Best Hunting Horn build in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Hunting Horn is the closest Monster Hunter Wilds gets to the traditional Bard, and as ridiculous as beating monsters with a giant tuba looks, this weapon is glorious.

When Monster Hunter director said that weapon design was the hardest part of each entry, I fully believed him. Perhaps blowing tunes into an instrument to empower your allies isn’t a notion Capcom came up with, but the execution of the Hunting Horn is a feat in itself.

That said, this build is among the most complex ones to master, so here’s everything you need to know about the Hunting Horn in MHW.

Best Hunting Horn build in Monster Hunter Wilds

Best low rank Hunting Horn build

As you navigate the game’s early stages, you’ll want to rush through the main story until you unlock the Xu Wu monster hunt. This monster will yield the parts Gemma uses to craft both the ideal armor set and best weapon for the Hunting Horn build.

With the Xu Wu set, you’ll get three skills Maximum Might and Stamina Surge After activating your Echo Bubble, you’ll definitely want to evade as much as possible, and to prevent a complete stamina depletion, Stamina Surge will help. Then, for the times in which you’re standing still playing your tunes, you’ll take advantage of Maximum Might, which increases your Affinity if you keep your stamina bar full.

HEAD	TORSO	ARMS	Waist	LEGS
Xu Wu Helm Maximum Might Lvl 1	Xu Wu Mail Stamina Surge Lvl 1	Xu Wu Vambraces Maximum Might Lvl 1	Xu Wu Coil Maximum Might Lvl 1 Stamina Surge Lvl 1	Xu Wu Greaves Stamina Surge Lvl 1

The best early game Hunting Horn is the Nihil Chord I, which grants you Level 2 Stamina Thief and Level 1 Horn Maestro. With Stamina Thief, your exhaust power is boosted to 30%. Trust me, with this big weapon to swing, getting the monsters to lie still is a huge plus. Horn Maestro, on the other hand, increases the effect duration of your melodies, which means you’ll have to play your buffing tunes a bit less often and can focus on damage.

The best talisman for the Hunting Horn build is the Evasion Charm. There’s no denying the Hunting Horn wielder is a slowpoke, even with Echo Bubble active. Until you get used to the timing, having this charm will help.

Best high rank Hunting Horn build

The best armor set for the Hunting Horn wielder in the higher ranks is the Artian armor set. Made out of ore and Guardian Blood+, this set grants several invulnerabilities to Tremors, Wind, and even Earplugs. This means your performances will carry on uninterrupted by pesky enemies.

HEAD	TORSO	ARMS	Waist	LEGS
Artian Helm Flayer Lvl 1 Adaptability Lvl 1	Artian Mail Flayer Lvl 1 Adaptability Lvl 1	Artian Vambraces Blight Resistance Lvl 2 Flayer Lvl 1	Artian Coil Windproof Lvl 2 Flayer Lvl 1	Artian Greaves Tremor Resistance Lvl 2 Flayer Lvl 1

The best high-rank weapon is the Dosha Grudgesounder, which comes with a Level 3 Stamina Thief skill and a Level 1 Horn Maestro skill. Much like in the low ranks, these skills will ensure you’re always ready to evade while keeping the effects of your tunes going.

Best Hunting Horn skills

The best skills for the Hunting Horn build are Horn Maestro and Slugger. These two will amplify your attacks and buffs while ensuring your enemy monsters stay horizontal and on the ground.

When you’re not actively dealing damage, you can resort to a mix of skills that’ll enhance your speed, stamina, and evasion – these are Maximum Might, Stamina Thief, Evade Extender, and Evade Window.

Plus, just so the show goes on uninterrupted, you can slot in Flinch Free and Intimidator so smaller monsters and small attacks don’t affect your performance.

• Horn Maestro
• Slugger
• Maximum Might
• Stamina Thief
• Evade Extender
• Evade Window
• Flinch Free
• Intimidator

Best Hunting Horn build skills explained

Horn Maestro

This skill increases the duration of the buffs and other effects granted by your melodies.

Slugger

Slugger increases your Stun power by 20%/30%/40% based on the skill level. By stunning enemies, you make sure they stand still while you deal damage.

Maximum Might

Maximum Might grants a damage boost as long as your Stamina bar is full. While this may feel like a difficult task to achieve, the next skill will help you.

Stamina Thief

Stamina Thief boosts the stamina depletion combos from the Hunting Horn and grants it to you instead. It’s the best thing you could steal from enemies… well, monster parts aside.

Evade Extender & Evade Window

These two skills help you get used to the Hunting Horn’s rather sluggish build. You’ll need to reposition quite often, so being able to evade enemy fire easily is a must.

Flinch Free & Intimidator

Flinch Free negates small attacks that cause your character to flinch, therefore interrupting your performance. Intimidator, on the other hand, keeps pesky smaller enemies away from you.

How to play the Hunting Horn

The Hunting Horn isn’t just about bonking monsters; it’s a rhythmic masterpiece of buffs, bashes, and battlefield control.

Every attack plays a color-coded note, which is stored in a meter. Play the right sequence, activate a melody, and your party gains buffs like Attack Up, movement speed boosts, or elemental resistance.

Your goal is to keep buffs active while dealing damage. You can stack up to three melodies, letting you chain multiple effects. After playing a melody, perform an Encore to extend and strengthen the buffs while delivering a heavy hit.

The Hunting Horn isn’t just support – it’s a damage dealer. Basic attacks like Left Swing, Right Swing, and Overhead Smash contribute to both note input and monster beatdowns. Flourish and Hilt Stab let you quickly adjust notes. Special moves, like Echo Wave, deal AoE damage, while Focus Strike – Reverb slams the horn into a monster for a pseudo-parry.

Timing matters. Activating melodies at the right moment maximizes effectiveness. Adapt your buffs based on the fight – more damage for aggressive monsters, resistance for elemental threats.

Check out how the Hunting Horn ranks in the Monster Hunter Wilds weapon tier list.