Want to take your foes down from a range in Monster Hunter: World, but paralyzed by the weapon options at your disposal? The Bow might be for you! Our Monster Monster: World Bow guide will help you understand the weapon and how to use it effectively.
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Understanding the Bow in Monster Hunter: World
The Bow, mechanically, is a simple weapon to pick up and use. You aim with L2/LT. From there you have three options. You can shoot a normal arrow with R2/RT, which will, of course, be your usual mode of attack. Holding the fire button down will charge the attack.
After landing that first shot, you can hit Circle/B to launch a second spread shot. However, it’s not the best idea to spam this power shot after every normal attack. You’ll suffer a longer recovery time and be open to counterattacks.
Besides the spread shot, you can also immediately dodge out of charging a shot. This produces a “slide” move that’s pretty much unique to the Bow. It’s great for closing the distance on monsters and evading at a moments notice. And, just for good measure, you can launch a leaping “mount” attack out of the power slide. Just hit triangle/Y while sliding to stab forward with a knife. This can cause you to mount monsters with a ranged weapon!
Bows don’t have traditional combos like many melee weapons. Instead, you can charge your shots. Shots can be charged up to three levels, but charging takes stamina, stunting your ability to dodge monster attacks.
The special move for the Bow is the Dragon Piercer. It’s a devastating attack that penetrates a monster’s entire body based on where you hit them. So you want to aim for the head or tail, so the Dragon Piercer deals damage for as long as possible. But even uncharged, this attack has a long startup and harsh recovery time. It requires good timing to pull off.
Overall, the Bow is easy for new players to pick up and try out. Bows don’t use ammo, so you don’t need to worry about keeping a good stock of arrows or anything. And you don’t have to remember any combos with the Bow. It’s just charging up and shooting.
Mastering this weapon, however, can take a while. There is another important mechanic you have to learn before fully understanding the Bow.
Critical Distance
The Bow is, of course, a ranged weapon. But you also need to realize that the Bow is not a long-range weapon. It’s best at mid-range, so it’s important to know the proper distance so you can do the most damage. You can help gauge your distance by aiming. The aim reticle will help you gain an idea of your range.
If you’re out of range completely, “Out of Range” will flash on the screen, so you have to move in closer. From there, the color of the reticle will indicate your distance. A yellow reticle means that, while you are in range, you’re still too far away. Your arrows will do less damage. A red reticle means you’re too close and you need to back away ASAP.
When the reticle is orange, that means you’re in the “critical distance.” That’s the sweet spot to maximize your damage. Once you get the hang of staying in this distance, mastery of the Bow is all but assured!
Tips for Bow Wielding Hunters
Bows don’t have ammo, but they do have coatings. You can coat your arrows to have various effects — such as increased attack power or a chance of landing status ailments. Coatings can also affect critical distance. If you know the monster you’re fighting, you can use coatings to your advantage!
You don’t have to worry about Sharpness with Bows. It makes sense, but not having to deal with Whetstones during a hunt can be great. You can chase any foe without having to stop to sharpen up.
Constitution and other skills that help stamina consumption are important. Charging the bow will drain your stamina, unlike attacking with most melee weapons, so want to stack up on skills that lower stamina consumption. This is doubly true because you can’t guard with the Bow. You’ll need to dodge out of the way of attacks. Make sure you have enough stamina to do so!
