~ mazereon presents ~
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/ / | | | | __/ / \/ \ (_) \ V V / (_| | |_| | | | |
\/ |_| |_|\___| \_____/\___/ \_/\_/ \__, |\__,_|_| |_|
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/ / / _ \| '_ ` _ \| '_ \ / _ \ '_ \ / _` | | | | | '_ ` _ \
/ /__| (_) | | | | | | |_) | __/ | | | (_| | | |_| | | | | | |
\____/\___/|_| |_| |_| .__/ \___|_| |_|\__,_|_|\__,_|_| |_| |_|
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/_ </ ___/ __ /
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|____/_/ \__,_/
For Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
v 1.0
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=============================================================================
Contents
Introduction
Change History
Part 1: Bowgun Basics
CHN I Changes to Bowguns from MHP2G/FU
BSC II Basics
AMO III Ammunition
ELE IV Elemental Shots
UBG V Upgrading your Bowgun
HBS VI Heavy Bowgun Specific Information
SHB VII Suggested HBGs
LBS VIII Light Bowgun Specific Information
RFR IX Rapid Fire
SLB X Suggested LBGs
ASC XI Armour Skills & Combos
GGT XII General gunning Tactics
SUG XIII Suggested Armour sets for Elder/Low and High Rank
Part 2: Strategies for Gunning Every Creature
BWYV I Bird Wyverns
Great Jaggi
Great Baggi
Great Froggi
Qurupecco and Crimson Qurupecco
PLGF II Pelagus & Fanged
Bulldrome
Aoashira
Urkusu
Rangotora
Jinogua
FLYW III Flying Wyverns
Rathalos and Silver Rathalos
Rathian and Gold Rathian
Diablos and Black Diablos
Gigginox and Thunder Gigginox
Barioth and Sand Barioth
Naruga and Green Naruga
Tigrex and Black Tigrex
BRUW IV Brute Wyverns
Barroth and Ice Barroth
Uragaan and Steel Uragaan
Doboberuk
Deviljho
LEVW V Leviathans
Royal Ludroth and Purple R Ludroth
Hapurubokka
Agnaktor and Ice Agnaktor
EDRA VI Elder Dragons
Jhen Mohran
Alatreon
Amatsu Matsuguchi
Akantor
Ukanlos
Credits and Contact Info
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Introduction
=============================================================================
Hile and welcome all to the Bowgun Compendium 3rd; May all your days be long
upon the earth.
This guide is an attempt to distil all the information about gunning you'll
need in order to successfully use the Bowgun classes in Monster Hunter
Portable 3rd. Getting to grips with all the intricacies of Bowguns can be
quite daunting at first, so the aim of the Compendium is to get you the
information you need as well as analysis about what that information means
in terms of gameplay.
At time of writing, the game this guide is for is exclusively in Japanese. If
you find yourself really struggling with the language barrier, I recommend the
following sources to get playing:
TeamHGG.blogspot.com
MHF3.com
In the interests of getting the guide out, I've run with some assumptions
which may affect the accuracy of some of the information. These are:
- The damage formula is fundamentally the same as from all previous games in
the MH series
- Monsters that are returning from FU or Tri have similar weaknesses and
weak points as they did in those games.
While these are assumptions, there are good reasons to run with them until
the information is confirmed - This is mainly because Capcom doesn't tend to
change much between games in its formulae. Still, be aware this first
iteration of the Compendium will inevitably change before it's finalised.
With that caveat in mind, I have actually tested all the strategies detailed
below in this draft version of the Compendium, so they do actually work :)
Throughout the guide there are YouTube links to videos I've made to
demonstrate tactics. To view these, copy and paste them into your internet
browser. Alternatively, you can jump right to my eponymous channel on YouTube
at youtube.com/mazereon and locate the videos from there.
This guide is designed for the complete novice. If you read the last Bowgun
Compendium for MHFU/2G, then you can feel free to jump right to the 'Changes
to Bowguns from MHP2G/FU' section.
- mazereon
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Change History
=============================================================================
1.1 Added Agnaktor and Jinogua videos. Changed the recommended strategies for
Jin and Amatsu.
1.0 Added Amatsu video and tidied up some language.
0.99 Updated with some information about Dragon S and some other mechanical
issues.
0.95: Added some LBG recomendations and fixed some syntax issues. Thanks to
Dai for some comments.
0.92: Sadly, the hosting company the DoJho was on isn't working
properly. Guide has been put on GameFAQs. Thanks to Holywoodchuck especially
for reviewing it.
0.9: First draft iteration of the new Compendium is released.
=============================================================================
Part 1: Bowgun Basics
=============================================================================
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I Changes from MHP2G/MHFU CHN
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This information is covered in the sections below, but if you're familiar
with the basics, this section will quickly get you up to speed on the major
changes to Bowguns from the MHFU/2G game.
Overall, there's now much more of a divide between the two classes. Light
Bowguns are now much more mobile, and Heavy bowguns have higher damage
potential. This is done through the new LBG mobility changes and HBG's Siege
system.
Light Bowguns now have a slightly shorter 'cooldown' period after firing
before you can roll, and now as well as rolling sooner after firing, you can
perform a quick side-step much like you would with Lance. In addition to the
sidestep, you can do a lance style back hop by hitting X after firing.
LBGs have retained their running speed and Rapid Fire aspects.
Heavy Bowguns have a new "siege" mode. This allows you to go into a crouched
state and fire an ammo type (which is unique to each HBG) at much lower recoil
and with a much larger clip, while remaining completely stationary. Pressing
O and Tri together begins the animation, and you select the shot to siege
with by the usual ammo selection keys. Once chosen, you can see the remaining
ammo in your larger clip. Scoping is the same, except the siege scope has no
peripheral view. You can get up by pressing X, or with X and left/right on
the analogue, you can roll out. While it takes time to enter and exit the
mode, it has enormous damage potential in certain circumstances. Sadly,
these circumstances seem to exclude most of solo play.
Several changes to the gunning system from Tri have been incorporated, too.
New shot types include Exhaust S and Slicing S. Slicing shots do Cutting
damage, meaning gunners can now cut tails. Monsters in Portable 3rd have a
stamina gauge that depletes as you fight them (and depletes faster if you're
doing impact damage). When low on stamina, monsters will taunt more often,
giving you free shots. Exhaust S lowers monster stamina, and if you get a
head shot, adds KO value.
There are a few new Bowgun shots too, have a look in the Ammunition section
below for details on Cutting and Exhaust shots. Plus lots of changes to
elemental shots!
Other changes, such as Tri's frame/barrel/stock combinations and Medium
Bowgun, have not been continued in Portable 3rd. Also, bowguns do not now
have a 'range' component that differs with each.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
II Basics BSC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsheathe is Tri, and there’s no unsheathe 'attack', though pressing R
trigger, Cir and Tri together unsheathes and reloads your gun.
Reloading is Tri while unsheathed. Selecting ammo is by holding L trigger,
then selecting the desired ammo with Tri and X, and then releasing L. You must
re-load if you switch out of your chosen ammo and then back to it. Circle to
fire.
Your scope is R trigger once unsheathed, aimed with the analogue stick. R
trigger again to unzoom.
Pressing Select with both classes does a melee bash attack that does little
damage, but adds KO value.
If you hold L trigger while pressing any direction key, you switch to a third
person view that allows you to aim on the fly. Good for scoping surroundings
in a pinch, and very handy with faster aiming in Siege mode.
Pressing Circle and Tri together with a Heavy Bowgun enters Siege mode, and
you can use Tri and then Circle to confirm the Siege ammo.
Pressing X makes you roll or sidestep depending on your current situation.
Using the analogue stick allows you to direct the sidestep if you've just
fired or roll direction otherwise.
When you fire your BG, there are five ranges, from shortest (1) to longest
(5). How far away you are from a creature impacts on how much damage you'll
do.
For Pierce and Pellet, ranges 2 and 3 do the most, 1 and 4 are next most and
5 (the longest distance away) is the lowest damage. To observe this, try
sniping a prey at very long range - it takes around twice as many shots.
Elemental shots however are range independent, although they don't fire
massively far.
For Normal, ranges 1 and 2 do the most, then 3 and 4, and finally long range
shots at 5 do very little. Normal 3 is effective up to range 3, though.
Crag and Clust shots do fixed damage aside from the initial contact hit,
and can be fired at any range with virtually the same effect.
Elemental Shots have a fixed range damage modifier. As long as you can land
all the shots from them, you'll do the same damage at long range as you do
at point blank.
You'll soon find the sweet spot to shoot from to maximise your damage.
All BGs have a listing on the info page for Shot Deviation, recoil and reload.
Shot deviation is how far off centre your shots fly. It's not a huge issue,
and can be corrected for with the Precision skill.
Recoil and reload affect how much your shots push you back, and how quickly
you load more shots. These values mix with shot types' natural values, and
that's how fast you load or how far you recoil.
For example, Normal 1 shots reload very fast. So even on a gun with Slow
reload, you'll reload quickly. Or, you might have a gun with Light recoil, but
firing Dragon shots will still push you back further. While these values on a
gun are important, the shot's natural reload/recoil values are a little more
important.
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III Ammunition AMO
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To be a range master, you must understand your weapon. And to understand a
range weapon, you must understand what you’re firing. Please note numbers
listed are for the default bag size of shots and with combines, you can take
more ammo.
Firstly, you'll notice when selecting ammo that some shots have a special
border in your shot list while most are white. Red shots indicate ammo that
is Rapid Fired (LBG) or can be Siege fired (HBG).
Normal 1 and 2 are simple shots: You fire them, and they hit and damage the
hitzone they land on. Normal 1 has infinite ammo but does very little damage
– if you end up with only this left on a quest, you should probably abandon
if the monster you’re hunting isn’t almost dead. Normal 2 does good damage
and is simply targeted and fired. Works well generally and on small, fast
monsters or where pierce shots don’t work well. You can carry one Normal 1
that fires infinitely and 99 Normal 2.
Normal 3 is slightly different. It hits, then damages the hitzone it lands on
and shards fly off. These will either hit adjacent hitzones or fly off. If
you land shards, it’ll do a lot of damage. Takes a bit of practice to master,
but you’ll learn where to hit to land most shards. It has a longer effective
range than Normal 1 & 2 do. You carry 99, and the shot is slightly more
effective than in FU.
Pierce 1, 2, 3: These all work the same. They hit one hitzone and travel
through to the next one, then the next until they hit the appropriate number
of times or exit the creature. Pierce 1 hits 4 times, Pierce 2 hits 5 and 3
hits 6 times. While lower level shots will do more per 'hit', if you connect
all the hits from higher level shots, they'll do more damage.
Also, high levels of Pierce are more effectively fired from longer back. A
point blank Pierce 3 won't do as much damage as if you were three rolls back.
You carry 60 of each level.
Pellet 1, 2, 3: These shots are different from the above in that they require
little precision. You fire, and the shot splits up and hits hitzones in your
cone of vision. It's not totally random, and certain monster parts will
attract pellets more than others. Works excellently for dromes: fire, and a
half second later shards will hit a few points. You can pack 60 of each.
Crag: A simple shot: You fire, it hits and a split second later explodes.
Does good damage and acts like a sonic bomb. Enough damage (more accurately,
KO value) from this will KO a monster like a hammer if you hit the head.
It’s not much use in solo play, but it’s very good for ad hoc battles.
Again, has recoil to watch out for. Good for smaller monsters.
Max 9 shots per level.
Clust: You fire a shell, and when it hits it does minor damage while sticking
in the target. But then it fragments into several bomblets which explode.
If all hit, it does severe damage, but will take practice to land. This works
very well on bigger, slower creatures, but again on a faster monster it’s
not great because the bomblets won’t stay on it if it moves. Another shot
with recoil. Max 3 shots per level.
Exhaust: Creatures have an invisible stamina gauge in this game. As they
attack, that gauge depletes until they are forced to break off and recover
stamina and will stand on the spot taunting. Exhaust S helps to lower their
stamina faster, and will do KO damage like Crag S if you get a head shot. You
can take 12 of these at level 1 and 8 t level 2.
Slicing: Normal Bowgun shots do Shot type damage (apart from elemental and
explosive shots). This shot type does Cutting damage, meaning that gunners
can now cut tails off with enough cutting damage dealt. Note that a certain
amount of cutting damage is needed, so you can't shoot it with any other shot
type and expect a tail to fall off with 1 Slicing S. They do minimal damage
though, so it's usually best to plan to help melee users cut the tail rather
than expect to do it easily yourself.
Status shots (Poison S, Sleep S, Paralyze S): These shots all lower a
monsters' tolerance to that status. When the status tolerance reaches 0, they
will be poisoned, sent to sleep or paralyzed. Each time they are inflicted,
their tolerance rises for the next time.
You carry 12 level 1 and 8 Level 2.
Recover S: This shot does what it sounds like: heals any target in its wide
radius. And yes, 'any' target means you will heal monsters you hit with it
too. In practice, it's better to sheathe and use a Lifepowder as it's faster
than changing ammo and aiming at your team mate, and it heals everyone in
the zone and not the monster.
Tranq S, Armour S, Demon S: These shots are utility shots. Demon shots raise
team mates' attack, Armour S obviously does the same for defence, and Tranq
S will have the same effect as Tranq bombs (although you must hit the head).
In all honesty, these are all but useless shots in practice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV Elemental Shots ELE
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Unlike previous MH games, all elemental shots (except Dragon) are 'normal'
style. That means, they hit an do all their damage to a single hitzone. Fire
S always used to work like this, but it's new for the other shots and it's a
very welcome change. As in previous games, these shots do elemental damage
that scales with your Bowgun's raw, including Dragon S.
Dragon S seems to have a large base damage which is further modified by raw.
It's gone from mediocre to frankly, broken now. While you can only carry 23
shots (with combines) it's still possible to kill Dragon weak creatures at
High rank in extremely fast times with just those shots, though it requires
a good armour set up. Dragon S is still a pierce style shot, so it passes
through multiple hitzones unlike the other elemental shots.
Elemental Shots are mostly elemental damage, but do have a small Shot damage
portion. Only the shot damage is affected by Affinity, so if you have a gun
with strong negative affinity it will still function well with Elemental shots.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
V Upgrading your BG UBG
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So congratulations, you’ve decided to get into the mysterious and new world
of bowgunning. Off you run to the creation store and plonk down your Rathalos
Plate for that shiny new cannon. Now you’ve made it, what are those options
you get?
Weapon stone: Just like with melee weapons, after you've made a gun you can
use a weapon stone on it for a small attack boost. Always use this on weapons
you plan to use.
From here, you may only attach one of the two possible options, which are
different for heavy and light bowguns.
Power barrel: Gives a good boost to damage. When you have defensive skills on
your armour, this is probably the attachment of choice. Roughly 10% extra
damage.
OR, a
[HBG Only] Shield: An attachment to have if you have offensive armour skills
and need some protection. While you aren’t attacking, you’ll auto block
attacks, including screams. The residual damage you take is higher than other
classes, but it's better than getting run over by a Diablos. Your shield will
work when you're in Siege mode.
[LBG Only] Silencer: This device noticeably lowers recoil. If you're using a
Pellet, Pierce, Crag or Clust set primarily, this is a very handy
attachment to have. For recoil-less shots, it's not worth using.
And with both of those, you can equip a:
Zoom Scope: When in zoom mode, you can zoom your gun in further. Not really
that useful in most situations, since without the Target range down skill,
your shots won’t reach as far as you can see. But hey, why not?
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VI Heavy Bowgun Specific Information HBS
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HBGs became somewhat synonymous with a certain style of gunning in 2G/FU,
which was to equip the 'Elemental Maniac' set and go nuts. Granted, it was an
extremely powerful set up, allowing for huge evasive options and massively
boosted, non recoiling shots you never needed to reload.
With the removal of Speed Fire/Auto Reload from P3rd and the addition of
Siege mode, much has changed. While quick kill times are still to be had
with this class, a little more strategy is required. But on the plus side,
you can Siege with every HBG, allowing a pseudo Speed Fire much more easily
accessible than previously.
As above, Siege mode is entered with Tri and O, and ammo selected with Tri
and then O to confirm. It's worth noting that Siege capable shots don't have
to be Siege fired, they can be used normally. This is a welcome departure from
LBG's enforced Rapid Fire.
HBGs do have their downsides. As you’ve no doubt noticed, when unsheathed, it
has limited mobility (comparable to a Gunlance). Limited ammo (ignoring the
Normal 1 shot which does negligible damage) means if you aren’t accurate,
you'll end up having to use subpar ammo or even worse, completely unable to
finish a quest. And you’ll need to be stationary while firing, leaving you
open.
But the fact is, with practice and skill, these issues can be practically
negated.
The strengths of HBG are many, as it’s a class that can be played a number
of ways. It’s got great elemental damage and great raw damage. Ammo limits
aren’t really a problem when you learn weak points and bring combines, and
you can equip a shield and use the Guard Inc skill to constantly tank all
hits – and even without it, the shield auto-blocks if you aren’t firing. Or
you can go all out offence and use a power barrel for even more damage.
Still, HBGs have been hit pretty hard with the nerf stick; they have
reasonably limited clip sizes and their raw values are about 25% lower in
P3rd (comparing the previous highest raw to P3rd's, factoring in the removal
of class modifiers). Still, they do get around a 12% boost to raw shot
damage over LBGs, which is new in P3rd.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VII Suggested HBGs SHB
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The rule of thumb when choosing a gun is to look for what shots you plan to
be using most. In addition, large clips (so above 6) of Normal 2/3 are always
useful, and lower recoil/reload speeds makes the higher impact shots more
useful. Picking a gun that Sieges the shots you plan to use obviously helps.
The guns are named according to their respective creatures, to cut down on
confusion from the different English patches around.
HR1 - 3: LOW RANK
Rathian: An easily made, well functioning gun that's got good clip sizes for
Normal shots, as well as Fire and Poison options.
Qurupecco: A good Normal option gun to make if you're finding Rathian tricky.
Upgraded Yukomo: Handy damage and elemental options, without needing you to
farm anything other than wood and ore.
Naruga: Your best Pierce option, by far.
Jinogua: A good Thunder option, and given how many creatures are Thunder
weak it's a good investment. Plus, it looks like a motorcycle chassis!
Tigrex: This is a versatile weapon, with access to the best levels of each
shot as well as Freeze and Dragon.
Jhen Mohran: Terrible clip sizes, but good elemental options and acceptable
damage.
HR4 - 6: HIGH RANK
Aoashira: A good first HR HBG in terms of Normal clips and damage.
Crimson Quru: Your premier Pellet gun of choice.
Black Diablos: If you like Normal damage and Siege mode, this gun will be
your best friend with good raw and Sieging all Normal shots.
Tigrex: Much like the LR version, it's a versatile gun with good damage and
options.
Akantor: Similar to the Black Blos gun, this Sieges the Normal shots you love
with the damage you crave!
Steel Uragaan: Looks really cool and Sieges Dragon shots, uniquely.
Alatreon: Sieges all four main elemental shots, and does so with huge damage.
Killing Ala might be a chore solo, but this gun works so well it's worth
it.
Ukanlos: The best Normal gun, especially for those who don't need Siege
options. Great damage, even after affinity is factored in.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIII Light Bowgun Specific Information LBS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previously, given armour skills like Evade Inc and Speed Fire that nullified
HBG's downsides, LBGs were a reasonably poor cousin to their bigger brethren.
In most cases, as their damage output often couldn't compete and their
upsides weren't overly useful, there wasn't often much reason to use the LBGs,
especially solo.
But now that HBGs have lower raw overall and no Speed Fire to assuage their
low clip sizes and reload values, LBGs are really stealing the spotlight.
Rapid Fire (below) is a hugely valuable tool, given that creatures seem a
little more elementally resistant and ammo is often a concern. And now that
monster's hitboxes are much tighter, LBG's mobility really lets you stay close
and deliver more damage.
Besides the great solo play, LBGs have lots of great options for multiplayer.
Even more than a good HH user, teams ALWAYS benefit from a LBGer who can pull
off the following.
You can KO a monster: Crag shots hitting the head build up KO value. So if
that Barroth is running back and forth, a few well placed Crags can stop it
in its tracks, allowing your melee team mates to wail on it with impunity.
You can exhaust a creature: In addition to building KO damage, you can
tire a monster with Exhaust shots. Leaving a monster completely vulnerable
to attack as it sits panting will really endear your melee team mates to you.
You can paralyze something: A few Para S Level 2 and Level 1s, with combines,
can keep a monster locked in place for sometimes a whole fight. The key
here is communication: keep track of how many shots the first and second
paralysis takes, so you can alert team-mates when it’s going to be ready.
There’s no point paralyzing it if your heavy hitting team is in another
zone healing/sharpening or has just been 'carted.
You can send creatures to sleep: As above, a few Sleep S level 2 shots send
almost every creature into a ~30 second long nap. That gives you lots of
options, since the first attack on a sleeping monster does 3x (300%) damage.
So a GS user with Unsheathe Crit can nail a weak point for frightening
amounts of damage, and you’ll have cut the fight time in half.
You can poison a monster: For something without much health that is often
impossible to hit, poison can ensure your DoT keeps ticking away. If that
Blos keeps burrowing, or Rathalos won’t land, at least you can have them sicker
than when you ate chicken you’d left on the kitchen bench for three days.
Everyone forgot Tranqs? No probs! You can Tranq S a trapped monster and no
more fussing about with throwing tranq bombs.
Every time you inflict status elements or KO, the next time you incur it takes
more value. So if it takes 1 shot to paralyse something, the next time you go
to paralyze it, it might take two or three shots. So bring both level 1 and 2
status shots (if your gun fires them) on your missions.
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IX Rapid Fire RFR
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Rapid Fire (RF) is a mechanism unique to LBGs. Most LBGs have a shot (or
shots) that they RF, which is listed in the last page of the gun description.
A shot that is rapid fired will launch multiple shells for every one attack
initiated, while still using a single bullet. For example, a gun that Rapid
fires Thunder S will fire three Thunder rounds, one after the other, while
still just using one of your Thunder S shots in your inventory.
While each individual shot in that volley does less damage than normal, if
the whole volley connects it'll do more damage than that single non RF'd shot.
However, it takes a little longer to do it in. Proper use of RF can massively
reduce quest clearing times.
Most elemental RFs use three rounds per shot, at 60% of the original power.
If all 3 hit, that's 60% x 3 = 180% of the initial power, while still
consuming less ammo. While it's often faster to fire two non RF'd shots in the
same time (so, 2 x 100% = 200%) you'll end up needing to reload more often
without RF. This is quite different to 2G/FU where LBG users could use Speed
Fire - making RF in P3rd a more attractive option.
RF works extremely well on status shots, since they have a fixed value and
long range. Since status tolerance rises over time, the faster you inflict it,
the more effective it is. RF can deliver status very quickly, making it easier
to inflict.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X Suggested LBGs SLB
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
As with picking a HBG, it's crucial to think about the shots you're going to
be using most in a given quest. Looking for a gun that rapid fire that shot
is usually your best option, even if that gun's raw is a little lower than
another choice. And again, a good Normal 2/3 clip never hurts.
HR1 - 3: LOW RANK
Royal Ludroth: Poison S and Water Rapid Fire - so it's perfect for trolling
Uragaan!
Rathalos: A great Fire and Normal damage weapon. Since so many creatures have
a Fire weakness, making this gun should be a priority and upgrading it is
worth a Rathalos plate.
Barioth: Your best Low rank Ice RF gun, and it's got quite useable Pierce
options too.
Upgraded Yukomo: Thunder and Fire options, with good Normal clips and damage,
make this an obvious choice. Only needing Wood and Ore is also a bonus if
you're not having luck farming creatures.
Naruga: As with 2G, this is the best Pierce LBG you'll get access to at LR.
Dobo: While Pellet is now a little impotent, if you had to use Pellet, you'd
want to use this gun.
Jinogua: An amazing Normal and Thunder weapon; definitely worth the
investment given how much you'll want to use the upgraded version later.
HR4 - 6: HIGH RANK
G Jaggi: A pretty solid early HR Pierce weapon.
Ice Barroth: If you don't mind farming this guy, this can be a handy Normal
weapon, though it lacks RF.
Rathalos: As with LR, it's an amazing Fire weapon and just as valuable to
have around as at lower levels.
Royal Ludroth: RF Water S and Poison makes this gun Uragaan's worst
nightmare, just like at Low rank.
Thunder Gigginox: Para RF and Normal clips mean this is a very good weapon
for multiplayer, though a bit limited in solo.
Barioth: Your best Ice gun pre Amatsu and a decent Pierce weapon, too.
Black Tigrex: A good Clust and Normal weapon. It RF's Normal 2, so with
combines you should never have ammo issues. Powerful, too.
Jinogua: This gun is perhaps the best single gun for killing Deviljho with,
as well as being a great Normal shot weapon. Huge clip sizes, great damage and
Thunder S RF makes it a very worthy weapon.
Ukanlos: It isn’t pretty or sophisticated, but this weapon is the best at
pumping out Normal damage. Big clips and the biggest raw (even after factoring
in affinity) make this a handy gun to have around.
Amatsu: This gun is amazing. It's got -10% affinity, but does everything else
right. Big raw and it rapid fires all four main elements - It's even got
Dragon shot capability. While there are guns that do each of the elements
better individually, this gun is almost always the best for marathon quests
where creatures have different weaknesses.
Island of the Gods: The Ancientstone LBG is actually good, for a change. Good
damage, great clip sizes for Normal and it's a viable Clust weapon, too.
Especially good in multi for KO hax.
Deviljho: There aren't overly many creatures that are Dragon weak, but the
ones that are get destroyed by this weapon. Paired with RF +1 and Dragon +2,
it's a behemoth.
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XI Armour Skills & Combos ASC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just like how blademasters tend to have favourite skills for their weapons
(Sharpness +1, anyone?), there are several skills that greatly increase BG’s
potential.
Evade +2: This is a staple skill that you should learn to use. You can use
the split second of invulnerability to roll through roars and most attacks,
allowing you to remain in the thick of battle and play very aggressively.
Now that hitboxes are fixed, it's a luxury rather than a requisite.
Evade Inc: This is a good skill to boost mobility. It’s simple: you roll
further. Allows for aggressive play, and it's more important on HBG.
Pierce/Pellet/Normal S Up: These all boost the damage of their associated
shot. They have enough of a bonus to make them worthwhile, but are best
suited to use on specific monsters. For example, an armour with Pierce Up
is great for long monsters but not much use versus Aoashira.
Pierce and Normal Up are +10% and Pellet Up is +20%.
Reloading Speed+ : Much like it suggests, increases your reloading speed.
Useful if you're going for a Pierce/Pellet set, but not hugely useful
otherwise.
Critical Eye +1/2/3: A simple damage skill. CE +1 increases your DoT by
2.5%, +2 by 5% and +3 by 7.5%. It works by increasing your chance of a
critical hit (+25% damage) by 10% per level. If you have negative affinity
it makes you less likely to do a negative critical hit (-25%).
Since BGs have low-ish raw, you'll almost always get a better bonus from a
given shot type boost (like Normal Up) instead of Critical Eye +3.
Known as Reckless Abandon in 2G/FU.
Attack Up: This adds a fixed damage boost to every shot. At +10 points it
adds 10 damage, +15 points (Attack Up Medium) adds 15 damage and +20 points
(Attack Up Large) adds (wait for it...) 20 raw. While this is a mediocre
boost, at low rank it can often be better than skills that add a % of
weapon raw.
Elemental Attack Up: Increases the damage of your elemental shots. This can
be a great skill for fighting element weak monsters, but for creatures that
have low elemental weaknesses it’s not helpful. Boosts elemental damage by
10%. It's also only found naturally on Alatreon armour.
(Elemental) Attack +1/2: These skills (one for each element) boost damage
by +10% at +1 and 20% at +2. In effect, they replace EAU on most sets. While
it's annoying having to re-gem sets for different elements, at least now
you can store sets and gems in your house.
Load Up: Means your ammo limits per clip are increased by one shot per clip.
You get this skill from many armours as an equivalent to Sharp +1 (so on
sets like Jhen, Jho, Amatsu). It's useful always, but it'll never really take
a gun from mediocre to good. Handy on many RF guns.
Adrenaline +2: When you get very experienced, this is a great skill. When at
less than 40% health, your damage increases by 30%, the single biggest boost
of any skill except Felyne Heroics. Since Heroics no longer stacks with
Adrenaline +2, I would suggest this one instead since Heroics only activates
when you’re under 10 health, making it very dangerous. Being under 40% health
isn’t fun but at least if a Rhenoplos gets niggly, it won’t one-shot you.
Being an experienced range player means you need never get hit, so being on
reduced life isn’t an issue.
Stinger/Exploiter: This skill gives you a 50% affinity boost when hitting
monster's weakest points. Only applies to raw damage though, but on a Normal
focussed set it's a 12.5% boost to damage over time if you're accurate.
Rapid Fire +1: This skill means when you RF a shot, it'll add another bullet
to the end of the current volley. I'm still testing whether it adds it at the
same damage % as the others or a reduced one, but it does hold you in place
longer which is dangerous. On slow foes though it can be exceptional.
Recoil reduce: the Pierce and explosive shots can have a big recoil, and
different guns have different recoil rates. You should always be careful
about when you shoot, but this skill can help you get more hits in.
Earplugs: Not as essential as for blademasters, but a great skill to have.
You shouldn't always be within scream range or be able to evade through it if
you are, but everyone makes mistakes. The difference is that for gunners in
G rank they can be fatal :)
Shot mix: This cheap (5 slot) skill is much more useful than you think.
Most creatures have a weakness to a specific shot level or type, and this
skill lets you maximise that weakness. For a lot of elemental shots, it's a
great skill.
Precision: Now that guns have a built in deviation, this skill can correct it.
Cheap to gem in and often worth it at low rank.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
XII General Gunning Tactics GGT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For each monster, you’ll need careful preparation and thought before heading
off into a quest. Rocking up with whatever gun and armour can be the
difference between a five minute quest and multiple failures. Once you’ve
decided what monster to hunt, there are a few simple steps to make sure your
quests are fast and fun. Basically, for anything you fight, you want to have
enough ammo of the right type to finish the fight without having to resort
to using ineffective shots. Sometimes, this means having a primary and a
secondary ammo type.
Firstly, is what you’re fighting elementally weak or not? Every creature has
a weakness to an element, but if the creature in question is slightly weak to
an element, then finding a gun that fires that element should be a secondary
priority. But if you’re fighting something like a Naruga, Barioth or
Ludroth, then bring your Fire S by all means. If it has two big weaknesses,
then an elemental gun should be your first priority.
Secondly, are you fighting a long monster, fast monster or one with a big weak
spot? For long monsters, look for guns that fire Pierce 3 and/or 2. For fast
ones, Scatter 3 and Normal 2, and for ones with an obvious weak point
(like Rathalos’s head) then take Normal 2 and 3.
Once you start brawling and you’ve painted your creature and had all your
buffs, start by emptying your elemental shots, then moving through your
normal shots from best to worst. If you’ve planned correctly, it should be
dead long before you run out of ammo. I often take combines for more Normal S
lvl3 (see your combo book) since each combine gives you 2-4 Normal 3, and it
should be your staple damage shot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
XIII Suggested Armour sets for Elder and High Rank SUG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low Rank - Hr 1 - 3, Village Elder
Jaggi: Attack Up, Rec Speed: A great first set post Yukomo gear. Using this
set can easily get you all the way to Jinogua, to farm him.
Urkusu: An easily made Evade+ set.
Rhenoplos: Rhenos are easy to kill, and with Precision and Gunnery, this can
mean some fun times with boosted Crag shots.
Fish: An easily made Normal S Up set for Low rank. An alternative to Barroth
or Agnaktor armour.
Insect: RA+ and the earliest Earplug set. Very useful.
Uragaan: a good Pierce based set with good defensive buffs.
Naruga: Evade Inc based set, which makes it great for HBG users.
Jinogua: Thunder Damage+ and Normal Up, with Determination - an amazing Normal
based set. Determination gives you a 50% affinity bonus and reduced stamina
use when you take 200 damage or have been spotted by a large monster for
five minutes or more.
Rathalos: Fire Element, Stinger and AU make this the best LR gunning set.
Should be a priority to make. You can use the Jaggi arms if you're not having
much luck with Los plates.
Rustshard: Recoil reduce and Rapid Fire +1. Can be quite handy, though not
stand out.
Doboroberuku: Your only Adrenaline option. Not hugely useful by itself, but if
you mix in the Urkusu chest you can get an Adrenaline/Evade set.
High Rank, HR 4 - 6
Urkusu S: AU and Evade+ - makes for a great starting HR armour.
Barroth S - Normal Up, Adrenaline means that while active, you're doing 43%
more damage with normal shots, which is obviously useful.
Naruga S: Evade Inc, Sneak and Evade +1 with space enough to gem in Elemental
damage+ is a great set up at HR5. Well worth farming and will pay for itself
within a few quests.
Insect S: Again, another good Earplug set that's not too farming intensive.
Barioth U: Evade Inc, Sense and Constitution make this a good HBG set, though
you'll want to gem in some damage skills.
Uragaan S: Pierce Up and Recoil- makes this a cool looking Pierce set of choice.
Akantor: Earplug and Fire Element +? Sounds like Amatsu farming time to me!
Silver Sol: The best Normal based set you can make. Normal Up, Stinger and AU
with slots up the wazoo. Evade Inc and more points into AU are good contenders
for gemming.
Alatreon: By far the best Elemental set around. Evade Inc, EAU and Blightproof
are all handy, but being able to gem in Elemental Attack +2 and Shot Mix makes
it perfect for most quests, and with the Amatsu gun you'll power through
Marathon quests.
Some mixed sets, courtesy of RPFreaks:
"(E)A+2 = (Insert element) attack+2
EAU= elemental atk up
IOTG= Island of the gods (ancient stone lbg)
Bullet limit (BL)= shot mix/ combo expert/ combo amount max
RF= rapid fire
AUS/AUM/AUL= Attack up small/med/large
Atia S = ancientshard/ rustshard armor
1. Maze`s Neo Elemental maniac set
full Alatreon set gemmed for : EAU, (E)A+2, Evade dist up, blight res, and BL
weapon: amatsu lbg (rapid ALL element) > armory jewel
head: no slot
body: armory jewel
arms: (E)A jwl +3
Waist: (E)A jwl +3, (E)A jwl +1
Legs: 3x armory jwl
Charm: (E)A +8
you need (E)A +8 charm for each element; +9 if u want to get rid of "worry"
negative skill
2. Silver Sol custom machine gun set (Dual Jin cleared in 13 min)
skills: Load Up, Normal/rapid S Up, Exploiter, RF+1, AUS, health-10
Weapon IOTG > RF jwl +1
head: barrage piercing
body: SSol > 2x debilitate jwl +1
arms: SSol > RF jwl +4
waist: SSol > attack jwl +3(2 slot)
legs: SSol > strong shot jwl +4 (normal/rapid S up +4 jwl)
charm: RF+5
3. "Writhe in Pain" para/crag/clust set (Superb for AHP)
skills: Load up, Gunnery king, RF+1, Recoil+2
weapon: IOTG with silencer! > Howitzer jwl
head: barrage piercing
Body: Atia S > RF+1 jewel
arms: Diablos U > Howitzer jwl
waist: Diablos U > 3x Howitzer jwl
legs: Atia S > howitzer jwl
charm: Recoil +3 w/ 2 slot > 2x howitzer jwl
credits to: Mazereon and Shizuka(minegarde) for set 1&3"
=============================================================================
Part 2: Strategies for Gunning Every Creature
=============================================================================
Firstly, please note furthermore that there is no ‘right’ way to gun any
creature. There is only successful or not. These tips represent my dedicated
gunning character’s 900+ hours of experience, and are the way I find fastest
to gun every creature. Other strategies are just as valid, though perhaps
not as fast. Each brief strategy has a few parts.
Recommended Ammunition: The shot types to use, in order, to kill everything.
Using the recommended ammo, you should always be able to kill your target if
you use weapons/armour appropriate to the level you’re attempting (ie, high
rank gear on high rank creatures). Always take combines for the shots you’re
using, especially for your element shots.
Armour Skills: These come in two flavours, Recommended and Required. No
armour skill is ever truly required, but these will make the fight either
much faster or much easier. Recommended skills are good to have, but can be
done without. It’s important to note that additional damage skills like
Reckless Abandon+ or Attack Up are always beneficial, though Attack Up is
largely useless at G rank.
Difficulty to gun: Every quest can be soloed at every rank with every weapon.
Still, there are some creatures that are not easy to gun. If a creature is
listed as High difficulty to gun, seriously consider using a melee weapon.
Like how most people hate to use non-guarding melee weapons on Plesioth,
sometimes it’s just not worth the aggravation if you can avoid it. Where a
creature really is made simpler by additional mobility, I've noted that and
suggested Light bowguns. It'll usually mean a slightly longer quest, but
will often reduce frustration.
From here, it’s a bit of an epic wall of text, so Ctrl+F is your friend.
Just hit those two buttons, and enter the name of the monster you’re after
and you’ll be taken straight to the part you want. Where multiple monsters
have the same strategies, they are listed together.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I Bird Wyverns BWVY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Jaggi, Great Baggi, Great Froggi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 2 or Pellet 3 (Fire S for Baggi)
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Normal/Pellet Up
Difficulty to gun: Easy
The 'drome' wyverns are a great place to start gunning if you haven't done a
lot of it before. These creatures may be harder than previous games, but they
are still very much a push over with any class.
Your main tactic will be to stay at medium range and blast them with Normal
shots. They seem to have only two hitzones - head and body. Shoot them in the
head whenever you can, as it'll let you break their crest/frill as well as
doing more damage.
Be wary of their minions, though - they can easily interrupt attacks and set
you up for a hipcheck, which does a surprising amount of damage compared to
their regular attacks. As long as you keep the minions at bay with a few shots
every now and then, you should have no problem parrying the attacks and
firing in return. It's a great time to get familiar with range, as well, since
Normal shots aren't effective from long range.
You can also spam Pellet shots at the dromes, but Pellet has really been beaten
with the nerf stick in this game. You won't need to aim, but it'll take longer.
It will however hose down the minions nicely.
Qurupecco and Crimson Qurupecco
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 3/2 and Ice S
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Ice Element +, Normal Up, Earplug (for Crimson).
Difficulty to gun: Easy (Moderate for Crimson)
Qurupecco is much like Kut Ku, from previous games - a slightly more advanced
walking target from the dromes. While it looks like a big turkey, you'll need
to be aware of what it can do in a pinch.
Your main target will be its head, and you can crack its beak as well as
breaking the flints off its wings. If you keep the pressure on with Normal or
Ice shots, you'll down it reasonably fast.
The main thing you'll need to watch out for is its summon dance. If it starts
waggling around and you see sound waves coming from the beak, it's trying to
call another monster to help it. At low rank it'll usually call a monster like
an Aoashira or Ludroth, which are annoying. But the High rank ones can summon
creatures up to the fearsome Deviljho, who you're not going to be equipped to
fight. It's important that you bring dung bombs if you can; throwing faeces at
a creature will drive them from the map.
When it clicks its wings together twice, it's going to jump at you and use the
flint on its wing tips to create and explosion. It's simple enough to dodge by
rolling left or right, but you really do want to avoid getting hit as it'll
do a lot of damage and leave you on fire (which will drain your health, but
rolling three times will put it out).
Crimson Quru can use its flints to do a flash attack that'll leave you dizzy,
and it'll inflict Thunderblight instead of Fireblight. This will leave you
more easily KO'd while it's active, which can be deadly at high rank.
Most of the time it'll do a hopping charge at you, or spit acid that inflicts
defence down. These attacks are simple to avoid, and then you can retaliate
with a couple of Normal 2 or a Ice S RF volley.
Crimson Qurupecco is a much more worthy adversary than its green cousin. When
you've done enough damage to rage it, it'll actually shriek at you which
requires earplugs to block. It's also more prone to summoning Deviljhos, and
it's got a fair bit more health. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same fight,
but it does seem to love hovering.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
II Pelagus and Fanged Wyverns PLGF
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulldrome
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 2
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Normal Up
Difficulty to gun: Low
Bulldrome is a very simplistic creature - it's a big warthog that will almost
always just charge right at you. If you treat it like a matador would and
fire at it, dodge the charge, and then turn around and fire again, you'll be
killing it fast in no time.
While it does have a circular charge, it's not a huge departure from FU. It
is weak to thunder, but there aren't any good Thunder guns by this point in
the game, so any weapon with a decent Normal 2/3 clip will work fine. Aim for
the head when you can.
Otherwise, there's not really much to say :)
Aoashira
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 2/3
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Normal Up
Difficulty to gun: Low
Aoashira is another new addition to the Monster Hunter stable, and it's
designed to ease new players into the cut and thrust of more advanced hunting
(well, more advanced than Bulldrome and the Bird Wyverns, at any rate).
Its weakest shot point is the head, and it's usually up on its hind legs,
meaning you'll need to pan your targeting reticule up to hit him there. Once
Aoashira becomes fatigued though, it'll spend more time with its head at
ground level, giving you much easier access.
When it's on its hind legs and pulls one arm back, it'll start doing a drunken
slash attack with its paws. While it's not too deadly, it can attack with a
full 360* range of motion, so be careful about how close you stand. Other
than rolling away from that and not firing at it while it's charging you down,
most of its attacks are quite linear and well telegraphed. It doesn't have
that much health, so don't feel compelled to risk attacks.
It's a good chance to try out different gunning tactics to get a feel for them,
so if you want a punching bag for your Clust, Crag, Pellet or Pierce shots
then you can use Yogi.
Urkusu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Fire Element +2
Difficulty to gun: Low
While Urkusu is faster than Aoashira and can use projectile attacks, it's
also ultimately a very linear creature. It's also got a reasonably crippling
Fire weakness on the head, meaning you can break the ears off and have it
staggering frequently even with level appropriate gear.
Most of the fight will be spent almost like Bulldrome - let it slide past you,
and then aim at the head with Fire shots. Other than being careful of its
multiple sliding attack, you'll only have to look out for the boulder toss
and the circular slider attack. This latter one is important to learn to
recognise and dodge, as it's got a wide range and will take a chunk out of
your HP.
If you don't have a Fire capable gun (though the Yukomo LBG will work) then
Normal shots are almost as effective. If you find yourself firing at medium-
long range often, use Normal 3 instead as it's got a longer effective range.
Try not to stand right behind it, as it can back up and sit on you reasonably
quickly.
This fight should be reasonably fast. It's tempting to spam fire shots at its
back, but if you wait a second till it turns around for a head shot, you'll
make more effective use of your ammo.
Rangotora
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Water S, Normal 2/3
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Paralyze
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Rangotora is like a big armadillo pinball, and it's got a few tricks that can
prove annoying for gunners in the first few attempts.
Its main attacks are a deceptively long range tongue whip (which will reach
to the limits of effective Normal 2 range), the bouncing attacks, short range
dung gas halos, and a medium range paralyze spit.
The best way to counteract the tongue whip is to roll into it. That may sound
counter-intuitive, but right after you hit 'X' to roll, your character will be
invulnerable to any attack in the game for about 2/30ths of a second. It's
called your 'moment of invulnerability' (MOI) and it's important for gunners
to get to grips with. You can extend this time with Evade +1/2, but most
attacks in the game can be avoided without it. So, when you see Rango drop
to its front paws and cock its head to the side, get ready to roll left or
right. You'll probably get hit the first few times, but you'll eventually
get the hang of rolling.
The paralysis spit has a wider area of effect than you'd expect, so it's
important to avoid it. Rango seems to always follow up an effective Para with
a bounce attack, which you'll be helpless to avoid.
While the multiple bounces do inflict quakes on the ground, rolling away from
them is usually sufficient.
By this point in the game you'll be able to make the Ludroth LBG, which RF's
Water S, which Rango really doesn't like. Firing off a single volley and then
pausing to see its response is a very effective way to safely pump out lots
of damage. As always though, using raw damage (Normal shots) will also get
the job done.
Jinogua
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal, Ice S
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Pellet Up, Evade Inc (if HBG) and Recoil- if required.
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Jinogua is the game's flagship monster, and it's also going to end up as a
wall for many new players who so far will have been breezing through the game.
Fear not though, because Jinogua's movements are slow when it's not powered up
and easily enough avoided in rage mode, when you know what to look out for.
I've listed this as a 'Moderate' fight because while not taking damage is easy
enough, Jinogua doesn't take large levels of shot or elemental damage, meaning
that bowguns aren't going to be setting speed records on this creature.
Jinogua's normal state is reasonably slow, and it'll often let you fire at it
while it stalks you. Fire at the head when you can, and back otherwise. As soon
as you see it start powering up, concentrate fire on the horns. If you let it
power up successfully twice, it'll go into a second state where its attacks
are faster, more damaging and most dangerously, inflict 'Thunderblight',
meaning that you're much more likely to become KO'd (dizzy).
Its major normal mode attack to be aware of is the paw slam. If it jumps
towards you and tries to hit you with its paw, it'll pause for a second and then
attack again. Don't start attacking until it's done both attacks, tempting as
it may be to. If it turns its side to you, it'll do a shoulder check. Avoid
it by rolling backwards away from it, or if you're close, roll/hop sideways,
making sure you're rolling sideways parallel to its head.
When it enters the second powered up state, it can go into rage mode (it'll
roar and you'll get caught if you don't have earplugs).
Once it's in its second state, it'll do two new attacks. One is a long range
body slam that leaves it on its back and will do a lot of damage, and the other
is a vertical jump/break dance move where it'll try and attack you with a tail
slam. Also, its two jump paw slam attack becomes a three paw slam attack.
Don't try and use shock traps or flash bombs when it's in its powered state,
since it'll absorb them. It's important to target hitzones consistently, since
it requires a flinch or a certain amount of damage to force it out of being
powered up. Keep the pressure on, but be careful to pick your moments since
you'll take longer to clear the quest if you have to break off often to heal.
Jin's horn is a magnet for Pellet shots, which will deal a whole lot of damage
to it fast. Here's my take on gunning the Dual Jinogua quest with rank
appropriate gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuB_zaNuKjY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
III Flying Wyverns FLYW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rathalos
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 2/3
Required Skills: Earplug
Recommended Skills: Normal Up, Evade Inc
Difficulty to gun: Moderate/Hard
Rathalos is a wyvern to be taken seriously, and is a real chore if you don't
have a good gear set up.
Judging by Tri's Rathalos, it takes mediocre elemental damage, especially since
Dragon S isn't a hugely viable shot for most of the game. That means you're
going to be using Normal 2/3 constantly, and you're going to be aiming for
the head.
Rathalos in this game is much more frustrating for blademasters, since it flies
much more often and lands less predictably. It's this same lack of easy openings
that makes it annoying to gun, although hitting the head with Normal shots isn't
overly difficult. As a bonus, when you flinch it in mid air, you'll get the
satisfying animation of dropping it from the sky so you can get a few free
hits in.
When it's airborne, it's usually going to be at distance, especially when it's
fireballing. That means Normal 3 is the superior shot when it's flying, and
Normal 2 will work well while it's on the ground and you're at close range.
In all honesty though, the difference isn't huge, so go with whatever will give
you a higher clip (usually, Normal 3).
This can get a very frustrating fight, so taking some Exhaust S can be a good
idea. When it's tired, it'll keep fail fireballing often, and so tiring it out
quickly can quickly remove the stress from the fight.
If you've raged it, it will always scream and jump back into a fireball. This
is a deadly move at High rank, so if you don't have Earplugs, you need to
immediately roll away if you see it rearing up to roar.
Silver Rathalos
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Thunder S, Normal 2/3
Required Skills: Thunder Element +2
Recommended Skills: Evade Inc
Difficulty to gun: Moderate/Hard
In previous games, Silver Los was simple to melee and tough to gun, but P3rd
has really reversed those fortunes. Now that the wings are very Thunder weak,
gunners can exploit this from range and happily ignore or dodge most of
Silver's attacks.
Try and keep track of wing staggers, because if you get a mid air wing stagger
it'll fall down, giving you several free wing hits.
Try and target the wing/body joint, since the wings move around a fair bit and
you can miss shots quite easily.
Here's a visual demonstration that'll hopefully give you all the guidance you
need:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y3Dm-tmFp0
Rathian
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 2
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Earplug
Difficulty to gun: Low
While Rathian is a much better foe in P3rd compared to Unite, it's still a
relative pushover for gunners. A constant stream of Normal shots on the face
is reasonably easy to accomplish, and as it takes reasonable shot damage it's
effective.
When Rathian is hovering, it's tempting to go for a few headshots, but you
need to exercise caution. She can quite quickly do a mid air tackle that
covers a fair amount of ground, as well as flying to you and poison flipping
quickly. If you're not confident, it's better to wait until she's landed.
When she's fireballing is a great time for headshots, but be careful of her
new area of effect napalm attack. Staying two rolls left (her right) of her
head will mean you're safe from all her attacks. From that position, you'll
be in good Normal shot range and can keep up the punishment.
Just be careful not to get greedy with attacks as she's turning toward you
for a charge and you'll soon find her limping off.
Gold Rathian
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Thunder S, Normal 2
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Earplug
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Gunning Gold Ian is similar to gunning the green version, except your focal
point will be the legs rather than the head for Normal shots, and the wings
for Thunder.
As long as you're staying a couple of rolls away, her fireball attack should
be easily dodged. One thing to watch out for is her new napalm attack, where
she can fire three times while moving back. It covers a large amount of ground
and will hurt, so it's best to avoid her while she's doing this unless you're
confident you can avoid it.
Otherwise, apply the above Rathian tactics, making note of the alternate
weak points. It'll take longer, but it's not a hugely difficult fight.
Diablos and Black Diablos
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Ice S, Normal 3 or Pierce 2/3
Required Skills: Evade Inc (HBG), Normal/Pierce Up or Ice Element +2
Recommended Skills: Shot Mix
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Diablos is a tricky beast. While in some respects it's easier in this game with
the stamina system and most precise hitboxes on the charge, the shot damage
weak point is no longer automatically targeted with Pellet shots. So while
it's easier to avoid getting hit, you'll also sadly be putting out less damage.
I'm still testing out strategies here, but so far the best way I've found to
gun Diablos is to fire Ice shots at the face. This does good damage and will
also break the horns reasonably fast, but will require a bit more precision
than previous 'Blos fights.
After you've run through your Ice shots, you'll want to aim Normal shots at
the tail. Note though that the tail stub (the hammer hit) is actually a
different hitzone and takes little damage. The tail is relatively thin and
moves around, so aiming at the crotch end of the tail is a good way to go.
If you can't shoot the tail, the wings are the next best point and take around
75% of the damage the tail does.
Dodging Diablos's moves is reasonably simple now that the charge hitbox doesn't
extend so far on either side, and it feels like Blos is a bit slower. While
you don't want to be far away from it (this encourages it to charge more) you
do want to be careful to avoid its circular twist attack (once in normal, often
twice in rage). it's easy to avoid the main hit but still get caught by the
tail. Blos also seems to do a three quick charges and then taunt attack -
don't get hit by this if at all possible, since you'll end up dizzy easily and
be unable to stop it trolling you with a third charge.
While you still can Pellet the tail, you'll find most of the pellets hit the
tail stub (so, a body hitzone) or the hammer end of the tail. Pellet shots
feel significantly weaker than previous games, and the combine for Pellet 3
is now limited since you can carry 49 less of the material. It's still
possible to pellet a Blos, it's just not as efficient now.
When the 'Blosses have burrowed, sometimes you'll see a large dust cloud where
they are. Sheathe at this point, and as soon as the dust cloud stops frothing,
superman dive. You'll see Blos fly out of the ground a split second later, and
instead of coming up vertically it can fly out of the ground at a 45* angle.
It'll often taunt after jumping out like this though, giving you free hits.
Gigginox And Thunder Gigginox
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S (Giggi) and Water S (Thunder Giggi)
Required Skills: Elemental Shot +2
Recommended Skills: Shot Mix, Poison Negate
Difficulty to gun: Easy
Gigginox at High rank is a headache for Blademasters, with its area of effect
poison attacks - High rank poison is no joke. But just like with Khezu, Giggi
is a breeze to gun.
The elemental weak spot is the head, and for normal shots it's the head in
normal mode, and the tail/fake head in rage mode. Since Giggi is reasonably
slow and telegraphs its moves, it's reasonably easier to either Siege or
Rapid fire at it. Now that Water shots are normal style, you can use exactly
the same tactics on Thunder 'Nox, too.
Don't stand directly in front of Giggi, but about two rolls away and one roll
to the side. That way, you're still in close range, but you're able to quickly
get out of harm's way. When you see it doing its slow charge, it's better to
resist the temptation to hit the face and just roll backwards once. Giggi
charges at where you are, so once you've rolled back it should stop its
charge just in front of you. After a charge, roll backwards and to your left,
as it'll do its stretchy head swipe which hits close and left, and then far
and right. You can roll through the attack simply enough, but it's a risk you
don't need to take and means you can't retaliate as fast.
While Thunder 'Nox is essentially the same creature, be aware it uses Thunder
attacks (no kidding, huh?). When it's spitting thunder balls at you, you'll
usually be at medium range. If that's the case, try and stand between the
three balls, as you don't have to move far to get between them safely.
Usually though, a roll to the side will allow you to get out of harm's way as
the balls travel together before diverging at medium range.
So just keep up the elemental firing, switch to Normal shots when appropriate
and don't be under it when it's on the roof. It'll usually be out of effective
range, or in attacking range so it's best to just leave it to drop down.
Barioth and Wind Barioth
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S (Barioth) and Ice S (Desert Barioth)
Required Skills: Elemental Attack +2, Evade Inc (Desert Barioth)
Recommended Skills: Earplug
Difficulty to gun: Low
Barioth is a creature that's really easy to dominate as a gunner. If you focus
a few bursts of fire at one wing, you'll break it. This not only trips it over,
but significantly restricts its mobility for the rest of the fight, making it
fall over when it tries to jump around you.
Most of the time in the fight, it'll do its medium speed hopping charge at
you. It's tempting to fire at the head as it rushes you, but you'll take
heavy damage if you misjudge the staggers, so it's usually better to roll to
the side instead. When it's past you, go for the wings. Whenever it's safe,
fire at the head. When it backs up a couple of steps quickly, it's going to
ice or sand blast, so it's important to recognise the attack early and roll
out.
When Wind Barioth fires a sand blast, it'll create a tornado. While annoying
by itself as it restricts movement, Barioth can also jump into the tornado
to launch itself at you. It's quite possible to dodge this attack by MOIing
through it, but it's simpler to sheathe and superman dive when you see it
running to the tornado.
When Barioth flies up, try and get under its shadow or far enough away so
you can pan the camera up to see it. While its aerial attacks are pretty
obvious, just be aware that if you're in a zone it enters, it won't land in
one spot, it'll usually fly at you.
Tail whips are simply avoided, and another great headshot opening.
Here's a demonstration of the above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v7H1BfbuYQ
Naruga and Green Naruga
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Thunder S
Required Skills: Evade+, Element Attack +
Recommended Skills: Earplug
Difficulty to gun: Low/Moderate
I've listed this fight as 'Low/Moderate'. What that means is that this battle
is easy if you're familiar with gunning Naruga, but if you're not used to how
it moves and evasion, you'll find it trickier until you get the hang of it.
Immediately after you press 'X', you are invulnerable for a fraction of a
second. It's this moment of invulnerability (MOI) that lets you roll though
virtually all of Naruga's attacks, since they move so fast. Evade + extends
how long this invulnerability lasts, so if you're not used to rolling it will
help.
You're going to be firing Thunder S at Naruga's head, and Thunder S at Green's
head and wings. While regular Naruga's fire resistance has been raised, it's
still a very fast method to kill it, but sadly there won't be any more sub 5
dual Naruga antics... When the head isn't available, the tail is a secondary
weak point on normal Naruga, and you'll be aiming for Green's wings again.
Naruga's movements can be quite disorienting at first. It's going to keep
jumping around you, and then jumping right at you quickly. You'll need to be
good at used the Claw hand technique to quickly re-orient the camera so you
can keep track of it.
When it starts its charge, it's a good time to get a head shot or two. When
it reaches you, it'll usually tail-whip. This move is easily rolled, but again,
you'll need to get familiar with the timing. It'll take some trial and error,
so if you don't get it right away, don't fret.
When it looks at you and scowls, it's going to tail-slam. This can be deadly,
so make sure you roll backwards and right asap, before unloading at the tail.
The Green one can slam once and quickly jump up and re-slam, so don't start
attacking until you're sure it's not going to jump again.
That might seem a little unusual, so watch a Naruga gunning video from Unite
if you're after some visual tips. I'll try and make a P3rd Naruga video
shortly.
Tigrex and Black Tigrex
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Thunder (Water on Black) and Normal 2/3
Required Skills: Evade Inc, Normal Up
Recommended Skills: Evade+
Difficulty to gun: Hard
Tigrex was always a pain to gun in previous games, and now it's even worse
with Black Tigrex's addition to the game. If you're a proficient melee user,
I strongly recommend you consider another class. The Tigrexes take limited shot
damage and are fast, and rarely let you get good head shot openings. Of course
it's possible to gun them, but it's more stressful than killing them needs to
be.
Both 'Rexes are weak to their respective elements on their head, as well that
being the primary shot damage point. A second shot weakness point is the back
legs, and that's going to be your main target more often than not, as Tigrex
love to charge around. Since the charge is reasonably fast, you'll need to
get used to firing at the legs without scoping, and just using the analogue
stick
to aim.
Once they become Fatigued, you're much more able to target the head, but they
don't stay tired for long (especially Black Rex). One option is to focus on
using Normal damage during the first phase of the fight and switching to a RF
elemental shot when it starts stumbling around.
If you stay at point blank range to Tigrex, you'll bait it into charging less
and using the spin, bite or rock throw attacks. While these are easily avoided,
they don't offer much more safe head openings. You'll also have to be very
wary of Black Tigrex's new roar moves, since they have a large range and can
OHKO unwary gunners.
Thus, the basic strategy is to stay reasonably close, going for the head when
safe and the back legs otherwise, and being careful.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV Brute Wyverns BRUW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barroth and Ice Barroth
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S (and Water on Barroth) and Normal
Required Skills: Earplug
Recommended Skills: Evade+
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Barroth has an interesting elemental weakness mechanic. When it's covered in
mud, those hitzones are weak to water. once you've 'washed' the mud off the
head, it's then weak to fire. Otherwise, the tail is the raw shot damage
weak spot of choice.
Barroth telegraphs its moves quite far in advance, especially the charge attack.
Quite often it'll charge past you, giving you several free shots at either the
tail or parts of the body still covered in mud. Otherwise, it tends to tail
whip or shake mud at you, which allow you to sit back out of range and blast
it with relative impunity. The major issue to beware of is the rage mode
transition, which makes it significantly faster. It's easy to get caught by
the roar and hit before you're able to recover, which makes Earplugs an
investment for this battle.
Keeping the pressure on normal Barroth is reasonably straightforward, and most
of its attacks seem to be targeted at blademasters, so gunners should typically
find this a reasonably simple fight as long as you're careful not to get your
self charged or muddy.
Both Barroth are poison weak, so if you're going up against the normal one,
the Ludroth gun with Water, Normal and Poison options is a good weapon to
have handy.
Ice Barroth is much more niggly. It's weak to fire all over, and after you've
melted off the snow over its body, Fire S on the head is going to leave it
hurting. But it's much more mobile than its muddy cousin, and can charge very
erratically. The 'ring around the Rosie' charge can be quite devastating, as
can the double head-bash that inflicts snowman. It'll also do a pimp walk at
you without attacking, which can be quite unnerving.
It's got a fair chunk of HP too, so it's a good idea to use the Rathalos LBG
for its Fire S RF. Fire a volley at its side, and then re-position so you're
not in front of it when it turns. You can down it reasonably fast, but you
will need to be careful since one unlucky curve charge and you can be riding
the kitty express back to camp.
Here's a video of Ice Barroth from the demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ1Wffo_St4
Uragaan and Steel Uragaan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Water S and Poison S
Required Skills: Water Element +
Recommended Skills: None
Difficulty to gun: Low
If you remember Black Gravios from previous MH games, you'll be right at home
fighting Uragaan. It shares the same crippling weaknesses to Water and Poison,
and is just as easy for gunners to exploit.
Uragaan takes among the highest poison damage of any creature in the game, so
while status shots are often not worth the time in solo play, they become
important here. Both the Ludroth and Gigginox guns will let you keep Ura
poisoned, and you can actually kill it without raging it once just by keeping
it constantly poisoned.
After you've poisoned it, you're going to want to move to Water shots on the
face (the chin, specifically). While this will send him into rage mode fast,
his attacks aren't too hard to avoid. When he does enter rage mode though he'll
cut his roar short to chin pound twice, so it's best to roll out if at all
possible.
Steel Ura is the same, and seems to spend lots of time doing the tail whip.
While the tail isn't as Water weak, it's still worth shooting as you'll break
parts off for extra rewards.
If you keep switching between Water and poison shots, you'll be able to kill
it quickly at very low risk. As long as you're comfortable side-stepping the
rolling attack you should have no trouble here.
Doboroberuku
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S, Normal 2/3 Or Pierce 2/3
Required Skills: Damage boosting skills
Recommended Skills: None
Difficulty to gun: Low/Moderate
The great moss mountain wyvern Dobo is enormous and has HP for Africa, but
isn't especially hard for gunners besides taking a while. And unusually,
gunners are able to shoot its tail off, as well as breaking the back and horns.
Dobo is weak to Fire, and its shot damage weak point is the tail. That's
helpful, because during most of the fight it'll be trying to hit you with it,
giving you lots of openings for attacks. it'll quite often back up, and look
like it's about to attack your cats or leave the zone, but more often than
not it's actually trying to swipe at you with its massive tail. The best
option is to roll/hop backwards twice and then while out of its range, blast
away.
Its other major attack is the roflcopter tail. You can either simply get out
of range and then fire at it, or dodge the first revolution and get under it
and fire at the legs, aiming for a trip. If you don't trip it and it flings
itself away, you're still able to run up and fire at it for a few seconds
freely.
As long as you always assume it's trying to hit you with its tail, you should
be able to stay safe. You can either Fire S the head, Normal the tail or
Pierce down the tail to preference.
Deviljho
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Thunder S and Normal 2/3 Or Pierce
Required Skills: Damage boosting skills, Evade+/Evade Inc
Recommended Skills: As above
Difficulty to gun: Moderate/Hard
Jho is one of the most charismatic creatures seen in MH for a long time, and
it's also one of the most consistently challenging and fun fights you'll have.
Jho is a giant Tyrannosaur creature, as you've no doubt seen. Uniquely among
MH creatures, his attacks have massive range and speed, but tiny hitboxes.
As long as you stay on the offensive, his attacks will rarely connect. But if
they do, you're in trouble since he hits like a truck.
In normal mode, Thunder/Shot damage on the face is effective, and in rage,
you want to re-aim at his belly when you can, though either hitzone in either
mode can be used.
His rock throw can be dodged by simply rolling to the side, and his multi-
bite attack (which will either be done three or five times) can be walked
under without the need for rolling. It's tricky at first, but try and
recognise the difference in load up between his walking bite and his bite into
tail spin, because you'll want to time the dodge differently. In either case
though, roll under him *between* the legs, not outside his legs, since the
tail can often clip you for small damage.
Take armour seeds if you can, because when he's fatigued his bite attacks
inflict
defence down which can be problematic if you fail an evade.
Jho eats voraciously, and this can really be used to your advantage. Tainted,
drugged and poisoned meats will be consumed with aplomb, and while each is
effective just once (unless you're in multi), it gives you a free chance
to sleep bomb or parahaxx some of his huge HP away (for perspective, in Tri
it had more HP than Alatreon, the last boss).
The two main approaches are Thunder S RF, or Pierce abuse. While both are
effective, you'll always get the full Thunder damage on it if you connect,
whereas Pierce shots can exit his body if you don't hit down his face or tail.
Jho is an intimidating, but fundamentally fun, fight.
Here's my take on gunning Jho:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D95yosa2riw
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
V Leviathans LEvW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Royal Ludroth, Purple Royal Ludroth
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S
Required Skills: None
Recommended Skills: Poison negate is useful for Purple...
Difficulty to gun: Low
As most of you have played the P3rd demo to death, I'm sure you'll all familiar
with Spongey. Ludroth is a quite simple fight, and even a non perfect run
can net you sub 3 minute times with rank appropriate gear.
As long as you're using Fire S on the sponge or Normal 2 on the head, it'll
go down pretty fast. None of its attacks are especially intimidating either,
so as long as you avoid getting jumped on you can even tank it a bit.
Poison Ludroth is essentially the same creature, just with the ability to sap
your HP faster. Antidotes can help with that.
Here's a video from the demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivHYeyFMXsk
Hapurubokka
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Ice S or Pierce 2/3
Required Skills: Evade Inc for HBG
Recommended Skills: N/A
Difficulty to gun: Low/Moderate
Hapu is an unusual fight. Without special tactics it can be a drawn out fight,
but if you know how to fish it up, then you can really dominate them.
Hapu has many attacks that involve it running at you or attacking with its
mouth wide open, like its Jaws style un-burrow or the back and forth waltz
across the desert. If you lay a LBB or LBB+ down and it attacks into them,
it'll end up eating the bombs. If it does this, it'll explode shortly after,
which is your cue to run up to it and press O to fish it up (follow up with
some vigorous button mashing). Once fished out, you're able to fire at its
Uvula (the weak spot, the dangly pink thing at the back of its throat) freely.
You can bomb it like this multiple times.
Otherwise, if it burrows under, sheathe and sprint around. When its sand spout
stops, it's about to surface under you, so superman dive.
It'll frequently sit on the surface of the sand doing little, giving you lots
of openings to blast the head with Ice S. This will break the ears/gills pretty
handily. You also don't have to worry much about the sand flop attack it does.
When it's sucking up sand for its sand beam attack, try and get behind it and
you'll be able to fire at the back of its head.
Otherwise, it's a reasonably placid creature when not attacking, and after a
couple of fights you'll find that for a lot of the fight you can keep firing
away without worrying about retaliation.
Hapu have a fair bit of HP so if you see it limping, it's usually a better
idea to go for a capture unless you particularly like fighting big creatures
in small caves.
Agnaktor and Ice Agnaktor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Water S and Fire S (Ice Agnak) and Normal 3
Required Skills: Evade Inc, Damage boosting skills
Recommended Skills: Damage boosting skills, Blightproof
Difficulty to gun: Moderate/Hard
Agnaktor is a worthy foe, for both gunners and melee. While it's simple enough
to target its weak points, it's got a lot of attacks that can easily hit
players at medium range and it can do a lot of damage with them.
Firstly, your main targets with your respective elemental shots are the head
and chest. If you want Agnaktor Claws, you'll need to break the lava/ice off
all four limbs, but this will suck up a lot of ammo and time. For raw damage,
aim at the face.
When Agnak has been out of the lava for a while, its skin cools down. When it's
like this, water shots are a better option than raw. Conversely, Ice Agnaktor
thaws if it's out of the ice for a while, so you'd start with Fire and move
to Normal if you wanted to maximise your shots.
Always try and stay on the left of Agnak's head (so, your right). At high rank
it'll do a beam that sweeps around, but won't get you if you're close (two
rolls away) on the left.
If it pulls back for a charge, try and resist rolling or running left or right
until the last second. It's quite good at predicting where you'll be, but if
you walk in a straight line backwards or stay still it'll come to where you
are.
When it burrows under, sheathe and keep moving. Always run straight left or
right of where it entered the ground, and if it's in the roof, be ready to
superman dive if you need to. If you get hit when it's in lava mode, you'll
be fireblighted, so roll to put it out. If it's under the ground and you feel
a small quake, it might be about to half emerge and do a 360* beam. Get right
next to it if you can, or right away sheathe and be ready to dive otherwise.
You can flinch it with head shots pretty easily. When it's fatigued, it's far
less threatening too, so if you can prevent it from feeding on Rhenoplos then
do so.
So, the main plan is to be aiming for the head when possible, or the chest
otherwise, especially if the head is moving around a lot.
While I don't recommend this below tactic, it is extremely efficient at farming
Agnaktor. Dragon Shots are clearly more powrful than Capcom intended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g9FOgdUxhI
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI Elder Dragons EDRA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jhen Mohran
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Pierce 2/3, Ice S
Required Skills: Damage skills
Recommended Skills: More Damage Skills
Difficulty to gun: Low
Jhen isn't an ideal creature to gun, since it's a big punching bag that is
more easily exploited with melee. Still, it's not impossible.
When the fight starts, grab the Ballista binder and ballista shots, and Anti
Dragon bombs. Run up the ramp and grab a cannonball from the rear of the ship.
It'll surface soon after on the right of the ship, and you should run to the
cannon and hit O.
Then, jump on the ballista, and start firing. You can break both tusks, but
don't waste shots if you aren't accurate at range with them. When it does a
small belly flop, it's thrown rocks at you, so roll off the ballista right away.
Jump back on and keep firing.
When it gets closer and you've used your ten ballista shots, spam two or three
more cannon balls at it. Then, you should be wary of body slam attacks. If it
pulls back from the boat, you can jump on the ballista and select the yellow
binder, and fire. You'll pull it close and stop its attack.
Jump on the lower leg soon after, and run up to the cracked part of the spine.
Plant two Anti dragon bombs, and then straight away run around the spine to
the other side of the same crack, and start Ice blasting it.
After the spine is cracked, jump back on the boat and keep using the cannon.
Soon, it'll jump over the boat. While it's doing this, grab more ballista
shells from the spear rack (crouch to gather faster). Fire at it on the left
side of the boat, and when it goes under, get three more ballista shells or
heal. It'll surface, coming right at the boat, which is when you want to
hit the gong.
When it approaches the boat and you've used your ballista shells and a couple
of cannons, jump on the tusks and run to the closer spine, and fire at it till
it cracks.
You should soon see it dive and surface far away on the left side of the boat.
When this happens, it'll dive again and then come at the boat from the front.
It'll come up, dive back under, and come up again. As soon as it come up the
second time, activate the ship's dragonator.
All going well, you'll force it to the final showdown. Ballista x 10 from long
range, then run to it and Pierce 3/2 into the mouth from side on. When it gets
close to the boat, dragonate or bind it if you have to.
Keep it up and in no time you should have a dead Jhen!
Alatreon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Normal 3/2 and Clust 2 Or Pierce
Required Skills: Damage skills, Evade Inc, Shot mix
Recommended Skills: Evade+
Difficulty to gun: High
Alatreon is the final boss of MH Tri, and makes its first debut on a Portable
game here. As a final boss, it's much more challenging and interesting than
Fatalis, and you must fight and kill it in a single round.
Firing Pierce down its body is effective, but it's got a host of attacks that
hit in front of it. For this reason, I'm currently recommending Normal shots
instead. I also strongly recommend Silver Sol armour, as Stinger, Normal Up
and space for Evade Inc and AUL is crucial in a fight like this. A gun with
high raw and normal clips is also important, and the Uka or Jin LBGs are good
choices.
The head is the shot damage weak point, but Alatreon doesn't take much shot
damage. While a hammer user can typically kill it in half the time a gunner
will, gunners have the advantage of breaking the wings reasonably simply.
If you do want webbings, for the first part of the fight, let it charge past
you and then Normal 3 at the wing, where it joins the body. Don't forget to
take headshot openings whenever you can though.
You'll get good head shot openings when it fireballs, and when it charges its
horns for the horn flick. You should be getting three head shots even time
it does this. Whenever it's charged past you and turns 180*, it'll always
have its head low to the ground and can be shot then, too.
If you have access to a gun with Clust 2 (at LEAST 2 shells per clip, too) as
well as having a good Normal clip, then it's a good way to go. Aiming at the
neck or wings will allow you to pump out damage (53 Clust 2 worth) and
hopefully rip the wings, which will save you time doing it later. After your
clusts, follow the Normal to the head strategies above. Be very careful to
manage your recoil and reloading, though.
Flight mode is a real pain, and you'll spend a lot of time dodging left or
right away from attacks. Be wary of its air tail whip, it's got deceptively
long range.
This fight can take around half an hour at first, so you'll need 99 Normal 2
and 3, and combines for more. Bringing Normal 1 is also a good idea for your
first few bouts. Felyne Aim (+10% normal S damage) is extremely important to
have active if you possibly can, too.
Amatsu Matsuguchi
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Fire S, Normal 2/3
Required Skills: Fire Element Up, Earplugs OR Pellet Up
Recommended Skills: Evade Inc
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Amatsu is the final urgent quest you'll receive in game. It's an unusual
creature, and for gunners, it's a bit of a floating punching bag. You might
have seen the Japanese team videos of four gunners killing it in 1:43 - while
that sort of time is obviously impossible solo, gunning it is still effective.
Akantor armour is a natural fit for this quest, with Fire Element+ and Earplugs.
Shot Mix and Attack Up are also good armour options. The Rathalos LBG is an
obvious choice for gunning, too. The other option, which will kill it faster,
is to use a Pellet based HBG like the Peco or Uca series guns. While your
mobility is hampered, if you are able to deal with that, you'll find Pellet
a faster method of killing Amatsu.
This fight will largely consist of you avoiding its telegraphed attacks, and
then responding with a Fire S/Pellet volley at its face. You can usually get
one off both before and after it attacks, if it's not in Rage mode. It'll
often tail whip (hits mainly under and just in front) and flail at you (hits
very close), so most of the time you can continue attacking with minimal
position changing. However, be very careful of its rage mode tornado summon
and charges, as they have larger hitboxes than you expect and can put out a
lot of damage.
After your fire shots, you're going to be using Normal 3, predictably. Felyne
Aim is a great skill to have handy. If you've chosen the Pellet route, move
through Pellet 3, then 2, then 1. If you have a long opening, and a Pellet S
seige option, then go for it.
When it's very low on health (around <30% HP) it'll fly up high and do three
water beams. The first one is straight, so run left or right (avoid walls, since
after it hits, the ground erupts a second later). The second is horizontal,
so run forward or back, and then the third is again straight.
When you see it load up for the major tornado tunnel, sheathe and run (not
sprint) away. When it reaches the part of the attack where you do start getting
pulled in, sprint then. As long as you're not under it, you'll be ok.
You can use the Ballista any time, and they do acceptable damage. After its
attacks, Amatsu's wind shield drops for a second, and that's when you should
use the orange binders. The first one you use will hold it in place for about
20 seconds; 10 seconds for the second and about two for each one after that.
When it's at around 50-60% HP, the area will turn a dark purple red colour.
That's basically it. Keep up the pressure, and be careful not to underestimate
its rage mode, and you'll be fine.
If you have access to Alatreon and Uca, then you can effectively use Dragon
shots
instead of Fire with the below method. It's about 30% faster than using Fire,
but obviously requires slightly better gear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuXEjDqjUIA
Akantor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Ammunition: Pierce 2/3
Required Skills: Pierce Up, Evade Inc
Recommended Skills: Shot mix, damage skills as appropriate.
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Akantor is like a huge version of Black Tigrex, but much slower. It does lumber
about, but it's got some deadly attacks and the environment you'll be in
is going to be fighting you too.
Piercing a creature down the head would otherwise be a dangerous strategy,
but Akantor is slow enough that you can get away with. Take opportune shots
as they present themselves, and then wait to see what it does. Obviously, if
it charges, you'll want to get out of the way by rolling under its left (your
right) arm as it raises it to charge.
If it's doing a wind tunnel, then get out fast. It's got a wide hitbox on it.
Now, Akantor can dig across the map to its starting position, and actually
do a wind tunnel across about 40*. Deadly if you're not expecting it, but
superman diving or standing beside it will keep you safe.
Tail whips, once you've rolled out of range, are a good chance to attack. Be
aware it'll sometimes do two in a row.
When it steps forward with both arms and lowers its head, it's about to pull
some lava up on you. Rolling back a couple of times gets you out of harms'
way, and means you're in prime position to retaliate with some Pierce at its
head.
Naruga S gemmed for Pierce up or any Pierce set (like Uragaan S) gemmed for
Evade Inc will do nicely here, and the Naruga or Barioth guns are both good
options.
Ukanlos
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Recommended Ammunition: Fire and Thunder S
Required Skills: Fire Element +, Evade Inc for HBG
Recommended Skills: Damage skills, Shot Mix, EAU
Difficulty to gun: Moderate
Uka is an enormous ice version of Akantor, but while it may look similar, you
should approach it quite differently. Fire S on the back legs will be your
major source of damage, and it'll trip it over often giving you free hits.
Thunder S on the back legs is your secondary shot, and Normal after that.
Because you're going for the back legs, you'll want to be point blank most of
the time, and you can actually stay under it reasonably safely as long as you
can keep an eye out for body slams. Be very careful of its new 180* shovel
chin attack though, it can get you if you're too far around to the side.
Uka's dig attack is much easier to avoid now that it doesn't instantly re-
surface. If you're attacking the legs and it goes under, sheathe and watch
where the ice cloud is, and run perpendicular to it. Be careful when approaching
it after surfacing through as it'll usually do the 180* shovel.
If it rears up on two legs and it's not roaring (for which you should roll
away) then it'll be doing an ice beam. If you're using LBG, sheathe, run away
and superman dive if need be. HBG users or LBG users caught under it should
try to roll under the tail.
Because you'll be by its back legs, most of its other attacks will miss. Try
And target the back right leg, so that when it tail whips you're not in range.
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Credits, Contact & Copyright Info
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This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances without permission,
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*GameFAQs
If you want to quote from this guide, just ask me. As long as you note the
source I'm pretty happy to let people use it.
It goes without saying that using this guide without my express permission
is a violation of Copyright law, including but not limited to the Brussels
Convention.
I am happy to take questions by email, too. My email address is in the
introduction section as well, but it's
[email protected]. Please check to
make sure though that your question isn't already answered in the guide itself.
Lastly, credit where it’s due.
To my brothers Vash_TS and Knives; you guys have made me the hunter I am
today. Mad love to you both.
You, the reader, for bothering to get this far.
All trademarks are © Capcom. All analysis © mazereon, 2010-11.
