Insect Glaive for Dummies

A Written Guide for Insect Glaive in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Introduction:

Insect Glaive is a weapon centered around a polearm, and a bug companion. The kinsect can harvest extracts from monsters to buff your attacks, and perform other attacks itself. IG excels at maintaining high damage uptime with extremely high mobility and long reaching moves.

Insect Glaive FAQ:

Q: What’s the best endgame set?

A: The pins have albums for both Fatalis endgame sets, and pre-Fatalis sets. These albums are also in the Resources section of this guide.

Q: What’s the best set for _____ place in progression?

A: The pins also have a progression album for sets throughout the game. Progression hardly matters in the end, so it’s not a huge deal if you are using suboptimal gear.

Q: What’s the best glaive? Fatalis IG (True Fatalis Dyaus) is by far and away the best option for every scenario. If you haven’t gotten there yet, details can be found in the pre-Fatalis set album, but generally Raging Brachydios IG (Lightbreak Press) is the best option.

Q: What’s the best base game glaive?

A: Defender V is the strongest pick by far. If you are not opting to use the defender weapons due to their blatantly “cheaty” nature, then the next best would be Empress “Ruin” or Empress “Blaze” depending if you have Iceborne (access to Clutch Claw) or not. Kjarr “Paralysis” is also a good option if you are willing to do the Kulve siege event.

Q: How is IG compared to other weapons?

A: From a damage perspective, IG is relatively middling on most matchups. Certain matchups are much more favorable for IG, such as Alatreon or AT Velkhana. Comparing your damage across weapon types is not beneficial, and shouldn’t really be done.

Q: Is IG an elemental weapon?

A: Short answer: not at all.

A2: Long answer: IG is incredibly favored towards raw attack rather than element due to multiple reasons such as 0.8x element modifiers on most moves, and the fact that extracts only boost physical damage. Before Fatalis weapons existed there were niche element options that were worthwhile, but they were still built primarily raw. With Fatalis IG around, elemental glaive builds are 100% dead.

However, the kinsect is significantly more impacted by elemental damage due to Kinsect Charge’s massive elemental multiplier, so elemental kinsects should be utilized. The kinsect is entirely separate from the main weapon. Making 5 of the same kinsect will allow you to have 1 for each element without needing to change their element at the smithy frequently. More details are later in the guide.

Q: What does Flinch Free do for the kinsect?

A: Each level of Flinch Free is effectively 1 level of Earplugs, Windproof, and Tremor Resistance while you have Triple Up (all 3 extracts) active. This isn’t that significant.

Q: Why do some builds have Recovery Up?

A: Personal preference. Due to the nature of some combo decorations, you can fit Health Boost, Recovery Up, Evade Window, etc in the same space. Recovery Up will increase health augment healing, which can net you higher Peak Performance uptime. Health Boost and Evade Window are also both great skills to have.

Q: What's the best kinsect?

A: Vezirstag Forz III is the primary damage dealing bug you should be using. Foliacath Forz III is another option if you absolutely must have a high speed bug. The pins include a full kinsect guide, and the set albums also touch on kinsect choices.

Q: What’s the problem with aerial IG?

A: When aerial IG is mentioned, it typically means using Strong Jumping Advancing Slash (colloquially known as “Helicopter”) repeatedly. This attack is easily the worst attack IG has for dealing damage, with a pathetically low output for its commitment. It also comes with a whole host of other issues along with it, such as a long animation, unwieldy targeting, and anti-synergistic build requirements.

Vaulting and being airborne itself is not an issue, as aerial mobility is still useful and the move Descending Thrust (Iceborne addition) is one of the strongest attacks in IG’s kit. Many endgame hunts will necessitate using DT often. More details are later in the guide.

Q: Does the aerial evade have iframes? Do Evade Window and Evade Extender impact it? Do they apply to vaulting? Does Strong Jumping Advancing Slash (Helicopter) apply?

A: Yes, aerial evade has iframes equivalent to a normal roll, and Evade Window will impact it as it would a normal roll too. Evade Extender does apply to it as well, but to a lesser extent. They do not apply to vaulting as it is not an evade and does not have iframes. Strong Jumping Advancing Slash is not an evade either.

Q: Is the Airborne skill good for IG? Does Airborne apply to Descending Thrust?

A: While aerial IG (Strong Jumping Advancing Slash) is incredibly poor damage wise, the Airborne skill is still useful to have as it will apply its damage bonus to the first hit of Descending Thrust, and the bonus itself is a staggeringly large 30% base raw boost for incredibly little investment.

It is definitely worthwhile to use in late/endgame Master Rank scenarios, but earlier in progression it may not be as valuable compared to other flat Attack boosts.

Q: How much should I be mounting in a hunt?

A: Typically you never want to mount more than 1 time per monster, if even once at all. Mounting works just like any status in the game, where applying it takes longer the more times it has occurred. Despite IG being able to vault freely, the mounting output of IG’s aerial attacks is quite low, and their damage is also lacking.

If you plan to mount a monster you want to time it well, such as doing it when the monster is enraged and flying. Do remember that Insect Glaive can complete mounts fast by hitting with the glaive when moving while mounted.

Q: Is the Dragon Soul kinsect / Gae Bolg glaive good?

A: Not a chance. They are both horribly undertuned to be useful, even if they look cool. Dragon Soul kinsect in particular is also exceedingly annoying to properly use as you are unable to obtain 5 of them in order to have 1 for each element, thus requiring you to change its element at the smithy frequently.

Q: Why can’t I hit Alatreon’s element threshold? Why are non-elemental glaives recommended for Alatreon?

A: IG doesn’t need to use an elemental weapon as the kinsect can easily do the entire check itself. Alatreon’s hitzones also favor raw damage, and IG itself favors building raw attack too.

To complete the check, take advantage of Vezirstag and use Descending Thrust’s kinsect pierce. You can also simply leave the kinsect marked on Alatreon’s arms, and poke with manual attacks. Be sure to have the kinsect charged with Power Charge buff. The pins also have a full Alatreon counter guide (though the sets are a bit rough and outdated.)

Q: What are these icons? How do I get both at once?

A: They represent the kinsect charge, a new mechanic added in Iceborne. Use a glaive with Spirit & Strength to get both. More details are later in the guide.

Q: Is kinsect only viable?

A: While it is possible to defeat some monsters with only the kinsect, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. You will have far more success using IG like normal.

Q: Which Kjarr glaives are good? Safi glaives?

A: Kjarr Paralysis is a competitive raw pick for High Rank, however isn’t that useful in Master Rank. Kjarr Water was a niche elemental pick, but after Fatalis weapons existed, it no longer serves a purpose. No other Kulve Taroth weapons are worth mentioning. Safi glaives are almost entirely irrelevant compared to Raging Brachydios (and later Fatalis) due to Safi weapons being very close to Raging and having a detrimental kinsect bonus. There is no general reason to grind Safi glaives.

Q: I can’t beat this monster, what should I do?

A: Practice more and focus on the monster more. Learn what the monster is doing and where you can punish. Watching speedruns of a monster can be a good way to learn, even if you never intend on running.

Q: What’s the best combo?

A: Combos are flexible per situation, but typically you want to be using Tornado Slash and Descending Thrust often. More details are later in the guide.

Q: Do extracts affect other players? Should I use support IG?

A: Extracts only apply to the hunter playing IG that gathered them, even if other IG hunters are present. However, powders can still be detonated by other players.

Stereotypical RPG supports don’t really exist in MHW as all players are capable of efficiently healing themselves with Max Potions/Health Augment, and others with Lifepowder/Dust of Life. Everyone should prioritize contributing to damage output to provide the most benefit to the hunt.

Controls:

All moves are listed using PS4 terminology; refer to this table for the default translations

PS	PC	Xbox
Triangle	Left Mouse	Y
Circle	Right Mouse	B
X	Space Bar	A
R2	Control	RT
L2	C or V	LT
R3	F	R Thumbstick

All moves listed assume Red [1] Extract is collected.

See the Kinsect section for details.

Kinsect:

Kinsect: Harvest Extract: L2 + Triangle
Kinsect: Recall: L2 + Circle
Kinsect Charge: L2 + Triangle + Circle (requires slinger ammo) (Iceborne Move)
Kinsect (Fire): L2 + R2 – [colloquially called Pheromone Shot]

Sheathed:

Kinsect: Attack: R2
Leaping Slash: Forward Triangle
Unsheath: Idle Triangle
Strong Jumping Slash: Aerial Triangle
Descending Thrust: Aerial R2 (Iceborne Move)

Unsheathed:

Vault: R2 + X
Descending Thrust: Aerial R2 (Iceborne Move)
Strong Jumping Slash: Aerial Triangle
Strong Jumping Advancing Slash: Aerial Circle – [colloquially called Helicopter]
Strong Rising Slash: Idle Triangle
Strong Rising Slash: Triangle after Strong Wide Sweep
Strong Reaping Slash: Triangle after Strong Rising Slash
Strong Double Slash: Triangle after Strong Reaping Slash or Descending Thrust
Strong Thrust: Forward Triangle while idle, or Triangle after roll
Strong Wide Sweep: Idle Circle
Strong Wide Sweep: Circle after Strong Reaping Slash
Strong Wide Sweep: Circle after Strong Thrust
Leaping Slash: Forward Circle
Tornado Slash: Circle after Descending Thrust, Strong Wide Sweep, Strong Rising Slash, Dodge Slash, Strong Double Slash, or Leaping Slash
Dodge Slash: Back + Circle after most attacks
Kinsect (Mark Target): R2 – [colloquially called Marking Slash]
Kinsect Marking Shot: L2 + R2
Clutch Claw Mode: L2 + R3

Kinsect:

Kinsect Gauge:

The unique part about Insect Glaive is the kinsect and extract system. In order to fully realize your potential, you have to get certain buffs from monsters via your kinsect. The kinsect gauge holds 3 extracts for the player being Red, White, and Orange. To get an extract your kinsect must attack a monster part first, and after recalling it you are given the extract. The kinsect will automatically return to you if your weapon is sheathed in any way, or if its stamina runs out.

Red [1]: It changes your moveset to a stronger one, making attacks have more hits and deal more damage. Without Red extract, you can’t play the real weapon.

White [2]: It will increase movement speed while unsheathed by 20%, and increase vault height.

Orange [3]: It will give a 5% defense boost and a super armor (Flinch Free) effect while attacking.

Green: Green extract will heal you slightly upon recall. It is not a typical buff.

The duration of Red extract is 90 seconds, White is 120 seconds, and Orange is 150 seconds.

Mixing the different extracts has a collection of benefits. Mixing Red and White will give you a bonus 10% total raw (Attack) multiplier, mixing White and Orange will give you a 10% defense boost. Red and Orange together have no unique effect.

When you get all 3 extracts together it is called Triple Up and the timer is reset to 90 seconds for all 3 extracts. During Triple Up, you gain the effects of each extract and the total raw multiplier is increased to 15%. You can no longer refresh an individual extract’s timer during Triple Up.

The armor skill Flinch Free will add the effects of 1 level of Tremor Resistance, Windproof, and Earplugs per level of the skill to the bonuses provided by Triple Up in addition to its normal effects.

Extract Gathering:

There are 2 ways to handle extracts, each providing different pros and cons:

Aim for only Red and White, and grab Orange extract when they are closer to expiring to reset the timer with Triple Up.

While you will be losing 5% total raw multiplier until you get Triple Up, you will not have to gather extracts as many times during the hunt, and won’t have to worry as much about getting Orange extract if it is in an inconvenient location.

Simply get Triple Up as soon as you can in the hunt, and refresh Triple Up when it wears off.

You will capitalize on the bonuses of Triple Up immediately, and for a larger portion of the hunt. Orange extract is also good to have in some matchups or in multiplayer scenarios.

It usually comes down to personal preference or the specific monster matchup. Both strategies are valid to use, as ultimately Red and White are the only 2 necessary extracts, although Triple Up is the ideal state for damage.

When you are looking to rebuff with extracts in the middle of a fight it’s advised to hold specific extracts (ideally Red and White) in your kinsect before your current ones expire, as the kinsect will collect extracts on every hit including any auto-attack hits or Descending Thrust pierces (see Kinsect Pierce and Kinsect Mark.) You can then recall the kinsect to immediately regain extracts. This is called extract banking, and it can significantly reduce the downtime you have without extracts.

The location of the extracts are mostly standard, meaning that most monsters will have them in the same or similar locations. The most common locations for the extracts are:

Red [1]: head, front legs - attacking body part

White [2]: wings, back legs - movement body part

Orange [3]: torso - defending body part

Green: tail - unique part

There are exceptions for these rules, but you will learn where the extracts are with enough practice. The Resources section has a full list of extract zones on all monsters.

Kinsect Stats:

Kinsects by default have 100 stamina, and regain 30 stamina when recalled early. The default drain is 4 stamina every second the kinsect is flying. Kinsects will auto attack marked targets at different speeds depending on the powder type.

Kinsects choices all have 4 stats:

Power: An attack value for the kinsect. The Resources section has a spreadsheet that can translate these values into an actual weapon attack value.
Speed: How fast the kinsect moves.
Heal: Primarily determines the amount of health gained from Green extract, however it also affects how fast kinsect stamina regenerates.
Element: Similar to power, it’s a set element value per level. It also affects the potency of powders. Making 5 of the same kinsect (1 for each element,) will let you avoid having to spend resources swapping the element.

Kinsect Powder:

Powder is released by the kinsect when it attacks a marked part. See the “Kinsect Mark” section for more details.

The actual stats of the kinsect matter significantly more than its type of powder, though conveniently the strongest kinsects happen to have the strongest powder type. The potency of all powders is affected by the Kinsect’s element stat, even if the bug doesn’t have an element applied to it.

Every kinsect has a powder type:

Blast: It does fixed damage when struck, and applies minor blast status buildup

This powder is typically the best damage output powder, but becomes redundant if using a weapon that already has Blast on it such as Lightbreak IG.

3 second auto attack.

Poison: It does fixed damage when struck, and applies minor poison status buildup.

Poison can be vaguely useful if nothing else has poison around, but typically isn’t ever a priority due to low damage on most matchups.

3 second auto attack.

Paralysis: It does fixed damage when struck, and applies minor paralysis status buildup.

In theory this could be a nice option to help lock down monsters more, however the kinsects with paralysis powder have undesirable stats.

4 second auto attack.

Healing: It heals all players in the vicinity when struck.

This powder is not particularly something you should play around. Instead, treat it as a bonus when your bug is attacking the monster. The healing is minor, and is definitely not an excuse to forgo typical healing methods under nearly every scenario.

5.5 second auto attack.

Kinsect Damage Types:

Blunt: It could potentially net you a KO, but it’s incredibly unlikely and unreasonable to play around it for most scenarios. Blunt kinsects also have weaker stats than Sever kinsects.
Sever: Severing kinsects do the same type of damage as your weapon, and have higher stats.

All recommended kinsects are severing kinsects purely due to their more desirable stats. Extremely niche use cases for blunt kinsects can exist.

Kinsect Bonus:

Each glaive also comes with a ‘Kinsect Bonus’ that affects the bug in multiple ways.

The Kinsect Bonuses available in the game are:

Sever Boost: Boosts sever kinsect raw attack by a 1.3x multiplier
Blunt Boost: Boosts blunt kinsect raw attack by a 1.2x multiplier
Element Boost: Boosts kinsect element by a 1.4x multiplier
Speed Boost: Boosts kinsect speed by 1.5x multiplier. This is a detriment to kinsect piercing.
Stamina and Healing Boost: 1.5x healing from green extract, as well as 0.5x stamina drain, 2x stamina regen, and 50 stamina on recall up from 30. The stamina and healing bonuses are also available separately on pre-MR weapons.
Spirit & Strength: Applies both kinsect charge buffs when charged with any slinger ammo. See next section for details about the Kinsect Charge.

Kinsect Charge:

Aside from gathering extracts to buff the hunter, there is also a mechanic for the player to buff the kinsect. This is called Kinsect Charge, and it is activated when you feed slinger ammo to your kinsect.

The duration of this buff is determined by what ammo is used to buff it, with more valuable ammo types like piercing pods granting a longer buff. See the general data sheet in the Resources section for detailed durations.

There are 2 kinsect charge buffs:

Spirit Charge: It comes from environmental slinger ammo like stones. It will provide your kinsect with double the stamina cap and regeneration while restoring all stamina. It also adds 45 seconds to the Triple Up duration. That is a 50% duration increase for Triple Up, and will decrease the amount of times you have to gather extracts.
Power Charge: It comes from monster dropped slinger ammo like piercing pods. It will grant your kinsect a myriad of attack bonuses: 1.5x raw multiplier, 3.5x element multiplier, 1.5x attack speed, and 1.15x dust effect multiplier. This is a massive buff to kinsect damage, where an uncharged (19 power 20 element) kinsect will hit for 37 on the training pole, and a charged kinsect will deal 76.

Both kinsect charges will additionally give basic extracts (not Triple Up) +45 seconds to their duration, and allow the kinsect to hold two extracts at once.

If the glaive you use has the Spirit & Strength Kinsect Bonus, it applies both of these buffs from all ammo types. The duration is still determined by the ammo used. The shared effects of both charges are not stacked when both buffs are active due to Spirit & Strength.

You should always aim to charge your kinsect before gathering extracts, due to the substantial extract duration increase and other benefits. The timer is snapshot the moment the extract is given to the player, so you need to charge BEFORE getting extracts in order to reap the benefits of increased extract duration. Ideally you always want Power Charge active, as this is the main way that the kinsect will contribute relevant amounts of damage.

Buffs, Debuffs, and Armor Skills:

There are no buffs, debuffs, or armor that affect the kinsect in any way. The kinsect will not benefit from any skill in the game, aside from extracts getting bonuses from Flinch Free or Power Prolonger (which impacts the hunter.) Things like dragonblight, attack boost, elemental attack jewels, slugger, etc will never affect the kinsect in any way. The kinsect can never deal a critical strike. The kinsect is not affected by any attack or element augments on a weapon, despite it still lifestealing with health augment.

THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO EQUIPMENT SKILLS THAT IMPACT THE KINSECT

THE ONLY WAYS TO INCREASE A KINSECT’S ATTACK/ELEMENT ARE KINSECT CHARGE AND KINSECT BONUSES

Kinsect Pierce:

The kinsect pierce attack, commonly referred to as a DT drill, is an extremely valuable attack that the kinsect can perform when you use Descending Thrust. It can provide significant damage when aimed properly, especially on larger sized monsters.

In order to start a pierce, the kinsect must be recalled on the hunter’s arm before Descending Thrust is used. The kinsect will detach at the start of the move, and fly downwards towards wherever the hunter ends the final hit of Descending Thrust.

Since these pierce attacks won’t occur when the kinsect is out in the air, it’s common to recall the kinsect right before initiating a DT in order to get the pierce attack off.

KhalidSenpai has a great video that details smooth ways to do that:
https://youtu.be/RvxbYyYe0uo

During the pierce attack, the kinsect will hit the monster every 3 frames at 60fps. Effectively this means that the longer your kinsect takes to travel towards you, the more times it will be able to hit the monster during the pierce. This is why the strongest kinsect choices specifically aim to have a low speed stat rather than a high one, as it will result in more ticks of damage from these powerful piercing attacks. Conveniently, slower speed kinsects also happen to have the highest damage stats too.

A fast kinsect like Foliacath would only get around 1 to 2 pierce ticks on a large monster. However, a slow kinsect like Vezirstag can get 4-6 ticks, or perhaps even more. Positioning is vital to pull off this technique well, as the kinsect will always travel from the point you pressed R2 to the point where the last DT hit was swung.

For a visual demonstration:

https://gfycat.com/preciousadmiredgermanshepherd

(modded numbers)

Kinsect Mark:

While a mark is active, the kinsect will start to automatically attack the mark. It will attack that point until the mark disappears. The mark will disappear if you use Kinsect: Harvest, Kinsect: Recall, the kinsect runs out of stamina, or by sheathing the weapon in any way (getting stunned, grappling with the clutch claw, or sheathing manually.) You can only have 1 mark active at any time, and marking again will simply remove the previous mark.

The kinsect releases powder when it attacks a mark, a floating cloud that can be hit to create a small explosion of differing effects depending on the powder type of the kinsect. Powder can exist up to seven times, and lasts for a minute. The frequency of which the kinsect attacks the marked target is dependent on what type of powder it has. Powder clouds deal nominal damage themselves and apply minor amounts of status buildup.

The most common and ideal way to apply a mark is through the move Descending Thrust which will apply a mark on its 3rd and 4th hit. You can also apply it with Marking Slash (Kinsect: Mark Target) or Pheromone Shot (Kinsect: Fire.) Marking Slash is almost never used due to incredibly low damage and surprisingly high commitment, however Pheromone Shot can see use to squeeze marks in when the monster is attacking, or when the monster is out of range for a DT.

Marks allow for passive kinsect damage, meaning you can mark a target and let the kinsect attack it while you continue doing other attacks. Auto-attack damage is small compared to pierce attacks, however it is easy to rack up passive damage with the auto-attacks when not using Descending Thrust, especially since DT itself will mark the target.

Choosing a Kinsect:

When you are picking a kinsect, you should choose one with maximum element and high power.

ALWAYS put an element on your kinsect, as it will be an increase in damage even on an element hitzone of 5. Kinsects heavily benefit from elemental damage (thanks to kinsect charge,) unlike the glaive.

There are 2 archetypes for kinsects: fast and weak, or slow and strong:

Fast and weak kinsects are the typical beginner choice such as Foliacath 3 Forz.

These kinsects have basic functionality to make getting extracts quick, however will contribute far less to damage output due to lower attack stats and losing hits on Descending Thrust pierces. They also may be more desirable during early progression to get a usable speed baseline.

Slow kinsects are best for maximizing damage, shown by Vezirstag 3 Forz.

Slower kinsects are further empowered by ticking more than fast kinsects during the Descending Thrust pierce, explained earlier. Gathering extracts with a slower bug may be challenging at first, but learning to play closer to the monster and knowing its patterns will help. Banking extracts with marking/drills can always help after the first initial engagement.

Vezirstag 3 Forz is the ideal choice for maximizing damage and generally the best kinsect in the game. It is what you should be aiming to use in nearly every circumstance.

Remember to make 5 of every kinsect you plan to use frequently in order to have one with each element. Doing this will save you having to go back to the smithy frequently to change a singular kinsect’s element when you hunt different monsters.

You equip kinsects the exact same way you equip glaives.

Clutch Claw:

The bane of everyone’s sanity, the clutch claw is an over centralized mechanic added by Iceborne that allows you to grapple onto monsters and perform multiple powerful actions. These range from controlling the monster, to amplifying your own damage.

To grapple on to a monster, aim your slinger and press the secondary attack button. Insect Glaive also has a unique way to access grappling from the air, though this aerial claw attack does not provide any additional bonuses for using it.

While grappling, your stamina will constantly drain if you are not performing any other actions. You can change grappling parts by moving, though this will also consume stamina. If stamina depletes fully, you will be forced to stop grappling the monster. Grappling a monster also sheathes your weapon.

Tenderize:

The most significantly important part of the clutch claw is the primary weapon attack while grappled that allows you to tenderize monster parts after it connects. After being tenderized, a part will remain that way for 3 minutes.

Tenderizing monster parts is exceedingly important for keeping up high damage in a fight, as not only is the monster’s hitzone (how weak the part is) increased by a significant amount (0.75*hzv + 25 for most monsters,) but it also unlocks the full value of the Weakness Exploit skill, a skill that is used on nearly every single well built IG set.

In order for a part to be tenderized, its invisible “tenderize value” must reach up to 100. Insect Glaive has a “light tenderize” which means that it will not be able to do a full 100 tenderize damage during a single attack usage by default. IG’s attack in particular does 20+5+10+20+20 for all 5 hits combined. However, IG’s weapon attack is notoriously inconsistent, and can often whiff some hits.

These weapon attacks can be amplified by using the Clutch Claw Boost skill in order to double their tenderize damage output, leading to being able to tenderize a part in only 1 usage instead of 2. This skill is recommended for nearly all endgame IG sets.

If tenderizing sounds like a chore, that’s because it is.

Flinch Shots (Wallbangs):

The other significant action you can take while grappled onto a monster is a Flinch Shot, which will unload all of your currently equipped slinger ammo (barring additional ammo from the Slinger Capacity skill) into a monster. When done on a monster’s head, this will cause it to be propelled forward and possibly collide with any terrain in front of it. Player-brought slinger ammo such as Dung Pods or Flash Pods are unable to launch a monster with Flinch Shots, despite still being able to be unloaded during one.

If a collision occurs, the monster will take 2-3% of its total health (depending on amount of partbreaks) in damage, and also be forced to topple on the ground. This action is colloquially referred to as a “wallbang” for the collision into a wall.

To aid in aligning the monster to any nearby terrain, you can also perform Claw Attacks while grappling. These attacks cost stamina to use and will do a tiny amount of damage, but if performed while grappling to the head of a monster, Claw Attacks will cause the monster to be forcefully turned up to 90 degrees in the direction you push it. Using a Claw Attack while grappled will also cause the part to take 20 tenderize damage.

Monsters can’t be forcefully turned by Claw Attacks or propelled via Flinch Shots while they are enraged (unless they are sleeping.) Additionally, any monster will immediately enrage after enough “claw interactions” with it. If you wanted to maximize the amount of Flinch Shots performed each time the monster is not enraged, you would have to Claw Attack + Flinch Shot first, and then Claw Attack + Flinch Shot afterwards.

Do note that forcefully enraging a monster is actually a GOOD thing for you as a hunter, as not only will this activate the incredibly powerful Agitator skill for nearly permanent uptime, but most monsters flat out take more damage while they are enraged.

Clagger:

To go along with the Clutch Claw, Iceborne also added a new form of stagger that monsters will receive after taking damage. This stagger results in the monster reeling back to the side and drooling from its mouth. If you grapple onto it during these 3-4 seconds, the duration of the stagger will be reset back to 5-6 seconds, allowing you to easily use a grappling weapon attack.

These staggers have been dubbed “Claggers” by the community due to them emphasizing use of the Clutch Claw during the opening window. While you can easily use this window to grapple the monster and tenderize parts when necessary, you can also grapple the monster to refresh the duration and immediately drop off to continue attacking as normal with an extended window of opportunity.

This video (by suzi) is helpful for understanding claggers.

Fight Opener:

When engaging a monster, there are a few things you should do before fighting as normal in order to prepare yourself and the monster. While you may not always engage perfectly smoothly, accomplishing a good engagement as a first priority in fights will help you succeed.

These things are:

Your kinsect is charged, ideally with Spirit and Strength kinsect bonus
You have at least Red and White extracts collected, benefiting from kinsect charge’s duration buff
The monster’s head (or primary zone) is tenderized
The monster is immediately enraged, or toppled on the ground due to a Wallbang.

Picking up any slinger ammo you find on the way towards the monster will let you access kinsect charge easily, and you can quickly gather 1 extract from the monster, evade its roar, and send the kinsect to grab the second one. Since grappling to a monster will automatically sheathe your weapon, you can avoid needing to manually recall the kinsect, as it will return to you when your weapon is sheathed.

When grappled to the monster’s head, you can immediately try to use 3 claw attacks to forcefully turn it, as not only will this let you align the monster to a wall for a potential wallbang, but these attacks will progress tenderize damage on the part, letting you tenderize quickly even without Clutch Claw Boost.

Using these 3 claw attacks, whether you go for a wallbang or immediate tenderize attack, will also forcefully enrage the monster. This sets you up to deal significantly more damage thanks to most monsters taking more damage while being enraged, and the powerful Agitator skill.

To summarize: Ideally you hit R2 while sheathed and grab Red or White extract, then kinsect charge while the monster starts to roar. Evade the roar, and grab the other extract. Claw to monster head, then claw attack it 3 times and either weapon attack or flinch shot it.

Not every monster engagement will function exactly the same. Note that you can shoot environmental slinger ammo into the ground near most monsters that aren’t in combat to distract them briefly.

Some specialized tools (mantles) also make engaging monsters significantly easier, such as Rocksteady Mantle making you immune to roars and damage reactions.

Weapon Combos / Attacks:

Insect glaive has multiple attacks, each with its own purpose. Utilizing the right move in the right situation is one major aspect of mastering the Insect Glaive.

Main Damage Combos:

Strong Wide Sweep > 🌪️TORNADO SLASH🌪️
Strong Thrust > Strong Wide Sweep > 🌪️TORNADO SLASH🌪️ (Tornado Loop)
Vault > Descending Thrust > 🌪️TORNADO SLASH🌪️
Vault > Descending Thrust w/ Bug Pierce

As you might’ve noticed, Tornado Slash is a main priority for damage. It deals relatively high damage, and is easily accessible. Looping the Strong Thrust combo (named as Tornado Loop by the community) is the highest isolated damage combo IG has available, but it can be difficult to stay in a good position after Tornado Slash due to its forward movement. The best way to solve this would be to position yourself so that the monster’s body will prevent you from moving forward, shown by this clip from Kevin.

Descending Thrust is another strong attack in IG’s arsenal. It consists of 4 separate hits, and also chains into Tornado Slash. When there is a ledge available, this attack has even higher output as you can remove the vault from the equation. Just practice it until you get used to the way that it moves you when you use it. The 3rd and 4th hits also apply a kinsect mark, saving you the trouble of using a worse attack to mark. DT is an incredibly good gap closer as well, especially when the monster is out of leaping slash range and you need aerial mobility.

DT’s interaction with the kinsect is also important for damage, most notably with slower kinsects such as Vezirstag Forz. See the Kinsect Pierce section earlier for more detail.

While these are good combos, no combo is set in stone. You should instead learn the weapon’s attacks and how each attack links together, and what situation each attack is good for. Depending on the situation or opening, you will have to adapt to deal optimal damage.

We also have many niche moves:

Dodge Slash: After certain attacks, pressing back + secondary attack will do a Dodge Slash. This is a repositioning tool that can help you align yourself better for a Tornado Slash, as it chains right into one.
Leaping Slash: This attack can be used almost any time by using forward and circle. It moves you slightly forward, allowing you to reposition without stopping your assault. It also leads into Tornado Slash.
Strong Rising Slash: This attack is used if the opening is too short to Tornado Slash twice and you need to be not moved too far out of position. It’s also useful for reaching targets vertically.
Strong Double Slash: Only useful after using Descending Thrust if the opening is too short to fit more tornado loops. Rarely used, but might occasionally be relevant due to positioning/timing.
Strong Jumping Slash: Used only when you want to painfully and slowly mount the monster because everyone in your party decided that since you are the glaive user you have to be the mounting slave. It deals 20 mount buildup per hit. Use Kiranico to check thresholds for any monster.
Vault + Aerial Evade: Very useful to reposition or traverse distance, and set up for a juicy Descending Thrust on the monster’s weak-spot.

Animation Canceling:

Animation canceling is a technique used to interrupt or skip long end-lag animations (mainly Tornado Slash for IG.) It can potentially increase your damage output, allowing you to attack sooner, or reorient after an attack.

If you get out of position after an attack, you can do what's called a kinsect cancel, where you simply use Kinsect: Harvest Extract during the end lag. This is used to cancel the animation, while also turning your hunter and allowing you to reposition at the same time. You can also roll out of the animation, or vault out of the animation if the situation calls for it, but Kinsect: Harvest Extract allows you full control over movement.

This might seem like an advanced technique, but it doesn’t take much practice to weave it into your gameplay after Tornado Slashes to squeeze in some free damage. In fact, you’ve probably been doing it accidentally with rolls. It’s not a definite requirement to play the weapon, but on a mediocre damage weapon like IG, more damage is always appreciated.

Animation canceling can really help out when you are attacking in smaller windows, allowing you to quickly reposition or move out of harm's way with little to no downtime.

Aerial IG:

You may have seen aerial builds floating around, or perhaps Capcom’s advertising of aerial IG made it seem cool. However, aerial IG is just inferior in every way to standard IG play.

When aerial IG is mentioned, it typically means using Strong Jumping Advancing Slash (colloquially known as “Helicopter”) repeatedly. This attack is easily the worst attack IG has for dealing damage, with a pathetically low output for its commitment. It also comes with a whole host of other issues along with it, such as a long animation, unwieldy targeting, and anti-synergistic build requirements.

Getting the most value out of this move requires Elemental Airborne from Drachen armor, Dragonvein Awakening from Safi armor, and Kjarr weapons. The increased damage taken from using High Rank gear along with no flexibility for defensive skills, the constant bleed effect from Safi armor, and lack of strong sharpness management all make it very punishing to play. These elemental skills are inefficient damage wise for every other attack in IG’s kit, and use of Kjarr weapons also means no Fatalis IG. All of this commitment for damage that is still significantly behind standard play.

Additionally, a major problem is that it is quite difficult to hit most monsters’ weak spots while flailing in the air with Strong Jumping Advancing Slash. There are only a few monsters with good wing/back hit-zones for melee, which you will inevitably be hitting while using that attack. Repeatedly using this attack may seem “more mobile” than the alternative, but it only results in long animation locks and a loss of control over the character, unlike aerial evade and Descending Thrust which actually provide mobility.

If you still wish to play this way for enjoyment, it is perfectly acceptable to do so. However, please understand its numerous drawbacks, and notify others if playing in multiplayer. The aerial guide in pins does contain an album for aerial sets within its description.

Always remember that vaulting and being airborne itself is not an issue, as aerial mobility (aerial evade) is still useful, and the move Descending Thrust is one of the strongest attacks in IG’s kit. Many endgame hunts will necessitate using DT often. Simply just avoid using Strong Jumping Advancing Slash.

Gearing:

The main priority when gearing for any IG set is:

100% Affinity > Critical Boost > sharpness management > standard raw skills

Affinity is the chance to deal extra damage on hit, also known as critical strike chance in other games. The default critical damage is 1.25x multiplier, but by using the skill Critical Boost you can get it up to 1.4x multiplier. This is a large gain because it is an overall damage multiplier, and it scales well with raw attack skills.

Critical Boost does not affect elemental damage or status buildup in any way. In order to boost elemental/status damage, you need Critical Element/Status or True Critical Element/Status, each providing a multiplier to elemental/status damage. Critical Element/Status are usually ignored for Insect Glaive, due to it prioritizing raw attack.

Make sure you always have the Powercharm and Powertalon items in your inventory, as they provide a combined +15 attack when in your item pouch.

Weapons:

Choosing a weapon is relatively simple: you are looking for high raw attack, and high (preferably purple) sharpness. Purple sharpness is around a 5% damage gain over white sharpness. Element and status are generally secondary concerns, but blast status is the best for universal use when possible.

The strongest endgame glaive we have is Fatalis IG by far. Raging Brachy IG is the next best one afterwards, due to S&S bonus.

If you are struggling to maintain sharpness with Master’s Touch, you can use what’s called a non-tenderize set. These feature 120% affinity, so you won’t be punished as hard for hitting unsoftened monster parts. This can be very useful for matchups like Nergigante, where you are swapping targets to spikes often. Tenderizing is still a large increase to damage, so it shouldn’t be completely ignored even with these sets. These non-tenderize sets are unable to be reasonably made with Fatalis IG.

Main endgame set document here:

https://bit.ly/MHW-Fatty-IG-Sets

Affinity Boosting Skills:

Weakness Exploit: This is the GOAT affinity skill, providing up to 50% affinity on tenderized monster parts. The breakdown is 30% affinity on a weak spot, and 20% more on a tenderized weak spot.
Critical Eye: It’s the basic affinity skill that simply provides affinity per level.
Agitator: Provides up to 20% affinity with level 7, while also providing a large bonus to raw damage. The condition is easy to activate, as the Clutch Claw can be used to instantly enrage monsters through Claw Attacks and Flinch Shots.
Attack Boost: Level 4+ provides 5% affinity which can be a nice minor bonus to round out a set with more raw damage.
Affinity Augment: Augmenting your weapon for affinity will provide 10% affinity, and subsequent augments will provide 5% affinity.
Latent Power: After taking 180 (120 with secret) damage or every 300 seconds in combat, you get the Latent Power buff. The buff lasts for 120 seconds, and provides static affinity and reduces stamina depletion. Not really a great option due to its unreliability and annoying nature, but it is still occasionally seen on endgame sets due to the lack of other options.
Maximum Might: The powerhouse from base world has been reduced to garbage thanks to Iceborne. Now requiring you to cap stamina for 5 whole seconds without the skill secret, this skill becomes very underwhelming. Mixed with Descending Thrust not benefitting from it at all, this skill is a no-go for Insect Glaive users.
Affinity Sliding: This is a very niche skill that is not really useful at all in endgame content. It may be useful when progressing and you don’t have access to better affinity options.

Raw Attack Skills:

Attack Boost: It provides +3 raw every level, up to +21 attack at the level 7. It may not seem like much, but it is easy to fit in and always active. Every level of true raw counts.
Attack Augment: It adds +5 base raw on your weapon. Very useful in general, and especially useful if you have skills like Heroics that only boost base raw.
Agitator: at level 7 you gain +28 raw while the monster is enraged. You also gain +20% affinity, making this skill extremely powerful.
Peak Performance: While at full health, you gain +20 attack at level 3. With health augment, it is quite easy to maintain high uptime of this effect.
Resentment: It gives +5 attack per level while you have recoverable damage (the red portion of your health gauge) up to +25 at level 5, this skill is the polar opposite of Peak Performance, requiring you to have taken damage to activate. This skill is notably used alongside the Safi armor set, which damages you while attacking.
Coalescence: The 1st point of Coalescence is ridiculously efficient, providing +12 raw. The duration of the buff can refresh itself while active. Additional points are nowhere near as efficient as the first, giving only 3 more raw per level; they are almost always ignored.
Heroics: It’s a strong skill that multiplies only your base raw. At level 7 you gain +40% base raw damage while under 35% health. This skill is quite dangerous to use, but the payoff is substantial when paired with the right set.
Fortify: It’s a powerful skill for 1 point, granting +10% raw and +15% defense for each faint. This bonus stacks up to 2 times, and lasts 50 minutes. This is incredibly useful in areas like The Guiding Lands, where you can faint as many times as you like. Useful for a new player, or learning a new matchup where you may faint more often.
Non-Elemental Boost: Nerfed in Iceborne, this skill is still strong with a solid 5% base raw increase. It requires you to have no element or status on your weapon. Endgame options can’t use this skill, but it is still useful for progression.

Utility Skills:

Health Augment: The undisputed king of utility, health augment grants your weapon a slight lifesteal effect (7% of damage dealt for MR.) This is incredibly powerful for not just staying alive, but for keeping Peak Performance active through chip damage.
Flinch Free / Tremor Resistance: While you have Triple Up active, every level of Flinch Free provides you with 1 level of each: Tremor Resistance, Windproof, and Earplugs, on top of the default effect. Despite that, it’s still not all that great.

It’s still recommended to have 1 point for multiplayer even though Orange extract provides a similar effect. 1 point of Tremor Resistance is useful against some matchups like Furious Rajang.

Power Prolonger: A 40% increase in the duration of extracts for 3 points. This seems like a useful skill, however it can be expensive to build for. If you play well and prepare extracts beforehand, you can simply bank red and white extracts just before they expire. Kinsect Charge also provides extra duration itself. The skill does not impact Kinsect Charge’s duration.
Evade Window: Nice skill that adds a few iframes to your evades. Just 2-3 points can net you a generous dodging window. This skill is also cheap to build due to being present in combo decorations.
Health Boost: It’s everyone’s favorite defensive skill! It’s the most efficient one in the game and quite powerful. Fatalis armor in endgame has HB’s effects for free, so it is not seen there due to redundancy.
Recovery Up: Increases health restored by consumables, and more importantly the health regen augment on your weapon. This can net you higher uptime on Peak Performance.
Divine Blessing: The second most efficient health bolstering skill; it provides a chance to reduce damage taken. It’s not required, and the combo decorations are usually better spent on other skills.
Tool Specialist: A skill obtainable on combo decorations that may be helpful for reducing mantle cooldowns on longer hunts, but won’t always end up mattering.
Earplugs: Can be helpful on some matchups like Ruiner Nergigante, but in general it’s not recommended due to high costs. Learning how to evade roars will benefit you more in the long run.
Mind’s Eye: Can be useful for a few specific matchups such as Rajangs or Behemoth when IG’s wide sweeping attacks may clip into extremely low hit zones and bounce even purple sharpness. Not a generally relevant skill.
Geologist: A Guiding Lands specific skill that you should bring if you need more parts. With 1 point of geologist, you will be able to pick up most monster shinies twice, which will net you many more materials. Doesn’t work for certain monsters including most tundra monsters.
Blast Resistance: Only useful for hunting Raging Brachydios since blastscourge is everywhere and deadly. This will prevent you from having to roll many times if you get the blight, though it will also prevent you from reliably benefiting from Coalescence if maxed.
Effluvia Resistance: Only useful for hunting Blackviel Vaal Hazak as it dumps out miasma like a sewage pipe.

Other defensive/utility skills are too niche or powerless to mention; you are best off running ones shown here.

Element:

Insect Glaive as a weapon favors raw attack far more than any elemental damage or statuses. While IG can attack relatively quickly, this does not immediately equal being strong with elemental damage. Most of IG’s attacks have a 0.8x elemental modifier on them, which severely limits the power and efficiency of building for elemental damage. In addition, the extract effects with Red/White or Triple Up will only boost your total raw attack value, not any elemental attack or status.

Despite this, the largest nail in the coffin for any elemental sets on IG is the existence of Fatalis IG (True Fatalis Dyaus,) which has such a monstrously high raw attack value compared to anything else that no other weapon can compete with it. Before Fatalis IG existed, there were niche elemental options that were beneficial to use on a few matchups, such as Kjarr Water or Alatreon IG, but even these weapons still favored building primarily for raw attack, and treated the elemental damage as a supplement on top. Such picks also often sacrificed the Spirit and Strength kinsect bonus, effectively causing a loss of 45 seconds of Triple Up duration.

However this shouldn’t be confused with utilizing elemental kinsects, as kinsects are heavily favored towards having elemental damage unlike the glaive itself. This is primarily due to power charge (described earlier) providing a massive 3.5x element multiplier to the bug. You should ALWAYS be using an elemental kinsect, as even if it’s not an ideal element zone it will still win out in damage.

For a standard kinsect, elementless will only beat out elemental (with Power Charge active) if the raw hitzone of the monster is 16 times larger than the element hitzone, which practically doesn’t exist in the game. Making 5 of the same kinsect can let you have 1 for each element without needing to swap it at the smithy frequently. The kinsect sections earlier in the guide also explain more.

Status:

Similar to element, statuses should be treated mostly as a bonus on top of a raw attack focused set. All melee weapons only apply their statuses on 10 out of every 30 hits, so building to favor status damage is generally quite inefficient. However, Insect Glaive also has the option of utilizing statuses through powder clouds that the kinsect can place down after auto attacks, allowing you to benefit from some statuses without committing to using them heavily.

Blast is easily considered the best pure damage status, as on the right matchup it can provide some decent damage, and its value is gained instantly upon proc. Poison has its value spread out over a long duration where you can’t re-apply the status. Even for the few monsters that are extremely weak to poison, there are consumable items called Poison Smoke Bombs that can apply the poison status if truly desired.

Paralysis and Sleep are the “Crowd Control” statuses that can allow you to lock a monster down for an opening. However these are rarely worth prioritizing too, since oftentimes these statuses will end up overwriting any other topple or opening you have due to the unpredictable nature of melee weapons applying statuses, and can be considered inefficient since many weapons that have them have poor stats or extremely low status output.

Outside of having a coordinated team with a gunner to apply statuses to the monster, the best way to utilize these CC statuses is to have a palico weapon with them, as the palico will never contribute any relevant amount of damage itself (outside of gadgets/exploits,) leading to status being its main contribution outside of its gadget effects. These CC statuses applied by a palico still run the risk of overwriting other topples though.

Progression Gear:

Updated progression document here

https://bit.ly/MHW-IG-Prog

Miscellaneous:

Food Skills:

Insect Glaive does not need any specific food skill, so there are options to choose. You should always try to eat Attack Up L, otherwise known as 6 meat ingredients. This will net you +15 attack, and is a large boost to your damage.

Vouchers can be used to guarantee food skill activation for any meal, and Gourmet Vouchers in Master Rank can additionally force all food to give health as well. Health from food isn’t that important, as Max Potions during the quest can give you the same quantity of health as you would’ve gotten from food. Fatalis armor in endgame will also grant you the maximum health total (200) at all times.

The best daily food skill is Felyne Booster, granting you +9 attack for the first 10 minutes of your quest.

If you can obtain Booster from the random rolls, you should get it even if it means skipping out on other food skills you normally pick.

Most common food skills to eat for:

Felyne Moxie (6 Blue): Allows you to survive one attack that would’ve carted you if you are above a health threshold. It’s a strong defensive skill for endgame monsters, and a good general pick when you don’t need a different bonus.
Felyne Black Belt (4 Orange): Provides stamina cost reduction equivalent to Constitution 2. Sometimes you may find this to be helpful when you are frequently using Descending Thrust.
Felyne Groomer (2 Purple): This skill can be eaten at the same time as other 4 ingredient skills such as Black Belt, and it could help you with Coalescence uptime. Still not all that useful, but it’s a common choice due to its ease of access.

Other options:

Felyne Medic (4 Purple): Effectively the same thing as Recovery Up, this can increase health augment healing leading to potential increases in Peak Performance uptime, but overall not that powerful.
Felyne Rider (4 Red): Boosts mounting output by 1.4x, making Strong Jumping Slash do 28 mount per hit instead of 20. Can be helpful if you’re planning to do a mount, but it’s often unnecessary and there are usually better options to eat for.
Felyne Heroics (6 Orange): Gives +35% base attack when health is below 10. This can be extremely strong if you are experienced and able to avoid taking damage. Not recommended for most players.
Felyne Acrobat (2 Blue): Another relatively weak skill that also only has a 2 ingredient requirement similar to Felyne Groomer. It can be another option for sticking alongside Black Belt if the matchup you are going into does not have frequent blights or debuffs.

Felyne Safeguard (6 Maroon): Grants an extra cart for the quest. A strong skill to get, however you cannot eat for Attack Up (L) when you eat for Felyne Safeguard.

Specialized Tools:

There are many strong mantle options, each with their own pros and cons. Each mantle will have decoration slots when upgraded in Master Rank, and typically you will slot in specific skills depending on the mantle such as Slugger in the Impact Mantle. There are many other niche skills that are common mantle choices since you should likely already have the strongest skills present on the main set.

Skills slotted in mantles will only be active while you are wearing the mantle, so it is best not to rely on mantle decorations for core skills on a set.

The most important mantles are described here, however other ones will exist before these ones.

Evasion Mantle: One of the strongest options available. When you evade an attack, you gain a titanic +30% base raw buff for 20 seconds. Also increases your evade window beyond the level 5 of the skill, making it significantly easier to dodge attacks.

Unlocked by completing the 9* High Rank quest “New World Sky, New World Flower”
Quest unlocked by hunting various different Threat 2 tempered monsters in High Rank.
Upgrade unlocked by completing the 3* Master Rank quest “Proud White Knight”

Rocksteady Mantle: Makes you immune to knockbacks and flinches, but you still take almost all of the damage from attacks. It’s strong for starting a fight or tenderizing because you are immune to the monster’s roar and movements. Multi-hit attacks will shred you quickly though.

Unlocked by completing the 9* High Rank quest “A Summons from Below”
Quest unlocked by hunting various different Threat 3 tempered monsters in High Rank.
Upgrade unlocked by completing the 4* Master Rank quest “Piercing Black”

Temporal Mantle: The strongest defensive mantle in the game, allowing you to auto-dodge almost every attack without taking damage. Interrupts your attacks when activated, and the duration is decreased when activated in Iceborne. If you are careless it can run out of time quickly. Useful for tenderizing attacks in the middle of a fight.

Unlocked by completing the 8* High Rank special assignment “The Blazing Sun”
Quest unlocked by finishing High Rank and speaking to the Huntsman.
Upgrade unlocked by completing the 6* Master Rank quest “Divine Surge” unlocked upon reaching MR 150.

Impact Mantle: Adds KO buildup to your weapon attacks while active. You can easily get a KO from this mantle, and potentially multiple. The higher the MV of the attack, the more KO is applied.

Unlocked by completing the 9* High Rank quest “Showdown: the Muck and the Maul”
Quest unlocked by hunting various different Threat 1 tempered monsters in High Rank
Upgrade unlocked by completing the 6* Master Rank quest “Hymn of Moon and Sun” unlocked at MR 125.

Palico:

While palicos are mostly useless, you get 2 major benefits from them: status weapon and a palico gadget. Both aren’t too impactful, and there are many options to choose from.

Weapons:

Paralysis: The best general palico weapon. Can usually get at least 1 paralyze per hunt, or more if the monster is susceptible to it. This can be a free opening for you, but it can also interrupt your active CC.
Poison: Always nice to have free damage, and when the monster is weak to poison you can gain some from your palico. Depending on the matchup, this can either be better or worse than paralysis.
Sleep: Many players prefer sleep over paralysis, and it has its moments. You can get a free flinch shot from any sleeping monster, even if they are enraged. This is quite powerful if they are sleeping next to a wall, however you can’t count on it to always sleep in a good spot. This status can also interrupt your active CC.

Blast is not useful on Palicoes since not only do some endgame glaives have it, the blast powder from kinsects can also proc it.

Gadgets:

Vigorwasps: Vigorwasps provide healing from your palico, and at max level you get a revive after dying. This is an option for progression or for inexperienced players, however it is rather weak compared to other options. The revive frequently brings you back right into an attack, so it’s not always consistent, and the healing is better done by Health Augment or Max Potions.
Shieldspire: This gadget will make the palico taunt the monster or place an item down that the monster will attack. Annoying by nature, as this typically makes it harder for you to hit ideal zones, or dodge attack patterns.
Flashflies: Flashflies are a potent gadget, providing both free shock traps and boombug cages. These cages will knock the monster over every 2 cages, giving you a large damage opening. The main problem with this gadget is that the shock traps don’t work on elder dragons, and it can often interrupt your active CC.
Coral Orchestra: A nice general use gadget that provides passive buffs to your team from your palico. The buffs range from +15% base raw, negate stun / paralysis, to divine protection and more. Recommended for most players. While 2 hunters can both use this at the same time, there is a large chance that the buffs will overwrite each other. You should try to use only 1 per party.
Plunderblade: Nets you free monster parts both at the end of the quest, and in the quest. Your palico will loot parts whenever it activates the attacks, and it will also drop trade-in items with the max level attack. Useful for farming monsters.
Meowlotov Cocktail: The pure damage option; your palico gains plenty of weapons to attack with. When positioned well, you can get a large increase from this gadget. Meowcano can also be abused to cause “infinite” damage with the snowmen/bombs exploit if you’re willing to stoop to that level.

TLDR:

Stick to the monster weak spots like glue and take advantage of your mobility to turn it into high DPS uptime.
Always have red and white extracts active when attacking.
Utilize animation canceling to reorient yourself often.
Tornado Slash like your life depends on it.
If you’re in the air, you should be thinking about how you’re going to Descending Thrust the monster's weak spot.
Fast kinsect weak, slow for damage. Blunt is overrated.
Always charge kinsect before gathering extracts.
Mounting is overrated. IG has relatively weak mounting output, even if it can finish mounts fast due to weapon hits. Mount once in specific timed scenarios, or don’t mount at all.
If the monster isn’t enraged, claw slap 3 times, or flinch shot as soon as possible. This guarantees high agitator uptime, and you can sometimes flinch shot twice in a row. Flinch shot does around 2% of the monster’s hp by itself.
Keep at least 1 part tenderized. Tenderizing is a very strong mechanic and you should be taking full advantage of it.
If you have any further questions, ask them in the Monster Hunter Gathering Hall Discord’s Insect Glaive channel. Many people there will gladly help.