Elements vs ailments

[Jo]

New player here, just unlocked high rank. I main IG and I am wondering if elements or ailments are the way to go? As I understand atm, elements do more damage but do not CC like ailments do. Which is better?

Ailments i feel are better for the CC when playong with others. Elements, if they indeed impact damage maybe better in solo? Why? Because riding a monster is a form of CC in and of itself.

Am I correct or my understanding is flawed?

[Popcorn]

Well, technically everything except bow and DB uses mostly raw dmg.
LBG and HBG uses it too, but they're kind of in the eh zone

[Kawalorn]

In general high physical damage + Blast status is the best DPS for most weapon types, making element pointless on them.

I believe it applies to Insect Glaive too.

[Munga]

Different monsters have different resistances to ailments and elements. What's good on one may not be good vs another. Raw does a lot, but hitting weak points with elements is good too.

[Jo]

Originally posted by Munga:

Different monsters have different resistances to ailments and elements. What's good on one may not be good vs another. Raw does a lot, but hitting weak points with elements is good too.

True yes, a given monster has at least 1 element and 1 ailment showing at 3* in the book from the scientist

[Emerald Lance]

Something to remember with status ailmemts is that they have diminishing returns when they proc. For instance, if you proc a status in 5 hits, it may take 30 hits to proc it again, then 100 after that, then 300 after that (these aren't exact numbers and just demonstrate the principle). Keep this in mind when using a status weapon, especially when playing in a group with others who might also be running the same ailment; it sure does suck to be in a group of four players all running paralysis, only to trigger it multiple times in the first five minutes and then never again for the rest of the hunt. Likewise, a full party using different ailments can be a very potent setup.

[Walrus-Sama]

The thing with elements is to properly use them you need to match the elemental weakness of a given monster. Which kinda means you need 5 weapons for each element, and to change weapon frequently to match the monster you're fighting.

Ailments are a bit different. Monsters build up more resistance to them the more they proc so their effectiveness is limited and you will only get a few procs of a give Ailment before a monster is dead. Which means you should never really focus on Ailments. However, they can be a nice side effect to a Raw focused weapon. As for what Ailment, Blast is generally the go-to since is does okay damage and part damage. Poison is second best, as it does okay damage but no part damage and must finish the DoT before buildup can start again. Para and Sleep have some niche use but they are purely crowd control and do no damage.

TL;DR: A Raw focused weapon with Blast or Poison is generally the go-to for general purpose. Element focused builds require more effort and resources.

[Jo]

Thanks for the inputs Emelrad Lance and Walrus Sama. I got a much better grasp of those mechanics now.

I took the habits of checkings elements and ailments resistance before each and every hunt. I will keep doing that and build up an arsenal covering the 5 elements. Add a bit of ailments if I have left over mats.

[Rj]

go ele if you like to attack while airborne, go raw if you don't

[Kucing Budeg]

If you like to use aerial attacks with IG, elemental is the way to go. The extra elemental damage make it easier to mount the monster. The only downside is you need 5 different weapons with different element for each monsters. But that is no problem for me because that way you can feel the progression of the game as you farm more monsters to get better gear. For ailments, you can get those from the kinsect dust also so you can bring both if you have a perticular kinsect that you like. Blast n poison ailments is good for extra damage. looks like blast ailments does 300 damage each proc.

[Jo]

Awesome, ele it is. I indeed enjoy jumping around. If not, i would have picked another weapon.

[Zelph]

Originally posted by Walrus-Sama:

The thing with elements is to properly use them you need to match the elemental weakness of a given monster. Which kinda means you need 5 weapons for each element, and to change weapon frequently to match the monster you're fighting.

Ailments are a bit different. Monsters build up more resistance to them the more they proc so their effectiveness is limited and you will only get a few procs of a give Ailment before a monster is dead. Which means you should never really focus on Ailments. However, they can be a nice side effect to a Raw focused weapon. As for what Ailment, Blast is generally the go-to since is does okay damage and part damage. Poison is second best, as it does okay damage but no part damage and must finish the DoT before buildup can start again. Para and Sleep have some niche use but they are purely crowd control and do no damage.

TL;DR: A Raw focused weapon with Blast or Poison is generally the go-to for general purpose. Element focused builds require more effort and resources.

The vast majority have a fairly decent weakness to either fire or thunder. So you can get by with just those two for a lot of fights.