The list of weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds run the gamut from oversized sword to oversized hammer all the way to oversized axe.
There are 14 weapon types to choose from, each with their own distinctive play style, benefits, and drawbacks.
The weapon you choose to wield in Monster Hunter Wilds determines the range of your attacks, your role in a party, and even how much time you’ll have to spend crafting materials and ammo. But each weapon has its own set of moves and idiosyncrasies that make it really hard to just pick up a new one.
Our Monster Hunter Wilds guide covers all weapons in the game, along with descriptions of their appeal and the challenges of playing them. See the table of contents below to navigate to a specific weapon, or if you’re looking for more tailored recommendations, read our guides on the best weapons for beginners and best weapon combos.
Monster Hunter Wilds weapons list
Here’s all weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds, which each one linking out to a dedicated section on their appeal and challenges.
- Great sword
- Sword and shield
- Hammer
- Long sword
- Lance
- Gunlance
- Dual blades
- Switch axe
- Charge blade
- Insect glaive
- Hunting horn
- Bow
- Light bowgun
- Heavy bowgun
Great sword
Appeal: The sword is big! When big sword do damage, numbers also big! The game plan for a great sword user is to get in position, charge up a massive slash for huge damage, and repeat. You’re an offensive powerhouse, and you are using one of the few weapons that can send a monster reeling with a single hit. And you still have access to solid defensive options if you get caught in a bad situation.
Challenges: Positioning is the greatest challenge with the great sword. Your movement speed with the weapon drawn is absolutely glacial, and the long wind-up and recovery for each attack means you’ll also be prone to whiffing unless you plant your feet in precisely the right place.
Sword and shield
Appeal: The sword and shield is all about versatility. It deals slashing and blunt damage, has strong defense, great mobility — and, unlike the other weapons, you can use items without sheathing it. Besides that, it just feels great to use.
Challenges: A sword and shield’s biggest challenge is its limited range. You’ll need to be right up on a monster to get your work done, which means you’ll also need to be on point with your blocks and dodges.
Hammer
Appeal: The appeal of playing hammer is the incredible simplicity of purpose. You are here to bonk the monster on the head over and over again. Hammers deal KO damage on headshots, and enough KO damage knocks the monster over so your team can absolutely whale on em. Like the great sword, you’ll be charging your attacks for maximum effect, but unlike the great sword, you are free to run, and even dodge while you power up.
Challenges: Positioning matters! To get the desired effect, you’re going to need to be in the monster’s face, which is a dangerous place to be. Without strong defensive options, you’ll need to learn attack patterns and use hit and run tactics.
Long sword
Appeal: The long sword is all about embodying the anime swordsman fantasy. You build a spirit meter to increase damage, and then cash out with a huge finisher. It’s a versatile weapon with good range, great mobility, and several very cool looking defensive options.
Challenges: The challenge is timing them! Those defensive options are all counters, which means they only negate damage if you trigger them perfectly in time with an incoming attack. A long sword also poses social challenges. Your flashier combos have a big area of effect, and catching a fellow hunter can interrupt their attacks. So stick to the monster’s tail and watch your reach.
Lance
Appeal: The lance is all about dealing steady, consistent damage from behind solid defenses. Your shield means you can stand your ground by blocking, rather than evading. You also have access to a few super satisfying, timing-based counterattacks. Its combos aren’t as flashy as some weapons, but there’s something really nice about just poking away.
Challenges: Movement can be a bit tricky with the lance. Instead of dodge rolls, you have little hops. To stay in position, you’ll need to get familiar with your special movement options.
Gunlance
Appeal: It’s lance, but with gun! A gunlance has more complex and explosive combos than the lance that use a magazine of reloadable shells. Combined with its heavy shield, it makes you feel like a tank that doesn’t have to retreat.
Challenges: A gunlance has the same mobility challenges as the lance, but lacks its simple counterattacks. The shells the gunlance fires pull from an unlimited stock, but reloading your magazine adds a bit to your mental stack during combat.
Dual blades
Appeal: Dual blades are all about mobility and aggression. You’ve got one of the fastest move speeds and attacks with low startup and recovery. Using your demon mode, you get stronger evasive options and even higher damage output.
Challenges: For something that looks like an all-out berserker build, dual blades require a surprising amount of careful meter management — and a well-managed meter is essential to your survival. You only have access to your good evasion tools in your powered up states.
Switch axe
Appeal: The switch axe is a transforming weapon with splashy combos and big elemental damage output. In the very mobile axe mode, you use chops to fill up your sword meter, and then switch into sword mode for bigger damage and huge finisher attacks.
Challenges: The switch axe has limited defensive options. Both the axe and sword mode have parries with their own specific timing requirements, and there’s no simple block option. You’ll also need to stay on top of meter management to make the best use of sword mode when you want it.
Charge blade
Appeal: The charge blade is a Swiss Army sword. The basic loop is using its sword and shield mode to build stocks of energy, and then switching into axe mode to dispense that elemental energy into a monster’s face. Charge blades have everything: solid blocks, timing-based counters, good mobility, and crazy damage output.
Challenges: That great power comes at the cost of great micromanagement and it will take a while for you to get your head around the way your weapon gains and spends resources. Your sword charge gets converted into phials. Phials can be spent with axe attacks or be used to temporarily buff your shield. Your buffed shield makes axe attacks more powerful, and can also temporarily buff your sword. And then there’s the special mode that turns it into a buzzsaw. It’s a lot, but it’s also fun.
Insect glaive
Appeal: An insect glaive is the most acrobatic weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds. It allows you to attack the monster from angles no other weapon can. Even on the ground, it’s got great movement speed and quick attacks. It also comes with a free bug friend. The insect is a battle companion that harvests ability enhancing essences from different parts of the monster’s body.
Challenges: Insect Glaive might be the highest micro weapon class, simply because you’re fighting and managing resources while also commanding a pet. Insect glaive also lacks blocks or parries, so you’ll have to rely on movement and evasion to avoid damage.
Hunting horn
Appeal: A hunting horn is a big, weird musical hammer. Each attack in a combo adds a specific note to your staff. Depending on the combination of notes you load up, you can play different songs that buff your teammates with all sorts of helpful bonuses. Everyone loves a hunting horn player.
Challenges: This is one of the more esoteric weapons. Getting the most out of your abilities will sometimes require a series of timed inputs, and if you’re just getting used to hunting, playing a rhythm game at the same time might be a lot to ask.
Bow
Appeal: The bow is a nimble, close-to-mid-range projectile weapon that preserves some of the physicality of the combo-based melee weapons. You’ve got great mobility, a flashy dodge that recharges your stamina, and some really cool piercing attacks that tear down the length of a monster.
Challenges: The bow is a rare exception to Monster Hunter Wild’s stamina rules. Every attack with the bow eats up a chunk of stamina, so you’ll have to make sure you don’t go too hard.
Light bowgun
Appeal: The light bowgun is a mid-range projectile weapon that can deliver steady damage and status effects from a safe distance. It’s got decent mobility, with a dodge that lets you quickly reposition after firing. It’s even got support options — you can shoot out mines that will heal or buff your teammates.
Challenges: The light bowgun doesn’t have any counters or blocks, so evasion is up to you. It also has a bit more upkeep than the other weapons we’ve talked about. The special ammo rounds the bowgun fires are consumable, so you need to keep crafting or buying more.
Heavy bowgun
Appeal: The heavy bowgun is a heftier version of the light version. It’s got a bit more range, damage, and a higher fire rate. It also comes with some solid defensive options. You can do an automatic guard by simply standing still, get a stronger guard with timed inputs, and even perform an explosive parry when in ignition mode.
Challenges: The upsides come at the cost of decreased mobility. You will not be getting around quickly while using this thing. It also comes with all the same ammo upkeep responsibilities of its lighter cousin.
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 best weapon explainer, uncover ores, bones, and monster tails.
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