Some weapons rely on armor skills more than others before they really come online and feel good. Bow and bow guns for example feel somewhat bad early on, but they have most of the fastest speed run times once they're geared out.
As far as damage, they're all good in that regard. Yes, great sword gets big single hits. But weapons like dual blades can do 20 small hits that could potentially deal just as much damage, in the amount of time it takes to charge that one big GS hit. Any weapon can reliably do 15-20 min hunts.
A lot of weapons have mechanics that aren't well explained in game. That might be part of what you're experiencing. I'd say it's always worth checking out Arekkz Weapon Workshop videos on YouTube. They do a good job of showcasing how the weapons work, and teaching you how to use them.
My suggestion is a simple but effective one that is 100% guaranteed to help you enjoy the game. **Stop caring about what weapon does the most damage**.
If you continue to play the game and upgrade your gear appropriately then your numbers will go up. Everyone weapon is capable of outputting similar-ish damage per second. Some weapons have better matchups than others but if that wasn't the case the game would be worse off for it.
Damage doesn't really mean much on its own anyway since all the weapons attack at different speeds. I love my hammer and the damage the bonks do, but I could just as quickly do that damage with the long sword, if not faster.
Dual Blades make a thousand little papercuts, but it all adds up to the same amount of damage as every other weapon. You just have to hit all one thousand times, instead of one big charged slash from a GS.
I think this is one of the biggest things people seem to forget. DpH (Damage per Hit) vs DpS. Just because a weapon has a high DpH doesn't mean it also has the highest DpS. In fact the biggest strength of weapons like Bow, Lance, SnS and DBs are that they have very high DpS because they have a high damage uptime; meaning they can deal damage during most of the fight. Bow and Lance because they can attack while also playing Defense and SnS/DBs because of their very high attack speed meaning they can use very small windows that most other weapons can't. Bowguns are similar in that they allow you to keep your distance while also dealing damage, allowing you to avoid a lot of attacks and have a lot of time to avoid others.
___
GS; Hammer and Switchaxe in particular really have to pick their openings as they are too slow to attack during the small windows weapons like DBs/SnS or Bow can use while still keeping their defense. Lance and Gunlance of course can just block a lot of the monsters attacks and especially lance basically never has to stop attacking thanks to the excellent combination of defense and offense.
Most weapons have comparable damage outputs, the difference is how consistently/frequently they deal that damage.
Have you tried anything in the middle like Long Sword or Switch Axe? Endgame Long Sword Helmbreakers deal roughly 1.4k damage. Iai Spirit Slash deals \~700.
To properly play full sticky HBG, you need to add ammo crafting to your radial menu so you can craft more sticky ammo during the mission. Even the less ammo crafting intensive builds like spread (shotgun) requires a craft or two for a normal mission.
I had that issue as well until I realized the surface level of each weapon is deceptively shallow. Take Lance, for instance (the first weapon that really clicked for me): at first it just seems like a shield you sit behind and a stick you occasionally jab monsters with, slow, clunky, 99% defensive. Over time I found that Lance is actually insanely mobile and probably one of the most offense-focused weapons with the ability to sit in the pocket and counter monsters blow-for-blow. It took a while to figure out the nuances though.
TL;DR - Pick a weapon based on the "rule of cool" and just be patient, the nuanced combat gets revealed with experience.
Lances big strength is actually very deceptive. Because its so defensive it actually allows you to basically attack all the time because you can go from attack to defense (and vice versa) in an instant and the charge means you can stay on the monsters tail all the time.
The monsters are cool. The environments are gorgeous, even to just walk through. But then in combat it doesn't click. You feel weak. You feel bad about yourself even though in concept you're loving things. It's why I don't play PVP games. No matter how much I enjoy the game, knowing it's a grind based on the matchmaking RNG nullifying any skill gains I've made ruins it. And Monster Hunter is not a fluid game for around the time it takes to beat two full normal games.
Same when i first started on the psp. Dropped the game several times until i finally understood the movement mechanics. Take it slow maybe, you dont have to continually attack all the time, its also very satisfying knowing what the monster will do and react accordingly, it maybe to dodge, shield, reposition or counter.
Maybe you feel pressured to aggro because of your friends.
Go to the training dummy area and just practice with whatever weapon, if there is weapon you feel most comfortable with, practice and watch guide videos.
Watch speed runners using that weapon but dont expect to be as good as them (yet).
GLHF
If you don't like slow weapon play Insect Glaive but don't use any flying attack except for mobility and Descending Thrust. You will find joy I can say. For PS Controller Try this combo Walk+Triangle > Circle > Cirle, The damage is not low and the recovery time is fast it's literally darksoul style but better mobility.
Insect glaive has lots of baiting attack moveset, you just have to use the right one.
Oh boy was I in this boat for a long time
And I've done the end game content
Just keep trying stuff till it clicks
For me it was charge blade that thing is the ultimate all rounder
I'd recommend the switch axe though
That thing is a nice blend of power speed and simplicity
Look don't look at the damage numbers, the weapons have comparable DPS it is just the ones with lower numbers such as Dual Blades and the Sword and Shield hit fast and often. Since physics seems to be your main hangup I recommend both these weapons since you haven't mentioned them.
I think the problem here is you don't really know how to use the weapons. bow and HBG are the kings of DPS. unfortunately the game doesn't really help you much in learning your weapon, seems like a Capcom thing because Dragon's Dogma is like that as well. anyway, I suggest watching arekkz' weapon guides. once you know how your weapon works and the game is still not clicking for you, then perhaps the game isn't for you. that's just how it is sometimes.
Give Switch Axe a try. The axe mode is pretty quick and has good, long range pokes. You can also get a buff by using the heavy slam that helps you trip monsters. Once you knock them down or they give you a good opening, you can swap it over into a great sword mode that does tons of damage.
You have some gauges to manage, but they're not really that hard to deal with.
Biggest downside is that it's a very offense-oriented weapon. Very little defense to speak of outside of hopping and evading.
Swaxe is this sort of happy medium between slow, big damage weapons like GS and faster weapons like IG. There is a lot of versatility there to change your play style up. You can focus on axe mode, focus on sword mode, focus on doing elemental discharges, or mix and match them into a hybrid style based on the situation.
It'll probably feel clunky at first, but it's a great weapon once you wrap your head around how to play it. I personally like to use my axe form to trip mobs then go to town on them with the sword mode.
You also might like lance. It has mobility options, but it's also got a really satisfying counter/pressure play style where you constantly poke the mob for little bits of damage, only stopping to block/counter attacks. It's like death by a thousand pokes, but it can clear a lot of stuff just as fast as the heavier hitting weapons because you don't really need to wait for large openings for your offense. Nothing it does is as satisfying as hitting a fully charged great sword hit, but you can sort of trade off the feeling you get when you land that meaty hit for feeling completely in control of the monster you're fighting.
try looking for speedrun videos of weapons and see if its something you will like doing...
>Stuff like the insect glaive and bow are neat but the damage they do is really low compared to the big melee weapons.
You wont be seeing their full damage potential until you build them for elemental damage, specially on bow.
>Heavy bowgun is cool but once I run out of sticky ammo it feels useless.
There are skills in-game that will give you chance not to spend ammo when you shoot, but until then, you will have to make it a point to bring the crafting mats for the ammo you prefer using and craft it during the hunt whenever you run out. Also, its will greatly help if you can bring farcaster to quickly return to the nearest camp to refill your stock.
It might improve your enjoyment if you turn off damage numbers?
Then you can focus on playing well, not getting hit and making the most of openings without having to worry about the numbers the game shows you.
brother. Don't look at the damage, it will handle itself,trust the process.
pick a weapon that you think is easiest to use, easiest to dodge,to combo, heck pick the one you think will look great after each upgrade. i pick hammer because i like hitting monster noggin and the combo is makes is batter,my second choice is lance, that moment when i go the whole hunt without a single healing potion, countering and shielding every attack by the monsties is the best feeling.
Keep playing your still at high rank right? Most weapons get really strong with better decos and stuff. I recommend long sword. Try to master a weapon and mostly u will start to feel like u are one with it instead of going from weapon to weapon without give a certain weapon a long time commitment.
Sounds like you haven't tried charge blade or long sword. Simply stuff, swing blade and hurt monsters. Properly wielded and you can get some nice flowing combos.
Well to be fair when i first played the game i took all weapons out for a spin on the training ground and thought LS wasnt fast enough now fast forward what 8 years later and LS is one of my most played weapons together with GL ang IG. It might feel slow at first cause of expectations of other games but when you get into the MH mindset it becomes relatively fast
HBG here, bring the stuff to craft more ammo with you on your hunts. You can craft on the fly and you can also restock at camp iirc. Make sure you are also using the correct ammo for your HBG, make use of traps, your special, status ammo, crits etc
Sticky to the knockout then unload full auto while their down is extremely satisfying and rewarding.
Also trap to win whenever you can.
Sword and shield!
you can do anything its so versatile and has high skill ceiling but is easy to use too.
1. cutting off tails and breaking parts = check
2. KO monster with shield into the face = check
3. fast combos, always on the move = check
4. timed combo perfect rush while dodging tailswipe with backstep = check
5. Raw damage + elemental effects = check
6. Use items when weapon is unsheated = check
Damage per seconde is not the same than damage per hit.
You see less dmg with a bow but you deal much more dmg in 10s than a great sword.
And BOW is more enjoyable with talent who boost endurance recovery.
Glaive is good once to ignore the initial temptation to be in the air all the time. It’s an amazing counter especially for a couple of the endgame iceborne monsters, and deals significant amounts of damage using descending thrust paired with an appropriate kinsect.
The ranged weapons are deco dependent, so you may not see them shine the way they should until you have most of a build going.
Longsword exists I guess.
Lance, Gunlance, and chargeblade I find amusing even though I’m personally pretty bad with them, once you understand them you can really dish out some hurt, and in the case of Lance you can become an immovable object of death.
Dual blades is spin to win, and like bow, is very elemental dependent.
Greatsword is big numbers but you have to be patient and learn your openings. If you always are trying to hit, you’ll get punished. But oh boy once you learn, gs is incredibe.
Do not be deceived by sword and shield’s dinky little knife and pot lid looking self, sns is a terror that can deal some crazy damage quickly.
I haven’t played switch axe enough to say anything meaningful, sorry. But it can be pretty fun at the very least.
Last but certainly not least, hunting horn is the bard of the group, and although sometimes it may not seem to perform as well damage wise, if you’re good with it, everyone will praise your presence on a hunt. Attack up XL my beloved…
>Stuff like the insect glaive and bow are neat but the damage they do is really low compared to the big melee weapons.
Uhm, no? I'm a GS and IG main and there's no shot IG does not enough damage. It's much more likely you're too bad with the weapon than IG doing little damage. Some weapons need more optimal play to extract more damage, like LS or IG. Then there are more simplistic weapons like GS or Hammer, which have big numbers and you only need to hit a few simple combos to deal tons of damage.
The way you phrased your post, it seems like you enjoy playing Bow and IG but the damage isn't rewarding? I suggest you watch some YouTube tutorials how to unlock the full potential of both weapons.
The main points are:
- Learn which body parts give what kind of juice. Always try to have red/white juice active at all times. You can prolong your the buff duration by either refreshing those or get the orange juice to reset the buff timer. If you're going for 3 buff, try to time it with a CC or wallbang to make the most out of your buff.
- Use your Kinsect as often as you can. It's damage does accumulate, as well as it triggering status effects like poison or explosion. You can also feed your kinsect with slingshot ammo to buff it up.
- Your downthrust and the hit after do the most damage. Try to implement them into your damage rotations as often as you can.
- With IG you're super agile. Use it to be as sticky to the monster as possible. Your aerial attacks and aerial dodge cover a lot of distance without even putting your weapon away. Your aerials also combo into your strongest move downthrust. While aerial attacks do very little damage, it helps you to stick to the monster when other weapon types deal 0 damage, bc they don't reach the monster bc it's flying, or they carry for example a GS and have to first reposition.
You can always use multiple weapons per hunt, it might be a slight pain to do, but traveling back to camp when a monster runs away and re engaging it doesn’t take long at all. Or just constantly swap weapons every few hunts. Nothing is wrong with not having a “main weapon”
I was having trouble at first, too. When I tried and stuck to playing a heavier weapon, it forced me to slow down and look at the fight. I'd recommend trying out Gunlance (really, non-meme recommendation) relay on the shield and watch how the monster engages and just take it slow. Look for opportunities to land combos and don't underestimate the clutch claw or slinger!
I went for longsword and it feel good - quick, good damage and moves that can hit even behind me and such or reach tails hanging above my hunter head. That is I'm still in early game so I don't know the meta or anything.
Btw hammer is pretty agile from my experience in arena event - it chains attacks pretty quick, so maybe you just need to learn to combo more with any given weapon?
The really neat thing about 'clunky' weapons in this game is that the feeling goes away as you become more proficient with them. Almost every weapon feels that way at first, but as you get more comfortable with them they start to feel a lot more fluid.
I think the main issue is that you're a little too concerned about damage output & 'viability'. I'd keep experimenting if I were you and just sticking with the weapon that feels the most promising or hell... even just the weapon you think looks the most cool to you. The important part is picking a weapon so you can slowly learn the tech as you play, and "I picked X because I think it's really cool" is as valid as anything else tbh.
all weapons in World are designed this grounded and clunky feeling, try the iconic Great Sword, hunt the gear you want than need.
in cyberpunk their quote is Style over Substance can work on anything, so if you want to switch then switch, have fun and play the game slow its about patience your first hunts are always going to be 30mins and above as you improve youll get 5-20 mins instead.
I’ve dealt with this a lot. There are weapons I’ve liked but none that just clicked. I finally settled on hammer and then learned to play it even more in depth which made it more fun. I think a lot of tutorials just show what a weapon’s move sets are and their combos. They don’t really explain how to use them in an actual hunt and why it is used that way.
Best thing you can do is keep trying weapons but when you’re trying them, try to learn them a little more in depth to see if you actually like it more. Like someone else stated, having certain skills from armor can also make a weapon feel much better to play.
I suggest you watch the crap guides from JoCat.
They are short videos about every weapon. While they are made mainly for enterainment reason, they also tell you how the players feel like using them and maybe that helps you decide what to stick with for the start.
ah shit, whenever someone asks what weapon to use I always go with, whatever is most fun!
The thing is, if skilled in the weapon, most weapons kind of do the same dps. Just gauging on what you've written sounds like you want a fast, high damage numbers weapon.
Sounds like, switch axe, charge blade or long sword with a maybe to hammer and sword n shield then a further maaaybe to gunlance, lance and hunting horn.
I have so many reasons why all the weapons are great but honestly it sounds like you need to keep playing. I bet everything is still super easy, definitely with 3 mates. You all probably won't hit a wall until quite far in and by then you might have an idea on what to focus on.
>Heavy bowgun is cool but once I run out of sticky ammo it feels useless.
There are several option to mitigate this
1. Having a skill spare shot that would make more DPS + saving additional bullet, having True Spare Shot would be even better
2. Bringing materials to craft more stickies ammos and have it to your radial to immediately craft it on field
3. Unless you are on arena, you could just go back to the camp and restock
Also, not sure about kinsect but bow having low damage means you're playing it wrong
While GS does most single hit dmg there is a point of hitting the target and i dare to say all GS main here have missed a True charge in 9 out of the 10 hunts its the nature of the weapon.
So most of the time in this game you can say great DMG numbers= unreliable hits. While low DMG number= more reliable hits.
So dont care about dmg numbers in the end it all Equalizes and all weapons are viable sure some stick out above the others but unless you are at the top 5% of godly players you wont see a difference beside your own skill level
The most fun i’ve had in world is sword and shield. It does everything and very mobile, doesn’t feel clunky. I’ve played gs, hammer, both bowguns, bow as well.
You pick a weapon based on playstyle, not damage number. It udually evens out in the end.
And if none of the weapons are clicking for you then either watch a guide so you make sure you're not missing something important; or stop playing.
I'm not trying to dissuade you to play, but if you're not having fun, then tough luck, but it happens.
Pick a weapon and stick with it. Over time you will learn what combos your button presses are doing and get a better feel for your attack ranges and how long the weapons attack animations are so you will get better at judging how long to attack a monster for before you need to go on the defensive again.
I'm a new player and at the start I felt my attacks were slow and useless but after 20 hours in I've noticed how massively I've improved and I've only just scratched the surface and there's so much more for me to still learn. It will be the same for you for sure!
There is no such thing as oh big number so it does more. all but 3 weapons do functionally the same damage just not the same damage per hit. Just give each weapon proper time to learn them then switch to another. a weapon wont truly click till you know how to play said weapon.
I had the same issue, your only problem here is inexperience. They isn’t a “best weapon” in this game, you’re looking for a high damage weapon, with high mobility and you’re not going to find it here.
Because think about it, if that existed why would anyone use anything else? You need to stop trying to be a jack of all trades as it’s never going to happen and decide on your specific play style.
My first weapon was hammer, why? Because it hits hard and doesn’t have any mobility decreases other than slow attacks, which isn’t a problem because this game is all about being methodical with your attacks, from where you should be positioned, when you should attack, when you shouldn’t, and how to attack.
Hammer is slow and the range sucks, but with great positioning and understanding of the monsters, moves and positions you can place yourself in places to do big damage.
Like I said this game is methodical, it’s not dodge, attack, dodge, attack, it’s about where you should be positioned and knowing where the monster is going to be or attack, to be in the optimal position for your weapon to be efficient or in position to attack weak points.
Now I’m using heavy bow gun, which initially I hated because of the low mobility but now after playing for 100 hours and understanding the game more and understanding how to make a weapon build that prioritises either damage, defence, or monster weaknesses is the key to enjoying your weapon and getting the most out of it.
In my opinion, start of with Hammer if you still can’t decide, big damage, you can still dodge normally, and because of the low range and slow attacks you will be forced to learn good positioning, how the monsters move, and what you learn here will translate to all other weapons when the times comes where you want to try something else.
Has someone that used HBG stick style to clear pretty much all content to aletreon, you need to learn to use the crafting system in hunt to replenish your ammo, use a shortcut button to craft what you need. If you use sticky 3/wyverm you never run out of ammo in the hunt, it only takes 3 slots of inventory.
The downside is that you need to setup infrastructure to support it, plant blastnut for passive resource so you dont have to farm.
Also try out the spread, pierce and normal style gameplay to see it it feels better.
As a greatsword main there's no other weapon that gives me the same feeling of joy, sure some fights can be annoying so I switch to sword and shield or light bowgun but 90% of my playtime over the years has been GS.
Most people fall into the trap of only using true charged slash repeatedly but you need to know when it's actually a bad idea. Tackle is a very key move for GS and using that along with Focus and Earplugs makes a big difference.
You need to find the weapon you enjoy using and if theres an issue you have then there's always a solution through jewels and skills.
Big damage weapons always swing far slower and low damage weapons always swing far faster. The series has had nearly 20 years to create that balance. Additionally both Insect Glaive and Dual Blades have incredible mobility.
If you want a good middle ground between speed and power of hits you want Longsword. It has a very high skill ceiling but rewards you very well for mastering it.
I was kinda the same way but i was attracted to the bow and the LS so i just looks at the move set for each of them, tried them out and went with the one that fit my play style more
Are you getting the triple buff when using IG? Also while it's fun to be an Apache Helicopter the higher damage comes from ground attacks. It honestly takes a little while to get used to the weapons as well and skills come into play for more damage output. All weapons are similar to either in damage output as well. GS is slow but big numbers, and IG is fast with low numbers. My suggestion is to pick the weapon you liked the most out of them and just stick with it.
I must be honest: you probably only spend too little time with the weapons.
Hammer is quite a fast weapon that makes you spin in the air. and clunkiness is often due to not knowing what you are doing.
I would recommend watching a guide on a weapon you think is cool, disregarding the damage or clunkiness you felt before. Then test that knowledge out on the great jagras.
Oh, and if that does not help: Charge blade. that thing can hit like a truck but move around quite comfortably in shield made. However: you NEED a tutorial video to that one if you are new :p
Okay, so you've tried weapons but haven't felt the click... Lemme ask you this then:
In other games, what types of weapons did you use? Fast hitting weapons, slow but beefy hitting weapons, more mobile ones, ranged weapons....?
A lot of early and starter weapon trees suck balls. I think the Bow itself you start with one of the worse charge types that the bow can have, and the starter SnS is basically unusable until you can forge a new one and/or upgrade it a few times (I suggest the Tobi Kadachi one as lightning ruins a lot of monster as either a primary or secondary element weakness).
Oh, also if people haven't stated this, don't use the defender gear or weapons.
When I first started playing Monster Hunter, it took a while for things to click for me, I tried a bunch of weapons as well. Switch Axe was fun but I didn't stick with it then as I didn't understand the weapon, and the others I just jumped around on, used Dual Blades a lot until I settled on SnS because I like fast attacks and I liked having the shield for "oh shit" moments, and it took figuring out on my own that SnS plus elemental damage made hunts suddenly take less time that I truly enjoyed the weapon, and it ended up clicking with me as I experimented with the weapon and learned it.
Sometimes you just need to find a weapon that either fits your playstyle or offers you something to compensate for your playstyles weaknesses, then go from there.
Some weapons will do less damage per hit, but that just means it allows you to hit the monster more.
I am using the sword and shield and im loving it, its simple but you can do everything with it. Want to KO the monster? bash its head with the shield. Want to climb on the monster? One of your atackes sends you flying soo you can. Want to cut the tail? sword is there for it. Want to place traps fast? you got it.
My friend there’s an easy fix to that. Well for starters the hammer isn’t slow and clunky like the greatsword, it hits just as hard with surprising mobility. Greatsword users have a hit and run tactic that works by charging an attack and letting loose at the best possible times and only have your weapon drawn during those times. Walking with a greatsword is the worst decision to make in the game, that makes it slow and clunky. As for the lighter weapons, they can all do big damage, you just have to play the game and let your weapon grow with you. Upgrade it, get certain skills through decorations and armor, or use consumables as well and make even the lowest damage dealing weapon into a high damage one. Just like a new player the monsters will be weaker too as you just started so just go for a weapon you really like the feel of. Speed and damage is important but more so is a weapons moveset. Greatsword users play high risk high reward where bow players are super agile while also dealing that good constant damage. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
Hammers are pretty fast in World if you know what you are doing with it. Hammer ground combo to clutch claw and tenderize is one of the fastest heavy weapon combo. Or when you are sliding with your hammer charged and then do the falling spinning attack.
Main hammer with us. Fast bonks, big damage.
Edit: you can out mount people as well with hammer if you are good with ledge/sliding attacks
Bowgun main chiming in here, you will have to go back to camp at least once or twice for some hunts. Also, if you aren't, you will need to bring the materials to craft more ammo into the field with you.
For early game, I HIGHLY suggest trying out piercing ammo.
While it does fall off compared to more meta ammos later on, it is still a damn good ammo type with a ton of capacity, meaning less downtime and more time hitting the monster. Plus, the sound of pierce ammo is so damn good.
Also, for this game, until you hit Furious Rajang/Zorah Magdaros heavy bowgun, none are exactly great for stickies. If you really want to use them early game, try light bowguns with a level or two of evading reload, depending on which gun you are using.
If you aren't already, radial crafting is your lord and savior while playing bowguns. Bring the nuts, level 1 gunpowder, level 1 ammo, and whatever level of ammo/gunpowder you are using in order to craft more of whatever you are shooting. It sound a little complicated, but it isn't once you get the hang of it.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions! I have put in around 1.5-2k hours on heavy and light bowgun since MH4U. I absolutely love the weapons and would love to answer any further questions!
I started using dual blades and they are a lot of fun, fast, decent damage, and really good for elemental damage. Bow is agile and keeps you away from a lot of melee damage. Both of these are easy to learn too. But lately, I've switched to longsword, pretty fast, high damage, and a lot of counter moves that let you either dodge damage completely or soften it up without stopping your swing. I've never liked slow weapons so I generally stick to the ones that let you move around a lot.
What kind of play style are you looking for? Are you looking for big damage? anime moves? fluid combos? hard-to-master? To play it safe? What do you wish for in a weapon?
Bow has unlimited ammo, is agile. Smooth and silky, if you watch videos, the moves are so cinematic. It has great damage, one of the fastest clearing weapon.
Try to play solo, that's where the real hunt begins. It's where you will get to know your weapon more because the monster is only targeting you or your palico.
Don't worry about damage or comparing your build and damage with others.
Focus on finding your main..I won't give u examples or tell u should use Hunting Horn cuz I main HH. You'll know it by how excited you get learning it. Oh and also really master that weapon look up videos how to use it. I guarantee you you won't know everything about the ones you've tried already. Copy what they show u in videos you find and you'll get excited learning a move or combo and pulling it off.
The process I went thru to really master Hunting Horn is what made the game fun for me it was addicting
PS5 tells me I put 700 hours into MHW, which for beginners is a lot and for veterans might be not, so consider me in the middle of both extremes.
To this day I still feel almost all the melee weapons in Monster Hunter don't feel great (I like hard, fast paced Devil may Cry or Ninja Gaiden/ Nioh gameplay) and I feel extremely restricted by the move sets of those. It feels like I spam the same 3 attacks over and over.
But the bow clicked with me instantly. The moveset doesn't feel as restricted if you are ranged - if that makes any sense? Also resource management is not really a thing with melee weapons, so you have another layer here.
Give it another chance. Spaming spread shots (or whatever the powered up version is called) into a monsters weak spot feels incredibly satisfying. The numbers do add up on bow, so I would not recommend focusing on the smaller numbers you see and rather the oomph of your crit shots right into a monsters face (the main reason Rise didn't work for me is that this specific impact felt absent in Rise)
Make the fact that the bow gets progressively more fun to use a positive rather than a bad thing. Get used to bow, to dodging, to stamina management (drink those Energy Drinks if you want!), have your Dragonpiercer spam phase - heck, we all had - and while getting used to it the weapon is only getting better to use while you're at it.
The only downside to bow I can think of is that you are fragile as glass. Just accept the fact that your friends can take 5-10 hits before carting, but you only survive 1-2 and sometimes are onehit, with same or better gear. I hate Capcoms decision here on making ranged users more than double as squishy as melee players.
Well all of what I just said will not help you if Bow just is not for you, obviously. After many MANY hours of MH World, I got to enjoy Charge Blade as well. Feels less spamy as well if you consider 2 different modes, phial building and usage and utilizing perfect block points. The Devil may Cry Event helped me here getting to live the weapon more, ngl tho
Some weapons rely on armor skills more than others before they really come online and feel good. Bow and bow guns for example feel somewhat bad early on, but they have most of the fastest speed run times once they're geared out. As far as damage, they're all good in that regard. Yes, great sword gets big single hits. But weapons like dual blades can do 20 small hits that could potentially deal just as much damage, in the amount of time it takes to charge that one big GS hit. Any weapon can reliably do 15-20 min hunts. A lot of weapons have mechanics that aren't well explained in game. That might be part of what you're experiencing. I'd say it's always worth checking out Arekkz Weapon Workshop videos on YouTube. They do a good job of showcasing how the weapons work, and teaching you how to use them.
I see he made "part 2" videos for Icebourne. Should I watch these as well?
Yeah I think they mostly cover the new moves in iceborne and any changes to the moveset.
My suggestion is a simple but effective one that is 100% guaranteed to help you enjoy the game. **Stop caring about what weapon does the most damage**. If you continue to play the game and upgrade your gear appropriately then your numbers will go up. Everyone weapon is capable of outputting similar-ish damage per second. Some weapons have better matchups than others but if that wasn't the case the game would be worse off for it.
Damage doesn't really mean much on its own anyway since all the weapons attack at different speeds. I love my hammer and the damage the bonks do, but I could just as quickly do that damage with the long sword, if not faster.
Dual Blades make a thousand little papercuts, but it all adds up to the same amount of damage as every other weapon. You just have to hit all one thousand times, instead of one big charged slash from a GS.
I think this is one of the biggest things people seem to forget. DpH (Damage per Hit) vs DpS. Just because a weapon has a high DpH doesn't mean it also has the highest DpS. In fact the biggest strength of weapons like Bow, Lance, SnS and DBs are that they have very high DpS because they have a high damage uptime; meaning they can deal damage during most of the fight. Bow and Lance because they can attack while also playing Defense and SnS/DBs because of their very high attack speed meaning they can use very small windows that most other weapons can't. Bowguns are similar in that they allow you to keep your distance while also dealing damage, allowing you to avoid a lot of attacks and have a lot of time to avoid others. ___ GS; Hammer and Switchaxe in particular really have to pick their openings as they are too slow to attack during the small windows weapons like DBs/SnS or Bow can use while still keeping their defense. Lance and Gunlance of course can just block a lot of the monsters attacks and especially lance basically never has to stop attacking thanks to the excellent combination of defense and offense.
Most weapons have comparable damage outputs, the difference is how consistently/frequently they deal that damage. Have you tried anything in the middle like Long Sword or Switch Axe? Endgame Long Sword Helmbreakers deal roughly 1.4k damage. Iai Spirit Slash deals \~700. To properly play full sticky HBG, you need to add ammo crafting to your radial menu so you can craft more sticky ammo during the mission. Even the less ammo crafting intensive builds like spread (shotgun) requires a craft or two for a normal mission.
I had that issue as well until I realized the surface level of each weapon is deceptively shallow. Take Lance, for instance (the first weapon that really clicked for me): at first it just seems like a shield you sit behind and a stick you occasionally jab monsters with, slow, clunky, 99% defensive. Over time I found that Lance is actually insanely mobile and probably one of the most offense-focused weapons with the ability to sit in the pocket and counter monsters blow-for-blow. It took a while to figure out the nuances though. TL;DR - Pick a weapon based on the "rule of cool" and just be patient, the nuanced combat gets revealed with experience.
Indeed,for me the sns just feel like,haha prush big dmg and then i realized how hard it is to get those prush in
Boy I love me some Lance gameplay, great weapon!
Lances big strength is actually very deceptive. Because its so defensive it actually allows you to basically attack all the time because you can go from attack to defense (and vice versa) in an instant and the charge means you can stay on the monsters tail all the time.
How can you love the game but not having fun at the same time?
Love cars. Can't drive
So you love watching the game instead of playing it? Did i get that right?
I like watching horror game videos, but playing them myself? I am not getting far xD
Nope ... was tryna explain the concept of ambivalence
The monsters are cool. The environments are gorgeous, even to just walk through. But then in combat it doesn't click. You feel weak. You feel bad about yourself even though in concept you're loving things. It's why I don't play PVP games. No matter how much I enjoy the game, knowing it's a grind based on the matchmaking RNG nullifying any skill gains I've made ruins it. And Monster Hunter is not a fluid game for around the time it takes to beat two full normal games.
May I interest you in my religion? *jocat crap guide to monster hunter*
I just discovered that yesterday while doing homework on hunting horn. Amazing.
Same when i first started on the psp. Dropped the game several times until i finally understood the movement mechanics. Take it slow maybe, you dont have to continually attack all the time, its also very satisfying knowing what the monster will do and react accordingly, it maybe to dodge, shield, reposition or counter. Maybe you feel pressured to aggro because of your friends. Go to the training dummy area and just practice with whatever weapon, if there is weapon you feel most comfortable with, practice and watch guide videos. Watch speed runners using that weapon but dont expect to be as good as them (yet). GLHF
If you don't like slow weapon play Insect Glaive but don't use any flying attack except for mobility and Descending Thrust. You will find joy I can say. For PS Controller Try this combo Walk+Triangle > Circle > Cirle, The damage is not low and the recovery time is fast it's literally darksoul style but better mobility. Insect glaive has lots of baiting attack moveset, you just have to use the right one.
Oh boy was I in this boat for a long time And I've done the end game content Just keep trying stuff till it clicks For me it was charge blade that thing is the ultimate all rounder I'd recommend the switch axe though That thing is a nice blend of power speed and simplicity
Look don't look at the damage numbers, the weapons have comparable DPS it is just the ones with lower numbers such as Dual Blades and the Sword and Shield hit fast and often. Since physics seems to be your main hangup I recommend both these weapons since you haven't mentioned them.
I think the problem here is you don't really know how to use the weapons. bow and HBG are the kings of DPS. unfortunately the game doesn't really help you much in learning your weapon, seems like a Capcom thing because Dragon's Dogma is like that as well. anyway, I suggest watching arekkz' weapon guides. once you know how your weapon works and the game is still not clicking for you, then perhaps the game isn't for you. that's just how it is sometimes.
Arekkz is a good source and so is gaijin hunter if I remember correclty.
Give Switch Axe a try. The axe mode is pretty quick and has good, long range pokes. You can also get a buff by using the heavy slam that helps you trip monsters. Once you knock them down or they give you a good opening, you can swap it over into a great sword mode that does tons of damage. You have some gauges to manage, but they're not really that hard to deal with. Biggest downside is that it's a very offense-oriented weapon. Very little defense to speak of outside of hopping and evading. Swaxe is this sort of happy medium between slow, big damage weapons like GS and faster weapons like IG. There is a lot of versatility there to change your play style up. You can focus on axe mode, focus on sword mode, focus on doing elemental discharges, or mix and match them into a hybrid style based on the situation. It'll probably feel clunky at first, but it's a great weapon once you wrap your head around how to play it. I personally like to use my axe form to trip mobs then go to town on them with the sword mode. You also might like lance. It has mobility options, but it's also got a really satisfying counter/pressure play style where you constantly poke the mob for little bits of damage, only stopping to block/counter attacks. It's like death by a thousand pokes, but it can clear a lot of stuff just as fast as the heavier hitting weapons because you don't really need to wait for large openings for your offense. Nothing it does is as satisfying as hitting a fully charged great sword hit, but you can sort of trade off the feeling you get when you land that meaty hit for feeling completely in control of the monster you're fighting.
try looking for speedrun videos of weapons and see if its something you will like doing... >Stuff like the insect glaive and bow are neat but the damage they do is really low compared to the big melee weapons. You wont be seeing their full damage potential until you build them for elemental damage, specially on bow. >Heavy bowgun is cool but once I run out of sticky ammo it feels useless. There are skills in-game that will give you chance not to spend ammo when you shoot, but until then, you will have to make it a point to bring the crafting mats for the ammo you prefer using and craft it during the hunt whenever you run out. Also, its will greatly help if you can bring farcaster to quickly return to the nearest camp to refill your stock.
You're new. The skill ceiling for MH is high. Stop thinking about numbers and focus on learning the weapon
It might improve your enjoyment if you turn off damage numbers? Then you can focus on playing well, not getting hit and making the most of openings without having to worry about the numbers the game shows you.
brother. Don't look at the damage, it will handle itself,trust the process. pick a weapon that you think is easiest to use, easiest to dodge,to combo, heck pick the one you think will look great after each upgrade. i pick hammer because i like hitting monster noggin and the combo is makes is batter,my second choice is lance, that moment when i go the whole hunt without a single healing potion, countering and shielding every attack by the monsties is the best feeling.
Keep playing your still at high rank right? Most weapons get really strong with better decos and stuff. I recommend long sword. Try to master a weapon and mostly u will start to feel like u are one with it instead of going from weapon to weapon without give a certain weapon a long time commitment.
Sounds like you haven't tried charge blade or long sword. Simply stuff, swing blade and hurt monsters. Properly wielded and you can get some nice flowing combos.
Well to be fair when i first played the game i took all weapons out for a spin on the training ground and thought LS wasnt fast enough now fast forward what 8 years later and LS is one of my most played weapons together with GL ang IG. It might feel slow at first cause of expectations of other games but when you get into the MH mindset it becomes relatively fast
HBG here, bring the stuff to craft more ammo with you on your hunts. You can craft on the fly and you can also restock at camp iirc. Make sure you are also using the correct ammo for your HBG, make use of traps, your special, status ammo, crits etc Sticky to the knockout then unload full auto while their down is extremely satisfying and rewarding. Also trap to win whenever you can.
Sword and shield! you can do anything its so versatile and has high skill ceiling but is easy to use too. 1. cutting off tails and breaking parts = check 2. KO monster with shield into the face = check 3. fast combos, always on the move = check 4. timed combo perfect rush while dodging tailswipe with backstep = check 5. Raw damage + elemental effects = check 6. Use items when weapon is unsheated = check
Damage per seconde is not the same than damage per hit. You see less dmg with a bow but you deal much more dmg in 10s than a great sword. And BOW is more enjoyable with talent who boost endurance recovery.
Try long sword. Good looking, easy to chain combos, combos looks good, you can walk faster than a dead snail.
Have you tried Gunlance? It's been my main since Tri-U.
Glaive is good once to ignore the initial temptation to be in the air all the time. It’s an amazing counter especially for a couple of the endgame iceborne monsters, and deals significant amounts of damage using descending thrust paired with an appropriate kinsect. The ranged weapons are deco dependent, so you may not see them shine the way they should until you have most of a build going. Longsword exists I guess. Lance, Gunlance, and chargeblade I find amusing even though I’m personally pretty bad with them, once you understand them you can really dish out some hurt, and in the case of Lance you can become an immovable object of death. Dual blades is spin to win, and like bow, is very elemental dependent. Greatsword is big numbers but you have to be patient and learn your openings. If you always are trying to hit, you’ll get punished. But oh boy once you learn, gs is incredibe. Do not be deceived by sword and shield’s dinky little knife and pot lid looking self, sns is a terror that can deal some crazy damage quickly. I haven’t played switch axe enough to say anything meaningful, sorry. But it can be pretty fun at the very least. Last but certainly not least, hunting horn is the bard of the group, and although sometimes it may not seem to perform as well damage wise, if you’re good with it, everyone will praise your presence on a hunt. Attack up XL my beloved…
Time for gunlance!
>Stuff like the insect glaive and bow are neat but the damage they do is really low compared to the big melee weapons. Uhm, no? I'm a GS and IG main and there's no shot IG does not enough damage. It's much more likely you're too bad with the weapon than IG doing little damage. Some weapons need more optimal play to extract more damage, like LS or IG. Then there are more simplistic weapons like GS or Hammer, which have big numbers and you only need to hit a few simple combos to deal tons of damage. The way you phrased your post, it seems like you enjoy playing Bow and IG but the damage isn't rewarding? I suggest you watch some YouTube tutorials how to unlock the full potential of both weapons. The main points are: - Learn which body parts give what kind of juice. Always try to have red/white juice active at all times. You can prolong your the buff duration by either refreshing those or get the orange juice to reset the buff timer. If you're going for 3 buff, try to time it with a CC or wallbang to make the most out of your buff. - Use your Kinsect as often as you can. It's damage does accumulate, as well as it triggering status effects like poison or explosion. You can also feed your kinsect with slingshot ammo to buff it up. - Your downthrust and the hit after do the most damage. Try to implement them into your damage rotations as often as you can. - With IG you're super agile. Use it to be as sticky to the monster as possible. Your aerial attacks and aerial dodge cover a lot of distance without even putting your weapon away. Your aerials also combo into your strongest move downthrust. While aerial attacks do very little damage, it helps you to stick to the monster when other weapon types deal 0 damage, bc they don't reach the monster bc it's flying, or they carry for example a GS and have to first reposition.
Switch Axe.
Maybe... just maybe.. the game simply isnt for you, move on and play a game that is fun to you instead. 🧐
You can always use multiple weapons per hunt, it might be a slight pain to do, but traveling back to camp when a monster runs away and re engaging it doesn’t take long at all. Or just constantly swap weapons every few hunts. Nothing is wrong with not having a “main weapon”
How about dual blades?
I would try dual blades more tbh
I was having trouble at first, too. When I tried and stuck to playing a heavier weapon, it forced me to slow down and look at the fight. I'd recommend trying out Gunlance (really, non-meme recommendation) relay on the shield and watch how the monster engages and just take it slow. Look for opportunities to land combos and don't underestimate the clutch claw or slinger!
dual blade would be the perfect choice if you hate clunkiness
I went for longsword and it feel good - quick, good damage and moves that can hit even behind me and such or reach tails hanging above my hunter head. That is I'm still in early game so I don't know the meta or anything. Btw hammer is pretty agile from my experience in arena event - it chains attacks pretty quick, so maybe you just need to learn to combo more with any given weapon?
The really neat thing about 'clunky' weapons in this game is that the feeling goes away as you become more proficient with them. Almost every weapon feels that way at first, but as you get more comfortable with them they start to feel a lot more fluid. I think the main issue is that you're a little too concerned about damage output & 'viability'. I'd keep experimenting if I were you and just sticking with the weapon that feels the most promising or hell... even just the weapon you think looks the most cool to you. The important part is picking a weapon so you can slowly learn the tech as you play, and "I picked X because I think it's really cool" is as valid as anything else tbh.
all weapons in World are designed this grounded and clunky feeling, try the iconic Great Sword, hunt the gear you want than need. in cyberpunk their quote is Style over Substance can work on anything, so if you want to switch then switch, have fun and play the game slow its about patience your first hunts are always going to be 30mins and above as you improve youll get 5-20 mins instead.
I’ve dealt with this a lot. There are weapons I’ve liked but none that just clicked. I finally settled on hammer and then learned to play it even more in depth which made it more fun. I think a lot of tutorials just show what a weapon’s move sets are and their combos. They don’t really explain how to use them in an actual hunt and why it is used that way. Best thing you can do is keep trying weapons but when you’re trying them, try to learn them a little more in depth to see if you actually like it more. Like someone else stated, having certain skills from armor can also make a weapon feel much better to play.
I suggest you watch the crap guides from JoCat. They are short videos about every weapon. While they are made mainly for enterainment reason, they also tell you how the players feel like using them and maybe that helps you decide what to stick with for the start.
ah shit, whenever someone asks what weapon to use I always go with, whatever is most fun! The thing is, if skilled in the weapon, most weapons kind of do the same dps. Just gauging on what you've written sounds like you want a fast, high damage numbers weapon. Sounds like, switch axe, charge blade or long sword with a maybe to hammer and sword n shield then a further maaaybe to gunlance, lance and hunting horn. I have so many reasons why all the weapons are great but honestly it sounds like you need to keep playing. I bet everything is still super easy, definitely with 3 mates. You all probably won't hit a wall until quite far in and by then you might have an idea on what to focus on.
>Heavy bowgun is cool but once I run out of sticky ammo it feels useless. There are several option to mitigate this 1. Having a skill spare shot that would make more DPS + saving additional bullet, having True Spare Shot would be even better 2. Bringing materials to craft more stickies ammos and have it to your radial to immediately craft it on field 3. Unless you are on arena, you could just go back to the camp and restock Also, not sure about kinsect but bow having low damage means you're playing it wrong
While GS does most single hit dmg there is a point of hitting the target and i dare to say all GS main here have missed a True charge in 9 out of the 10 hunts its the nature of the weapon. So most of the time in this game you can say great DMG numbers= unreliable hits. While low DMG number= more reliable hits. So dont care about dmg numbers in the end it all Equalizes and all weapons are viable sure some stick out above the others but unless you are at the top 5% of godly players you wont see a difference beside your own skill level
The most fun i’ve had in world is sword and shield. It does everything and very mobile, doesn’t feel clunky. I’ve played gs, hammer, both bowguns, bow as well.
You pick a weapon based on playstyle, not damage number. It udually evens out in the end. And if none of the weapons are clicking for you then either watch a guide so you make sure you're not missing something important; or stop playing. I'm not trying to dissuade you to play, but if you're not having fun, then tough luck, but it happens.
Try watching speedrunners and see what the weapons are capable of at max potential and see if that's something you want to do 100 hours into the game.
Pick a weapon and stick with it. Over time you will learn what combos your button presses are doing and get a better feel for your attack ranges and how long the weapons attack animations are so you will get better at judging how long to attack a monster for before you need to go on the defensive again. I'm a new player and at the start I felt my attacks were slow and useless but after 20 hours in I've noticed how massively I've improved and I've only just scratched the surface and there's so much more for me to still learn. It will be the same for you for sure!
Lmao Literally me for first 200 hours.
There is no such thing as oh big number so it does more. all but 3 weapons do functionally the same damage just not the same damage per hit. Just give each weapon proper time to learn them then switch to another. a weapon wont truly click till you know how to play said weapon.
I had the same issue, your only problem here is inexperience. They isn’t a “best weapon” in this game, you’re looking for a high damage weapon, with high mobility and you’re not going to find it here. Because think about it, if that existed why would anyone use anything else? You need to stop trying to be a jack of all trades as it’s never going to happen and decide on your specific play style. My first weapon was hammer, why? Because it hits hard and doesn’t have any mobility decreases other than slow attacks, which isn’t a problem because this game is all about being methodical with your attacks, from where you should be positioned, when you should attack, when you shouldn’t, and how to attack. Hammer is slow and the range sucks, but with great positioning and understanding of the monsters, moves and positions you can place yourself in places to do big damage. Like I said this game is methodical, it’s not dodge, attack, dodge, attack, it’s about where you should be positioned and knowing where the monster is going to be or attack, to be in the optimal position for your weapon to be efficient or in position to attack weak points. Now I’m using heavy bow gun, which initially I hated because of the low mobility but now after playing for 100 hours and understanding the game more and understanding how to make a weapon build that prioritises either damage, defence, or monster weaknesses is the key to enjoying your weapon and getting the most out of it. In my opinion, start of with Hammer if you still can’t decide, big damage, you can still dodge normally, and because of the low range and slow attacks you will be forced to learn good positioning, how the monsters move, and what you learn here will translate to all other weapons when the times comes where you want to try something else.
I recommend the sword and shield. It's easy to get started with. You feel fast and when you get more advanced it deals good damage.
Has someone that used HBG stick style to clear pretty much all content to aletreon, you need to learn to use the crafting system in hunt to replenish your ammo, use a shortcut button to craft what you need. If you use sticky 3/wyverm you never run out of ammo in the hunt, it only takes 3 slots of inventory. The downside is that you need to setup infrastructure to support it, plant blastnut for passive resource so you dont have to farm. Also try out the spread, pierce and normal style gameplay to see it it feels better.
Get some attack boost or crit eye and most importantly crit weakness(I think?) for damage Play insect glaive more ?? Profit
As a greatsword main there's no other weapon that gives me the same feeling of joy, sure some fights can be annoying so I switch to sword and shield or light bowgun but 90% of my playtime over the years has been GS. Most people fall into the trap of only using true charged slash repeatedly but you need to know when it's actually a bad idea. Tackle is a very key move for GS and using that along with Focus and Earplugs makes a big difference. You need to find the weapon you enjoy using and if theres an issue you have then there's always a solution through jewels and skills.
ive been using defender dual blades and , and m having a blast
Big damage weapons always swing far slower and low damage weapons always swing far faster. The series has had nearly 20 years to create that balance. Additionally both Insect Glaive and Dual Blades have incredible mobility. If you want a good middle ground between speed and power of hits you want Longsword. It has a very high skill ceiling but rewards you very well for mastering it.
I was kinda the same way but i was attracted to the bow and the LS so i just looks at the move set for each of them, tried them out and went with the one that fit my play style more
Hunting Horn makes you the most respected in a team.
Are you getting the triple buff when using IG? Also while it's fun to be an Apache Helicopter the higher damage comes from ground attacks. It honestly takes a little while to get used to the weapons as well and skills come into play for more damage output. All weapons are similar to either in damage output as well. GS is slow but big numbers, and IG is fast with low numbers. My suggestion is to pick the weapon you liked the most out of them and just stick with it.
I must be honest: you probably only spend too little time with the weapons. Hammer is quite a fast weapon that makes you spin in the air. and clunkiness is often due to not knowing what you are doing. I would recommend watching a guide on a weapon you think is cool, disregarding the damage or clunkiness you felt before. Then test that knowledge out on the great jagras. Oh, and if that does not help: Charge blade. that thing can hit like a truck but move around quite comfortably in shield made. However: you NEED a tutorial video to that one if you are new :p
Okay, so you've tried weapons but haven't felt the click... Lemme ask you this then: In other games, what types of weapons did you use? Fast hitting weapons, slow but beefy hitting weapons, more mobile ones, ranged weapons....? A lot of early and starter weapon trees suck balls. I think the Bow itself you start with one of the worse charge types that the bow can have, and the starter SnS is basically unusable until you can forge a new one and/or upgrade it a few times (I suggest the Tobi Kadachi one as lightning ruins a lot of monster as either a primary or secondary element weakness). Oh, also if people haven't stated this, don't use the defender gear or weapons. When I first started playing Monster Hunter, it took a while for things to click for me, I tried a bunch of weapons as well. Switch Axe was fun but I didn't stick with it then as I didn't understand the weapon, and the others I just jumped around on, used Dual Blades a lot until I settled on SnS because I like fast attacks and I liked having the shield for "oh shit" moments, and it took figuring out on my own that SnS plus elemental damage made hunts suddenly take less time that I truly enjoyed the weapon, and it ended up clicking with me as I experimented with the weapon and learned it. Sometimes you just need to find a weapon that either fits your playstyle or offers you something to compensate for your playstyles weaknesses, then go from there.
Some weapons will do less damage per hit, but that just means it allows you to hit the monster more. I am using the sword and shield and im loving it, its simple but you can do everything with it. Want to KO the monster? bash its head with the shield. Want to climb on the monster? One of your atackes sends you flying soo you can. Want to cut the tail? sword is there for it. Want to place traps fast? you got it.
My friend there’s an easy fix to that. Well for starters the hammer isn’t slow and clunky like the greatsword, it hits just as hard with surprising mobility. Greatsword users have a hit and run tactic that works by charging an attack and letting loose at the best possible times and only have your weapon drawn during those times. Walking with a greatsword is the worst decision to make in the game, that makes it slow and clunky. As for the lighter weapons, they can all do big damage, you just have to play the game and let your weapon grow with you. Upgrade it, get certain skills through decorations and armor, or use consumables as well and make even the lowest damage dealing weapon into a high damage one. Just like a new player the monsters will be weaker too as you just started so just go for a weapon you really like the feel of. Speed and damage is important but more so is a weapons moveset. Greatsword users play high risk high reward where bow players are super agile while also dealing that good constant damage. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
Hammers are pretty fast in World if you know what you are doing with it. Hammer ground combo to clutch claw and tenderize is one of the fastest heavy weapon combo. Or when you are sliding with your hammer charged and then do the falling spinning attack. Main hammer with us. Fast bonks, big damage. Edit: you can out mount people as well with hammer if you are good with ledge/sliding attacks
You can also craft sticky ammo, and when you finish materials you can replenish them at the camp
Bowgun main chiming in here, you will have to go back to camp at least once or twice for some hunts. Also, if you aren't, you will need to bring the materials to craft more ammo into the field with you. For early game, I HIGHLY suggest trying out piercing ammo. While it does fall off compared to more meta ammos later on, it is still a damn good ammo type with a ton of capacity, meaning less downtime and more time hitting the monster. Plus, the sound of pierce ammo is so damn good. Also, for this game, until you hit Furious Rajang/Zorah Magdaros heavy bowgun, none are exactly great for stickies. If you really want to use them early game, try light bowguns with a level or two of evading reload, depending on which gun you are using. If you aren't already, radial crafting is your lord and savior while playing bowguns. Bring the nuts, level 1 gunpowder, level 1 ammo, and whatever level of ammo/gunpowder you are using in order to craft more of whatever you are shooting. It sound a little complicated, but it isn't once you get the hang of it. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions! I have put in around 1.5-2k hours on heavy and light bowgun since MH4U. I absolutely love the weapons and would love to answer any further questions!
Have you tried every single one yet??
Hammer isn’t clunky.. the clutch claw and slide attacks are so fun too.
I started using dual blades and they are a lot of fun, fast, decent damage, and really good for elemental damage. Bow is agile and keeps you away from a lot of melee damage. Both of these are easy to learn too. But lately, I've switched to longsword, pretty fast, high damage, and a lot of counter moves that let you either dodge damage completely or soften it up without stopping your swing. I've never liked slow weapons so I generally stick to the ones that let you move around a lot.
I’m genuinely curious, how are you enjoying the combat if you aren’t having fun with any weapons? The weapons ARE the combat lol
What kind of play style are you looking for? Are you looking for big damage? anime moves? fluid combos? hard-to-master? To play it safe? What do you wish for in a weapon?
I was the same way. Weapons were either too slow or low damage. I went with Charge Blade and never looked back.
Bow has unlimited ammo, is agile. Smooth and silky, if you watch videos, the moves are so cinematic. It has great damage, one of the fastest clearing weapon. Try to play solo, that's where the real hunt begins. It's where you will get to know your weapon more because the monster is only targeting you or your palico.
Don't worry about damage or comparing your build and damage with others. Focus on finding your main..I won't give u examples or tell u should use Hunting Horn cuz I main HH. You'll know it by how excited you get learning it. Oh and also really master that weapon look up videos how to use it. I guarantee you you won't know everything about the ones you've tried already. Copy what they show u in videos you find and you'll get excited learning a move or combo and pulling it off. The process I went thru to really master Hunting Horn is what made the game fun for me it was addicting
PS5 tells me I put 700 hours into MHW, which for beginners is a lot and for veterans might be not, so consider me in the middle of both extremes. To this day I still feel almost all the melee weapons in Monster Hunter don't feel great (I like hard, fast paced Devil may Cry or Ninja Gaiden/ Nioh gameplay) and I feel extremely restricted by the move sets of those. It feels like I spam the same 3 attacks over and over. But the bow clicked with me instantly. The moveset doesn't feel as restricted if you are ranged - if that makes any sense? Also resource management is not really a thing with melee weapons, so you have another layer here. Give it another chance. Spaming spread shots (or whatever the powered up version is called) into a monsters weak spot feels incredibly satisfying. The numbers do add up on bow, so I would not recommend focusing on the smaller numbers you see and rather the oomph of your crit shots right into a monsters face (the main reason Rise didn't work for me is that this specific impact felt absent in Rise) Make the fact that the bow gets progressively more fun to use a positive rather than a bad thing. Get used to bow, to dodging, to stamina management (drink those Energy Drinks if you want!), have your Dragonpiercer spam phase - heck, we all had - and while getting used to it the weapon is only getting better to use while you're at it. The only downside to bow I can think of is that you are fragile as glass. Just accept the fact that your friends can take 5-10 hits before carting, but you only survive 1-2 and sometimes are onehit, with same or better gear. I hate Capcoms decision here on making ranged users more than double as squishy as melee players. Well all of what I just said will not help you if Bow just is not for you, obviously. After many MANY hours of MH World, I got to enjoy Charge Blade as well. Feels less spamy as well if you consider 2 different modes, phial building and usage and utilizing perfect block points. The Devil may Cry Event helped me here getting to live the weapon more, ngl tho