Evidence for Disufiroa being the Strongest Monster Hunter Dragon?

[RevolverDragon]

So I've been seeing this claim tossed around in a few circles that the Fatalis trio aren't the strongest monsters in the Monser Hunter series. That honor apparently goes to the Frontier exclusive dragon, Disufiroa.

What I want to know is--why is Disufiroa the strongest? The Fatalis trio have numerous lore and cinematic feats to back up their claim. Disu just seems to be accepted as the strongest because of author statement , but from feats and lore the monster just doesn't have much going for it. It's apparently fierce rivals with Shantien, which is another strong monster, but doesn't quite have the feats Fatalis has.

The statement itself is also dangerously vague. Strong in what sense? Strongest in a strictly gameplay sense? I just want some clarification.

 

[GimmyJibbsJr]

I think it really can't be strongest strictly in gameplay. If it meant "toughest", that is subjective and based solely on a player's ability to combat that monster. "strongest" in terms of gameplay also is likely not true since the games can have basically any monster vary in strength. Like how Daimyo Hermitaur suddenly is stronger than the Shagaru Magala you previously fight in MH4U. Not only that but there are just other Elder Dragons that, in terms of gameplay, are comparable to Disufiroa when in reality they shouldn't be equal.

Not only that but like a lot of stuff for MH we go off of statements and lore-based feats. If it is referred to as the strongest monster, than we have no real reason to not believe that until we get evidence directly contradicting that statement (which we don't have at the moment).

Plus we have seen "BannedLagiacrus" state that Disufiroa is the strongest monster in the MH Universe during a blog introducing Conquest War monsters. The fact that it came from him is reliable since he posts things in the Ecology and Lore blog, which contains canon info from interviews, magazines, guidebooks, etc..

That also being said, BannedLagiacrus has also gone on record as saying that he personally believes the Fatalis should be superior to Disufiroa based on what he knows. I guess some discussion may be needed for this. :/

 

[RevolverDragon]

Well, consider that, when Disufiroa was first released, it was the first conquest monster. As in, the first one whose stats increase to absurd limits the more its fought. Since it introduced and exclusively used this mechanic (Shantien being the exception), the strongest monster claim could just be referring to how it literally is (was?), stat-wise, the strongest monster in the game.

The reason I'm arguing for this conclusion is because I do see a contradiction between the claim and other lore facts about Disufiroa. We know that it is fierce rivals with another elder dragon, Shantien. Considering the wording implies that Shantien can compete on an even playing field with Disufiroa, I'm left with two possible conclusions:

1) Shantien is an immensely powerful elder dragon that's stronger than Fatalis and Alatreon, or;

2) Disufiroa is somehow stronger than a monster that can cause a solar eclipse but has a difficult time fighting what is essentially a tougher Amatsu.

Option 1 has little in the way of evidence supporting it. All we really know about Shantien, power-wise, is that it can compete with Disufiroa. But that feat alone doesn't tell us much of anything: in order to know how impressive of a feat competing with Disu is, we have to know where Disu stands in the rankings, but the only thing we have about Disu's power is that it competes against Shantien. It's circular reasoning at its finest. If there're more feats for Shantien I don't know about, feel free to tell me.

Thus, I'm left with option 2. But 2 opens up the contradiction. How is Disufiroa so powerful but challenged by something that really shouldn't challenge it? Fatalis, for its part, demonstrates its complete dominance over Lao-Shan Lung. Dire Miralis straight up eradicated all life around it just by existing. So I just find it odd how Disu doesn't follow the pattern of establishing its power by directly comparing it to another established monster and having that other monster come up hilariously underequipped.

I suppose the best evidence I saw for Disu's power outside of vague claims is its stage, World's End. That it could affect its environment like that is pretty impressive. But it's something other monsters like Amatsu do, and we both know Amatsu isn't Black Dragon tier.

I know BannedLagiacrus is the expert for all things lore related, but not even he has given much context for the "strongest monster" claim. How do I know the Japanese sources are strictly referring to Disu's power in-lore? I don't, so I want to see more evidence. That Lagiacrus also seems skeptical of the claim is revealing, I think.