Monster Hunter Now Bow guide

No matter what game has them, Bows are always such awesome weapons to wield. Monster Hunter Now only features a few ranged weapons, and the iconic Bow is one of them. If you prefer to deftly rain death upon monsters, the Bow is a good choice. However, using the Bow isn’t as simple as drawing and shooting—there’s a lot more nuance to it, and we’ll explain everything you need to know in our Monster Hunter Now Bow guide.

Guide to using the Bow in Monster Hunter Now

The Bow is one of the two ranged weapons in Monster Hunter Now. Ranged weapons are especially powerful in Monster Hunter Now, since you can evade monster attacks fairly easily by keeping your distance. You can shower your foes with arrows from afar using a variety of attacks that we’ll explain here.

Related | Monster Hunter Now Sword & Shield guide

Bow basic shots

You can tap quickly to fire off a single arrow, then tap again to fire a volley of three shots. As you can probably guess, this move doesn’t deal a lot of damage, but it comes out very fast and the animation doesn’t last that long. It’s a useful move for getting in some quick damage right before the monster attacks.

Keep in mind that your range is not infinite—while you don’t have to be right up in the monster’s face to be effective, you cannot be all the way at the border of the arena either. An “Out of Range” sign appears on your screen if you’re too far away from your target, so be brave and get closer!

Bow charge shots

The Bow’s main attack are its charge shots. To charge a shot, simply long press until you see your Bow flash, then let go, or continue pressing to keep charging. All Bows in Monster Hunter Now come with four charge levels, with your basic shot being the level 1 charge.

Every time your Bow flashes, you’ve hit the next charge level. You can also watch the reticle in the center of the screen—when it completely closes in on the inner reticle, that signifies a completed charge.

Each Bow has its own unique set of charge shots, and there are three different types. Here are all possible charge types:

• Rapid: Fires multiple arrows.
• Pierce: Fires a piercing arrow that penetrates through monsters.
• Spread: Fires a horizontal volley of arrows in a wide arc.

No charge type is inherently better than the others, as they’re all effective at dealing with different types of monsters. Rapid is good if you can consistently target a monster’s weak points, whereas Pierce works wonders on larger monsters. Spread is great if you’re constantly finding yourself close to the monster.

Bow coating types

Some Bows come with special coating for their arrows, which allows them to inflict status ailments. As of now, there is only one coating type in the game, and that is Poison Coating. Bows with this coating can poison monsters with enough shots.

Bow Special Skill: Dragon Piercer

Dragon Piercer is a heavy-duty arrow that can penetrate even the toughest hides, acting as a souped-up version of the Pierce charge shot. Your Hunter loads the Dragon Piercer, draws back momentarily, and then lets it go.

The Dragon Piercer deals constant damage as it travels through the monster, so it’s especially effective against larger monsters. Try to aim the Dragon Piercer so that the arrow has maximum contact time.

Recommended Bow skills

Here are some of the best armor skills you can use with the Bow. Note that we won’t list the universally good options, like Attack Boost, Health Boost, and so forth.

• Focus: Reduces the charge time for charged shots, allowing you to attack the monster more frequently.
• Poison Attack: Since Bows can only have Poison Coating right now, this can help you inflict poison faster.

That’s all you need to know to get a good grasp on the Bow. Stay within medium range, and use the right charge shot for the job to take down your targets quickly.