This is a guide on how to use the favorite weapon of every speedrunner in Monster Hunter World (MHW), the Bow. Read on more to learn about their controls and how to effectively use them.

Bow Basic Controls

Base Game Controls

Hold	Aim
	Shoot
	Special/Power Shot
+	Dragon Piercer
+ /	Select Coating
	Load/Unload Coating
While Aiming +	Aim Slinger (unsheathed)

Bow Mechanics

The Bow is a weapon with a very high skill ceiling. The Bow can be deal a decent amount of damage when used by new players and can become one of the highest damage dealing weapons when used by experts. This weapon is commonly used by speedrunners due to its very high damage output when used correctly. This requires players to correctly manage their stamina all the while hitting all of their shots.

The reason why this weapon has a very high skill ceiling is because played need to manage a lot of things at the same time to get the most out of the Bow. Having the correct armor skills, managing the player's stamina, using the correct coatings, contantly being aware of the player's positioning, and also aiming and hitting the monster at the right parts.

All of these causes the Bow to become one of the strongest weapons as well as one of the most difficult ones to master.

Coatings

Coatings allow the players attacks to have additional effects when attacking the monster. This allows players to increase their damage or apply some status ailments to the monster. Although there are times where the Bow will shoot out multiple arrows in 1 attack, only 1 coating will be consumed per attack.

Correctly managing the coatings with the number of arrows in an attack is an important mechanic to master when using the Bow.

Bow Charge

Charging the Bow is one of the original mechanics when using this weapon. Charging the Bow can be done in different ways like holding down R2 or doing a Charging Sidestep when aiming. Every charge will increase the Bow's damage and number of arrows per attack up to a maximum of 4 charges.

Best Bow Combos

Dash Dancing

Dash Dancing is the highest damaging combo for the Bow. Executing this combo costs a lot of stamina so players need to carefully watch there stamina while doing this. There are multiple ways to reduce the stamina cost of the moves to prolong the combo and significantly increase the total damage of it.

This combo is also very versatile since every Charging Sidestep can allow the player to make different moves depending on the current situation.

While Aiming + > > > Repeat

Stamina Positive Combo

This combo is very important to Bow users since it allows them to regenerate a bit of stamina while attacking the enemy. With the right amount of Stamina Cost reduction and Stamina regeneration, the player's stamina will increase depending on the levels of the Stamina management skills.

While Aiming > > > >

Dragon Piercer

The Dragon Piercer is a very special move for the Bow. This attack has a very long range and pierces the enemy, damaging them multiple times when they are hit. This move is also very effective for Large Monsters with a very long body like the Kulve Taroth or the Zinogre.

The Dragon Piercer's damage can also be increased depending on the current charge level of the Bow. Lastly, the Dragon Piercer is a very good part breaking move since the it can break parts easily and can even sever Large monster tails.

While Aiming +

Arc Shot

The Arc Shot is a very unique move to the Bow. The move rains down multiple pellets that deal very little damage but can deal a lot of stun damage. If a Large Monster is down, you can shoot 2-3 Arc Shots towards its head to stun and down them again before they can rise up.

While Aiming +

After a Power Shot >

Thousand Dragons

The Thousand Dragons is the newest move added to the Bow in the Iceborne DLC. This move shoots multiple arrow similar to a shotgun and applies the effects of the Slinger Ammo the player is currently carrying except for Flash Pods and Dung Pods.

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