Bowguns are easily among the most versatile weapons in Monster Hunter: World, with a wealth of different playstyles available to the player with relatively minor adjustments to their loadout. The heavy bowgun offers everything the light bowgun does, but it goes a step beyond its lighter cousin by giving up some mobility in exchange for additional firepower and clip size. 

In this article, we will cover the 5 BEST armor sets that will increase the efficacy of your heavy bowgun. This list will mostly consist of armor sets obtained from the Iceborne expansion, however, there will be plenty to choose from to work your way up to the rank of a master hunter. That said, let’s get straight to the fun stuff! 

5. Sticky For the Win

Bowgunners have it rough in the early game, as there are very few sources of their desired skills. That said, sticky ammo and cluster shots are your best friends - high stagger AND no need to worry about things like critical hits? Sign me up! 

it is recommended that you obtain the Dodogama set as soon as possible for the sweet sweet Artillery Skill - this also pairs nicely with Zorah Magdaros as it has similar skills. Mix and match however you see fit to maximize the amount of ‘oof’ your cannon can dish out, and feel free to sprinkle in a few quality of life elements here and there. Here’s an example: 

Helmet - Rathian Helm (Alpha)

Chest - Lumu Mail (Alpha)

Gauntlets - Zorah Magdaros (Alpha) 

Waist - Dodogama (Alpha or Beta)

Greaves - Zorah Magdaros (Alpha or Beta)

SKILLS (artillery 3/3, bombardier 3/3, health boost 2/3, free elem/ammo up 1/3, poison attack 1/3, master mounter 1/1) 

This nets us a maxed-out Artillery stat, accompanied by a maxed-out Bombardier stat and 2/3 levels in Health Boost (using ranged weapons makes you squishier to physical damage, so don’t skip on that Health Boost unless you’re John Wick). Free Element/Ammo Up is there to increase the carrying capacity of your ammunitions; this includes Normal 1, Pierce 1, Sticky 1, Spread 1, and Cluster 1. 

4. SPREAD!

Once you get access to some fancier gear, it might be time to switch things up a little bit from your prior explosive endeavors. This is where spread ammo comes in… which, sadly for you, has a completely different set of skills that boost its damage. 

You see, this type of ammo, unlike the explosions you were slinging earlier, CAN crit. This means that skills like critical eye, critical boost, and weakness exploit will be a must-have to increase your damage. This set will, in all likelihood, take you to the end of the base game’s storyline, giving you access to the Iceborne expansion. Let’s see… ooh, this should do it! A nice mixture of Odogaron and Rathalos, with some dandy glasses to go on top: 

Helmet - Strategist Spectacles (Alpha) 

Chest - Rathalos Mail (Alpha or Beta) 

Gauntlets - Odogaron Vambraces (Alpha)

Waist - Odogaron Coil (Alpha or Beta) 

Greaves - Odogaron Greaves (Alpha) 

SKILLS (critical eye 5/7, weakness exploit 2/3, constitution 1/5, jump master 1/1, critical element 1/1, punishing draw 1/1)

As you may have noticed, there is no Health Boost, Critical boost, OR Free Element / Ammo up… and that is because Critical Eye is incredibly greedy (there are 7 levels without any secret involved for crying out loud!), but there are ways around this. This kind of set-up offers a few slots for gems that can be used to shuffle some skills into the build - by this point in the game you won’t have many of those, but that is completely fine. 

Also, don’t forget that there is a charm you can wear to boost skills; I mention this now because the previous set was not as demanding in terms of skills, and therefore didn’t necessarily NEED to use one. In this case, though… it’s recommended. 

3. Welcome to the big leagues!

So, you have bested Xeno-jiva and made it to the Iceborne expansion… awesome! I have good news for you, my friend - Iceborne offers a wealth of fun new monsters, as well as armor pieces to supplement your bowgun build. It should also be noted that Iceborne has quite a significant jump in difficulty, so it’s time to assess what options we have. 

Most of the earlier monsters, while fun, do not offer good armor (I would still recommend farming them for weapon progressions, though) which is not ideal. The best thing to do is to get to Nargacuga as fast as possible; this is primarily done to get the special skill provided by wearing 3 pieces of Nargacuga’s set - the chance to not expend ammo when firing it. This can then be supplemented by something like Odogaron parts, or maybe Uragaan if you are desperate for the part-breaker skill: 

Helmet - Nargacuga Helm (beta+)

Chest - Nargacuga Mail (beta+)

Gauntlets - Odogaron Vambraces (beta+)

Waist - Odogaron Coil (beta+)

Greaves - Nargacuga Greaves (beta+) 

SKILLS (true razor sharp/spare shot 1/1, evade window 3/5, critical eye 3/7, peak performance 1/3, piercing shots 1/2, constitution 1/5, poison resistance 1/3)

Now, before you get to stabbing me with the torches and pitchforks… hear me out. All of the armor pieces I have listed are BETA+. This gives you more flexibility by fitting more decorations into your build - an indispensable option for any self-respecting bowgunner due to the versatility it offers. For instance, if I were to add a charm and some basic decorations to the build you saw above… it can look like this: 

SKILLS (true razor sharp/spare shot 1/1, critical eye 7/7, evade window 5/5, peak performance 3/3, constitution 3/5, health boost 3/3, weakness exploit 2/3, piercing shots 1/2, resucitate 1/1)

(Please bear in mind that I used easily obtainable decorations, no mantles, no weapon, and a charm that was only upgraded up to level 3 to get these numbers. This is purely to illustrate my point - the decorations and their placements are entirely up to you, my friends.) 

2. Bigger Monsters - Bigger Guns 

Right, so the time has finally come to face off against the tougher customers this game has to offer. Our builds have served us well so far, but the end-game of Monster Hunter is no joke (TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN - SPOILERS AHEAD!)… Especially once you beat the story's final boss and are given access to the Guiding Lands. 

Why does this matter, you ask? Well, let me explain in as few words as possible - Xeno’jiva didn’t die, went through puberty, and grew large enough to call Smaug ‘little bro’. And what are we going to do about that, you ask? Well, uh… we are going to endlessly harass him like we did Kulve Taroth and bathe in glorious mountains of loot, of course. 

Safi has a very special trick up his sleeve - his armor is one of the best in the game and offers some immense perks… but it quite literally sucks your life away with each shot fired. If you land 5 shots, you regenerate all the health you lost and then some, but if you get hit before then… yeah, you are not getting that back and will have to heal the traditional way. Pack some extra potions, my friends. 

Once again, our old canine buddy comes to the rescue as we will implement Odoaron pieces for the extra Critical Eye. Other than that, however, the build has enough plenty of decoration slots (5 level 4 slots, 3 level 2 slots, 3 level 1 slots) and already comes with a full stack of critical boost which will take your damage up a few notches: 

Helmet - Safi Crested Crown (Beta+)

Chest - Safi Crested Chest (Beta+) 

Gauntlets - Odogaron Vambraces (Beta+) 

Waist - Odogaron Coil (Beta+) 

Greaves - Safi Crested Boots (Beta+)  

SKILLS (dragonvein awakening 1/1, critical eye 6/7, critical boost 3/3, evade window 1/5, blight resistance 1/3, constitution 1/5)

(This is WITHOUT decorations and only the level 3 Master’s Charm - adding your flavors of decoration in there will make it an absolute UNIT capable of felling nearly any foe… which brings us to the last entry on this list.) 

1. Everything Black 

And at last, we make it to the pinnacle of this world. Creatures of nightmarish strength and cunning, so monstrous and destructive that records of them were intentionally destroyed. The mere mention of their names will send an entire country into a state of panicked hysteria in mere moments. Yes, my friend, you have come a long way, and I am proud of you for getting as far as you have - it has been an honor to watch you grow and a pleasure to guide you with my advice, but now… it is finally time to face the black dragons. 

Alatreon, the first you will have to face, is a cataclysm of elemental powers (all of them, to be precise). Thankfully for us, however, the Safi set sitting at number 2 on this list will be very handy against him - Dragonvein Awakening boosts elemental damage and status build-up by 80, as well as sprinkling in some extra affinity on top. 

Once you have defeated the horned menace (don’t be shy, ask for help - it took me an ungodly amount of time to solo him for the first time…), make use of the new powers now available to you and prepare for the final threat - Fatalis. In this build, we put everything on the line. Bring out your best decorations, upgrade your charms as far as they will go, say a prayer (if that’s your thing), and let the battle commence: 

Helmet - Escadora Wisdom (Beta+)

Chest - Escadora Soul (Beta+)

Gauntlets - Escadora Armguards (Beta+) 

Waist - Escadora Might (Beta+) 

Greaves - Escadora Sheath (Beta+) 

SKILLS (element conversion 1/1, all elemental resistance 1/1, critical eye 6/7, attack boost 6/7, resentment 4/5, health boost 3/3, dragon resistance 3/3, defense boost 3/7)

(This only has a fully upgraded master’s charm - no decorations. Once again, how you go about them is entirely up to you)

It is hard to ignore the power of the black dragons, and once you obtain the armor of Fatalis the possibilities are quite literally endless (you will never need another set since it is better than literally every other set in the game by an immense margin - it unlocks ALL of the special skills offered from every other set except for Safi And Alatreon). You will be able to have everything at once if you have the right decorations for it. In fact… let me show you. 

With 15 level 4 slots and a set of starting skills that put pretty much everything else to shame, there is no limit to the versatility as well as offensive power to the last set in the game. Adding the ‘Fatalis Legend’ skill on top of that… well, let’s just say that you are no longer a master hunter of the new world - you are a true legend of the human race. 

A quick piece of advice from this old hunter before you depart to wreak absolute havoc on the monsters of the new world - the old lore states that Fatalis can never truly die, and that includes its armor. In fact, the people that have managed to obtain pieces of the Black Dragon have regularly gone insane and eventually vanished after the armor had quite literally bonded to them, making them unable to take it off…  

Good luck out there, friend. Enjoy the power at your disposal, as well as the many perks it brings - just remember to be cautious if you start hearing voices that aren’t your own invading your thoughts. 

(Author - Yakov O. Boyko)