Hunting Horn

Weapons

The Hunting Horn (狩猟笛 Shuryōbue) is a weapon first introduced in the second generation of the Monster Hunter series. It is similar to the Hammer in that it does impact damage and can stun a monster when it connects with the head.

Weapon Overview

Initially, the Hunting Horns were far weaker than the Hammer, as per the damage formula. Even attacks which the two appear to share, such as the Superpound (Triangle+Circle), were weaker on the Hunting Horn. What makes the Horn different from the Hammer is the Recital ability which is triggered by pressing the "R" button.

As of Portable 3rd, the damage formulas have been changed and the Hunting Horn actually puts out more sustained damage than the hammer. The hammer still does more burst damage and more KO damage, but the HH's sustained is far superior. Also in 3rd the forward stab (done by pressing Select) can actually cut a tail; as seen in this video.

Each Horn has a different set of three color specific notes.These notes can be combined in various ways to create various effects, which mimic items such as Demondrug and Psychoserum, among others.

Notes

• All of the note combinations and note sets can be found in the bookshelf at the player's house by looking at the Info Magazine's article Hunting Horn Sheet Music. There are also online sources available displaying the combos; see here and here.

• One important armor skill for HH users is Flute Expert or Horn Maestro. These skills adds one minute to the duration of every effect that the Hunting Horn creates with its music.
• Though extremely unused, it is possible to attack using recital mode. Ironically, this is the most powerful attack for the Hunting horn.

Controls

MHFU Controls

Stationary
 = Unsheath weapon
(Hold R) +  = Start recital mode

Unsheathed Stationary
 = Right swing
After performing Right swing:  = Left swing
 = Jab
 = Super pound / Slam

Unsheathed while moving
 = Right swing
After a swing, R = Start your first note using the right note 
of your horn.
Unsheathed while moving
 = Right swing
Analog Left  = Left swing
 = Super pound / Slam
R = Enter recital mode. (First note Left note)
Any swing, R = Enter recital mode. (First note Right note)

• Normally, whenever you enter recital mode, you'll always start with your left note (White or Purple). An undocumented move was discovered that when you swing your weapon, you have an opportunity to start recital mode with the right note as your starting note. Your character will raise his/her horn up to perform the note instead of the usual first note (White or Purple) on his/her right.

MHP3 Controls

In MHP3 the notes are added to the "recital gauge" with each normal attack, in this way:

or +	add the 1st note
or	add the 2nd note
or +	add the 3rd note

therefore it is different to have a hunting horn with notes ♪♪♪ and ♪♪♪

Whether the combination of notes is valid, the "recital gauge" indicate that is able to use the recital (), else the character will execute the recital hit without activate any effects.

Sheathed
Description	PSP
Unsheathe Weapon
Forward Slam	(While moving) +
Side Swing Recital	(Hold) +

Unsheathed
Description	PSP
Roll	or (Any direction) +
Left Swing
Forward Slam	(Any direction) + or +
Right Swing
Forward Stab	or +
Backward Swing
Side & Forward Slam	(Any direction) +
Side Swing Recital

Basic Infinity Combos
Description	PSP
Left Swing+ Forward Slam + Left Swing+ Forward Slam ...	+ + + ...
Right Swing+ Forward Stab + Right Swing+ Forward Stab ...	+ + + ...
Backward Swing+ Side & Forward Slam + Backward Swing+ Side & Forward Slam ...	+ + + ...

Combination Combos
Description	PSP
Left Swing+ Right Swing+ Left Swing+ Right Swing...	+ + + ...
Forward Slam + Side & Forward Slam + Forward Slam + Side & Forward Slam ...	+ + + ...

Note: In short, the idea is to combine different attacks depending on the situation

Recital Moves

Side Slam Recital
Default Recital
(after any Side Swing)	+
	+

Forward Push Recital
(after any Forward Slam)	+
	+

Upper Swing Recital
(after any Upper Swing)	+
	+ +
	+

Note: perhaps needless to say but it is important to remember that when using any recital movement, the character will be playing for a while so it is advisable to use roll () to cancel the Recital quickly

Second Recital
Description	PSP
Backward Swing Second Recital	( Successful Recital ) +
Sider Swing Second Recital	( Successful Recital ) + ( Left or Right ) +

Note: The Double Recital is useful for dodging and hitting a monster at the same time, besides boost the previous recital effect

Advantages

• Longer reach when compared to the Hammer, the other impact weapon.
• Whether in solo or online play, recital has an absolutely overwhelming abundance of perks, whether it be attack and defense boosts, elemental resistances, instant health recovery, immunity against extreme temperatures or even the power to negate some status effects and tremors, in addition to nullifying monster roars.
• Under the effects of the self-buff note (White/Purple) Hunting Horns possess the fastest movement speed, even faster than the Sword and Shield, Light Bowgun or Dual Blades.
• Recital songs get even stronger in G rank.
• Has cutting damage by using the Forward/Hilt Stab attack. (MHP3rd onward)

Limitations

• Its attacks are less precise than the Hammer when targeting monster weak points.
• Have lower KO value than the Hammer in general.
• Being a blunt weapon, it is normally impossible to cut tail of monsters, unless deliberately using the Hilt Stab attack.
• The buffs that notes provide only last for a temporary amount of time, requiring attention to maximize the benefit of the buffs throughout the hunt. Alternatively, players can use armors with the skill 'Flute Expert/Horn Maestro' to somewhat extend the duration of the song buffs.

Game Changes

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

• Notes are now played when attacking, as opposed to in recital mode. Pressing X, A, and X+A will play one of the three difference notes available to the weapon. Pressing the R button will now "cast" the melody and give the proper buff as usual. Doing so causes the character to swing the hunting horn and move it into a position to play it, during which the player is vulnerable for a short time. This makes the hunting horn a far more versatile weapon, as melodies can be chained and played as a part of attack combos.

Monster Hunter X/Generations

• Hunting Horns now features a mechanic of double notes. If you hit a monster with an attack, the note generated will have a different special note. When the Horn user plays a song entirely of these special notes, it will not only play the song, but also encores your previous song (AKA the stronger version of a note when played a second time), meaning that Horn users can play two songs at the same time; allowing the hunting horn user to play encores faster and focusing better on dealing damage to monster.

Monster Hunter World

• Hunting Horn now features the ability to queue songs once the note combination has been played, up to the three most recent songs. These songs may be played in a single recital animation. Performing an encore afterwards will encore all songs played during the recital without affecting the length of the encore animation. The recital animation can now be canceled by dodging at any time after the initial recital swing has finished, which does not remove the song from the queue. The double note mechanic from Monster Hunter X/Generations has been removed, however recital and encore swings will now end with a damaging shockwave, increasing the song recital's value as an offensive tool.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

• In addition to some general damage and recital movement buffs from base MHW, Hunting Horn now has an additional attack and note type known as the echo note. This is performed by pressing L1/LB after any other attack besides recitals (similar to how the forward/hilt stab attack works). It begins with the hunter planting the hilt of the horn down into the ground, dealing a small amount of cutting damage, then twirling the horn around dealing 4 total hits. The hunter can also roll after the initial hilt attack if they feel the need to reposition, which is quite useful as this attack can be quite the commitment if used unsafely. The echo note queued by this attack with give access to the new echo wave and echo bubble songs added to all horns. There are only two echo wave songs, Impact Echo Wave and Echo Wave "Dragon". They both let out a shockwave similar to the Sonic Waves song that deal impact and dragon damage respectively. If the hunter queues and plays multiple of these waves and then encores their recital, a single and more powerful wave will play. Echo bubble songs will place a bubble-like mass of particles on the ground where the hunter plays them, with a color corresponding to what the song is (green for a health bubble, yellow for a stamina bubble, etc.). These provide various stat buffs to the team similar to how other songs work, however a hunter has to walk through the bubble to gain the effect, unlike other songs providing the buff to anyone within range. The upside to this mechanic is that a hunter can simply walk through the bubble twice to gain, essentially, the encored effect of that song.

Videos

The Monster Hunter Wikia does not take credit for these videos

Video
Title	MHP3rd Cor Hunting Horn Movements Controls by MHP3rdFrance

Video
Title	Hunting Horn Guide Tips: Notes by Narutouzumakidratma

Video
Title	Monster Hunter 3rd Weapons (Hunting Horn Cuerno de Caza) by chascoo

Video
Title	MH4G/MH4U Hunting Horn Tutorial by gaijin hunter

Video
Title	MH4U Hunting Horn Tutorial by Arekkz Gaming