Ranged Weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds

There are 14 weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, each with their own distinct identity, this guide is a basic overview of the ranged weapons for people who are just starting to check out the series and are still trying to figure out which weapon they want to use as their main. I highly recommend watching video tutorials on the weapons you find most interesting in the game you are playing, as there are depths to each of the three weapons not explained here. Ranged weapons have seen their fair share of changes in Wilds, so even if you are familiar with one or all already I recommend taking some time to learn what is different.

Light Bowgun

The first of the bowguns, the Light Bowgun combines ranged attacks with mobility. The Light Bowgun can fire a wide variety of ammunition to attack the monster. These range from more basic ammo, like spread and piercing, to more advanced options like sticky bombs or slicing ammo. An important aspect of both Bowguns is that their ammo is limited, with how much you can carry depending on the specific ammo type. You can, however, craft more ammo in the field. So more experienced players often bring the materials they need to make ammo types that are important to their build, functionally increasing the amount that you can carry.

The Light Bowgun has the ability to place down mines which explode either when you shoot past them or when the monster runs into them. A common tactic is to place the mines in front of a downed target to do burst damage during the opening. The Light Bowgun also has a new feature called rapid fire mode. When hitting the monster, you build up your rapid fire gauge. You can use the rapid fire gauge to greatly increase the fire rate of your bowgun.

Heavy Bowgun

The second bowgun, the Heavy Bowgun trades in mobility for increased firepower and defense. Similar to the Light Bowgun, the Heavy Bowgun uses ammo to attack monsters from a range. The Heavy Bowgun also has a shield to make up for its lack of mobility. You can use the shield to manually guard against attacks. The shield automatically guards when you are attacked from the front while not performing any other action.

A new feature of the Heavy Bowgun is ignition mode. By attacking the monster, you build up the ignition gauge. You can use the ignition gauge to fire special ammo. Thus far, we have only seen the ignition gauge used for minigun-style rapid fire, similar to Wyvernheart from previous games, but it is possible that there are other options as well. Ammo for the Heavy Bowgun is limited but craftable. Therefore, it is advantageous to bring the supplies you need to craft your more important ammo in the field.

Bow

The Bow is a highly mobile ranged weapon that attacks using charged shots. You can charge your shots by holding down the attack button, by firing consecutive shots, or by dodging while holding down the attack button. This is the charging sidestep, an extremely important part of Bow's arsenal, and it raises your charge level by one.

If you immediately fire another normal shot while at full charge, you reset your charge level. There are two ways to manage this. First, a power shot follow up does not cause your charge level to immediately reset, although following a power shot with another normal shot once again resets your charge level. By performing a charging sidestep however, your charge level is not lowered and you can fire another shot at your full charge level. For maximum damage, you want to keep your charge level at max as much as you can.

The Bow can also apply coatings to its arrows to increase their power or add other special effects like paralysis. In Wilds, this is done by landing hits on the monster to fill your coatings gauge. A new feature in Wilds is the tracer arrow. When you hit a monster with a tracer arrow, all of your shots home in on that arrow. After enough hits, the tracer arrow explodes for bonus damage, and the homing effect stops.

Summary

The following ranged weapons are available in Monster Hunter Wilds

• The Light Bowgun is a mobile ranged weapon that balances power with maneuverability.
• The Heavy Bowgun is a tanky ranged weapon that trades mobility for power.
• The Bow is a highly mobile ranged weapon that attacks the monster with charged shots.

This concludes the Monster Hunter Wilds weapon guides. For links to the other two sections of the guide, click here and here.

Written by: Brogangh

Reviewed by: Tenkiei