Light Bowgun tips for a beginner?

[Kak]

I haven't been playing the game long, but at the very beginning I decided on the sword and shield as my weapon and it's served me well enough. But recently I've felt things have been getting a little stale, so I wanted to mix things up with a ranged weapon and I settled on the light bowgun.

The thing is, I just don't know how to use it effectively. Missions I can clear in under 5 minutes with my sword and shield take upwards of 20 with the best light bowgun I can forge. I get that there's gonna be a learning curve but I've used it for at least a couple of hours and it just seems so much harder to maintain a similar damage output.

With a sword and shield, combat is easy. I can slide in, dodge from side to side wailing on the monster's weak spots and then quickly back out, but with the light bowgun things are so much slower. Aiming is way more important, and even though I'm hitting weak spots consistently I have to take a lot of time lining up each shot. It doesn't help that reloading is a constant concern, and positioning is a little more awkward because maintaining distance from most monsters is a real pain.

Does anyone have any advice, or should I just stick with the sword and shield?

[ShakeNBakeUK]

it's not great for solo honestly.
it's very reliant on hitting weak spots over and over and over and over.
if you're not hitting weak spots, it's going to take forever.
also make sure you're using the best ammo available.
ideally with rapid fire.

it's great in multiplayer as a support weapon, for applying statuses. also you can do better dps bcos the monster isn't focusing you as much.

maybe try the protector palico, so monster doesn't focus you so much?

i haven't played LBG in ages so can't recommend gear. try look for anything which has rapid fire normal-2 for early-mid game.

[twiggy]

Originally posted by ShakeNBakeUK:

it's not great for solo honestly.
it's very reliant on hitting weak spots over and over and over and over.
if you're not hitting weak spots, it's going to take forever.
also make sure you're using the best ammo available.
ideally with rapid fire.

it's great in multiplayer as a support weapon, for applying statuses. also you can do better dps bcos the monster isn't focusing you as much.

maybe try the protector palico, so monster doesn't focus you so much?

i haven't played LBG in ages so can't recommend gear. try look for anything which has rapid fire normal-2 for early-mid game.

ya it is good for solo. sticky 3 lbg is good for fast moving monsters or with bad hitzones like rajang and raging brachy cause you will always crit them no matter where you shoot and they will always be ko'd

[Kiekmgoan46]

LBG sticky with the right setup is probably the easiest weapon to play once you get used to it.

[Dax23333]

Bowguns are more complicated to see what is actually good or not, and honestly most of the late game (master rank) light bowguns really, really suck. To the point that the defenders one is one of the best despite not upgrading into master rank.

Bowguns in general tend to be good for a few ammo types or trash all around. Look for one that has a good clip size and low recoil and reload speeds for one paticular ammo type and roll with that.

They're a weapon that turns inventory into damage, so be prepared to craft more ammo in battle. Bullets down range is damage, you do need to focus on weak points but if you can hit the monster anywhere it is better than not shooting it. That's what tumbled bowgun kill times for me, knowing to play for dps rather than ammo conservation which isn't relevent outside of select arena quests where you fight a bazillion monsters in a row.

[Vandals[UK]]

Before Iceborne, people can pull out decent damage by Ledge Cheese with Spread Lv3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGhhDMtZOE
I'm not sure how it goes after the the release of Iceborne.

Generally speaking rapid element shot is what gives LBG the power.
Elemental shot have piercing effect. While the number may look small, but it really adds up.
Problems then are you'll need the right element against the right monster and the right armour skill. Also for small targets, it's not worth hitting it with element ammo (don't have the size to pierce).

Sticky is also a popular choice, but not exactly impressive in terms of damage. It is more of a support play style (to KO monster). Or people who are too lazy to aim (since the damage is pretty much fixed).