While many weapon builds in Monster Hunter Wilds are fairly straightforward, the Bow has multiple features that make it harder to choose a path. Due to the variety of moves and mechanics exclusive to the Bow, the gear that defines a build for this weapon can be more complicated than you’d expect. From unique Coatings to specific armor Skills, a solid Bow build assembles many different concepts.

Every Bow weapon comes with individual Coatings you can apply to arrows, making each Bow along different upgrade trees unique. When you use the Bow in Monster Hunter Wilds​​​​​​, you can only equip the specific Coatings tied to it during a hunt. Some Coatings inflict Status effects, others simply do more damage, but knowing when and where to activate Coatings can help you take down monsters much faster.

How To Play A Bow Build

Deal Damage Through Creating Wounds And Exploiting Weaknesses

The goal of any Bow build is to maintain your Stamina and create Open Wounds on a monster to exploit for constant, high DPS. The Bow can be one of the most damaging weapons against monsters in the right hands, especially if your build has multiple Skills supporting an aggressive strategy. Since every shot you make with your Bow drains your Stamina though, you need to balance your offense and mobility simultaneously.

Your Bow’s damage depends on what type of weapon you’re using, as most deal either Elemental or Non-Elemental Damage. The Affinity on any Bow determines your chances of landing critical hits, making high Affinity crucial for some Bow builds. When landing Bow combos in Monster Hunter Wilds, you can quickly land critical shots on targets to deal the weapon’s highest potential damage.

When using any Bow build, you enter Focus Mode while aiming with your arrows. This allows you to target Wounds created on monsters easily for extra damage and a chance to destroy those injuries to stagger your foe.

As you play using a Bow build, here are some crucial techniques to remember to constantly utilize the weapon’s unique strengths:

Bow Move
Input (PlayStation)
Input (Xbox)
Input (PC)
Description

Arc Shot
L2 + R2 + Circle
L2 + R2 + B
Left Click + Right Click + F
Creates an AoE aura where multiple arrows will rain from the sky when you fire it, creating Open Wounds on monsters within it.

Dragon Piercer
Triangle + Circle
Y + B
R + F
Go into a kneeling stance where you charge a single, powerful arrow that does a large amount of damage.

Thousand Dragons
R2 + Triangle + Circle
R2 + Y + B
Left Click + R + F
Load several arrows into your Bow before firing them all at once in a powerful, short-range attack.

Select/Apply Coating
L1 + Triangle, X
L1 + Y, A
Ctrl + Up/Down Arrow, R
Go through the various Coatings exclusive to your unique Bow, then load them into your weapon for the next few shots you fire. You can see how many coated shots you have left under your reticle through phials.

Ready Tracer
R2 + Square
R2 + X
Left Click + E
Load a unique arrow that explodes after a short time when lodged into a target. While a Tracer is active, all your following arrows will home onto its location, targeting wherever the Tracer is.

Focus Strike: Hailstorm
L2 + R1
L2 + R1
Left Click + Shift
A Focus mode attack in Monster Hunter Wilds where a new reticle shows up, targeting Open Wounds on a monster. As you charge this move, more spots are targeted, releasing a volley of arrows that track Wounds to destroy them when released.

No matter what Bow build you’re using, you also have to fill up the Trick Arrow Gauge to use Tracers and Coatings during a hunt. The Trick Arrow Gauge is filled up when you land attacks against a monster or when you use your Charging Sidestep to perfectly dodge a creature’s incoming attack. One-third of the Gauge is needed for most actions, so some builds thrive off giving you more ways to gain the resource.

Best Bow Gear & How To Get It

Match The Right Skills To Weapon Upgrades

The best gear for Bow builds are ones that deplete less Stamina, either through Skills or weapon/armor Decorations. This is only possible by collecting certain gear or unlocking the right weapon upgrade in Monster Hunter Wilds that grants you the right skills. As you go through both Low-Rank and High-Rank, certain Bow gear will become more appealing to give you additional strength.

No matter what Rank you’ve reached, some Skills are almost necessary for the Bow to make any build work. Generally, Skills that increase your Affinity and damage while targeting monster weaknesses are good for Bows, especially if they are maxed out. Here are some Skills to look for on any type of gear for a strong Bow build:

Constitution – Lessens fixed Stamina depletion.
Critical Boost – Boosts the damage from critical hits.
Stamina Surge – Speeds up Stamina recovery.
Spread/Power Shots – Increases the attacking power of the Bow’s Power Shots and Quick Shots.
Burst – Provides additional elemental and raw damage to your weapon after landing attacks consecutively.
Weakness Exploit – Increases Affinity when you attack monster weak points and Wounds.

Weapons at higher Ranks tend to have Decoration slots, along with stronger gear from more powerful monsters. Putting Decorations in gear slots gives you extra Skills, but you have to farm Decos from monsters to get the ones you need for a build.

The following tables go over the best gear you can get for a Low-Rank or High-Rank Bow build, including the skills and Decoration slots including in specific weapons or armor pieces:

Best Low-Rank Bow Weapon

Bow
Rarity
ATK
DEF
Element
Affinity
Skills
Coating(s)

Albirath Bow I
4
192 (160)
0
Fire 110
15%
Ballistics (Lv1), Critical Element (Lv1)
Power, Blast

Best Low-Rank Bow Gear

Gear
How To Get/Craft
Slots + Recommended Deco
Skills

Albirath Bow I

3x G. Rathalos Scales
2x G. Rathalos Webbing
1x Flame Sac
2,600 Zenny

 
1 – Blaze Jewel (Fire Attack)
N/A

G. Ebony Helm

1x G. Ebony Claw
1x G. Ebony Fang
1x G. Ebony Tail
800 Zenny

 
1 – Physique Jewel (Constitution)
Burst (1)

G. Ebony Mail

1x G. Ebony Fang
2x G. Ebony Sinew
800 Zenny

 
1 – Physique Jewel (Constitution)
Bleeding Resistance (1)

G. Ebony Braces

1x G. Ebony Fang
2x G. Ebony Sinew
2x G. Ebony Scale
800 Zenny

 
1 – Physique Jewel (Constitution)
Burst (1)

G. Ebony Coil

1x G. Ebony Claw
1x G. Ebony Tail
1x G. Ebony Odogaron Certificate
1x G. Ebony Plate
800 Zenny

 
0
Burst (1), Bleeding Resistance (1)

Xu Wu Greaves

1x Xu Wu Claw
1x Xu Wu Tentacle
1x Xu Wu Fang
800 Zenny

 
1 – Physique Jewel (Constitution)
Stamina Surge (1)

Surge Charm I

1x Nu Udra Hide
1x Nu Udra Cerebrospinal Fluid
2x Xu Wu Hide
2x Xu Wu Claw
2,600 Zenny

 
N/A
Stamina Surge (1)

This Low-Rank build gives you a bonus from wearing multiple pieces of the Guardian Ebony Odogaron armor. While wearing 4 pieces of G. Ebony armor, you can Burst Boost (4), a Skill that extends the duration of Burst and grants a significant attack bonus. This bonus only applies when Burst is active, but this unique armor set ability will last for a long time when you have the max number of pieces for its best effect.

Best High-Rank Bow Weapon

Bow
Rarity
ATK
DEF
Element
Affinity
Skills
Coating(s)

Verzweiflung
8
252 (210)
0
Dragon 150
20%
Critical Element (3)
Power, Blast

Best High-Rank Bow Gear

Gear
How To Get/Craft
Slots + Recommended Deco
Skills

Verzwiflung

Entbehrung I Bow
5x Frenzy Crystal
1x Gore Magala Nyctgem
2x Gore Magala Feeler+
5x Hunter Symbol III
20,000 Zenny

 
3 – Spread Jewel (1), Dragon Jewel (1), Dragon Jewel (2)
Critical Element (3)

Gore Helm β

1x Wyvern Gem
2x Gore Magala Certificate S
2x Gore Magala Feeler+
4x Gore Magala Wing+
4,000 Zenny

 
2 – Chain Jewel (3), Shock Absorber (1)
Evade Window (1), Coalescence (1)

Arkvulcan Mail β

2x Arkveld Certificate S
3x Arkveld Scale+
4x Arkveld Armorplate
4x Arkveld Calloushell
10,000 Zenny

 
2 – Chain Jewel (1), Phoenix Jewel (2)
Weakness Exploit (1)

G. Arkveld Vambraces β

6x Arkveld Armorplate
3x White Arkveld Pelt
1x Jin Dahaad Icegem
1x Hunter Symbol III
10,000 Zenny

 
3 – 3x Physique Jewels
Weakness Exploit (2)

Gore Coil β

2x Frenzy Shard
3x Gore Magala Ripclaw
3x Gore Magala Wing+
5x Gore Magala Scale+
7,000 Zenny

 
2 – Chain Jewel (1), Phoenix Jewel (2)
Constitution (2)

Gore Greaves β

1x Gore Magala Certificate S
1x Gore Magala Nyctgem
4x Gore Magala Wing+
3x Gore Magala Scale+
7,000 Zenny

 
3 – Chain Jewel (1), 2x Sane Jewel (1)
Flinch Free (1), Antivirus (1)

Surge Charm III

3x Doshaguma Fang+
6x Golden Corneum+
1x Xu Wu Umbragem
4x Xu Wu Claw+
6,000 Zenny

 
N/A
Stamina Surge (3)

Having multiple instances of the same skill on your gear will cause them to level up, stacking their effects and making them stronger. While it may take some time to grind for the best Bow build possible in Monster Hunter Wilds, getting the right gear can make you unstoppable on future hunts.