Monster Hunter Wilds offers up a lot of diverse weapon types to choose from, including the simple Great Sword, the transforming Charge Blade, and a giant music-based weapon known as the Hunting Horn. Two weapons that aren’t quite as distinct from each other are the similarly named Heavy Bowgun and Light Bowgun. What are their differences? And which one best suits your playstyle? Let’s break it all down.
Mobility and defense
Both Bowguns let you shoot at monsters from an ideal distance. This is where their most obvious differences come into play: mobility and defense. The Heavy Bowgun, true to its name,restricts your hunter to pretty slow movement. For the cost of slow movement, however, this weapon lets you guard and even trigger a Power Clash against monster attacks.
The Light Bowgun doesn’t slow your hunter down and ends up feeling a lot smoother in comparison. It lacks the option to guard, but offsets this with fun movement options such as a sidestep and slide. Rapid Fire Mode expands upon these and incorporates a strafing dodge that lets you keep shooting called Burst Step.
I’ll also add that both weapons (and in particular the Heavy Bowgun) are great to use on your Seikret. Being limited to only standard fire and Focus Blasts while mounted isn’t that restrictive with so many ammo types.
Rate of fire and damage
Although the standard fire for either weapon can use the same ammo, there are still some important differences. With the Heavy Bowgun, you’ll deal with a slower rate of fire and strong damage numbers. The range for critical damage also tends to be a bit farther away from your targets.
All of that is naturally reversed with the Light Bowgun. Your shots come out faster, but they won’t hit as hard. I’ve also noticed that the critical damage range is comparatively closer across all ammo types.
Special modes and ammo
Each of these has access to a secondary firing mode and choices for Special Ammo. These are specifically connected in the Heavy Bowgun’s case, as you have to enter Ignition Mode to use any of the following special ammo:
- Wyvernheart Ignition: A barrage of bullets that increases in damage the more hits you land
- Wyvernpierce Ignition:A slow bullet that pierces a target and steadily applies damage
- Wyverncounter Ignition: An offset attack that can be charged and used to counter a monster
- Wyvernblast Ignition: A projectile cluster that causes explosions over a wide area
With the Light Bowgun, you can boost your fire rate through its exclusive Rapid Fire Mode. The following Special Ammo isn’t restricted to Rapid Fire Mode, but they do benefit from being attacked multiple times after:
- Adhesive Ammo: Launches a sticky bomb that explodes after a while. Repeatedly shooting it will increase the damage
- Wyvernblast: Places a mine on the ground that lasts for a short duration and can be triggered by attacks from any source. It can be detonated repeatedly until its active period is done
Best bowgun ammo to use
The joy of Monster Hunter Wilds is being able to experiment with the skill system and different weapon configurations. When it comes to the Bowguns, some ammo types are just a better fit on one or the other. Pierce Ammo is arguably the best ammo type in the game and works well for either weapon. I’ve enjoyed using it on the Heavy Bowgun more, simply due to how much damage it does.
Ammo associated with elements or status ailments meanwhile shine with the Light Bowgun. Any extra elemental-based damage adds up nicely with all the rounds you shoot off. Similarly, it’s a lot easier to trigger a status effect when you’re constantly hitting a monster with status ailment ammo.
Both bowguns are fantastic tools that serve as excellent secondary weapons if you prefer having a melee as your primary. There is no shame in having one as your primary either, although I’d recommend playing with a squad online if you want to focus on being a ranged threat.
Monster Hunter Wilds is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PCs.
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