Yeah, the desert parts of that map actually get cold at night, hence the hot drinks.
Dunno, I thought you get ice crystals practically everywhere. Just mine stuff, you're bound to get more than you want.
Is the Barroth more vulnerable to blunt attacks?
In general, Barroth is a teeny bit more vulnerable to blunt attacks. Not much more, and generally, all monsters are, since the blunt attacks seem to be a bit slower. Most of the time, you'll find all the different weapon choices have their use against different enemies.
Also, if you take a hammer online and aren't hitting monsters in the head, people will get mad at you, so watch out. I don't know how many times I've been told to hit the monster on the head while I've been trying to learn patterns. People don't understand that if I can hit 'em on the head, I will hit them on the head!