How to Beat Zoh Shia with a Hammer in Monster Hunter Wilds
Meet Zoa Shia: Big Beast, Bigger Bonk
Zoh Shia isn’t just a monster. He’s the “end-of-an-era,” “hope-you-brought-spare-pants,” cinematic centerpiece of Monster Hunter Wilds. And if you’re rolling in with a hammer, congratulations – you’ve chosen violence in its purest, most satisfying form.
No cheese. No safeties.
Just you, your blunt trauma stick, and a swirling elemental storm of pain. This guide’s gonna show you how to turn that ancient cosmic abomination into a fossilized speedbump.
Zoh Shia: Living Statue, Absolute Menace
Imagine if a cathedral gained sentience and decided it hated you personally.
That’s Zoh Shia.
This ancient construct is a walking shrine with two phases, glowing weak points, and a chip on his shoulder the size of a dragon’s ego.
Image: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
Phase one: it’s like fighting a floating castle with crystal armor. Phase two: he sheds the marble suit and turns into a chaos elemental fueled by fire and thunder. He throws out AoEs like he’s got them on tap, slams the ground like he’s angry at the Earth itself, and punishes sloppy hunters faster than you can say “I should’ve brought a gunlance.”
Why Hammer Works (If You’re Not a Coward)
Let’s get this out of the way, hammer mains don’t run from fights. They run toward faces. And Zoh’s face? It’s a big ol’ bonk target.
The hammer is awesome for two main reasons:
You can chain head-stuns like a crowd-control demon.
His elemental flails and giant swipes leave huge recovery windows, perfect for getting off strong combos or (if you’re lucky) charging and releasing your strongest hits.
Thanks to recent buffs, hammer’s smoother to play and easier to stick damage with, especially during aggressive fights like this. If you’re smart with spacing and know how to weave in charged attacks, you’re gonna cook.
Hammer Build for Zoa Shia
Image: Easy Build for Zoa Shia | Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
Weapon Suggestions
Artian Blast: Raw over elemental is the move here since Dragon doesn’t really scale well. I wasn’t using that yet when I took the screenshot above, but Zoh Uria and Binder/Jail is still fine.
Armor Suggestions
Gore and Zoh Shia pieces for Frenzy, Agitator, and Recovery Speed
Fulgur pieces to juice Agitator, Maximum Might, and/or Coalescence with Gore Frenzy
Mix for flexibility depending on what you’ve unlocked
Key Recommended Skills
Agitator (he’s almost always enraged)
Weakness Exploit
Critical Boost
Focus 3 (charge faster, hit sooner)
Antivirus (get the two piece from Gore, you’ll thank us)
Slugger or KO Boost (for pure hammer joy)
Recommended Mantles
- Corrupted Mantle
- Evasion Mantle
Tips for Beating Zoa Shia
Phase One: The Marble Menace
Start aggressive. His armored state is slow but dangerous. Stick to the front, bait the downward slams, then rotate around and punish the face. Charged attacks during his windup animations are free real estate.
Watch for the trail-based AoE attacks, he’ll light up the floor in a swirling mess of fire or thunder.
Roll perpendicular, not backward.
Image: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
As you continue to bonk the armor on the wingarms and head, it will smash and get progressively easier to break until he transitions into Phase Two.
Don’t waste the environmental rocks in Phase One, you’re going to want as much damage as you can dish out in Phase Two.
Phase Two: Elemental Meltdown
Once the armor shatters, Zoh gets real. He’s faster, more aggressive, and starts layering thunderblight on top of his usual beatdowns.
Image: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
This is where hammer shines: try to use stun loops to lock him out of his strongest moves while smashing his face in with as many environmental rocks as possible.
Dodge first, hit second.
Play around his downtime after big finishers (like the wing slam or wide circular blast), then drop a charged Big Bang combo right into the dome when you create an opening.
How to Deal with the Inferno Attack
If you see Zoa Shia stand up on his hind legs and whip his head around while summoning a bunch of fire and Wylk Crystals from the ground – you want to run.
This isn’t the Jin Dahaad fight and if you try hiding behind a Wylk Crystal, it’s just going to explode in your face and hurt more.
Image: Monster Hunter Wilds | Capcom
To avoid this attacks, move as far away from Zoa Shia as possible and just wait it out.
Alternatively, you can interrupt this by targeting the Wylk Crystals with Dragon Pods or Thunder Pods. These are amazing throughout the fight and will cause chain reactions with other Wylk Crystals.
Pro Hammer Tactics
Dragon Pods: Save them for phase transitions. They can interrupt key attacks and give you breathing room.
Ignore the Tail: It’s flashy, but pointless. His real weak points are his face, wings, and forelegs.
Crack the Shell: Once armor breaks, go full offense. Stuns come faster, and hammer’s raw damage rips through his exposed hit zones. When Phase Two hits, bring the roof down on him.
Stamina Management: You’ll be charging a lot – bring Dash Juice or stack Constitution. A tired hammer user is a dead hammer user. You can always bring some Wylk Burst armor since there’s always that stuff on the ground.
Here’s a video below to take a look at the tactics. The build itself is farmed out from end-game monsters though, so not really realistic if you’re just trying to learn how to beat him:
Bonus Tip
If you want healing, throw on two pieces of his own gear. Built-in recovery makes greedy hits a little less risky.
Victory Hits Different
When you’re first starting, most hunts against him devolve into 30-minute cart-fests where the floor eats more lives than the monster. But when you land that final uppercut, crack his dome, and watch him crumble in slow motion?
It’s dopamine in 4K.
No other weapon feels quite this right against him.
The hammer isn’t just viable – it’s poetic justice.
Zoh Shia might be the closest Monster Hunter has come to an anime boss battle. And taking him down with a hammer? That’s the loud, violent, glorious way it was meant to be done.
Go loud. Go hard. Go bonk.
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