Insect Glaive Overview

Insect Glaive (操虫棍 Sōchūkon: also known as "Insect Taming Staff", "Insect Operating Rod", "Neopteron Handler", and "Insect Rod") is a new weapon introduced in Monster Hunter 4. This double-ended rod is capable of quick, fluid attacks similar to the Long Sword.  It also allows the hunter to jump at any time in a pole vaulting fashion. The rod is also capable of summoning a Kinsect to attack monsters. The hunter can either freely send out the Kinsect on a direct flight, or first shoot out a pheromone bullet at the target that works as a "lock on." This allows the insect to home in. When the Kinsect successfully hits an enemy, it will drain out an "essence" which varies in color and attribute, depending on which part of the monster it hits. This will then power up the hunter when the Kinsect is called back. The Kinsect is always found clinging on the right arm of the hunter when it's not in flight. 

- Weapon Traits :

The Insect Glaive's attacking style is based on the art of Bōjutsu, where the wielder employs various long-ranged techniques like thrusting, sweeping, and spinning. The techniques are not limited to just attacking, however, as the rod can also be used to perform tricky maneuvers like pole vaulting to gain a high-ground advantage, or for evasive purposes. The Insect Glaive has many uses and suits both front-line players and support players. Other interesting facts about the weapon include:

• The player can enter "aiming" mode and shoot the "pheromone" bullet to mark specific body parts of the monsters. This will allow the Kinsect to home in on the marked spot to easily get a desired essence.
• The pole vaulting is primarily used to do a "leap-attack" that is usually only possible by jumping off ledges. This is very useful, since an Insect Glaive user will be able to stagger monsters with the pole vault virtually anywhere. Also allowing for more chances to mount the monster. The vaulting leap-attack is also very useful for chasing a monster that's about to flee by flying upwards.
• Apart from using it for attacking, the pole vault is also very useful for evasive purposes. One can vault out of the way of long-ranged projectiles like Gravios's sweeping beam, over incoming monsters like a charging Rathalos, or area of effect moves like Khezu's electrical discharge.
• In addition to offensive and defensive uses, the pole vaulting can also be used to assist hunters in traveling more quickly, such as vaulting onto elevated platforms that would otherwise require the hunter to first sheathe their weapon and then climb up.
• The rod is a very mobile weapon, allowing the users to constantly change their positions via the leaping attacks. This leaping comes with possible shortcomings. It might put the users in a disadvantaged position whilst moving carelessly. It also has a rather long stance-recovery animation that initiates automatically after every attack. It is advisable to roll after finishing an attack to avoid this animation.
• The Insect Glaive's unsheathe attack can be immediately chained into other attacks.
• The rod is considered to be as fast as the Dual Blades, while staying fluid and having a longer reach like the Long Swords.
• The Insect Glaive can deal both "Slash" and "Impact" damage. The top part of the rod deals the "Slash" damage, while the end tip (bottom of the rod) deals "Impact" damage that also "marks" monsters with pheromone. The Kinsect's flying attack can do "Slash" type damage or "Impact" type damage depending on the insect.

- Kinsect

The Kinsect is the default insect (in Monster Hunters' case, Neopteron special subspecies) which is available with each Insect Glaive. Each of them have a distinct physiology, unique stats, and are even enhanceable by evolving them into better forms.

Kinsect Stats

Each Kinsect has its own stats, very similar to any kind of monster. These stats are enhanced during the upgraded process. The stats are:

• Power = Increases the damage of the Kinsect.
• Stamina = Determines the number of times the Kinsect can be commanded to attack in one session.
• Speed = Increases the speed at which the Kinsect moves.
• Fire = Increases the Kinsect's fire elemental damage.
• Water = Increases the Kinsect's water elemental damage.
• Thunder = Increases the Kinsect's thunder elemental damage.
• Ice = Increases the Kinsect's ice elemental damage.
• Dragon = Increases the Kinsect's dragon elemental damage. 

Enhancing

Like enhancing the weapon itself, the Kinsects' statistics can be enhanced to allow them to evolve (in Monster Hunter terms). Their upgrading process requires Nectars, which enhance's the Kinsect's stats. Once enough nectar is fed, they can be leveled up, and eventually evolve into a different type of insect, such as the speed-type, stamina type, power-type, and hybrid type. However, the enhancing process itself is extremely far more complex compared to other weapons, as the Kinsect needs to be upgraded multiple times before the Glaive itself can be upgraded.

- Essences

When a Kinsect is used to attack (drains essence) from a monster, the body part which it hits determines what type of essence it 'steals' to power up the hunter upon its return. There are 4 essences, which are:

• White = Increase the hunter's speed for 90 seconds. Generally acquired from the monster's legs and wings.
• Red = Increase the hunter's attack and alters some attack animations (e.g. some attacks hit multiple times in a single input) for 60 seconds. Generally acquired from the monster's head.
• Orange = Increase the hunter's defense and knockback resistance to weak attacks for 45 seconds. Generally acquired from the monster's body.
• Green = Recover a small amount of health. Generally acquired from the monster's tail.

However, sometimes the essence given varies between monsters. For example, while the tail normally provides green essence, a Fatalis tail might instead yield an orange essence instead. To use the Insect Glaive to its fullest potential, it is very important to learn the essence locations on each monster.

There are 3 essence slots, one for each color excluding the green one (since it gets used straight away), which the hunter can mix together to get certain buffs. This is similar to mixing the musical notes with the Hunting Horns. These buff mixes include:

• Red + White = Attack Up (Small) + Red and White bonuses for 60 seconds.
• White + Orange = Defense Up (Small) + Earplugs (resistance to some monster roars) + White and Orange bonuses for 60 seconds.
• Red + White + Orange = Attack Up (Large) + Defense Up (Large) + Earplugs + Red, White, and Orange bonuses for 60 seconds.

- Pros and Cons

Advantages

• Has great speed and power.
• Can attack fluidly like a Long Sword and as fast as the Dual Blades.
• Has a jump move that can be used for a mounting attack or evasive actions.
• Can receive various buffs in speed, attack, and defense and even earplugs.
• Long range attacks via Kinsect.
• The leaping attack, with the Insect Glave, makes it very easy to mount a monster.

Disadvantages

• The leaps made by the Insect Glaive do not grant invulnerability like a 'true evasion' does, so certain attacks of large monsters like Akantor and Ukanlos can strike the wielder mid-air.
• The lack of shield makes the wielder of the Insect Glaive reliant on evasion, placing the wielder in danger of attacks too close, fast, or wide to be dodged.
• Though the leap attack itself ignores stagger threshold, every leap attack does not yield a guaranteed stagger from the monster every time.
• Each mounted attack considerably increases the monster's resistance to any further mounted attacks. Therefore, the sole, rapid use of leap attacks to force the monster to a 'mounting/stagger headlock' within a long time span has a significantly weaker damage output than unleashing combo attacks without mounted attacks within the same time span.
• Obtaining different essences from monsters and maintaining the effects can be quite the chore; especially when the wielder is facing agile or multiple monsters.
• The buffs may be similar to the Hunting Horn, but are shorter in duration and are personal only.
• Extremely complex upgrading process, requiring a large amount of materials and zenny to upgrade an Insect Glaive to its fullest potential, thereby making it the least cost-effective weapon.

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTqOFUMKaAE 

 

 

 

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Charge Blade Overview

Charge Blade (チャージアックス Chājiakkusu) is a new weapon first introduced in MH4. This weapon is somewhat similar to the Switch Axe, with the ability to switch between two different weapon modes: the Sword Mode and the Axe Mode. Sword Mode comes with a shield for blocking, is relatively quick, and is primarily used for charging up energy. Once enough has been charged, it can be stored in the shield, and the hunter can use powerful explosive attacks in the slower but stronger Axe Mode. In MH4U, the shield itself can also be charged for a damage bonus, and enables the destructive Super Amped Element Discharge (colloquially referred to as the "Ultra Burst").

- Weapon Traits :

The Charge Blade is well known for its versatility and high skill ceiling, being well applicable to a myriad of situations via its two modes.

Sword Mode

• The weapon is unsheathed in this mode by default.
• Sword Mode is primarily used for building up energy.
• The weapon will automatically block at the end of a Roundslash attack, and at the beginning of a morph-to-axe attack.
• The player can attack with a morph-to-axe attack immediately after blocking.
• Enough attacks will cause the Phial Meter next to the player's Sharpness Meter to glow yellow, then red. Charging the axe (R+A) when this meter is yellow will fill three (3) phials, and charging while red will fill five (5) phials.
• Overfilling the Phial Meter without charging the axe will cause it to display a message that says "CHARGE," and will cause all attacks in sword to bounce regardless of sharpness.
• The easiest way to fill the Phial Meter is to use the charged double-slash attack (Hold A for a moment, then release) and the Roundslash.
• Press R+X to morph to Axe Mode and attack.

Axe Mode

• The player can unsheathe and immediately morph to Axe Mode with R+X+A.
• Axe mode is to be used when the player has charged energy phials.
• Pressing the A button while in Axe Mode will perform attacks that consume these phials, typically one per attack. The player can also press X+A to immediately use the slow but powerful Amped Element Discharge, colloquially known as a "Super Burst." The weapon will automatically morph back to Sword Mode after this attack.
• Charge Blades can have Impact phials, which deal explosive damage and can stun a monster, or Element phials, which deal a heavy dose of the weapon's elemental damage.
• Introduced in MH4U, pressing the R button during the initial "charging" animation of a Super Burst will instead charge the shield and perform a Roundslash, causing the shield to glow red, or making the entire weapon glow red in Axe Mode. This gives a 20% damage bonus and causes shield-bash attacks to deal Phial damage. A charged shield will last 30 seconds per phial consumed, and must be replenished to maintain the damage bonus.
• A charged shield while in Axe Mode grants access to the powerful Ultra Burst attack in place of a Super Burst. The Ultra Burst consumes the shield's charge and all available charged Phials in exchange for a powerful shockwave attack. Be sure not to miss! If you wish to use the Super Burst instead and keep your shield's charge, hold BACK on the analog stick (that is, the opposite direction your character is facing relative to the camera) and press X during the "charge" animation before the Burst.

- Pros and Cons :

Pros

• Good Defensive and Offensive capability
• Several infinite combo
• Transition between two modes can link a combo
• After Charging the shield, its defense capability is as good as lance and gunlance
• Can stun monster with Power phial and Element phial exploit elemental weakness for massive damage
• Good dps from sword mode and have incredible range in axe mode 

Cons

• Long animation attack from its ultimate attack ( Ultra Burst)
• Slower than SnS in sword and shield mode
• Ultra Burst can disrupt other player
• Need timing for landing Ultra Burst safely
• You need master BOTH modes in order to reach the weapon maximum ability
• Long sheath animation

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wRRvB-41I   

 

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Switch Axe Overview

The Switch Axe (スラッシュアックス Surasshuakkusu) is a Blademaster weapon class first introduced in MH Tri, and is present in MHP3rd, MH3U, MH4 and MH4U.

Official description : A powerful melee weapon, capable of such momentum that the hunter swinging it is dragged around by the momentum of each swing. Described as a marvel of technology capable of phantasmagorical might.

The weapon has transformation capabilities, with one blade shifting while being sheathed as well as sliding to a different position to change its attack style. In its secondary form, the weapon behaves far differently from its standard variation and uses a phial of specialized coating to add certain effects to the weapon. The weapon is also able to overload this phial, ending in a concentrated burst. 

The true power of the weapon is its versatility, with the 2 different forms and the combos to link the two types together. Rather than dodge rolling, the Switch Axe has a quick step to the side, allowing the user to keep focused on his attack while keeping out of harm's reach.

It consists of two forms: Axe and Sword. The axe possesses a great range and can hit difficult-to-reach parts of the monsters very easily, especially with the rising slash which can even hit a Rath's wing while it is flying. It also has a potentially infinite combo which is limited by stamina. It consists of swinging the axe very quickly from left to right and right to left after a rising slash. Apart from that, its power and mobility are similar to Long Sword without spirit bar effects.

The Sword mode, which uses the phial, looks similar to Great Sword in form, but is a much faster weapon with less powerful attacks when compared to GS. The player can simply hit with vertical or horizontal combos to benefit from the phial effect, and can also make a concentrated burst (or discharge): after a forward slash, the weapon will rise while dealing damage, then produce a powerful explosion which produces recoil and makes the weapon revert to axe mode. Of course, this move will still benefit from the phial effect.

The time spent in Sword mode is limited to an energy meter found under the Sharpness indicator. The bar only decreases when the weapon is swung while in Sword mode. Of course, standing around and looking at your marvelous Switch Axe in Sword mode does little to slay your target. Once this energy bar is depleted, the weapon will change back into Axe form and will need to be reloaded before going back into Sword form. The energy meter automatically recovers over time, but can be "reloaded" 40% by attempting to switch to sword mode while below 50% charge. 

- Phials

Every switch axe is imbued with one type of phial, which boosts their capabilities while in sword mode. The types and effects of the phials are as follows:

• Power Phial: A phial that boosts the raw power of a Switch Axe's sword mode. One of the more common phials.
• Element Phial: A phial that boosts the natural elemental/status power of a Switch Axe in sword mode. Only Switch Axes with natural element/status can have this phial.
• Dragon Phial: A phial that gives a Switch Axe a fixed amount of Dragon Element in sword mode. Since natural Dragon Element is very rare among Switch Axes, these weapons are treated as quick substitutions. Switch Axes with this phial are always Raw, and  have Dragon Element as their latent elemental power.
• Poison Phial: A phial for raw Switch Axes, giving them venomous properties in sword mode. Switch Axes with this phial always have the Poison status as their hidden latent power.
• Paralysis Phial: A phial for raw Switch Axes, giving them potential paralytic effects in sword mode. Switch Axes with this phial always have the Paralysis status as their hidden latent power.
• Exhaust Phial: A unique, raw-exclusive Switch Axe Phial that famously only come from the "Wild Axe" branches. It gives a Switch Axe the ability to drain boss monsters' stamina on select attacks, making them more prone to exhaustion while also being able to stun monsters if sufficiently hitting the head like impact attacks. They still are able to cut tails like slice attacks. However, Switch Axes with this phial have no hidden latent power that can be activated with the "Awakening" skill.

- Pros and Cons :

Pros

• Allows for easy evasion skills.
• Sword Mode features built-in ESP.
• Attacks come out relatively quick, and attacks even faster in Sword Mode.
• Can switch modes mid-combo.
• All of its combos are infinite.
• Doesn't require good precision.
• Axe Mode's upswing attack has the highest range of any blademaster weapon.

Cons

• Loses sharpness faster than average.
• It's most powerful attacks are disruptive to other hunters.
• Seems to be a tad underpowered in Tri, although does slightly more damage overall in p3rd.
• Combos are rather hard to get out of; another con that has been removed in p3rd.
• Mobility is rather limited in axe mode, and has the same mobility of a great sword in sword mode.
• Lacks a guard.

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRv1_mGf2R8 

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Gunlance Overview

Gunlances (ガンランス Ganransu), also known as GL, are long, piercing weapons with a mechanism inside which can fire an explosive round. This is called Shelling. Unlike Bowguns, the Gunlance cannot fire over distances. The Shelling ability can only be used from close range and reduces the weapon's sharpness with each use. The use of the weapon is largely similar to the original Lance. Unlike ranged weapons, Gunlances come with preset, unlimited ammo. They are able to charge up, indicated by the radiating energy at the tip of the lance, and dish out a strong explosive attack referred to as Wyvern's Fire. 

- Weapon Traits :

• The Gunlance has piercing damage, meaning it has a bonus damage for every piercing attack you do, and most of the monsters in the game are very weak to this kind of damage. It could be said that the damage goes almost directly through a monster. Meaning that while most weapons will have a damage reduction due to the monsters defense, a Gunlance user (as well as a Lance user) will have most of their base damage go unaffected.
• The Gunlance provides the hunter with Shielding capability which is as good as a Lance user due to the size of the shields. Lances and Gunlances have the strongest Shielding capability and can block some attacks that other shielding weapons would otherwise find unblock-able.
• The Gunlance has the Quick Draw feature, allowing the hunter to quick draw the weapon to shielding position just by pressing "R" button and then triangle while standing still, which can be very useful.

• The Gunlance has the Shelling Ability. As the name implies, the lance has a gun embedded in it, which will activate with a press of a button. The best way to think about it is a regular lance with shaped charges strapped to the end. The shots are quite short ranged, but work well when linked with the stabs of the Lance. You can see the amount of shells you have remaining on the upper left side of the screen and you can reload by pressing circle while defending with the R button, or by pressing "O" after a back jump. 

• • The type of shells fired differ depending on the individual Gunlance. These usually range from Level 1 to Level 3 shelling (though some go as high as Level 5, Monster Hunter Frontier currently has Level 6 Gunlances), and come in three different types: Normal, Spread, and Long. As the names imply, each type works differently.

  • Compared to a [Normal] type Gunlance, a [Spread] type's Wyvern Fire will have a wider blast radius, while a [Long] type is granted greater range. Regardless of level, a [Normal] Gunlance has 5 shots, [Long] types have 3, and [Spread] types have 2. However, [Long] and [Spread] shots inflict more damage than [Normal] shots

  • The shelling feature has a downside: it burns through the weapon's sharpness. Using it will quickly dull the weapon. Whetstones are strongly recommended when using this weapon.

• Gunlances come with an incredible explosion attack known as Wyvern Fire. This attack can be done by pressing the circle and triangle buttons while defending with the R button. The delay is usually 3 seconds and you have to be close for the attack to land. The downside is that after using it you'll have to wait for your weapon to cool down before being able to use Wyvern Fire again. The cool down period is 110 seconds. Also the Gunlance's sharpness will dull after use (similar to Shelling) and leave you vulnerable to attack shortly after use. Wyvern's Fire is four times the length and four times the damage of its shell shot. It is one long blast that is divided into four sections, so if you hit a wyvern very close up you would do the full four times the damage, but if you hit it at half the length, you only do twice the damage of shell shot and so-on.

• The Gunlances, just like the Lances, can chain attacks. An example would be an attack from 3 single forward stabs to a shelling shot and repeat, or mix up with an uppercut (circle plus triangle) to diagonal attacks. See the video below for a great tutorial on how to do these combos.
• The Gunlance also has a new attack where if you hold down the shelling button you can charge up any single shell shot.

- Generation Changes

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd

The Gunlance received a large boost to its moveset in MHP3, making it a more aggressive weapon in the game.

• Gunlances in MHP3 can now do a Quick Reload, which reloads a single shell at high speed with the opportunity to fire a slightly delayed shot afterwards; this shot in turn can be chained into another Quick Reload for an easy infinite combo. This can be done by pressing after every shot.
• The Full Burst is a new attack for the Gunlance. This occurs in certain combos, most commonly by pressing the button three times. The weapon slams downward to the ground after the third press of the button and fires all the current number of shells the Gunlance holds, creating a massive explosion that greatly damages all foes within its radius.

• In addition, the forward stab can be linked into a downward smashing attack; the smash can then be chained into a Wyvern's Fire attack or to a Full Burst.

• Charged Shelling is also a new attack for the Gunlance, where it charges its shells first before firing at the intended target. This can be done in a number of ways; one of them is by holding the button and pressing the at the same time.

Monster Hunter 3 G

• Removal of the auto-guard glitch present in Portable 3rd.

Monster Hunter 4

• The Gunlance can now do a slam attack after jumping off a ledge and do a Full burst or Wyvern's Fire after jumping.
• The Gunlance gains a new attack pressing R+A when moving forward. The hunter makes a small Dash forward and fires a shell. If the hunter makes this move near a ledge, it will shoot a shell in mid-air.
• The Gunlance can do the Wyvern's Fire while jumping.

Monster Hunter X

• Tha Gunlance now features a "Heat" gauge, whenever the weapon's user fires a shell, the bar start filling up. When the gauge hits a level (yellow, orange, red), the damage of the Gunlance's attack (not shells) increases. However, when the gauge hits the limit or using Wyvern's Fire , the Gunlance becomes "overheated" and can't shell for a period of time . The heat bar's level is reduced by evading or not shelling for a while.

• Also, when the Wyvern's fire is used, the heat gauge slightly depletes after going on overheat.

- Pros and Cons :

Advantages

• Consistent and reliable shelling damage with its fixed and unblockable damage.
• Capable of executing a variety of relatively fluid combos by mixing up stabs and shelling.
• Versatile range and attack direction, able to attack at 45 degree and 90 degree angles (overhead). Coupled with Long shell types, the Gunlance becomes one of the longest-reaching Blademaster weapons.

Disadvantages

• Shelling, and its associated special attacks, chew through sharpness relatively quickly.
• Gunlances cannot fire shells when sharpness is at red level.
• Heavy settle animations on most actions (Reloading, lance slam, Full Blast, Wyvern Fire etc.) that leave the user open to attacks.
• Only method of dodge is a single backhop/sidestep with very short invincibility frames, giving Gunlance users limited evasive options.
• The Gunlance's wide spread shelling attacks (Wide shells, Full Blast and Wyvern Fire) pose the large risk of friendly fire disrupting nearby hunters.  

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcOKIvrWUL0 

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Lance Overview

Lances (ランス Ransu) are long weapons that can strike from a distance. The lance is always accompanied by a large shield which generally grants a powerful defense against most attacks. Although slow and difficult to travel with, the weapon's damage output can be impressive. Lances have different moves, such as the upstab, forward stab, and charging attack. Lances are one of the only weapons that can attack and block at the same time. They have a sub-category of weapons known as the Gunlance.

- Weapon Traits :

Lances are powerful Weapons that should not be overlooked. They have the capacity to deal some pretty decent damage. Lances can be found in the 2 main trees (as usual with almost all weapons).  

• Lances have an overall high Sharpness bar compared to other weapons (even though almost no natural white bar of sharpness is available in MHF2.
• Lances come with a shield and are the best blockers in the game (along with Gunlances).
• Lances have a tendency to be accompanied with a defense bonus (although this defense boost is usually minimal). They can be used for tanking but Gunlances are recommended if you choose to take the tanking route.
• Lances come in a wide variety of elements, making them suitable for the every situation. They are not as elementally powerful as the Sword and Shield, however.
• Lances have a long range of attack (due to their length) and have very precise and accurate strikes. This makes them perfect for targeting specific monster parts that other weapons can not reach as easily.
• Lances have a middle to high overall damage. Compared to their cousins, the Gunlances, they have higher damage.
• Hunters can land 2 kinds of stabs: frontal and upward. Both of these can be chained up to 3 times.
• Lance wielders can perform small back jumps and sideways slides. After each evade you can chain 3 stabs in any combination. After a back jump, if you hold the analog stick right or left and press X, you can do a slide dodge in that direction. This is useful if you are unfamiliar with the dodging style and accidentally jump towards a monster.
• After performing one jump (or after attacking), the lancer can perform a large back-step that is longer than the usual back-step. You can do this by pulling back on the analog stick and pressing X during your hop after the initial hop or attack. After the large back-step is performed, you can not chain together any more jumps until you reset your combo. This jump also uses more stamina.
• Lance hunters can perform a charging attack that depletes stamina. The charge is relatively weak but can be finished with a powerful front stab, which is the strongest single Lance attack.
• An effective tactic for the charging attack is to knock the monster down, then charge near a jointed area of the monster (e.g. the joint of a Rathalos back and wing, or the joint of any monsters legs and stomach). You should be running in place towards said joint but still striking the joint, dealing large amounts of damage.
• Lances have the Fast draw and defensive stance abilities.
• Some users complain about the lack of mobility, but by back-hopping in the direction that you want to travel in you can reach your destination faster than if you were walking with your weapon unsheathed. Note: the amour skill Evade Distance Up increases the hop distance of the lance, thus improving evade techniques and unsheathed travel.
• Lances have the special ability to become either an impact or cutting weapon. meaning that the lance will take the higher of the two hit zones. For example, when the lance strikes a Rathalos in the head, the cutting hit zone has a value of 80 and the impact hit zone of the head has a value of 70. The game automatically will select the higher value, in this case the 80 cutting hit zone.
• In MH3 and MHP3rd, the Lance gained several different attacks that make it even more useful than before. The most important of these is a counter-stab that allows the user to deliver an upward stab immediately after blocking an attack. This has made the Lance popular with hunters who favor a more defensive style of playing. Like the SnS, the Lance can also perform a shield bash that deals impact damage. Although now you have to be guarding to press triangle and circle to perform a charge attack.
• In MH4, the lance gains a new attack while performing a charge attack: the hunter can do the normal finisher or they can jump and hit the monster and attempt to mount them as the other finisher.

- Lance Playstyle

  

Evade

• The most difficult lancing technique to master is the evade strategy. The reason why many of the expert players use this strategy is because you can kill a monster much faster by evading than by blocking with your shield
• For this strategy, you will need armor with the skill "Evade+2" (this skill increases the duration of invincibility while rolling/hopping). The skill "Evade Distance Up" (increases roll/jump distance) is not required, but it does make evading a little bit easier.
• Evade+2 will not let you jump through every attack in the game but it lets you evade most of them.
• The way the skill works is as the monster tries to hit you, you press the X button to jump backwards (or any other direction of your choice). If you time the jump correctly you will jump right through the attack without taking any damage.
• This method also helps to save stamina, as back hopping requires much less stamina than blocking.
• You can only evade attacks by hopping through them if the duration of the monster's attack is short enough.
• For example, let's say that you are using low rank Obituary/Butterfly armor which has the skill Evade+2 and you are lancing a Rathalos. The Rathalos' tail swing has a short duration, meaning that if you hop the second that you get hit, you will have successfully have evaded the attack. The fireball attack also has a short duration so if you back hopped through the fireball you will, again, have successfully evaded the attack.
• Now lets say that you are lancing an Akantor with Evade+2 armor. Akantor's charge attack has a long duration, so it is only possible to evade the attack by physically moving out of the way. If you back hopped, once you finished with your jump you would still be in the way of Akantor's charge so you would get hit.
• The trick to evading through attacks is only to hop through attacks that have a short duration (tail swings, fireballs, bites, claw swings, etc.).
• The more experience you gain by using the lance, the easier it will become to determine the correct time and place to either evade or guard.
• One of the most useful armor sets would be the Narga X armor from Monster hunter freedom Unite. It gives evade +2 and evade distance up without the need to socket. The set also has a high amount of armor when fully upgraded and plenty of extra slots. (it's kind of the set you must have)

Guard

• The guarding strategy is the easier of the two primary lancing strategies, but by using this strategy you won't be able to kill monsters as fast as you could have using the evade strategy
• Evading may be used to be able to kill monsters fast, but guarding is not totally useless. That big shield is there for a reason. There are certain attacks that are much easier to defend against by guarding and there a few monsters, such as Black Gravios, that can be killed much quicker by shielding against their attacks.
• If you plan to block most of the monster's attacks, then a good armor skill to have would be "Guard+1" (there is an upgrade to this skill, Guard+2, that increases the skill's effectiveness but is rarely useful because Guard+1 will almost always do the trick)
• The skill Guard+1 reduces the stamina required to block an attack as well as reducing the knock-back of attacks. This means that for most attacks you won't get pushed back at all from blocking. This is very useful because it saves stamina and the time you save from not getting pushed back helps to reduce the your hunting time. Guard+2 increases these abilities further but it is not worth the slots because Guard+1 should be adequate for the majority of your hunts.
• Another skill that can be very useful against certain monsters is "Guard Up". This skill makes any previously unblock-able attacks now block-able. For example, the Plesioth's beam attack, Gravios's beam attack, and the Khezu's shock blast attack are all unblock-able attacks that will go right through your shield if you attempt to block them. With Guard Up, all of these attacks become block-able so now every attack in the game is block-able.

• The one downside of Guard Up is that some monster's do not have any unblock-able attacks which makes this skill useless against them. If you are fighting a Rathian, you can already block all of its attacks anyways without Guard Up which means that if you are using Guard Up during that fight it becomes a waste of valuable slots. Skills such as Guard+1 would've been much more useful in that situation.

• The way to fight a monster using a lance is simple. All you have to do is hit the monster a few times, back hop (it doesn't matter which direction you hop in) and hold block (its faster to cancel a combo with a hop and then shield than to stop attacking, wait for your character to get back into ready stance and then hold down the block button).

• Remember, do not get too greedy with your attacks or you will end up getting hit.

• Remember, just because these evading and guarding sections are listed under "lance techniques" doesn't mean that if you aren't using one of these strategies you're doing it wrong.

• It is up to the hunter to develop his/her own strategies and use whichever one they feel the most comfortable with.

• Some may find that they like using an even combination between guarding and evading and use an armor set with Evade+2 AND Guard+1 while others might feel more comfortable using only guarding techniques.
• The new counter-stab move introduced in Tri makes the guarding strategy much more useful, as it allows a hunter to quickly raise their shield after attacking, then attack immediately after guarding against a monster attack.

- Pros and Cons :

  

Advantages

• The Counter-stab maneuver allows the wielder to quickly cancel an attack combo to raise his shield, and then immediately keep attacking after blocking a monster attack. (MH3 Onwards)
• Incredible range.
• Considerably good attack power.
• Many lances also give defense boosts.
• Most effective guard out of all blademaster weapons.
• Good sharpness.

Disadvantages

• Dodging is somewhat limited.
• Small variety of attacks.
• Hard to wield for beginner.

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bikIBt4hs4  

 

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Hunting Horn Overview

The Hunting Horn (狩猟笛 Shuryōbue) is a weapon first introduced in the second generation of the Monster Hunter series. It is similar to the Hammer in that it does impact damage and can stun a monster when it connects with the head. 

Initially, the Hunting Horns were weaker than the Hammer, as per the damage formula. Even attacks which the two appear to share, such as the Superpound (Triangle+Circle), were weaker on the Hunting Horn. What makes the Horn different from the Hammer is the Recital ability which is triggered by pressing the "R" button.

As of Portable 3rd, the damage formulas have been changed and the Hunting Horn actually puts out more sustained damage than the hammer. The hammer still does more burst damage and more KO damage, but the HH's sustained is far superior. Each Horn has a different set of three color specific notes.These notes can be combined in various ways to create various effects, which mimic items such as Demondrug and Psychoserum, among others.

Notes

• All of the note combinations and note sets can be found in the weapon menu

• One important armor skill for HH users is Flute Expert. The Flute Expert skill adds one minute to the duration of every effect that the Hunting Horn creates with its music.
• Though extremely unused, it is possible to attack using recital mode. Ironically, this is the most powerful attack for the Hunting horn. 

Let’s start with the basics: the horn is basically a hammer in that it has very high attack and has big swings that can KO monsters. However, unlike hammer, it has no charge system. Each attack you do (X, X+A, and A) each register a color on your sheet music on top of the screen. Once you have registered notes that trigger a set effect they light up. Press R to play the song and gain the effects. We are talking BIG effects like attack up large and HQ ear plugs. Of the coast is clear, press R again during playing to do the song one additional time, stacking the effect. The effects of songs typically last 2 minutes but if you activate horn maestro (only 5 gems needed) songs last for around 3 min. Each horn has a set of different songs but all share the same one: X, X. This makes you move faster with your weapon out, in fact, faster than any other weapon. You’ll be running around like an SNS wielder!

All you really have to do is play that first song and you can battle without playing anything. Once you get used to it you can learn to use the other songs. Note that when you play a song you’ll start with an attack, this is great to knock away small enemies beforehand. Attack wise, A button does a golf swing. This is used to KO enemies and is fast. The unique thing about horn is that you generally want to face to the right when in front of a monster. This is because the golf swing and other big move (listed below) are swing over your head and of you are facing right you’ll smack monsters right across the face. The A swing is slightly curbed so 30-45 degree and to the right should be just enough to place a face smash when in from of an enemy.

X button neutral is just a normal swipe, not used much except when string notes for songs. Hold forward and press X though and you’ll do a forward down smash. This is a great pounding strike and relatively fast. X+A does a huge over the head swing. Because it’s over the head you want to be either facing right as mentioned above, or facing the same direction of the monster (get under it and do the move and you’ll smack it right in the face!). If you press forward while hitting X+A you’ll do a devastating swing then pound. This is very similar to the super pound the hammer does only you do not need to charge at all. Do this when the face is in front and you have 1.5 seconds to get it off.

And that’s all! It’s fun, powerful, and really unique. I hope you give it a try. Once you get good you’ll naturally choose attacks in the right order to activate songs while you battle. It creates this meditative state of mind when you are in the flow like that.

- Note about strategies:
 

There are a few main ways to fight. One is to primarily use A and aim for KOs and when the monster is down, go to its head and use the forward plus X+A to pound it in. Using forward +X on occasion to do a forward smash.

The other is walking around the monster until you can get in front if it, facing to the right (your left hand facing its head) and pressing X+A to deal a powerful over the head face smash. Same strategy as the above but harder since X+A is a bigger motion but stronger and easier to kill monsters faster.

Finally there is open style. Once you master the horn you’ll be in total freestyle mode, knowing when to get in the big X+A smash and when to smack it with A or X. You’ll even know which attacks each song your weapon will do when you start to recite and will KO enemies while belting out attack up

- Pros and Cons :

Advantages

• Longer reach than Hammer.
• Recital has different uses, from attack and defence boosts to elemental resistances, healing and the power to negate some status effects and tremors.

• Recital songs get even stronger in G rank.
• Has cutting damage by using the Forward Stab attack. (MHP3rd, MH3U and MH4. only)
• It is stronger than the Hammer in MHP3rd, MH3G and MH4.

Disadvantages

• Does not have charged attacks.
• Weaker than Hammer in the other previous series in which it is present. (MHFU, MHF2, MH2, MHF, MHG.)
• It has no guard.
• It's attacks are a bit slower than the Lance, Gunlance, and Long Sword.
• Due to long range and varying attacks, not as precise as the Hammer when targeting monster weak points.

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d8xCih5LSg

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Hammer Overview

The Hammer (ハンマー Hanmā) weapon class is a fairly common weapon type able to be used by players since the first Monster Hunter game. Staunch and resilient, the hammer is perhaps the first representative weapon-of-choice to dictate pure, unadulterated damage directly to the target. In this field, the weapon's typical attributes allow a hunter to run openly with the weapon drawn, perform short-range, almost "bunting" and swing attacks with their initial attack buttons, and the ability to charge up different types of swings while moving. As the hammer class has immense damage potential, and indeed, some of the outright highest raw damage in the game, the weapon boasts no defensive or evasive capabilities aside from the standard rolling dodge maneuver. A sense of timing is needed to master the weapon's true damaging traits: releasing charged swings while timing and aiming diligently against the foe's movements. No easy task. Further, hammers have a decent variance of elemental attributes, and are useful for racking up elemental damage. It's not possible to cut tails with a hammer, but it is easy to break heads and other body parts. 


Typically of moderate sharpness, the hammer is able to supplant high damage through its shoulder-button charged moves. These include a single swift swing, a one-two "golf swing," and, depending on if the hunter is moving or not, a whirling attack or a heavy bash onto the ground.
Stun damage to a large monster can be visually noted when yellow streaks or "stars" are seen to appear at its head. The Monster will fall down and have stars circling its head when it receives enough stun damage and is "Knocked Out". This is the perfect time to launch a few combos while the monster is vulnerable.


Hammers are sheer brute force. The best defense here is a good offense, and the best strategy for a hammer is to line oneself up safely while timing the R button swings at vital points. When hunting in groups, the hammer is useful to knock out monsters or make them flinch, while other hunters with cutting weapons are given a great opportunity to cut off the tails of monsters, and break parts without worrying about the monster attacking them. When you use the swinger at 4 swings press triangle to perform the most effective hammer damage. Players call that powerful swing the "Golf Swing" This can KO a monster. As of MH3, landing attacks on any part other than the head will drain a monster's stamina, which will slow down their movements and disable some of their more dangerous attacks. 

- Weapon Traits :

It is very often to see newer players dismiss the hammer for being heavy and slow to use despite its ridiculous amount of raw damage. A fact with the hammer is that due to its high damage, you will not be landing many hits during a hunt compared to other weapons, but still dealing a lot of damage. If you're used to dealing 3-4-5 hits and then retreating, you will find the hammer awkward. The following tips are written with accordance to MH3. 

• Use the Superpound (Full Charge attack, No direction applied) over the Spinning Attack (Full charge, Direction applied). The Spinning attack does okay damage, provided every swing hits. The biggest issue with the spinning attack is that you are caught in the animation until the spinning stops, if you do find yourself in this situation and either need or want to get out of the way. Pressing the Groundsmash (Triangle or X) will get you out of this after 2 spins. From there you are free to roll away or continue with a Groundsmash combo. Though keep in mind the charged spinning attack isn't all that bad. On the chance of actually hitting with a status effect, the spinning attack will hit numerous times, this is particularly good in a few situations. e.g. a monster is limping away, a paralyze hammer paired with the spinning attack gives you the chance to paralyze the monster while dealing a moderate amount of damage.

• The Superpound attack will be your main damage dealer, the Golfswing combo ( Triangle, Triangle, Triangle/X, X, X) does deal more damage, however you are not given the luxury of the monster sitting there to take it. Plus chaining Superpounds will do more damage in a certain amount of time than chained Golfswing combos. The beauty of the superpound is that you can run in, release the charge, roll out and you're safe while dealing a large amount of damage. This does take practice to perfect due to the fact the difference between the superpound and the spinning attack is whether you're applying movement direction.

• If you do get the chance to commit to a golfswing combo, you can use an upward swing (just tap the R button or charge) to chain another golfswing in. This saves time compared to performing the combo, rolling away, finding the spot on the monster and the starting the combo again. In using the upward swing you are also getting another hit in as well.

• Timing, as with the Greatsword, is fairly crucial with the hammer. Keeping the charge in preparation for a superpound does decrease your stamina, with certain monsters this does keep you at a disadvantage - say you need to roll out after the superpound, insufficient stamina could mean taking damage. If you are still unfamiliar with the monster you are hunting, it is good idea to pack (Mega) Dash Juices. Dash Juice in particular is easily made with common materials.

• Hammer is a very straightforward weapon, apart from its raw damage it doesn't have many mechanics like the Longsword or Greatsword with skills. This gives you the freedom to gem armor sets with things like Elem/Attack up or Constitution. Don't be afraid to gem for basic things.
• When Knocking Out a monster, it is not wise to go for as many 3-hit combos as possible. Instead, perform the first two hits, roll away, and then use the 3-hit combo. The reason being is that after performing the final golfswing, you have lots of recovery that cannot be rolled out of. On the other hand, the first two hits of your Triangle combo can be rolled out of almost immediately. In doing this, you ensure the most hits on a monster without taking any chances. By the time you finish the golfswing on your second combo, the monster should be getting back up, where, depending on the monster, you can probably throw in a quick tap of the R button and then roll away.
• The charge can be cancelled with a roll, so you can be very liberal in using it. It's a good idea to start a charge when you see that there may be an opening. If there is, rush in and take it, taking advantage of the charge you built while waiting. If not, roll away to cancel the charge. Just take note that enough stamina is needed to roll as usual, so don't hold the charge for excessive amounts of time.
• The Focus skill is good for a hammer, but it is not as helpful as it is for other weapons. This is because the hammer's attacks differ on the length of the charge, and using the Superpound is not always preferable as it leaves you open with a very long recovery.

- Pros and Cons :

Advantages

• Surprisingly light when unsheathed.
• Highest raw damage out of all blademaster weapons
• Particularly useful charged attacks. (Can also remain mobile while charging attacks)
• Can KO monsters
• Drains monsters' stamina (in MH3 and on)
• Short range and uniform attacks gives it great precision when targeting monster weak points

Disadvantages

• Slow to attack
• Requires good timing
• Sharpness is pitiful(but not consumed as fast, due to fewer attacks)
• Charge attacks cost stamina
• Elemental and status damage is mostly poorer than other weapon types
• Unable to cut tails
• Tendency to launch allied hunters into the air with the drawing attack / golf swing
• Unimpressive reach — must be closer to the monster than other weapons, making evasion significantly more difficult

- Tutorial for Beginner Hunter (by GaijinHunter / @aevanko)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQD-adUNd10  

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