While many weapon builds inMonster Hunter Wildsare fairly straightforward, the Bow has multiple features that make it harder to choose a path. Due to the variety of moves and mechanics exclusive to the Bow, the gear that defines a build for this weapon can be more complicated than you’d expect. From unique Coatings to specific armor Skills, a solid Bow build assembles many different concepts.
Every Bow weapon comes with individual Coatings you’re able to apply to arrows, making each Bow along different upgrade trees unique. When youuse the Bow inMonster Hunter Wilds, you can only equip the specific Coatings tied to it during a hunt. Some Coatings inflict Status effects, others simply do more damage, but knowing when and where to activate Coatings can help you take down monsters much faster.
How To Play A Bow Build
Deal Damage Through Creating Wounds And Exploiting Weaknesses
The goal of any Bow build is tomaintain your Stamina and create Open Wounds on a monster to exploitfor constant, high DPS. The Bow can be one of the most damaging weapons against monsters in the right hands, especially if your build has multiple Skills supporting an aggressive strategy. Since every shot you make with your Bow drains your Stamina though, you need to balance your offense and mobility simultaneously.
Monster Hunter Wilds: How To Use Trick Arrow Gauge & Tracers
The Trick Arrow Gauge is a unique feature of the Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds, acting as a resource you can use with Tracer arrows to hunt monsters.
Your Bow’s damage depends on what type of weapon you’re using, as most deal either Elemental or Non-Elemental Damage.The Affinity on any Bow determines your chances of landing critical hits, making high Affinity crucial for some Bow builds. Whenlanding Bow combos inMonster Hunter Wilds, you can quickly land critical shots on targets to deal the weapon’s highest potential damage.
When using any Bow build, you enter Focus Mode while aiming with your arrows. This allows you to target Wounds created on monsters easily for extra damage and a chance to destroy those injuries to stagger your foe.
As you play using a Bow build, here are some crucial techniques to remember to constantly utilize the weapon’s unique strengths:
Input (PlayStation)
Input (PC)
L2 + R2 + B
Left Click + Right Click + F
Creates an AoE aura where multiple arrows will rain from the sky when you fire it, creating Open Wounds on monsters within it.
Y + B
R + F
Go into a kneeling stance where you charge a single, powerful arrow that does a large amount of damage.
R2 + Y + B
Left Click + R + F
Load several arrows into your Bow before firing them all at once in a powerful, short-range attack.
L1 + Y, A
Ctrl + Up/Down Arrow, R
Go through the various Coatings exclusive to your unique Bow, then load them into your weapon for the next few shots you fire. you’re able to see how many coated shots you have left under your reticle through phials.
R2 + X
Left Click + E
Load a unique arrow that explodes after a short time when lodged into a target. While a Tracer is active, all your following arrows will home onto its location, targeting wherever the Tracer is.
L2 + R1
Left Click + Shift
AFocus mode attack inMonster Hunter Wildswhere a new reticle shows up, targeting Open Wounds on a monster. As you charge this move, more spots are targeted, releasing a volley of arrows that track Wounds to destroy them when released.
No matter what Bow build you’re using, youalso have to fill up the Trick Arrow Gauge to use Tracers and Coatingsduring a hunt. The Trick Arrow Gauge is filled up when you land attacks against a monster or when you use your Charging Sidestep to perfectly dodge a creature’s incoming attack. One-third of the Gauge is needed for most actions, so some builds thrive off giving you more ways to gain the resource.
Best Bow Gear & How To Get It
Match The Right Skills To Weapon Upgrades
The best gear for Bow builds are ones that deplete less Stamina, either through Skills or weapon/armor Decorations. This is only possible by collecting certain gear or unlocking the rightweapon upgrade inMonster Hunter Wildsthat grants you the right skills. As you go through both Low-Rank and High-Rank, certain Bow gear will become more appealing to give you additional strength.
10 New Monster Hunter Wilds Features Most People Probably Missed
Monster Hunter Wilds has so many new features and mechanics that it can be hard to keep track of them all on a single playthrough, even for veterans.
No matter what Rank you’ve reached, some Skills are almost necessary for the Bow to make any build work. Generally,Skills that increase your Affinity and damage while targeting monster weaknesses are good for Bows, especially if they are maxed out. Here are some Skills to look for on any type of gear for a strong Bow build:
Weapons at higher Ranks tend to have Decoration slots, along with stronger gear from more powerful monsters. Putting Decorations in gear slots gives you extra Skills, but you have to farm Decos from monsters to get the ones you need for a build.
The following tables go over the best gear you can get for a Low-Rank or High-Rank Bow build, including the skills and Decoration slots including in specific weapons or armor pieces:
4
192 (160)
0
15%
N/A
Stamina Surge (1)
This Low-Rank build gives you a bonus from wearing multiple pieces of the Guardian Ebony Odogaron armor.While wearing 4 pieces of G. Ebony armor, you can Burst Boost (4), a Skill that extends the duration of Burstand grants a significant attack bonus. This bonus only applies when Burst is active, but this unique armor set ability will last for a long time when you have the max number of pieces for its best effect.
8
252 (210)
20%
Verzwiflung
3 - Spread Jewel (1), Dragon Jewel (1), Dragon Jewel (2)
3 - 3x Physique Jewels
3 - Chain Jewel (1), 2x Sane Jewel (1)
Stamina Surge (3)
Having multiple instances of the same skill on your gear will cause them to level up, stacking their effects and making them stronger. While it may take some time to grind for the best Bow build possible inMonster Hunter Wilds, getting the right gear can make you unstoppable on future hunts.
