Insect Glaive Hunter | Journal #14 | Monster Hunter World: The Board Game

Members of the Fifth Fleet, you chose to reveal the insect glaive hunter first!

Before we meet them, a quick word on the Wildspire Waste set:

Like the Ancient Forest, the Wildspire Waste is a core set. 

That’s right — Monster Hunter World: The Board Game has TWO core sets!

Both with four unique hunters, four unique monsters, and 30 hours of standalone gameplay. 

(And they can be combined, too!)

To see which sets are included in each pledge level, check out this blog. 

Now, my (k)instincts are tingling… let’s meet our next hunter!

Insect Glaive Hunter 

From the journal of Jamie Perkins, Lead Developer

Absorb. Adapt. Slay.

This hunter may not have the armour of the charge blade hunter or the damage of the switch axe hunter, but what they do have are Kinsects.

That’s right! Just like in the video game, the insect glaive hunter is accompanied by a reliable Kinsect, whose extract-harvesting abilities can have a powerful effect on your attacks.

Here’s how they work...

Special Rules Card

While you’re landing graceful, sweeping strikes, your Kinsect is darting in to harvest extracts from the monster.

Extracts that can give you more damage, more movement, and faster stamina recovery.

Your Kinsects are represented as three extra cards, shuffled and placed in a row above your stamina board. Each one represents a different Kinsect: white, orange, and red. 

Every time you take a turn, you’ll flip the leftmost face down Kinsect card face up. 

While it’s face up, any attacks you play that have a matching Kinsect symbol will gain the effects of that card.

On your next turn, you’ll flip the next leftmost face down Kinsect card face up, and so on, until you’re reaping the benefits of all three Kinsects at the same time. 

Once you’ve finished a turn with all three Kinsect cards face up, they’re shuffled and laid face down again. On your next turn, the leftmost face down card is flipped face up, repeating the process.

As you’ve probably guessed, it’s a good idea to plan your momentous turns for when two or more of your Kinsect allies are in play. 

Weapon Upgrades

Just like the Ancient Forest hunters, you’ll start with a unique attack deck based on the insect glaive and upgrade options you can craft from bone and ore. 

The more monster loot you claim, the better your weapon choices become!  

Fighting Style

It’s not surprising that the insect glaive hunter’s attacks are basic to begin with, becoming incredibly powerful once the Kinsects get to work.

Still, what they lack in starting impact, they make up for in speed. Like dual blades, insect glaive is one of the more mobile hunters, good at dodging monster attacks with their agility 2 cards. 

Rising Slash Combo is a great example of an insect glaive attack:

At first glance, this card doesn’t seem that special.

Sure, agility 2 is useful, but otherwise it’s just a range 1 melee attack with 1 damage card.

But check out the white Kinsect symbol.

If you play this attack while the white Kinsect is in play, you can either gain bonus movement before inflicting damage, or place a break token on the monster part you hit!

Reaping Slash is another great example:

Notice the orange Kinsect symbol?

At the end of your turn, if Reaping Slash is the rightmost attack card on your stamina board while your orange Kinsect is in play, you can remove Reaping Slash AND the attack card to its left before you draw a time card.

These two cards are removed in addition to any the time card lets you remove, which means you’ll recover stamina at a super fast rate — fast enough to dodge monster attacks next time the monster takes a turn!

Finally, it’s the red Kinsect’s turn.

Check out Tornado Slash:

A powerful finishing move, this attack will end your turn. 

(You can tell this by the stamina bar that ends in the middle of the card.)

And there it is — the red Kinsect symbol.

If Tornado Slash is played while your red Kinsect is in play, you’ll draw four damage cards instead of two.

Now imagine landing multiple red Kinsect attacks in a single turn!

Tactical Tips

To get the most from the insect glaive hunter, you’ll need to both plan ahead and be ready to seize the moment.

Plan your aggressive moves for when you have two or three Kinsect cards face up. Save preparation actions like sharpening your weapon or drinking potions for your one-Kinsect turns. 

But don’t pass up chances, either. The cards in your hand and the Kinsect card that’s revealed could present an opportunity you shouldn’t refuse. 

Say it’s your turn, and you happen to draw a full hand of red Kinsect attacks — right before you flip your red Kinsect card. 

That’s a great time to launch headlong into the fray and drop a HUGE amount of damage!

~ Journal Ends ~

So, Will You Be Befriending Kinsects?

Or will you hold out for another Wildspire Waste hunter, with three left to be revealed?

It’s up to you to decide which one joins our party next. 

Head to the Gathering Hub to have your say!