Monster Hunter Weapons 201

Monster Hunter Weapons Training 201 - Advance Tactics

"How do I bowgun?"
"Why is he so good with the hammer?  I can't knock anything out!"
"I can't lance to save my life. . ."

This is a class for people who want to get GOOD with their weapon, and are already familiar with the controls.  It assumes that you've read ALL of the materials the game has provided, and know ALL of the attacks that the weapon has, but you're still having problems making it effective.  For instance, you've used a Great Sword all your life and can kill anything in sub-5 minutes, but you've picked up a Sword and Shield and can't kill a Great Jaggi to save your life.

This is the guide made for you.

Again, this guide assumes you know the basic controls and functions of the weapon.  This is simply here to teach you how to do well with it.  If you are already a master of your respective weapon, I will have nothing new to teach you.


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Lesson 1: Ranged Combat.  All of it.

Light and Heavy Bowgun.  Bow.

This is a weapon class foreign to most people, especially blademasters.  Gunning is a completely different play style and spectrum of the game that many blademasters completely ignore altogether.  But the thing about Gunning is that it isn't different by that much.  Once you realize the similarities and get over the mental hurdles for approaching it, then it's actually quite fun and accessible.  But those hurdles man. . .those hurdles. . .

1.  It is actually COMPLETELY NORMAL to go through almost ALL of your ammo in a single mission.

One of the first things new gunners will do is they'll go out and try their new weapon, and be shocked with how fast they go through their ammo supply.  This is actually completely normal for monster hunter.  A mission that is well within your weapon's appropriate ranking should take anywhere between 5-15 minutes, and at least two and a half full stacks of your shots.  This is fine.  It's also why gunning is considered expensive.  You will be spending a lot of time just re-buying ammo for your guns.  Don't bother combining them to make new ones.  You should only combine while on the field if you have to.  And combining for more ammo is also normal, especially if you want the hunt to reach those sub-5 minute time frames.

2.  Gunner Skills aren't really that much different than Blademaster skills

Something new gunners get hung up on is forcing themselves to make armors with tons of Gunner skills, without realizing that a lot of the regular skills are actually communal.  I once caught myself thinking of Attack up Large as a Blademaster only skill, because I would never really look at the Gunner armors or even think of it.  This is just a weird psychological blind spot, but it's COMPLETELY OKAY AND NORMAL to make a Gunner armor that has no Gunner-only skills, and just regular skills you need, like Evasion, Tremor Resist, Attack up, Combination+, etc, etc.  Don't be afraid to just make something you like.  Remember, you don't ALWAYS go out into the field with KO master for your hammer set.  Sometimes you just have regular skills.  Don't be afraid to do that for your gunning set until you get comfortable with it.

3.  Aiming isn't actually that big of a deal.

Monsters all have impact charts detailing where you should be hitting at all times for the most effective damage with your weapon.  Gunning isn't that different, but I'm gonna' be honest with you here.  It's not actually that important.  Most gunners will actually just free aim by pointing their character in a general direction and just open fire all over the place.  In a perfect world, we would all have the chance/skill necessary to always aim for their weak point, but the battle is fast, and it's ALWAYS better to get in a weaker hit than it is to get in a good miss.

If you can get over these three hurdles, then the new world of monster hunter 3 will open up to you.

"Okay, but how the heck do I actually bow/gun?"

Bow:

First, ALWAYS level 3 charge.  Level 4 if you have it.  If you don't know specifically, the charge levels on the bow go 50%, 100%, 150%.  There is almost NEVER a reason to not level 3 charge.  The ONLY time you would ever consider doing a lower charge, is if you're trying to apply a status, and your lower charge is a Level 3 Spread/Rapid shot, and your full charge is a pierce or something.  That's the only situation, and even then, it really only applies to special situations where you would want to bother with that.

Second, whenever there is nobody around the monster, or you're solo hunting, ALWAYS try and get off the arc-shot.  It does more damage, and it does exhaust damage, and it deals more status/element effect too because most of the arc-shots rain a ton of arrows down.  Generally speaking, it's the superior damage dealer.  Playing with other people though, it will get them hit and knock them away from the monster, and that's no good.  Expert bowmen will be able to aim the Arcshot without even holding R, but don't try and be a cool guy and show off.  Aim that shit properly, and you'll do fine.

Third,  Choosing a bow.  The Bow is the SnS of the Gunning equipment.  The two things you wanna look for are the Elemental damage, and the coating/boosts.  You're gonna want a good element for each bow, and you're going to want to have Power Coating.  Power Coating basically gives you a critical hit for each shot fired with it.  This is going to be your main damage dealer.  In fact, if there's one particular skill you would want for a bow armor, it's Power C+, which allows you to load Power Coatings onto any Bow.

Range of a Bow:  The general accepted range for firing bow arrows for is about 2-4 'rolls' away from the monster.  Except for close range coated arrows, which is obviously a lot closer, but not up INTO the monsters snout, unless you're gonna whittle away at it with that melee attack.  Once you get the general range down, most bow users will simply point at the monster and fire.  If you aim with the R button, you'll notice a yellow/red line.  The area you want to hit the most is the arc in the arrow path, which is where you'll do the most damage.

When to use coatings: Never stop.  Power Coatings, then Close Ranged, then mix some more Power Coatings.  If you're with a party, or you want to stall for time, Status coatings are invaluable.  Again, keep in mind, the Bow is the SnS of ranged weapons, so most of your utility will be coming from attacking often and never letting up.  Therefore, element and status receive a huge boon from the Bow lifestyle.


Light/Heavy Bowguns:

"What do the shots do?  How do I pick?  What do I do?!  ARRGGGH"

Calm down.  Here's everything you need to know about the shots, and how to use the bows basically:

Normal 1+2:  Use these in closer range, about 2-3 rolls away.  The closer the better.

Normal 3: Weird shots.  They break apart like a cluster grenade and keep doing hits, but it's hard to find a sweet spot where it would be useful.  Try and ignore these for now, cause they generally tend to be as weak as Normal 1 shots if not used right.

Pierce 1-3:  Use these further away, about 4-5 rolls away.  The further, the better.  These are used to go THROUGH the monster, so the longer the monster, the better suited it is for the task.

Pellet 1-3: Fires a shotgun blast.  Used in medium range, 3-4 rolls away.  Better for wider monster, but NEVER use these when with other hunters, because it WILL Trip them.  Certain monsters have "magnetic" body parts, where it seems the pellets seem to attract to them.  Pay attention to these, and keep an eye out for them when going Solo.

Crag and Cluster shots:  Crag shots hit the monster, then a few seconds later, explode.  Cluster shots will hit, then cause a few explosions around them in the immediate hit-area of where they were.  Good for breaking parts, but don't fire where other hunters are at, cause they'll get blown back.

Wyvern Fire: Mimics a lower powered version of the Gunlance's Wyvern Fire.  That's it.  Close range.  Long wind up.  Etc.

There, you now know everything you need to know about bowgunning.

"Wait, what about elemental shots?"

Elemental shots are literally Normal Shot 2 with elemental damage added on for extra dickery.  Use them in close range, and on the monsters weak against them.

"So what should I look for in a Bowgun then?"

For light bowguns, the main thing you wanna pay attention to is the Rapid Fire capabilities.  If Bows are the SnS of gunning, then Light Bowguns would be the Longsword or the Lance of gunning.  You want something that has a rapid fire of the element in particular that you want for the monster, or the status that you want to inflict.  Rapid of Normal 2 or a Pierce/Pellet shot isn't a bad idea either.  Also, keep in mind that rapid fire will do LESS damage if all three shots don't hit, so keep that in mind when fighting against the monsters.

For the Heavy Bowguns, they're like the Great Sword/Switch Axes of Gunning.  They're extremely powerful, but clunky and kinda slow.  When picking one out, you always want the highest raw you can have available, but be sure to pay attention to what ammo you can load onto the thing.  Also, keep in mind the crouching fire ammo you can load up with.  You generally want something elemental for that, due to how fast you'll be firing off shots while crouched.  Again, Normal 2 Crouching is never really a bad idea.
And don't forget, bowguns can only load CERTAIN shots, which is what those fancy charts are for in the back.  It tells you what it loads, and how many of them.  Don't go into battle with a Laggy using a gun that can only fire off Thunder 2 shots.  Boy, will YOUR face be red.

That about covers it for the Gunning section.  This should be enough information to help you start finishing missions within a good time.  Just remember, it only LOOKS daunting.  Don't be afraid of it.


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Lesson 2: Hammers

"How do I Hammer?"

The general advanced technique for hammer is learning how to keep the pressure on to get those knock outs on those monsters.  But many beginning hammer users will only use the Level 3 charge attacks, and wonder why they can't ever get the monster to K.O.

The technique is simple.  USE YOUR LEVEL 1 AND 2 CHARGES!  AND LEARN TO STOP USING YOUR SPINNING LEVEL 3 CHARGE!

Firstly, your Superpound, while powerful, is painfully slow, and should only be utilized when you're guaranteed the hit.  Yes, we all want to be the cool guy who superpounds a charging Barroth's scalp off, but you're not the cool guy yet.  And you won't get there, until you've mastered your foundations.  Level 1 charge will move your character about the length of a roll forward, swinging twice.  Not only that, but during the first swing, you can roll cancel out of there.  Level 2 will move you forward about a roll and a half forward with a very vertical uppercut, which you can also roll cancel out of pretty quickly.  BOTH of these moves are used to gain distance, and attack quickly, which is what you need to be doing constantly in order to get that precious KO stun.

Now, here's the best part:  After you execute either a Level 1 or 2 charge attack, you can immediately combo into your normal triple pound attack.  So, a monster is about 1 roll away from you, and it turns to face you.  You charge up, and IMMEDIATELY let go, and you're right in his face with a one-two punch.  The monster isn't doing anything else, and you have time for more attacks, so after you're in his face, you can just start going to town with a triple pound, adding up all that KO damage.  If you take the same situation, it would take you a couple of seconds to reach Level 3 for a Superpound, and then another couple to execute it, by the time you're bringing it down, the monster is already attacking you, knocking you away.  Speed with the hammer is the most crucial aspect about using it.

Now, here's something extra special:  After you pull off a successful triple-pound, if you hold down the charge button, right after the golf swing, you will immediately go INTO charge position.  And you can repeat this infinitely.

Lv1 Charge -> Triple Pound -> Hold R -> Lv1 Charge -> Triple Pound -> Hold R -> Lv2 Charge -> etc, etc.

This is how you build up that KO meter as fast as you can.  Superpounds are ONLY when you are guaranteed the hit, and when you are in a safe position.  Remember, a Superpound will NOT flow into a Triple Pound.  A Superpound is a finished product, and you must roll away in order to recover speedily.

"What about the Spinning Strike?"

The Level 3 charge attack while moving forward is the only different attack the hammer has, and it's generally not worth it.  It does insanely weak damage, hugely impacts sharpness, and makes the character EXTREMELY vulnerable to attack.  Not only that, but if you're with other members, you are likely to trip them hard.  It's uses are extremely limited.  You only ever want to use it if you are using a Status hammer (for whatever reason), and you need to apply more status quickly.  It can theoretically be useful in an Elemental Hammer (for whatever reason), but it's generally just better and faster to focus purely on the Raw damage through the normal attacks.  And even then, you would only EVER use it when you are guaranteed EVERY hit with the swing.

If you decide to use the swing, wait for 5 rotations, then press the attack button again.  You'll do a golf-swing that does a ridiculous amount of damage which can offset the bad decision of using the spin at all.

That about covers it for hammers.  Remember, ALWAYS ATTACK THE HEAD.


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Lesson 3:  Sword and Shield

For the combos of the sword and shield, you only need to learn these:

Jumping slash -> X -> X -> X -> A -> A -> A(spinning slash)
(while standing) X -> X -> X -> A -> A -> A(spinning slash)

The third X in this combo actually does TWO hits, and while it applies KO damage, it has a horrible side effect of taking longer, and you CANNOT roll-cancel out of it.  A more useful combo for the faster monsters would be:

X -> X -> A -> A -> A(spinning slash)
With a jumping slash in front of that to provide distance.

SnS has always been a harder weapon to use, because until just recently with 3U, SnS legitimately sucked as a weapon class. However, 3U just recently boosted it's power, making it quite viable in combat.  But before then, SnS had to find other ways to make itself useful.  SnS is what I consider the Red Mage class of weapons, because SnS, with the right skill set, can fill any slot in a party due to it's utility.

For Debilitation: You can choose to make a Status SnS and constantly apply status non-stop.  SnS has a ridiculous rate for applying Status thanks to how fast it is to use in a combo.  This is the most general purpose and easy style for a SnS to be using, especially within a party.

For Attacking: You have Elemental SnS.  For this one, it's important to have Element Attack Up skills handy, and to increase your rate of power as much as you can.  While 3U gave a boost to SnS's elemental damage, it's still a low powered weapon, and relies on the use of doing as much of your combo as it can.

For Defense: It's surprisingly easy to make that little shield on the SnS become a powerhouse.  With Guard+1, it can stand it's ground quite well.  And with RecSpeed+1 or 2, you can negate the chip damage down to nothing.  Though it's not particularly recommended from me, if you have problems dodging hits and like to use your shield and mobility, it's not that hard to make the SnS quite secure in it's defenses.

For Party-help: Probably the most effective way to use the SnS is to abuse it's feature of being able to use items without sheathing. All you need is Wide-Area +2, and maybe trapmaster for good measure.  This goes great in parties, at the expense of being quite expensive material wise.  You WILL need to bring in supplies if you intend to go this route, such as bombs, traps, healing items, might seeds, etc.  While it would be MORE effective to use a hunting horn, if you don't like it or don't have the option, this is a great way to use SnS.

That about covers it for SnS.  Like I said, the Sword and Shield is the Red Mage class of the game.  With a few skills, you can potentially use your weapon to cover ANY play style, but the drawback is that it will never fulfill that play style as effectively as another weapon can.  You just have to make up for the loss in power with your disposal of item usage.


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Lesson 4: Dual Swords


You want an advance technique for DS?

Mega Dash Juice.

That's all you really need to know.  Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of DS users are going to try and tell me that the DS is a lot more "complicated" than this, and the fact is, it isn't.  DS is the weapon for SnS users who want to kill things faster at the cost of any defense.  The berzerker mode of weapons, basically.  Just stand up next to the monster and start slashing.

All seriousness aside, though, the only real "advanced" technique you need to know that a lot of beginners with DS get wrong is when to demonize.  If you have a MDJ, then the answer is "always".  But when you run out, or don't have it, then you need to learn to STOP trying to use it so much.  Pulling out the weapons and going into Demon Mode takes about as long as it does to sheathe the weapon and then attack with it.  That's actually a pretty big window of vulnerability there, and the worst part is you get knocked out of Demon Mode from any hit that knocks you back.  So mashing R might not only get you hit, it might just have been a waste of time in general.

You DON'T NEED TO ALWAYS BE IN ARCHDEMON MODE.  While it would be nice, it's just not always feasible.  So what should you do?  Wait.  Just attack the monster until he becomes exhausted, or leaves a HUGE window of opportunity.  You only need to be in Demon mode just once to activate your Arch Demon mode, so wait for that window to show up.  Learning to hold off on charging that gauge takes a surprising amount of patience, especially against fast monsters like Barioth.  Leave the ADM for later, just focus on getting in your hits while you can.

"What about dual elem-"

Kill yourself.

That about covers it for the Dual Swords then.


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Lesson 5:  Long Sword

Just like Dual Swords, this weapon isn't complicated at all.  It also carries a similar message from the DS in that you DON'T NEED TO ALWAYS FILL UP YOUR SPIRIT GUAGE.  Though doing so is nice and valuable, some monsters are just incredibly difficult to pull it off on, and it's more important to get a weak hit than a good miss.

You only really need to know three things about the Long Sword:

1.  X -> A -> X.  Lather, Rinse, Repeat.  This is a combo that will NOT TRIP ANYBODY AROUND YOU.  This is the most important lesson you need to know if you ever want to play with other people again.

2.  X -> R -> X -> R -> X -> etc.  Basically, you can extend the spirit combo by interlacing the normal attack button between every time you press the spirit combo button.  This has a bonus of extending the combo, but also, each normal attack will refill up your gauge in the corner slightly, leaving you with more left over after you perform your final slash in your spirit combo, letting you combo into the next gauge even faster.

3.  The ONLY part of your spirit combo that needs to hit to rank up that spirit gauge is the last part.  Unlike the dual swords, which needs to hit with EVERY attack, you only need to hit once with your LS.  A technique you can use to prevent you from tripping friends, and against faster monsters that like to prance around, fill up your slash gauge, then step AWAY from the monster, and start spirit comboing the air in front of him.  The final slash of your spirit combo not only does the most damage, it also has a HUGE range.  AND, with the extension combo above, you can delay it or speed it up as you need.  In fact, the very last press of the R button can be delayed even further just by waiting for a tiny moment before you press it.  You can wait for just the right moment for the monster to step into your sights before you unleash the final cut.  The point isn't to do damage or attack with this technique.  It's merely to get your gauge up against monsters who are difficult to get near, or who run around in circles a lot.

"When do I fade slash?"

Fade slash does not have any invincibility frames, and it doesn't actually cover that much ground.  The idea of Fade Slash is actually more about positioning than it is to dodge.  Yes, we all want to feel like the cool guy who fade slashes away at the last second and avoids the enemy attack, but it takes a long while to wind up, and you're more likely to get hit than anything else.  If you want to fade slash away from danger, it requires you to predict the monster.  By the time the monster thinks about attacking you is the time you should already be pressing the fade slash buttons. If the monster is facing you, and about to attack, ROLL AWAY.

That's it.  That about covers it for the Long Sword.  And remember, you don't ALWAYS HAVE TO FILL UP YOUR SPIRIT GAUGE.  Sometimes just normally attacking is quite fine too.


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Lesson 6:  Great Sword

The main strategy of a GS is the hit-and-run tactic.  As such, it's incredibly important to remember this.

R-sprinting -> Unsheathe Attack = Charge stance
Running forward -> Unsheathe Attack = Single, no-charge vertical strike
Standing still, weapon drawn -> Attack = Charge Stance

Learning how to run up and do a quick hit as opposed to wanting to charge up is fundamental in becoming great at great sword.

"How do I 'gotcha bitch'?  I wanna be the youtube video cool guy!"

There is always a small hardcore elitist GS user group who insist that GS take the most skill because you should ALWAYS do level 3 charged hits for every attack always, and that weaker attacks or combos are useless.  It is my esteemed opinion that these people watched those 'gotcha bitch' videos and have never EVER picked up a GS in their life.  The reason those guys in the videos are able to do those things is because they have spent SO much time fighting those particular monsters, that they'll be able to notice a single shift in the monster's position and automatically know what attack they're about to do.  They're the guys who realize that "Oh, this Rathian is going to turn twice to face me, then do an attack" or "This Laggy is going to backhand me as he turns because I'm super close to his body and at an obtuse angle from his turn", etc, etc.  This has nothing to do with Great Sword.  Every good hunter will eventually learn to do this on instinct.

Another point, is that those guys who have those videos NEVER show the full fight, just the moment when they got that great shot in.  I'm not saying they're not skilled, I'm just pointing out that they got to the point in the fight where they did the gotcha bitch by doing regular ass combos, and by utilizing level 1 or 2 charge swings.

IT IS OKAY TO COMBO THE MONSTERS.  It's like the superpound of the hammer.  You NEVER want to try and pull off a Level 3 charge unless you KNOW it's going to hit, because of how vulnerable it leaves you.  In fact, a single three-hit combo from the great sword is almost as strong as a level 3 charge anyways, so there's no point to risk yourself getting hit for the sake of a super powered charge attack.  And, no, you're not ALWAYS going to get all three hits in from a combo, but remember

A weak hit is infinitely better than a good miss.

It's also important to realize when to let go of your charge.  If you're charging up a hit for a monster, and then realize it's going to attack before you hit level 3, just let go and hit him with what you have.  It's more important to get that hit in than it is to only go for the level 3.

That said, how do you utilize combos?

The vertical slash will combo into the horizontal slash.  The horizontal slash will combo into the vertical.  Both will combo into the backswing, which will combo into either of the attacks.  But what's the right one to use?  Actually, a combination of the horizontal slash and the backswing is generally faster than using the vertical attack, and if you're hunting alone, is the preferred method of comboing.  When you're with others, it's better to use the vertical then the horizontal, chaining back and forth.

"Horizontal?  Then BACKSWING?  Clearly this is a troll.  Sage."

Yeah, these are the weapons weakest attacks, and the vertical combo will outmatch the rate of the backswing combo.  But keep in mind that the backswing combo keeps your positioning steady.  If you vertical -> horizontal attack, you will slowly step forward with each attack, putting you out of your positioning with the weapon and eventually causing misses, or forcing you to roll cancel just to start hitting it properly again.  Doing a backswing forces a step back, so horizontal -> backswing combo will make you take a step forward, then a step back, keeping you in your ideal position of attack, which is far more important.

"When do I level 3 charge then?"

Despite what I said, you want to do this attack as much as you possibly can.  Focus can help a great deal with this.  BUT, like the superpound of the hammer, you only EVER want to do this when you are guaranteed the hit.  If the monster is fast or angry, it's better to just roll in, combo, then roll out.  It's important to keep the damage up as much as you can in a sense.  Just like the hammer, utilize your weaker attacks to put the monster down for good.

That about covers it for the Great Sword.


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Lesson 7: Lance

Countershield.

Countershield countershield countershield.

COUNTER

SHIELD.

So, the countershield was tweaked a little from Tri.  It used to be that you could interject a counter during any part of your combo.  regardless of the circumstance.  Now in 3U, it's been tweaked so you can't use it after your third strike, so now there's a payoff.  Do you do all three parts of your combo and then evade?  Or do you only do two and then counter?  While it's hard to say which situation is guaranteed, I would honestly recommend only doing two hits, then if it LOOKS like the monster is NOT going to attack, evade or counter and do two more hits.  Three hits if you're feeling like a daredevil or know you can get away with it.  Countering is the Lance's most useful technique, and it's more important to have that ability handy than it is to risk getting your face slapped in.

"What about evade lancing?"

Evade lancing is a holdover technique from Freedom Unite days where there was no counter, and you had to learn to dodge if you wanted a high combo rate.  It's still viable, especially moreso now with the tweak to the third combo.  However, utilizing the counter ability is far more important when you have it available.  Evading forces you to change position, and likewise, there's that gap between attacks that you now have thanks to the time it takes to evade and get back to attacking.  Using a counter, however, keeps your position in the same spot, is FAR more successful at negating hits than evading is, can block roars, tremors, wind pressure, etc, and there's no gap in your combo, because a successful block means a free hit that you can continue to combo right off of, meaning a higher damage output.  PLUS, as if that wasn't enough, your counterhit actually does MORE damage than your regular hit.  It's not enough that you should replacing your combo with nothing but the counter hit (because that's frankly stupid), but it's enough that if you have a free open shot, the hold counter would be much more effective for an opener than anything else would be.  Remember, Lancing is the big brother of Sword and Shield, so most of your damage comes from constantly being on top of an enemy and hitting them every second of the day.

Positioning:

Lance, as you might have noticed, is a slow, sloooow movement rate weapons.  Lance has one of the LONGEST sheathing animations in the game, right next to the Gunlance and a Folding Heavy-Bowgun.  As such, you should rarely consider sheathing your lance unless the enemy is far, FAR away.   However, consider this instead.  Instead of following the enemy to the other side of the screen, why not wait for the enemy to come to you?  When against a Barioth, for example, he likes to hop around the stage.  If you constantly sheathe and unsheathe, it might be quite rare that you ever get a good combo.  Instead, when he pounces away, watch what he's doing from where you are now.  If he turns towards you, he's going to teleport his ass over to you.  So prep a counter for him when he gets there.

Another move to close distance is the Advancing Guard + Shield bash.  Advancing Guard is like using a dodge roll with nigh-perfect invincibility frames towards the enemy.  You can use it to run through projectiles with Guard+1 active as well, and it covers a nice gap.  If you manage to make it TOWARDS the monster, using the shield bash allows you to combo straight into your lower lance strike, which can allow you to countershield right after.  Plus, the shield bash adds on KO damage, which causes exhaust, which is something you would definitely want a monster to have.

"What about the Lance Charge?"

No.  Never.  Lance charge wastes precious stamina, doesn't last that long, has a long recovery time meaning vulnerability, and though the super poke at the end does the most damage, it's simply never worth the effort.  There is only ONE moment when it's okay to lance charge, and that's if the monster is limping away from you to another area, and you want to try and flinch it to get a few more hits off on him.  That is the ONLY time.  So DON'T USE IT.

That about covers it for the Lance.


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Lesson 8:  Hunting Horn


While I admit  I haven't spent much time with the hunting horn, at the same time, it's not a particularly complicated weapon.  Especially moreso now that they've tweaked it so you play songs WHILE fighting, instead of off in the corner like before.  It's a very simplified Hammer with a good amount of reach.

"When should I play notes, and what notes should I play?"

First, you should always take the time to memorize what songs you can play with your three notes.  Second, most of your time in combat is probably going to be spent using a single two-hit combo just for the combo rate, so your first step with a new horn is to figure out which two notes those are, and how to immediately chain them into a nearby song.  Finally, keep in mind that your songs only last for 1½-2 minutes, and the more songs you cram in at once, the more time you're going to be spending readjusting the buffs.  ONLY PLAY WHAT YOU NEED, AND YOU DON'T NEED THAT MUCH.  ESP and Faster Movement Speed are ALWAYS something you want on you, obviously, but think if you really need those other buffs.  Do you REALLY need to negate your own stamina?  Sure, many of the other classes LOVE it when you cast that on them, but when solo, how much stamina do you REALLY need?  Or that Wind Resist buff.  Most of your attacks naturally resist wind anyways, do you really need it when you're on your own?  Consider your song usage, and consider what you REALLY need, and what you can do without.

When you're in a party, though, you spam those suckers, and you spam those suckers hard.  Everyone will love you.

That about covers it for Hunting Horns.


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Lesson 9:  Switch Axe

Switch axe is the newest weapon to the game, and conversely, it is surprisingly one of the least understood by the general hunter populace.  I tend to find that a surprising amount of Switch-axe users themselves don't fully understand the weapon.  To begin with. . .

"What's the difference between Axe mode and Sword mode"

Axe mode, in general, is the heavy, slow hitter of the weapon, with a fantastic upper reach.  In fact, it might surprise you to learn that Axe mode is actually more powerful than Sword mode is.  Each strike of the Axe mode is incredibly powerful.  In fact, the overhead chop you get with a standing X opening attack is EXACTLY AS POWERFUL AS THE FINAL BURST IN THE BURST ATTACK.  It's honestly the weapon's strongest attack that you can utilize.

"But, wait, if that's the case, why would I ever use sword mode?"

Well, the thing is, while sword mode is generally weaker, it's also insanely faster, and it's phials will make it out damage axe mode.  While a single strike of the axe mode is more powerful than a single strike of the sword mode, in general, you can get off about 4 hits with sword mode in the time it takes you to do 2 with the Axe, all at the same power of each prior hit, while Axe mode's hits get significantly weaker after your opening chop attack.  Plus, the phials can make ALL the difference in a fight.  Status, Elemental, and ESPECIALLY Power Phials.  Power Phials make Axe mode no longer viable when it comes to dealing damage.

"What about the burst mode?"

Most of Burst mode's damage actually comes from those tiny little hits poking the monster as it's winding up the final burst.  So, you want to make sure you're in a position to do EVERY single one of those little hits, and to make sure you do it away from other players, as that will knock them far away.  It's best saved for a downed or tired enemy.  Also to note, if you need evasive or canceling maneuvers while trying to burst, keep in mind that pressing down on the analogue stick will prematurely ejaculate the burst, and mashing the B button will cancel the burst altogether, for when the monster is about to attack, or when the monster simply moves out of range.  The TOTAL damage from the attack is the weapon's strongest overall strongest attack when you do the longer version, so try not to get into many situations that would require you to burst-cancel.

"But isn't Sword mode the slower movement speed of the weapon?  I should use axe mode for spacing, right?"

WRONG.  While in sword mode, not only do you have full dodge range as per normal, but the sword mode actually does something that axe mode does not, which is a pop-up attack.  If you press attack while doing a dodge roll, when you come out of it, you'll immediately spring into an attack which you can combo off of right away.  Axe mode's only spacing move that it has is just it's forward stab, which is both insanely weak, and doesn't cover as much distance on land as a simple dodge roll does, and lacks ANY invincibility frames.

Even in the case where the monster moves to the other side of the arena, it's actually just simply faster for you to sheathe your weapon and run to it than it is to switch to axe mode to trot over to it.

"Well, dang, Sword mode sounds pretty bitchin'.  Why would I ever axe mode?"

Basically, you don't.  However, axe mode is not without merit.  Though Sword mode is overall the faster method of attack, axe mode is still your super heavy hitter.  Unless your sword has a power phial, or it has a elemental phial and an element the monster is extremely vulnerable to, your Axe mode WILL out damage your Sword mode, even with it's fewer hits.  If you're using a status axe and just want to start doing raw damage, then your axe mode will be the safer course.  The only reason I don't particularly recommend it is because each hit is excruciatingly slow to a point where if you don't do it right, you might never hit the monster.  So in general, it's a safer bet for damage than Sword mode without it's proper phialing.

"So, I should never ever use that side-to-side slash, ri-"

WRONG-O

You should never use it in a hunting GROUP, because it will trip the other players, so it's better to just use regular attacks.  However, if you're alone, and the monster is vulnerable, then YES.  USE IT.  It has a long wind up time, requires you to perform an uppercut to use it first, and has a long recovery time, so it's not a viable form of attack 95% of the time.  However, if the monster is paralyzed, or tripped, or knocked out, or otherwise helpless for longer than 10 seconds, and you're alone, rev up those side-to-side slashes boys, because it's time to go to town.  The S-t-S slash has the HIGHEST rate of damage for your axe.  Each hit is just roughly as strong as a sword mode hit, and you do about 4½ of them in the time it takes you to do 2 sword slashes.  The damage output is off the scales.  But since it leaves you so open, and it takes time to wind up, it's best saved for situations where you know the monster will not be able to counteract you for a good long period of time.

Finally, a burning question: "Power or Elemental?"

Power.  Always.  No exceptions.  However, do not turn your nose down on elemental switch-axes.  Powermode is actually quite rare for the Switch-axe chain, and many of the SA offer many excellent attributes.  Though power will usually outclass them.

That about covers it for Switch-Axes


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Lesson 10:  Gunlance

Gunlance is easily the most complex weapon in the game.  With no transformation, the gunlance has a total of 10+ different attacks/moves mapped to only 3 buttons, and most of these attacks are extremely circumstantial and will only follow after certain different attacks.  The most important thing you can do beginning to gunlance is to simply go out in the middle of moga woods, and practice.  Just practice your moves, when to do them, how to get them out, etc, etc.  That's the most complex part of Gunlance, is just the simple usage of it.  In fact, some GL users aren't even fully aware of ALL of their weapons capabilities, because tutorials are simply lacking in many of the in-game explanations.  Here's a mini tutorial of inadequately explained attacks.

Jump-reload: Pressing the Fire-shell button during a dodge will cause your character to stop after the dodge and reload all of his shells.

Wyvern-charge:  Holding R while firing a shell will give it a slight charge.  It has a small charge time, but increases the damage of the shell by 20%.  Also, keep in mind, that you can ONLY do this mid-combo.  So you can't do this to open up with, and you can't do this at the end after the slam.

Alt. Wyvern Fire: After the slam, instead of using a shotgun-blast, you can instead fire off your Wyvern Fire by pressing X+A at the same time

When you can Slam: The slam actually comes out after a series of different attacks.  The normal way to pull it out is to do three standing attacks with X.  However, after two attacks, you can uppercut with X+A, and instead of following through with the much weaker upper GL attacks, pressing X again goes into a slam.  Also note, that you always do a slam if you attack just after performing a quick-reload.  It's important to remember when a slam will or won't come out, because while it's the highest melee damage you have, it's a little bit slow, vulnerable, and changes your shell strategy.  Controlling when YOU want it to come out is the highest priority.

"So, how does shelling work, and how do I use it?"

Shelling does a set amount of damage depending on the level and type of shelling in the gun.  The higher the level, the better.  Which type you want to use is entirely up to your play style, however.

Normal: 5 shells; gives extra damage to shotgun-blast
Long: 3 shells; gives extra damage to wyvern fire
Wide: 2 Shells; gives extra damage to Wyvern-charged shots, also has a penalty when using shotgun blast attacks.

What you're generally going to use the shelling for, however, is to simply extend your combo.  Poke-poke-shell is something I'm sure you've heard a lot while looking up information, and that remains true.  Poke-poke-shell.  You can get fancy if you'd like, such as poke->poke->uppercut->Wyvern Charged Shell->quick reload->slam->shotgun blast->Jump reload, but the most simple combo in your repertoire is going to be poke-poke-shell, and it's going to definitely be the most useful.  Again, the tricky part of GL is just USING the damn thing, so make sure you practice in a safe zone or on your friendly neighborhood G.Jaggi, and just get comfortable using the attacks.

Also, since it does a set amount of damage, if you're right in the monsters face, and you lost sharpness, and you don't have room to just up and sharpen, you can also just start spamming your shells in their face til they go away.  More of a "eh, might as well" strategy, but, eh, might as well.

"So, Wyvern Fire.  When do I use that."

Always.  Never stop.

Or, basically, use it whenever you have an opening, and the FIRST chance you get.  Wyvern Fire does a brutal amount of damage, and it's only caveat is that it recharges on TIME, and time alone.  It's not affected by your sharpness either, so if you just lost sharpness, and your Wyvern Fire is ready, there's no reason not to use it.  Even if you miss with it, you will get it back, and the faster you use it, the more you'll get to use it over the course of the fight.

Now, a quick tip about the WF, it actually has four hit zones places in front of it, each doing equal damage, so it's more important that you aim at the MASS of a body, as opposed to just a tip or body part you're aiming at.

"Okay, the monster is asleep, which should I use?  The Wyvern Fire or the Great Sword Level 3 charge?"

In general, you'll want to stick with the GS L3 charge, cause right now, nobody is really sure if all four hit zones of the Wyvern Fire hit at the same time and benefit from the sleeping boost, and it's just a safer course of action.  If you're skilled enough and wanna be the cool guy though, you should do it at the same exact time.

That about covers it for the Gunlance.


Thanks for taking these lessons.  Hopefully, you too, can hunt for a brighter, better tomorrow.