Monster Hunter Wilds: Heavy Bowgun Build Guide

The Heavy Bowgun in Monster Hunter Wilds is a pretty strange weapon compared to most of the ranged weapons and even stranger when compared to the melee weapons. It’s a big hunk of metal that shoots smaller pieces of metal and even though it’s a gun it can block.

Since it’s such an odd weapon, it certainly does pack a punch. It also boasts some real flexibility when it comes to status effects and elements.

This big boy can be a little difficult to master, but after some time you’ll get the hang of it. The builds we’ll cover will focus on keeping you alive with some additional damage and play into the strengths of the Heavy Bowgun.

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Low Rank

Low Rank for the Heavy Bowgun honestly doesn’t have a lot of great options since most of the versatility is baked into the weapon. At this point, you’ll likely want to focus on Evade Window, Maximum Might, and Stamina Surge.

Evade Window – Extends the invulnerability period when evading.
Maximum Might – Increases affinity if stamina is kept full for a period of time.
Stamina Surge – Speeds up stamina recovery.

Whatever decorations you have will work fine for the Xu Wu Vambraces. If you can, Stamina Surge isn’t bad to have.

While you don’t need a ton of stamina, it can come in handy when you’re getting focused and need to dodge a lot. Plus, when combined with Maximum Might, you’re able to have that active more often than not.

Focus on keeping your distance and being ready to get out of the way of incoming attacks. If you’d prefer to try blocking with the Heavy Bowgun, you can always test a new setup with guarding in mind.

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High Rank

High Ranks have a lot more options for the Heavy Bowgun, but this build gives you some nice survival help along with some extra built-in damage thanks to Agitator, Guard Up, Evade Window, and Special Ammo Boost.

Agitator – Increases attack power and affinity when large monsters become enraged.
Guard Up – Allows you to guard against ordinarily unblockable attacks.
Special Ammo Boost – Increases the power of the bowgun’s special ammo, and the bow’s Dragon Piercer, Thousand Dragons, and Tracer.

I highly recommend messing around with this build to find what suits you best. Since both weapons have ample decorations, you have a lot of options to hone the build to your liking.

The Dahaad pieces are the ones that provide Agitator, but if you’d prefer to push for Weakness Exploit, to gain additional Affinity (critical damage), you could push to get some of the Arkveld sets. Regardless, trying lots of different combinations is the essence of Monster Hunter, so don’t forget to try other weapons!

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Recommended Bowguns

The Power Stinger

is a personal favorite of mine since it’s the only weapon that offers Special Ammo Boost this early on in the game. It’s incredibly helpful for putting out extra damage, and it has positive Affinity stats, meaning you’ll always be doing more damage.

The Wild Stinger

provides both Special Ammo Boost and Opening Shot, making your reloads faster, and is the only weapon with both skills. If you’ve got the decorations for either Opening Shot or Ballistics, increases range, you’ll want to use those, but since these are pretty random, it can be tough.

All Bowguns come with some modifications you can use. I recommend checking these out to get a feel for what kind of build you’re looking for.

All Heavy Bowguns can be made viable, but some can be tougher than others. Don’t take my word as law! If you’ve got a particular Heavy Bowgun you like, feel free to dive into it and experiment to make something new!

Monster Hunter Wilds has a lot of weapons, so try out as many as you can to find what works for you. Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged when things are difficult, but pushing past that difficulty could lead you to your perfect weapon.