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Element Change
To change a monster’s element, you need to unlock the Rite of Channeling first. It’s easier to do this later in the game when you have better genes, but you can still do it early on. Monsters start showing elemental effects when their elemental attack is +4 or higher.
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Let’s start with an Aptonoth. It has 0 element bias and 0 elemental attack, which makes it a good monster to practice on. In Monster Hunter Stories 1, you can’t move genes around, so you need to find monsters with genes that fit in the Aptonoth’s grid.
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I found a Red Khezu with a Thunder Attack+2 gene that fits in an open slot. Now the Aptonoth has +2 Thunder Attack. But that’s not enough to change its element yet. I had another gene with Thunder Attack +2 that fits in the top slot, which gets us to +4.
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After doing the rite, the Aptonoth is now a yellow thunder monster! Its basic attacks and Kinship skills are now thunder element.
Element Changes for Already Elemental Monsters
Changing the element of monsters that already have an element is harder. You need to overpower the original element, which is usually +4 or higher. This means you need at least +5 in the new element, but it might be different for each monster.
In the example, the Lagombi has a lot of fire genes but won’t use the fire element because its ice elemental attack is still higher. Lagombi starts with a negative fire attack, so you need to use higher levels of +Fire elemental attack to reach +5.
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It’s not impossible to do this, even early in the game. My Thunder Rathian is an example. All her genes are +2 thunder attack, which eventually overpowered her natural fire element.
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It might take some extra work, but it’s worth it! Good luck with your elemental builds, Riders!
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