Insect Glaive and Kinsects - Monster Hunter World
Learn how to use the Kinsects and Insect Glaives in Monster Hunter World as well as the new moves added with Iceborne.
Picking the right weapon for the job can be a bit challenging in Monster Hunter World, especially considering there are so many options. One weapon that might catch your eye looks like a little bug, and is called a Kinsect. These Kinsects are part of an Insect Glaive combo, and can be quite a lot of fun to use. With the release of Iceborne, the Insect Glaive and Kinsect received some buffs, new abilities, and a couple of new moves.
Last updated on March 3, 2020, at 11:47 PM EST.
How to Use the Insect Glaive and Kinsects
When you first start Monster Hunter World and are trying to decide what weapon to use, it might be a good idea to avoid the Kinsect until you’re a little more familiar with fighting and hunting monsters. However, if you’re ready for it, the Kinsect can be a powerful tool.
Before you can get your own Kinsect and have it sitting on your arm, you’re going to need to get an Insect Glaive. The Insect Glaive is actually called "Iron Blade I" when you first start the game, and looks like a two-ended spear. When you equip the Iron Blade I, you’ll be able to equip one of two Kinsects.
There are two Kinsects to choose from, the Culldrone I or the Mauldrone I. Pick the one that best matches your playstyle:
- Culldrone: Has a poison effect and a sever attack type
- Mauldrone: Has a healing effect and a blunt attack type
How to Heal or Poison with a Kinsect Attack
Depending on the Kinsect you chose to pair with your Insect Glaive will change whether you’re able to poison enemies or heal yourself. First, you need to draw your weapon, and then holding Left Trigger, pull the Right Trigger to shoot a dart that your Kinsect attacks. Alternatively, if you’re already in close-range, simply pull the Right Trigger.
Your Kinsect will fly out and attack whatever you marked, leaving behind a swarm of colored bugs (Kinsect Powder), either green for healing or purple for poison.
When you see the swarm of bugs, you must go up and attack them with your Insect Glaive. Doing this will either heal you for a small amount or poison the monster you’re attacking.
Kinsect Harvest Extraction
Whenever you mark a target and have the Kinsect attack it, you can recall the Kinsect and receive a bonus depending on what part of the body the Kinsect attacked. As you fight a monster, aim carefully and see what area of the monster gives different extractions.
The bonuses are color coded and are also represented by a number on your HUD. The only one not represented by a number is green, as it is an immediate effect that has no duration:
- (1) Red: Improved attacks (turns attacks into their Strong counterparts)
- (2) White: Faster movement
- (3) Orange: Knockback prevention while attacking
- Green: Restores health
You can send your Kinsect out multiple times to attack each body part, and then recall it to receive the effects of each part. This allows you to have the Red bonus and the Orange bonus at once, or all four. Those with Iceborne should read down further for the additional skills of the Kinsect.
Insect Glaive Moveset
The Insect Glaive is a powerful staff or spear-type weapon that has a martial arts feel to it. A lot of the power behind the Insect Glaive comes from its in-air attacks that allow you to be above the battlefield, and in special cases, actually allows you to mount a monster.
As you can see from the image, there are only two forms of attacking outside of the Kinsect abilities or in-air abilities. In order to perform an in-air ability, you must first hold Right Trigger and then press the dash key (A on Xbox One). This pushes the Insect Glaive into the ground and thrusts your hunter into the air.
When you’re in the air, you’re able to perform three different moves: aerial dodge, slam attack, or an aerial attack. You can even string together an aerial dodge into an aerial attack to move further through the air without touching the ground.
If you manage to hit an enemy with the Jumping Advancing Slash (the aerial attack that doesn’t slam you down to the ground), you can perform another Jumping Advancing Slash without having to touch the ground. You can do this a few times before your hunter has to land.
Insect Glaive and Kinsect Iceborne moves
With the release of Monster Hunter World Iceborne came an update to the Insect Glaive. This versatile weapon was made even more powerful with a few deliberate changes to how Kinsect Extraction works. The glaive also received a couple of new moves.
Firstly, the Kinsect can now perform two extractions as opposed to the single extraction. This allows you to take advantage of the heal, which was likely underused considering the importance of attack power. This is done by consuming some of your slinger ammo by pressing left trigger along with Triangle and Circle or Y and B.
Depending on the slinger ammo you consume, your Kinsect will also receive a slight buff. Slinger ammo dropped by creatures and monsters increases the attack power and slinger ammo found in the world increases the stamina.
One of the new moves is a midair plunge attack. When in the air, pull the right trigger to perform the plunge attack, which also marks the monster for Kinsect Extraction. On top of this, players can now perform a midair Clutch Claw move by pulling the left trigger. This will help close the gap to a monster and attach you to its side.
The Insect Glaive and Kinsect is an excellent combo that offers a lot of utility and buffs. By pairing your Kinsect Extraction with aerial attacks, you’ll be able to deal considerable damage to any monster you come across in the wild. With the realse of Iceborne, the Insect Glaive and Kinsect received some new moves, so make sure you know how to use them. Head on over to our Monster Hunter World Guide hub for more content and tips.
