bow tricks

what to i have to know if i want to play with bow? till now I used GS but now I want to open to a greater variety of weapons and one of the first I want to try is the bow.

Choose your bow dependant on your target. Rapid Shot is best for concentrated damage on a specific target so it's best for breaking horns and such, or for killing smaller monsters faster. For bigger monsters, Pierce Shot is often better, especially if the monster has a thick armor, just make sure you hit the monster dead on so all shots hit the target. Scatter Shot is homing, just like Pellet Shots for a bowgun, wich makes it really easy to use, but it's less damaging. The different levels basically just alter the damage, I believe.

Your best bet is to pick a bow with the shot that you prefer to use as it's 3'rd charge (or 4'th with Capacity Up), as you'll be holding the charge while moving around alot, waiting for a good time to release it.

For example, the Midnight Bow has with Capacity Up the charges 1: SctrLv4, 2: RapdLv5, 3: PrceLv5 and 4: RapdLv5. Both the 2'nd and 4'th charge are the same wich is good, because I can choose between holding the charge if the monster is moving around, or I can just charge my bow once and then release for the same shot with the same power, wich allows for consecutive rapid shots in the monsters face. It also has the pierce shot as 3'rd wich allows me to, for example, Pierce both of a Fatalis's wings with one shot, after having broken it's face with Rapid's.

Just to hit all bases, the 1'st charge isn't actually a charge, but the shot you get if you just shoot the monster without charging at all. So the 3'rd charge is technically the second charged level, if you get what I mean.

As far as skills go, like I've already hinted on I really like the Capacity Up skill for bows, as it allows for certain bows to get used that you otherwise wouldn't because of their 3'rd charge. A good example here is the Abominable Bow II wich with Capacity Up gets Scatter Lv5, a shot it otherwise wouldn't have. Other nice skills to have could be Focus for faster charges, great for level 2 shot spamming, or Runner to reduce the rate at wich your stamina decreases when you charge. Shot specific skills are awesome as well, such as NormalS/RapdS Up if that's the shot you prefer to use. Evade is also nice to have as well as you'll be moving around a lot while using a bow.

A word on coatings as well, Power Coating and Close Range Coating are the only really usefull ones in most cases. Poison, Paralyzis and Sleep coatings are great for certain monsters, but in most cases you wont have enough of them for them to actually do their job. A Fatalis for example can be slept, but you won't have enough coatings or materials for new coatings to actually put the dragon to sleep.

As a final word, while you're charging your bow and moving around, don't use the R button while moving as you wont be able to move the camera, save it for when you're ready to aim at the monster. While charging and moving, the roll button is Square, not X as it usually is. And in most cases, don't stand too far away from monsters who are charging as most of them are homing, it'll be easier for you to avoid the charge at a closer distance. The damage of a bow is rather low, but just use the right shot and element and you'll have the best control out of any weapon in the game, more or less.

I hope you find some use from this wall of text, merry christmas!

thank you.
theres plenty of useful information in your "wall of text".
and now it goes to the practice.

With a bow you cant cut of tails or?

merry christmas to you too!

Anything that isn't black/gravios stick with exterminator bow II with focus/load up/evade+2 set.

Tomderdepp wrote:

With a bow you cant cut of tails or?

Yes, but only with the melee attack (Triangle + Circle, I believe).

It's not a very good idea, though, since a certain threshold for cutting damage has to be met.

which armour does have this skills?

Tomderdepp wrote:

which armour does have this skills?

You can find out with Athena's Armor Set Simulator. I just plugged the skills in and got 33 different armor combos, so yeah...

is there an other skill simulater? maybe online? i cant install this one

I'm no expert when it comes to the bow but I'll write up a list of my experiences that will surely help.

-Always be ready to press x or square even while pulling back the string. A monster might attack from nowhere and you don't want to be caught off guard. I accomplish this easily by using the tip of my thumb to hold triangle and when I need to, I either kinda use the side of my thumb to press square or use my second thumb knuckle to hit the x. This allows you to avoid attacks or cancel charges.

-Never remain stationary, even while charging the bow. Try running around in a circle while the bow is charging.

-This relates to above, I think that stationary aiming is very risky and is only negligibly more accurate than hitting "R" and "snapping" the shot with the d-pad. The best time to do the snap is the moment after the first or second charge (with a level 4 charge bow). If timed correctly, the bow should be at max charge by the time the shot is lined up.

-Try to snap shot when possible (instead of blind shotting or not aiming). You do want to hit the weak spots as often as you can

- One of the most important aspects of bowing is timing. Shooting and drawing the bow disallows movement and causes the player to be stationary for a split second. Though it doesn't seem like much, the gunner's weak armor doesn't leave much room for error. With that said, the best time to shoot/draw is when the monster is distracted, incapacitated, or just missed an attack.

-Bring power/mega juices. This increases dps and decreases the chances of getting hit due to not having enough energy to evade.

-Remember that some bows are better for some monsters and some monsters are very difficult to bow.

-Useful skills: Evade, Evade distance, Capacity up, guts, focus, adrenaline, and sometimes, very rarely autoload.

Useful tips, though you're almost a month late :P

Deridor wrote:

Useful tips, though you're almost a month late :P

I just joined the forums a couple hours ago. Well, I hope you can use my tips to great effect. Maybe you have discovered something I haven't?