announcements and monster reveals are all over the internet. The recent Capcom Showcase announced a demo for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak for the Nintendo Switch and Windows. This news arrived alongside the very unexpected reveal of one of the most requested and fan-favorite monsters returning to the franchise, Gore Magala.

Capcom has already revealed an extensive list of new monsters that were coming to Sunbreak, with some being returning subspecies from the base game, others returning from old Monster Hunter titles, as well as a brand new trio of monsters exclusive to Monster Hunter Rise.

With the Capcom Showcase event, players were only expecting new information regarding general gameplay and the new Citadel map in Sunbreak. Instead, Capcom decided to surprise fans with the reveal of several monster additons to the expansion.

The new monsters that were revealed at the Capcom Showcase were returning monsters from previous Monster Hunter titles like Espinas, Daimyo Hermitaur, and Gore Magala. The event also gave a first look at another new monster called Pyre Rakna-Kadaki coming to the franchise with Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

While all of the brand new monsters coming to the expansion are fascinating and have clearly increased intrigue for players regarding Sunbreak, Gore Magala's return is what excites them the most.

---

Monster Hunter Rise's newest addition Gore Magala's origin and abilities

Gore Magala: Origin and history

Gore Magala first appeared in Monster Hunter 4 and was essentially the 'flagship monster' of MH4, similar to what Malzeno is to Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. However, Gore Magala later lost that position to Seregios in MH4 Ultimate, but remained an intergral part of the game's narrative and also one of the most feared monsters in the game.

Gore Magala is easily one of the most fascinating monster designs in the Monster Hunter franchise (Image via Capcom)

The terrifying Wyvern is one of the most unique monsters amongst its kind, with traits closer to the Elder Dragons such as possessing six limbs, including the massive clawed wings on its back. But its appearance and stance are that of a quadrupedal Wyvern.

---

Gore Magala: Physiology

Gore Magala is a massive flying Wyvern with wings with sharp claws and a jet-black, shroud-like membrane that resembles a tattered and ragged cape. Its body is covered in dark exoskeleton plates with notable features like having hidden feelers that are folded along its face, its distinct lack of any visual receptors or eyes and fanged jaws that are part of its exoskeletal armor.

The lack of any visual receptors is compensated by its heightened sense of awareness and the ability to scatter scales from its wings to ascertain the presence and location of lifeforms in its surroundings.

Enraged Gore Magala is one of the most frightening monster transformations in the series (Image via Capcom)

When the monster detects any possible lifeform, its feelers extend from its head and the wyvern becomes frenzied with its wings unfurled. In this frenzied state, Gore Magala is capable of dishing out massive amounts of damage with its winged claws. These claws are known to be highly prehensile, and also possess opposable thumbs which the monster uses for grabbing, aiding the monster in running and maintaining stability.

---

Gore Magala: Abilities and Frenzy State

The scales that Gore Magala uses to navigate as well as to determine the location of other nearby lifeforms also act as vectors of a pathogen known as the Frenzy Virus. At the peak of its senses, when Gore Magala detects a hunter, it gets into a Frenzy State, with its feelers extending out of its head and wings spread wide. In this state, the monster is capable of dealing absurd amounts of damage.

In this Frenzy State, it also has the chance to infect other monsters in the surrounding area with the Frenzy Virus, instantly turning them into their Apex variants. Interestingly, the Frenzy Virus can also infect hunters themselves, causing them to become susceptible to increased damage, if left untreated.

When in the Frenzy State, Gore Magala stretches its wings out to both intimidate the hunters as well as spread its pollen-like scales in a wider radius (Image via Capcom)

This, however, is a dual-edged sword as, if the hunters are able to deal enough damage to the monster with the infection spreading, it will turn the disease into an affinity bonus with a higher critical chance.

---

Gore Magala: Weaknesses and what players can use to defeat the monster

Slaying a Gore Magala is not an easy task, even for players with high HR and fully upgraded gear. The appearance and abilities of the monster might be intimidating but, like any other monster in the game, Gore Magala also has a handful of weaknesses that players can take advantage of.

With Gore Magala being susceptible to fire, thunder, and dragon elements, it is a wise choice for hunters to craft and upgrade weapons with these elements before engaging the beast.

Fire proves to be the most viable element against Gore Magala, seconded by thunder and finally, dragon elements. The most vulnerable parts of Gore Magala are its head and neck.

---

Clearly, players and fans of the Monster Hunter series are rather excited with Gore Magala finally returning to the series' latest mainline entry. It will definitely be very interesting to see how the flagship monster of MH4 transitions into the newer gameplay and visual design of Monster Hunter Rise and its expansion Sunbreak.