Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon Tier List

In our latest guide, we’ll carry on the Monster Hunter Wilds series trend by evaluating an array of weapon styles, each with distinct gameplay approaches and tactical benefits. We’ve ranked these weapons according to their damage potential, user-friendliness, and overall efficiency.

Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon Tier List

In Monster Hunter Wilds, the most effective weapons at present are ones that deliver high damage quickly and can capitalize on the offset attack system. Weapons boasting strong counter moves and steady damage performance have become popular, whereas those with issues related to mobility or intricate setup requirements typically rank lower.

Tier	Weapons
S Tier	Bow, Charge Blade, Long Sword
A Tier	Gunlance, Great Sword, Hunting Horn, Dual Blades
B Tier	Lance, Sword and Shield, Insect Glaive, Heavy Bowgun
C Tier	Hammer, Light Bowgun, Switch Axe

Best Weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds

Long Sword

In the world of Monster Hunter Wilds, The Long Sword has solidified its top-tier status due to its exceptional compatibility with the game’s combat system emphasizing counters. This sword stands out by consistently delivering high damage thanks to its smooth combo sequences and counter techniques.

This weapon primarily focuses on constructing and preserving your Spirit Meter. Enhancements include the Spirit Charge action for simpler meter filling, and when at maximum (red) level, it offers potent moves such as the Foresight Whirl Slash. Defensively, it excels through maneuvers like Foresight Slash, which provides invincibility frames and chances to boost your meter when used effectively at the right moment.

Practicing with these counters is essential, but the Long Sword stands out due to its versatility in terms of reach, agility, and the variety of combinations it allows. This makes it suitable for beginners as well as seasoned players who can delve deeper into its intricacies.

Bow

In Monster Hunter World, the Bow remains unchallenged at the pinnacle of the S rank thanks to its impressive blend of maneuverability, long-range capabilities, and reliable damage delivery. Notably, in this game, the Bow has undergone substantial adjustments to its functioning mechanics.

The potent Focus Fire: Hailstorm skill inflicts heavy damage upon vulnerable areas of monsters, whereas the Tracer mechanism enables you to tag a specific location on a monster, causing your arrows to naturally home in on that tagged point.

The Bow maintains potent abilities such as Dragon Stab, Multiple Dragons, and Arrow Spiral, with the latter now setting up Explosive Bolts that remain active on enemies for future detonation. While it has a moderate learning slope, the Bow’s adaptability and defensive features make it suitable for players of diverse skill backgrounds.

Charge Blade

In our rankings, the Charge Blade is slated to occupy the top-tier S position as our final weapon assessment. This versatile weapon switches between Sword form for agility and protection, and Axe form for heavy-hitting attacks. It operates by accumulating energy in phials during Sword mode, only to release them in Axe mode for catastrophic damage.

One significant feature is the Power Axe mode that minimizes phial consumption and enables multiple strikes when you press the attack buttons simultaneously against enemies. Additionally, the game allows for Perfect Guards and Power Clashes, enhancing defensive capabilities. The Charge Blade stands out among weapons due to its steep learning curve, but mastering it offers players a unique advantage: converting defense into offense, making it incredibly rewarding for those willing to learn its intricacies.

A Tier Weapons

Gunlance

In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Gunlance weapon has seen substantial upgrades. One key enhancement is its mobility during firing, which fundamentally boosts the gameplay experience by making combat feel smoother and more fluid.

As an enthusiastic user, I’m thrilled about this weapon’s unique attributes. It boasts two charges of Wyvern Fire, which can be swiftly reloaded by successfully landing shells. After executing a Wide Sweep maneuver, I can unleash the potent Wyrmstake Full Blast combo, emptying all my shells and following up with the devastating Wyrmstake Cannon for colossal damage.

In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Gunlance weapon stands out with its trio of distinct shelling variations – Normal, Wide, and Long – each catering to unique gameplay experiences. It boasts impressive reach and potent explosive power, demonstrating its true potential.

Great Sword

The Great Sword embodies the thrilling strategy favored by numerous hunters: a high-stakes approach that offers immense rewards. Mastering its positioning and timing unlocks incredibly gratifying damage outcomes. This weapon shines particularly well when it comes to executing potent charged attacks, which boast among the highest damage per strike in the game.

This weapon’s knack for deflecting attacks and delivering potent responses enhances its defensive value, making it a well-rounded tool with both protective and attacking functions.

The reason why the Great Sword doesn’t quite make it to the S tier is due to its lower mobility and difficulty in consistently executing charged attacks effectively. However, these limitations serve as intentional design elements that contribute to a fulfilling gameplay experience, rather than being considered weaknesses or flaws.

Hunting Horn

The Hunting Horn is ranked A-tier due to its remarkable blend of supportive and damaging abilities. This distinctive weapon enables you to play tunes that boost your own powers as well as those of your allies, while simultaneously delivering substantial blunt force damage. In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Echo Bubble system has been introduced, causing special effect areas to vibrate when notes are played, releasing extra attacks that target nearby monsters.

In a multiplayer setting, this tool truly shines due to the advantageous melodies it offers, boosting the entire team significantly. Yet, it doesn’t compromise on solo hunting efficiency as it boasts enhanced attack strength. The stunning effect from headshots creates precious opportunities for both individual and group damage, making it a versatile choice.

The Hunting Horn exhibits an exceptional blend of offensive and defensive capabilities unlike any other weapon, which makes it indispensable for hunters seeking strategic complexity that goes beyond simple damage output calculations.

Dual Blades

The Dual Blades maintain their top-tier status by offering impressive agility and rapid attack rate, making them ideal for aggressive gameplay approaches. This weapon focuses on managing three unique phases: normal phase, Demon Phase, and Archdemon Phase. Pressing R2 triggers the Demon Phase, increasing your attack power, movement speed, and evasion abilities while simultaneously depleting your stamina. Hitting attacks during the Demon Phase fills the Demon Gauge, and once the gauge is full, it unlocks the Archdemon Phase.

In other words, the Dual Blades are exceptional at performing Perfect Evades, which in turn activate Demon Boost Mode, enhancing their damage output and enabling them to strike while evading. The skill Focus Strike: Turning Tide works wonders against injuries, providing a powerful Midair Spinning Blade Dance that can obliterate numerous wounds stretching across a monster’s body.

1. The reason Dual Blades haven’t reached the S tier is due to their restricted reach. Their complex meter management and precise dodging demands make them more challenging, potentially discouraging newcomers.

2. Dual Blades aren’t in the S tier because they have a limited range. The need for intricate gauge control and accurate dodging creates a steep learning curve that could be off-putting to beginners.

3. The lack of S tier status for Dual Blades can be attributed to their short reach. Managing complex gauges and timing dodges effectively makes them harder to learn, which may not be appealing for new players.

B Tier Weapons

Lance

The Lance ranks in the B category due to its impressive blend of attack and protection capabilities. This weapon shines by consistently dishing out damage while keeping safe behind its robust shield, boasting the best defensive block in the game.

This weapon specializes in precise, swift, and secure thrusting attacks, which make it ideal for focusing on specific weak spots of monsters. Its attack scheme primarily consists of Mid Thrusts and High Thrusts, which can link together to produce strong Counterattacks. The Focus Strike: Victory Thrust stands out as an especially potent move against monster injuries.

Although the Lance excels in defense, its moderate mobility and extended hunting periods compared to upper-tier weapons place it in the B tier. However, with strategic positioning, these disadvantages can be minimized. With forthcoming enhancements to its offensive and defensive prowess, the Lance could become more efficient as players get accustomed to its counter-focused gameplay style.

Sword and Shield

This weapon, known as The Sword and Shield, boasts swift offensive moves, excellent agility, and an exceptional trait of using items without needing to sheathe it – a feature unmatched by other weapons. The shield provides robust defensive capabilities, enabling you to execute Perfect Guards which transition into Counter Slash attacks. What sets this weapon apart is its dual functionality: it can inflict both slicing damage with the sword (ideal for severing tails) and blunt damage with the shield (effective for stunning monsters). Furthermore, the weapon is exceptional at mounting monsters via its jumping assaults.

Although Sword and Shield may not deal as much damage as top-tier weapons, its versatility, usefulness when wielded, and the balanced blend of attack and defense make it a superb option for novice players.

Insect Glaive

The Insect Glaive has been categorized in the B rank. This weapon is distinctive for its companion, a tiny insect ally known as a Kinsect, which collects hued essences from monsters to enhance your abilities. Accumulating all three primary essences (red, white, and orange) provides the maximum power surge and offers protection against roars, gusty winds, and seismic shocks.

With its unique skill, known as the Vault, the Insect Glaive allows you to leap high into the air and carry out aerial assaults. This move is incredibly useful for climbing onto monsters or dodging ground-based attacks.

The Insect Glaive is highly mobile, but to unlock its full power, you need to manage its buffs carefully, which can be time-consuming to master. This intricate system of extract management and the steep learning curve for aerial combat may prevent it from advancing to higher levels, even though it boasts remarkable mobility and adaptability.

Heavy Bowgun

The heavy bowgun in the B tier is renowned for its combination of high firepower and notable restrictions. As a long-range weapon, it’s particularly effective at dishing out substantial damage from afar. It offers versatility by allowing the user to choose among various ammo types such as Normal, Pierce, and Spread, making it suitable for a wide range of scenarios.

In the game, the Heavy Bowgun boasts a strong attacking power, but its downside is its sluggish mobility, which includes slow movement, dodge maneuvers, and lengthy animations. These factors make hunters susceptible to attacks. Although it has defensive features like Auto-Guard and manual guarding, they don’t quite balance out the mobility problems it faces.

If you prefer staying in strategic locations while dishing out powerful attacks with minimal movement, this weapon could prove highly efficient for you.

C Tier Weapons

Hammer

The Hammer is classified in Tier C due to its demanding upkeep; it needs significant effort to bring out its full potential compared to higher-ranked weapons. Despite this, it deals a massive blow and can momentarily incapacitate monsters. However, delivering these powerful strikes can be challenging, as precise timing and positioning of attacks are crucial, particularly when targeting the monster’s head for stuns.

Despite its bulky build, The Hammer boasts impressive maneuverability when engaged in combat, enabling you to move about even while executing charge attacks. Its powerful combinations, such as the Big Bang (a devastating finisher that builds up over time) and whirling Bludgeon strikes, make it a formidable weapon. However, missing during these combos can put you at a disadvantage.

Title Whirlwind Strike: Earthquakes are effective in inflicting damage on monsters’ weak points, making you spin and deliver multiple strikes. However, compared to S and A-tier weapons, the Hammer has limited defensive capabilities and cannot sever monster tails because it deals only blunt force damage.

Light Bowgun

In simpler terms, the Light Bowgun provides good maneuverability and attacks at medium distances, but it’s not as potent as more advanced weapons when it comes to dealing damage. You can move swiftly and fire from relatively safe spots, but its damage output is significantly less compared to other choices. Its Rapid Fire Mode allows for multiple shots using an energy gauge, but this doesn’t fully compensate for the weapon’s overall damage restrictions.

The Light Bowgun has a low maximum damage output and doesn’t have many defense features, making it vulnerable to enemy attacks unless you dodge frequently. This lack of defensive abilities and high reliance on dodging is why it’s often ranked lower compared to other weapons, even though it does offer some mobility benefits.

Switch Axe

The Switch Axe is generally ranked in C tier due to its mobility restrictions and limited defensive capabilities. This unique weapon has the ability to transform into two distinct forms: Ax mode for extended reach, and Sword mode for quicker strikes. Players primarily focus on accumulating the Switch Gauge in the Ax form, then transitioning to the Sword form to release that stored energy with powerful, explosive attacks.

Despite its potential, this weapon has significant flaws that hold it back in the lower ranks. With no defensive features, your strategy is solely based on evading, which can be tricky because many of its powerful strikes immobilize you, leaving you exposed to enemy attacks.

The Switch Axe comes with a variety of gauges and modes to handle, making it more intricate than other high-level weapons, but this complexity might not always result in enhanced performance. Despite being capable of inflicting significant damage, it may not be the most intuitive choice for beginners.

Conclusion

As a dedicated Monster Hunter Wilds gamer, I’ve put together this tier list based on the open beta version of the game. Remember, the weapon balance could shift significantly over time with patches and as we uncover the best builds and strategies for each weapon type.

What really counts is the player’s preferred playstyle and familiarity with a weapon, as these factors tend to be more decisive than tier rankings. A hunter who is adept with any supposedly lower-ranked weapon will consistently surpass someone who is grappling with an “S-tier” option that they haven’t fully mastered.

As a dedicated Monster Hunter gamer, I’ve learned that the key to success lies in finding the perfect weapon that syncs with my unique gaming style. It’s not always about wielding the top-tier weapon—it’s about that one weapon that feels intuitive and brings me an unparalleled sense of hunting joy.

2025-02-27 14:10