Monster Hunter Rise comes with many new weapons — some of the best of which are the revamped Hunting Horns. These so-called “support weapons” have always been much better at frontline combat than new players often expect. Now they’re better than ever and completely different in how they play. Even so, you probably want to know the best Hunting Horns in Monster Hunter Rise before you make an investment. That’s why we’ve put together this list!
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1. Rampage Agitato V – The Best Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Rise
In theory, Rampage weapons start off weak while allowing players to tweak them to perfection. A bit like the endgame Safi’Jiva weapons from Monster Hunter World. The issue at launch was that — even fully customized — many Rampage weapons didn’t offer much oomph. That was never true of the Hunting Horn, however. The special weapon type benefited immensely from custom songs. Now it’s even better after the Monster Hunter Rise 2.0 update.
In its most evolved form, the Rampage Agitato V, this Hunting Horn reaches a more than respectable level of raw damage. Assuming you add the Non-elemental Boost Rampage Skill. You can then increase its durability with either Sharpness Type I. This can now easily reach white sharpness with Handicraft, thanks to armor and decorations added in the aforementioned update. The upshot? White sharpness adds a huge damage boost to all weapons, making this a pretty clear contender.
Next you get to pick one of four different powerful melody sets. Of these, only Resilient Melody II feels a bit weak. Stun Resistance is nice, but there are already so many recovery and mobility options in Monster Hunter Rise already. Healing Melody II has gotten the nod from many players for being incredibly “comfy.” The reasoning is that Health Recovery (L) is more potent in Rise than past Monster Hunter games. They now play faster (if not outright automatically) as you attack. This provides passive healing and without requiring lengthy items or to ever stop attacking. Combine it with the Bead of Resonance Switch Skill to make your allies effectively immortal and deal more damage.
This build even requires very, very little farming. You’ll need to hit HR 7 to unlock all the Apex monsters necessary to upgrade it. But all of these can be found in the Rampage: a much easier experience than farming monsters in the wild. And once the setup is complete, you’ll have yourself arguably the best Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Rise.
2. Hidden Harmonic II
This Nargacuga Hunting Horn has white sharpness by default, which is always a plus. Then you get the usual high Affinity (40 percent in this case) inherent to all Nargacuga weapons. The Attack Up and Affinity Up songs also shouldn’t be overlooked, especially now with Master’s Touch in the mix. Both stats are harder to come by with the decoration changes made to Monster Hunter Rise (i.e. the bump Attack Boost and Critical Eye underwent from Level 1 to Level 2 jewels). There’s a good chance your allies will appreciate the extra damage output — especially if they use negative Affinity weapons like the Tigrex Hammer. Maximum Might (which grants up to an extra 30 percent Affinity if you keep your stamina full) also pairs well with the Stamina Recovery Up melody. Not to mention your Dual Blades, Insect Glaive, and Bow using friends will love you for it.
3. Bazelreid Rookslayer
This is pretty much a weaker version of the Rampage Hunting Horn. Only it gets an Attack Up song with Health Recovery (L). That’s nice for when your Bead of Resonance goes down and you don’t have any Wirebugs to replace it with at once.
4. Araknahorn
Rakna-Kadaki weapons are weak, versatile, and easy to construct. They don’t require a single rare drop (e.g. a Magna Purple Orb) to fully upgrade. They also come with white sharpness that can be extended by Master’s Touch, Razor Sharp, Handicraft, or Protective Polish. The songs and raw damage on this one mean you’ll really only want it against enemies particularly weak to Fire. You can supplement that with elemental damage decorations in the two Level 1 slots this weapon brings to bear. And you’ll still have 30 percent Affinity and a Level 2 slot for boosting raw damage. It might be hard for some players to overlook that low raw, though.
5. Sinister Shadestrum
If you really want to get fancy, the Magnamalo Hunting Horn has some decent stats and slots. Its signature Magnamalo Soul skill also provides a sizable attack buff when you’re afflicted with Hellfireblight. This is easy to proc with the Hellfire Cloak ability — which is now available as a decoration. The skill will automatically cover you in purple haze whenever a monster becomes enraged. At level four, the hellfire will continue to appear every few seconds, up to one minute after any monster calms down. This allows you to create floating mines for your foes to bash into, too. You just need to zip around with the Wirebug while coated in hellfire. The first time a monster hits the residual flame will cause guaranteed knockdown each hunt. Combine this with the Resuscitate skill for an even bigger burst of damage. Finally, Sinister Shadestrum has room for Handicraft. Use it to get white sharpness.
The real issue here is build complexity. The aforementioned Magna Purple Orb has a three percent chance to drop at best when fighting Magnamalo. It can take dozens of hunts to get just the one needed to finish this horn. Then you’ll likely want a second to craft the Magnamalo gauntlets required to max out Hellfire Cloak. Even when that’s all said and done, there’s no such thing as a Resuscitate Jewel in Monster Hunter Rise at launch. You’ll need tremendous luck with Talisman melding (and let’s not forget orb farming) to make the absolute most out of this build. Future updates might make this less of a concern. And this is one incredibly fun concept when it comes together!
Hopefully this helped you on your way to finding the best Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Rise for you! We’ll be sure to update this guide as new monsters and weapons appear. Until then, happy hunting!
