Insect Glaive - Tricks and Help for New IG Hunters

A simple yet clear guide on how to use the Insect Glaive effectively, what the extracts do and how to get them, as well as some tips and tricks to better enhance your role as "The Floor is a Suggestion" weapon class.

Your Kinsect

• Now, first and foremost you have essentially a stick and a bug. How does the Kinsect play into this class and why is the bug important? There are 12 kinsects total in this installment of Monster Hunter. each with their own niche, but all we will focus on are the Kinsect's damage type; Severing and Blunt.
  
  
• These damage types are as they say, one does blunt damage and the other does sever. If you play solo or find yourself on a squad of all Dual Blade users, a blunt kinsect will be your go to as that will help you break parts a little quicker when it attacks. Sever will open wounds on already broken parts faster, extremely useful when on a balanced team or running solo.
  
  
• Your kinsect also has another role, collecting extracts. Extracts enhance your Hunter
  Red increases your damage
  White increases your dodge distance and movement speed
  Orange gives you increased defense

Extracts and Their Purpose

Now to the core function of the class and easily the most frustrating when starting to play the Insect Glaive. Collecting your extracts. You WILL find yourself cussing out your kinsect on more than one occasion until you understand what gives specific extract colors, how to maneuver your kinsect and what to do with them.

Directing the Kinsect

• Holding right trigger and tapping Top Face Button will send your kinsect to attack and gather an extract (Your reticle will fill with a number and color based on where you aim at the monster in this mode)
  
• Holding both of the above buttons will charge your kinsect and send it spiraling THROUGH the monster, gathering up to 3 extracts based on the parts it has gone through.
  
• Holding right trigger and pressing Right Face Button will recall your kinsect and absorb the extract it has gathered
  
  

  Extract Types

• Directing your kinsect at a monster's head will collect Red extract (arguably the most annoying to get)
  Red Extract allows you to charge attacks with Right Face Button
  
  
• Directing your kinsect at the monster's limbs and wings collect White extract
  White extract increases movement speed and jump height
  
  
• Directing your kinsect at the monster's body and in some cases the tail base will collect Orange extract
  Orange Extract negates knock-back when weapon is drawn
  
  
• Directing your kinsect at the tail will give green extract
  Green Extract is a one use burst heal upon return
  
  

  Extract Combos

• Red + White: Increases attack
  
• White + Orange: Increases Defense
  
• Red + White + Orange: Alters some attacks, reduces wind pressure, tremors, and roars, and further increases attack
  
  

  Main Takeaway

  Now that you have collected all 3 extracts the Insect Glaive moveset becomes a more enhanced powerful form. You attacks have a wider sweep, increased damage and instead of 1 swipe when attacking while airborne you will perform an aerial spin maneuver that does damage its entire animation.
  Extracts don't last an entire hunt while low rank or when fighting exceptionally more difficult monsters than you're geared for. so you will find yourself having to gather extracts multiple times during a hunt. Be patient with your starter kinsect as they are much slower than ones you'll find yourself using late-game.

Movesets, Focus Mode and Perfect Guarding

Ground Moveset

• Top Face Button is akin to a light attack; its swift and can be used as a chain between combos. While moving left or right you'll sidestep strike. Moving backwards will strike and slightly hop backwards
  
• Left Face Button is more akin to a heavy attack; it hits hard and has a longer vertical reach. Attacking 3 times leads to a small combo. With Red Extract gathered you can charge this attack up to two times for a stronger attack combo when released as well as Perfect Guard opportunity.
  
  
  

  Airborne Moveset

• Holding Right Trigger and pressing the Bottom Face Button will vault your hunter in the air and changes your attack patterns while airborne.
  
• Light attacking will boost you forwards and slash at the monster, successfully landing an attack will vault you back into the air to make a subsequent attack. You may stay airborne while you have stamina, otherwise your hunter will fall to the ground instead of re-vaulting.
  
• Heavy Attacking will do a downward strong single strike, you will not re-vault back into the air striking the monster.
  
• Right Trigger will kinsect mark the monster while airborne, doing so will drop you out of the air.
  
  

  3 Extract Ground Moveset

• Your light attack will change to a stronger version with more sweep and more damage. This can also be combo'd 3 times and still retain its chain potential.
  
• Likewise your Heavy attack becomes stronger as well with another option of attack. Holding down the attack has an enhanced charge attack that when released perform a strong attack animation, Heavy attacking at the end of the animation will consume all 3 extracts to perform a whirlwind area attack raising the hunter into the air during the duration causing massive damage.
  
  

  3 Extract Airborne Moveset

• Your Light attack changes to an aerial spin that does damage the entire way through, the last three instances of damage are whats crucial to vault your hunter back into the air. Same rules regarding stamina apply.
  
• Heavy attacking will still be a downward strike however it is now a downward spin all until touchdown.
  
• With a minimum of harvesting your red extract; while holding down Right Face Button while airborne you can charge your attack similar to when you are on the ground, doing so will turn your downward spin into a plunge strike. upon landing on the ground you will automatically start the first portion of the 2nd bullet of your ground moveset. Holding Left Trigger and Right Face Button will do the same rising spin attack as stated in the above section.
  
  

  Focus Mode

• Holding Left Trigger activates Focus Mode. In focus mode you can more directly aim your attacks so you aren't swinging at air. When a monster's part is wounded you will see Red Scoutflies. Pressing Right Bumper in focus mode and aiming at a wound attacks and destroys the wound, at the end of the attack you will send your Kinsect to attack the wound, doing so will return all 3 extracts to your hunter. This is the easiest way to get your extracts back on board.
  
  

  Perfect Counter

  Now learning how to perfect counter take some time and a TON of patience. When holding Right Face Button to charge your attack you have to release so your swing makes contact with the monster's attack. Too soon or too late and you yourself will eat that entire attack. Successfully Perfect Countering will make a unique sound effect and stagger the monster, in some cases and with specific jewels you can fully stagger the monster on the ground.

Your Bread and Butter

• With all basic functions of the Insect Glaive covered. You're probably asking: "well that's great to know and all but how do i put this all together?". The easiest way to play into your extracts is attacking the monster 3 times with Top Face Button. Repeat this on the ground targeting the monster's head (If low enough), legs and tail. Pop airborne and attack along the length of the monster. Having all three Extracts and attacking along the length will generate about the same DPS as Dual Blades. Use your charged heavy attack to combo into the Rising Spin and Focus Strike wounds to rinse and repeat. With enough practice and time put into this combo, explore weaving in other attacks, Perfect Countering, and varying between when you should be on the ground and when is best to stay airborne.
  
• Lastly, enjoy your time on the Insect Glaive, find a kinsect and glaive that resonates with YOU. You can min-max your decorations and specific Glaive as you play more. For now, get your Fashion Hunter on, and hunt in style with the fluid dance that is the Insect Glaive hunter.
  
  
  YOU own the skies!

[suspicious lump]

hey i have a suggestion for a harvest gathering tactic, something i do that helps with the aiming for parts is using the ranged shot on the part for whichever extract i need. the shot is quick enough that you don't need to predict the monster's movement too much, and since it marks the part it hits, your kinsect will auto-aim towards the part your shot hit and gather harvest autonomously. also helps with popping kinsect dust around the monster that's out of reach