Heavy Bowgun Builds and Best Equipment | Monster Hunter Rise | MHR (MH Rise)

This is a guide to the best builds and equipment for Heavy Bowgun in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise) for the Nintendo Switch. Learn about the best Heavy Bowgun, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Heavy Bowgun for Low Rank, High Rank, and endgame.

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This is a developing guide for Best Heavy Bowgun Builds & Equipment. If you have any suggestions or additional information, please comment them below!

High Rank Build: Post-Game (Hub Quest 7★ Cleared)

Best Heavy Bowgun

Fulgent Shot III Takes the Piercer's Top Spot!

Fulgent Shot II
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			6	180	40	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		②①①
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Pierce Effect I Silkbind Boost
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	Some	Above Avg.	None		Wyvernsnipe	Arc Shot

Rakna-Kadaki's Fulgent Shot II offers an insane 40% affinity rating and surprisingly manageable recoil and reload speeds for all of its Pierce Ammo.

This Heavy Bowgun also has Slicing Ammo, allowing you to sever tails!

Best Armor

Pierce Build

This build utilizes Weakness Exploit, Attack Boost, and Pierce Up to bolster our recommended bowgun's Pierce Ammo damage. With Rakna-Kadaki's Fulgent Shot II, you can hit enemy weakspots for 90% affinity and 100% when Latent Power is active.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Rhenoplos Helm S	42	Pierce Up Lv. 2 Stun Resistance Lv. 1
Torso	Shell-Studded Vest S	52	Normal/Rapid Up Lv. 1 Pierce Up Lv. 1
Arms	Rathalos Braces S	62	Attack Boost Lv. 2
Waist	Skalda Elytra S / Spio Elytra S	32	Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Legs	Golden Hakama	70	Latent Power Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 2
Talisman Skill		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 + 1 Lv. 2 jewel slot or more
Decorations		Attack Jewel 2 x3 Absorber Jewel 1 x3 Quickload Jewel 1 x3

High Rank Build: Endgame (Hub Quest 6★ to 7★)

Best Heavy Bowgun

Baleful Night Straight to the End

Baleful Night
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			6	190	30	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		②ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost II Master Rider
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	Some	Above Avg.	None		Wyvernsnipe	Arc Shot

Nargacuga's Baleful Night offers great stats and good magazine sizes for its ammo types, in addition to manageable recoil and reload speeds. These factors make it a great choice to reach the very end of 7★ Hub Quests with!

Best Armor

Critical Pierce Ammo

An damage-oriented build utilizing the affinity from the Narga Heavy Bow Gun for the critical hits. It also makes use of Pierce Up and Critical Boost to improve overall damage. Guard 2 is slotted for the aggressive monsters so you can block their attacks (Requires Shield Mod).

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Rhenoplos Helm S	42	Pierce Up Lv. 2 Stun Resistance Lv. 1
Torso	Shell-Studded Vest S	52	Normal/Rapid Up Lv. 1 Pierce Up Lv. 1
Arms	Basarios Vambraces S	52	Guard Lv. 2 Speed Sharpening Lv. 1
Waist	Golden Obi	70	Heroics Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 1
Legs	Golden Hakama	70	Latent Power Lv. 1 Critical Boost Lv. 2

High Rank Build: Late game (Hub Quest 4★ to 5★)

Best Heavy Bow Gun

Gale Crossbow is a Great High Rank Starter

Gale Crossbow
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			5	180	10	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		②①ー
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost IV Small Monster Exploit Buddy Rally
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	Average	Above Avg.	None		Wyvernsnipe	-

Gale Crossbow offers a good variety of ammo types and great stats across the board, making it the perfect starting Heavy Bowgun in High Rank.

Best Armor

High Rank Starter

An affinity pierce build that's enough to get you through the early stages of Rise's high rank. You get a flat 40% affinity from this build (50 with a Critical Eye Talisman) which can allow you to dish out decent amounts of damage with ease.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Rhenoplos Helm S	42	Pierce Up Lv. 2 Stun Resistance Lv. 1
Torso	Izuchi Mail S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 2 Recovery Speed Lv. 1
Arms	Lagombi Vambraces S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 2 Ice Attack Lv. 1
Waist	Izuchi Coil S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 2
Legs	Rhenoplos Greaves S	42	Pierce Up Lv. 1 Tremor Resistance Lv. 1

Low Rank Build: Mid game (Village Quest 4★ to 6★)

Best Heavy Bowguns

Sinister Volley I

Sinister Volley I Stats

Sinister Volley I
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			3	130	0	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Cluster Effect I Magnamalo Soul
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
R Mild	High	Fast	None		Wyvernsnipe	Arc Shot

Sinister Volley I offers good magazine sizes for Normal, Pierce, Spread, and Sharpnel Ammo at the cost of heavy recoil. Its stats across the board are amazing as well, making it an efficient all-purpose weapon in the mid game.

It is important to note that this Heavy Bowgun also has Slicing Ammo.

Hidden Gambit I

Hidden Gambit I Stats

Hidden Gambit I
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			3	110	30	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost I Master Rider
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	Some	Above Avg.	None		Wyvernsnipe	Arc Shot

The Hidden Gambit is a must-have for those who prefer to use Pierce Ammo. Its 30% affinity rating grants much-needed damage at this stage of the game.

This Heavy Bowgun also has Slicing Ammo, allowing its user to sever tails.

Best Armor

Evasive Heavy Gunner

This set focuses on minimizing recoil via Recoil Down while adding an extra layer of protection and mobility by adding Evade Extender as well.

The addition of Counter Shot and Silkbind Glide bolsters the Heavy Bowgun's survivability to the point where Guard and Shield Mods aren't exactly mandatory anymore.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Bnahabra Hat	14	Recoil Down Lv. 1
Torso	Rathalos Mail	28	Partbreaker Lv. 1 Windproof Lv. 1
Arms	Nargacuga Braces	26	Evade Extender Lv. 1 Evade Window Lv.
Waist	Nargacuga Coil	26	Evade Extender Lv. 1
Legs	Bnahabra Boots	14	Recoil Down Lv. 1

Low Rank Build: Early game (Village Quest 1★ to 4★)

Best Heavy Bowguns

Wind Thief Crossbow II

Wind Thief Crossbow II Stats

Wind Thief Crossbow II
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			2	90	10	-
			Element		Slots
			- -		ーーー
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost II Small Monster Exploit Buddy Rally
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	Average	Above Avg.	None		Wyvernsnipe	-

Wind Thief Crossbow II is an excellent weapon in the early stages of the game because of its Piercing Ammo and Slicing Ammo — The latter of which can be used to sever monster tails.

Reversal Shot I

Reversal Shot I Stats

Reversal Shot I
			Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Def.
			2	110	0	10
			Element		Slots
			- -		ーーー
Rampage Skills
Defense Boost I Cluster Effect I Waterblight Exploit
Deviation	Recoil	Reload	Mods		Special Ammo	Cluster Bomb Type
None	High	Below Avg.	None		Wyvernheart	-

Reversal Shot I caters to those who prefer to use Spread Ammo. This particular Heavy Bowgun also has two levels of Sticky Ammo, which can be used to knock monsters down when shot near the head.

Best Armor

Recoil Management

Bowguns in general are some of the most skill-hungry weapons in the game and there are not a lot of viable armor options in the early stages of Monster Hunter Rise.

With this in mind, we recommend this set which prioritizes mitigating as much recoil as possible, mixed with a few offensive skills.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Bnahabra Hat	14	Recoil Down Lv. 1
Torso	Tetranadon Mail	18	Normal/Rapid Up Lv. 1
Arms	Tetranadon Braces	18	Special Ammo Boost Lv. 1
Waist	Izuchi Coil	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Legs	Bnahabra Boots	14	Recoil Down Lv. 1

Best Heavy bowgun Skills

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