The bow is both one of the most technical ranged weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds and the most fun, delivering a versatile array of elements and ailments alongside a flurry of combos and furious finishers.
While it lacks the heft of the melee roster, the Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the best weapons for beginners and easiest to use. This is because the range it provides allows you to put some distance between you and the real danger zone and reposition yourself more easily. It also has a perfect dodge function which allows you to avoid harm by sidestepping at the last second.
With that said though, the Bow is definitely not devoid of mechanics – there’s still plenty to consider in the heat of battle as well as some fiddly systems to get the hang of.
These include switching between different arrow coatings to inflict different types of damage, as well as making full use of all of the different kinds of shots you have access to.
To help you get the most out of your weapon, we’re here to give you a rundown of how the Bow works, some of our favourite combos and a few early game builds which unlock the Bow’s potential.
Monster Hunter Wilds Bow Guide
Bow Combos
Fighting with a Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds can be very satisfying because it’s a fast and engaging playstyle with a lot of precise aiming and movement.
The two main things you need to remember are range and charging time. Despite being a long-range weapon, the Bow actually has a relatively limited effective range. To see it, hold L2, and hover the reticle over your target monster.
If it’s white, then you’re too far away. Once the reticle turns orange, you’re in the effective range of your weapon and should maintain this distance whenever possible.
Next, when free-shooting using the L2 and R2 buttons, you need to practice what’s called “half-charging” your shots. When firing with R2, there are two levels of charge you can hold. The full charge is the most powerful, but slow. The perceived wisdom is to draw your Bow just enough to reach the first level of charge, then release for a moderately powerful, but much quicker shot. This maintains an efficient level of DPS.
However, it’s a mistake to just use the bow this way. To deal stronger, more consistently powerful damage, you also want to use the Dragon Piercer Combo, which is performed by pressing R2, Circle, Circle again, then Triangle and Circle at the same time. This fires arrows in a wider arc and ends with a much stronger finisher.
When using a Bow, the flow of battle goes something like this:
- Hold L1 and press Triangle to cycle through your arrow coatings until you reach an ailment coating (like poison), then release L1 and press Triangle again to load the coating
- Check your range by holding L2 and making sure the reticle turns orange
- Fire off your basic Dragon Piercer Combo by pressing R2, then Circle, then Circle again, then Triangle and Circle at the same time
- Reload your coating once the arrows are finished
- When you’ve successfully applied your status ailment (like poison), switch back to your pierce (or other physical) coating
- Check for wounds by holding L2, then press R1 to load a Focus Fire to break them
- When a monster is knocked down, unleash your modified Thousand Dragons Combo by pressing R2, Circle, then Circle again, then R2 + Circle and Triangle at the same time
- Target specific monster parts by holding L2 and charging up shots by holding R2 and releasing when the reticle refills
Monster Hunter Wilds Bow Builds
As you’re starting out on your adventure in Monster Hunter Wilds, you can mix-and-match pretty much whatever you want and muddle through eventually, but it pays to start thinking about how you can combine Skills and gear sets as early as possible. That way, once you roll the credits and hit the post-game grind, you’re not playing catch-up against a slew of much tougher monsters.
Early Game
In the early game, as you get to grips with the handling of your new weapon and how it works, the main thing to consider is speed and flexibility. This is why I like to pick up the Alloy helmet and legs as quickly as possible (they’re available almost immediately) to get a couple of points of Quicke Sheathe.
This Skill lets you stow your weapon faster, letting you use items and potions with less of a delay – which can be vital as you take more damage in the early stages of your adventure.
As you get a little further, I then like to pick up the Balahara set for a better dodge. But for the weapon, you want to get something with an element as early as possible, which makes the Quematrice Arco an easy choice.
- Weapon: Quematrice Arco
- Helm: Alloy
- Cuirass: Balahara
- Gauntlets: Balahara
- Waist: Balahara
- Greaves: Alloy
- Talisman: Defence Talisman
Mid-game
As you get further into the game, you gain access to more advanced Skills with more complicated effects. An easy one to recommend is 4 pieces of the Rey Dau set which gives you a boosted Latent Power that buffs both your attack and dodging.
But for a quick weapon like the Bow, another fun option is 4 pieces of the Ebony Odogaron set, which stacks the Burst Skill. This gives you progressively more attack power as you land successive hits, which is much easier for a fast ranged weapon like the Bow.
What’s more, because the Odogaron set is the Dragon element, it has negative defence against most elements. Hopefully, because you’re not in the thick of the action as much with a bow, some of this downside is negated and you just get the copious upside.
- Weapon: Guardian Rathalos Albirath Bow
- Helm: Ebony Odogaron
- Cuirass: Ebony Odogaron
- Gauntlets: Ebony Odogaron
- Waist: Ebony Odogaron
- Greaves: Guardian Rathalos
- Talisman: Element of monster being hunted