Summary
Ranged weapons present players with a completely different playstyle choice to melee weapons inMonster Hunter. InMonster Hunter Wilds, players who want to deal damage from a distance have a choice between the bow, the heavy bowgun, and the light bowgun. Ranged weapons each come with their own gameplay mechanics, like craftable ammo, and have their own set of attacks.
Light bowguns are the more mobile, more rapid-firing choice. They don’t deal as much per-shot damage as their heavy counterparts, but they allow players to dish out consistent damage while on the move. Light bowguns tend to work well with both elemental ammo and status ammo types, though raw damage options can also prove effective withthe right builds.
This topic will include the best light bowguns for players to use throughout the campaign, as well as some of the best endgame weapon options. With that in mind, these are the best light bowguns inMonster Hunter Wilds.
8Dosha Faithbreaker
Early Upgrade
Early on in the game, when players are looking for their first upgrade path for the light bowgun, the Dosha Faithbreaker is a good choice for hunter ranks 1-4. This weapon type has a decent raw damage stat and comes withthe skill Opening Fire.
This skill increases reload speed and damage from a full magazine, which is further helped by a small magazine size for the bowguns' normal ammo. The weapon can also be used with sticky ammo, and wyvernblast special ammo.
7Nu Chobotnice
Rapid Fire
When players reach mid-game, there are a few different options available for light bowgun upgrades. Nu Chobotnice from the Nu Udra crafting tree is a solid weapon at hunter ranks 5 to 6. This bowgun has one of the earliest access to level 3 spread ammo with rapid fire.
Spread ammo isn’t the most useful type overall, but at this stage, with rapid fire, it will offer veryhigh comparative DPS. There’s also the possibility of using the niche ammo type exhaust ammo, which can drain monsters' stamina and lower their effectiveness in battle.
6G. Veldian Impetum
Transitioning To High Rank
For players who want to continue using the rapid-fire spread ammo, the G. Veldian Impetum is a good choice for transitioning to high-rank hunts. The Impetum offers coverage of water and ice elements through craftable ammo, and Opening Shot level 2 can help keep up damage output when clip-dumping the spread ammo.
For players who’d rather use pierce ammo over spread at this stage, a better choice would be the Cthonian Gunfire from the G. Ebony Odogaron crafting tree.
5Rathling Gun
Critical Boost
As players get further into the game with the light bowgun, they’ll likely notice that pierce ammo offers higher overall DPS than the other two regular ammo types when it can be used with rapid fire. That makes upgrade options like the Rathling Gun from the Rathalos tree a good weapon choice for high rank until players can get the materials for a rarity 8 weapon.
The weapon comes with Critical Boost level 3, which is great for critical damage. This weapon becomes even more effective when used with thearmor skillWeakness Exploit, as pierce ammo can potentially hit multiple weakpoints and wounds.
4Wahnschleuder
Elemental Affinity
Building a light bowgun to target specific elemental coverage and boost the effectiveness of elemental ammo can be a viable build for late-game bowgunners. The Wahnschleuder is the final upgrade in the Gore Magala crafting tree, and it comes with some important element-boosting parts.
The weapon comes with an elemental boost magazine, as well as the skill Critical Element level 3, which will boost the ammo count and damage of elemental ammo. The Wahnschleuder can be particularly useful for targeting monsters with adragon element weakness.
3Valkyrie Flame
Rapid Poison
The top-tier upgrade in the Rathian tree, the Valkyrie Flame, is a great high-rank weapon for players who want to make use of the poison status effect. With the ability to rapid-fire poison ammo, the Valkyrie Flame is one of the best weapons for inflicting the status. It also comes with increased poison duration to keep the effect going longer.
This becomes highly effective for boosting DPS while using pierce ammo for the main damage output and can be used witharmor skills like Forayand Agitator for even greater effects.
2Szelatya Clairgun
Raw Pierce Damage
For players who just want to focus on high raw physical damage, the Szelatya Clairgun is probably the best endgame option. This comes with the ability to rapid fire pierce ammo, so players can make the most of the high base damage stat.
To make the most of this weapon, players can try pairing it with the synergy between theGore Magala armor setbonus Black Eclipse and the Antivirus skill for boosting affinity and attack power via the use of self-inflicted frenzy.
1Animilater
Artian Elemental Damage
For players who enjoy the elemental damage-based playstyle with the light bowgun,making the top-tier Artian light bowgun, Animilater, might be the best endgame weapon choice. They can be built around any of the five elements, and Artian weapons come with three level 3 decoration slots, so player can insert their corresponding elemental jewel to boost its effectiveness.
The Artian weapon will come with increased ammo capacity for its chosen element built-in. The playstyle is slightly different for this bowgun build, as players will mostly use standard-fire pierce ammo to keep up damage in between rapid-fire bursts of elemental ammo.
