Heavy Bowgun or Bow?

[Spada]

Hi, can you recommened the Heavy Bowgun or should i go for the Bow?

[Giallombardo]

try both

[Yakumo Yomi]

Depends on what you want. Bow is far more mobile than HBG, while you can offset HBG's low mobility with shields (which automatically block attacks in front of you). HBG is one of the most damaging weapons in the game when you use Spread ammo, while Bow excels at exploiting elemental weaknesses.

Try them both in the training area and see which you prefer.

[Mister Cramps]

Well if I remember right, the BG it's more for status, elemental damage and stuff. And the HBG use the other ammo type thingy. I could be wrong it's been ages since I play BG, I prefer the HBG instead. Looks way more cooler and I like to boom stuff.

You always can try those out in the training area anyways.

[Kawalorn]

Bow is much easier to use than HBG, so it would be good training if you are unfamiliar with ranged combat. In return HBG can be min-maxed more with ammo types and mods.

Bow is also super mobile while HBG is not. You can even do stuff like dodge shooting, so it's good if you like to look stylish.

[マリング・ジェムラン]

HBG for raw firepower and versatile ammo playstyle..
bow for for mobility and elemental playstyle...
i would say play both weapons..

[Boboscus]

I feel like bow takes proper timing of shots to be good, and as you move around you'll have to worry more about the critical range. To me, personally neither of them do it, LBG is the way to go.

[Mander]

Depends on your playstyle and "feels" with the weapons.

Bows are an awesome platform for elemental damage, with high DPS and very good mobility.
HBGs are pure raw damage with the highest DPS ever at the cost of impaired mobility, coupled with some status.
Imo, HBG is superior for quasi-stationary monsters or for those with telegraphed attacks. If you’re hunting high mobility monsters, bow is better.

[Zhou Yu]

Do you want to be Legolas, or go Rambo and dakka dakka? Also you can always do both and decide later if a weapon doesn’t feel right.

[Corrupt-nz]

Why not both

[F.O.A.M]

LBG. better than both of them. get the only weapon with rapid fire sticky lvl 2 with armor that has a chanse to not consume ammo and watch the monster flinch every other second

[The High Seraph]

None .
Judging from your previous threads
- You used GS , CB and SA
- Your build knowledge and armor skill knowledge are extremely poor ( can’t even differentiate Azure Rathalos armor and Raging Brachydios armor )
- You want to use cheat mods

HBG require exact roll timings and proper usage of special scope to deal optimal damage . And you need different builds for different ammos .
Spread , Pierce , Normal 3 , Explosive and Elemental which is subdivided into Fire , Ice , Water and Thunder ( Forget Dragon Ammo if u are not speedrunner )

Bow require Stamina management and very high level of monster knowledge due to how uncomfy and unforgiving for taking a single hit .

- Both are ranged weapons so u will take more damage from Monster .
- HBG is uncomfy because it require Special Scope to deal optimal damage and you only have fat roll ( ya Shield exist but u will lose all level of Chadness by equipping this )
- Bow is uncomfy because most of the best build have safi hp drain and weapon itself is not good well with HP regen augment . So u gonna play squishy ranged weapon with safi health drain without hp regen . Good luck with oneshots . And it’s mobile but if u casually roll every attacks , u will deal pathetic damage output . All or most of the bow dodges should be fully charged dashes followed by counter shooting to tenderized weakspot from best critical distance .
- Both require Godcha lvl decos to optimize . Examples
3 x Released / Vitality , 2 x Release / Physique , 3 or 2 x Tenderizer / Physique , 3 x Phoenix / Physique , Multiple Attack 4+ , Multiple Furor 4+ , at least 1 Challenger 4+ etc

So the best weapon for you is

- Sticky 3 Light Bowgun . Forget the above advice about rapid fire sticky 2 . It’s a trap and bad .

It require almost zero skill . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of HZV . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of critical distance .

Unlike HBG sticky , you have fast walk and fast roll . Current sticky for HBG is Furious Rajang HBG . This HBG allow you to fire Sticky 3 with recoil 2 + normal reload OR recoil 1 + slow reload . But if u add 3 shield , first you lose chadness . Second u will lose these juicy recoil and reloads . Did I mentioned some monsters not work well with shield ? Meanwhile LBG can fire sticky 3 with this recoil and evade reload with extra mobility .

Unlike Bow , you don’t need to worry about stamina management and charge maintenance dashing . All u need is roll when monster attack and shot . Plus you have hp regen with no safi hp drain .

[Tregrenos]

HBG would probably be the better choice for you Spada. You can stick on a shield, load up some spread/sticky ammo and not even have to worry about using DPS cheats since this playstyle is already so broken that it's a facepalm to see anyone actually using it.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/582010/discussions/0/2914346777820221050/

[Molic One P.GR]

Originally posted by The High Seraph:

None .
Judging from your previous threads
- You used GS , CB and SA
- Your build knowledge and armor skill knowledge are extremely poor ( can’t even differentiate Azure Rathalos armor and Raging Brachydios armor )
- You want to use cheat mods

HBG require exact roll timings and proper usage of special scope to deal optimal damage . And you need different builds for different ammos .
Spread , Pierce , Normal 3 , Explosive and Elemental which is subdivided into Fire , Ice , Water and Thunder ( Forget Dragon Ammo if u are not speedrunner )

Bow require Stamina management and very high level of monster knowledge due to how uncomfy and unforgiving for taking a single hit .

- Both are ranged weapons so u will take more damage from Monster .
- HBG is uncomfy because it require Special Scope to deal optimal damage and you only have fat roll ( ya Shield exist but u will lose all level of Chadness by equipping this )
- Bow is uncomfy because most of the best build have safi hp drain and weapon itself is not good well with HP regen augment . So u gonna play squishy ranged weapon with safi health drain without hp regen . Good luck with oneshots . And it’s mobile but if u casually roll every attacks , u will deal pathetic damage output . All or most of the bow dodges should be fully charged dashes followed by counter shooting to tenderized weakspot from best critical distance .
- Both require Godcha lvl decos to optimize . Examples
3 x Released / Vitality , 2 x Release / Physique , 3 or 2 x Tenderizer / Physique , 3 x Phoenix / Physique , Multiple Attack 4+ , Multiple Furor 4+ , at least 1 Challenger 4+ etc

So the best weapon for you is

- Sticky 3 Light Bowgun . Forget the above advice about rapid fire sticky 2 . It’s a trap and bad .

It require almost zero skill . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of HZV . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of critical distance .

Unlike HBG sticky , you have fast walk and fast roll . Current sticky for HBG is Furious Rajang HBG . This HBG allow you to fire Sticky 3 with recoil 2 + normal reload OR recoil 1 + slow reload . But if u add 3 shield , first you lose chadness . Second u will lose these juicy recoil and reloads . Did I mentioned some monsters not work well with shield ? Meanwhile LBG can fire sticky 3 with this recoil and evade reload with extra mobility .

Unlike Bow , you don’t need to worry about stamina management and charge maintenance dashing . All u need is roll when monster attack and shot . Plus you have hp regen with no safi hp drain .

This is a good summary for him👌

[Giallombardo]

Originally posted by The High Seraph:

None .
Judging from your previous threads
- You used GS , CB and SA
- Your build knowledge and armor skill knowledge are extremely poor ( can’t even differentiate Azure Rathalos armor and Raging Brachydios armor )
- You want to use cheat mods

HBG require exact roll timings and proper usage of special scope to deal optimal damage . And you need different builds for different ammos .
Spread , Pierce , Normal 3 , Explosive and Elemental which is subdivided into Fire , Ice , Water and Thunder ( Forget Dragon Ammo if u are not speedrunner )

Bow require Stamina management and very high level of monster knowledge due to how uncomfy and unforgiving for taking a single hit .

- Both are ranged weapons so u will take more damage from Monster .
- HBG is uncomfy because it require Special Scope to deal optimal damage and you only have fat roll ( ya Shield exist but u will lose all level of Chadness by equipping this )
- Bow is uncomfy because most of the best build have safi hp drain and weapon itself is not good well with HP regen augment . So u gonna play squishy ranged weapon with safi health drain without hp regen . Good luck with oneshots . And it’s mobile but if u casually roll every attacks , u will deal pathetic damage output . All or most of the bow dodges should be fully charged dashes followed by counter shooting to tenderized weakspot from best critical distance .
- Both require Godcha lvl decos to optimize . Examples
3 x Released / Vitality , 2 x Release / Physique , 3 or 2 x Tenderizer / Physique , 3 x Phoenix / Physique , Multiple Attack 4+ , Multiple Furor 4+ , at least 1 Challenger 4+ etc

So the best weapon for you is

- Sticky 3 Light Bowgun . Forget the above advice about rapid fire sticky 2 . It’s a trap and bad .

It require almost zero skill . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of HZV . You don’t need to know what is the meaning of critical distance .

Unlike HBG sticky , you have fast walk and fast roll . Current sticky for HBG is Furious Rajang HBG . This HBG allow you to fire Sticky 3 with recoil 2 + normal reload OR recoil 1 + slow reload . But if u add 3 shield , first you lose chadness . Second u will lose these juicy recoil and reloads . Did I mentioned some monsters not work well with shield ? Meanwhile LBG can fire sticky 3 with this recoil and evade reload with extra mobility .

Unlike Bow , you don’t need to worry about stamina management and charge maintenance dashing . All u need is roll when monster attack and shot . Plus you have hp regen with no safi hp drain .

if he's using cheat none of those weakness will matter

[SotiCoto]

Originally posted by Boboscus:

I feel like bow takes proper timing of shots to be good, and as you move around you'll have to worry more about the critical range. To me, personally neither of them do it, LBG is the way to go.

World Bow is kinda idiot-proofed compared to the Bow in earlier MH games. You don't even need to know how to charge any more since it rewards shot-spamming by autocharging between.
You barely even need precision any more. Used to be anything not aimed at the head was a wasted shot... but World kinda encourages just spamming fire centre-of-mass.

Critical range has been idiot-proofed too since it now shows on the damned crosshair, so it is pretty much impossible to get wrong.


Bow just isn't as satisfying as it used to be. Plus the stamina management is more of a pain in the arse now since you can't just MDJ for infinite stamina any more.

LBG was nicer in GU too. Adept LBG in GU is pretty much god-tier. The weakarse little dodges for LBG in World are kinda... diminutive, even with Evade Extender. HBG's bombastic combat rolls are more satisfying, even if they're a bit of a commitment.