Heavy Bowgunsprovide both outstanding offense and defense inMonster Hunter Worldthanks to their numerous ammo types and attachments. They are surprisingly versatile and extremely effective at the hands of a skilled gunner.
All this power is offset by an increased needfor preparation and planning. If you want to use a Heavy Bowgun inMonster Hunter World,then you absolutely must have a decent build that can account for the weapon’s strengths and weaknesses. Here are two builds for the HBG, one for the base game and another for theIceborneexpansion.
Skill Summary
This build is not fully optimized, but it gets the job done well enough. As always, allow some room for changes when setting up your own HBG build, and use the above list of gear and decorations as a guide on what skills to use.
TheXeno’Jiivaset is the best High Rank armor you can get that hasSpare Shot,a mandatory skill for ranged weapons that grants a chance for your HBG to not use any ammo. Ideally, you should be using theGamma version of the Xeno’Jiiva setfor extra decoration flexibility. Pair it with two pieces of theDrachenset to get more decoration slots as well as some more points for Attack Boost and Critical Eye.
For the weapon, we’re going with aSpread HBGfor maximum close-range damage. you’re able to use any HBG for this as long as it has access to Spread Ammo 3. The Dark Devourer from Deviljho is a great option if you don’t have a good Kjarr gun.
Decorations
Loyal Thunder
Tenderizer 2 Weapon mods: Recoil Suppressor, Close Range Up, 3x Shield
This is a mid-lateIceborneSpread HBG build that can tank almost absurdly high Spread Ammo 3 damage while tanking almost every attack in the game head-on with triple shields. Loyal Thunder has low recoil with Spread Ammo 3, greatly boosting its rate of fire.
The skill set here offers a nice balance between DPS and comfort. Evade Window boosts the HBG’s generous dodge iframes while Stamina Surge makes sure you always have the stamina to block attacks. The rest are for boosting your DPS via critical hits and raw damage boosts. If youget lucky with your decorations, attempt to fit in someIronwallJewelsfor theGuard Upskillto replace Peak Performance with.
