Most weapons in Monster Hunter Rise are categorized as Blademaster weapons, such as Great Sword, Sword & Shield, and Switch Axe. Normally, these weapons are designed for up-close-and-personal combat. However, three of the fourteen weapons in the game are categorized as Gunner: Bow, Light Bowgun, and Heavy Bowgun.
Gunner weapons are designed for long-range combat, leading to a completely different experience in the Monster Hunter franchise. Gunner weapons function differently than Blademaster weapons, meaning that those Hunters will need Armor Skills that are unique to the Gunner weapons' functions. These Skills are the best options for a prospective Gunner's Armor sets.
10 Partbreaker
The Partbreaker Skill is not only useful to Blademaster users, but to Gunners as well. Partbreaker increases damage dealt to monster parts, meaning Hunters will have an easier time severing monster tails and breaking certain body parts. It's also incredibly useful for players having difficulty trying to find one specific material from a monster.
This Skill is especially helpful to Gunners, who in online hunts take a backseat from the action, inflicting damage from afar while their companions get down and dirty with the target monster. While other players are distracted by dodging a monster's furious attacks, the Gunner of the team can continuously damage certain monster parts, helping everybody earn more rewards.
9 Diversion
This is another Skill that's perfect for Gunners who hunt online with friends. The Diversion Skill only needs one level to activate, at which point it draws a monster's attention to the player more often. While this seems counterintuitive, it's helpful for Gunners who can handle a monster from afar while their teammates heal up.
Since it only needs one level to activate, all it takes is one Decoration or one piece of Armor to take advantage of this Skill's benefits. Diversion can be found on Kushala Daora Armor sets, as well as Ludroth and Arzuros pieces. The Decoration is also easy to make, only requiring Remobra materials.
8 Recoil Down
One of the downsides to using Light Bowgun or Heavy Bowgun is the recoil that players are afflicted with while firing. This can lead to players taking unnecessary amounts of damage during long fights. Thankfully, the Recoil Down skill decreases the damage dealt from recoil by three levels.
For players looking to take full advantage of this skill, it will require at least three pieces of appropriate armor, or three slots taken up by a Recoil Down Decoration. However, it's possible for players to get lucky with the Melding Pot and receive a Talisman that ups their levels in this Skill.
7 Reload Speed
Unfortunately, fighting is not non-stop for Gunner users, as they'll constantly be having to reload ammo or recoat arrows. However, this isn't dissimilar to Blademasters who have to pause fighting in order to sharpen their weapons. Similar to the Speed Sharpening skill, the Reload Speed skill will make this process go much faster.
This is another Skill with three levels, and Gunners should make sure they're spending as little as time possible reloading. This Skill will come in full on Rakna-Kadaki Armor sets, along with the skill Spread Up. However, a Decoration can be crafted from Magnamalo and Diablos parts, which will certainly be harder battles to get through.
6 Ammo Up
Normally, Light Bowgun or Heavy Bowgun users have to get used to the loading capacity of their weapons. However, they can worry about this less with the Ammo Up Skill, which increases the bowgun's clip size for certain ammo types. At the highest level of this Skill, it affects all ammo types.
Unfortunately, the only Armor set that carries this Skill is the Great Wroggi set, only reaching one level. To reach all three levels of this Skill, players will need to craft a Decoration in High Rank. It doesn't get easier from there, as this specific Decoration will require materials from Wind Serpent Ibushi, one of the game's final bosses.
5 Bow Charge Plus
The Bow is unique among the Gunner weapons, meaning there are many Skills that only benefit it. Thankfully, there are great options amongst these Skills for Bow users. One of those Skills is Bow Charge Plus, a single-level skill that increased the maximum charge level of the bow by one.
Even Blademasters can imagine how much an additional charge level helps Bow users. However, this Skill is unique, since it can only be found on the Mighty Bow Feather Armor piece, which can be difficult to acquire. However, Hunters that spend a lot of time in Arena Quests may luck out.
4 Spare Shot
Spare Shot is a Skill that activates with probability that increases upon each level of the skill. This means that with one level, the skill only activates 3% of the time, while at its highest it activates 20% of the time. So, the question is: is Spare Shot worthwhile enough of a Skill to warrant only a 20% chance of activating?
This depends on how frugal of a Hunter you are. When Spare Shot activates, there's a chance that a Bow or Bowgun shot won't cost you ammo or coatings. Basically, it's a free use of ammo or coatings without losing one from your inventory. For hunters who are worried about running out of ammo mid-hunt, this Skill would be your saving grace.
3 Artillery
Artillery is another Skill that benefits Blademasters as well as Gunners. With three levels, Artillery increases the power of explosive attacks by up to 30%. This effects not only Bowgun shells and Sticky Ammo, but also the Charge Blade's phial attacks and the Gunlance's Wyvern's Fire.
Hunters also have some options in terms of Armor sets for this Skill. It can be easily equipped with High Rank Rhenoplos set, though it's possible this won't be a sustainable Armor set deeper into High Rank. Thankfully, it's also available in full with Bazelgeuse Armor, along with the skill Load Shells, which also benefits Gunners.
2 Ballistics
One of the tricky elements of being a Bow or Bowgun user is calculating the distance between the player and the monster. Stray too far, and attacks might not reach, but get too close and attacks might not deal as much damage as they could. That's why a Skill like Ballistics is incredibly useful for Gunners.
This Skill, available only in Chameleos's Armor set, greatly extends the range of ammo and arrows when it's activated at its highest level. With this increased range, players will be able to take more advantage of their weapon's maximum power while being at a more comfortable distance from monsters.
1 Rapid Fire Up
While some players may think that Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun are interchangeable, true Gunners know that this is not the case. One of the benefits of using Light Bowgun is not only the increased movement capabilities but also the ability to rapid fire. However, this is at the cost of the Heavy Bowgun's attack power.
Thankfully, with the Rapid Fire Up Skill, Light Bowgun users can stand up to Heavy Bowgun's power. This Skill, when activated, increases damage from rapid fire up to 20%. The trade-off is that it's only available through a Rarity 7 Decoration, requiring materials from late-game monsters like Thunder Serpent Narwa.
Monster Hunter Rise is currently available for Nintendo Switch and PC.