Best Insect Glaive Builds for Iceborne 2023-2024

Want to learn about the best Insect Glaive Builds for Monster Hunter World (MHW) Iceborne? Look no further than our best endgame builds for Insect Glaive! This build is made on Iceborne's last patch and is a build that is centered around Iceborne's Meta Endgame builds.

Insect Glaive Endgame Meta Build

Endgame Fatalis Armor Build

Weapon		Decorations
True Fatalis Dyaus		Challenger Jewel+ 4 x2 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Dragonhead Beta +	Critical/Maintenance Jewel 4 x3
Armor	Dragonhide Beta +	Brace/Protection Jewel 4 x2 Earplugs Jewel+ 4 x1
Vambraces	Escadora Armguards Alpha +	Shaver Jewel 3 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Waist	Dragonbarbs Beta +	Challenger/Protection Jewel 4 x3
Legs	Dragonfeet Beta +	Tenderizer/Maintenance Jewel 4 x2 Brace/Evasion Jewel 4 x1
Charm	Master's Charm V	None

Fatalis Build Skill List

Skills
Critical Eye 7	Agitator 7
Tool Specialist 5	Divine Blessing 5
Attack Boost 4	Stun Resistance 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Evade Window 3	Power Prolonger 3
Flinch Free 3	Earplugs 2
Clutch Claw Boost 1	Fatalis Legend 4

	An endgame damage oriented fatalis build. Flinch Free 3 was added for the Kinsect effect which instantly grants you 3 Earplugs skill for free. You can Remove the Earplugs Skill with some Flinch Free skills to make room for Partbreaker if needed against some monsters.

Insect Glaive Meta Builds

Blast Insect Glaive Build	Comfortable Insect Glaive Build
Blast Awakening Build	Elemental Insect Glaive Build

Blast Insect Glaive Build

Weapon		Decorations
Lightbreak Press		Enhancer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Enhancer Jewel 2 x1
Armor		Decorations
Head	Kaiser Crown Beta +	Enhancer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1
Armor	Brachydium Mail Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Critical Jewel 2 x1 Vitality Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Kaiser Vambraces Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Critical Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Critical Jewel 2 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Brachydium Greaves Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x2
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Blast Insect Glaive Build Skill List

Skills
Agitator 7	Critical Eye 7
Attack Boost 6	Health Boost 3
Weakness Exploit 3	Critical Boost 3
Power Prolonger 3	Blast Attack 2
Heat Guard 1	Latent Power 1
Teostra Essence	Brachydios Will

	The Lightbreak Blade features the 2nd highest damage among all weapons in the game and it's true as well for the Insect Glaive. The amount of raw damage you get from the affinity skills coupled with the blast procs is enough to demolish any monster that stands (or flies) in your path.

Comfortable Insect Glaive Build

Blast Insect Glaive Build	Comfortable Insect Glaive Build
Blast Awakening Build	Elemental Insect Glaive Build

Weapon		Decorations
Catastrophe's Light		Fortitude Jewel 1 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Safi Crested Crown Beta +	Brace/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x2
Armor	Rex Roar Mail Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Zorah Claws Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Waist	Ruinous Coil Alpha +	Critical Jewel 2 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Garuga Greaves Beta +	Earplug/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x2
Charm	Invigorate Charm III	None

Comfortable Insect Glaive Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 7	Critical Eye 7
Health Boost 3	Critical Boost 3
Weakness Exploit 3	Evade Window 1
Flinch Free 3	Earplugs 2
Power Prolonger 3	Fortify 1

	A standard skillset to aim for the IG, this build sports no secrets or gimmicks but it shows all the skills that come in handy for IG players. The Fortify skill is added for more power against difficult hunts.

Blast Awakening Build

Blast Insect Glaive Build	Comfortable Insect Glaive Build
Blast Awakening Build	Elemental Insect Glaive Build

Weapon		Decorations
Safi's Shatterspear		Earplugs Jewel+ 4 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Brachydium Helm Beta +	Enhancer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Enhancer/Evasion Jewel 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Armor	Brachydium Mail Beta +	Brace/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Enhancer Jewel 2 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Kaiser Vambraces Beta +	Brace/Evasion Jewel 4 x1 Brace Jewel 3 x1
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Garuga Greaves Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Critical Jewel 2 x2
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Awakened Ability
Teostra Essence	Attack Increase VI
Attack Increase V x2	Kinsect Bonus (Spirit / Strength)

Blast Awakening Build Skill List

Skills
Agitator 7	Critical Eye 7
Flinch Free 3	Health Boost 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Power Prolonger 3	Blast Attack 2
Earplugs 2	Evade Window 2
Heat Guard 1	Brachydios Will
Teostra Essence

	A Teostra Brachydios build for the maximum sharpness and Agitator build. With the IGs ability to hit weak spots, this ensures permanent sharpness and tons of critical strikes during the hunt.

Elemental Insect Glaive Build

Blast Insect Glaive Build	Comfortable Insect Glaive Build
Blast Awakening Build	Elemental Insect Glaive Build

Weapon		Decorations
Safi's Hellspear		Enhancer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Safi Crested Crown Beta +	Tenderizer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x2
Armor	Safi Crested Chest Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Kaiser Vambraces Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Enhancer Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Enhancer Jewel 2 x1 Blaze Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Safi Crested Boots Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Vitality Jewel 1 x1
Charm	Blaze Charm V	None

Awakened Ability
Teostra Essence	Kinsect Bonus (Spirit / Strength)
Element Increase VI	Element Increase V x2

Elemental Insect Glaive Build Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 4	Critical Eye 7
Fire Attack 6	Health Boost 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Power Prolonger 3	Blight Resistance 1
Heat Guard 1	Evade Window 1
Safi'jiiva's Seal	Teostra Essence

	A Safi build with the Teostra essence for another life-draining never dulling weapon build. The Fire Attack is a great addition against monsters weak to that element but to fully utilize this set, you'll need to craft other IGs for the other elements too.

Insect Glaive Progression Build

Early Iceborne Progression Build

Mid-Late Iceborne Build

MHW Related Links

Starter Iceborne Build

Weapon		Decorations
Defender Glaive V		--- ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Guild Cross Circlet Beta	Steadfast Jewel 1 x3
Armor	Empress Mail Alpha	Protection Jewel 1 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Empress Mail Beta	Critical Jewel 2 x2
Waist	Empress Coil Beta	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x2
Legs	Empress Greaves Beta	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Flight Jewel 2 x1
Charm	Attack Charm III	None

Starter Iceborne Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 4	Stun Resistance 3
Health Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Divine Blessing 3	Peak Performance 2
Wide-Range 2	Critical Boost 2
Tool Specialist 2	Airborne 1
Lunastra Favor 2	Lunastra Favor 4

	A standard end-game setup from the MHW base game. IT comes with QoL skills to avoid getting one-shotted by MR monsters.

Early Iceborne Progression Build

Weapon		Decorations
Aerial Magnus III		Elementless Jewel 2 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Jagras Helm Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Armor	Bone Mail Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Vambraces	Alloy Vambraces Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Lumu Coil Alpha +	Vitality Jewel 1 x2
Legs	Alloy Greaves Alpha +	Handicraft Jewel 3 x1
Charm	Handicraft Charm III	None

Early Iceborne Skill List

Skills
Speed Eating 2	Attack Boost 4
Health Boost 3	Defense Boost 2
Speed Sharpening 3	Divine Blessing 2
Windproof 2	Non-elemental Boost 1
Weakness Exploit 3	Handicraft 4

	A more defense focused IG build. Non-Elemental Boost, Attack Boost, and Weakness Exploit are your only damaging skills so make sure to strike those weak spots to make every hit count!

Mid-Late Iceborne Progression Build

Weapon		Decorations
Kadachi Vipertail II		Vitality Jewel 1 x2 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Nargacuga Helm Alpha +	Attack Jewel 1 x2
Armor	Nargacuga Mail Beta +	Tenderizer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1
Vambraces	Damascus Vambraces Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Odogaron Coil Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Legs	Nargacuga Greaves Alpha +	Attack Jewel 1 x2
Charm	Handicraft Charm III	None

Mid-Late Iceborne Progression Build Skill List

Skills
Critical Eye 3	Peak Performance 3
Evade Window 3	Handicraft 5
Speed Sharpening 2	Health Boost 3
Attack Boost 4	Weakness Exploit 3
Piercing Shots 1	Nargacuga Essence

	A mid-game Nargacuga build for the Insect Glaive. The reduced sharpness and Handicraft allow you to finish hunts without the need to sharpen and still complete them with purple sharpness. The rest of the skills are focused on offense to give your strikes more oomph.

Insect Glaive Best Kinsects

Recommended Kinsects for Insect Glaive

Kinsect
Valorwing III Medis [Pwr] 5 | [Spd] 20 | [Heal] 14	・Fast Kinsect with very high healing capabilities.
Foliacath III Forz [Pwr] 15 | [Spd] 20 | [Heal] 5	・Fast Kinsect with high damage and decent healing capabilities.
Nexus Dragon Soul [Pwr] 17 | [Spd] 16 | [Heal] 1	・Balanced Kinsect with high damage and speed, but with low healing.

Insect Glaive Best Weapons and Skills

Recommended Weapons for Insect Glaive

Weapon
True Fatalis Dyaus [Atk] 1101 | [Affinity] -30%	・Highest Raw Damage Insect Glave ・Has two 4-slot gem sockets
Nyx Blade II [Atk] 753 | [Affinity] 0%	・Decent purple gauge in sharpness ・ Best weapon against enemies weak to Fire element
Beo Glaive II [Atk] 775 | [Affinity] 0%	・Recommended for enemies with high Ice weakness
Lightbreak Press [Atk] 420 | [Affinity] -15%	・High Power with decent purple sharpness ・ Has a blast attribute of 90

Recommended Skills for Insect Glaive

Skill	Explanation
Health Boost ( ★★★ )	・Increase your vitality and greatly increases your survival rate. Essential for beginners who get hit a lot.
Weakness Exploit ( ★★★ )	・Increases your weapon's damage to a monster's weak and wounded parts.
Critical Eye ( ★★★ )	・Increases the base affinity of your weapon.
Critical Boost ( ★★★ )	・Boosts the damage of your critical attacks.
Handicraft (★★★)	・Increases the sharpness of your weapon to maintain its damage.
Teostra's Technique (★★★)	・Reduces the sharpness depletion of your weapon.
Power Prolonger (★★★)	・Increases the duration of your Kinect buffs.
Flinch Free (★★)	・Prevents your teammates from flinching you.
Airborne (★★)	・Increases your damage while doing aerial attacks.
Master Mounter (★★)	・Increases your mount damage, allowing you to mount monsters more frequently.

MHW Related Links

Best Builds

Best Endgame Builds and Weapon Progression Builds

Best Builds Per Weapons

Melee Weapons
Long Swords	Great Swords	Sword and Shield	Dual Blades
Hammer	Hunting Horn	Lance	Gunlance
Switch Axe	Charge Blade	Insect Glaive

Ranged Weapons
Bow	Light Bowgun
Heavy Bowgun

Best Counter Builds

Monster Counterbuilds
Fatalis	Alatreon