The slinger is a somewhat overlooked but very powerful tool in the arsenal of a hunter. It does more than fire flash pods and let you get sick grappling hook kills. Ammunition comes in a wide variety, from craftable pods to explosive pods that fall off monsters. Lately, even at high rank, I have noticed most players seem to ignore the extra ammo for their slingers, even when it can help to greatly speed up hunts.

As a monster takes damage it will reach certain thresholds. Some of these thresholds will cause the monster to flee to another area or find a place to sleep. Usually, before the monster flees it will drop special ammo being thorn pods, bomb pods, or piercing pods. These special ammo types, along with scatter nuts, will allow you to stagger a monster more easily forcing it to turn around when it is trying to flee. (scatter nuts can usually be found hanging from vines and can be knocked down via a slinger, they can also deal their damage if they fall on a monster in the process!) This can greatly speed up hunts from not having to chase the monster all over the map, and by dealing extra damage.

As an example, I’ve included a video of myself chasing down a fleeing Anjanath. I grab some redpit ammo and start running and gunning. (you can sprint while using your slinger!) I manage to pick up a bomb pod that had dropped earlier in the fight and fire at him before he can leave the area. The first pod actually staggers him and you can see him begin to turn around. I began to run away in an effort to kite him out of the tight hallway. As I continue to pelt him with the rest of my ammo one happens to peg him in the mouth causing him to be knocked over, allowing me to easily deal the finishing blow!

There are also a number of other uses for the slinger. Keep an eye out for a number of environmental objects that can be knocked down onto a monster. Think the stalactites in the Zorah Magdaros fights. Also, the wide variety of craftable ammo has many uses. Screamer pods will “unborrow” a borrowed monster, and of course, flash pods can drop flying monsters out of the sky. So don’t overlook your slinger, it can really help your hunts!