Manticulex

Manticulex is an unreleased Neopteron. It is known to inhabit various regions; most predominantly, desert areas, and can be encountered at Low and High Ranked Guild Quests.

Appearence
The Manticulex is a large, beetle-like Neopteron with a dual-layered exoskeleton - the first being the beetle's innate, greyish carapace with red tinting and highlights in ornate, swirling patterns; and the second, a covering of cactus around the large front legs, smaller hindlegs and pseudo-horns. The layers of cactus are heavily responsive to the Manticulex's pheromones, and have the ability to retract and extend at will.

It distinguishes itself from other beetle-like Neopterons with a small proboscis instead of pincers, which it uses to feed off cactus stems for sustenance.

Its front legs are unusually large for a beetle's physiology, and it is observed to use the legs' powerful musculature to grip taller cactus plants, as well as wrestle with larger and stronger wyverns.

Abilities
Manticulex possess heavy front legs which can be used to pound and crush at attacking players. This, combined with their innate cactus symbiote growing on their front legs, tends to punish players for attacking their armored components by causing them to bleed. Manticulex can also greatly extend their spike range while slowing to a defensive huddle or crawl, trading off mobility for close-ranged impenetrability.

Rarely, Manticulex can also use their internally stored oil deposits to fire tar globules at the player, or at the floor, which explode after a short duration of time. When injured, Manticulex also leak a tarry substance, and typically attempt to fly over the player to rain tar onto them. They will continue to leak tar in a small area around them, making it extremely difficult to attack the Manticulex in close range.

In spite of their heavy armor, injured Manticulex tend to fly at an alarmingly fast rate, often impaling players with remnants of cactus exoskeleton or drenching them in exploding tar.

Behavior
Manticulex are surprisingly passive for larger Neopterons, and will generally ignore the player until attacked. They tend not to strike first, as their heavy cactus exteriors tend to dissuade all but the strongest and sturdiest of wyverns from attack; much less Hunters.

All Manticulex have cactus stems growing off of their bodies in a potent symbiotic relationship - what spare nutrients the Manticulex has, the cactus absorbs, and the cactus covers up for the Manticulex's considerably weaker exoskeleton, while providing a secondary defense mechanism. When threatened, the pheromones alter the cactus thorns to fully extend from the interior, hollow stems. This can also be used as a warning display to larger predators, although it is not uncommon to see Diablos completely ignoring this sign to attack the Manticulex.

In this case, the Manticulex is surprisingly mobile, and will actively flee heavily armored predators such as the Diablos or the Gravios. However, against smaller wyverns, it tends to show its defensive stance, and heavily punish them for attacking with their cacti. It is not uncommon for elder Manticulex to have dislodged wyvern tails and wings embedded on the cactus spikes.

When undisturbed, Manticulex either feed off large cactus plants for sustenance, or burrow deep underground to recuperate and regulate their body temperature from the intense desert heat. Typically, they tend to burrow deep enough to reach oil deposits, which the cactus symbiotes unwittingly absorb. The Manticulex store this as part of their internal fluids, which can be used as a secondary warning for predators not to consume this foul-tasting beast.

Data
More coming soon!

Attacks

 * Attack 1: Double/Triple Pound - Manticulex swipes outwards with its front legs, smashing the ground right in front of it and advancing slowly. Dodge inwards to the Manticulex's thorax/abdomen. Getting hit by two/three pounds inflicts Bleeding.
 * Attack 2: Abdomen Slam - Manticulex lets out a small hiss, raises its abdomen in the air, and slams it downwards onto hunters below it. Can be dodged by rolling/diving away from the rear.
 * Attack 3: Spike Barrage - Manticulex rears up on its hind legs, before landing on its front, firing an arcing barrage of spikes onto a medium-long distance. Only used when hunters are a great distance from the Manticulex, and will cause Bleeding.
 * Attack 4: Spike Shell - Manticulex curls up into a defensive ball, and spikes extend outwards from all legs (unless broken). Increases sharpness required from green to blue, and causes hunters to bleed if attacking with sharpness below blue (or if attacking front legs, regardless of sharpness).
 * Attack 5: Crawling Charge - Manticulex scratches at the ground once with the left foreleg, and does a repeated Pound attack while charging forwards at medium speed. Knocks down hunters along the way; if the hunters are caught in front of Manticulex, they are dragged and Bleeding is applied. Easy to avoid by rolling sideways; high damage.
 * Attack 6: Tar Bomb - Manticulex spits a volley of three to five tar bombs at medium range, coating players in sticky tar which explode after a short delay. Otherwise, it forms a small tar pool on the floor that explodes after a slightly longer delay. Explosions inflict Fireblight.
 * Attack 7: Flying Slam - Manticulex takes off and hovers in the air, before diving at a medium distance away at alarmingly high speeds. Will warn players before the dive with a shrill screech.
 * Attack 8: Oil Leak (Injured) - Manticulex constantly leaks a tarry substance that explodes after a short delay. Explosions do not damage Manticulex, and will Tar players if caught within, or inflict Fireblight if caught in an explosion. Will only leak from sides where the carapace is broken.

Armor + Weapons
Armors:

Coming Soon!