Graceful in the air and lethal on the ground, the Insect Glaive is one of Monster Hunter Wilds’ most dynamic and versatile weapons. Combining a powerful rod with a Kinsect companion, it offers a unique playstyle unlike any other weapon in the game. In this guide, you will find the best Hunting Horn builds in Monster Hunter Wilds.
*This guide was updated for Title Update 4
Insect Glaive Gameplay and Combo
The Kinsect is what makes the Insect Glaive truly unique. In Wilds, collecting extracts is easier than ever, Focus Mode automatically triggers your Kinsect to gather extracts as you attack, removing the need to manually aim and shoot.
Collecting all three extracts, red, white, and orange, provides a significant set of buffs: bonus damage, increased attack speed, greater jump height, flinch resistance, and even a health boost. Always prioritize keeping all three extracts active, and use Focus Mode consistently to make this as effortless as possible.
Best Ground Combo – Tornado Slash
Despite the temptation to stay airborne, the highest DPS combo is performed on the ground. Once all extracts are collected, use the Tornado Slash combo:
Triangle → Triangle → Triangle → Circle.
This is your bread and butter, loop it continuously until your buffs expire for maximum damage output. For a simpler alternative, Triangle → Circle looped repeatedly also works well.
Rising Spiral Slash
A flashy and powerful new move was introduced in Wilds.
Hold Circle until the red charge appears with full extracts, release, then immediately press L2 + Circle to perform the Rising Spiral Slash.
Note that this consumes all of your extracts upon execution. To quickly recover them, perform this move on an open wound so you can immediately follow up with a Focus Strike to regain all lost extracts right away.
Offset Attack
The Offset Attack is another key mechanic to incorporate into your gameplay. Trigger it by perfectly timing your Strong Descending Slash (Forward + Circle) either on the ground or in the air. It keeps you on the offensive while countering monster attacks effectively.
Low Rank Insect Glaive Build & Progression
Start with the default Hope Armor, which provides Divine Blessing Level 3, a reliable defensive skill that will carry you comfortably through the early story.
Craft the Barina Perche after defeating Lala Barina. Its Paralysis status and decent sharpness make it an excellent early weapon that significantly smooths out hunts. Good alternatives include the Ajara Trident I for Blast status and the Power Prolonger skill, or the G. Veldian Trudis I if you prefer higher raw damage.
After defeating Guardian Rathalos, craft its full armor set to gain Weakness Exploit Level 3, a crucial skill for landing critical hits on monster weak spots.
The Arkmaiden is currently the best Kinsect available, thanks to its Harvest Extract Boost ability. This allows you to collect all three extracts in a single use of Charged Harvest Extract (R2 + Triangle), making extract management significantly faster and more efficient.
Best Insect Glaives for Low Rank
- Barina Perche II
- Ajara Trident I
- G. Veldian Trudis I
- Arkmaiden (Kinsect)
- Fiddlebrix (Kinsect)
Early High Rank Insect Glaive Build & Progression
After defeating Guardian Rathalos, Guardian Fulgur Anjanath, and Guardian Ebony Odogaron in High Rank, craft their armor sets to significantly improve both your defense and skill lineup.
This setup provides higher levels of Weakness Exploit, Maximum Might, Agitator, and Evade Extender, all excellent skills for Insect Glaive. If you have five Physique Jewels available, Constitution is a great bonus skill to slot in as well.
Crafting the Exploiter Charm II should be a top priority at this stage. Its value extends well beyond Insect Glaive, making it a worthwhile investment for almost every weapon in the game.
The Barina Perche IV is a strong and reliable choice that will carry you smoothly through the remainder of the main story up to mid High Rank. Weapon selection will shift once you unlock Artian Rarity 8 weapons, at which point stronger options become available.
Best Insect Glaives for Early High Rank
- Barina Perche IV
- Ajara Trident II
- G. Veldian Trudis II
- Rising Fulgur I
- Princess Regalia II
- Rathmaul I
Best High Rank to Endgame Insect Glaive Builds
These builds are the best options to carry you from the end of the story quests and help increase your HR until you reach true endgame monsters, such as arch-tempered dragons and Gogmazios.
Lagiagore IG Build
Insect Glaive thrives on maximizing Affinity for rapid, consistent critical hits, and the Lagiagore armor set remains one of the best and most accessible options for achieving this.
The Gore and Lagiacrus set bonuses activate Black Eclipse and Azure Bolt respectively, both of which provide significant Affinity boosts. Weakness Exploit and Maximum Might further stack onto this for even higher critical hit rates, while Counterstrike and Agitator cover raw damage output.
For the Artian Insect Glaive, use full Attack infusion with a 4 Attack + 1 Sharpness reinforcement. Paralysis or Blast are the recommended status options for the best overall performance with this build.
Latent Power IG Build
This build trades the Gore set bonus for Latent Power, resulting in higher overall damage output at the cost of being more difficult to craft.
The Rey Dau set skill improves Latent Power activation and uptime, while the Lord’s Soul skill provides an additional 5% weapon attack boost on top, a meaningful damage increase over the course of a hunt.
The Artian Insect Glaive setup remains the same as the previous build, meaning both options are viable for High Rank hunts, and the choice comes down to personal preference.
The main drawback of this build is its crafting difficulty. Three of the required armor pieces are crafted from Arch-Tempered Rey Dau and Nu Udra materials, making it a more demanding build to put together compared to the previous option.
Best Endgame Insect Glaive Builds in MH Wilds
The builds below are the best options for Insect Glaive for endgame content in the latest update. Choose the one that best fits your playstyle.
Endgame Scorcher Gore IG Build
Scorcher has become one of the strongest meta skills in Monster Hunter Wilds, delivering consistent and impressive burst damage, making this one of the best endgame Insect Glaive builds currently available.
Using the new Gamma Arkvulkan armor, this build activates Scorcher, Black Eclipse, Latent Power, Weakness Exploit, Counterstrike, and Maximum Might, alongside maximum Attack and Critical Boost, a comprehensive skill spread that pushes damage to its absolute peak.
For the Gogmartian Insect Glaive, Gore Magala’s Tyranny must be active to trigger Black Eclipse. This is a non-negotiable requirement for the build to function correctly.
The ideal charm is Attack Boost Level 3. If you haven’t obtained one yet, the Power Charm is a solid substitute, simply slot in one Burst jewel alongside it to compensate.
Endgame Comfy Scorcher IG Build
This build follows the same core concept as the previous Scorcher build, but trades some offensive focus for improved sustainability, making it a more forgiving option for players who prefer a more relaxed hunting experience.
The 2-piece Arkvulcan set bonus provides passive lifesteal as you continuously land hits on a monster, keeping your health topped up throughout the hunt without relying heavily on healing items.
As with the previous build, the Gogmartian Insect Glaive must have Gore Magala’s Tyranny active to trigger Black Eclipse, an essential requirement for both Scorcher builds.
Endgame Second Wind IG Build
This build is ideal if you enjoy managing stamina as part of your gameplay loop, rewarding good stamina control with a meaningful Affinity boost through Second Wind.
The Fulgur Helm and Gogmazios Vambraces Alpha work together to activate Second Wind, while the Gore Coil combined with the Gore Magala active skill on your Gogmartian weapon activates Black Eclipse.
Both skills contribute significantly to Affinity, further supported by Weakness Exploit, Agitator, and Maximum Might for a well-rounded damage profile.
The RNG Attack Boost Level 3 charm is the ideal choice here. If you haven’t obtained one yet, the Challenger Charm is a reliable alternative, simply swap out the Challenger jewel for a Burst jewel to maintain strong damage output.
Currently, these are the best Insect Glaive builds in Monster Hunter Wilds as of the latest update (TU 4). This page will be updated as new meta builds emerge in future updates.