Best Bows In The Game

Summary

• The bow is a popular and effective weapon in Monster Hunter World due to its accuracy and overpowered damage.
• Different bows like Lunatic Arrow, Silver Wrathbow, and Mist Glacia offer unique elemental effects and powerful attacks.
• Bows like Anja Arch III and Kjárr Bow Water stand out for their high elemental damage, making them ideal for facing strong monsters.

Monster Hunter World is a game that deals with hunting and killing gigantic monsters. Players can choose the weapons they want to dispatch these beasts with, and with over 14 different options, there’s no lack of variety. Players can select between dual blades, longswords, lances, hammers, bowguns, and more. But one of the most popular—and effective—weapon is the bow.

There’s a reason that numerous speed runners opt for the bow: it is handy and deals so much damage that you might as well think it’s overpowered. It has unlimited ammo, its DPS increases when the player is facing a tough monster in a lengthy battle, and it’s the most accurate weapon when it comes to targeting weak spots. Not all bows are created equally, however. That’s why we’ve decided to take a look at the best bows you can find in Monster Hunter World.

Updated February xxth, 2025 by Hilton Webster: Monster Hunter World is a game that still feels unmatched for the sense of discovery and scale the monsters in it provide, and hunting them down just never stops being satisfying. We’ve updated this article to provide some extra stats on each of the bows listed here so you can scrutinize which fits you best a little easier.

15

Lunatic Arrow

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne brought with it a large number of new and unique weapons that could serve as great endgame gear, with the Lunatic Arrow being one such bow that can destroy enemies with a few well-placed shots.

The best part about this weapon is the immense dragon elemental damage, although players need the Free Elem/Ammo Up skill in order to unlock this weapon’s full potential.

14

Silver Wrathbow

Another powerful weapon from Iceborne that can completely incinerate enemies with its massive fire elemental damage, the Silver Wrathbow is another powerful bow that players can keep in their arsenal to dish out some serious damage.

Players who defeat the Azure Rathalos can craft this powerful weapon after a few upgrades, with this final tier coming after players upgrade the Azure Wrathbow.

13

Mist Glacia

A Master Rank bow with immense ice elemental damage, the Mist Glacia is the weapon of choice for players who want to tackle any enemy that’s vulnerable to ice.

This weapon is considered by many to be the best bow for ice damage by the endgame, and a must-have for players who have the required materials to craft this incredibly powerful weapon.

12

Night Flight

Players who best the Nargacuga in Monster Hunter World will have the opportunity to craft a bow with respectable water elemental damage that can lay waste to any enemy in its path.

What makes the Night Flight even better is the fact that it boasts some hefty poison damage that can turn players into powerful support characters while the rest of the party whittles away at an enemy’s health.

11

Tsali Flier

The idea of shooting arrows that blast upon impact is quite alluring indeed, and the Tsali Flier truly excels in that regard. Its 360 blast elemental damage ends up being quite effective against most monsters in the game.

The only drawback to this bow is the 0% affinity, and that becomes a rather moot point with the sheer level of damage this weapon deals with every hit.

10

Datura String III

It might not pack as much power as most of the other bows on this list, but the Datura String III is still one of the best bows in the game. It has two jewel slots, 0% Affinity, a 240 Blast option and a decent 204 Attack.

The bow might not have a strong blast, or even a powerful Elemental attack. However, for patient players who slowly level up the bow, it becomes a beast later on in the game, with Blast Attack 3 that gives it a 300 Blast Attack. What’s more, the arrow coatings can also get a Close Range, Paralysis or Poison coating, increasing the overall damage.

9

Dragonbone Bow III

Dragon bows don’t get much better than this. The Dragonbone Bow III might be underpowered as it deals just 180 raw damage. However, it more than makes up for this through its dragon element, which stands at 420. That easily ranks this among the highest bows when it comes to pure elemental attack value.

The element is already unlocked, so the player doesn’t have to go get a release jewel to unlock it. And furthermore, the Dragonbone Bow III also has sleep coating and bow paralysis, not to mention 2 single shots.

8

Doom’s Shaft

This is one of the weapons best suited to taking on the deadly Elder dragons in the game. The Doom’s Shaft is a Nergigante bow that comes with 0% Affinity, 240 Attack, a high Elderseal rating and a 150 Dragon element.

The bow also comes with a Close Range coating along with a Power coating. Both of these coatings help to further the damage the bow causes. And this bow is perfect for players who like to get up close to their prey; it deals considerably more damage in close range.

7

Kjárr Bow Spark

The Kjarr Bow Spark comes with a useful crit element boost, which helps the player to critically injure monsters faster. It, therefore, negates the need for two Rathalos Armor pieces, which bow users need for critical damage.

The bow has a 240 Thunder attack, which places it second to the Taroth Bow Hunter. But it goes further by being the perfect anti-Nergigante weapon. The player can use the bow to boost their HP without their offensive skills taking a dent. Nergigante is also weak to thunder, so Kjarr Bow Spark counters the monster thanks to a combination of all its abilities.

6

Hazak Velos II

Elder dragons are not to be trifled with, and when going up against them, one needs to be able to deal tons of damage. That’s where the Hazak Velos II comes in. This bow has 270 Dragon Element, 0% Affinity, 228 Attack and coatings of Sleep, Power and Close Range. The Sleep coating is particularly effective as it can lull the dragon to sleep, after which the player can easily take care of it.

When paired with Elements, the bow deals tons of damage, and few monsters can truly challenge the player.

5

Villainous Brace

The Villainous Brace is a bow with a unique perk: it can only be as strong as its wielder. That makes it the ideal weapon for players who are already pretty strong.

The Villainous Bow features a negative 25% Affinity, a high Elderseal, 276 Attack and 210 Dragon Element attack. With all the damage it deals, this bow can even rival the Cera Coilbender. This build is one of the strongest in the game, thanks to it belonging to the Devijho family; and in how it perfectly complements strong characters.

4

Cera Coilbender

Also known as the Diablos, the Cera Coilbender has probably the highest raw attack value in the game (pre-Iceborne, that is). It comes with -30% Affinity, level one slots, 264 Attack, a bonus 15 defense, and 150 Ice Element, which the player can access through the Awaken skill. The bow also has three coatings: Close Range, Power and Paralysis. All of these attributes combine to make the Cera Coilbender one of the most formidable weapons in the game.

Even though the -30% Affinity might seem too disadvantageous, the bonus 15 defence makes up for it.

3

Taroth Arrow Thunder

This is, without a doubt, the best bow dealing Thunder damage in Monster Hunter: World. It comes with 228 Raw Attack damage along with 360 Elemental Attack. This is one of the ideal weapons for speedrunners, simply because of the sheer amount of damage it causes.

The only concern with this bow is that to max out its damage-dealing capabilities, one has to spend some time gathering items. The Taroth Bow Thunder is notoriously difficult to fully optimize thanks to its demanding skill requirements. But for successful gamers, few weapons are better.

2

Anja Arch III

When it comes to bows that deal fire damage, the Anja Arch III doesn’t have a lot of competition. In fact, it’s the only fire bow that can even be counted among the strongest bows in the game. The Anja Arch III isn’t just one of the strongest Monster Hunter: World bows; it’s also one of the easiest to craft. The player can craft it at the smithy, using the easily available Anjanath materials.

The bow’s stats are already fully unlocked, which makes this a broken weapon for dealing with most monsters. Its only weakness is its -20% Affinity, but players can cover for that with affinity augmentations.

1

Kjárr Bow Water

The Kjarr Bow Water is much more powerful than the Kjarr Bow Spark. In fact, this is undoubtedly the best water bow in the game. It can take on the most powerful monsters in the game, and it’s arguably the best weapon against the strongest monster in the game: the Extreme Behemoth.

It comes with a 300 Water Elemental attack, 10% Affinity and 240 Attack. In short, it makes the player feel overpowered. While the Extreme Behemoth usually needs a group of players working together to be beaten, a player wielding the Kjarr Bow Water can take it on single-handedly.