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One of the most off-beat ways to play Monster Hunter World is throwing subtlety out of the window and bringing a primitive version of the machine gun emplacement to a monster hunt. That’s the gist of the Heavy Bowgun playstyle. You just shred monsters with the biggest gun you have. If you do want to be competent with that shredding, you might want to follow our recommendations for the best MHW Heavy Bowgun build list.
Iceborne Heavy Bowgun Build (Best Overall)
As always, you’ll want the Fatalis set as your end goal, along with some rather expensive and rare Jewels that will also take you dozens of hours of grinding. However, it’s ultimately worth it just to see how high or how cheesy you can go.
For raw damage using mostly the Spread 3 ammo, this is the build below.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| Vor Buster | -Expert Jewel+ 4 -Expert Jewel+ 4 |
| Rimeguard Y+ | -Release/Protection Jewel 4 -Attack Jewel+ 4 -Attack Jewel 1 |
| Dragonhide B+ | -Challenger Jewel+ 4 -Critical/Protection Jewel+ 4 -Attack Jewel+ 4 |
| Dragonclaws B+ | -Release/ProtectionJewel 4 -Release/ProtectionJewel 4 |
| Dragonbarbs A+ | -Attack Jewel+ 4 -Spread Jewel 3 -Spread Jewel 3 |
| Dragonfeet B+ | -Critical/Evasion Jewel+ 4 -Critical/Protection Jewel 4 |
| Challenger Charm V |
By using Spread 3, you usually don’t have to worry about your accuracy too much, though you will also need to be close to your target at times, especially if you want all seven projectiles to hit. So, to reiterate, this has a close-range playstyle despite being a Heavy Bowgun build.
Sadly, there’s no other way around that if you want the best damage for a Heavy Bowgun. There’s also a Safi’s Burstcannon version for the build where you just swap out the weapon and a few Jewels — it also uses Spread 3 as ammunition, but the Fatalis Vor Buster has higher damage.
Budget Iceborne Heavy Bowgun Build
Let’s not kid ourselves; both Fatalis and Safi’Jiiva can be a pain to farm, and some players don’t have the luxury of playing co-op. Even now, some players can’t solo Fatalis, which is understandable. If that’s the case, your best bet while moving up the Master Rank ladder is this set.
You’ll be hunting Viper Tobi-Kadachi again and again, along with some Azure Rathalos in Master Rank. However, they’re a lot easier to fight than the endgame monsters. In any case, you can technically finish the game using this set, proving Viper Tobi-Kadachi’s usefulness. This set uses the Pierce 3 ammo.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| Crimson Kadachi Lion II | -Vitality Jewel 1 |
| Hornetaur Helm B+ | -Expert Jewel 4 |
| Rath Soul Mail B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel+ 4 -Vitality Jewel 1 |
| Artian Vambraces B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel+ 4 |
| Rath Soul Coil A+ | -Vitality Jewel 1 |
| Rath Soul Greaves B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel+ 4 |
| Exploiter Charm II |
Pierce 3 ammo means you can stay at a safer distance away from the monster, though not too far, as it has a diminishing effectiveness. You’ll also need to be tactical with its usage since it can pierce monster parts, and you should ensure you’re hitting the monster in a straight line to get the most out of this ammo.
Base Game Heavy Bowgun Build
Before Fatalis came along and shook up Iceborne‘s Heavy Bowgun meta back to the Spread ammo, there was the Glutton. Or, more specifically, the Taroth Assault Slutton, which uses Spread 3.
It’s by far the most powerful and arguably most effortless build in the base Monster Hunter World. If you didn’t buy Iceborne, this is the MHW Heavy Bowgun build you want. As we stated, it also uses Spread 3 ammo.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| Taroth Assault “Glutton” | |
| Kulve Taroth’s Fury A | -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Drachen Mail A | -Spread Jewel 3 |
| Xeno’jiiva Claws Y | -Tenderizer Jewel 2 -Tenderizer Jewel 2 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Xeno’jiiva Spine Y | -Spread Jewel 3 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Xeno’jiiva Spurs Y Y | -Tenderizer Jewel 2 -Expert Jewel 1 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Awakening Charm II |
The playstyle is also the same as any other Bowgun with Spread 3 ammo; use it like a shotgun. You’ll still have to dodge and evade accordingly, of course, since being that close to the monster is dangerous.
Of course, to get this build, you’ll have to subject yourself to the rather unforgiving Kulve Taroth gold roulette. Thankfully, we have a guide for the Kulve Taroth siege to make it easy for you.
