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In Monster Hunter World, the Insect Glaive stands as one of the oddest weapons, proving that you can weaponize anything in the game, even insects. Especially insects. Paired with a glaive, you have the most acrobatic and flashiest weapon in the game. Of course, you can’t just be all style and no substance. You can add more ‘function’ to that ‘form’ using our best Insect Glaive build guide for Monster Hunter World.
Iceborne Insect Glaive Build (Best Overall)
This is it, the Fatalis build. You can carve out such an overpowered set of armor and weapons using the innards of that Elder Dragon, and you wouldn’t need any other equipment. That’s assuming you have the Iceborne expansion.
You will need to kill Fatalis over and over again for this, but hey, you wanted the best. Additionally, you’re going to want a lot of rare Decorations, meaning it might take you a while to get to this point depending on how long you’ve played.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| True Fatalis Dyaus | -Challenger Jewel+ 4 -Expert Jewel+ 4 |
| Rimeguard Y+ | -Critical/Protection Jewel 4 -Critical/Protection Jewel 4 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Dragonhide B+ | -Attack Jewel+ 4 -Attack Jewel+ 4 -Attack Jewel+ 4 |
| Dragonclaws A+ | -Flight/Attack Jewel 4 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Dragonbarbs A+ | -Dragon Jewel+ 4 -Critical Jewel 2 -Shaver Jewel 3 |
| Dragonfeet B+ | -Flawless/Protection Jewel 4 -Flawless/Protection Jewel 4 -Flawless/Protection Jewel 4 |
| Challenger Charm V |
Mantles are up to you again, as they’re mostly situational. As for the Kinsects, Vezirstag is at the top for DPS, and just switch the Elements depending on the monster you’re hunting. Simply maintain the red Kinsect charge for an additional damage boost.
Base Game Insect Glaive Build
If you don’t have Iceborne or are just starting out in Iceborne, you can consider this as the best Insect Glaive build for the base Monster Hunter World game. It won’t wow you, and you might even struggle with the first few Master Rank monsters in Hoarfrost Reach, but it’s a good starting point.
Sure enough, it’s the top equipment you can have if you don’t have the Iceborne expansion, though you will be missing out on a lot of optimal Decorations and fun content.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| Defender Glaive V | |
| Drachen Armet A | -Flawless Jewel 2 -Attack Jewel 1 |
| Empress Mail B | -Expert Jewel 1 -Expert Jewel 1 -Expert Jewel 1 |
| Drachen Vambraces A | -Challenger Jewel 2 -Challenger Jewel 2 |
| Drachen Coil A | -Tenderizer Jewel 2 |
| Drachen Greaves A | -Critical Jewel 2 |
| Exploiter Charm III |
This set is actually a general melee set, and you can switch out the weapon. It would still work. You will need to fervently farm the Behemoth event hunter if you want the full suit.
The same idea applies to the Kinsect; pick the one that gives you the most damage boost and keep it in the red charge.
Best Budget Iceborne Insect Glaive Build
Once you’ve reached the story mode or main quest for the Iceborne expansion, you’ll soon realize that the base game’s best Insect Glaive build can fall off fast. That means you need to work on replacing it right away. This is what we recommend until you can get your hands on a Royal March Banner Insect Glaive.
| Gear (Weapon/Armor/Charm) | Decorations |
| Kadachi Vipertail II | |
| Kaiser Crown B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel 4 |
| Astral Cloth A+ | -Vitality Jewel 1 |
| Kaiser Vambraces B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel 4 |
| Kaiser Coil B+ | -Expert Jewel+ 4 -Fortitude Jewel 1 -Attack Jewel 1 |
| Clockwork Greaves B+ | -Crisis/Expert Jewel 4 |
| Exploiter Charm II |
It’s quite a pain to farm Viper Tobi-Kadachi, but consider it as some kind of training for tougher hunts ahead.
The end goal is still a Fatalis set, no doubt. But this combination offers higher damage, protection, and utility compared to the aging base game set. Just replace the weapon if you find something with more damage. The armor can stay and will last you until you can forge the Fatalis set.
