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The Greatsword is one ofMonster Hunter’s most iconic weapons, and inMonster Hunter Wildsit continues to stand as one of the strongest. Its fusion ofunrelenting power and revamped defensive optionsmake it a great choice for hunters new and old. Every blow carries tremendous weight, though its slow and deliberate nature can take some getting used to.
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Despite the Greatsword’s out-of-the-box power, putting together a proper build will unlock its true potential. From Low Rank to High, this guide will show you how to make the most of your weapon of choice.
Everyone needs to start somewhere, and your options will be limited when it comes to clearing Wilds’Low Rank campaign. Despite this, there are still steps to take to optimize your play, and Low Rank is all about learning.
TheHope Blade Iweapon line builds off of your very first Greatsword, eventually granting some simple but helpful skills in the early game. The starting skill is Speed Sharpening,which allows you to get back into the fight quicker while minimizing the time you’re vulnerable sharpening.
A big early game boon comes from the Quematrice set, granting a full stack of Flinch Free,preventing your hunter from getting staggered or tripped by weak hits. As this early build is meant to facilitate improvement, canceling out small hits that could knock you out of a charge goes a long way.
Armoring through these small hits allows you to focus on avoiding or shoulder-checking bigger attacks, bringing the fight to the monster.
This build is fully meant for learning the ropes, minimizing headaches as you get used to the title’sunique style of combat. As your hunter rank improves, and as you tier up, we’ll shift our focus to maximizing just how much punishment you can bring.
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Rising into High Rank means monsters start packing a lot more of a punch, and your build will have to do the same. Late game Decorations will start to drop with some absolutely fantastic skills for Greatsword, allowing a proper build to swing right past the competition.
A few skills in particular do wonders for Greatsword:
With just these few examples, a pattern is forming. Wilds' interpretation of the Greatsword wants us to abuse its new tools as much as possible.
Perfect Guard lets you safely proc Offensive Guard off of the slightest nudge from a monster,while proper usage of Offset Attacks and your trusty shoulder bash keep you moving towards the monster while defending yourself. The best part is thateach of these individual attack buffs stack,rewarding aggressive play with some seriously juiced numbers.
All of these skills can be found in decorations, but the Zoh Shia set boasts fantastic defensive stats while granting levels in both Agitator and Counterstrike.Our build utilizes the alpha Zoh Shia helmet but will switch to the beta variants for the chest piece, waist and boots.
The lower-level skills on the beta variants are made up for with much more versatile Decoration slots, allowing you to shift your build slightly in whatever direction you may need. We finish it off with the Guardian Arkveld beta vambraces, adding the cherry in the form of two levels of Weakness Exploit and plenty of tier one Decoration slots.
By stacking four pieces of Zoh Shia armor we also gain access to its set bonus, Zoh Shia’s Pulse. Thiscauses your health to constantly regenerate, which can be improved with a few very simple skills.
Stacking Recovery Speed and Recovery Up in your smaller decoration slots will improve both the speed and amount of healing provided. With higher levels, you’ll only need to stop for potions during emergencies, as your constant regeneration will eventually cancel out most damage.
With our build finished, the final choice comes down to the weapon. With every monster boasting its own unique weaknesses, every Greatsword has its niche, but we’ll focus on options that are generally powerful in most situations.
This armor build is meant to work with any Greatsword. Simply trade out a few gems for the corresponding element or ailment attack to make the most of your current choice.
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Recommended Greatswords
At present the Artian weapons are stillWild’spremiere choice for endgame hunting, making great use of the game’s best ailments.
Greatsword is no different.A rarity 8 Varianza with two affinity boosts offers fantastic raw, a good chunk of white sharpness, and a sizable crit window that will be further boosted by our skills.
Tossing on a sleep ailment allows it to whisk monsters from the waking world, setting up massive bomb plays that Greatsword has always been the best at exploiting.
There are few things I find more satisfying than watching yoursquadmatesscramble to plant the payload for you before sending some poor monster to kingdom come! The likes ofthe speedy Dual Bladesaren’t such a great fit for this.
Varianza also comes with three max rank Decoration slots, letting us toss infully stacked Focus, Offensive Guard, and a few levels of Critical Boostto make the most of every hit. If you haven’t had luck with your Artian component rolls, the upgraded Zoh Shia GreatswordBlazing Veiahalso packs a mighty punch with its unique skill.
If we’re going for style, I don’t think anything beats the Gore Magala Greatsword. It feels like something right out of Drakengardand, as we all know, fashion is Wilds' true endgame for some players. Remember to look good out there!
Overall,these builds are meant to get you thinking, helping you to understand which skills can make the most of proper Greatsword play. Improving atMonster Hunteris all about learning how to cover for your weaknesses and minimizing them, and once you understand what skills can help deal with your mistakes, the higher and higher your rank will climb.
