Hunting Horn Guide
Hunting Horn plays support in the heart of the fight. Choose attacks that write the notes you need, then match the opening to one song, a longer recital, or Encore. Support stays inside the fight: each long-reaching, blunt swing can deal damage, build stun at the head, and prepare the next buff.
Keep Self-Improvement, the personal song, active before maintaining party songs. Its first recital increases move speed. Playing it again while it is active adds Attack Up and prevents the horn from bouncing. Notes in the queue grant nothing until you play their melody with Performance.
Iceborne, final balance. Complete weapon controls are in the in-game Hunter's Notes; the official manual covers general controls. Combat Mechanics explains why the same swing hits for different numbers. Every move is in Motion Values.
If this weapon is new to you, try it in the Training Area first. Use the in-game Hunter's Notes to practice its basic attacks; this guide explains how to connect them into a hunt.
Notes and Performance
Attacks write notes, but the queue does nothing until Performance. A recital can play up to three queued melodies in sequence. Play only the melody you need when the opening is brief; continue through the queue only while the monster remains unable to interrupt.
Double Right Swing hits twice and lets you queue a second note on its second swing. After an attack, Handle Poke writes the next note quickly. It deals sever damage, but not enough to make tail cutting a practical plan.
Self-Improvement remains active for a limited time, so recite it again before the effect expires. The first recital grants move speed; playing it again while it is active grants the Attack increase and bounce protection. Party melodies affect teammates who are in range when the song plays, while Self-Improvement affects only the horn user.
lengthens song duration, so each melody needs to be renewed less often.
Build stun by attacking the head.
Encore
Encore repeats and upgrades the song you just played without requiring you to queue its notes again. Use Encore after the white flash confirms that the song has played. If you use it in the middle of a multi-song Performance, the songs you have not played remain in the queue.
The Shockwave from Performance or Encore is a separate hit. It ignores the sharpness multiplier and cannot crit, but the monster part's blunt hitzone still affects its damage. Aim the wave at a part that is weak to blunt damage. does not make these waves crit.
Performance and Encore can continue into a long recovery animation. After the white flash, roll to end the recital once the song is active. Rolling earlier, after the opening attack but before the song plays, cancels the recital and leaves unplayed melodies in the queue.
A directional Performance uses a different animation and can reposition you during the recital. Choose the direction for the nearby space you need; it is not a substitute for disengaging before an incoming attack.
Echo
Echo Attack begins with a Handle Poke and follows with four spins. Start it after an attack, not after Performance. The attack writes an echo note; its spins deal blunt damage, use sharpness, and can crit.
When the monster is down, loop Echo Attack → Handle Poke → Echo Attack. Use Echo Wave "Impact" to spend stored notes when the opening will last long enough. The waves ignore the sharpness multiplier and cannot crit, so affinity and improve the spins but not the waves.
Fight loop
Attack while queuing notes, use Performance to play the needed melody during an opening, and then return to attacks that prepare the next one. Ordinary swings are not downtime: they deal damage while writing notes. Continue into Encore only when the opening also covers its animation. If danger returns after the white flash, roll instead; the song is already active. Keep Self-Improvement active throughout the fight.
When a monster is not enraged and a wall is available, a Flinch Shot can create a topple for the opening recital. Wound the part you plan to attack; Hunting Horn is a heavy weapon, so one clutch weapon attack creates a wound. If Self-Improvement is not already active, recite it and follow with Encore. Against Great Jagras, attack the head with blunt hits to build stun.
When the monster is down, use Echo Attack → Handle Poke → Echo Attack on its head. Use Echo Wave "Impact" if notes are stored and the opening will last long enough.
When you need to get out after a song activates, roll after the white flash to skip the remaining recovery. The horn has no shield or guard stance, so begin a recital only when the opening covers the song you intend to play.
Skills
When hits start to hurt, improve the defensive skills below before spending the same slots on more . Getting Started is the meal, path, and Armor Sphere. Combat Mechanics owns Defense, 20 resistance, and . The skill activates when the attack's damage type has a hitzone value of at least 45; wounding that part grants its additional affinity.
Damage and survival priorities
Build around the attacks and melodies your horn actually uses. Affinity and critical damage improve swings and echo spins, while recital and echo waves do not crit.
| Offensive | Why |
|---|---|
| Lengthens song duration, reducing how often you must interrupt your attack loop to renew melodies. | |
| Lv 1 | Powers up a horn with no active element. It does nothing for an elemental horn. |
| Lv 3 | Adds affinity on weak parts, with an additional bonus when that part is wounded. |
| and | Affinity lets swings and echo spins crit, and increases those critical hits. Waves do not crit, and affinity past 100% does nothing. |
| Adds Attack and affinity while the monster is enraged. Lv 7 needs . | |
| Sharpness maintenance | Keeping the chosen sharpness color preserves the multiplier on swings. Shockwave does not use that multiplier. Choose one option from Keep a color below. |
| Defensive | Why |
|---|---|
| Lv 3 | Reaches 200 health when combined with the meal. |
| Armor Sphere | Raises Defense at the smithy. Spend these items on armor you expect to keep when hits start to hurt. |
| 20 matching resistance | Reaching 20 resistance prevents the matching blight. Use , , , , , or . |
| A chance to reduce the damage you take during a recital. Lv 5 needs . | |
| Lv 3 | Removes the stun that can leave you unable to move before the next hit. |
In a group, add Lv 1 if teammate attacks interrupt your positioning. Solo, it does not solve that problem. Songs do not need — Performance already shares them.
Often added, not required:
| Skill | Why |
|---|---|
| Increases stun buildup. It does not increase damage to the monster's health. | |
| Lv 4+ | Adds Attack in remaining slots. Lv 4 also adds 5% affinity. |
| Lv 1 | Adds slinger-ammo drops to the clutch weapon attack. Hunting Horn already wounds in one clutch attack. |
| Adds Attack while you are at full health. | |
| Adds Attack while the red portion of the health bar is present. Pair it with or . | |
| Adds affinity while stamina is full. A recital does not empty the stamina bar as a roll does. | |
| Raises Attack, element, and status buildup after you recover from a blight or abnormal status. | |
| Adds affinity and reduces stamina use after enough time passes or you take enough damage. Its activation depends on those triggers, while depends on the part you hit. | |
| Extends roll invulnerability, which can preserve an opening by letting you roll through a roar. A recital has no shield. | |
| Increases slinger ammo capacity. A Flinch Shot consumes the ammo type's normal maximum rather than the expanded capacity, so extra ammo can remain for another shot; carrying more does not make one shot stronger. | |
| Increases part damage so monster parts break faster. It does not increase damage to the monster's health. | |
| Extra attack and defense after a faint, up to two times. Do not plan to faint. |
Keep a color
Pick one option to maintain white or purple sharpness. These options benefit swings; Shockwave and echo waves ignore the sharpness multiplier.
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
| Adds sharpness when the gauge is not already full. | |
| No sharpness loss on criticals. Swings crit. Waves do not. | |
| No sharpness loss for a fixed time after you sharpen. | |
| Halves sharpness loss. | |
| Greatly reduces sharpness loss. | |
| Removes sharpening cycles, shortening the time you must stay still. |
Recovery and opening protection
Use these skills to recover from mistakes or prevent a specific interruption. Once that problem no longer decides hunts, the slot can return to damage or sharpness maintenance.
| Skill | Why |
|---|---|
| Increases the health restored by healing effects. | |
| Shortens the time needed to drink an item. | |
| The red portion of the health bar returns faster. | |
| Adds Defense after upgrades from Armor Sphere. | |
| Lv 3 prevents elemental blights; lower levels shorten their duration. Use it when matching resistance cannot reach 20. | |
| Survives one otherwise fatal hit when health is above its activation threshold. The next hit can still faint you. | |
| Shortens the time until mantles can be used again. | |
| Prevents roars from interrupting a recital, but requires several skill levels. | |
| Increases roll distance, changing where you finish after cancelling recital recovery. | |
| Reduces fixed stamina costs from rolls and similar actions. It does not reduce sprinting or clutch drain. | |
| Reduces stamina drain while sprinting or using the clutch claw. | |
| Gives consumed items a chance not to be spent. |
Styles
| Style | Skills |
|---|---|
| Element | Match the horn's element with , , , , or . or lets elemental damage benefit when the spins or swings crit. |
| Echo | Use a horn with Impact waves. Loop Echo Attack while the monster is down; affinity, critical damage, and sharpness affect the spins, not the waves. |
This hunt
Choose these only when the target or the group's plan creates the condition in the second column.
| Skill | When |
|---|---|
| Prevents a tremor from interrupting a recital while you are already close to the monster. | |
| Prevents wind from interrupting a recital, including wind pressure that cannot negate. | |
| Greatly improves evasion invulnerability and reduces stamina depletion while a blight or status is active. It does not add Attack. | |
| Lv 3 prevents Defense Down; lower levels shorten its duration. Use it only when the target can inflict the ailment. | |
| or | Grants protection from roars, wind pressure, tremors, and small knockbacks while a mantle is active. Only the True version reaches the highest levels. |
| Makes a Dung Pod more likely to send a monster away. | |
| Increases Flash Pod range. The wider flash helps ground a flying monster for an opening. | |
| Increases bomb damage. Let the bombs trigger the wake-up because a recital would wake the monster too early. | |
| Increases elderseal on a dragon-element horn. | |
| Increases the attention drawn by your attacks. In a group, use it only when holding the monster's attention helps the group's plan. | |
| Prevents environmental effluvia in the Rotten Vale from draining health during a recital. | |
| Increases the health restored by Sporepuffs, which can save a Potion. |
Skills that look better than they are
- shares eligible item effects, not melodies. A recital already shares party melodies with teammates in range.
- applies to physical swings that crit, but not to Shockwave or echo waves.
- Do not treat as though it were ; faster stun buildup is not more health damage.
- does not give the horn a shield.
- does not increase a grounded swing.
- activates only after sliding. A recital does not count as a slide.
- affects mounting; it does not improve grounded attacks or recitals.
- activates at 40% health or lower and reduces stamina depletion. A recital does not spend stamina.
Settings
Set Automatic Sheathe to Manual so a pause does not put the horn away in the middle of a queue.
Before a long recital, keep the camera high enough that the part you mean to finish on stays visible through the song. A low camera mid-melody makes it easy to walk the finale onto a weaker zone.