So, you just snagged the Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds? Excellent choice. You prefer to deal damage from a safe distance. Perhaps Bowguns were looking just a little… complex? Welcome to the Bow – the ranged weapon that hits that sweet spot. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s still depth there, but it is very rewarding to learn.
The First Steps with the Bow: The Fundamentals
Well, first things first, let’s address the range. This isn't The Bow, 4 miles away. You’ve got to be at that optimal mid-distance to really maximize your arrows. How do you know you are in the zone? Monitor Your Aiming Reticle — If It Glows Orange Then Things Are Good. Your sweet spot for damage is that.
The core of the bow combat is aim, charge, dodge, repeat.
The bread and butter of Bow combat:
- Hitting Your Mark: Over the shoulder camera ( LT on controller) to line up your shots and target monster weak points.
- Charge Shot: Hold RT to charge your shot. You know those little dots showing up around your reticle? Readings are your charge levels — more dots, more power.
- Dodge to Power Up Faster: The cool trick is – rather than holding to charge, dodge while charging or right after a shot. This is the Charging Sidestep, and it power-ups your charge level. Dodging is part of your attack pattern.
- Harrier Dodge — Stamina Saver: Execute a Dodge directly into a monster’s attack with a Charging Sidestep? Boom. That’s a Discerning Dodge, and it replenishes your stamina and charges your Trick Arrow Gauge (more on that gauge in a bit).
- Power Shots and Volleys: Do you need to finish a combo strong? Press B during a shot combo for a Power Shot — a spread of arrows at your charge level. Quickly tap B again to Power Volley – another spread. Perfect for when your stamina is dwindling but the monster is on death’s door.
- Dragon Piercer – The Big Hit: Feeling fancy? Right away by pressing B + Y (no charge) to execute a Dragon Piercer. This is a very mighty shot that shoots straight through a monster, inflicting damage all through. If a monster is toppled over? Dragon Piercer time. Shift even further and utilize it mid-combo for an animation that’s super-speedy.
Trick Arrows, Coatings, and Trick Arrow Gauge
Monster Hunter Wilds introduces a new mechanic for the Bow called the Trick Arrow Gauge — that bar on the right side of your screen. Land those shots, fill it up, then release the beast.
- Tracer Arrows – Guided Missiles: Hold X to charge then press X to fire a Tracer Arrow. It latches onto the monster, and then every shot you fure from that point on is automatically homed in the direction of that Tracer. After a while, it blows for bonus damage.
- Arc Shot – Rain of Arrows: While charging your shot, press B to aim an Arc Shot. You place a reticle on the ground — aim, shoot, and arrows rain from the heavens. Some of these are Fuse Arrows, which function like mini-Tracers — they stick, then explode.
Coatings – Elemental and Status Boosts:
LB to hold, then A or Y to select a Coating Then, hit Y to apply it to your arrows (for free, no LB). Coatings apply additional effects onto it.
Pro Tip: Coating Types
By default, each Bow can use some types of Coating. You can access more as you unlock Decorations later. Here's a quick rundown:
- Power Coating: Yet more arrow damage. Simple and effective.
- Close-Range Coating: Lowers your effective range but increases damage even further up close.
- Piercing Coating: Arrows pierce through the monsters, hitting multiple times. Mini-Dragon Piercers.
- Status Coatings (Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Blast, Exhaust): Inflict status effects on monsters.
Bringing It All Together: The Bow Dance
Well, here’s how to deal the maximum damage with Bow. It’s a ballet of dodges and shots.
- Charging Sidestep: You need to dodge to reach max charge level quickly.
- Dodge and Shoot: Quickly switch between dodging and firing max-charge arrows. Keep moving, keep firing.
- Manage Your Stamina: You have a stamina bar. Don't just spam shots.
- Go Out with a Bang: If your level of stamina is low, finish your combo up with Power Shots or a Dragon Piercer.
- Trick Arrows for Extra Oomph: Place Tracer Arrows or Fuse Arrows before your big combo to set up detonations with Dragon Piercer or Thousand Dragons (B+Y while charging – a spread wide shot that detonates Tracers/Fuses).
- Focus Fire on Wounds and Tracers: While aiming, holding RB engages Focus Fire on wounds and tracers. Get in the monster wounds or Tracer Arrows for a ton of damage.
Recommendations for Low Rank Bow Builds
Ok, let's get you ready for Low Rank. Like any game, the stamina is the most important for Bow users but the best skills for stamina are located a bit later in the game. That's why at the moment, we concentrate on having the gameplay nice and smooth with high comfort.
Build Progression + Gear Sets
| Weapon | Armor Helmet | Chest | Arms | Waist | Legs | Talisman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Weapon & Armor | Wild Power Bow I | Bone Helm | Bone Mail | Balahara Vambraces | Balahara Coil | Balahara Greaves | — |
| Second Weapon & Armor | Windbrace Bow I | Hirabami Headdress | Hirabami Mail | Balahara Vambraces | Balahara Coil | Balahara Greaves | Fitness Charm I |
| Third Weapon & Armor | Albirath Bow I | Rathalos Helm | Rey Sandmail | G. Gear:Rathalos Vambraces | Xu Wu Coil | Xu Wu Greaves | Fitness Charm I |
Weapon Choices Explained
- Wild Power Bow I: Your Starting Option It has Power Coating (definitely needed to boost damage) and a few status coatings to mess around with. If that playstyle suits you then add on the Dragon Perforator I for Pierce Coating. Use the Rey Perkonis I later if you love Pierce Coating.
- Windbrace Bow I: Adds Ice Damage and Focus skill (faster charging). While we can at least still get stamina skills running. The Ice damage instead has swaps status coatings.
- Albirath Bow I: Fire damage, increased raw and elemental damage, improved crit, Blast Coating and Ballistics skill (slightly longer effective range). Pairs nicely with third armor set.
Armor and Skills Breakdown
1st Armor Set (Bone/Balahara):
- Bone Pieces (Helm, Mail): Marathon Runner skill – decreases the stamina drain when doing charging shots. Acts like a mop when a stamina management is hard.
- Balahara Pieces (Vambraces, Coil, Greaves): Evade Extender – extends dodge distance. Perfect for comfort in general for getting into place.
Notes: Second Armor Set (Hirabami/Balahara + Fitness Charm I)
- Hirabami Pieces (Head, Mail): Evasion Window – adds a few more frames of i-frames while dodging. Easier to Avoid Identifying, which he applies to be a big help to stamina recovery.
- Fitness Charm I: Required Constitution skill — lowers stamina usage while dodging and shooting. Smooths shoot-and-scoot playstyle considerably.
G. Rathalos/Rey Sandmail/Xu Wu + Fitness Charm I (3rd Armor Set):
- Rey Sandmail (Chest): MORE CONSTITUTION. Stacking that stamina skill.
- Xu Wu Pieces (Coil, Greaves): Stamina Surge — increases stamina regen rate. The stamina management is really falling into place now.
- G. Rathalos Pieces (Helm, Vambraces): Weakness Exploit – increases damage to monster weak points and wounds (Bows especially target a lot) Also, Scorcher I set bonus – Chance for extra fire damage, that you can stack with Albirath Bow.
This is a Low Rank Bow build to help get you started, comfortable, and dealing some decent damage. We’ll keep working on this for High Rank and endgame, so look out for more high level Bow mastery in Monster Hunter Wilds.
