Are people actually using their secondary weapons?

Now that the games been out for a week, i realized i haven't gotten any benefit from the secondary weapon system. I'm deep into HR, and I keep forgetting it even exists when i'm fighting monsters! A few times, ive farmed a monster with an alternate weapon out of boredom - but generally the system doesn't do anything for me. And i was really excited for my secondary weapon before this!

So what value have people found from their secondary weapon slot? Bowguns for status effects? Glaive for mounting? Are there some good combos that feel good to switch between? Or are others also forgetting this system even exists?