How to use the Light Bowgun in Monster Hunter Wilds

Few weapons are as simple to learn as the Monster Hunter Wilds Light Bowgun, which is essentially the younger sibling to the Heavy Bowgun. Where the heavy version requires you to learn how to guard due to the limited mobility, that hindrance isn’t relevant here because you can simply dodge out of the way, although that is sometimes easier said than done.

So if you want to learn the ropes of using a ranged weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds before moving onto more complex weapons, the Light Bowgun is for you. It still has plenty of diverse options with the various ammo types, Rapid Fire Mode, Chaser Shot, and special ammo, but compared to other offerings in the game (I’m looking at you, Insect Glaive), it’s more straightforward. Here’s how to use the Light Bowgun in Monster Hunter Wilds.

The Monster Hunter Wilds Light Bowgun explained

The Light Bowgun in MH Wilds is, to explain in advance for those considering it, something you use as a mixture of targeted ranged fire that exploits weaknesses, and evasion. Unlike the Monster Hunter Wilds Heavy Bowgun, it’s something you can use more with some real agility, dodging attacks that come your way, but the payoff is that you lose out on the raw firepower of the weapon’s larger cousin.

Rapid Fire Mode explained

Much like where the Heavy Bowgun has Ignition Mode, the Light Bowgun has Rapid Fire Mode, which does exactly what it says on the tin: it fires at a faster rate. However, this consumes the Rapid Fire gauge, which can be replenished by landing shots or simply waiting. When available, you should be using Rapid Fire, but the drawback is that only standard ammo types are available in this mode.

Light Bowgun Chaser Shot and Burst Step explained

The Chaser Shot is not when you accidentally drink the water before the spirit, fortunately. In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Chaser Shot is the Light Bowgun’s move which allows you to follow up any shot with another quickfire shot, both in and out of Rapid Fire Mode. There’s nothing particularly special about it, it’s just an essential move you should learn how to time if you want to master the weapon as it allows you to deal more damage in a shorter timespan.

Meanwhile, the Burst Step is another simple move that allows you to essentially dodge forwards while firing your gun at the same time, but it’s only possible in Rapid Fire Mode. Nailing the timing requires practice, but if you can learn how to do it consistently, it’s another tool in your arsenal.

Light Bowgun ammo explained

Here are all of the ammo types available when using the standard mode of the Light Bowgun:

• Normal Ammo
• Pierce Ammo
• Spread Ammo
• Slicing Ammo
• Sticky Ammo
• Cluster Bomb
• Wyvern Ammo
• Poison Ammo
• Paralysis Ammo
• Sleep Ammo
• Flaming Ammo
• Water Ammo
• Freeze Ammo
• Thunder Ammo
• Dragon Ammo
• Recover Ammo
• Demon Ammo
• Armor Ammo
• Exhaust Ammo
• Tranq Ammo

Much like the Heavy Bowgun, Normal, Pierce, and Spread all have infinite supply, while the others require crafting. Different Light Bowguns can only equip certain ammo types too, so make sure you inspect your weapon in the menus to double check what’s available to you.

Light Bowgun moveset

Here are all of the basic Light Bowgun moves and attacks:

• Fire
• Aim/Focus
• Reload
• Rapid Fire Mode
• Special Ammo
  • PC: R + F
  • PS: Triangle + Circle
  • XB: Y + B
• Select Ammo
  • PC: Mouse Wheel up/down
  • PS: L1 + Triangle/X
  • XB: LB + Y/A
• Chaser Shot (immediately after firing in Rapid Fire Mode)
• Burst Step (in Rapid Fire Mode)
  • PC: WASD + Space
  • PS: LS + X
  • XB: LS + A

The only additional tip for the Light Bowgun is to remember to select your special ammo at camp. These add one final trick to your sleeve, such as the Wyvernblast, which embeds a bomb in the ground beneath you. It’ll explode when attacked, dealing serious blast damage to enemies in its radius. Or you can equip Adhesive Ammo, which fires “a special kind of ammo that sticks to monsters” and will eventually explode, and attacking the monster with the Adhesive Ammo stuck to them will increase the damage it deals.

Need help on the hunt? We’ve got all Monster Hunter Wilds monster weaknesses listed here in a handy table for easy reference, or if you’re wondering how long the journey ahead might be, we’ve answered the question “how long is Monster Hunter Wilds” here!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission