Monster Hunter Rise has a wide array of weapons to choose from. The difficulty level of each weapon class differs greatly. Gear such as the Twin Blades, or the Greatswords is considered rather easy, while Insect Glaives and Hunting Horns are considered more challenging. But did you know that within each class of weapons, a few stand out as harder than the rest of their counterparts?
There are Bowguns whose primary use is healing, Hunting Horns that serve a primary function of overcoming damage caps, and Bows whose main purpose is to inflict status effects. This guide will teach you all about some of the lesser-known weapons of Monster Hunter Rise, and how best to utilize them on a hunt. These weapons are considered extreme in skill level, so it is highly recommended that you train with other weapons in the same class before taking these on.
Great Lotus Bowgun
The Great Lotus Bowgun is a Light Bowgun crafted along the Tobi-Kadachi tree. This projectile weapon can be turned into a mobile healing station, on top of being a great DPS option. The Great Lotus Bowgun has access to a special type of ammo called Recover I Ammo. These slow-moving projectiles can be shot at allies to heal them for approximately the same health as a Herb. These rounds can be crafted into Recover II Ammo by combining them with Catalysts. The improved rounds will heal as much as a Potion per shot, and they have a small healing aura, so you don't have to hit an ally directly.
The difficulty associated with this weapon is twofold. The first comes in the form that for the majority of the battle, you may have to sacrifice damage to the monster to save comrades. This can lead to long battles, and thus, increased chances of being carted. Another dangerous aspect of Recover Ammo is that it affects every individual that is hit with it. This includes the monster the team is targeting. The amount of health restored by a potion is small in comparison to any monster's health pool, but it can add up over the course of the hunt if too many shots go astray.
Reddnaught Ritmico
Hunting Horns are often considered a difficult weapon to use in the Monster Hunter community. They are large, cumbersome, and melodies have to be constantly queued for emergency use. Monster Hunter Rise buffed Hunting Horns significantly and made their Melodies much easier to play. This is great news for the community at large, but previous Hunting Horn mains may find the rework to be lackluster.
To add some difficulty to this weapon try using the Reddnaught Ritmico. Fittingly, this Hunting Horn can only be obtained after beating one of the hardest monsters in the game, Crimson Glow Valstrax. This Horn's only purpose on the hunt is to ensure that you and your party do the most damage possible. This weapon has only two Melodies, and both significantly increase the damage to the user and the party. To properly wield this weapon, you have to be willing to jump into the fray along with your party, as well as keep damage buffs up. To add an extra layer of complexity to this weapon, it has incredibly low durability. It is one of the only weapons in the game that goes directly from White sharpness to Red.
Arachnid Silverstring
Coatings are what make Bows show their true colors. In the case of the Arachnid Silverstring, coatings are key to completing hunts. This Bow has access to Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, and Power Coatings. All of these Coatings have limited uses, with Power having 50 uses and the status coating only having 20. This means that you may be able to keep Power Coating on through a hunt, but you will run out of status inflicting ones quickly.
This Bow is the definition of a support weapon, and lots of planning and team communication have to be used to wield it effectively. Not only are status Coatings limited, each time a monster is inflicted with Sleep, Paralysis, or Poison, they gain resistance to it for the rest of the fight. Typically, monsters that are weak to a specific ailment can only be inflicted with it two or three times per hunt. This means that the user of this bow has to keep Poison inflicted for damage over time, and tactically decide when a monster needs to be immobilized for the good of the team. Make sure to craft some armor that has plenty of Inflict Rate Up skills to maximize the potential of this weapon.
Tigerclaw Glaive
The Tigerclaw Glaive is an Insect Glaive that relies on the rest of the hunting party to be viable. Insect Glaives are usually centered around Affinity, and being able to attack quickly while remaining mobile to avoid damage. Essentially, this weapon type embodies the "move like a butterfly, sting like a bee" fighting style. This Glaive, on the other hand, has very low Affinity to compensate for its incredibly high base damage.
This weapon is rather sluggish for the class, and so it has to rely on an appropriate hunting party to make it shine, making it even harder than its counterparts. Other party members need to carry support weapons that raise Attack and Affinity. These weapons can include Hunting Horns, Bows, or Bowguns. More than likely at least half of your team will be support class hunters to keep buffs going and health high. In other words, the wielder of this Glaive will be dealing most of the damage and pulling the monster away from all the support hunters.
Fading Night
Gunlances are notoriously cumbersome, and not meant for inexperienced hunters. They impede the wielder's movement and force the player to engage in an up close and personal hunting style. This means that Gunlance players will often act as the tank of the hunting party, and have to have fast reflexes to raise their shield in time. Fading Night is a Gunlance made from Nargacuga parts. As with all other Nargacuga weapons, this means that this Gunlance has a high critical hit ratio.
It also features a long-style shelling attack. This means that explosive rounds can be shot at monsters from a longer range than other lances. Gunlances are difficult to get used to, as their playstyles are high risk and get the attention of monsters quite often. The relatively low damage of this Gunlance is somewhat offset by the high critical hit chance, but that does not mean this is an easy weapon to master. In order to use this weapon effectively, a player has to master evasive maneuvers and have a strong armor build that is capable of taking punishment.