bow or katana?

ok so when i get mhp2 i want to start off with either a bow or a katana,(do we choose like mhf?) but i dk which one, right now im thinking about using a bow, any suggestions?

You get to try every weapon type, there is every type of weapon in their most basic form within your chest. There's also a set of armour that gives you resistance to cold weather.

I suggest trying out Hunting Horns, or the Gunlance. Like Oz said try each type and get a feel for the one. The right one.

well ill try the bow first then since it looks cool but what type of arrows does it have?

Arrows unlike bowguns, do not have any ammunition limit. They have "oils" instead, there's oils for additional attack power, paralysis, poison etc. These oils come in vials, a thing to note, not all bows allow you to use oils. Also, oils are of lesser effect compared to bow gun rounds, taking more shots to apply effects like poison and paralysis.
Perhaps to makeup for the low attack power of a bow, there's a 3 lvl charge you can pull off by holding back the analogue stick(for MHdos)/holding down triangle. Each lvl of charge allows you to fire off arrows with different effects.
Different bows have different charge attacks such as pierce, spread, multi. Besides the charge lvls, these effects come in differing levels of effect indicated by a lvl numbering.
Charging the arrow shots require stamina, the trajectory of your arrows will be something you want to take note off as it does not travel as far as a bow gun's shot. Finally you get a nice short ranged attack with 2 swiping movements, effective against bugs closing in and cutting tails(YES, I mean cutting wyvern tails and while I don't have a video to prove it I can tell you it really works). Enough of my long and tiresome typing.

So is there a maximun to your arrows or are they unlimited, like normal lv1?

pyropower wrote:

So is there a maximun to your arrows or are they unlimited, like normal lv1?

Arrows are completely unlimited. The only limitation is how many oils you're allowed to coat your arrows with. But if you're using poison or paralysis, I found it was more fun, and easier, to use the arrow melee attack with coated arrows until desired effect is met, then using Power oil to hit them.

Arrows are definately the hot new weapon, though I love the prospect of the hunting horn, it's difficult for me to use properly.

well its true, i find bowguns much more difficult to use after i've used the bow... btw its kinda off topic but is it true that u cant kill kushal with a bow?

Jackmaxhyto wrote:

well its true, i find bowguns much more difficult to use after i've used the bow... btw its kinda off topic but is it true that u cant kill kushal with a bow?

I don't know for a fact...but it would be rediculous for them to make a weapon useless against a foe. It's my experience, after watching videos of Fatalis being killed with the Ham of Hams, that any weapon can be used as long as you have the skill.

I'm getting used to the long swords now, they are quite fun to use now that I've gotten the hang of them.

well i tried to kill kushal with my bow but the arrows just kept jumping back at me because of his steel armor but im going to check if i cant hit his face after i do my HW lol

P.S. long swords are ok, but in my opinion i say that a bow is the single most powerful weapon if u master it.

I love the bow, but it is too weak at the moment, so I have swiched to the long sword (katana). I dont care that it cant block. But spirit blade is soooooooooooooo coool.

pyropower wrote:

I love the bow, but it is too weak at the moment, so I have swiched to the long sword (katana). I dont care that it cant block. But spirit blade is soooooooooooooo coool.

Agreed. With the long sword you can hit really hard and use that return-swing to jump back out of harms way. Great for chopping off pieces and retreating.

There's a formula as too the effectiveness of your attacks with a bow. I'm not going to post it here so I'll just make it simple for you, the higher the charge lvl of your shots, the more damage it inflicts. Nevermind the effects from different charge lvls, charging your shots all 4 lvls will ensure maximum effect from your attacks.

I can charge it but it takes too long. I know if you charge it you get rapid, scatter and something else.
It could be that I just have a crap bow.
I'm gonna make a kut-ku bow.

pyropower wrote:

I can charge it but it takes too long. I know if you charge it you get rapid, scatter and something else.
It could be that I just have a crap bow.
I'm gonna make a kut-ku bow.

The Kut-Ku bow is really nice. It has all three levels of Pierce. The effects gained by bow charges are different with each bow. I used the Blango Fur bow for awhile, the ice effect on top of 96 attack with Lv3 scatter was really useful for run-and-shoot withot aiming.

From what I gather, bows become really, REALLY awesome-looking later in the game.

why dont u make 2 hunters one with a bow and one with a katana?

its true what jade said about bows looking better later in the game, but what u have to notice is that sometimes the details of the bow (such as the white fatalis) block ur view. I hate that...

Jackmaxhyto wrote:

its true what jade said about bows looking better later in the game, but what u have to notice is that sometimes the details of the bow (such as the white fatalis) block ur view. I hate that...

Yeah, and sometimes the camera decides not to pick a side to let you see what you're manually aiming at. Usually the camera slides a little to the side to let you see. Ugh...camera problems are a plague in most games today.

They should post an update or something that makes the bow slightly transparent or something when manually aiming. I still love it though...unlimited/medium-range ammo and the ability to run-and-gun.

well im guessing that u will get used to it..cuz i don't wanna stop using bows!

yeah. I have had a few camera problems with the bow. But I have gotten kinda used to it. But I still use the dark scythe and dragon katana.

pyropower wrote:

yeah. I have had a few camera problems with the bow. But I have gotten kinda used to it. But I still use the dark scythe and dragon katana.

You know you can use the aim function right?Holding "R"

yeah. But there are still some difficult times

pyropower wrote:

yeah. But there are still some difficult times

You know one of those dragon bows you make from Laoshan parts(I think...I forgot), it's moderate damage and superb for view.. thin shaft never gets to you.

oz78 wrote:

pyropower wrote:

yeah. But there are still some difficult times

You know one of those dragon bows you make from Laoshan parts(I think...I forgot), it's moderate damage and superb for view.. thin shaft never gets to you.

i bought that to face rajang he got me though

Katana (longsword) is alot better in point of view, if you really want to stay out of close combat then you can still use longsword... it has all the power of a greatsword and the agillaty of a bow.
You can just jump out of combat if you have too.