Monster Hunter Wilds features a broad variety of weapons for you to choose from. Each weapon is unique, but all of them are viable in combat and can easily allow you to hunt down even the toughest of monsters with ease after you’ve spent some time mastering the use of the weapon.
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While most of the weapons in the game are melee, there are a few ranged ones for Hunters who prefer to stay at a safe distance away from the monsters while dealing consistent damage. Finding a weapon of choice among all these options can be a challenge. Fortunately, this guide will help you pick the right one with ease.
Light Bowgun
The Light Bowgun focuses on mobility, featuring a wide variety of ammo for you to use against different types of enemies. You cannot guard against enemies with this weapon, so you’ll have to rely on your dodges. Moving around and dealing damage to the enemy fills up your rapid-fire gauge.
In the middle of combat, you can switch to rapid-fire mode, allowing you to fire bullets quickly at the cost of consuming the gauge. This can be helpful in wounding enemies. However, once a wound has opened up, you can use the special ammo to target and destroy these wounds.
You can select any type of regular ammo by opening the ammo wheel. Some ammo types can induce status effects, such as Paralyzing Ammo.
The downside is that if you’ve run out of special ammo, you will have to wait till the special ammo replenishes before you can destroy the wound. The special ammo replenishes with time, but you can speed up the process by dealing damage to the enemy with regular bullets.
You can also see what type of special ammo your weapon will have while forging or upgrading the Light Bowgun at a Smithy.
Heavy Bowgun
The Heavy Bowgun comes attached with a small shield on the front. This shield can help you block small attacks, but the overall mobility when this weapon is drawn makes it difficult to dodge powerful attacks that cover a large area. In such cases, you’ll have to sheathe your weapon and dash out of the area of effect.
Similar to the Light Bowgun, the Heavy Bowgun also allows you to select from a variety of ammo types and comes equipped with special ammo that replenishes over time. You will also have to use the special ammo to target opened-up wounds to destroy them, and if you’re out of special ammo, you’ll have to wait for it to replenish.
While the normal ammo is infinite, you can craft special types of limited regular ammo, such as the Freeze Ammo, while resting in a tent from all the materials you can gather in the open world.
You can also purchase these different types of finite ammo from the Provisions Stockpile shop at the base camp.
The Heavy Bowgun also features a rapid-fire mode that charges over time, and you can use it to shoot bullets and reload quickly. The Heavy Bowgun also comes equipped with a special ammo attack that buries the shot in the ground, which serves as a mine and will explode when the monster walks over it.
You can also customize your Heavy Bowgun while resting in a tent. Customizing your bowgun allows you to equip different types of ammo powders, which enhance the effectiveness of your ammo. You can also change different types of mods, which affect certain special abilities of your weapon.
For example, if you were to equip the Ignition Mod upgrade from the customization, it would increase the speed at which your rapid-fire mode builds up. Similarly, you can change the special ammo moves, such as using a more powerful single-bullet shot instead of the usual Wyvernblast special ammo attack that hits a wide area for moderate damage.
Bow
Unlike the Bowguns, the Bow uses regular arrows instead of bullets. This ranged weapon allows you to move freely, even when you have the weapon drawn. There are two types of coatings that you can use with a bow: the power coating and the exhaust coating.
The power coating slightly increases your damage output, while the exhaust coating staggers monsters more quickly. Opening up wounds with regular shots can be a challenge, even if you keep aiming at the same part repeatedly. However, that’s where the Tracer arrow kicks in.
Shooting the enemy with regular arrows builds up the Tracer gauge. When the Tracer gauge is full, you can shoot up to three Tracer arrows. The Tracer arrow sticks to a part of the monster, and once it’s stuck, it will explode after a short time.
Once a wound has opened up, or if the monster has any Tracer arrows attached to it, you can use the Focus Fire: Hailstorm attack. This attack opens up a large crosshair, which locks in on any opened wounds or Tracer arrows currently attached to the monster and fires multiple arrows at each. This allows you to destroy the wounds and the arrows at once.
There are also plenty of unique attacks exclusive to the Bow, such as the arc shot, which, when charged, allows you to shoot a volley of Tracer arrows at the targeted location. This attack is fairly difficult to land on nimble enemies, but if it lands, you can use the Hailstorm attack to lock on to the tracer arrows stuck on the monster and deal considerable damage.
The Best Ranged Weapon Type
While the options are few in the ranged weapon category, you can still pick the one that suits you best with ease. If you prefer mobility and a touch of creative gameplay, then you’d absolutely love using the Bow.
However, the Light Bowgun is the perfect choice if you prefer mobility and damage.
On the other hand, the Heavy Bowgun is ideal for players who are quick with their fingers and want to deal a ton of damage straight on.
The best ranged weapon is the one that fits your preference the best, and the game features enough variety to make it easier to decide.
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Monster Hunter Wilds: Best Melee Weapon Type
We cover the best melee weapon type for your playstyle in Monster Hunter Wilds.