The Hunting Horn is a very unique weapon in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. It is a weapon that plays different notes when you attack and you can activate up to 4 notes at once to play a “melody.” These songs give different buffs. The Hunting Horn takes some getting used to, but it is a great solo and group weapon.
I’m going to break down the Hunting Horn so that you understand the basics, then explain it in detail and gives tips to master it. If you’re looking for more guides and tips, please go to my Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Guide Directory.
This guide will go over using the Hunting Horn including:
- Basic Controls – Basics on using the Hunting horn.
- Melodies (Buffs) – What each note means and the melodies they can make.
- Extra Tips – Mastering combat with the Hunting Horn.
Basic Controls
The Hunting Horn’s attacks play notes so it is important to know which note each attack plays. Each horn has 3 different notes.
- Pressing X plays Note 1 and attacks.
- Standing still does a wide swing attack.
- Moving does a slam attack.
- While standing still you can keep pressing x to switch between the swing and slam attacks.
- The special attack button on the touch screen does a Hilt stab.
- It is the only cutting attack and it also plays Note 1.
- Pressing A plays Note 2 and attacks.
- Standing still does a high swing attack.
- Moving does a double swing attack.
- You can also press any other note button after the first swing to play that note for no extra cost.
- Pressing X + A plays Note 3 and attacks.
- Standing still does a slam attack.
- Moving does a harder slam attack.
- R performs the Melody.
- It takes up to the last 4 notes played.
Melodies (Buffs)
There is only one melody that every Hunting Horn has, Movement Up, other than that, you can look at the notes on the horn to see which melodies you can play. They even give you the list of melodies on each horn.
- When you play a song twice, you get a bonus effect and duration increase.
- You can also press R during the melody to do an “Encore”.
- This will play the song again to give you the effect without the need to get the notes all over again.
- Some songs do not have an extra effect or duration increase.
- All buffs, except Movement Up, go to teammates as well. Below is a table of useful Melodies. Try to get a horn with one of these patterns.
| Effect 1 | Effect 2 | Melodies |
|---|---|---|
| Movement Speed Up – Increases movement speed. | Attack Deflection Prevention – Your attacks won’t be deflected. | White + White or Purple + Purple |
| Attack Up – Increases Attack. | Attack Bonus – Increases Attack More. | White + Red + Red, Purple + Red + Blue + Purple, Purple + Red + Green + Purple, Purple + Red + Light Blue + Purple, Purple + Red + Yellow, Red + Yellow + Purple, Yellow + Purple + Red, or Purple + Orange + Orange + Red |
| Defense Up – Increases Defense. | Defense Bonus – Increases Defense more. | White + Blue + Blue, or Purple + Blue + Blue + Purple |
| Negate Stamina Use – Stamina will not decrease as long as this is active. | Duration Bonus – Extends the duration of this effect. | White + Green + Blue, White + Light Blue + Blue, White + Yellow + Blue, Purple + Green + Blue + Green, Purple + Light Blue + Blue + Light Blue, Purple + Yellow + Blue, or Purple + Orange + Blue + Orange |
| Hearing Protection – Stop flinching when monsters roar. | Boost – Increases Small to Large. Has no effect on Large. | Light Blue + Light Blue + Red + White, Light Blue + Light Blue + Green + White Light Blue + Light Blue + Red + Purple Light Blue + Light Blue + Green+ Purple Purple + Yellow + Orange + Yellow |
Extra Tips
- Remember the important melodies on your weapon, so you don’t need to keep looking them up.
- You don’t need to play every melody, just the useful ones.
- Make different Hunting Horns for different situations.
- You can’t get every boost on one horn, so make a few and take whichever one is best for the fight.
- Keep Movement Up on at all times.
- You move slow normally, so you need to keep this buff up.
- Evade after playing the Melody.
- Once you get the buff, you can evade to stop the animation.
That wraps up my Hunting Horn tips. Let me know if you have any questions or think of any other helpful melodies. Be sure to check out my Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Guide Directory for more guides and tips.
