Basic Heavy Bowgun Tips?

[M.T. Fish]

I want to like the Heavy Bowgun because it's cool but every time I use it I get my ass handed to me. I'm using two shield so that I can block and I'm trying to dodge but the bowgun dodge seems pretty weak. I have a Steel Bowgun because i didn't want to invest too much time in it yet as I've been maining lance.

I'm not looking for the "meta." I just want some pointers to get started with the dakka.

[CRCGamer]

HBG is stupidly strong once you get used to it and have higher tier weapons and ammo available. However early on? Lets just say not having evade extender and a few other quality of life skills makes it incredibly clunky.

The shields work when you are not actively attacking or in the middle of animations while facing the monster. So your early gameplay is going to consist of sheathing and then dodging away from large windups. Or simply facing the monster and having your stamina bar take a bit of a beating soaking a hit and then once the monster is in a recovery animation force feeding it some spread ammo.

[M.T. Fish]

Originally posted by CRCGamer:

HBG is stupidly strong once you get used to it and have higher tier weapons and ammo available. However early on? Lets just say not having evade extender and a few other quality of life skills makes it incredibly clunky.

The shields work when you are not actively attacking or in the middle of animations while facing the monster. So your early gameplay is going to consist of sheathing and then dodging away from large windups. Or simply facing the monster and having your stamina bar take a bit of a beating soaking a hit and then once the monster is in a recovery animation force feeding it some spread ammo.

This info about the shield is news to me. I was thinking it just had a small block hitbox but now I realize it was because I was shooting.

I wasn't impressed by the bowgun dodge but I think you're right. I should be sheathing it and getting in burst of damage instead of trying to keep a steady DPS.

I think starting with lance has made it more difficult to dodge because when I swap to another weapon I forget that I can't block everything. I like lance a lot but I get bored of using the same weapon all the time.

[Purr]

i looked into shield HBG builds personally there are some skills which pair nicely with it like guard up and such keep in mind there are alot of attacks thatll make u take chip damage but imo i find it a very comfy playstyle BUT u will need to learn the monsters attacks to figure out when u can and cant attack atm im running shield HBG sticky 3 build its fun but i also have shield pierce 3 and shield spread 3 while not the top dps builds as i said i find it comfy and enjoyable.. its fun just eating attacks without dogding :D and once u get fatty gear with for example shield sticky 3 i self heal almost any chip damage :D

[Purr]

idk where u are in the game but ill see if i still have my earlier builds before i went to fatty gear build

[Purr]

any earlier build i was using was for loyal thunder.. (iirc thats the tobi HBG) rage brachy helm and boots B+ kirin chest B+ artian vambraces B+ and shara ishvald belt B+ with ironside charm
crit eye 7 guard 5 free ele ammo up 3 crit boost 3 weakness ex 3 health boost 2 spread/power shots 2 divine blessing 2 slinger capacity 1 and guard up 1
guard up lets u be able to block stuff u normally couldnt and guard helps decrease chip damage and knockback of said blocked attacks iirc also the more shield mods u use the less chip damage i had recoil close range up and shield mod x3 it was mainly for spread.. basicly shotgun mode stand in the monsters face and pew pew tenderizing helps for the crits

[Purr]

i think for pierce 3 shield i was using crimson kadachi lion 2 one of angbata vids ( *NEW* PIERCE 3 SHIELD HBG | MHW: ICEBORNE - 100% AFFINITY) hard to remember as i was early endgame when i found shield builds and loved them so i kinda jumped between pierce 3 spread 3 and landed on sticky 3 pretty quickly i love all 3 tbh but i prefer sticky 3 the most its just exploding a monsters face off and getting lots of stuns while also face tanking most hits

[M.T. Fish]

Originally posted by Purr:

i looked into shield HBG builds personally there are some skills which pair nicely with it like guard up and such keep in mind there are alot of attacks thatll make u take chip damage but imo i find it a very comfy playstyle BUT u will need to learn the monsters attacks to figure out when u can and cant attack atm im running shield HBG sticky 3 build its fun but i also have shield pierce 3 and shield spread 3 while not the top dps builds as i said i find it comfy and enjoyable.. its fun just eating attacks without dogding :D and once u get fatty gear with for example shield sticky 3 i self heal almost any chip damage :D

I'm still early in the game as far as I can tell but I do have the Guard Talisman so maybe I'll throw that on.

Some of the monsters I've farmed I know somewhat well but the faster ones are a pain for me without my lance's shield.

[Purr]

Originally posted by MagnificentTunaFish:

Originally posted by Purr:

i looked into shield HBG builds personally there are some skills which pair nicely with it like guard up and such keep in mind there are alot of attacks thatll make u take chip damage but imo i find it a very comfy playstyle BUT u will need to learn the monsters attacks to figure out when u can and cant attack atm im running shield HBG sticky 3 build its fun but i also have shield pierce 3 and shield spread 3 while not the top dps builds as i said i find it comfy and enjoyable.. its fun just eating attacks without dogding :D and once u get fatty gear with for example shield sticky 3 i self heal almost any chip damage :D

I'm still early in the game as far as I can tell but I do have the Guard Talisman so maybe I'll throw that on.

Some of the monsters I've farmed I know somewhat well but the faster ones are a pain for me without my lance's shield.

try to get Guard Up either gem (i melded it) or on a gear piece (MR uragaan 2 piece bonus) or the bulwark charm it adds alot of attacks to the i can block your BS list :D such as:

Teostra Supernova and Flame Shower
New Master Rank Black Diablos Charge (Plants hands and then charges)
Vaal Hazak Effluvial Cloud
Deviljho Pin and Devour Attacks
Kirin Straight Heavy Lightning Bolt
Xeno'jiva Continuous Horizontal Laser beam (Fire Balls, and Vertical Beams do not require Guard Up to block)
Kulve Taroth Fire Breath
Behemoth Belly-flop and Ground Fireburst
Velkhana's Ice Breath
Shara Ishvalda's Laser Attacks
Safi'Jiiva Laser Attacks
Rajang & Furious Rajang Lightning Beam
Anjanth Pin Attack
Raging Brachydios Final Area Explosion Attack
Rathalos, Silver Rathalos & Azure Rathalos Pin Attack
Blackveil Vaal Hazak Laser Attacks
Kushala ground charged Wind Blast
Radobaan Sleep Spray
Uragaan Gas and Burning Gas Attack
Alatreon Exploding Circle Attack, Ice Breaths and Sweeping Fire Breath
Fatalis Charged Fire Breath

all these are unblockable unless you have guard up
but keep in mind there are some attacks u still cant block.. like super angy pickled pin or zinogore and red zinogore pin to name some of the most frustrating ones those u will hafta learn the hard way how to dodge but guard will make it easier to dogde those as ull have more stam to dodge with after blocking what u can block
but like i said before its still a game of learning when to attack and when not to
reloading at the wrong time is very punishing i carted ALOT specially wen i was rocking spread 3 im alrdy in the monsters face trying to kiss them while shotgunning their face off so reloading and getting slapped around happened alot
also some monsters are gonna be very hard to deal with specificly the fast and very aggressive ones 1 super angy chimp comes to mind >.> while i could block almost every attack cept his pin the chip damage was EXTREMLY overwhelming as he attacked nonstop and left very few openings

[Hyrind]

I started maining HBG in high rank and I haven't put it down since. Here's some advice:

The first skills you want to pick up are Evasion Extender and Guard. One shield mod can be fine once you get 1-3 guard skill. Max Health is another great one. Shoot only when the monster is recovering or focusing on an ally, dodge or block as needed. Your dodge is pretty much your only mobility, so extender is a HUGE deal.

Not all weapons are created equal. Learn to judge a weapon by its ammo page. You're looking for powerful ammo types with higher magazine counts, less recoil, and faster reloading. This will tell you what a weapon is good at and how it should be built.

In general you want to use the highest ammo of your choice (normal, spread, pierce) that has recoil 2 and average reload. Lower recoil/faster reload is better but not required. You mod until the gun feels comfortable to use- the weapon really picks up when you have 3 slots to work with. Having recoil 3+ or slow reloads is going to feel awful if it's your main ammo type.

Wyvern Snipe is my preferred special. I like to initiate combat with it and the cooldown is short. Unless the monster is knocked down a lot, Wyvern Heart can be risky to use.

I'm only in the early stages of IB so things will change a bit later, but these tidbits should get you there!

[M.T. Fish]

Originally posted by Hyrind:

I started maining HBG in high rank and I haven't put it down since. Here's some advice:

The first skills you want to pick up are Evasion Extender and Guard. One shield mod can be fine once you get 1-3 guard skill. Max Health is another great one. Shoot only when the monster is recovering or focusing on an ally, dodge or block as needed. Your dodge is pretty much your only mobility, so extender is a HUGE deal.

Not all weapons are created equal. Learn to judge a weapon by its ammo page. You're looking for powerful ammo types with higher magazine counts, less recoil, and faster reloading. This will tell you what a weapon is good at and how it should be built.

In general you want to use the highest ammo of your choice (normal, spread, pierce) that has recoil 2 and average reload. Lower recoil/faster reload is better but not required. You mod until the gun feels comfortable to use- the weapon really picks up when you have 3 slots to work with. Having recoil 3+ or slow reloads is going to feel awful if it's your main ammo type.

Wyvern Snipe is my preferred special. I like to initiate combat with it and the cooldown is short. Unless the monster is knocked down a lot, Wyvern Heart can be risky to use.

I'm only in the early stages of IB so things will change a bit later, but these tidbits should get you there!

I'm soloing which is probably part of my problem.

I'll probably try the Wyvernsnipe next time I play. I like Wyvernheart but I feel like I have to be pretty close to get any real damage from it.

[jdiazaram]

Wyvernheart is exceptional to get extra monster parts if paired with the thief mantle bit for it to work you either need to trap the monster (environment or personal traps) or you need to have them KO'd.

I have two HBG one for farming with wyvernheart and one for progress with wyvernsnipe

[Mythily]

You can play it any way you want. Everyone here is mentioning shield, guard skills but in fact, you can play without them. I never used them and instead I have dodging skills and I've beaten everything up to the last IB story boss with only HBG and zero shields.

You have 3 ways to build HBG. Spread, pierce and sticky (element is bad till IB post story)
You want 3 different builds for them. Don't use the same gun/skills cuz your damage will suffer.

Last I'll just say that this post was already quite old, so I'm not sure if this is even relevant anymore.

[Smaugi]

Ditch shield , its a clutch , and as soon as something can beat it , it beats you.
Use evade extender 1-3 , works at all times to get out of position, don't focus on I framing the attacks just get away from them.
Focus on one ammo type for each build pierce , spread with sticky and wyvern YOU WILL need to restock during the hunt.

[Bobucles]

HBG excels at "punching down" against weaker opponents. It leverages your stronger armor and insane damage to burst down lesser monsters. The high damage creates tons of flinches, and the larger ammo capacity will let you punish those openings. So if you just want to disrespect monsters and give them a quick grave, HBG is the weapon for the job.

Shield mod will definitely help with the early hunts. Evade extender takes a long time to show up, so you're stuck fat rolling for a long time. A sleep palico will help, every sleep is a free ammo reload and wyvern fire.

Bowguns have a wide range of ammo, your main starting types are pierce(blue) or spread(green). Normal(white) is pretty much worthless outside of a dedicated rapid fire build. Sticky doesn't activate until much later when explosive skills can support it. Pick a lvl 2 ammo, make sure it's +2 recoil or better, and that's your primary attack. Spread shot 1/2/3 will attack 3/5/7 times, so those upgrades are doubly important.

Lvl 2 ammo is crafted from lvl 1 ammo, but each input bullet creates multiple output bullets. This is the main reason (the extra damage is also important) to skip lvl 1 and go direct to lvl 2 ammo. The bonus crafting outputs will give you a huge ammo supply to play with. Set up quick crafting on the menu so you can refill your main ammo with one button press.

Choosing spread vs. pierce vs. sticky vs. wyvernsnipe vs. wyvernheart is all about personal preference. I'm having a lot of fun with going point blank on spread, abusing shield and praying for fat rolls, then tossing a super snipe when the monster is out of range. It is risky, you will die while learning it. Grab health boost, craft lots of max potions, and maybe add divine blessing.

If you're trying to "punch up" through content, learning new fights, working while undergeared, try out the light bowgun instead. It is much more mobile for getting out of trouble and it still gives good bowgun practice.

Edit: Close range mod, and long range mod give 20% on the first mod. Pick a range bracket and go hard with it.

[9oaD]

You mentioned being a lance user. That's my weapon of choice. I haven't tried HBG yet in this game, but from previous MH games I used HBG a lot.

I remember shield HBG getting me in to trouble. I probably avoided using a shield except for certain monsters. It might help you with your Lance skill too. I like to do a lot of evasion with lance instead of blocking all the time. It's more difficult and risky but I think you mentioned you play solo so nobody will have to know if you get carted for dodging right in to an attack instead of just blocking.

Using a bowgun in previous MH games, I never enjoyed much in solo hunts. Probably I only used HBG if someone else in the party was using lance. Like 4 melee can be too crowded on small or medium monsters.

Sorry on the topic of HBG, my advice might be outdated but I remember using lots of cluster bombs to break wings. That was most important, learning how to roll around and learning how to use the right kind of ammo in the right ways, when to use an ammo type and where to aim it.. How to best pair it with your skill perks.

Like others have mentioned, and as a fellow lance user I would say try not using a shield. If you find a particular monster hard to evade and keep carting, then consider using a shield vs that monster