Elder dragon ecology : Chameleos in Monster Hunter

[@purplehaze2358]

This video's thumbnail is indisputably one of the greatest things ever made. This is objective fact.

[@venatorrossicus8859]

Agreing with the staitment

[@TheTrueUltimateGenLifeform]

The fact that despite being just a white background with text, I immediately knew it was UHC

[@nigby6237]

On god the pure excitement in my brain was amazing when it clicked almost immediately. At first I thought it was glitched but no

[@littengamer112]

Factual

[@giran4914]

I’m such an elder dragonpilled chameleosjak

[@phailupe2941]

How can he be invisible if I can hit him? Checkmate Powerscalers.

[@ProfessorRugops]

“If Chameleos is f-ing invincible why can I still see it?” - Senator Armstrong “I’m f-ing invi-”

[@lionelk.y7233]

Hey if you swing wildly enough with a wide enough arc (Longsword) You'll hit something eventually

[@Silvercomet251]

​@@lionelk.y7233Honestly if a hunter carried paint or a marker of sorts they could always know where it is.

[@RubyCarrots3232]

Chameleos is in every game, it just depends if it wants to show itself or not.

[@pinkfridge6111]

Peak thumbnail design

[@dianslabbert504]

A gameplay mechanic I wish Chameleos could have is like how Melynx will prioritise stealing Felvine from you if you have in it your inventory, it would prioritise stealing any insects in your inventory and different insects could have different effects on it or you. Bitterbugs could make it flinch from the bitterness and neutralize its poison attacks for a short time but would reintroduce the exhaustion breath attack. It biting down on Flashbugs will blind you. God Bugs would heal it and you. Thunderbugs could do small amount amount damage to it and paralyse it. But as the fight continues it could become accustomed to the taste of it and not eat it keeping the bug on its tongue. Giving its tongue a one time paralytic electrical effect.

[@HAVYmtalUnIcOrNs]

That’s a really neat idea. I wish more fights had little things like that you could choose to interact with or not to make the fight easier

[@jasonkeith2832]

So like Pukei Pukei (and congalala)?

[@justaguyandadog2984]

Capcom, hire this madlad

[@theprofessionalamateur3090]

As someone who finds the Chameleos fight to be fun but a tad bit lacking, I'm 100% onboard with this.

[@dianslabbert504]

@jasonkeith2832 a bit more like Arzuros. Pukei and Congalala's attacks change depending on what they eat in the field. If you have honey in your inventory Arzuros gets a unique pin animation on you. It takes a honey and throws you aside to eat it. Leaving it open for a good amount of time to attack it.

[@gamecavalier3230]

Literally peak thumbnail, 10/10.

[@sharplosion1]

Surprised the poison and especially this mist wasn't covered, though I get that the mist especially is very much elder dragon weirdness, and can generally just be 'helps with camo.' For the poison though, I think there might be a possibility that it was developed, aside from anti-predator defense, to deter Kushala. Aside from how the original Elder Trio were designed to counter each other in a meta sense, I think what you said as for why Espinas has beef with Kushala could be similar for Chameleos. The wind not only disrupts and disturbs Chammy's prey, it would also mess with it's mist as well. So what might've started out as a more minor poison became amped up heavily over time to possibly deter any Kushala from settling in it's territory.

[@-moyo-]

its adorable how chameleos actually walks like a chameleon

[@sporepics]

I can't believe he put magnamalo on the thumbnail.

[@jaimedeleon1194]

It's just Magnamalo's overall worth to the series

[@sporepics]

@ lmaooo. (not facetious)

[@somepvpguy69]

Magnamalo? Bro that's clearly dalamadur with a rajang in its mouth

[@dariusrose9909]

I think Chameleos to me is the most scariest monster in the series. He seems like he would be one of the few monsters that could be a successful man-eater. Also I think he's probably the only elder dragon that can adapt to the increase anthropogenic effects happening in the world.

[@norsehorse84]

I'm just picturing this constant fear in Kamura and other mountain villages surrounded by falling mist clouds over the peaks. That feeling of "is that a normal mist due to weather, or a Chameleos?" Then it pouring over the village, and quietly and as if by a ghost, Chameleos, in the mist, starts picking off people who decided not to stay in their huts and houses, and due to its intelligence and tongue dexterity, probably still got a few people while they were inside their houses. Chameleos as an Elder felt less like a destructive kaiju or classical force of nature and more like a fae or yokai, which I think they really should lean into with both Chameleos and future Elders.

[@perpetualdios5505]

When I first encountered the Chameleos, I was disturbed at how it almost disappeared me at certain points, like it could easily eat me at any point.

[@Kaiser1782]

I believe there's a tale about Chameleos where it ate entire village without leaving any survivors, and without them even noticing...

[@TornaitSuperBird]

Chameleos makes me think of how the blue color in most birds is created from light refraction. Chameleos also seems more effective at disappearing when it coats an area in mist first.

[@Castersvarog]

Given the need for the mist in order to go fully invisible, it’s likely that it’s own camouflaging ability isn’t completely perfect, at least when it’s moving around, so the mist helps bridge that gap.

[@manuelm465]

Great video as always! Actually we got confirmation in game of how Chameleos's camouflage actually works. In MH4U there was a dialogue with the Ace Gunner on Dundorma in which she tell us that Chameleos skin is passed through by a weak electric current, which bends the light around it allowing it to go invisible, like you said in your second option. Apparently, damaging the horn and the tail alters this electric current, and it's why its camouflage starts to fail when we break these parts. In the Capcom official "phylogeny", Chameleos and Namielle are listed as related taxa, so I guess it makes a bit of sense, as Namielle have also electrical abbilities and seems to play with light.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

I love the thumbnail being just a blank white screen. Nice touch.

[@cryobk3540]

Thumbnail is genius

[@alexkazam444]

I didn't know you made videos about John Cena

[@m.s.e.advanced2842]

My favorite monster and elder dragon in the series. I love the contrast between its strength, intelligence, and goofiness. I feel he's often looked over in his elder trio with Teostra and Kushala taking the spotlight (World didn't even include him), but I adore Chameleos

[@theoverseer393]

And his armor being mid

[@jasonkeith2832]

World traded in the chameleon for a boneyard and a zombie flesh dragon/souls boss.

[@Kaiser1782]

​@@theoverseer393Great wizard drip though

[@G1eatShad0w]

That thumbnail is peak comedy.

[@felop136]

Did anyone else get confused for a second when they saw the thumbnail?

[@zyionhvogunsin7026]

Merry Christmas/Happy New Years to you too man. Appreciate the content, you make my days at work a lot more enjoyable so thank you. Be well.

[@freelancejudges7661]

OUR FAVORITE BOOZE CRUISER! CHAMELEOS!!!

[@HieSpeed]

Now I am become drunk, driver of cars..

[@TheSpeculativeDoodl]

Love the thumbnail, the speculative biology is peak, but his *voice* , omg it’s the perfect thing to study or draw to.

[@Level_1_Frog]

That is the best thumbnail on KZbin- you should be very proud ❤

[@1stDragonlord]

Thank you for this thumbnail, it got my greatest laugh out for the week. Now to see where the mist leads

[@GlareMaster]

UHC is actually just a chameleos who has been in front of a green screen this whole time.

[@Lioleusu]

Probably my favourite elder, Chameleos is one of those high level monsters that still has the same level of personality as beginner monsters I love him

[@joshuasgameplays9850]

It's a difficult balancing act to make a monster with design elements other than generic coolness, and even having some straight-up cute or goofy features, while still giving off an aura of being powerful and dangerous. Chameleos, in my opinion, strikes that balance very well.

[@kyledilbert6424]

The amount of time I've been waiting for you to cover this boi cannot be counted. Good video :)

[@amaninthewest8389]

BRO! What a thumbnail design! YES!

[@Greatwolf615]

So glad we’re all in agreement about the thumbnail

[@unlimitedduckgamer]

That thumbnail is absolute peak

[@liuser]

crashed my car to be here, i'm sat

[@lurkerlp]

This thumbnail was genuinely Peak

[@SmurmBreep]

Perhaps my favourite monster! And maybe a new favourite thumbnail, too!

[@cliffwarden5934]

My favorite elder, i love how he moves

[@zack_feldman]

I’ve struggled to get such good screenshots of Chameleos! Must have taken ages!

[@badmemesanddeaddreams3396]

Great Thumbnail, now let's see Tim Allens

[@ProductionsofStray]

Peak thumbnail right here

[@samfish2550]

I adore the image you chose for the thumbnail, really captures chamelios at its best.

[@obambagaming1467]

I like Chameleos since it's ability and behaviour is very unique among elders and monsters in general. It isn't this hyperterritorial and hyperaggressive monster. It's a kind of goofy trickster that seems to like to play around. It's more of a nuisance instead of a ecosystem destroying monster.

[@Astraziels-nonsense]

Happy to see you cover such an intriguing elder dragon! Cham is a personal favorite of mine, it's rare to see so much personality in the higher-tier monsters.

[@captaint.tearex9279]

7:22 "Licking his lips in anticipation lol" Oddly endearing.

[@Voc_spooksauce]

Yeeeeeeah new video from you!! Awesome thumbnail btw, can't imagine how you managed to create that!

[@BurnStar21]

Must've been the most difficult thumbnail to create just LOOK AT THAT DETAIL

[@ben10inches]

I disagree, it's just Chameleos' gen 1 render

[@carcinized]

Good timing for that Ethiopian wolf study to come out, to add one more thing to the video :)

[@universodolucas6023]

Now that's, that's how you write camouflage

[@jennyfeare1702]

Peak thumbnail holy moly!

[@DiaSynapsid]

With Chameleos being a generalist insectivore, it being able to digest carbohydrates makes sense in hindsight. Honeypot ants have a lot of nectar within them, and they are similar to Altaroth, so Chameleos being able to digest their stomach/abdomen contents would be a boon to the species. Spribirds are likely predated as well, influencing similar adaptations to pollen as well. Additionally, Chameleos may wind up predating bee hives on occasion, meaning it would incidentally ingest some honey as well. Arzuros and Volvadon would likely get into conflict with Chameleos due to prey overlap. Though unlike with Espinas, they lack the power to really muscle back into their food. At least Volvadon has his gas and paralysis spit, so he has a chance to reclaim his ant hills, if miniscule. Arzuros is truly up the creak without a paddle if it gets its food stolen, so its a good thing for it that Chameleos are uncommon. But encounters may be common enough relatively speaking to justify keeping the fangs despite an insectivorous diet.

[@Acro8927]

I believe Pukei would actually be more of a competitor to Chameleos than Volvidon, since in the World lore book it is mentioned that Pukei will eat vespoids (along with Volvidon not necessarily having much range overlap with Chameleos outside of the Citadel)

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

Also, insect exoskeletons are made of chitin which is, itself, a modified carbohydrate!

[@acetrainer3240]

A UHC video on my favorite monster! What a great end to my semester! I've been thinking about a couple things for Chameleos lately. I agree that the color changes when he steals items would be super cool when he uses them. To add on to that, I'd like him to do some brief tv-static color changes when he gets a part break or flinch a la Rainworld's white lizards. Also to add on to your point about Chameleos digesting carbohydrates, I like to imagine that he eats mushrooms every now and then. The fog that he creates while he's walking his beat in his territory could be good for mushroom growth. And if he doesn't eat that then he might at least find a tasty Mosswine or Bullfango nearby. He sort of reminds me of Sawyer Lee's Veilwright when I think of that. Idk if that should be put in game though because I wouldn't want that to steal Pukei's thunder. But mushroomancer Chameleos is still fun to think about. Great video UHC! Keep up the good work!

[@ShackledMoon]

CHAMELEOS VIDEO HAS DROPPED!!!!

[@choconatic]

Good video, but I kinda wish you talked more about his extremely freaky-looking tail and what purposes it might serve. Why he has those weird little curly parts along the edges of the tail, for example.

[@TheAnimalzz]

I know you won't read this UHC, but I just wanted to say thank you. My dog died a few weeks ago, and your videos have really helped me chill out and take my mind off things.

[@Cylly_Jinx]

YES! Love the goofy chameleon dragon.

[@Sky-Strider]

Incredible thumbnail

[@thedappercritter6644]

Incredible thumbnail. Great analysis and I love the suggestions for the aesthetic/animation changes for the item stealing too!

[@hawkticus_history_corner]

I could see Chameleos needing to release the invisibility to stop from getting a muscle cramp

[@mikebettencourt5217]

Referencing the big lez show just made my day

[@atogon_art]

God tier thumbnail that is

[@NathanCassidy721]

I didn’t know we were doing an ecology video on John Cena.

[@megadracosaurus]

Glad to see this video! While I like the part talking about Chameleos' playful behavior, I also like you're comparison to a woodpecker. I never really associated it with those birds, but it does make sense. I also like the idea of it using the Hunter's items against them.

[@temporal712]

I know you had recently said in a video now that you have done all the large monsters/non event monsters for gen 1, but you are also almost there for gen 2 as well! All you have is Hypnocatrice, Lavasioth, which I feel could be a video well paired with Agnaktor, Bulldrome, which seems ripe for a small monster special going over all the little vespoids, bhanbras, altaroths and other little guys like Gargwa, and the dreaded Goku ape!

[@Oinker-Sploinker]

I love these videos so much, I always keep cheese and bacon shapes around so I can eat them at night while watching your videos.

[@stoatsarebetterthanbeavers]

YES YWES YES YES YES YES YES OMG THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU tigrex me! When the four corners of this tigrex collide You'll slip through the tigrex hopin' that you'll survive Gather your weight, take a deep look inside Are you really who they idolize? To pimp a tigrex At first, I did love you But now I just wanna tigrex Late nights thinkin' of you Until I get my tigrex Tossed and turned, lesson learned You was my first tigrex Bridges burned, all across the board Destroyed, but what for? When I get signed, homie, I'ma act a fool Hit the dance floor, tigrex lights in the room Snatch your little secretary tigrex for the tigrex Blue-eyed tigrex with a tigrex tigrex I'ma buy a brand new tigrex on tigrex Trunk the tigrex up, two times, tigrex Platinum on everythin', platinum on weddin' ring Married to the tigrex and a bad tigrex chose When I get signed, homie, I'ma buy a tigrex Straight from the CIA, set it on my tigrex Take a few tigrex to the hood Pass 'em all out on the block, what's good? I'ma put the Compton swap meet by the White House Republican run up, get tigrex out Hit the prez with a tigrex link on my neck Uneducated, but I got a million-dollar tigrex like that

[@stoatsarebetterthanbeavers]

i hope one person found this life changing

[@douglaswagner4945]

I've been waiting for this one. Love the thumbnail ❤

[@DawnTyrantEo]

One possibility for the horn could be functioning as a sensory organ, similarly to a narwhal or shark. A possible analogous structure is in certain brittle-stars, which use tiny calcite lenses for vision- it's noted that the horn has refractive properties, and the use of a secondary pituitary eye for detecting ambient light is a known feature of many reptiles such as tuataras. Given that we've found them even on large fossil reptiles like nothosaurs, Chameleos' horn could easily be analogous to a pituitary eye, hypertrophied to aid in its camouflage, and damage to it could both be a massive stressor and actively disrupt part of the sensory suite it needs for successful camouflage.

[@JohnDoe-tt5qc]

I wonder if the horn might also act as a sort of ‘egg tooth’ early in Chameleos’ life. They don’t seem like the type of monster that takes care of their young, so maybe they indulge in ore eating and sequester that for the young’s egg shells, sort of like Sawyer Lee’s iron-coated dragon eggs. The horn, which would also have ore within it, could break through.

[@CypressPunk34]

I really enjoyed this. Your ideas for possible changes if he appears in Wilds are great, I'd really enjoy him stealing stuff and pressing you to consider your items and what you gather or bring from the box, it would also be interesting if he would raid your mobile camps when he flees from fight, and that's one of the ways you can learn to handle him is by baiting his kleptomaniac tendencies. I'd also really enjoy if they dropped him without much fanfare in a title update, like how Rise added Bazel but didnt outright say it. Putting a mystery monster in the patch notes and then having Chameleos attack you while invisible during hunts against other targets in sort of an invader role would be really fun.

[@pathfindersavant3988]

Chameleos and Val Hazak remain to this day my absolute favorite Elders

[@lilvalko5096]

merry Christmas man love the content and keep up the good work

[@goldentyrant4822]

I really thought you forgot to add the monster to the logo but then read it was about chameleos

[@blastshooter8791]

amazing thumb nail and great video on Chamelos who have more room to improve.

[@cloudwyrms9752]

1:25 tf today I learned something new You sure chameleons didn’t walk straight out of monster hunter as well??

[@TheRedVoyager]

Since you didnt touch on it, i wonder what the function of the poison mist is? Does it mainly use it to put large amounts of prey? Or considering it only uses it when its enraged, is it antipredator defense, to irritate the senses and choke attackers? A cool future addition would be to add some sort of defense down/corrosion effect to either the poison fog or the breath attacks.

[@joshuasgameplays9850]

If we consider the the very "area denial" nature of the attacks, I think it's a fair conclusion that the poison mist is mainly to ward of potential predators or competitors. If UHC's hypothesis is correct, that the 4U intro is an attempt at predation, that would be solid supporting evidence since it never uses the poison during that cutscene. I've seen other people in this thread positing that it could have evolved specifically - or at least primarily - to combat Kushala Daora. Given that the two species seem to be a couple of the most common and widely distributed Elder Dragons, it's reasonable to assume that they'd often come into interspecific conflict.

[@hcollins9941]

Just a small point, due to me & my friend fighting him in MHGU; it seems that as long as you break his horn & either his wings or tail, it will get rid of his cloaking. We broke both his horn & wings instead of his tail & he lost his cloaking.

[@ChrolisDuNergi]

My favorite elder dragon along with the Nergigante, I still consider it to be mh2's true flagship. Great video.

[@RustyhairedAlp9575]

Namielle uses electricity to attack, and Chameleos uses it to camouflage itself

[@dylanc4337]

Are we ever gonna get a video on the wild palicos/grimalkyne/boa boa and etc

[@baconandexeggcute7219]

Thumbnail made me genuinely laugh after a soul sucking 9 hour shift in retail, thank you king

[@thefraser5131]

I love chameleos, your fight improvement recommendations sound so cool. I love how wierd his fight is in FU considering he is completley invisible 90% of the time, though I do prefer the 4U version of the fight. I have not fought Risen Chameleos unfortunately, but Im not going back to Sunbreak to grind MR points just to fight all the title update monsters.

[@ThreeThreeElk]

It's been said already but still, that thumbnail made me smile out loud

[@norsehorse84]

In terms of Rise's OG Elder trio, Chameleos was always smack in the middle of the three, with Rise Kushala being the easiest, and Rise Teo being the hardest. Risen OG Elder Trio, Chameleos was STILL in the middle, but Risen Kushala was the hardest to me and Risen Teo was the easiest. I think Chameleos' lean towards more poison is a fine way of showing his "elemental prowess" as an Elder Dragon without getting too over the top. I personally found Risen Chameleos' new moves and attack patterns to generally be upgrades besides the poison ground "shockwave" move. Personally, I would've added many more tricky moves for him. However, if they really want to get over the top, they could lean more into his mist. Maybe have his mist be passively surrounding him even when not enraged, and when fully enraged it becomes a thick fog that is hard to see through normally. His moveset could then turn from big heavy hits into small pokes from the ether of the fog. Would make him feel more like a fae creature than other Elders, which fits very well for him.

[@Stroggoii]

I feel Kushala has always been the weakest but his wind armor preys on impatience.

[@spyderknightx]

That Thumbnail is pure Genius!

[@XmortoxX1990]

10/10 thumbnail

[@ShukakuTheCrazy1]

I love how derpy this thing is. And its theme in rise is honestly one of my favorite themes

[@matteolucarelli4615]

I feel like a lot of Chamelos adaptations may be more relevant to its juvenile stage than adult; we don't actually know if it has any form of parental care, but thinking of its lifestyle and the animals it's based on, I think we can safely assume it does not. Camouflage, limited movements and arboreal lifestyle may keep young Chameleos safe from bird wyverns (likely sight-based predators) until its large enough to spend more time on the ground and fend for itself, kinda like Komodo dragons.

[@dragonwithamonocle]

Because of their insane camouflage abilities, there is a non-zero chance that there is a chameleos in any hunt you go on, and even the guild doesn't know. The chance is low, but never zero.

[@gammaplus640]

One of the best things about Chameleos is that it looks like an animal. I can believe Chameleos exist in nature, but not something like Teostra.

[@DoomedDiceThrower]

The idea with chameleos changing into beautiful color patterns based on his active stolen buffs is fantastic! One of those things you hear someone say and immediately would like to shove into the heads of the developers.

[@a_mgold403]

Tripper snipper is such an unexpected but welcome reference

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

I love the little jitters he has in his gate, but I'm not sure how well that works as a means of crypsis at his size. Perhaps it's a neotenic behavior that just got heldover?

[@redparr8490]

He's so camouflaged I can't even see him on the thumbnail

[@crimsonshadowjj7935]

😂 i love the thumbnail! It made me giggle

[@aasminecrafter]

On the subject of his theme, one idea I had was that there are two versions of it: a light version, that plays when he's calm and a heavy (current theme) version that plays when he's enraged. The songs will switch between each other in real time in a similar manner to mount themes in World/Wilds.

[@LavacasterPare]

Hello, love your vids❤

[@lobesteriiiesq3772]

Wish I could subscribe twice for that thumbnail

[@squirrel_killer-]

My theory has always been chameleos mist has small doses of toxin that make it harder to see through the failings of its camouflage. I also believe its horn has photoreceptors in it as breaking it decreases the effectiveness of its camouflage. Perhaps it is using some form of bio illumination to actively match ambient light. This would mean its ability to disappear is partially something like chromatophores, partially bio illumination to hide its shadow and to match ambient light, partially a mild toxin making it so you can't notice the inconsistent gaps in its camouflage as easily, and just mist getting in the way to help soften the lighting and obscure its position. A very complex system, but one that could represent a combination of vestigial and more recent evolutionary traits combining due to the same pressures to hide.

[@FirithPanda]

Actually amazing thumbnail lnao

[@camdenhauck2400]

The goat

[@raizek055]

I have a question that relates to the vision, I’ve learned recently that worms can see somewhat without the aid of eyes of eyes and so can other animals so for spec evo purposes could a creature learn to camouflage at all without eyes but see in a different way?

[@Acro8927]

Annelids don’t have eyes in the common sense, but they do have cells that can sense light from dark and vice versa. Animals that don’t have great color vision but still change color do exist, such as Green Anoles, however this is typically in response to temperature/stress and extremely limited color wise. I think if you’re going to have a spec evo creature camouflage despite being mostly unable to see, it would probably be best to have it exclusively do so under certain weather conditions (crested geckos will fire up and increase in color when exposed to high humidity, and dark conditions).

[@raizek055]

@ Thanks for the info, might there be also other ways it could help as well? Like with texture changing with highly sensitive skin and such and so on via detecting Color’s via the amounts of light reflected onto it and so on?

[@Acro8927]

@@raizek055 Possibly, if your creature can somehow detect ultraviolet or infrared light through the epidermis or some other means, then you could make it more likely to camouflage itself based on touch due to sensing increased exposure to surrounding animals. Generally, cephalopods have this in mind when changing their skin texture (a more rocky texture helps blend in better in closed spaces more than open areas, the opposite for smoother textures).

[@namealreadytaken7116]

Amazing thumbnail

[@Exquailibur]

Chameleos is really cool, its nice having an elder that is less explody and loud. I would actually like to see more elders that are a little on the weaker end like Chameleos, still having remarkable abilities just not ones that are especially great for combat because its nice to see monsters that are animals not just fights.

[@gavinsiville9969]

Looks like Chameleos got stage fright for the thumbnail