Monster Hunter Wilds Rey Dau Guide: Taming the Thunderlord of Windward Plains

The Apex of Windward Plains

Rey Dau is the first real wall in Monster Hunter Wilds. Everything before it — Chatacabra, Doshaguma, even Lala Barina — teaches you mechanics. Rey Dau tests whether you learned them. This Flying Wyvern roosts at Area 17 of the Windward Plains, and it fights like a thunderstorm with claws.

I wiped three times on my first attempt. The problem wasn’t damage — it was panic. Rey Dau chains lightning attacks so fast that new hunters freeze up, eat a combo, and cart before they process what happened. Once you learn the rhythm, this fight becomes one of the most satisfying in the game.

Weakness Chart

Rey Dau’s biggest vulnerability is Ice, followed by Water as a secondary option. Thunder does almost nothing — don’t bring thunder weapons to a thunder monster fight. Dragon and Fire both deal mediocre damage.

Body Part	Cut	Blunt	Shot	Ice	Water
Head	★★★	★★★	★★	★★★	★★
Horns	★★★	★★★	★★	★★★	★★
Wings	★★	★★	★★	★★	★★
Body	★	★	★	★	★
Tail	★★	★★	★★	★★	★★

When Rey Dau charges up with electricity, the glowing body parts take more damage. So the parts that light up become temporary weak points. This changes your target priority mid-fight — watch for the glow.

Breakable parts: Horns (priority target — reduces thunder attacks), Wings. The tail is severable.

Status effects: Blast works well. Sleep is viable for wake-up hits. Shock Traps don’t work — this thing generates its own electricity.

For full element matchups, check the Monster Weakness Chart.

Attack Patterns

Rey Dau gathers lightning in its horns and wings, then unloads it in fast, wide-hitting attacks. Here’s what to watch for.

Ground Attacks

Arm Sweep — Swings one electrified foreleg in a wide arc. Quick, not much wind-up. Stay behind or under it to avoid this entirely.

Charged Smash — Stands on hind legs, raises one foreleg overhead, slams down. Small ground AOE. Dodge sideways — don’t roll backward, the shockwave reaches farther than you’d expect.

Charged Horn Stab — Thrusts forward with electrified horns like a spear. Narrow hitbox. Easy to dodge laterally, deadly if you’re standing directly in front.

Wing Drag — Drags one wing across the ground, forward or sideways. The side-swipe is fast but weak. The forward drag hits harder. Watch which direction the wing tilts to predict the swing.

Aerial and Ranged Attacks

Aerial Wing Slam — Leaps, backflips, crashes down wing-first. The slam leaves a thunder AOE at the impact zone. Roll toward the tail when it jumps — the slam lands in front.

Lightning Blast — Fires thunder discharges from its horns on the ground or after a quick hop. In powered-up state, these chain together in rapid bursts covering a wide cone.

Charged Tail Slam — Normal tail slam but infused with thunder. Creates an electric zone on impact. The move that punishes you for camping behind it.

Enraged State

When Rey Dau enrages, it chains two or three attacks back-to-back without pausing. The lightning effects intensify, the attacks come faster, and the windows between moves shrink. This is when most carts happen.

The tell: horns crackle constantly, every physical attack carries a thunder aftershock. Don’t get greedy. One or two hits per opening, then reposition.

Strategy

Positioning

Stay under or behind Rey Dau. Most lightning attacks project forward or at mid-range. Directly beneath its belly is the safest spot. Long Sword, Switch Axe, and Charge Blade thrive here.

Shorter weapons like Sword and Shield or Dual Blades should stick to the hind legs and only commit to the head during knockdowns.

Focus Strikes and Horn Breaks

After Rey Dau fires a lightning blast from its horns, they overheat. Focus Mode reveals a wound target on the horns during this window. Land a Focus Strike here and Rey Dau topples — four to five seconds of free damage on the ground.

Breaking the horns is the single most important thing you can do in this fight. Once both horns break, Rey Dau’s thunder attacks become weaker and less frequent. The fight gets noticeably easier.

Environmental Tricks

Area 17 has a Grounding Pillar you can drop on Rey Dau. Set a Pitfall Trap underneath, lure it on, then bring the pillar down. Massive damage, long knockdown. Only works once per hunt.

Flash Pods interrupt Rey Dau mid-air. A well-timed Flash Pod sends it crashing down for a damage window. Carry the max and materials to craft more.

Survival Gear

Thunder resistance is almost mandatory. Rey Dau’s combos will two-shot you through low thunder resistance. I eat for Elemental Resist (L) before every hunt.

Grab Rime Beetles in the area for Frostburst Pods — free ice damage against an ice-weak monster.

Arch-Tempered Rey Dau

AT Rey Dau is one of the first Arch-Tempered monsters in Wilds, available through the “A Silent Flash” event quest (now permanent). It’s a real step up.

What Changes

• Much higher health. Solo hunts push 25-30 minutes.
• Far more aggressive. Normal Rey Dau pauses after two attacks. AT chains three or four.
• New downward lightning beam. Fires directly beneath its head. Punishes chin-camping hard. Follow-up is either another beam or a wing slam combo.
• Delayed thunder explosions. Wing slams and physical attacks leave a thunder burst at the impact point after one second. You dodge the slam, then get hit by the aftershock. Dodge twice.

AT Strategy Adjustments

Shift to the sides of the body or behind the forelegs. The new downward beam makes chin-camping a death sentence.

After dodging any physical attack, keep moving. Don’t attack where the slam landed — the aftershock will catch you.

Bow and Light Bowgun shine here. Ranged weapons maintain consistent DPS from safe distances while the increased aggression makes melee riskier.

Rewards

AT Rey Dau drops the Rey Dau Certificate Y, needed to forge the Rey Dau Gamma armor set — the first Gamma armor in the game. It has better skills, more decoration slots, and higher defense than the Alpha and Beta versions. You also need this material for the Defense Charm V and Power Charm III upgrades.

Recommended Weapons

Ice is king. Every weapon you bring should have ice element if possible.

Long Sword — Best melee option for an elemental build. The Artian Long Sword with triple Ice Boost hits hard and the weapon’s counters handle Rey Dau’s timing well.

Bow — Top-tier for this fight. Safe positioning, steady ice damage, and you avoid most ground-level thunder AOEs. Arguably the easiest weapon to beat AT Rey Dau with.

Light Bowgun — Artian Sleep LBG can rapid-fire Ice Ammo. Sleep bombing openings give your team massive burst windows.

Lance / Gunlance — If you want safety on your first clear, weapons that can block are excellent. You won’t have the fastest kill, but you’ll survive the combos that cart other hunters.

Sword and Shield — Use items without sheathing, shield blocks emergency hits. Strong for solo.

Charge Blade — Guard Points handle wing combos. SAED on the horn-break knockdown.

Avoid Thunder weapons entirely. Water works as a fallback, but ice is always better.

Armor Set Rewards

The Rey Dau armor set comes with:

• Latent Power — Boosts affinity after taking a threshold of damage or after enough time passes. Fits aggressive playstyles.
• Constitution — Reduces stamina cost on dodges and certain attacks. Great for Bow and Dual Blades.
• Thunderous Roar (2-piece bonus) — Extends Latent Power duration.
• Inspiration (3-piece bonus) — Buffs team performance.

The set has strong Thunder resistance but negative Water and Ice resistance.

The Gamma set from AT Rey Dau is a direct upgrade — same skills but better numbers, more slots, and higher base defense. Worth farming if you run Latent Power builds.

Quick Tips

1. Break the horns first. Weaker thunder attacks make the entire hunt smoother.
2. Flash Pod it out of the sky. Every aerial combo you cancel is a combo that can’t cart you.
3. Eat for thunder resistance. The difference between 15 and 25 thunder resistance is a full extra hit you can survive.
4. Use the Grounding Pillar. Free massive damage. Pitfall Trap under it for maximum effect.
5. Don’t panic during enrage. Greed kills more hunters than Rey Dau’s actual attacks.
6. For AT Rey Dau, dodge twice. Every slam has a delayed aftershock. One dodge clears the hit, the second clears the explosion.