Endgame Heavy Bowgun Meta & Progression

Raw Wyvernheart/Pierce

credit: dxvis

Pierce Ammo is the best raw ammo type, and the one we are going to focus on. It deals more damage than Normal Ammo in the majority of cases, while Spread Ammo is clunky due to its recoil.

Heavy Bowgun has Wyvernheart Ignition, which is the highest raw damage ammo, so the HBG's playstyle focuses on charging the Ignition Gauge with Pierce Ammo and then unloading a full Wyvernheart clip.

For armor, we are combining 4 pieces of Gore Magala for its set bonus (Black Eclipse II), and Arkvulcan Mail β which is usually the best-in-slot chest piece.

How does Gore Magala's set bonus work?

Black Eclipse II gives 10 raw damage against large monsters, increased to 15 after cleansing Frenzy. It continuously inflicts you with Frenzy throughout fights, so the Skills' uptime is almost 100%.

NOTE: Remember that cleansing Frenzy gives 15% affinity for a time, plus an additional 10% from Antivirus 3 (The tooltip is bugged).

Is Gore 4pc the best armor set?

TL;DR: For regular play, it's always better. In certain speedrunning set-ups, if the monster dies before losing rage, Gore 2pc sets can be slightly better.

In regular play (which means you're not trying to speedrun), Black Eclipse II has a much better uptime than Agitator with almost the same offensive capabilities. Furthermore, Gore 4pc also gives Evade Window Lvl. 2 which is great defensive Skill for weapons that rely on dodging, and Gore beta armor hands out a few more Decoration Slots to work with.

Weapons

Note on Artian bowguns: The only mandatory reinforcements are Capacity Boost x2. If your weapon has them, it is perfectly usable, and getting a perfect roll (Attack over Affinity) will net a less than 5% damage increase.

Artian Rarity 8 Greifen (Pierce/Wyvernheart)

• Mods: Pierce Ammo Powder + Ignition Mode Upgrade
• Special Ammo: Wyvernheart Ignition

Greifen has slightly better stats and one more Pierce clip size than the second best option, Wild Stinger (Congalala Tree).

Decoration Options

You can swap Mighty Jewel for Jumping Jewel or Evasion Jewelto max out Evade Window / Evade Extender, which can be a great choice when playing solo against endgame monsters like Arkveld or Gore Magala.

Gore 4pc gives one free Lvl1 decoration slot you can fill with your favorite Skill. The recommended Skill options are Protection Jewel, Flash Jewel, and Physique Jewel.

About Corrupted Mantle

Corrupted Mantle is hands down your best option, as it gives attack and affinity. But it even has a few more hidden interactions that you can use:

• Duplicates hits with △ attack inputs.
• Makes Elemental ammo deal additional damage if the FPS cap is set at 35.
• Instantly regenerates 40% of the HBG's gauge upon equipping.
• Greatly improves HBG gauge regeneration speed.

Agitator

In multiplayer settings (constant engrage/quick fights) or speedruns with Corrupted Mantle, you'll want more Agitator than Weakness Exploit. Simply replace Arkvulcan Mail β with Blango Mail β and the Talisman/Jewels to Challenger Jewel / Challenger Charm II