Monster Hunter World (MHW)

Best Skills for Light Bowguns

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Light Bowgun Skill Recommendations
This is a guide about the best skills for Light Bowguns. Read on to know which skills to look out for when making a Light Bowgun build and why.

Offensive Skills

General Recommendations
Affinity Skills Agitator Partbreaker
Piercing Shots Spread/Power Shots Normal Shots
Special Ammo Boost
Sticky Ammo Recommendations
Attack Boost Slugger Artillery

General Offensive Skills

Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit

Affinity Trinity.png
Most Light Bowgun ammo types benefit from having high affinity. Hunters are advised to invest in Affinity Skills such as Critical Eye, Critical Boost, and Weakness Exploit to see significant improvements to ammo damage when firing from critical range.

Agitator

Agitator.png
The introduction of the Clutch Claw made the Agitator Skill a community staple when making builds. When active, Agitator grants hunters +20 attack and affinity by 10% at level five. (levels six and seven are unlocked via the Agitator Secret Skill.)

The Clutch Claw, specifically its Flinch Shot Attack, gave hunters the ability to enrage the monster whenever the opportunity presents itself. This gave hunters a way to maintain their Agitator's up-time.

Partbreaker

Partbreaker.png
Bowguns in general are amazing ranged weapons that can break even the hardest to reach parts of a monster with ease.

Partbreaker increases Part Damage by 30% at level three and will compliment this weapon well.

Partbreaker's damage increase does NOT reflect in floating damage numbers.

Piercing Shots

Piercing Shots.png
Catered to hunters who prefer using Piercing Ammo, Piercing Shots greatly increases the damage of all Piercing Ammo at level two.

Spread/Power Shots

Spread and Power Shots.png
Spread/Power Shots is recommended for Hunters that prefer to get up close and personal with Spread Ammo. This skill greatly increases the damage of all Spread Ammo at level two

Normal Shots

Normal Shots.png
Normal Shots greatly increases the damage of all Normal Ammo at level two and is catered to Hunters who prefer to use Level two and three Normal Ammo.

Special Ammo Boost

Special Ammo Boost.png
Want to maximize your Light Bowgun's Wyvernblast? Special Ammo Boost increases the damage of all Bowgun Special Ammo by 20% at level two and is definitely worth considering.

Sticky Ammo Offensive Skills

Attack Boost

Attack Boost.png
Sticky Ammo does NOT crit. They do, however, ignore a monster's hide defense.

Bolstering your Light Bowgun's base damage with Attack Boost is definitely recommended for Sticky Ammo hunters.

Slugger

Slugger Secret.png
Sticky Ammo is known for its high KO damage. Slugger increases Stun Power by 40% at level three and is definitely worth adding to Sticky Ammo builds.

Levels four and five are unlocked via the Slugger Secret Skill.

Artillery

Artillery.png
Artillery is the MOST important skill in a Sticky Ammo Hunter's build. Artillery increases the damage of all Sticky Ammo by 30% at level three.

Levels four and five are unlocked via the Artillery Secret Skill.

Defensive Skills

Recommendations
Divine Blessing Earplugs Health Boost
Evasion Skills

Divine Blessing

Divine Blessing Secret.png
Divine Blessing, when triggered, reduces incoming damage by 50% at level three from the attack that triggered it. This offers hunters an extra layer of protection when hunting with Light Bowguns.

Levels four and five are unlocked via the Divine Blessing Secret Skill.

Earplugs

Earplugs.png
Earplugs offer complete protection against monster roars at level five. This allows hunters to maintain fire regardless of how loud a monster's roar is.

Health Boost

Health Boost.png
It never hurts to pump up one's HP! Health Boost increases a hunter's Health by 50 at level three, making it a solid addition to any build - especially early on in the game.

Evade Window, Evade Extender

Evade Extender.png
Evade Window.png
Evasion skills are amazing with Light Bowguns because they compliment the weapon's agile and elusive playstyle.

Evade Extender greatly increases the distance covered by slides and dodge rolls at level three while Evade Window massively improves the invulnerability frames when dodging at level five.

It is worth mentioning that these skills synergize with the Light Bowgun's Evasive Reload mod well. Having these skills equipped will drastically improve its invulnerability window and sliding distance.

Utility Skills

Recommendations
Free Elem/Ammo Up Razor Sharp/Spare Shot

Free Elem/Ammo Up

Free Elem and Ammo Up.png
Hunters who take issue with their bowgun's magazine sizes may consider investing in Free Elem/Ammo Up. This skill expands the clip size of most ammo types at level three.

Free Elem/Ammo Up is particularly useful for Sticky Ammo builds since its magazine sizes are often small compared to other ammo types.

Razor Sharp/Spare Shot

True Razor Sharp and Spare Shot.png
Razor Sharp and Spare Shot.png
Razor Sharp/Spare Shot is a special skill that when triggered, refunds the ammo fired by the hunter. This indirectly bolsters a hunter's overall damage per clip as the refund mechanic could potentially allow the hunter to shoot significantly more shots before reloading.

True Razor Sharp/Spare Shot is an upgraded version of Razor Sharp/Spare Shot that hosts a better proc chance.

There are currently no jewels that provide these skills. Below is a table of where to acquire them:

Razor Sharp/Spare Shot Razor Sharp Charm
Xeno'jiiva Gamma Set
3 piece set bonus
True Razor Sharp/Spare Sharp Nargacuga Alpha+ Set
3 piece set bonus
Nargacuga Beta+ Set
3 piece set bonus
Fatalis Alpha+ Set
4 piece set bonus
Fatalis Beta+ Set
4 piece set bonus

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