Best Bow Builds In Monster Hunter World

Setting up the best Bow build for any situation in Monster Hunter World Iceborne can be a headache. Similar to Dual Blade, the long-range weapon relies heavily on each monster’s weak spots/hitzones and their Elemental weaknesses. Not to mention that you also have to apply Coating often to amplify your damages. Making building Bow sets somewhat complicated as well as a time and Zenny-consuming endeavor. Nevertheless, we’re here to help and will present you with the best templates for Bow builds in each Hunter Rank.

Monster Hunter World: Base Game Bow Builds

Low Rank

Slot	Set 1	Set 2
Bow	Any	Any
Head	Rathian – Health Boost 1	Rathian – Health Boost 1
Chest	Butterfly – Health Boost 1	Butterfly – Health Boost 1
Arms	Ingot – Health Boost 1	Ingot – Health Boost 1
Waist	Jagras – Fortify 1	Paolumu – Divine Blessing 1
Legs	Ingot – Defense Boost 1	Gala Suit – Divine Blessing 1
Charm	Defense Charm – Defense Boost 1	Defense Charm – Defense Boost 1

For Low Rank, the best Bow build you can make in Monster Hunter World is by maximizing your defenses or survivability. Just use this period as the tutorial; learn your weapon’s as well as monsters’ movesets and weaknesses to prepare you for High Rank.

Fortify is extremely useful if you end up being killed/carting often since it boosts your Attack and Defense every time you fall. Other than that, grab the Bow with the highest damage and upgrade your armor to its highest defense.

High Rank

Slot	Dragon Piercer Set	Power Shot Set	Stamina Set
Bow	– Tobi-Kadachi – Diablos – Any Elemental Bow	– Tobi-Kadachi – Diablos – Any Elemental Bow	– Tobi-Kadachi – Any Elemental Bow
Head	Azure Rathalos β – Critical Boost 1	Azure Rathalos β – Critical Boost 1	Tobi-Kadachi α – Constitution 2
Chest	Rathalos β – Weakness Exploit 2	Rathalos β – Weakness Exploit 2	Rathalos β – Weakness Exploit 2
Arms	Anjanath β – Special Ammo Boost 1	Teostra β – Weakness Exploit 1	Odogaron α – Constitution 1 – Critical Eye 1
Waist	Azure Rathalos α – Windproof 2 – Piercing Shots 1	Odogaron β – Critical Eye 2	Leather Belt α – Stamina Surge 1 Nergigante α – Attack Boost 2 – Stamina Surge 1
Legs	Rathalos Alpha α – Jump Master 1 – Weakness Exploit 1	Lavasioth β – Spread/Powershot 1	Rathalos Alpha α – Jump Master 1 – Weakness Exploit 1
Charm	Special Shot Charm – Special Ammo 1 Blessing Charm – Divine Blessing 1	Fitness Charm – Constitution 1 Blessing Charm – Divine Blessing 1	Fitness Charm – Constitution 1

Once you’re in High Rank, exploiting monsters’ elemental weaknesses and weak spots becomes crucial with Bow. Tobi-Kadachi tree is considered to be the best all-rounder Elemental Bow since a lot of monsters are weak against Thunder. For raw damage, you can use Diablos tree but you need to alleviate its minus Affinity with Critical Eye.

Basically, you want to maximize Critical Boost and Weakness Exploit for the critical bonus from Affinity. Then slot in Bow Charge Plus or Special Ammo if you use Dragon Piercer and/or Thousand Dragons often. The bonus Rathalos Mastery from 4 or 2-piece Raths is extremely useful for the Critical Element, which buffs your Element damage. The Stamina Set base can be used in case you want something comfier, along with Health Boost, Divine Blessing, and Evade Extender.

Monster Hunter World Bow Build for High Rank Post-Kulve Taroth/Behemoth/Arch-Tempered

Slot	Fire Set	Water Set	Ice Set	Thunder Set	Dragon Set
Bow	Kjarr Bow “King”	Kjarr Bow “Water”	Kjarr Bow “Stream”	Kjarr Bow “Spark”	Kjarr Bow “Decay”
Head	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Kushala β – Ice Attack 2	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2
Chest	Nergigante α – Stamina Surge 2 – Agitator 1	Nergigante α – Stamina Surge 2 – Agitator 1	Nergigante β – Weakness Exploit 2	Nergigante α – Stamina Surge 2 – Agitator 1	Nergigante β – Weakness Exploit 2
Arms	Drachen α – Critical Eye 2 – Attack Boost 1	Drachen α – Critical Eye 2 – Attack Boost 1	Drachen α – Critical Eye 2 – Attack Boost 1	Drachen α – Critical Eye 2 – Attack Boost 1	Vaal Hazak γ – Dragon Attack 3
Waist	Zorah γ – Bombardier 2 – Critical Eye 1	Zorah γ – Bombardier 2 – Critical Eye 1	Zorah γ – Bombardier 2 – Critical Eye 1	Zorah γ – Bombardier 2 – Critical Eye 1	Xeno’Jiiva γ – Critical Boost 1
Legs	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Zorah γ – Blast Attack 2 – Critical Eye	Teostra γ – Critical Eye 2	Xeno’Jiiva γ – Critical Boost 1
Charm	Blaze Charm III – Fire Attack 3	Flood Charm III – Water Attack 3	Frost Charm III – Ice Attack 3	Shock Charm III – Thunder Attack 3	Master’s Charm III – Critical Eye 3

If you’ve farmed Kulve Taroth, it’s time to focus on monsters’ Elemental weaknesses. With Kulve Taroth’s Kjarr Bows, you can finally ditch Rath pieces for Critical Element. With Decorations, you’ll want to maximize:

• Critical Eye.
• Each Element Attack (Fire, Water, etc), depending on your Bow and set.
• Slot in Spread/Power Shots, Bow Charge Plus, and/or Normal Shot.

Don’t forget to bring Dash Juice and eat for Felyne Black Belt for the Stamina bonus.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Expansion Bow Builds

Early Master Rank

Slot	Kulve Set	Standard Set
Bow	– All Kjarr Bows	– All Elemental Bows
Head	Hornetaur β+ – Weakness Exploit 1 – Dragon Attack 1	Azure Rathalos β – Critical Boost 1
Chest	Kulu-Ya-Ku α+ – Stamina Surge 1 – Critical Eye 2	Rathalos β – Weakness Exploit 2
Arms	Drachen α – Critical Eye 2 – Attack Boost 1	Kulu-Ya-Ku α+ – Critical Boost 1 – Pro Transporter 1 Jagras α+ – Evade Extender 2 – Recovery Up 1
Waist	Hornetaur β+ – Weakness Exploit 1	Hornetaur β+ – Weakness Exploit 1
Legs	Barroth β+ – Stun Resistance 2	Barroth β+ – Stun Resistance 2
Charm	Fitness Charm III – Constitution 3	Fitness Charm III – Constitution 3

In case you have Kjarr Bows, they can still be used comfortably until MR★3 or so. You just need to change your armor for the much higher defense stats as well as their Decoration slots. For the Arms slot, personally, I like using the Great Jagras piece for the Evade Extender.

Monster Hunter World Iceborne Bow Build for Mid-Late Master Rank Pre-Safi’Jiiva/Kulve Taroth

Slot	Kulve Set	Standard Set	Velkhana Set	Namielle Set
Bow	All Kjarr Bows	– Coral Pukei-Pukei – Glavenus – Legiana/Shrieking Legiana – Tobi-Kadachi	– Coral Pukei-Pukei – Glavenus – Legiana/Shrieking Legiana – Tobi-Kadachi	– Coral Pukei-Pukei – Glavenus – Legiana/Shrieking Legiana – Tobi-Kadachi
Head	Fulgur Anjanath β+ – Weakness Exploit 1	Azure Rathalos β – Critical Boost 1	Velkhana α+ – Divine Blessing 2 – Coalescence 1	Velkhana α+ – Divine Blessing 2 – Coalescence 1
Chest	Rathalos β+ – Weakness Exploit 2	Rathalos β – Weakness Exploit 2	Velkhana β+ – Quick Sheathe 2	Velkhana β+ – Quick Sheathe 2
Arms	Odogaron α+ – Constitution 2 – Critical Eye 1	Odogaron α+ – Constitution 2 – Critical Eye 1	Odogaron α+ – Constitution 2 – Critical Eye 1	Teostra β+ – Weakness Exploit 1
Waist	Odogaron β+ – Critical Eye 2	Odogaron β+ – Critical Eye 2	Odogaron β+ – Critical Eye 2	Namielle α+ – Constitution 2 – Stamina Surge 1
Legs	Barroth β+ – Stun Resistance 2	Barroth β+ – Stun Resistance 2	Barroth β+ – Stun Resistance 2 Yian Garuga β+ – Critical Eye 2	Namielle β+ – Stamina Surge 2
Charm	[Element Attack] Charm III – [Element Attack] 3	[Element Attack] Charm III – [Element Attack] 3	[Element Attack] Charm III – [Element Attack] 3	[Element Attack] Charm III – [Element Attack] 3

Once you reach MR★4 at around MR 13, you can start ditching your High Rank set pieces and Kjarr Bows. The best crafting Element Bows are Glavenus and Legiana trees but if you need Water and Thunder, Coral Pukei and Kadachi are adequate enough. As usual, you’ll want to maximize or add these skills with Decorations:

• Critical Eye.
• Weakness Exploit.
• Spread/Power Shots.
• Bow Charge Plus.
• Normal Shot.

When you can start farming Velkhana and other Elder Dragons, you can replace the head and chest pieces. The Namielle + Velkhana set can be somewhat comfy with high Stamina Surge levels, but the damage is somewhat lackluster. Considering you won’t have access to Elemental Charm V until later in the expansion.

Pre-Safi’Jiiva/MR Kulve Taroth/Alatreon

Slot	Fire Set	Water Set	Ice Set	Thunder Set	Dragon Set
Bow	Glavenus	– Guild Palace – Coral Pukei-Pukei	Barioth/Frostfang Barioth	Furious Rajang	Blackveil Vaal Hazak
Head	Silver Rathalos α+ – Fire Attack 2 – Windproof 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Windproof 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Windproof 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Windproof 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Windproof 2
Chest	Silver Rathalos α+ – Critical Boost 2 – Fire Attack 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 2
Arms	Furious Rajang β+ – Stamina Surge 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Slinger Capacity 3	Furious Rajang β+ – Stamina Surge 2	Kirin β+ – Thunder Attack 3	Furious Rajang β+ – Stamina Surge 2
Waist	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1
Legs	Silver Rathalos α+ – Fire Attack 2 – Slinger Capacity 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Slinger Capacity 2 Raging Brachydios β+ – Weakness Exploit 2 Yian Garuga β+ – Critical Eye 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Slinger Capacity 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Slinger Capacity 2 Raging Brachydios β+ – Weakness Exploit 2 Yian Garuga β+ – Critical Eye 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Slinger Capacity 2
Charm	Master’s Charm IV – Critical Eye 4	Flood Charm V – Water Attack 5	Master’s Charm IV – Critical Eye 4 Frost Charm V – Ice Attack 5	Master’s Charm IV – Critical Eye 4	Wyrmsbane Charm V – Dragon Attack 5

This set can be skipped if you don’t have trouble farming Safi’Jiiva, MR Kulve, and Alatreon. But if you want to take things slow, then let’s break them down quickly.

The 4-piece Silver Rathalos is needed for the True Critical Element and Slinger Secret bonus. Slinger Capacity and the Secret are useful to bump up your Thousand Dragons damage, which is more effective than Dragon Piercer. Just like before, consider these Skills to buff your attacks as well:

• Critical Eye.
• Weakness Exploit.
• Each Element Attack (Fire, Water, etc), depending on your Bow and set.
• Health Boost.
• Spread/Power Shots.
• Bow Charge Plus.
• Normal Shot.

Monster Hunter World Iceborne Bow Build for Post-Safi’Jiiva/MR Kulve Taroth/Alatreon

Slot	Alatreon Set	Safi Set	Dragon Set	Raw Blast Set
Bow	– Kjarr Bow – Safi Hellbow (Fire) – Safi Boltbow (Thunder)	– Kjarr Bow – Safi Hellbow (Fire) – Safi Boltbow (Thunder)	Alatreon	– Safi Shatterbow (Blast) – Raging Brachydios
Head	Alatreon α+ – Resentment 3 Critical Eye 2	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Evade Window 1 – Critical Boost 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Windproof 2	Silver Rathalos α+ – Fire Attack 2 – Windproof 2
Chest	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Blight Resistance 1 – Critical Boost 1	Safi’Jiiva α+ – Blight Resistance 2 – Critical Boost 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 2	Silver Rathalos α+ – Critical Boost 2 – Fire Attack 2
Arms	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Blight Resistance 1	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Blight Resistance 1	Furious Rajang β+ – Stamina Surge 2	Furious Rajang β+ – Stamina Surge 2
Waist	Alatreon α+ – Attack Boost 4 – Dragon Resistance 3	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Evade Window 2	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1	Silver Rathalos β+ – Critical Boost 1 – Windproof 1
Legs	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Critical Boost 1	Safi’Jiiva β+ – Critical Boost 1	Alatreon α+ – Defense Boost 3 – Dragon Attack 4	Silver Rathalos α+ – Fire Attack 2 – Slinger Capacity 2
Charm	Fury Charm V – Resentment 5 [Element] Charm V – [Element] Attack 5	Fury Charm V – Resentment 5 [Element] Charm V – [Element] Attack 5	Master’s Charm V – Critical Eye 5	Challenger Charm V – Agitator 5

These last postgame Monster Hunter World Iceborne Bow builds are the best ones to fully realize your Elemental attacks. For the Safi Bows, you want to fill the Awakening slots with Element VI and V buffs to maximize your damages. The Raw Blast set can be used when your target has low Elemental hitzones and if it’s more effective to damage them through raw damages. Below are the Armor Skills that you should consider when using these postgame sets:

• Critical Eye.
• Weakness Exploit.
• Each Element Attack (Fire, Water, etc), depending on your Bow and set.
• Resentment can be used as an Element Attack alternative since you’ll have lots of red health with the Safi set.
• Health Boost.
• Spread/Power Shots.
• Bow Charge Plus.
• Normal Shot.
• Stamina Surge Level 3.
• Divine Blessing Level 1.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.