Working out the best weapon for beginners to start with in Monster Hunter Wilds can be daunting when there are 14 weapon types to choose from.
While the game asks you a couple of questions early on to recommend weapons based on your preferred playstyle, these do not factor in their ease of use — but can help you narrow down the selection pretty quickly.
In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, we’ve selected the five best weapon types that beginners should consider starting with, as well as our thoughts on what you should be looking for in a starting weapon. Then, once you’ve have decided, you can then focus on the best combo with a secondary weapon.
What makes for a good weapon for new players?
What makes a good beginner’s weapon will, of course, depend on what playstyle you’re comfortable with, but you’re ideally looking for something that can output decent damage and combos with simple inputs, which doesn’t require a lot of preparation or memorization to achieve results that also make you look good.
For players who want to play more cautiously, we’ve also included weapons that also allow you to guard or fight from range to avoid getting direct hits from monsters.
Ultimately, you’ll find each weapon has its own unique depth that’s also been further refined in Monster Hunter Wilds, but for beginner weapons we’ve opted for choices that you can get a lot out of even if you do not make use of all of its possibilities. For example, while the Insect Glaive is designed to allow for easy aerial attacks, its kinsect mechanics make it more complex, so we have not included it in this list of weapons for beginners.
Remember, if you can to experiment with a new weapon in a safe environment, seek out the training area in the camp.
Monster Hunter Wilds best weapon for beginners
What follows are our picks for the five best weapons to start experimenting with in Monster Hunter Wilds:
Sword and Shield
Pros
- Quick attack movements
- You can guard with a shield (including perfect guard)
- Some items can be used while weapon is drawn
Cons
- Not the most exciting of the weapons roster
With such a variety of weapons to choose from, the Sword and Shield can feel like the most boring traditional choice, but it remains the most versatile and beginner-friendly, while still providing a lot of depth in its moveset and combos for more experienced players.
Most importantly, its shield can be used offensively and defensively, and if you can time a perfect guard, it also allows you to follow up with a counter slash. By holding guard, you can also consume potions without having to sheathe your sword like you do with other weapons.
For the early hours of the game, if you’re looking for just raw damage without worrying about affinity or elemental bonuses, it’s worth upgrading the Hope Sword in the Expedition Tree, which has a longer sharpness durability even if its attack power isn’t as high as other comparable weapons, and is also quicker to sharpen due to having the speed sharpening skill. The materials required are also just from farming ores from mining spots rather than from hunting specific monsters.
Dual Blades
Pros
- Fast and cool-looking combos
- Easy to activate demon mode for higher damage
- Swift side-stepping evasion in demon mode
Cons
- Low raw damage
- Demon mode drains stamina even when not attacking
The closest you’ll get to playing Monster Hunter Wilds like a button-mashing hack-and-slash action game is with the Dual Blades. Combos are fast, fluid and simple to execute but stylish, all the more so when you perform a focus attack on a monster wound. Speed, however, means that actual raw damage is low, though you can land more hits chipping away at a monster compared to a slower weapon that might swing and miss.
You can also increase their power by activating demon mode with R2/RT, which also lets you perform evasive sidesteps while continuing your attack flow instead of rolling to dodge. Be warned that demon mode gradually drains your stamina even if you’re not attacking — so be sure to activate it only when you’re definitely going to keep up the offensive.
For the early hours of the game, consider forging Dual Hatchets I from the Ore Tree, which only requires ores from mining spots. Its base damage is comparably high and also includes the Power Prolonger skill, which will benefit demon mode. Once you’ve hunted Ajarakan, you can then forge Ajara Twin Edges I, which has the Power Prolonger skill at Level 2 and also deals bonus blast elemental damage.
Light Bowgun
Pros
- Ranged attacks with rapid fire option
- Good evasive mobility
- Can use while riding Seikret
Cons
- Low damage
- Ammo prep can be complex
The Light Bowgun is the easiest of the three ranged weapons to use, dealing mid-ranged burst-fire shots that can also be switched to a rapid fire mode to fire multiple shots, which consumes the rapid fire gauge. A chaser shot can also be fired after a regular shot that packs more power and helps restore the rapid fire gauge if it hits.
As a more mobile weapon, the Light Bowgun doesn’t require charging up to fire and you can also move while aiming, with the ability to sidestep to evade attacks. It’s also possible to use while riding on your Seikret, albeit with some limitations, with just one firing mode while you cannot sprint at the same time. Its normal ammo is however quite weak compared to other weapons, while the many other ammo types you can change to can also require more prep beforehand, making it a little more complex if you want it to be more effective.
If you want to avoid the ammo system’s complexity starting off, then consider forging and upgrading the Hunter’s Rifle in the Bone Tree, using bone materials found from bonepiles. Your spread ammo starts at Level 2 while the weapon includes the opening shot skill that reduces reloading time, before later adding attack boost.
If you want to be able to use ammo that inflicts status effects, then the Hope Rifle in the Expedition Tree lets you use poison ammo while the Chain Blitz from the Ore Tree lets you use paralysis ammo.
Great Sword
Pros
- Powerful single-hit damage
- Charge up for even more devastating damage
- Can guard against and offset monster attacks
Cons
- Knowledge of timing and positioning required
The Great Sword is by far the most iconic weapon in the Monster Hunter series, and usually the default weapon seen on the key art or first gameplay footage for a new instalment. Its high raw attack power makes a single hit more powerful than the attacks of the other weapons in this list combined. In a sense then, it’s quite easy for beginners to use as you can just run and charge up a single attack, then back away before looking for another opening, whereas other weapons may need to stay on the offensive for longer to get close to the equivalent damage.
It can also be used to guard against attacks, and it’s one of the weapons that can offset monster attacks, a new devastating counter in Monster Hunter Wilds. While the inputs are technically easy to use, its complexity comes from actually being knowledgeable on the monsters’ movements, as timing and positioning is key to successfully landing attacks.
For increased raw damage, you can continue upgrading the starting Hope Blade or the Quematrice Espada in the Quematrice Tree, which doesn’t just have the same base attack value, but 5% affinity with bonus fire damage, while its punishing draw skill means you’ll also gain an attack bonus using draw attacks.
Long Sword
Pros
- Swift and flashy combos
- Power increases with end of spirit combos
- More moves unlocked with spirit gauge
Cons
- No defensive moves
As popular and iconic as the Great Sword, but more agile, the Long Sword is just as easy to pick up and play with, and its core mechanic isn’t actually that tricky to master. Essentially, using regular attacks builds up a bar called the spirit gauge, which allows you to use slashing spirit blade attacks with R2/RT.
When the gauge is full, you’ll be able to swing a long combo sequence, but if the final hit connects with your target, it automatically levels up the spirit gauge, changing the color. When the gauge is red, it’s at max level, enhancing both regular and spirit blade attacks with some more flourish while also allowing for more devastating combos at the cost of the gauge level.
While many of the Long Sword’s moves are very flashy, it does also require some mastery so that your swings don’t just miss. It also lacks any defensive abilities so you do have to commit to the animations and either rely on being able to roll or dive out of the way afterwards, or just get knocked back.
There isn’t a specific recommendation of Long Sword, though early on you can focus on upgrading the Hope’s Edge in the Expedition Tree, but once you’ve hunted the Doshaguma, you can forge the Dosha Fatecleaver I, which has a higher base attack at the expense of -5% affinity while increasing your defense by 20, making up for the weapon’s lack of defensive maneuvers.
Our Monster Hunter Wilds guides can outline your progress with our main story walkthrough and monster list ahead of reaching High Rank, help you settle on an armament with our weapons list, uncover ores, bones, and monster tails.
The post Best weapon for beginners in Monster Hunter Wilds appeared first on Polygon.
