Hunting Horn Guide and Best Combos in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Wilds is the ultimate supportive weapon. Unlike other blunt weapons, the Hunting Horn sacrifices raw damage to instead provide more utility. This comes in the form of both offensive and defensive melodies that can be used to support both yourself and the party.

In Wilds, the Hunting Horn also introduces a Special Melody system that offers additional effects not directly tied to your other melodies.

This guide covers everything you need to know about the Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Wilds, from its mechanics and best combos to its strengths, weaknesses, and how to use it during hunts.

In case you're looking for our Hunting Horn builds, click below.

Strengths

• Grants versatile buffs to the entire party when melodies are performed.
• Blunt attacks from the Hunting Horn are effective at stunning monsters, which can set up for your team.
• Buffs can be granted while on the Seikret, allowing the Hunting Horn to be an amazing secondary weapon.

Weaknesses

• Slow animation attacks, making the Hunting Horn more vulnerable if not managed effectively.
• Complexity of the note system can be daunting at first, but mastery provides significant in-game advantages.
• Echo Bubbles are placed in specific locations while monsters themselves are often quite mobile.

The Hunting Horn has a range of note types in Monster Hunter Wilds. While only 3 notes are available on any single weapon. There are a total of 8 different notes.

Every Hunting Horn in Wilds has either a White or a Purple note that guarantees Self Improvement is available as a combo on every weapon. Other Hunting Horns will have 2 different colours on top of that to provide a range of buffs. These colours are:

• White
• Purple
• Red
• Blue
• Green
• Light Blue
• Yellow
• Orange

Because different Hunting Horns have different notes, they also produce different Melodies. The melodies a Hunting Horn produce can be found in your equipment info while out of hunts. Inside of hunts your options are also available in the top right of your screen. The list of melodies available across all Hunting Horns are:

• Elemental Attack Boost
• Fire Res Boost S/L
• Water Res Boost S/L
• Thunder Res Boost S/L
• Ice Res Boost S/L
• Dragon Res Boost S/L
• Abnormal Status Attack Increased
• Blight Negated
• Ailments Negated
• Knockbacks Negated
• Earplugs S/L
• Wind Pressure Negated
• All Wind Pressure Negated
• Evasion Enhanced
• Self Improvement
• Movement Speed Up
• Attack Deflection Protection
• Scoutfly Power Up
• Tool Use Drain Reduced S/L

Different weapons have S/M/L options for melodies too which grant greater effects if using a large over a small buff.

Listed below is an overview of the key gameplay mechanics of the Hunting Horn and how exactly they work.

Playing melodies is the bread and butter of how Hunting Horn works. The gauge in the top left provides you with the current string of notes being played which then become the buffs you provide in the party.

When the right combination of notes is played, they will be "banked". Banked melodies can then be played whenever you wish to provide the related buff to the party. You can store up to 3 normal melodies and can even store multiple of the same melody. When you use a fourth, it will overwrite the currently banked melodies in a First in, First out order.

Because every Hunting Horn is different in the note combinations and buffs they provide. Any examples will be using the initial HH from the beta which has a White, Red and Yellow setup.

Melodies can be chained together in one long string. For example if you go White > Red > White for Attack up S, because you ended on a White, you then only need a single White to activate Self-Improvement. This is because Self-Improvement is White > White.

Many melodies need to be played multiple times to max out the full potential of the buffs provided. This can be done by either banking multiple of the same melody and playing them or by using encore. Encore can be used either when you perform a specific melody or after performing all 3.

You will know when a Melody is at it's maximum state because it will turn purple on your song list although not all Melodies can.

Melodies can be stockpiled and prepared while on your Seikret. This allows you to charge straight into battle with full buffs already available.

Additionally, this also means that while a monster is fleeing to a new area you can also prepare melodies.

Echo Bubbles are a new type of AoE buff that can be placed down. Standing in the Echo Bubble will then grant effects to party members stood inside the bubble. Different Hunting Horn's have different buffs provided by the Echo Bubble. The known Echo Bubbles are:

• Attack & Crit Up
• Evasion & Movement Speed Up
• Defense & Elemental Defense Up

Echo Bubbles are great for being able to quickly play notes, while using an Echo Bubble you can tap 3 notes rapidly to bank a melody while still placing down your Bubble making it essentially free.

3 Echo Bubbles can be placed at any time you can either spread them around to cover a wider area or stack them on top of each other. Spreading them around is great when a monster is more mobile. Echo Bubbles "resonate" when you play songs however and deal damage to monsters inside the bubble so if you are able to stack all 3 on a monster you can deal insanely high damage!

Special Melodies are melodies that can be banked on-top of the 3 normal melodies that grant buffs. Special Melodies require 4-note combinations but are incredibly useful. The main one is the Offset Melody.

The Offset Melody is great to always have stored and ready to use at any time so that you can offset a monster whenever needed. Offset Melody can also be held to ensure you time it perfectly.

The Focus Strike locks your hunter's orientation and locks you into an animation against the monster while a successful Focus Strike will actually allow you to input 5 notes essentially for free. If notes are input correctly, the attack also deals a burst of additional damage.

5 notes allows you to bank 2 melodies assuming the final note of the first melody is the same as the starting note of the second melody. For example if you have the following 2 melodies:

• Attack Up (S) - White > Red > White
• Echo Wave (Blunt) - White > Red > Red

White > Red > White > Red > Red would complete both of these. Similarly you could potentially prepare a Special Melody and Self-Improvement for 5 notes too.

Beginner Combo's for the Hunting Horn tend to come in the form of note stacking as fast as possible to ensure you can prepare buffs rapidly. Because every Hunting Horn has different buffs and note combinations, the best combos for specific buffs will depend on the weapon itself or simply what buffs you need mid-fight.

Forward Smash → Flourish
Simple combo. Press any note during the attack to produce an additional note.

1. Forward Smash: + / + / WASD +
2. Flourish: + / + / WASD +
3. Press desired note during the attack to gain an extra note

Overhead Smash → Overhead Smash Follow-Up

1. Overhead Smash: + + / + + / WASD + +
2. Overhead Smash Follow-Up: + + / + + / WASD + +
3. Press desired notes during the attack to gain an extra note

Perform → 2x Performance Beat → Performance Beat or Encore
Useful against downed monsters or simply when you have several melodies to get off. Make sure to time performance Beat to deal extra damage.

1. Perform: / /
2. Performance Beat: / /
3. Performance Beat: / /
4. Performance Beat or Encore: Performance Controls or + / + / +

Perform can be used after a Hilt Stab to activate a Melody faster. Can be extended into further performances.

1. Play any basic attack
2. Hilt Stab: ( Down / Down / ) + Any Melody
3. Perform: / /
4. Encore: + / + / +

Focus Strike → Perform → Encore
Focus Strike allows you to play 5 notes, granting you 2 Melodies that can be played as soon a the Focus Strike ends. This could be used to buff the party, or to setup into Echo Waves or Offset for increased damage.

1. Echo Bubble: + / + / + +
2. Tap 5 notes during the Echo Bubble
3. Perform: / /
4. Performance Beat: / /
5. Encore: + / + / +

Echo Bubble → Perform → Encore
Quick setup of Echo Bubble allowing you to also perform the notes used during Echo Bubble. Can be extended if you have multiple melodies to perform.

1. Echo Bubble: + / + / + +
2. Tap 3 notes during the Echo Bubble
3. Perform: / /
4. Encore: + / + / +

3x Echo Bubble → Perform → 2x Performance Beat → Encore
Longer setup stacking 3 Echo Bubbles for incredibly high damage. Best used when you know the monster is going to be incapacitated for a while. Such as in an animation lock where a trap is going to be planted right after.
The notes you should use during Echo Bubble depend on your HH, however Echo Wave is the ideal candidate unless you need to refresh buffs.

1. Echo Bubble: + / + / + +
2. Tap 3 notes during the Echo Bubble
3. Echo Bubble: + / + / + +
4. Tap 3 notes during the Echo Bubble
5. Echo Bubble: + / + / + +
6. Tap 3 notes during the Echo Bubble
7. Perform: / /
8. Performance Beat: / /
9. Performance Beat: / /
10. Encore: + / + / +

Overall, the Hunting Horn in Monster Hunter Wilds is a supportive beast able to provide powerful buffs to the party and still manage to dish out great damage in its own right. Wilds with the Echo Bubble and the new Special Melody system.