MH World Iceborne: Insect Glaive Mastery Guide

by Jhon Lennon 47 views

Hey guys! Ready to become an aerial ace in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne? Then you've come to the right place! This comprehensive guide will take you through everything you need to know to master the Insect Glaive, from basic combos to advanced strategies, ensuring you dominate the hunt. Let's dive in and unlock the full potential of this amazing weapon!

Understanding the Insect Glaive

Alright, let's kick things off with a deep dive into the Insect Glaive. This weapon is all about mobility and versatility, allowing you to dance around monsters while dealing consistent damage. The Insect Glaive is unique because of its ability to launch you into the air, giving you a significant advantage over ground-bound hunters. But the fun doesn't stop there; you also have a Kinsect, a little bug buddy that can extract buffs from monsters and assist you in combat.

Kinsect Mechanics

First off, let's talk Kinsects. Kinsects are essential for maximizing your Insect Glaive's potential. These little helpers can be sent out to gather extracts from monsters, providing you with valuable buffs. There are three main types of extracts:

  • Red Extract: Boosts your attack and alters your moveset, making your attacks more powerful and versatile. Specifically, it enhances your ground attacks and is crucial for dealing optimal damage.
  • White Extract: Increases your movement speed and vaulting distance, making you incredibly agile. It also improves your ability to evade attacks and reposition yourself during combat.
  • Orange Extract: Grants you earplugs (negating roars), tremor resistance, and defense up. This extract is especially useful for dealing with monsters that frequently roar or cause ground tremors.
  • Green Extract: Heals you for a small amount, offering a bit of sustainability during hunts. While it's not the primary focus, the healing can be a lifesaver in tough situations.

To effectively use your Kinsect, you'll need to understand how to send it out and recall it. Aiming is key; make sure you're targeting the correct part of the monster to get the desired extract. For example, the head usually yields red extract, the wings or legs often provide white extract, and the body typically gives orange extract. Experiment with different monsters to learn the optimal extraction points.

Kinsect types also play a significant role. Some Kinsects are faster, while others hit harder. There are also different dust effects that can inflict status ailments like poison, paralysis, or blast on monsters. Choosing the right Kinsect for the hunt can significantly impact your effectiveness.

Basic Attacks and Combos

Now, let's get into the bread and butter of the Insect Glaive: its basic attacks and combos. Mastering these will allow you to deal consistent damage and maintain your aerial advantage.

  • Ground Attacks:
    • Rising Slash: A quick upward slash that can be followed up with other attacks. It's a good way to start a combo.
    • Thrust: A simple thrusting attack that can be used to close the gap or follow up after a Rising Slash.
    • Horizontal Slash: A wide sweeping attack that can hit multiple targets. It's useful for dealing with groups of smaller monsters.
    • Leaping Slash: An attack that propels you forward, allowing you to cover distance quickly. It's great for repositioning or initiating an attack.
  • Aerial Attacks:
    • Vault: The Insect Glaive's signature move. Use it to launch yourself into the air and gain a vantage point.
    • Mid-Air Thrust: An aerial thrusting attack that can be used to deal damage while airborne.
    • Mid-Air Evade: Allows you to dodge attacks while in the air, providing crucial maneuverability.
    • Descending Thrust: A powerful downward thrust that can deal significant damage. It's your main damage dealer while airborne.

Effective combos often involve mixing ground and aerial attacks. A basic combo could start with a Rising Slash, followed by a Thrust, and then a Vault into a Descending Thrust. Experiment with different combinations to find what works best for you.

Essential Combos

  • Ground Combo: Rising Slash > Thrust > Horizontal Slash > Leaping Slash. This combo is great for dealing consistent damage and maintaining your ground presence.
  • Aerial Combo: Vault > Mid-Air Thrust > Mid-Air Evade > Descending Thrust. This combo maximizes your aerial damage and allows you to stay airborne for extended periods.
  • Extract Gathering Combo: Send Kinsect > Recall Kinsect > Attack. This ensures you keep your buffs active while dealing damage.

Mastering Aerial Combat

So, you wanna be a true Insect Glaive master? Then you absolutely NEED to master aerial combat. This is where the Insect Glaive truly shines, allowing you to evade attacks, reposition, and deal massive damage from above. The key to effective aerial combat is understanding how to use your Vault and Mid-Air Evade to your advantage. Use Vault to launch yourself into the air, and then use Mid-Air Evade to dodge incoming attacks and reposition for your Descending Thrust. Timing is crucial; you'll need to learn the attack patterns of different monsters to effectively evade their attacks.

Staying Airborne

One of the most important skills for an Insect Glaive user is the ability to stay airborne for extended periods. This allows you to maintain your aerial advantage and deal consistent damage. To stay airborne, you'll need to master the art of chaining Vaults and Mid-Air Evades. After performing a Descending Thrust, you can immediately Vault again to stay in the air. Use Mid-Air Evade to reposition and avoid attacks while waiting for your Vault to recharge.

Understanding Stamina Management is also key. Vaulting and Mid-Air Evading consume stamina, so you'll need to manage your stamina effectively to stay airborne. Use stamina-boosting skills like Marathon Runner and Constitution to reduce stamina consumption and increase your endurance.

Mounting Monsters

Another significant advantage of aerial combat is the ability to mount monsters. When you deal enough aerial damage, you'll trigger a mount, allowing you to control the monster and deal massive damage. To mount a monster, perform a Descending Thrust while airborne. If you successfully connect, you'll initiate the mounting sequence. During the mount, you'll need to brace against the monster's movements and stab it when the opportunity arises. Successfully completing the mount will knock the monster down, giving your team a chance to deal free damage.

Choosing the Right Gear

Alright, let's talk gear! Choosing the right equipment is crucial for maximizing your Insect Glaive's potential. You'll want to focus on skills that boost your attack power, affinity, and sharpness. Here are some essential skills to look for:

Essential Skills

  • Attack Boost: Increases your overall attack power, making your attacks hit harder.
  • Critical Eye: Increases your affinity (critical hit chance), allowing you to deal more critical hits.
  • Weakness Exploit: Increases your affinity when attacking a monster's weak spots, further boosting your critical hit chance.
  • Critical Boost: Increases the damage multiplier for critical hits, making your critical hits even more devastating.
  • Master's Touch: Prevents your weapon from losing sharpness on critical hits, allowing you to maintain your sharpness for longer.
  • Power Prolonger: Increases the duration of your weapon buffs, such as the attack boost from red extract.
  • Evade Window: Extends the invulnerability window during dodges, making it easier to evade attacks.
  • Evade Extender: Increases the distance you travel when dodging, allowing you to reposition more effectively.
  • Constitution: Reduces stamina consumption when dodging, blocking, and performing other actions.
  • Marathon Runner: Reduces stamina depletion when using certain actions, such as running and vaulting.

Recommended Armor Sets

  • Drachen Armor Set: This set is a classic choice for Insect Glaive users, providing a significant boost to attack power and affinity. It's especially effective when paired with the Master's Touch skill.
  • Teostra Armor Set: This set is another great option, providing skills that boost attack power, affinity, and sharpness. It's particularly useful for maintaining your sharpness during long hunts.
  • Safi'jiiva Armor Set: This set is a high-risk, high-reward option, providing a massive boost to attack power and affinity. However, it also drains your health over time, so you'll need to be careful.
  • Raging Brachydios Armor Set: Excellent for boosting your blast damage output while providing good survivability. Ideal for Kinsects with blast dust.

Weapon Selection

Choosing the right Insect Glaive is just as important as choosing the right armor. Look for weapons with high attack power, good sharpness, and beneficial elemental or status effects. Some popular Insect Glaive choices include:

  • Lightbreak Press: A powerful blast weapon that deals massive damage.
  • Stygian Zinogre Glaive: An excellent dragon element weapon, great for monsters weak to dragon.
  • Kjarr Glaives: These weapons come with built-in critical element or status, making them incredibly versatile.

Advanced Techniques and Tips

Alright, so you've mastered the basics. Now let's get into some advanced techniques and tips that will take your Insect Glaive skills to the next level.

Kinsect Control

  • Precise Extract Gathering: Learn to aim your Kinsect precisely to gather the extracts you need quickly. This will allow you to maintain your buffs and stay in the fight.
  • Kinsect Charge: Charge your Kinsect by holding down the Kinsect send button. This will increase its speed and damage, making it more effective at gathering extracts and dealing damage.
  • Recall Timing: Master the timing of your Kinsect recall to maximize its effectiveness. Recalling your Kinsect at the right moment can interrupt monster attacks and provide you with valuable openings.
  • Kinsect Dust Effects: Utilize Kinsects with different dust effects to inflict status ailments on monsters. This can provide your team with valuable support and help control the flow of the battle.

Aerial Mobility

  • Vault Chaining: Practice chaining Vaults together to stay airborne for extended periods. This will allow you to maintain your aerial advantage and deal consistent damage.
  • Mid-Air Evade Mastery: Master the timing of your Mid-Air Evades to dodge incoming attacks and reposition effectively. This will allow you to stay alive and maintain your aerial presence.
  • Aerial Positioning: Use your aerial mobility to position yourself strategically in relation to the monster. This will allow you to avoid attacks and maximize your damage output.

Combat Strategies

  • Target Weak Spots: Focus your attacks on the monster's weak spots to deal maximum damage. Use your Kinsect to scout out weak spots and then target them with your Descending Thrusts.
  • Exploit Elemental Weaknesses: Choose an Insect Glaive with an element that the monster is weak to. This will significantly increase your damage output.
  • Use Traps and Tools: Utilize traps and other tools to control the monster and create openings for your attacks. This can make even the toughest monsters much easier to handle.
  • Teamwork: Coordinate with your team to maximize your effectiveness. Communicate your intentions and work together to take down the monster.

Practice Makes Perfect

Finally, remember that practice makes perfect. The more you use the Insect Glaive, the better you'll become. Experiment with different combos, strategies, and gear setups to find what works best for you. And don't be afraid to ask for help from other players. The Monster Hunter community is full of knowledgeable and helpful people who are always willing to share their expertise.

So there you have it, guys! With this guide, you're well on your way to mastering the Insect Glaive and becoming a true aerial ace in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Happy hunting!