Which bow is recommended?

[Hamshank cat]

I never used the bow and I got two streamstones to augment it so I figured I should start using it after I upgrade it. I'd also like one that would benefit from my agitator and the bow charge plus 2 gem I have. thank you

[Number9IX]

It depend on what U want.
For me Black Diablo Bow is best for non-element build.
Flying Kadachi Strikebow for all-round&Thunder build.
Arena bow for blast&alignment build(Cause it can use all type of coating except power coat)

[Hamshank cat]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Number9IX:

It depend on what U want.
For me Black Diablo Bow is best for non-element build.
Flying Kadachi Strikebow for all-round&Thunder build.
Arena bow for blast&alignment build(Cause it can use all type of coating except power coat)

well, I've been using a dragon build along with the agitator perk and those dragon bows are quite hard to choose especially with the different affinity or more damage options

[Number9IX]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Bluest Bear ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ:

Oprindeligt skrevet af Number9IX:

It depend on what U want.
For me Black Diablo Bow is best for non-element build.
Flying Kadachi Strikebow for all-round&Thunder build.
Arena bow for blast&alignment build(Cause it can use all type of coating except power coat)

well, I've been using a dragon build along with the agitator perk and those dragon bows are quite hard to choose especially with the different affinity or more damage options

If U want dragon build I personally recommend Deviljho bow. It give U DPS along with high elder seal.

[Maledy]

I uaually use whatever bow the monster I'm hunting is weak against. If I don't have a preference, I generally go with the Hazak Velos II, which in my opinion is the most well-rounded end game bow.

[Number9IX]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Ulithium_Dragon:

I uaually use whatever bow the monster I'm hunting is weak against. If I don't have a preference, I generally go with the Hazak Velos II, which in my opinion is the most well-rounded end game bow.

Oh I don’t have Hazak Velos but I use Val CB instead. If I get his gem next time I will try use it.
Now waiting for Lunastra I personally think Empress Arrow "Styx" was the best bow. Cause it have skil “spare shot on it own.

[Leoscar]

Anjanath bow has obscene elemental damage. Bows are great for elemental builds.

[glythe]

The way you play bow is:

pick the bow that exploits the weakness of the specific monster you are fighting. One does not make a single bow and call it a day. To really max out potential you will need at last : fire/thunder/dragon/ water or ice (maybe both).

[Venusgate]

My dragonbone iii probably does most of the heavy lifting, followed by legiana bow, kodachi, and Anja.
Seeing triple crits in the 120-150 range pour out of elders makes me feel like a kid with a magnifying glass.

If you want to do the Dragon peircer playstyle though, you'll want Cera coilbender.

[Dallagen]

Hazak/Kadachi/Legiana/Anja/Hunter's Proudbow are the 5 best bows ingame.

[Vacca]

Oprindeligt skrevet af big munter:

Hazak/Kadachi/Legiana/Anja/Hunter's Proudbow are the 5 best bows ingame.

this. and don't listen to people saying it's not worth to spend x3 unlock to use the proudbow, it's much better than the water shot. devil bow is also a decent alternative to hazak, mostly for the extra elderseal proc, but suffers a lot from having zero deco slots compared to the hazak's two. daora bow is a decent alternative to legiana - slightly worse, but viable.

also stay clear of low raw, high element bows unless you have no alternatives. it's always better to go for a decent raw + decent element bow than a low raw + high element bow.

[Stationary Traveller]

Ignore what has been said in the post above about raw and element, this person doesn't understand how Critical Element works. Almost all meta bows have worse raw but higher elemental damage than the alternatives and for a reason.

As everyone else said, get a bow for each element and use the one said monster is really weak against. Here's a list of meta builds and of monsters' elemental weaknesses:
https://imgur.com/a/XCJleqI

[Vacca]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Moonmadness:

Ignore what has been said in the post above about raw and element, this person doesn't understand how Critical Element works. Almost all meta bows have worse raw but higher elemental damage than the alternatives and for a reason.

As everyone else said, get a bow for each element and use the one said monster is really weak against. Here's a list of meta builds and of monsters' elemental weaknesses:
https://imgur.com/a/XCJleqI

implying then it's better to pick dragonbone bow over hazak? lol. the only reason legiana and kadachi bows are picked is because there's no better alternative. make some examples instead of referring to mysterious meta guides on the internet.

again: meta bows are Hazak/Kadachi/Legiana/Anja/Hunter's Proudbow. provide some reasons as to why they're not or don't bother talking.

[Stationary Traveller]

You can't dismiss cases just because they don't fit your claims.

Daora = 192 raw, 210 ice, 10% aff
Diablos = 264 raw, 150 ice, -30% aff
Legiana = 180 raw, 390 ice

Alloy = 204 raw, 150 thunder
Kadachi = 204 raw, 270 thunder, 15% aff

Water Shot = 204 raw, 240 water
Proudbow = 216 raw, 360 water

Uragaan = 228 raw, 150 fire
Rath = 216 raw, 240 fire, 15% aff
Anja = 240 raw, 390 fire, -20% aff

Nerg = 240 raw, 150 dragon
Xeno = 204 raw, 180 dragon, 15% aff
Dragonbone = 180 raw, 420 dragon
Hazak = 228 raw, 270 dragon

With the only exception of the dragon element case, the difference in raw is insignificant, but the elemental damage is much higher on the meta bow.
The reason why people pick Velos over Dragonbone is because it has power coatings and the other doesn't. Without power coatings, Dragonbone does outdamage Velos.

[Ragosta tin Dei]

Tobi Kadachi, Legia, Dragonbone, Anja Arch, in that order of most frequently used. There are no good water bows, so if you;re fighting Lavasioth, I guess... Great Hunter's Bow? Always build for elemental crit (rathalos crit) and raw crit.

If you''re running DP, then obviously Diablos bow. But those 4 bows will kill nearly everything in the game effortlessly. I say this because Lavasioth is still a pain in the arse.

[Peelsepuuppi]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Ragosta tin Dei:

Tobi Kadachi, Legia, Dragonbone, Anja Arch, in that order of most frequently used. There are no good water bows, so if you;re fighting Lavasioth, I guess... Great Hunter's Bow? Always build for elemental crit (rathalos crit) and raw crit.

If you''re running DP, then obviously Diablos bow. But those 4 bows will kill nearly everything in the game effortlessly. I say this because Lavasioth is still a pain in the arse.

Not true. Hunter's Proudbow excels over others when the monster is weak to water and there are actually few monster that are weak to it including teostra. The bow requires Free element doesn't have power coating and yet it's still much better than What Shot.

Power coating adds only 10% of damage and close range coating adds 7%. Elemental bows benefit from a close range playstyle anyway.

When you are first starting with elemental bows Kadachi and Legiana are a good start, but if you want to cover every monster with the most efficient Bow available you will need a water bow.

However. We are getting Kulve Taroth next week and there are 3 bows that ouright replace their counterparts. Lighting, Water and Dragon(replaces Hazak bow, but Dragonbow remains a viable alternative).

So people who are not in hurry can wait for the taroth bows.