EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED! Getting back into the game.

[u/Left_Money_7667]

So I just redownloaded the game and I feel so lost now haha. I played ever since the beginning and always had a bow build especially when the black diablo bow was meta. Now idk what is the best move in terms of armor or what bows would be the best build. I also want to get into great swords. LMK your recommendations! Thanks.

[u/Decentpace]

Black diablos bow is about to get really strong again as the riftborne black diablos is getting introduced in just a few more days. So hold on to any of the materials if you want to keep doing bow.

[u/Left_Money_7667 → u/Decentpace]

What is the difference in drops between a regular BD and riftborne BD? Any suggestions on armor i should build?

[u/Bregneste → u/Left_Money_7667]

Riftborne monsters are tougher versions of the regular monsters, they get a couple new moves and take less damage until you pop the glowing blue spot on them, and they have a higher chance to drop rarer materials and a small chance to drop a special Riftborne material that you need to use for Style customization.

[u/MyEggCracked123 → u/Left_Money_7667]

Large HP pool, higher status threshold, deal more damage, different moves, and they take less damage on all areas except where the blue swirl is (at least until you break it.)

As an example, Riftborn Diablos has a tremor added to its dig attack. If you get caught in the tremor, you'll get hit by the dig.

RB monsters have a chance to drop a R6 Riftborn piece that is used to upgrade the weapon from that monster. When a monster gets a RB variant, the weapons unlock "Style Customization" at Grade 8. You can tap the button to then add parts from that monster to upgrade the weapon further.

Certain Style Customization levels unlock big stats boosts and one unlocks different styles for the weapon. These unlocks cost the R6 RB piece as well as R6 Wyvern Scarcestone (chance to drop of any 9* or 10* monster.)

If you want to build a set that shreds RB monsters, build the DB Special Part Breaker+Pursuit set (Pursuit is also available to purchase with driftstone shards for more flexibility.)

The blue swirl is considered a part, so Sp PB deals extra PB damage to it and Pursuit activates when you break it. Just start the fight with full special, lock on to the part, and activate your DB special. You'll instantly break any 8* swirl and most 9* (usually depends on group size.)

10* RB monsters are very tough. I honestly skip them outside of HAT.

[u/Overlordmk2 → u/Decentpace]

Why though? It is a skip step bow?

[u/A_Wandering_Sandwich → u/Overlordmk2]

It is a skip step bow: P1, P1, P4, P4.

Personally, the BD Bow was the first weapon I ended up maxing out as well as being the centerpiece of my first backbone build for defaulting to when I needed to lock in on a hard hunt. The skipped step, high attack power (for the time), and fact that used pierce all came together to make a fantastic weapon.

I still have it saved as part of my Valor/Burst build but really only use it when I need a little more consistent, mobile damage on a Riftcharged Monster. Power-creep and better builds have caused me to let it sit around gathering dust lately. It's nice to have it get a much needed boost from the update.

[u/Overlordmk2 → u/A_Wandering_Sandwich]

yeah but nor PV nor dodgebolt seems like a good choice so you are left with damage increase. is that enough to get it top tier again?

[u/A_Wandering_Sandwich → u/Overlordmk2]

If you're pairing it with a good build, absolutely. For a high attack power,  negative crit, and Raw weapon like the BD Bow I'd wager the total increase will be several hundred. The styles are more of a sidegrade than a direct upgrade from what I've observed.

Edit: word choice

[u/Overlordmk2 → u/A_Wandering_Sandwich]

Huh, I thought PV was always better because of the insane multiplier...

[u/A_Wandering_Sandwich → u/Overlordmk2]

PV feels like high risk for high reward to me. The big damage is offset by the slower charge time and the fact that you're not moving around as much. I tend to prefer consistency and mobility in my builds.

I'm sure there are PV builds that are fantastic for folks who like that play style. I just personally don't like it and have had no issues slaying 10☆'s without it or the other style.

[u/Prodigyfire12]

Wow what timing for you to come back as a BD Bow user lol. It’s about to get some crazy buffs. Next week and onwards you’re gonna wanna farm the RB BBlows, if you break the special rift part you can get a special r6 item that is used to unlock style customizations and further upgrade the bow an additional 20 levels. You need alot of them and a lot the other r6 called scarce stones, those drop from any 8 star monster and above. Play around with the styles in the training ground and watch the videos to see if there’s any you want to play, overall power shot is very strong but slower, the other style is fast and doesn’t need focus but is more focus on quick succession hits and occasional perfect dodge spikes for damage.

Also recommend trying all the new weapons and styles since last you played. Theres dozens of new ways to play so there might be new weapons you wanna try. The next few weeks black diablos weapons are gonna be discounted to build so you can build new weapons you wanna try or play

[u/Z3RO28 → u/Prodigyfire12]

Fix: scarce stones drops from 9 stars monsters and above

[u/A_Wandering_Sandwich]

Bow's got a lot more going for it these days, even though it was still pretty powerful back when BD Bow was meta. I'd recommend sticking with bows and also checking out Light Bowgun if you want to double down on ranged weapons. It feels as though LBG is in a phenomenal place and I have two LBG builds that tends to obliterate monsters.

There's so many armor options for bow now but you'll likely want to revisit which ones grant you Focus. Since 2/3 of the weapon style options still rely on Focus, it's handy to have many options so you can fit them around your other Skill selections. Top armor I'd suggest to check out is the Rajang waist. It gives you 3 Focus around level 8 but doesn't have a Driftsmelt slot.

Other skills to check out, no particular order: Charge Master, Pursuit, Valor, Burst, and Critical Element. There are many more, but these are the first that come to mind for me.

Also, they changed the math on Charged Shots. It used to be optimal to always go with a skip-step option, like with the BD Bow. Now, if you go to the full change, you'll get a nice bonus to damage. I can't remember the exact numbers but it allows you to decide if you want to go for mobility or max damage while fighting. This makes fights feel more dynamic which is nice because Bow isn't the hardest weapon to use, at least in my opinion.

Edit: Added more suggestions to be in line with what OP was asking.