User blog:Lord Loss/Discussion of the Week: Bows

Welcome to Discussion of the Week: Bows!

Sorry it's so late again this week, I was anticipating having more time than it actually turned out I had. Anyway...

This week we'll cover Bows, one of my favourite weapons.



Overview
The Bow is a fast, unique ranged weapon. An infinite quiver of arrows is automatically provided, although each individual doesn't do a great deal of damage. Bows can fire three different kinds of Shot: Scatter, where the arrows spread horizontally outwards, Pierce, where one arrow travels in a straight line through a monster, hitting multiple times, and Rapid, where several arrows are fired and spread out vertically. Each Shot-type can be performed at different levels of power, depending on the individual Bow. To access the different Shots each Bow provides, the weapon must be charged. Bows can also use different Coatings to cause different effects (Paralysis, Sleep, increased Attack power) although each Bow can only use certain Coatings. In third Generation games, Bows can fire a cluster of arrows near-vertically into the air to land on the monster; the cluster either covers a wide area, narrow area, or explodes, depending on the Bow. This attack can cause K.O if it strikes the monster's head.

Specific Games
Monster Hunter 2: First introduced. Monster Hunter Freedom 2: All I remember is having to use the crappy Sonic Bow against Tigrex in the Training School, which was not a fun experience... Also, this game had the hilariously broken Akantor Bow. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite: I never remember them winning any speed-run competitions, but I don't remember them being totally useless either. There were a wide variety of good Bows available at G Level. Monster Hunter Tri: N/A Monster Hunter Portable 3rd: They're back! And they have the new Arrow Rain attack! With different types of rain! OK, it's not the best weapon upheaval in the world, but it's better than nothing. Not sure what Bows were the best in this game. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate: Again, they're back, they're kinda good. Kelbi Bow with Slime is ridiculously overused (at least on Youtube) but that's what happens when you introduce a new mechanic and it's OP.

Questions

 * What's your favourite Bow?
 * Which is your favourite game to use them in?
 * How do you like them overall?