Even with 14 total weapons inMonster Hunter Wilds, the Insect Glaive stands out as one of the most unique tools you can use in the game. This weapon is a dual-ended twin-blade that uses blindingly fast attack slashes and thrusts to combat large monsters. In addition, it is capable of valuting hunters into the air and controlling special creatures called Kinsects to grant your character multiple powerful buffs.
The Insect Glaive specializes in aerial mobility, speed, and special targeting of monster limbs through Kinsects. Using this weapon, you canmount monsters inMonster Hunter Wildsmuch more easily than other options in your arsenal. This also leads to the Insect Glaivehaving far more combos than most weapons, so it may take more time to master than other tools like the Longsword or Bow.
How To Use Kinsects With The Insect Glaive
Target Monster Parts To Receive Powerful Extracts
The fundamental mechanic of the Insect Glaive is the Kinsect, a flying scarab creature attached to the weapon.Kinsects can be sent out at will to fly and attack monsters, hitting different parts of an enemy creature for small amounts of damage. When a Kinsect does this, it also gathers various Extracts from a monster, returning them to your hunter to provide various buffs.
For the intents of this guide, all Insect Glaive inputs will assume the buttons from a PlayStation controller. For example, the basic slashing attack with the Insect Glaive is performed with the Triangle input.
There are a wide variety of different Kinsects you can unlock with new Insect Glaives, with each having unique buffs from Extracts that you can equip and improve. To send out a Kinsect, you can perform one of these moves:
Marking a target with R2 causes your Kinsect to release from the Insect Glaive, focusing their attack on a specific part of a monster. Using the Kinsect: Fire attack allows you to aim your Kinsect better, allowing you to hit the part of themonster inMonster Hunter Wildsyou want to strike. Kinsect: Harvest Extract is another way to send out your Kinsect, but this move can be charged to allow your Kinsect to pierce targets and deal multiple hits.
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Activating Focus Mode also allows you to naturally combo into launching your Kinsect at a monster. TheFocus Strike move of the Insect Glaive has a finisher that has your Kinsect attacka wounded spot of a monster, destroying its injury. Getting rid of an open wound on a monster may cause it to stagger, giving you a chance to deal tons of damage.
How To Use Kinsect Powder
Whenever your Kinsect attacks a monster, they leave behind Kinsect Powder, a lingering debris with various effects that activate when you hit it. The clouds of dust Kinsects leave behind linger on monsters, giving you a small AoE you may target with the Insect Glaive’s normal thrusts and slashes. Hitting an area of Kinsect Powder causes a small detonation, an effect based on the color of the Powder cloud.
Here are all the different Kinsect Powder effects you may activate by striking a cloud of Powder lingering on a monster:
The type of Kinsect Powder left depends on which part of a monster your Kinsect targeted, as well as the unique properties of that Kinsect.Different Kinsects leave different Kinsect Powders, so you’ll have opportunities to create unique Kinsect builds as you craft various Insect Glaives. The customization of Kinsects adds a lot of depth to the Insect Glaive’s playstyle.
How To Use Kinsect Extracts
Extracts are a substance extracting from Kinsects when they attack a certain part of a monster. These Extractshave four different colors based on which part of a monster your Kinsect targetedand provide different effects when your Kinsect returns to you. To recall your Kinsect, press R2 + Circle at any time to have your character absorb all the Extracts your Kinsect collected once it returns.
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There areseven different types of Extract effects, which come from some Extracts being on their own and others being used in combinations with each other. Below are all the unique Kinsect Extract buffs, including ones that only activate when you have more than one color absorbed into your Insect Glaive:
Building every type of Extract quickly during a hunt will help you unlock the Insect Glaive’s full potential.The different colors of Extract you’ve collected is visible under your health bar, with a scarab symbol also showing what Extracts a Kinsect has at a time. This will help you know what buffs you’ll gain when you recall a Kinsect, and how much longer it can stay on the battlefield before recharging.
Every Insect Glaive Attack Explained
Vault Over Enemies And Unleash Rapid Combos
The Insect Glaive isn’t all about the Kinsects, as it hasmany fast attacks and stances that grant aerial mobilitythat eludes other weapons. As you may expect from thefeatures ofMonster Hunter Wilds, the Insect Glaive’s speed also gives it a number of combo attacks that easily chain into one another from its basic strikes. Some of its most common techniques include:
The Rising Slash and Wide Sweep are the Insect Glaive’s general attacks, which quickly slice and dice monsters that stand against you. If used in Focus Mode,Wide Sweep attacks can recall Kinsects, giving you ways to naturally gain Extracts faster. When doing basic slashes, you may input different directions to reposition your character during a fight.
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The most interesting technique of the Insect Glaive is theVault, a unique stance where you plant the Glaive into the ground and launch yourself into the air. During this state, I have found that you have three possible follow-ups - using Triangle for a long distance forward slash, Circle for a downward attack, or X for an additional burst of aerial movement. When you have a Red Kinsect, you gain much stronger moves in this aerial state.
When you land a successful follow-up attack from a vault, you will launch yourself into the air again to continue soaring through the sky. As long as you control your momentum and keep hitting a monster, you can stay in the air indefinitely.
When you have the Red Kinsect Extract, you gain access to a new move calledCharge. This is done when you hold down Circle rather than just press it, whichcauses your character to unleash a flurry of fast attacks. You can follow-up this quick display of fast strikes with the powerful Rising Spiral Slash finisher, which consumes all your Extracts, but leaves you in the air as if you did a Vault maneuver.
Best Ways To Master The Insect Glaive
Study Monsters And Use Superior Movement To Avoid Attacks
The complexities of the Insect Glaive’s systems make it hard to master, especially with all the Kinsect management. I’ve found thatstudying which monster parts yield which Kinsect Extractsis a good way to start improving your gameplay with this weapon, as it allows you to deliberately collect certain buffs. The same is true for Kinsect Powders, which should also be intentionally applied to monsters you fight.
Another necessary process for the Insect Glaive is tolearn how to control your movements when in the airduring a Vault. Onecommon mistake inMonster Hunter Wildsthat Insect Glaive players do is attempt to solely stay in the air when they have no idea how to land attacks from this state. By becoming more deliberate with your aerial movements, you can avoid monster attacks while dealing damage from places where they can’t hit you.
Certain attacks from the Insect Glaive, such as the Charge with Red Kinsect, can also counter monster attacks to knock them back. This is tricky to do though, as it requires tight timing in sync with an opponent’s strike.
Those who practice enough against various monsters will get the hang of this highly mobile weapon over time. While the Insect Glaive inMonster Hunter Wildsmay not be as difficult to use as other weapons, the way it plays makes it more diverse than almost anything else you may use during a hunt.
