Alatreon

The hunt against Alatreon is won or lost on elemental damage. Raw does not count. Most hunts begin in Fire; Ice elemental damage on the arms is what a hunter needs, and it has to be enough. One quest begins in Ice; then Fire elemental damage is what a hunter needs.

Read the glow in the gaps of the scales. Fire is red-orange and the arena burns. Ice is blue-white and the arena is clear of flame. Dragon is purple, with red and white lightning on the body.

The cycle is always the same. Fire or Ice runs for a stretch, then Dragon runs for a stretch, then Escaton Judgment. Escaton Judgment always comes after Dragon, even if a horn already broke. Enough of that opposing elemental damage topples Alatreon before Escaton Judgment and makes the nova survivable — heal through it with Dust of Life. If that topple never happens, Escaton Judgment ends the hunt. After Escaton Judgment the topple resets, so the next stretch needs that elemental damage again.

Horns can break only during Dragon, one horn per dragon stretch. Dragon elemental damage is weak while Fire or Ice is active, and useful in dragon. A broken horn does not skip Escaton Judgment. After Escaton Judgment, a broken horn sends Alatreon back to the previous element so the weapon a hunter brought still works. If the horn stays up, Alatreon switches to the opposite element and that weapon contributes nothing to the next topple.