Monster Hunter Rise weapons explained: Which weapon is right for you

Slash, bash, and burn

The choice of Monster Hunter Rise weapons seems like a simple one at first: Pick what you like and swap out later. The problem is that Monster Hunter tells you very little about how weapons function in combat and what styles they suit. Since advanced upgrades require no shortage of rare materials, it’s best to pick a few that you enjoy and stick with those.

Make sure to vary your weapon damage type as well. If you only use blunt weapons, for example, then you'll be in a tough spot when you face a monster who's only vulnerable to slash damage.

To help point you in the right direction, we’ve put together a brief introduction to each weapon and what you can expect from it. Make sure to try it out in the training grounds to get familiar with some basic combos before taking it out on longer hunts.

If you're looking for ways to make hunts easier in the field, check out our comprehensive list of all sub-camps in Monster Hunter Rise and the Sunbreak expansion.

Sword and Shield

The sword and shield might not seem like the fanciest choice, but the set is easy to learn and offers more defense than most weapons. Your attack rotation involves a few slashes and some blocks and sidesteps. If you want something more involved, you can equip Wirebug skills that make staggering monsters easier or that give you new combos and a shield bash attack.

Long Sword

The Long Sword is a bit more complicated, but still straightforward enough for newcomers to pick up. Its combos center on a rhythm of sheathing and attacking to build the sword’s spirit gauge. Once the gauge is full, you can unleash more powerful slashes and cover long distances with dramatic slashes. You need good timing, though. The Long Sword isn’t a fast weapon, and your target won’t sit still while you attack it.

Dual Blades

If you just want to move fast and slash everything in sight, the Dual Blades are for you. This is a no-frills choice with only a few basic combos. However, they deal heavy damage and allow for high mobility, and once you fill the Demon Mode gauge, you can move and slash even faster.

Great Sword

The Great Sword is a solid intermediate weapon that offers a bit of defense as well. You can block, tackle, and perform some basic heavy slashes, but charged attacks are where this weapon shines. The Great Sword charges power during combos, and you can eventually unleash a devastating overhead slam attack that’s almost guaranteed to stagger your foe – assuming it hits.

Lance

The Lance is the slower, pointier version of the Sword and Shield. It, too, comes with a shield and can dish out quite a bit of damage. It’s exceptionally slow, though, so you’ll want to spend some time practicing in low-level hunts to get the rhythm right.

Gunlance

The Gunlance is pretty much what the name says – a lance with a gun on the end. It fires shells that pierce enemy armor and has a set of Wirebug skills that make up for its slow movement. With the right combos, you can even fire off multiple blasts at once and take a healthy chunk off the target’s HP.

Bow

The bow isn’t quite as straightforward as it might seem. It deals pierc damage with arrows, as you’d expect, but the bow’s real strength is the coatings you can smear on arrows. These apply status effects and can make whittling your target’s health down much eaiser.

Light Bowgun

The Light Bowgun has a rapid fire rate and a special skill that sets explosive traps. The real draw here is the range of ammo types that deal elemental damage, though the Light Bowgun’s faster speed comes at the cost of higher damage.

Heavy Bowgun

If you want to see the big damage numbers, grab the Heavy Bowgun. As you’d expect from a heavy weapon, this one fires more slowly. However, it also uses some of the most powerful ammo and can even function as a gatling gun or sniper-like bow.

Hammer

It’s a hammer, so you can pretty much guess what Capcom designed it to do – hit things, really hard. The hammer is an uncomplicated weapon with some Wirebug skills that make up for its hefty bulk. Just make sure to leave it at home if you need monster parts that can only be obtained by cutting.

Hunting Horn

The Horn is a unique weapon designed to power up you and your allies. It functions best in multiplayer, where you can play tunes to buff your friends while they attack your target. However, if you’re up for the challenge, you can make it work solo as well. It just takes the right rhythm of songs and strikes to work.

Insect Glaive

The Glaive is Monster Hunter’s weirdest weapon and one that takes a bit of getting used to. The Glaive’s basic function is a staff you can use to whack enemies or to vault into the air and cover a lot of ground quickly.

You’re meant to augment its power with Kinsects, little bug companions you send out to gather Extracts. Extracts can raise your attack or movement speed or grant you resistance to knockback effects when large monsters attack. Kinsects gather Extracts from monsters, and the type you get depends on which part of the monster you direct the Kinsect to, such as the body or tail.

You can acquire several Kinsect types, each with different bonus effects, including one that heals you when it comes back with an Extract, one that uses less stamina, and one that attacks faster.

Charge Blade

The Charge Blade is one of Monster Hunter’s more complex weapons. In sword form, you’re meant to use combos and build energy in the sword’s elemental phials. Once you build enough energy, switch to axe mode and unleash powerful charged attacks with elemental effects based on the phial type. 

The Charge Blade won’t work in sword form if you have too much energy, so while it takes some getting used to, you eventually settle into a rhythm of combos, switching, and using powerful one-off attacks.

Switch Axe

The Switch Axe also changes between axe and sword form, but with a slight difference. Axe mode is the base form of this weapon, and it lets you deal heavy damage with powerful, but slow, attacks. 

Once you build up enough energy, you can switch to sword mode, which comes with better mobility and a powerful elemental burst. If you try switching without enough energy, you’ll just reload the axe, though.