Gimmie the EDWMonster Hunter Wilds's story may be mid, but it's also a great pay-off to one of the series' oldest mysteriesNow that we're in the ruins of the ancient civilization, there's one monster that appears to harken back to old lore.Image credit: Capcom Article by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on March 5, 2025 Cards on the table: I'm a real story guy. I love me lore, wiki rabbit holes, and two-hour YouTube breakdowns. I have fallen to sleep to more gaming essays and deep dives than I'd care to admit, and as such have a fondness for obscure secrets in the games I play. Monster Hunter Wilds, story-wise, has people torn - and I totally get why - but it also might just have paid homage to one of the series' oldest mysteries.This article contains spoilers for the entire low rank story of Monster Hunter Wilds - you have been warned!That mystery is linked to the ancient civilisation, the ruins of which players have been able to discover and hunt around throughout the series' life. Wilds, however, places this era at the core of its narrative. Starting at the icy cliffs, you're surrounded by what's left of Wyveria, even moreso once you hop into the final major hunting zone - literally called the Ruins of Wyveria.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Now, while Wyveria is this new-found aspect to the lore, the ancient civilization itself has been known about by players for a while. In short, we've known that people were vibing with all manner of technical advancements, we know they were killing monsters at absurd levels. They even used dragon parts to build massive towers all over the place. This, as you can imagine, perturbed the monsters somewhat. All of this culminated in the big naughty event dubbed "The Forbidden Act", in which the ancient civilization created artificial life, though doing so would require another living creature to die.That last part should immediately start raising the eyebrows of Monster Hunter Wilds players, as a good chunk of the game is spent discovering (and ultimately dealing with) "Guardian Monsters" - artificial monsters created ages ago and kept in cocoons. While this appears to be a direct link to this lore, there's still one important detail - beloved by fans - that might just make an appearance in Wilds. The Equal Dragon Weapon (or EDW).Now, the EDW first showed up in concept art for the very first Monster Hunter game, but never actually made its way into any other Monster Hunter project. It is, therefore, non-canon. It was this Frankenstein-esque creation made from 30 different monsters, cobbled together by metal plates and framework. It's proper grim stuff, and probably too dark for the original Monster Hunter games. In the minds of many fans, including myself, it appears as though Guardians (and a very special monster that we'll touch on in a second) are an evolution of, or at least callback to, this original EDW idea. I mean look at this thing! Very cool, if a little dark. | Image credit: CapcomEnter Zoh Shia, the final boss of the low-rank Monster Hunter Wilds story. This boss is an artificial monster, too, and has distinct features that looks as though they come from different dragons. As you proceed through the fight, the white head armour cracks open to reveal a black dragon face and massive black wings (itself a lore bombshell).It also appears to use attacks similar to the black dragon Fatalis in this later stage, lending merit to the idea that it was an ancient dragon created with the DNA of - or even straight up parts of - old dragons, all hidden behind a Wyvern Milk shell.In Wilds, Zoh Shia is described as the "ultimate weapon" of the ancient civilization and ultimately what caused it to collapse, sealed away by the keepers. In my mind, either Zoh Shia and the Guardian monsters are the canon version of the EDWs (with Zoh Shia as the pinnacle of that effort), or a later step in the ancient civilisations's artificial life creation process. Either way, it's a fantastic callback for older Monster Hunter players, and adds layers to the story the only deepens the appeal of the series. The Shia scale of it! | Image credit: VG247And it makes the setting of Wilds all the more exciting. There are bookshelves full of information on the ancient civilisations that the bozo Keepers can't even read, and nothing but time for the Hunters to dig through 'em and uncover more secrets. Older Monster Hunter games have established that discovered ancient civilisation files and notes detail mysterious monsters we've never seen. Maybe they'll show up!And maybe, just maybe, in a room, in a cocoon, behind some locked door The Keepers never bothered to open, an actual EDW is sitting there. The stage has been set for more information about the past to surface, and it opens up Wilds to all kinds of exciting reveals and revelations. It's got me damn excited to see what Wilds has coming in the coming months and years.