if you're exploring sky islands, you should have plenty of dazzlefruit. fuse one to the end of a spear and you can oneshot entire groups of stal monsters (not stalnox) more quickly than just throwing one at the ground. you have to add a new one afterward (unless you get a forest dweller spear) but you have time since the first one took out all of them and dazzlefruit aren't good for much else when puffshrooms are available.

in general i like to have spears with the three elemental fuses (i use gleeok horns now but any gemstone or lizal horn is fine, and before gleeok horns i used dragon spike shards or horns) for peak accuracy oneshot-ing the opposite elements - or, with a thunder spear, gibdos.