The Forbidden Lands of Monster Hunter Wilds is a dangerous and volatile ecosystem. The weather patterns can shift from peaceful to chaotic in a matter of seconds, and it is populated with some of the most vicious, bloodthirsty monsters you will ever have the misfortune of encountering.
To survive exploring this uncharted landscape, you will need powerful weapons to help down the Forbidden Lands’ apex predators. Fortunately, Monster Hunter Wilds has you covered as this game has fourteen different weapon types to choose from, each with unique playstyles, strengths, and weaknesses. What’s more, Monster Hunter Wilds will be introducing new special techniques, gameplay mechanics, and quality-of-life improvements not seen in previous Monster Hunter games.
Since there are so many weapons to pick from, we have compiled an overview of every weapon type in Monster Hunter Wilds to help you decide which one suits your playstyle the best so you can conquer the beasties of the Forbidden Lands with gusto.
Monster Hunter Wilds is launching in 2025 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: General changes for every weapon
Every weapon will gain the ability to inflict wounds on a monster if you continually attack specific parts of their body. Once the wounds appear, you can inflict extra damage on a monster if you attack their open wounds.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, every weapon type will gain access to a new gameplay mechanic called Focus Mode. Focus Mode allows players to activate an aiming reticule which will help them aim their attacks more accurately on a monster’s body regardless of whether they’re using a melee or ranged weapon. This mechanic will help players land their attacks on a monster’s weak spots more easily and keep the camera locked on the monster, so they don’t lose sight of it during the heat of battle.
In addition, Focus Mode will grant every weapon type called a Focus Strike. Focus Strikes are special attacks designed to exploit a monster’s weak points or wounds to deal significant damage to them.
On top of Focus Mode, every weapon type will gain two new mechanics called Power Clash, Offset Attack, and Sneak Attack. Power Clash is a cinematic power struggle that occurs when you block an incoming attack at the right time with a weapon capable of guarding. During this sequence, you must mash the attack button to push back the monster and perform a special and powerful super move to topple it.
Offset Attacks are unique sequences that occur where you and a monster attack each other at the same time. If you get lucky, your attack will beat out theirs and push the monster back. Afterward, your character will then perform a unique dash attack to close the distance and continue their assault. (Do note that only a few certain weapon types can perform Offset Attacks).
Sneak Attacks are devastating cinematic super moves that can only be activated if you hit a monster that hasn't spotted you yet.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, players will be able to take two weapons with them during a hunt and switch between them in the heat of battle. This is thanks to the new Seikret mount, which the player uses to transport them across the game’s gigantic hunting grounds. Seikret can carry a secondary weapon in its carrier pack so you can switch your main weapon with it if the situation calls for it.
This means you won’t have to return to a campsite in the middle of a fight to switch to a different one in case your current weapon isn’t suited for a specific monster you’re hunting.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Great Sword
The Great Sword is a mighty weapon that has the power to cleave monsters in twain with its heavy attacks. While this weapon cripples the user's movement speed due to its hefty weight, the trade-off is that each attack can be charged by holding down the attack to boost its power when it lands.
You can get around the weapon type’s low mobility by sheathing the weapon, running up to a monster to hit with a charged-slash combo, and then putting the Great Sword away to reposition yourself or avoid incoming attacks, making this weapon a great choice for players who prefer hit-and-run tactics.
Great Swords also have some defensive capabilities such as using the weapon like a shield to block enemy attacks due to how large they are and allowing players to shrug off attacks to continue their combos by using the Shoulder Tackle technique.
Great Sword gameplay additions and changes
Monster Hunter Wilds will feature a slew of moves and mechanics that will help players overcome its mobility issues and improve its defensive properties:
- A new Offset Attack where the player does a reserve overhead slash to send the flying on their backside as they're about to strike then runs up to them to perform a cross-slash attack.
- A new Focus Strike where the player embeds the Great Sword onto a monster’s body, then drags it across to rip its body apart. This attack will deal extra damage if it hits a weak spot or wound. Also, you can charge the attack by holding Y+B to increase its attack and prolong its wind-up time so you can time it just as a monster is about to hit you.
- Great Swords will gain access to the Power Clash mechanic as they can block attacks despite not having a shield.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Long Sword
The Long Sword is a technical weapon that specializes in clean and precise cutting attacks to chop off monster tails, evading enemy attacks with evasive maneuvers, and risky counterattacks to negate incoming enemy blows and hit back twice as hard with style.
The Long Sword has a unique gimmick called Spirit Gauge that fills up when you perform regular attacks. You can then spirit energy from the Spirit Gauge to unleash Spirit Slash combo attacks, which are twice as deadly as the regular ones.
Performing Spirit Slash combo finishers will level up Spirit Gauge (they go from White, Yellow, to Red) and depending on the level, will provide a significant boost to your weapon’s overall attack power and drastically increase the damage of the Long Sword’s ultimate move – the Spirit Helm Breaker.
Long Sword gameplay additions and changes
In Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom has taken a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it approach' for the Long Sword as it will play almost identically to how it worked in Monster Hunter World, with little changes. The only new gameplay additions to the Long Sword that have been confirmed thus far are:
- A slightly reworked version of the Fade Slash attack that allows the user to side-step away from incoming attacks and activate Spirit Slash attacks afterward.
- New attacks that extend normal slash and Spirit Slash combos.
- The Spirit Helm Breaker can now be sheathed in mid-air to cancel the attack and prevent you from wasting a Spirit Gauge level if it's about to miss a monster.
- A new action called the Spirit Charge. By holding the right trigger, you will hold a stance that will begin raising your Spirit Gauge level. Releasing the trigger will activate a Spirit Roundslash attack, which will increase your Spirit Gauge level if it hits an enemy.
- A 180-degree turn slash that can be performed in the middle of combos to swipe at monsters behind you.
- At max Spirit Levels, the Foresight Slash upgrades into the Foresight Whirl Slash, which does more damage to monsters and grants more invincibility frames to the user.
- A Focus Strike technique where you pierce a monster's weak spots or wounds, then chop them up with an overhead slash and uppercut slash combo.
- A counter stance where you can use a power Spirit Slash attack to parry incoming enemy attacks.
- A new attack that can be performed after the Spirit Helm Breaker where you unleash a flurry of sword swipes so fast they're invisible to the naked eye.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Sword & Shield
The Sword & Shield is a short sword paired with a small shield designed around performing quick strikes on a monster’s blind spots while providing players a means to block incoming attacks in an emergency (although it falters when trying to block heavy attacks).
Players can also attack enemies with the shield which, when used on the head, can knock them out and leave them vulnerable for a few seconds. The Sword & Shield also has a unique trait that allows players to consume healing items or use fire projectiles from the Slinger without needing to sheath the weapon.
Sword & Shield gameplay additions and changes
The Sword & Shield will be receiving a fair amount of subtle but significant gameplay additions and changes to its toolkit that will improve its offensive repertoire, mobility and defensive capabilities:
- A new side-step maneuver where you hack away at a monster and reposition yourself to get a better aim at a monster's weak spots.
- You can now run instead of just walking while consuming potions and using items while the Sword & Shield is out.
- A new slide attack that will quickly bring you close to a monster, duck underneath attacks, and begin attack combos.
- The Sword & Shield's Focus Strike will have you stab at a monster's weak spot or wound, then perform a jumping uppercut with the shield that sends you into the air, and then finish them with an attack that has you crash into a monster with a shield as you fall back down to Earth.
- A new guard counter technique where if you manage to block an attack at the last second, you can counter-attack with a spinning slash technique.
- A new attack called the Charged Chop. By holding and releasing Y+B during a combo, you will leap forward to plunge your sword into a monster, then run it down their body to severely shred their hide's weak spots.
- Sword & Shield will gain access to the Power Clash mechanic.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Dual Blades
Dual Blades lets players brandish a pair of daggers and go on a rampage, slicing and dicing enemies to ribbons while bobbing and weaving through incoming strikes. Players can take the violent nature of Dual Blades further by activating Demon Mode, which increases their attack and movement speeds to ludicrous degrees and unlocks new special moves that rip and tear your enemies.
However, it's best not to stay in Demon Mode as it drains your stamina while in use, so use it sparingly, otherwise you will tire out and be left vulnerable. Attacking in Demon Mode fills a special gauge that, when filled, activates Archdemon Mode. Being in Archdemon Mode grants you some of the attacks of Demon Mode without draining your stamina gauge.
So the gameplan of Dual Blade is a balancing between switching back and forth between Demon Mode and Archdemon to deal optimal damage to monsters while making sure you don’t exhaust yourself in the process.
Dual Blades gameplay changes and additions
Dual Blades' general gameplay loop won't change much beyond how it played it previous games. Most of the new moves and gameplay changes seen so far are new dodge moves to help evade incoming attacks and a new Focus Strike. These new gameplay additions are:
- A new dodge move where you can hop backward while performing attacks in Archdemon Mode to avoid incoming attacks or reposition yourself to a monster's weak spots.
- You can now cancel the Demon Dance/Blade Dance attack by dodge-rolling during the attack animation.
- The Focus Strike attack for Dual Blades has you jump onto a monster's weak spot or wound to ravage it with the Dual Blades. Afterwards, you will leap backward off the monster and use the Slinger's grappling hook to latch back onto it so you can finish it off with an aerial spinning attack where you fly across a monster's back and rip it open on your way down.
- A Demon Mode-exclusive dodge maneuverer where if timed just right, you perform a special dodge roll that will completely negate the damage of a monster's incoming attack and have you slash at them as you're evading the attack.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Hammer
If you need a weapon purely to knock monsters out cold or break their skulls for rare parts, then the Hammer is for you. The hammer is a massive blunt weapon designed for dealing stun-build-up and tons of damage when used on an enemy’s skull. The hammer’s attacks can be charged to deal extra damage like the Great Sword, except you can move around while charging instead of standing still, allowing players mobility while staying on the offensive.
Hammer gameplay additions and changes
The Hammer's move-set in Monster Hunter Wilds won't deviate too much from how it traditionally played in the past entries. However, it will incorporate certain moves from previous games like Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate and a couple of new ones to enhance the Hammer's mobility and offensive capabilities.
The Hammer's new moves and gameplay changes seen thus far are:
- The 'Keeping Sway' technique from Monster Hunter Rise, which allowed players to dash while maintaining the charge levels on the Hammer's charge attacks, will return as as a core part of the Hammer's move-set in Monster Hunter Wilds.
- The 'Spinning Meteor' attack from Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, where you spin the Hammer multiple times before performing an earth-shattering overhead strike, will return as a Focus Strike.
- A new charge-up attack called the Might Charge. By pressing and holding Y+B, you will begin winding up the Hammer like a baseball player and then perform a devastating wide-swing and an overhead smash combo onto a monster's cranium.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Hunting Horn
The Hunting Horn is a musical instrument that doubles as a hammer. By performing specific attack combos, you will activate songs that provide passive buffs to your party, heal their wounds, and even protect them from status ailments. Some Hunting Horn songs can even damage enemies via deafening soundwave attacks.
As shown in the gameplay trailer, Monster Hunter Wilds' iteration of the Hunting Horn will be akin to how it played in Monster Hunter Rise, where it emphasized using soundwave attacks to defeat enemies. It will even bring back some of the new moves Hunting Horn got from Monster Hunter Rise into Monster Hunter Wilds like the Earthshaker technique.
Earthshaker was an amazing super move where you plug the hunting horn into a monster’s skull and then perform a guitar solo that literally blows their minds with the power of Rock and Roll. Now it has returned in Monster Hunter Wilds as a Focus Strike and has been slightly reworked to have a longer guitar solo to deal even more damage.
Hunting Horn gameplay additions and changes
The rest of Hunting Horn's new tools and changes will include new soundwave-based attacks and quality-of-life improvements so players can perform songs faster to deal more damage and strengthen teammates more often:
- A new melee attack where you quickly smack a monster in the face during Encores so you can buff teammates while attacking a monster at the same time.
- The Earthshaker technique from Monster Hunter Rise returns as the Hunting Horn's Focus Strike. Press attack buttons at the correct times while the Focus Strike has you play the Hunting Horn to stock song notes and finish off with a Recital to sound blast an enemy's weak spot and wounds.
- A new soundwave technique called Echo Buddles. This technique has the player place multiple area-of-effect puddles that when a Hunting Horn user activates Melodies near them, cause the puddles to damage enemies standing in them.
- A new evasive dodge move where the player jumps backward to avoid incoming attacks and then runs up to them to deliver a devastating close-range soundwave attack.
- There will be a new attack you can use after performing an Overhead Smash by pressing Y+B while holding the left analog stick forward.
- A new powerful attack that launches a gigantic soundwave projectile to damage enemies at long ranges.
- The speed at which you perform Melodies has been greatly increased compared to previous games.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Lance
The Lance is the ultimate defensive melee weapon of Monster Hunter where the player wields a gigantic lance, and a tower shield capable of blocking the most lethal attacks a monster can throw at you. The general move-set of Lance involves stabbing at weak spots, charging like a knight jousting to chase after fleeing monsters, and performing special guard techniques to block attacks then counterattacking with the lance.
Lance gameplay additions and changes
Monster Hunter Wilds' version of the Lance won't deviate much from how it played in previous games, and will mostly include new attacks that will utilize the shield.
The gameplay changes and new moves spotted for Lance so far are:
- You can now side-step while performing regular thrusts to reposition yourself and avoid incoming attacks.
- A new combo finisher at the end of the 3-hit thrust combo that has you stab at a monster three times in a row before finishing with a forceful thrust attack that reaches high targets.
- A Shield bash attack can be performed after a Guard Counter and potentially stun monsters.
- A new double shield-bash that can be performed after a Guard Advance and allow you to follow-up with other attacks.
- The Power Guard has a new follow-up attack that has you jump into the air to stab at flying monsters or monsters with elevated weak spots.
- Now being able to perform the Lance's charge attack after performing a Guard Counter attack.
- The Focus Strike for Lance has you perform an uppercut attack with the shield and then charge toward a monster's weak spot or wound to bash it with the shield and pierce it with the Lance.
- A Power Clash mechanic where if you block an attack at the right time, you can lodge the shield into a monster's mouth, shove them away, and stab the monster in the eye with the Lance as they're staggered.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Gunlance
If the Lance is an immovable object, then the Gunlance is an unstoppable force. The Gunlance is a lance outfitted with a giant cannon that fires short-range explosions that bypass a monster’s defenses to deal fixed amounts of damage.
This weapon also features the Wyrmstake Cannon, an armor-piercing stake that when fired, drills into a monster’s armor-plated hide and explodes from within to inflict grievous damages. On top of that, the Gunlance also possesses a powerful super move called Wyvern’s Fire which fires a gigantic explosion that will send monsters reeling if they get caught in the blast radius.
There are multiple kinds of Gunlances with special Shelling types that alter the properties of the Gunlance’s explosion attacks:
- Normal Shelling-type Gunlance has five shells, which synergizes with the Gunlance’s Full-Burst attack which involves the player slamming the weapon into a monster before unloading all shells to deal massive burst damage.
- Long Shelling-type Gunlances have three shells and have increased range and damage when using the weapon’s Charged Shot attack.
- Wide-Shelling-type Gunlances have two shells and the shortest range of shelling explosions attacks but each shell does significant damage and can stagger enemies.
Gunlance gameplay additions and changes
The Gunlance in Monster Hunter Wilds has received a ton of new moves that expand on its Shelling attacks while providing players more defensive options to help them survive in battle:
- If you block enemy attacks at the last second, their knockback will be reduced and allow you to follow up with a Full-Burst Slam attack.
- New side-step maneuvers that utilize the recoil of Shelling shots to help players dodge enemy attacks damaging them.
- A new attack that can be performed after a Wide Sweep, which is called the Wyrmstake Full Blast. This attack will spend all your shells to unleash a flamethrower attack and fire off a Wyrmstake cannon.
- Charged-Shelling shots can now be charged even further than previous games to unleash miniature Wyvern’s Fire-esque blasts, but the recoil will send players flying backward.
- Thanks to the new Wyrmstake Full Blast attack, the Gunlance has new combo paths where you can perform multiple Wyrmstake Cannon attacks in a single combo.
- Gunlance’s Focus Strike converts the lance part of the weapon into a drill that can skewer a monster’s weak spots and wounds.
- Winning a Power Clash with Gunlance will have you shove the weapon into a monster's jaw and fire a fully-powered Charged-Shelling shot at point-blank range to blow their heads off.
- You now have two Wyvern's Fire charges which can be refilled by attacking enemies with shelling attacks and Wyrmstake Cannons.
- The Quick Reload action now has a guard point that protects you while reloading the weapon's shells.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Switch Axe
The Switch Axe is one of Monster Hunter’s more crazy weapon types. Its main draw is the ability to transform back and forth between being an oversized axe that granted players extra mobility while performing wild-swinging attacks to a Great Sword-sized blade that dealt slow but savagely dangerous damage to foes.
Attacking in Axe Mode will build up energy for a gauge meter that will allow you to perform attacks in sword form. Whenever you deal damage in its sword form, the Switch Axe builds up a secondary gauge meter. When it fills, the Switch Axe will activate its 'Amped State' which will cause explosions to happen with every hit in Sword Mode and unlock a powerful finishing move called the Zero Sum Discharge.
The Zero Sum Discharge has you stab a monster in the gut in sword form and fire a massive explosion from inside its body to inflict insane amounts of damage, but it spends all the energy of Sword Mode and reverts it to Axe Mode.
As the name implies, the general game plan around Switch Axe is to switch back and forth between Axe and Sword Modes depending on the monster you’re fighting and finish them off with the Zero Sum Discharge.
Switch Axe gameplay additions and changes
Switch Axe will be getting a new Axe Mode and Sword Mode attacks, and bringing back a special counter maneuverer from Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak to help compensate for weapon type's lack of a shield like its counterpart, the Charge Blade, has.
All the changes and new moves spotted for Switch Axe thus far include:
- A new combo finisher for the Axe Mode with you swing the weapon upwards to targets high in the air.
- The Focus Strike has you perform a series of Axe Mode attacks and then transform into Sword Mode to fire a miniature Elemental Discharge at a monster's weak spot or wound.
- You can perform an Offset attack while in Axe Mode.
- A counter stance in Sword Mode which when performed just as a monster is about to hit you, will deflect the incoming attack and let you counter with a high-damaging combo attack.
- A new running charge attack in Axe Mode that ends with a double wing-swing attack to a monster's head.
- The explosions that occur while the weapon is the Amped State have been made more powerful, they now have a bigger blast radius, and can now stagger enemies with every hit.
- During the Amped State, you will unlock a new attack called the Full Release Slash. If you hold right trigger+Y+B or press the right trigger after a regular Element Discharge you will unleash a release a series of devastating Sword Mode attacks with bigger Phial explosions than normal.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Charge Blade
Charge Blade is quite possibly the most complicated weapon to use in Monster Hunter due to its wide variety of mechanics to learn and master. Similar to Switch Axe, the Charge Blade is a transformation weapon capable of shifting forms from a large sword & shield to a gigantic battle axe.
How Charge Blade works is that you start off in sword & shield mode and use that form’s attack to build energy for the weapon’s unique resource mechanic called Phials. Once the Phials are filled with enough energy, you load them from the sword into the shield to power it up so it can block attacks more easily.
Once the shield is powered and you have more Phials filled in sword & shield mode, transform into axe mode to unleash its true power. While in axe mode, your Phials will cause every hit to be augmented with small explosions dealing extra damage. If you have the shield powered up while in axe mode, you can perform the Charge Blade’s ultimate attack called the Super Amped Elemental Discharge.
Super Amped Elemental Discharge will have the player slam the Charge Blade into the ground and fire every available Phial to cause an extravagant explosion capable of taking out multiple large monsters in a wide radius. After spending all your Phials, you will need to switch back into sword & shield mode to recharge your Phials, then transform back into axe mode to let loose another Super Amped Elemental Discharge, thus forming the core gameplay loop of Charge Blade.
Charge Blade gameplay additions and changes
So far, Charge Blade has not received many drastic changes to its toolkit compared to the other weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds. It will primarily function like it did in Monster Hunter World but with a couple of new attacks, cleaner UI, and some tweaks to existing attacks.
The new attacks and changes for Charge Blade shown thus far are:
- A new Axe mode attack that can be performed after using Super-Amped Elemental Discharge technique.
- The Axe mode's running charge attack has been slightly reworked so that instead of running to cleave a monster with an overhead strike, you run in to perform a right-diagonal swing at them.
- The user interface for the Charge Blade's Phials mechanic now more clearly shows which parts of the weapon have been powered up by Phials.
- The new Focus Strike attack for Charge Blade has you quickly swipe at a monster's weak spot or wounds in Sword & Shield mode, then transform into Axe Mode to tear it up with a buzz-saw attack.
- A new fast-wide Axe mode attack that can combo into the Ultra Elemental Discharge move.
- The Ultra Elemental Discharge's wind-up and attack speed has been significantly increased so you can activate it faster.
- Access to the Power Clash mechanic.
- Regular Charge Blade Axe Mode attacks only consume half a Phial per attack.
- You can overcharge your Phials if they're already full so that the Phial explosions deal more damage and make the shield's powered up state last longer.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Insect Glaive
The Insect Glaive is a mobile, acrobatic weapon that allows the player to perform elaborate and agile ground-based attacks and jump in the air to unleash deadly aerial attacks and dive bombs that can clip the wings of flying monsters. Additionally, the Insect Glaive has a secondary weapon paired with it that can grant the player extra strength called the Kinsect.
The Kinsect is a large insect that the player can command to attack monsters and drain their fluids to harvest special ‘extracts’ from their body parts. The Kinsect can then pass these extracts onto the player to boost their stats and unlock new moves depending on the extract type.
- Orange extract: increases a player’s physical defense stats and reduces the amount of knockback from enemy attacks.
- White extract: increases a player’s movement speed and gives them the ability to air-dash while jumping.
- Red extract: increases attack power and unlocks new special moves.
Insect Glaive gameplay additions and changes
From what has been seen thus far, the Insect Glaive will getting a few new attacks and even a quality-of-life improvement for gathering extracts:
- The aiming reticule for aiming the Kinsect will display which extract type is hiding on a monster’s body part when aiming it at them.
- A new grab attack where you jump in the air and air-dash towards a monster to latch on its body so you can start stabbing it with the Insect Glaive.
- An aerial divebomb performed while airborne where upon successfully landing on a monster, it will impale them. The player will then swing on the weapon so it can drill the Insect Glaive into a monster’s hide.
- A combo attack finisher where you leap backward and fire the Kinsect from your arm like a cannon to stagger the enemy, damage them severely, and harvest an extract in the process.
- A new move called the Rising Spiral Slash. This will allow you to perform an upwards-spinning attack with your glaive and consume all your Extracts to deal extra damage. Your Kinsect will also join you during this attack to grab lots of Extracts from the monster to refill the ones you have just spent.
- You no longer bounce on enemies while performing aerial attacks on them.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Light Bowgun
The Light Bowgun is a ranged weapon specialized in firing rapid-fire projectiles at medium ranges while offering special evasive maneuvers for its users to dodge incoming attacks. While the Light Bowgun may not have the sheer firepower of its Heavy Bowgun counterpart, it features the compatibility for a wider variety of ammo types that are designed to debilitate the enemy monsters with status effects, power up fellow players, or take advantage of a monster’s elemental weaknesses.
In addition, the Light Bowgun features special landmines called Wyvernblasts that can be placed on the ground to damage any monster that steps on them.
Light Bowgun gameplay additions and changes
The Light Bowgun in Monster Hunter Wilds will receive new evasive techniques, new attacks, and a quality-of-improvement that will allow players to load the gun faster.
The list of new gameplay changes and additions for Light Bowgun that have been spotted thus far are:
- A new dodge maneuver that lets players slide underneath incoming attacks while shooting at them simultaneously.
- You now have access to infinite Normal, Pierce, and Spread Ammo for every Light Bowgun.
- You can perform a new attack called the Chaser Shot which deals more and refills the Rapid Fire Gauge quicker at the expense of a slower rate of fire.
- A new Rapid Fire gauge mechanic that builds energy over time or when you land shots on a monster. When it's filled, you can activate Rapid Mode which lets you fire high-damaging, special ammo in rapid-fire bursts.
- The Focus Strike for Light Bowgun will allow players to fire Wyvernblasts directly onto a monster's body like a grenade launcher to do extra damage to their weak spots and wounds.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Heavy Bowgun
The Heavy Bowgun is a long-ranged weapon designed to blow up enemies from a distance with explosive ammo and armor-piercing rounds. You can also modify the Heavy Bowgun with a shield so it can block incoming attacks.
In addition, the Heavy Bowgun has a special energy gauge which when filled, will let you activate Ignition Mode. Ignition Mode will allow the player to load special ammunition that will blast even the biggest monsters into smouldering with their extreme firepower.
Heavy Bowgun gameplay additions and changes
The Heavy Bowgun in Monster Hunter Wilds will feature a few quality-of-improvements to its guarding capabilities and Ignition Mode charge, as well as other new additions:
- Guarding with the Heavy Bowgun can be done manually on top of the weapon being able to block automatically.
- Every Heavy Bowgun will have access to infinite Normal, Pierce and Spread Ammo.
- The automatic charge-up time of the Heavy Bowgun’s energy gauge has been increased and land shots on enemies will charge faster.
- A Focus Strike where you load armor-piercing bullets that dig into a monster’s thick hide before exploding. This attack will deal extra damage if you manage to shoot the Focus Strike on weak spots and wounds.
- An offset attack that can be performed during Ignition Mode called Wyverncounter Ignition. By holding Y, you can charge a close-range explosive attack that will knock a charging monster flat on their backside if used at the right time.
- Thanks to the Heavy Bowgun's Shield Mod, it can engage in Power Clashes if you block attacks at the right time. If you win a Power Clash, you will shove the Heavy Bowgun into a monster’s jaw and fire the weapon at point-blank range to blow their brains out.
Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon list: Bow
The Bow is a classic ranged weapon that allows players to dart across the battlefield at tremendous speeds and let loose a volley of arrows from long distances into a monster’s hide. Players can also augment the arrows they fire with special coatings that increase their damage output or give them the ability to inflict status ailments to slow enemies down.
In addition, the Bow has a special Arc Shot attack where the player fires a bag of rocks into the air that comes raining down on a monster’s head to stun them. The Bow's most devastating attack however is the Dragon Piercer, which involves attaching rockets onto an arrow and firing a lightning-fast shot that pierces through a monster’s entire body to deal serious damage.
However, performing actions with the Bow costs a tremendous amount of stamina so players should take heed of their stamina gauge when using this weapon lest they wish to tire themselves out and be left helpless before a rampaging monster.
Bow gameplay additions and changes
The Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds will be receiving a ton of improvements to its core move-set so that moves like the Dragon Piercer will be more viable in battle and new attacks that not only look exciting to use but could potentially completely alter how the Bow is played from previous games.
The new moves and changes for the Bow shown so far are:
- A new dodge move called Discerning Dodge. When pulled off successfully just a monster is about to hit you, you will take no damage, reposition yourself to a safer spot, and then counterattack with arrow shots.
- You now have an infinite supply of coatings at your disposal which can be used to power-up your Bow's next eight shots.
- A new jump attack where you do a short hop in the air that can help you dodge low-reaching attacks and fire arrows as you jump.
- The Dragon Piercer charge-up time has been heavily shortened which will allow the player to perform the move much faster.
- The Bow features a new attack called the Tracer. The Tracer is a special explosive arrow that sticks onto a monster's body when the player successfully hits a target with it. Once planted, all the Bow's arrow attacks will become homing projectiles that will automatically fly toward the spot where the Tracer is and cause mini-explosions that deal moderate damage on top of the damage inflicted by the arrows. Once enough arrows hit the Tracer or enough time has passed, the Tracer will explode and dish out a significant amount of damage.
- Tracers and Coatings can only be activated by spending energy from a new gauge mechanic called the Trick Arrow Gauge. The Trick Arrow Gauge gets refilled by landing
- The Arc Shot attack from Monster Hunter World no longer unleashes a rain of rocks onto a monster's head. Instead, the Arc Shot will let loose a rain of arrows that deal way more damage over time to any monster standing in the rain. Some arrows will stick to a monster's body and detonate small explosions if you manage to hit them.
- The Focus Strike for Bow will activate targeting reticles for every weak spot and wound on a monster and fire a barrage of arrows that will home in on all of them to deal heavy damage.
- The Thousand Dragons technique from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne has returned but it no longer requires slinger ammo to deal optimal damage as it only fires regular arrows now that deal massive burst damage.
Have you decided which weapon will be your favorite in Monster Hunter Wilds?
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There you have every weapon available at your disposal in Monster Hunter Wilds and all the new mechanics and improvements announced for them thus far. As you can see, this game has all kinds of weapons that cater to almost everyone, whether they prefer fighting monsters up close with melee weapons or sniping enemies with long-ranged projectiles they’re safely out of harm’s way.
RELATED: Monster Hunter Wilds preview
What’s even more exciting is that players won’t have to just stick to one weapon during a hunt like in previous games as the new Seikret mount will allow them to switch to a different weapon mid-fight, giving players the ability to switch between melee and ranged combat at will.
What other new surprises will Monster Hunter Wilds bring for the weapon types as we edge closer to its release date? Stay tuned to find out as we will continually update this list with new mechanics and attacks announced for every weapon type that will help you conquer Monster Hunter Wilds’ ever-growing bestiary of monsters.
Monster Hunter Wilds, the next-gen successor to one of Capcom's best Xbox games and best PC games, Monster Hunter World, is scheduled to launch in 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
