Zoh Shia is a key part of the main story in Monster Hunter Wilds, and its encounter will match your Hunter Rank at that point in the game. Since it takes place during a main mission, you’ll jump straight into battle after the introductory cutscene. Before heading out, make sure to stock up on regular and mega potions, if you’re low on mega potions, gather some honey from the biome to craft more. Eating a meal is also crucial, as boosting your health and stamina will help you withstand Zoh Shia’s powerful attacks. Using the portable BBQ to grill food is a quick way to prepare. Prioritizing defense is a smart approach, and you can check out the best food buffs for recommendations. Additionally, carrying Dragon Pods can be useful, and if you have a ranged weapon equipped with Dragon Ammo, you’ll have an even greater advantage.
Zoh Shia Location
You’ll come across Zoh Shia in Chapter 3 during the “Monster Hunter” main mission, which is the final mission before reaching the end credits and unlocking High Rank. To encounter this monster, all you need to do is progress through the main story. As of now, Zoh Shia is only available during this mission , there’s no High Rank version or a way to replay the Low Rank encounter. Also, it doesn’t drop any particular monster body parts, so it’s a single fight for now.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, monster tracking is not as important as in earlier games. With some exceptions for initial encounters, you can just refer to the Environment Overview screen to determine if your quarry is on the map. If it’s not immediately visible, spending a few minutes exploring its habitat will usually trigger a notification about its appearance. If you’re still having trouble, you can talk to Alma and post a hunt request. The process of finding monsters has been simplified overall, and if you happen to come across tracks or other remnants, you can collect them for materials.
Zoh Shia Weakness
The best elemental attack against Zoh Shia is Dragon, including Dragon Ammo, Dragon Pods, Dragon Attack, Critical Element, and Charge Master, along with your weapon’s natural properties. When it comes to status effects, Poison, Sleep, Paralysis, and Blastblight are moderately effective (2 stars), while Stun has limited impact (1 star) and Exhaust has no effect.
Things such as Flash Pods, Sonic Bombs, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps will fail against it. Though there is no specific weakness of Zoh Shia, its head, wings, and front legs can be broken, while its tail may be severed, which renders them the best parts to target so as to do damage to.
Knowing the weakness of Zoh Shia is highly important before it can be launched into battle planning. Its head and wingarms are the most vulnerable areas, with a 4-star weakness to sever, blunt, and ranged attacks, though its crystalized versions have slightly lower resistance. The neck and forelegs are also decent targets, offering 3-star damage potential.
The torso, hind legs, and tail are less susceptible, making them less ideal for focused attacks. Elementally, Zoh Shia has minimal weaknesses, with only a slight vulnerability to Dragon attacks (2 stars on the head and wingarms) while resisting Fire, Water, Thunder, and Ice across all body parts. Planning your approach around these weaknesses will help maximize damage output.
Strategy to Beat Zoh Shia
- Protective Layer (Ice):
- Similar to Jin Dahaad, Zoh Shia has an ice-based protective layer.
- The crystals regenerate over time, so attack exposed areas quickly.
- When the head is exposed, expect fire attacks (indicated by a red glow).
- The monster also uses ice-based attacks with its hands, so be ready for both elements.
- The exposed head takes extra damage, making it a priority target.
- Terrain-Based Attacks:
- Frequently uses the environment for large-area attacks.
- One move involves slamming a hand into the ground, sending an ice path that explodes.
- A variation uses both hands to expand the attack’s reach.
- Zoh Shia has a strong roar that can immobilize – use earplugs to counter it.
- Windproof skill helps mitigate dragon wind pressure.
- Arena-Wide Attacks:
- Certain fight phases affect the entire battlefield.
- One phase has Zoh Shia flying, creating ground cracks that deal damage if not dodged.
- Rocks will emerge while it spits fireballs – use them for cover.
- Check for incoming projectiles by pointing your camera upward.
- Mount up and move to the arena’s far edge to avoid molten lava covering the ground.
- Final Phase (Lightning Attacks):
- After losing its protective layer, Zoh Shia adds lightning strikes to its fire and ice attacks.
- The monster’s attack patterns remain mostly the same.
- Move around it while it attacks and strike when it’s stuck in an animation.
- No technical weak points, but the Head, Wings, and Forelegs can be broken.
- Severing the tail is unlikely – focus on wings and forelegs instead.
- Status Effects & Resistance:
- Fireblight drains health over time; thunderblight increases stun vulnerability.
- Rolling repeatedly removes these effects, or use a nulberry.
- Fire Resistance & Blight Resistance counter fireblight.
- Thunder Resistance & Blight Resistance counter thunderblight.
- Traps are ineffective, so rely on dodging, breaking parts, and managing debuffs.
Zoh Shia Drops
Currently, Zoh Shia does not have its own armor set or weapon, meaning you won’t find any unique monster-specific parts as drops. Instead, all the materials obtained from this encounter are Guardian-related, making them the primary resources you’ll collect after the hunt.
Zoh Shia drops several Low Rank materials, each with different availability and probabilities. One of the most common materials is Guardian Scale, which can be obtained from target rewards (15%), broken part rewards (100%), wound destruction rewards (50%), and carving (50%). This material is primarily found in the left and right forelegs of the monster.
Another important material is Guardian Pelt, which shares a similar drop pattern. It is obtained from target rewards (15%), broken part rewards (100%), and carving (30%). However, unlike the Guardian Scale, it is sourced from the left and right wingarms instead.
For rarer materials, Guardian Blood has a slightly lower drop rate. It can be acquired through target rewards (20%), broken part rewards (100%), wound destruction rewards (50%), carving (20%), and severed part carving (100%). This material is mainly found in the head and tail of Zoh Shia.
Among the less common drops are Nourishing Extract, only accessible via target rewards (30%), and even less common is Tough Guardian Bone, with a mere 20% chance through target rewards. These items, although more difficult to acquire, are essential to crafting and to upgrading equipment.
