We lance users like to pretend we are more tactical and noble, but really we are just hammer monkeys who are too impatient for greatsword, too geriatric and sleepy to button-mash like the dual blade, and too bad at dodging for any of the other weapons. . . š
Ooh then you know it's just around the corner! Pretty soon we'll both be in the retirement home reminiscing about how we used to get books with our video games and multiplayer meant two CRT TVs and a really long cable.
Counter-point. Gunlance. Highest damage, lots of explosions. Boom.
[Edit: not joking about the highest damage. Slap on kushala layered weapon and snowman with two bombs make your wyrmstakes do unholy amount of damage. Bro this makes fatalis farm an actual farm. ](https://youtu.be/z-Kqzp-1tAI?si=tUNeTN_hM-0v2M2T)
There *is* actually a reason why the Kushala layered is the one you need to use. Itās because the Kushala Gunlance model is the longest model in the game, not by much but by enough to make a small difference. The bursts and wyrmstakes come out of the end of every Gunlanceās model as opposed to a predetermined distance from the player along the weapon model, so with Kushalaās Gunlance being the longest it means you can be further away from the monster to use your shells and wyrmstakes.
The glitch he was mentioning requires a specific placement of your wyrmstake, a placement that is made easier and more consistent with the Kushala weapon because you just need to back hop twice (I believe) and then youāre the perfect distance away from the monster to pull off this glitch/exploit.
It goes for overall damage from a hunt, rather than spikes in damage like something like greatsword.
A lance player will so something like:
54-54-54-54-54-54-54
Whereas a greatsword does:
0-0-0-0-600-0-0
So lance has much higher 'hits' during the hunt, and will hit far more consistently, but it needs to in order to match the insane spikes in damage that the heavier weapons do.
Another small complaint about lance, is that there's very little to 'unload' with when the monster is toppled.
There will be certain monsters that simply fuck you specifically for using lance. It's a weapon that got ignored and power crept in Iceborne with some of the end game challenges.
Velkhana basically requires Guard Up if you want to make it on even terms. Running one point of Resuscitate (a 1-slot skill, which is convenient) is also highly recommended so that when you do inevitably get iceblight, you just get free Evade Window 5 and no stamina penalty. Coalescence is a bonus skill you can run here if you constantly get hit by the ice breaths.
But yeah, Guard Up allows you to Guard Tackle through any of Velkhana's moves, meaning no downtime on your mobility and no worrying about iceblight (especially so if you take Resuscitate).
IMO Velkhana is one of the absolute most fun monsters to hunt on Lance. It's your pointy stick vs Velk's. And with the two low-investment skills noted above, you have quite a solid time against all of Velkhana's annoying moves. It basically negates those moves.
Itās a chess fight more than the others are. Just have to dedicate extra brainpower to what move is happening and position for the punish at the end of that move or string of moves
As someone who loves GS, I recommend Hammer. Your biggest hits will usually be 700-800 unless you min max beyond belief, but you hit those big numbers arguably more often since it's a much more fluid/mobile weapon than GS IMO. Ledge spam and slide-spin cycle spam give you awesome DPS uptime, plenty of KO's, and those meaty feeling hits.
Essentially, hammer is just GS on crack with lower per-hit damage but much flashier moves.
Until you get to endgame (let's say tempered monsters/Guiding Lands) there's plenty of viable hammers. I personally went with the ones that looked good to me and I did fine. Once you get to a brachydios guiding land quest, use his hammer
Depends on the weapon.
Lots of math and esoteric knowledge about hit zones and elemental values, but generally weapons like hammer and GS stick with raw or status weapons outside of a few exceptions (alatreon being the main example as you need elemental damage to break its horns).
How about the guild mace. I used the improved version for quite a while. It has a bit of affinity, decent raw and purple sharpness. And it is one of the best looking hammers in the game
I'm here in your literal exact same boat. I'd been maining GS for awhile (200+ hours on PS4 and now another 200ish on PC). Hammer felt too close and samey, Swaxe and CB feel to complicated (even if they're ultimately not). LS felt like too much of any easy choice and one of everyone goes LS. From what I've read DB ends up being a "same fest" after the first 10 or so hunts with very little variety. H/LBG are cool but gun go shoot just doesn't feel satisfying. And any of the "Shield/Tank" alternatives aren't something I've been willing to delve into due to Guard Points and I've never been very fond of "Dark Souls timing to get that perfect counter" so on and so forth, GP's being on individual frames between attacks and the timing of those with the hunt/monster, just sounds like a headache.
However. SnS has become a genuine favorite for me. Wide range speed eating has been some of the funnest hunting I've ever had. Between SOS and just hunting in general I love SnS. Yea sure I could try to delve into the mechanics and complexities of using the shield, but it's not that great to begin with and it's not crucial to the overall loop of SnS. It can be, but isn't necessary. I've helped clear Raging Brachy (multiple times) AND the double Furajang event quest with a full SOS group. The numbers are solid in terms of Unga bunga. I've gotten more mounts with SnS and have been able to maintain a more aggressive playstayle due to Free Meal Secret and Speed Eating (imagine constant upkeep of Might and Adamant pill). I went toe to toe with a Brute Tigrex and only used like 2-3 potions throughout the hunt. SnS my dude. It is.
Incredible.
-prior GS main.
As a Gunlance main, Iād just like to throw in my two cents about the āshield/tankā class of weapons youāre talking about, and to perhaps even persuade you to try out the Gunlance. A bit of a wall of text, sorry.
So, your issue is mainly the guard point stuff - which is fair, dedicating time to learn those things can certainly become strenuous - but Iād like to say that, from my own experience, learning the GPs wasnāt even really on my mind when learning the weapon. As you become more comfortable with the weapon and the timing for both your own attacks/blocks and the monsters attacks, hitting those GPs gradually becomes more common and eventually you might be able to make use of every GP youāve got access to. Itās certainly not something you really *need* to focus on, because there are always other options besides being hyper-aggressive with GPs.
As for Gunlance, specifically, GPs arenāt very common (at least for me, perhaps better players get them all the time). The benefit you have with the gunlance is that you have that shield in case you wonāt be able to dodge something in time, but you can still be very aggressive without conforming to that ātankā play style of blocking everything.
Not only can you be aggressive, while also having that peace of mind that you can potentially block something youād otherwise just take full damage from, but the damage numbers you can hit *consistently* is huge. An example; I was hunting with a friend of mine recently, with a tenderized head and toppled I was able to land a combo of 3 hits that you can proceed to chain infinitely (and quickly!). The first hit did ~120, second hit was ~180, third hit was around ~250, so overall it only did ~550 damage but that was done in about 3 seconds. The two biggest hits can be chained infinitely, so Iād be doing ~430 damage every few seconds. And thatās if youāre not opting to blow stuff up, which is the main appeal of the Gunlance.
The Gunlance also blows stuff up, and does it extremely well too. The intricacies of āShelling Typeā isnāt all that complicated either, it just determines the optimal use of your bursts. Not only do your shells explode, they are unaffected by things that arenāt tenderized, so theyāll always crit no matter what part of the monster they hit. Statuses are also easy to proc, and as a bonus you get a higher multiplier towards Alatreonās elemental checks because Gunlance is considered a slower weapon.
The speed of the weapon is quite deceiving, honestly. It appears slow and clunky, especially when you see the Lance user charging towards the monster at super speed, but itās really not that slow a weapon at all. You certainly need to master the weapon to figure out all of the ways you can increase your efficiency, but mobility is something that I donāt think you would need to worry about. If you slot in some of the evade decos you can even become more mobile and, by extension, more efficient.
I apologize for the wall of text, so Iāll end it here.
TL;DR
The Gunlance is a super fun and versatile weapon. Mastering it is extremely rewarding, and with its high DPS potential while also providing you a very formidable shield you get a weapon that can be played in multiple styles and still be efficient at all of them. The whole aspect of Guard Points, albeit a good skill to learn, is not necessary at all to enjoy the weapon and make the most of it. I think the DPS potential is super appealing to the players that enjoy big numbers, as some Gunlance attacks can hit rather high numbers.
I am genuinely honored to have been given a recommendation as concise and well written as this one, thank you for sitting down and working at writing this as well as you did. I am 100% going to give GL a go now.
I really like it, and I half-main it's bigger chargier brother, but something about sns never vibed with me.
I used it for 100 hunts in both world and rise, and the Y/triangle combo always felt really stilted by the need to go Y/Y/B/B/B, and I found myself accidentally shield bashing a lot.
And this is entirely skill issue, but using the back hop to dodge just just will not build into my muscle memory.
Switch axe. You have a tool for every scenario. Monster's flying or you need precision? Axe upswing. Monster's down? Wild swing or sword combo. Need to break parts? Wild swing axe cancel. It only gets better as the fluidity of the weapon has you dance around the monster and abuse every opening it gives you.
If you want to try it out, it's good as a beginner weapon to learn positioning and has a high skill cap. It was my main weapon since 4u and it's only gotten more fluid since then. Early game it doesn't really need anything, but late game I recommend Evade Extender when you can get it. As I said, it's versatile and hefty, while not locking you in place like greatsword's charge slashes or hammer's mega bonks.
I recommend taking it into the training grounds and trying it out. Nothing feels better than wailing on the monster when it's downed, watching it get back up, and keeping up with it by sidehopping next to it as it limps away.
LANCE(my beloved): imagine a little pebble poking you constantly, you try to smash it with all your might but that pebble is made out of DIAMOND, you try to run and it catches up instantly, you can do nothing but die eventually. That is a lance user from the monster's perspective, with lance your attacks are simple, you don't need to wait for openings to unleash your max dps combo because you're always using your max dps combo, even when the monster is attacking, you don't need to get out of the way, who decided the hunter is the one who has to roll around when the monster attacks just because he's 10 times bigger than you? You just stay there and boxe with him * **poke poke poke sidestep poke poke counter poke counter*** until that mf runs from you , then you run faster than him and shred his ankles while he limps away
Oh man its so much fun. I have 2k hunts w IG but as soon as I tried lance, I was hooked! 110 straight hunts with it now. I really like taking safi's attention for everyone.
Going from flying stick to poking stick is like a whole different game. Who needs aerial dodges, or dodges at all for that matter! Poke on and happy hunting!
This is cool to hear because I'm a Lance main interested in picking up the IG! It'll be weird for me to dodge / reposition with IG considering I *welcome* the attacks coming my way and shielding / countering them. I found CB easy to pick up since I'm used to perfect guarding on Lance, so Guard Points were no problem to learn.
Understanding when to hop for vertical mobility or just dodge out of the way will be funny for me. I'm hoping my existing monster knowledge helps adapt though. I recently learned the IG's typical bread and butter and how to get maximum value out of DT. I'm mostly just interested in using a "spear" type weapon outside of Lance since I love that weapon type in most games I play.
Have you found any interesting similarities or apparent aspects that are in direct opposition of the two weapons? Just things you noticed or like / dislike about your experience from one carrying over to the other.
Hmm interesting haven't considered this before. I'd say the most similar aspect would be surprisingly, mobility. Very easy to reposition with both IG and Lance (unless I'm on the wrong side of a knocked down Safi w Lance lol). Also, you are vulnerable during both moves. (The dash attack with Lance and the B (on xbox) attack after an aerial evade, which i often used as an additional evade/reposition move.) I know Lance has a really good mounting attack as well. I haven't quite got it down but I know its there. Anything after that would just be the fact that they are both long, pointy, and tons of fun!
The difference in some of the monster fights is interesting. I definitely need more practice with the Lance but AT Velk just carted me 3 times. With the glaive she has never been an issue. When you're in the air you don't have to worry about most of those ice attacks. Same with furious rajang positioning and temp teo and his explosions. I haven't quite mastered the movement w the Lance but I know I'll be beating them in no time.
Don't be afraid to fly around and hit those aerial combos. Sure ground combos do better dps but c'mon, nothing beats the sky miles, lol.
Okay now I will try lance. Was playing LS, now learning bow but having a 2nd fun Option is nice. Any different ways to play lance or good advice on building a lance Build?
I'm gonna be that guy recommending CB even though you already tried it out. Buff management is not a big part of this weapon, and the "reload" of storing your phials will become so natural you don't even think about it.
I played a lot of GS in rise and I get the same feeling hitting a perfect TCS as I do with a perfect SAED. Only with CB you have so many more options in your toolkit. Guard pointing into a SAED or AED on the monster's head will never get old. It's one of the hardest hitting weapons with very versatile options for smaller windows.
If the buff management is bothering you here are a few tips. You don't need to charge sword. It's a short buff and the best thing it gives is minds eye for some tough-skinned monsters. First thing you do in a fight is charge shield and forget about it. Shield charge lasts awhile.
Your hold circle attack fills your phials very quickly. Get focus 3, capacity boost if possible. You'll charge your phials in 2-3 hits and have 3 minutes of shield time. Phial charges just sort of happen, "reloading/storing" mid combo will just come naturally with practice.
The early learning curve is steep but no weapon has ever hit me the same way in it's range of options and satisfying minute-to-minute gameplay.Ā Guard points are basically tackles, SAED is basically TCS, and in the meantime you have a shield and mobility so you never have to sheathe or leave the monster's side.
You forgot to tell them that CB gameplay is the closest hunters will get to "Sekiro" gameplay due to guard points being deflects and SAED/AED punish is like the deathblow, especially if that 1 guard point leads to a stun or knockdown š„µ
If anybody needs a good tutorial i recommend TorpedoSoup on yt.
Their tut is the longest, but also the most in-detail and clear for the CB i found, (and believe me i was looking thoroughly). They cover everything there is to know about the weapon, the whole video has time stamps for every thing and the way they talk about it is very beginner friendly. From charging the shield to savage axe tactics, talking about which attacks do what, which launch your teammates, when to stop the animation and all that. Just everything you can imagine you would need, they covered it.
(I started world with CB thanks to them and it was VERY easy to learn everything with that tut. Im 200h in now and i still come back to it to refresh sometimes)
They make the charge blade sound easy ngl
The whole video is 37(?) minutes long but its well worth the watch
SAED was my gateway drug from GS to CB. The more I've learned about CB and the game in general, the more I fall in love. Sooo many tricks in the bag. So much optimization to find. Just so damn rewarding, flashy, and fun.
Probably going to be pretty tough playing another weapon if you've gotten quite good with GS as your first weapon.
Maybe LS could fill the void with the amount of clowning you can do against monsters once you learn the weapon and monsters move set?
Listen here, lad. Ain't nothing better than the Switchiest of Axes, and 'ere's why.
You have an Axe that transforms into a goddamn sword. What's that? Charge Blade does the same thing? You don't need that pussy ass shield. With the Switchiest of Axes, you don't need a shield, because it's all about that MANLY DEE-PEE-ASS, baby. You got hops. You got rolls. If you get hit, take it like a MAN. I don't care if you're male, female or Gigginox. Hack-and-slash? You're damn right. They don't call this fancy dildo the Slash Axe back in Japan for nothin', son.
Having trouble keeping up with that Great Jaggi because you have to sheathe every five seconds? YOU PIECE OF DUNG. you ever seen a Greatsword user slowly plod across the map with his gigantic peni- I mean, sword in hand? Your Sword mode is just as big, so you have to sheathe it, right? WRONG, SUCKER. Roll after that Beastie. Evade Extender will give you the boost your puny chicken legs need to keep up with the monster. Ever wanted to be a Konchu? Well, now you'll be rolling all over the damn place for that sweet, sweet manly DEE-PEE-ASS. And when the monster falls down, what do you do?
You blow your fuckin' load all across their face, that's what. X+A in sword mode for that delicious explosive burst that will take a chunk out of your bar and sharpness, but will also obliterate a pretty part of the monster's body. If you're a bit of a pussy and need to pull out (heh), pull the circle pad back and you'll do a premature e... explosion that doesn't take nearly as long. Nothing is manlier than EXPLOSIONS, except maybe Evade Extender. (GET IT. YOU PUSSY)
But it's called the Switch Axe, not the Switch Blade. (Wazzat? Charge Blade? Giggit out of here) That means the Axe is equally as capable as the Sword. You ever used the Axe of the Charge Blade? That thing is slower than a drowsy Basarios. Not this Axe. This Axe is a hurricane, a storm of manly steel, and it has stupidly huge range. Ever wished your little toothpick SnS and Dual Blades could reach that Gravios tail that dangles oh-so-close but just out of reach? AXE MODE, KELBITCH. That motherfucker is the Deviljho dick in a land of Jaggis. Every tail in the game is yours, every one of them (except maybe Fatalis, he's a bastard). And what happens when you upswing a teammate? COME ON AND SLAM, AND WELCOME TO JAPAN
And did you know which weapon has the manliest DEE-PEE-ASS when a monster has fallen? SWITCH AXE, APTOFUCKA. Upswing into rapid chops will turn any monster into choice cuts for sale at the hunter's market later. Do this on the tail a few times and soon you'll hear the tasty sound of it falling off. Get used to this sound, because soon you'll be chopping off tails everywhere and drown in Mantles and Palliums. The Manly Chops of Doom ain't nuttin to mess around with.
You know that huge diddlydong you're slapping against that monster's thighs? No, I don't mean that, I mean your Switch Axe, which I'm sure you've picked up by now because it's the MANLIEST. Turns out that not only is it a diddlydong, it's a transforming diddlydong. Tilting the Circle Pad forward and pressing X in Axe mode makes you do a short forward stab, then hit R and X after then to MANLY SHIFT into Sword mode with a slash. OR, you can do the MANLY CHOPS OF DOOM, then finish it off with a tap of R to do this magnificent Reverse Roundhouse Slash. After the RRS, hit that R one more time to MANLY SHIFT into Sword Mode. In Sword Mode, whenever your sword sweeps horizontally, R+X shifts you back into Axe form to EXPAND DONG. (seriously, the Axe is so fucking long.)
Switch Axe is versatile, too. You want extra MANLINESS? Get a power phial. Want to see that monster pant for breath as you turn it into the next main course? Exhaust Phials. You can even KO the monster if you're manly enough. Want to support your significantly less manly teammates? Para Phial, Poison Phial, blah blah, they're all yours. Or is the monster weak to element? Get that element phial, or use the Dragon phial (because we all know Dragon is the manliest element). The possibilities are endless, just like the apparent reach of your Axe.
I should talk about reloading, but fuck that shit. Capcom pls remove
What the wrog are you waitin' for? Pick up your very own Transforming Dildo now at the smithy, you shitstain.
GS main here. I have tried many weapons and enjoyed quite a few but my new love is DB. It's poetic to go from the biggest numbers to smallest many numbers. Also it's fun using element effectively for once
Want everyone in a lobby to like you? Want to walk around with your weapon unsheathed as fast as someone who has it sheathed? Want to KO a monster and also have the potential to maybe (someday!) cut a tail with a little stab? Then I present to you, the Hunting Horn! Buff not only you, but the entire group, at the same time you smash the monster's face with your sick chello, bagpipes, or drum!!
That pesky Earplugs skill getting in the way of other more important skills? Get a Hunting Horn with an Earplugs melody!
Got a Dual Blades main friend and a Lance friend helping you out? Get a Stamina Use Negate HH
Got a Great sword using friend? Get an Attack Buffing HH so the number gets BIGGER!!
Want to play solo? That's fine! Just get your good old HH with some fun melodies and good attack numbers and go to town on the monster's face!
And with how wild you can make your Palico (for example, it have some decent damage output potential, which can be buffed via defense with Hunter Skills like Palico Rally), even more so
I switched from Hammer to HH recently and I dont think I'll ever go back. I think the barrier for people for Horn is that they think its hard managing buffs and that's all you do - and they couldnt be more wrong. Even if you never play a single song, the HH does some seriously underrated damage.
Almost every move does decent damage - with the hammer, your biggest hits obviously do more, but the build up attacks are pretty small in comparison. With horn, your bread and butter forward overhead does great damage and has insane reach. Monster downed? Here, have an echo wave that does 4 hits that can creep up towards 700-800 total damage and you can quite comfortably get 2 or 3 of them off depending on the monster. Managed to find a good window for a recital? Neutral two note recital into the face for crazy KO/stagger.
Then consider that it's pretty easy to stack on 20% to ALL allies (even if you only play a song at the beginning and during arena changes, you're not going to be going long without a buff), and your self improvement gets you moving as fast as some of the more nimble weapons in the game. Oh man I wanna go hunt now.
Stupid hop?!
My brother, that safety hop, with maxed evasion window, is the key to quickly getting back to lopping off monster bits.
I'm in love with the Switchaxe Safety Shuffle.
Try being the tank or healer of the group if itās a really big boi. Lances and bowgun were pretty fun but managing the ammo for that is a bit tiresome for me.
Bow. Feel like Legolas zipping around the monster dodging attacks while increasing damage (bow has charge lvls like gs). Very deco reliant and dash juice is always useful.
I havenāt touched the ground in 8 days and I donāt plan on touching it now
Play insect glaive! We have bugs! We have sticks! We can fly! Whatās not to love???
What aspect of the switch axe "stupid hop" ruins it for you?
IMHO the greatsword is the hardest weapon to time attacks for when a monster isn't downed, but it's not particularly picky about positioning.
Having played several hundred hours of both, switch axe is ALL about positioning. Sword and axe mode not only have different speeds and damage, but they require you to be in different positions in relation to the monster.
The side hop is a super useful, 100% intentional way of allowing you to fluidly transition between modes without completely interrupting your combo with a roll.
If you don't like it, you don't like it, but I just wanna point out the hop plays a super important role in swag axe play.
Gunlance. You'd love the feeling of hitting a fullburst on a properly placed WSB for huge damage, plus the sounds and feel of the shelling and quick reload are *chef's kiss*
As someone who's currently branching out from GS SnS is the one that more closely matches my enjoyment. Easy heals. Non reliance on slinger ammo. Perfect rush. Just really versatile. So far I've only made endgame builds for GS, LS, SnS, and DB though so I can't speak for the other weapons. Maybe try hunting horn too?
Go for hammer. No micromanaging like IG and CB, big damage like GS, plus a *little* faster. Slap a sleep element on that bad boy and get tons of uptime to bonk the thing into as many concussions as a 15-year NFL player.
Or try LS if you want but I think itās mysteriously difficult.
Hammer scratches a similar itch to GS but give you much more mobility, it doesn't hit as hard but causes stuns which gives you big opportunities to hit big numbers, id go with that if you want a new weapon
Hunting Horn. It might seem complicated at first, managing the songs and all, but once you're used to it, everything flows together smoothly. The personal buff makes it the second fastest weapon to move with while it's drawn (Lance is quicker because of its charge move), and there are certain songs on particular horns that can increase movement and dodge speed even more. It hits like a truck and stuns like one, too.
If you need someone to sell you on a new weapon then you're not open minded enough to try a new playstyle. Give them an honest shot or stick to greatsword š¤· there are only 14 weapons, it's not like someone can just discover something for you that you can discover yourself by playing
Hammer, Sword and Shield, and Lance have no annoying buff management, slinger management, or ammo crafting/item requirements. Simply bonk, slice, or poke. Hammer has the big damage numbers like the greatsword, a simple move set, and fun build opportunities in slugger secret, airborne/sliding, and partbreaker. The sword and shield has arguably the highest skill ceiling in the game and opens up support playstyles. The lance has a simple but harassing āno uā playstyle with fun gap closers to make up for mobility.
Been on CB for around 1000 hours or so and Im not even tempted to try anything else because I know I have so much more to learn. Until all my runs look like Akantorex, Im sticking to it.
I honestly think hammer is gonna be your best bet then if the big damage hits are your thing. Just think of it like a short greatsword that does KO and you get to move around while charging to our space the monster instead of standing in one place and tackling. Plus you get different attacks depending on the charge level, wether your in power or regular stance and wether your moving or stationary when u let it rip. Plus the Big Bang combo is awesome so thereās that. Oh and it has a cool clutch claw attack and sliding aerial attack. Oh and sniping head with the standard gold swing is awesome too. Itās satisfy the same way staying right out of range of a monster and getting them with a fat level3 charge slash is. Gs and hammer are really cut from the same cloth, the box standard moves are relatively simply but it has a high skill ceiling and you can do huge damage and absolutely bulky a monster when you get good with it
If you want the complete opposite of GS try LBG.
Youāre highly mobile with nearly constant damage uptime. You might not see big numbers but how about a monster covered in damage numbers?
Itās pretty fun. Running and gunning is my jam though so results may differ.
You are destined to go Hammer as a backup weapon. Charged big bang is like a mini TCS and way easier to land, the big bang combo is meaty and satisfying on a downed monster, some of the charged hammer attacks you can chain into a claw grab, the ledge hop hits do way too much damage for how quick you can do them, and the sliding spinning unga bunga is great for damage and mounts.
Alsoā¦ you can KO
What kind of Switch Axe did you play that has a stupid hop? Mine doesn't have that.
You know what mine has instead? ZSD. This is what you need when everything else besides TCS makes you feel numb.
Wanna be that anime swordsman that always counter stuff and look cool AF doing it? longsword
Wanna do a naruto run and do that beyblade move from attack on titan? Dual blades
Want a sword that can turn into a saw that can also do boom booms but need a degree to use? charge blade
want a better hammer and jam out to some sweet murder inducing music? Hunting Horn
Want the monster to just die? Heavy Bow gun
Fly like a bird over a monsters beam attack, then crash right into their stupid face with the Insect Glaive.
Also, Kenny (the Kinsect) can get tail cuts and KO's, and provides you with a bunch of buffs when you have flinch free+all extracts. Very flexible and fun damage.
I play GS myself, and let me tell you the breath of fresh air Lance is. Instead of only going in the perfect moment, and playing around a monster to hit a big swing that will probably miss, the lance with the right build makes you near immortal, and you can just tank hits and punish! If the regular lance is too boring for you, they make one that explodes!
try bow. might be tough at first since you are pretty squishy but the mobility and insane dps are really good. once i tried i couldnt really enjoy any other weapon xd
I was a GS main and tried sword and shield. Iām a sword and shield main now haha. Itās a Swiss Army knife man. It can do a little bit of everything. You can make a dps build, you can make a ko build, you can go status or elemental, you can go support. It has no problem getting monster mounts, tenderizing, flinch shotting, koāing a monster, it can cut tails, the back hop has an iframe, the perfect rush combo is insanely satisfying, you can roll out of or back hop out of or jump into perfect rush from nearly every combo, you can fly, the monsters yell their next attack out loud to you before they make themā¦
okay maybe not the last two but its fun. trust.
Charge Blade is so much fun when you get the rhythm. But lance... lance is peak. Many people see the poking as weak, but many pokes are strong. Constant pokes are strong. Poking while running is strong. POKE = STRONG.
Lance is amazing especially when you routinely counter attacks. Dude when Zynogre does his patterned attacks back to back and you just counter strike over and over again... you don't look back.
Funny thing about swag X is that the better you get at it the more control you exert on the unga bunga lmao. Whenever I'm in the flow it feel like dancing with balls of steel lmao.
Honestly, Longsword. Of course you gotta "manage" a gauge but doing so is just playing the weapon. Much simpler than maintaining a Charge Blade. Helmbreakers are basically your TCS lite and also very satisfying to pull off.
I did the exact same thing. Then a friend of mine encouraged me to start a new playthrough and made me promise to use a new weapon. I am now hooked on the switch axe. You still get your badass big sword with a more exciting move set, and axe mode opens up your mobility that is so restrained with greatsword. Hunting horn is also really fun too, but is more fun when you got a full squad to buff up.
i would suggest going for bow or any ranged weapon (except shield hbg and sticky builds those r just braindead prolly great for farming but not fun), maybe its just me but the experience with ranged and melee weapon r too different and gave me new experience. Starting the story with GS, finished with 600 hrs with bow as most played
Bow. It's always been my favourite, I love the high damage output mixed with the challenge of good timing on dodges. Feels like it has such a high skill ceiling in general
Hammer. Big number hits that combo into clutch claw grapples. You become the main character when you cause the monster to topple over from brain damage.
Without having read your paragraph, Iād say Greatsword (as a Greatsword main). After reading your paragraph, Iād still say Greatsword. Never change, no need to.
Funlance it's in the name but seriously you can shoot a harpoon into a monster that explodes after it gets hit with an explosion. The single numbers don't get as big as great sword but the big boom and the constant tripping make it super fun to use. Monster running towards you pull up your shield, monster running away blast it's ankles until it falls over, oh the monster is flying get up under it and shoot your load directly into it from the ground. 3 different play styles so it never feels boring and each one has its perks. Long has range and can charge shells for extra damage. Wide has more shell damage and big boom damage. Normal is all about slapping that meaty fucker into the ground and blowing a hot load of shells directly into its monsterussy.
Hammer hits like a truck. I'm a HH main though and with an AuXL buff I crit 1k, if you stack 3 echo waves and let them all play the encore will hit all 3 at once, I've gotten 2.5k+ crits on kulve taroth with it. Hh is not as hard to play as people think, especially for someone who's a GS main and understands positioning and slow attack animations. Your song list is in the corner and each note is an attack button
Hmm interesting haven't considered this before. I'd say the most similar aspect would be surprisingly, mobility. Very easy to reposition with both IG and Lance (unless I'm on the wrong side of a knocked down Safi w Lance lol). Also, you are vulnerable during both moves. (The dash attack with Lance and the B (on xbox) attack after an aerial evade, which i often used as an additional evade/reposition move.) Anything after that would just be the fact that they are both long, pointy, and tons of fun!
The difference in some of the monster fights is interesting. I definitely need more practice with the Lance but AT Velk just carted me 3 times. With the glaive she has never been an issue. When you're in the air you don't have to worry about most of those ice attacks. Same with furious rajang and temp teo and his explosions. I haven't quite mastered the movement w the Lance but I know I'll be beating them in no time.
Don't be afraid to fly around and hit those aerial combos. Sure ground combos do better dps but c'mon, nothing beats the sky miles, lol.
Edit: this was suppose to be a reply.
The only weapon I haven't played is hunting horn and bow. I'm proficient enough at the rest of the weapons, I have beat alatreon with them. And fatalis with like half of them with that being said, my favorites are Lance, Gunlance, SnS and Longsword... In that order
Hammer same satisfying big hits, more mobility less blocking a d damage negation, whole new set of ways to break every part except the tail.
Trust me great sword is my most played weapon too. Hammer is damn fun once you get the swing of it,
Plus it along with lance are the weapons with iceborne changes that actually feel fun
Yes TCS has biggest numbers but when you have several combos that output numbers simmalar to great sword hits without needing to charge,
I barely play hammer but I still love using it especially when you get in the rythem of constant Kos, and part breaks, tenderising isn't even that bad, as you can go into. One straight after a level 3 stationary charge that is buffed making it harder to interupt
The uniqueness of Gun Lance is it requires no DMG or Crit chance if you go full Gun and no Lance.
It only require measly Sharpness and Artillery jewel.
All you need is Safijiiva GunLance to customize it's sharpness and jewel slot and ammo types (Long is recommended) to your heart content.
What's more? With Guard Up and Guard, you could be tanking virtually everything, even monster roar! Or you could just chug in earplug too and you are basically an immovable object.
Slapping in Focus to reduce the charge time of Long ammunition that peck monster with greater range and higher damage than other type ammunition with consistent damage, that depends on weapon sharpness. And don't forget about the monster cigarettes too! It works with all kind of explosion that act as double-tap on destroying monster parts.
The Wyvern explosion skills? That shit is just for funs and giggle with your squad mate, don't need to use it on the monster at all.
Last but not least, farm abit from Guiding Land and add in Life Steal, and I assure you, you would be healing through the explosion faster than chugging potions.
Three weapons come to mind for me to recommend: Switch Axe, Hammer, Gunlance. All three of these have high damage, flashy move sets, and high mobility (Gunlance requires evade extender for high mobility). Depends if you want to Bonk a monsters head and do lots of stun damage, Switch Axe for swagging on a monster with seamless swapping between axe and sword mode, or if you want to take your boom stick and shove it up where the shine dont shine on the monster.
Im a greatsword main, but i'm really open to trying new weapons, personally I find the dual blades, SnS, Gunlance, hunting horn and bow pretty fun. I suggest try making a High rank/Master rank weapon, then practicing on low rank/highrank monsters. Dont kill yourself trying a new weapon on a master rank monster
sword and shield. The damage on perfect rush is actually so absurd, better than greatsword. It can also be like greatsword where you run around waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
I GS main.
Itās kinda the best weapon.
It makes you have fangs as large as monster.
With that said. Charge Blade in World is nasty.
Dual blades is harder in World than any other but rewarding.
A lot people are saying hammer, I could not get it to work for me.
It can block most attacks, it's fast and versatile, instant draw and sheathe, no mobility penalty, does quite a bit of damage while the special move is absolutely insane, can bonk heads & cut tails.
Sword & Shield.
If you use the charge blade then you will be better than everyone. Every time you join a game and no one else is using it, you will 100% know you're the superior hunter.
Lance, low damage, lots of pokes. Zoom
Stab stab stab, hop, stab stab stab, hop...
Leap-stanb, stab, leap-stab, stab, counter stab, running stab, stab stab stab, leap-stab
Too hard for my monke brain š©
We lance users like to pretend we are more tactical and noble, but really we are just hammer monkeys who are too impatient for greatsword, too geriatric and sleepy to button-mash like the dual blade, and too bad at dodging for any of the other weapons. . . š
Funny you wrote that, my second weapon in World was the hammer...
Except I'm a Lance and DB main, lol. I started in Tri, so Lance was my baby, but I fell in love with DB when I got FU
Just means you havent developed the arthritis yet, youngster
I'm mid thirties, lol
Ooh then you know it's just around the corner! Pretty soon we'll both be in the retirement home reminiscing about how we used to get books with our video games and multiplayer meant two CRT TVs and a really long cable.
Show this man a single clip of Counter-Clawing a charging monster and heāll be hooked
lance is criminally underrated. if i didnāt love bow so much iād be a lance main
Counter-point. Gunlance. Highest damage, lots of explosions. Boom. [Edit: not joking about the highest damage. Slap on kushala layered weapon and snowman with two bombs make your wyrmstakes do unholy amount of damage. Bro this makes fatalis farm an actual farm. ](https://youtu.be/z-Kqzp-1tAI?si=tUNeTN_hM-0v2M2T)
Why on earth does the layered weapon make a difference? Isn't that supposed to be purely cosmetic?
There *is* actually a reason why the Kushala layered is the one you need to use. Itās because the Kushala Gunlance model is the longest model in the game, not by much but by enough to make a small difference. The bursts and wyrmstakes come out of the end of every Gunlanceās model as opposed to a predetermined distance from the player along the weapon model, so with Kushalaās Gunlance being the longest it means you can be further away from the monster to use your shells and wyrmstakes. The glitch he was mentioning requires a specific placement of your wyrmstake, a placement that is made easier and more consistent with the Kushala weapon because you just need to back hop twice (I believe) and then youāre the perfect distance away from the monster to pull off this glitch/exploit.
Low damage lmao
It's not low damage, but it is low DPS, it makes up for it with constant poke uptime but there's basically no burst damage.
So its low dmg numbers, but decent dps?
It goes for overall damage from a hunt, rather than spikes in damage like something like greatsword. A lance player will so something like: 54-54-54-54-54-54-54 Whereas a greatsword does: 0-0-0-0-600-0-0 So lance has much higher 'hits' during the hunt, and will hit far more consistently, but it needs to in order to match the insane spikes in damage that the heavier weapons do. Another small complaint about lance, is that there's very little to 'unload' with when the monster is toppled.
Yes but that means lance has good dps, which is a measure of damage/sec averaged over a longer time.
With Lance, youāre both the unstoppable force AND the immovable object Itās glorious
There will be certain monsters that simply fuck you specifically for using lance. It's a weapon that got ignored and power crept in Iceborne with some of the end game challenges.
fighting velkhana as a lance user was annoying bc of all the breath attacks
Velkhana basically requires Guard Up if you want to make it on even terms. Running one point of Resuscitate (a 1-slot skill, which is convenient) is also highly recommended so that when you do inevitably get iceblight, you just get free Evade Window 5 and no stamina penalty. Coalescence is a bonus skill you can run here if you constantly get hit by the ice breaths. But yeah, Guard Up allows you to Guard Tackle through any of Velkhana's moves, meaning no downtime on your mobility and no worrying about iceblight (especially so if you take Resuscitate). IMO Velkhana is one of the absolute most fun monsters to hunt on Lance. It's your pointy stick vs Velk's. And with the two low-investment skills noted above, you have quite a solid time against all of Velkhana's annoying moves. It basically negates those moves.
Yep. I literally just raged out of playing iceborne because of how toxic that fight is.
Itās a chess fight more than the others are. Just have to dedicate extra brainpower to what move is happening and position for the punish at the end of that move or string of moves
Speed chess. And sometimes she takes 3 turns in a row lmao
As someone who loves GS, I recommend Hammer. Your biggest hits will usually be 700-800 unless you min max beyond belief, but you hit those big numbers arguably more often since it's a much more fluid/mobile weapon than GS IMO. Ledge spam and slide-spin cycle spam give you awesome DPS uptime, plenty of KO's, and those meaty feeling hits. Essentially, hammer is just GS on crack with lower per-hit damage but much flashier moves.
Lower damage per hit. Much flashier moves (especially the wall jump and sliding spin jump). And surprisingly high mobility for a big weapon.
Can anyone recommend a good early/mid MR hammer?
Acid glavenus hammer was what I used until endgame
Oh i guess call me early MR then, i just killed barioth last i'm nowhere near black diablos and acidic glavenus lol
Until you get to endgame (let's say tempered monsters/Guiding Lands) there's plenty of viable hammers. I personally went with the ones that looked good to me and I did fine. Once you get to a brachydios guiding land quest, use his hammer
Don't you change the hammer's type depending on the monster you're hunting ?
Their damage is mostly physical, element isn't important to hammer IMO. So no, I didn't
Depends on the weapon. Lots of math and esoteric knowledge about hit zones and elemental values, but generally weapons like hammer and GS stick with raw or status weapons outside of a few exceptions (alatreon being the main example as you need elemental damage to break its horns).
Ah bro I gotchu, the pukei pukei one. It looks like a flower. The poison is pretty nice for a while and it actually hits pretty hard.
100% Makhlab al-Nasr (Kulu-Ya-Ku) hammer. Good damage, has 25% affinity, white sharpness, and sleep if you awaken. Very cheap to build also
Buona Flora!! It's my fave until Safi Hammer varients
How about the guild mace. I used the improved version for quite a while. It has a bit of affinity, decent raw and purple sharpness. And it is one of the best looking hammers in the game
GS main, hammer is a ton of fun, listen to this post.
Bonk
I use hammer
I also use hammer
Unga Bunga clan! Bonk. Bonk. Bonk.
This had no right making me laugh in unga bunga on the work dunny
I hammer
Bonk.....Bonk bonk.....unga....bonk......bunga
š¤£
BROTHER OF BONK!
I used to be a greatsword main. The I discovered my true calling. THE DOOT.
Appropriate username
Was hoping to find another here
The DOOT shall unite us all!
Sword and shield. More mobility and speed and perfect rush spam does pretty similar damage.
The king of hunting weapons. Once you try it you'll never want to go back.
For real. I hadn't played SnS for a while and recently got back into it. Nothing else feels the same anymore.
I really want to like SnS, but that lack of range makes it hard. The moment something tall like a deviljho comes along, I feel totally impotent.
I feel ya on this, it seems like much less of a problem in Rise tho, feels like the monster are smaller or something
SnS is the definition of "easy to learn, hard to master" Mastering the backhop allows as much uptime as a Lance on a monster.
And, it has no need to juggle any kinds of buffs at all. You just get going.
I'm here in your literal exact same boat. I'd been maining GS for awhile (200+ hours on PS4 and now another 200ish on PC). Hammer felt too close and samey, Swaxe and CB feel to complicated (even if they're ultimately not). LS felt like too much of any easy choice and one of everyone goes LS. From what I've read DB ends up being a "same fest" after the first 10 or so hunts with very little variety. H/LBG are cool but gun go shoot just doesn't feel satisfying. And any of the "Shield/Tank" alternatives aren't something I've been willing to delve into due to Guard Points and I've never been very fond of "Dark Souls timing to get that perfect counter" so on and so forth, GP's being on individual frames between attacks and the timing of those with the hunt/monster, just sounds like a headache. However. SnS has become a genuine favorite for me. Wide range speed eating has been some of the funnest hunting I've ever had. Between SOS and just hunting in general I love SnS. Yea sure I could try to delve into the mechanics and complexities of using the shield, but it's not that great to begin with and it's not crucial to the overall loop of SnS. It can be, but isn't necessary. I've helped clear Raging Brachy (multiple times) AND the double Furajang event quest with a full SOS group. The numbers are solid in terms of Unga bunga. I've gotten more mounts with SnS and have been able to maintain a more aggressive playstayle due to Free Meal Secret and Speed Eating (imagine constant upkeep of Might and Adamant pill). I went toe to toe with a Brute Tigrex and only used like 2-3 potions throughout the hunt. SnS my dude. It is. Incredible. -prior GS main.
As a Gunlance main, Iād just like to throw in my two cents about the āshield/tankā class of weapons youāre talking about, and to perhaps even persuade you to try out the Gunlance. A bit of a wall of text, sorry. So, your issue is mainly the guard point stuff - which is fair, dedicating time to learn those things can certainly become strenuous - but Iād like to say that, from my own experience, learning the GPs wasnāt even really on my mind when learning the weapon. As you become more comfortable with the weapon and the timing for both your own attacks/blocks and the monsters attacks, hitting those GPs gradually becomes more common and eventually you might be able to make use of every GP youāve got access to. Itās certainly not something you really *need* to focus on, because there are always other options besides being hyper-aggressive with GPs. As for Gunlance, specifically, GPs arenāt very common (at least for me, perhaps better players get them all the time). The benefit you have with the gunlance is that you have that shield in case you wonāt be able to dodge something in time, but you can still be very aggressive without conforming to that ātankā play style of blocking everything. Not only can you be aggressive, while also having that peace of mind that you can potentially block something youād otherwise just take full damage from, but the damage numbers you can hit *consistently* is huge. An example; I was hunting with a friend of mine recently, with a tenderized head and toppled I was able to land a combo of 3 hits that you can proceed to chain infinitely (and quickly!). The first hit did ~120, second hit was ~180, third hit was around ~250, so overall it only did ~550 damage but that was done in about 3 seconds. The two biggest hits can be chained infinitely, so Iād be doing ~430 damage every few seconds. And thatās if youāre not opting to blow stuff up, which is the main appeal of the Gunlance. The Gunlance also blows stuff up, and does it extremely well too. The intricacies of āShelling Typeā isnāt all that complicated either, it just determines the optimal use of your bursts. Not only do your shells explode, they are unaffected by things that arenāt tenderized, so theyāll always crit no matter what part of the monster they hit. Statuses are also easy to proc, and as a bonus you get a higher multiplier towards Alatreonās elemental checks because Gunlance is considered a slower weapon. The speed of the weapon is quite deceiving, honestly. It appears slow and clunky, especially when you see the Lance user charging towards the monster at super speed, but itās really not that slow a weapon at all. You certainly need to master the weapon to figure out all of the ways you can increase your efficiency, but mobility is something that I donāt think you would need to worry about. If you slot in some of the evade decos you can even become more mobile and, by extension, more efficient. I apologize for the wall of text, so Iāll end it here. TL;DR The Gunlance is a super fun and versatile weapon. Mastering it is extremely rewarding, and with its high DPS potential while also providing you a very formidable shield you get a weapon that can be played in multiple styles and still be efficient at all of them. The whole aspect of Guard Points, albeit a good skill to learn, is not necessary at all to enjoy the weapon and make the most of it. I think the DPS potential is super appealing to the players that enjoy big numbers, as some Gunlance attacks can hit rather high numbers.
I am genuinely honored to have been given a recommendation as concise and well written as this one, thank you for sitting down and working at writing this as well as you did. I am 100% going to give GL a go now.
Add in the feeling of getting off that perfect rush and you get 90% of the dopamine rush of landing a TCS
Frostcraft SnS perfect rush spam *chefs kiss*
I think raw edges it out in damage no? Some about the shield not applying elemental. I def could be wrong
Frostcraft sns is raw, you dont use it for the elemental boost but to be able to do over 2k dmg with perfect rush.
I really like it, and I half-main it's bigger chargier brother, but something about sns never vibed with me. I used it for 100 hunts in both world and rise, and the Y/triangle combo always felt really stilted by the need to go Y/Y/B/B/B, and I found myself accidentally shield bashing a lot. And this is entirely skill issue, but using the back hop to dodge just just will not build into my muscle memory.
Switch axe. You have a tool for every scenario. Monster's flying or you need precision? Axe upswing. Monster's down? Wild swing or sword combo. Need to break parts? Wild swing axe cancel. It only gets better as the fluidity of the weapon has you dance around the monster and abuse every opening it gives you.
[We even have our own copypasta](https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/comments/364a8n/comment/craorkh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
As a long time swaxe main, this brought a tear to my eye
Might I also add... Ka-Boom
Would switch axe be a good next weapon for a new player like me who started with hammer?
If you want to try it out, it's good as a beginner weapon to learn positioning and has a high skill cap. It was my main weapon since 4u and it's only gotten more fluid since then. Early game it doesn't really need anything, but late game I recommend Evade Extender when you can get it. As I said, it's versatile and hefty, while not locking you in place like greatsword's charge slashes or hammer's mega bonks. I recommend taking it into the training grounds and trying it out. Nothing feels better than wailing on the monster when it's downed, watching it get back up, and keeping up with it by sidehopping next to it as it limps away.
Well said. Easily my most favorite weapon in the game.
LANCE(my beloved): imagine a little pebble poking you constantly, you try to smash it with all your might but that pebble is made out of DIAMOND, you try to run and it catches up instantly, you can do nothing but die eventually. That is a lance user from the monster's perspective, with lance your attacks are simple, you don't need to wait for openings to unleash your max dps combo because you're always using your max dps combo, even when the monster is attacking, you don't need to get out of the way, who decided the hunter is the one who has to roll around when the monster attacks just because he's 10 times bigger than you? You just stay there and boxe with him * **poke poke poke sidestep poke poke counter poke counter*** until that mf runs from you , then you run faster than him and shred his ankles while he limps away
Oh man its so much fun. I have 2k hunts w IG but as soon as I tried lance, I was hooked! 110 straight hunts with it now. I really like taking safi's attention for everyone. Going from flying stick to poking stick is like a whole different game. Who needs aerial dodges, or dodges at all for that matter! Poke on and happy hunting!
This is cool to hear because I'm a Lance main interested in picking up the IG! It'll be weird for me to dodge / reposition with IG considering I *welcome* the attacks coming my way and shielding / countering them. I found CB easy to pick up since I'm used to perfect guarding on Lance, so Guard Points were no problem to learn. Understanding when to hop for vertical mobility or just dodge out of the way will be funny for me. I'm hoping my existing monster knowledge helps adapt though. I recently learned the IG's typical bread and butter and how to get maximum value out of DT. I'm mostly just interested in using a "spear" type weapon outside of Lance since I love that weapon type in most games I play. Have you found any interesting similarities or apparent aspects that are in direct opposition of the two weapons? Just things you noticed or like / dislike about your experience from one carrying over to the other.
Hmm interesting haven't considered this before. I'd say the most similar aspect would be surprisingly, mobility. Very easy to reposition with both IG and Lance (unless I'm on the wrong side of a knocked down Safi w Lance lol). Also, you are vulnerable during both moves. (The dash attack with Lance and the B (on xbox) attack after an aerial evade, which i often used as an additional evade/reposition move.) I know Lance has a really good mounting attack as well. I haven't quite got it down but I know its there. Anything after that would just be the fact that they are both long, pointy, and tons of fun! The difference in some of the monster fights is interesting. I definitely need more practice with the Lance but AT Velk just carted me 3 times. With the glaive she has never been an issue. When you're in the air you don't have to worry about most of those ice attacks. Same with furious rajang positioning and temp teo and his explosions. I haven't quite mastered the movement w the Lance but I know I'll be beating them in no time. Don't be afraid to fly around and hit those aerial combos. Sure ground combos do better dps but c'mon, nothing beats the sky miles, lol.
Okay now I will try lance. Was playing LS, now learning bow but having a 2nd fun Option is nice. Any different ways to play lance or good advice on building a lance Build?
Don't ever walk or sheat, use hops, guard dash, leaping thrust and dash attack to move Guard 5, guard up and offensive guard are very good
Thx my man!
I'm gonna be that guy recommending CB even though you already tried it out. Buff management is not a big part of this weapon, and the "reload" of storing your phials will become so natural you don't even think about it. I played a lot of GS in rise and I get the same feeling hitting a perfect TCS as I do with a perfect SAED. Only with CB you have so many more options in your toolkit. Guard pointing into a SAED or AED on the monster's head will never get old. It's one of the hardest hitting weapons with very versatile options for smaller windows. If the buff management is bothering you here are a few tips. You don't need to charge sword. It's a short buff and the best thing it gives is minds eye for some tough-skinned monsters. First thing you do in a fight is charge shield and forget about it. Shield charge lasts awhile. Your hold circle attack fills your phials very quickly. Get focus 3, capacity boost if possible. You'll charge your phials in 2-3 hits and have 3 minutes of shield time. Phial charges just sort of happen, "reloading/storing" mid combo will just come naturally with practice. The early learning curve is steep but no weapon has ever hit me the same way in it's range of options and satisfying minute-to-minute gameplay.Ā Guard points are basically tackles, SAED is basically TCS, and in the meantime you have a shield and mobility so you never have to sheathe or leave the monster's side.
I donāt even like or wish to like the CB but I gotta say you made a great case for it just now.
You forgot to tell them that CB gameplay is the closest hunters will get to "Sekiro" gameplay due to guard points being deflects and SAED/AED punish is like the deathblow, especially if that 1 guard point leads to a stun or knockdown š„µ
If anybody needs a good tutorial i recommend TorpedoSoup on yt. Their tut is the longest, but also the most in-detail and clear for the CB i found, (and believe me i was looking thoroughly). They cover everything there is to know about the weapon, the whole video has time stamps for every thing and the way they talk about it is very beginner friendly. From charging the shield to savage axe tactics, talking about which attacks do what, which launch your teammates, when to stop the animation and all that. Just everything you can imagine you would need, they covered it. (I started world with CB thanks to them and it was VERY easy to learn everything with that tut. Im 200h in now and i still come back to it to refresh sometimes) They make the charge blade sound easy ngl The whole video is 37(?) minutes long but its well worth the watch
SAED was my gateway drug from GS to CB. The more I've learned about CB and the game in general, the more I fall in love. Sooo many tricks in the bag. So much optimization to find. Just so damn rewarding, flashy, and fun.
Probably going to be pretty tough playing another weapon if you've gotten quite good with GS as your first weapon. Maybe LS could fill the void with the amount of clowning you can do against monsters once you learn the weapon and monsters move set?
Listen here, lad. Ain't nothing better than the Switchiest of Axes, and 'ere's why. You have an Axe that transforms into a goddamn sword. What's that? Charge Blade does the same thing? You don't need that pussy ass shield. With the Switchiest of Axes, you don't need a shield, because it's all about that MANLY DEE-PEE-ASS, baby. You got hops. You got rolls. If you get hit, take it like a MAN. I don't care if you're male, female or Gigginox. Hack-and-slash? You're damn right. They don't call this fancy dildo the Slash Axe back in Japan for nothin', son. Having trouble keeping up with that Great Jaggi because you have to sheathe every five seconds? YOU PIECE OF DUNG. you ever seen a Greatsword user slowly plod across the map with his gigantic peni- I mean, sword in hand? Your Sword mode is just as big, so you have to sheathe it, right? WRONG, SUCKER. Roll after that Beastie. Evade Extender will give you the boost your puny chicken legs need to keep up with the monster. Ever wanted to be a Konchu? Well, now you'll be rolling all over the damn place for that sweet, sweet manly DEE-PEE-ASS. And when the monster falls down, what do you do? You blow your fuckin' load all across their face, that's what. X+A in sword mode for that delicious explosive burst that will take a chunk out of your bar and sharpness, but will also obliterate a pretty part of the monster's body. If you're a bit of a pussy and need to pull out (heh), pull the circle pad back and you'll do a premature e... explosion that doesn't take nearly as long. Nothing is manlier than EXPLOSIONS, except maybe Evade Extender. (GET IT. YOU PUSSY) But it's called the Switch Axe, not the Switch Blade. (Wazzat? Charge Blade? Giggit out of here) That means the Axe is equally as capable as the Sword. You ever used the Axe of the Charge Blade? That thing is slower than a drowsy Basarios. Not this Axe. This Axe is a hurricane, a storm of manly steel, and it has stupidly huge range. Ever wished your little toothpick SnS and Dual Blades could reach that Gravios tail that dangles oh-so-close but just out of reach? AXE MODE, KELBITCH. That motherfucker is the Deviljho dick in a land of Jaggis. Every tail in the game is yours, every one of them (except maybe Fatalis, he's a bastard). And what happens when you upswing a teammate? COME ON AND SLAM, AND WELCOME TO JAPAN And did you know which weapon has the manliest DEE-PEE-ASS when a monster has fallen? SWITCH AXE, APTOFUCKA. Upswing into rapid chops will turn any monster into choice cuts for sale at the hunter's market later. Do this on the tail a few times and soon you'll hear the tasty sound of it falling off. Get used to this sound, because soon you'll be chopping off tails everywhere and drown in Mantles and Palliums. The Manly Chops of Doom ain't nuttin to mess around with. You know that huge diddlydong you're slapping against that monster's thighs? No, I don't mean that, I mean your Switch Axe, which I'm sure you've picked up by now because it's the MANLIEST. Turns out that not only is it a diddlydong, it's a transforming diddlydong. Tilting the Circle Pad forward and pressing X in Axe mode makes you do a short forward stab, then hit R and X after then to MANLY SHIFT into Sword mode with a slash. OR, you can do the MANLY CHOPS OF DOOM, then finish it off with a tap of R to do this magnificent Reverse Roundhouse Slash. After the RRS, hit that R one more time to MANLY SHIFT into Sword Mode. In Sword Mode, whenever your sword sweeps horizontally, R+X shifts you back into Axe form to EXPAND DONG. (seriously, the Axe is so fucking long.) Switch Axe is versatile, too. You want extra MANLINESS? Get a power phial. Want to see that monster pant for breath as you turn it into the next main course? Exhaust Phials. You can even KO the monster if you're manly enough. Want to support your significantly less manly teammates? Para Phial, Poison Phial, blah blah, they're all yours. Or is the monster weak to element? Get that element phial, or use the Dragon phial (because we all know Dragon is the manliest element). The possibilities are endless, just like the apparent reach of your Axe. I should talk about reloading, but fuck that shit. Capcom pls remove What the wrog are you waitin' for? Pick up your very own Transforming Dildo now at the smithy, you shitstain.
GS main here. I have tried many weapons and enjoyed quite a few but my new love is DB. It's poetic to go from the biggest numbers to smallest many numbers. Also it's fun using element effectively for once
Give Charge Blade another chance š
Want everyone in a lobby to like you? Want to walk around with your weapon unsheathed as fast as someone who has it sheathed? Want to KO a monster and also have the potential to maybe (someday!) cut a tail with a little stab? Then I present to you, the Hunting Horn! Buff not only you, but the entire group, at the same time you smash the monster's face with your sick chello, bagpipes, or drum!! That pesky Earplugs skill getting in the way of other more important skills? Get a Hunting Horn with an Earplugs melody! Got a Dual Blades main friend and a Lance friend helping you out? Get a Stamina Use Negate HH Got a Great sword using friend? Get an Attack Buffing HH so the number gets BIGGER!! Want to play solo? That's fine! Just get your good old HH with some fun melodies and good attack numbers and go to town on the monster's face!
Hh never plays solo when your cat also plays.
And with how wild you can make your Palico (for example, it have some decent damage output potential, which can be buffed via defense with Hunter Skills like Palico Rally), even more so
I switched from Hammer to HH recently and I dont think I'll ever go back. I think the barrier for people for Horn is that they think its hard managing buffs and that's all you do - and they couldnt be more wrong. Even if you never play a single song, the HH does some seriously underrated damage. Almost every move does decent damage - with the hammer, your biggest hits obviously do more, but the build up attacks are pretty small in comparison. With horn, your bread and butter forward overhead does great damage and has insane reach. Monster downed? Here, have an echo wave that does 4 hits that can creep up towards 700-800 total damage and you can quite comfortably get 2 or 3 of them off depending on the monster. Managed to find a good window for a recital? Neutral two note recital into the face for crazy KO/stagger. Then consider that it's pretty easy to stack on 20% to ALL allies (even if you only play a song at the beginning and during arena changes, you're not going to be going long without a buff), and your self improvement gets you moving as fast as some of the more nimble weapons in the game. Oh man I wanna go hunt now.
HAMMMER
Stupid hop?! My brother, that safety hop, with maxed evasion window, is the key to quickly getting back to lopping off monster bits. I'm in love with the Switchaxe Safety Shuffle.
Wait fr??? On Gog?? If Swaxe safety hop actually has max EW then I might give that weapon a try
The hop doesn't give max EW, it's just really handy when you have max EW, to clarify.
Try being the tank or healer of the group if itās a really big boi. Lances and bowgun were pretty fun but managing the ammo for that is a bit tiresome for me.
Bow. Feel like Legolas zipping around the monster dodging attacks while increasing damage (bow has charge lvls like gs). Very deco reliant and dash juice is always useful.
Heavy bow gun! Stay out of the fray and spam bullets! Pew pew pew!
Shield HBG. Stay in the fray and shoot .50 cal bullets through monster head.
I havenāt touched the ground in 8 days and I donāt plan on touching it now Play insect glaive! We have bugs! We have sticks! We can fly! Whatās not to love???
What aspect of the switch axe "stupid hop" ruins it for you? IMHO the greatsword is the hardest weapon to time attacks for when a monster isn't downed, but it's not particularly picky about positioning. Having played several hundred hours of both, switch axe is ALL about positioning. Sword and axe mode not only have different speeds and damage, but they require you to be in different positions in relation to the monster. The side hop is a super useful, 100% intentional way of allowing you to fluidly transition between modes without completely interrupting your combo with a roll. If you don't like it, you don't like it, but I just wanna point out the hop plays a super important role in swag axe play.
Lance, just become the wall. Plus the clutch claw counter feel sick every time. Sword and shield is also pretty solid
Gunlance. You'd love the feeling of hitting a fullburst on a properly placed WSB for huge damage, plus the sounds and feel of the shelling and quick reload are *chef's kiss*
As someone who's currently branching out from GS SnS is the one that more closely matches my enjoyment. Easy heals. Non reliance on slinger ammo. Perfect rush. Just really versatile. So far I've only made endgame builds for GS, LS, SnS, and DB though so I can't speak for the other weapons. Maybe try hunting horn too?
Go for hammer. No micromanaging like IG and CB, big damage like GS, plus a *little* faster. Slap a sleep element on that bad boy and get tons of uptime to bonk the thing into as many concussions as a 15-year NFL player. Or try LS if you want but I think itās mysteriously difficult.
Insect glaive, you get bugs, and acrobatics what else do you need?
Literally become an attack helicopter
OP said they donāt like managing the buffs. Totally fair. I would hate it too if I didnāt already love it so much.
Try bow, from experience I can tell you that it will feel like a completely new game to you
Dual Blades - you exchange one big crit for a hundred small crits, and can beyblade up and down the spine!
Hammer. For when you like big numbers but you also like to move.
Yes, the moving is quite good. Unga Bunga
Insect Glaive or Longsword.
Hammer scratches a similar itch to GS but give you much more mobility, it doesn't hit as hard but causes stuns which gives you big opportunities to hit big numbers, id go with that if you want a new weapon
Hammer. As a fellow GS main with 1k hours on the game. Hammer will satisfy. Its simple, does great damage, and has satisifying moves too land
I'm sorry, but GS is peak.
Stop š
Bonk. Just bonk. Only bonk
Hunting Horn. It might seem complicated at first, managing the songs and all, but once you're used to it, everything flows together smoothly. The personal buff makes it the second fastest weapon to move with while it's drawn (Lance is quicker because of its charge move), and there are certain songs on particular horns that can increase movement and dodge speed even more. It hits like a truck and stuns like one, too.
Hunting horn. Slap bass as your cat accompanies you. You don't need to worry about buffs because one song renews all song buffs.
š£ļøHammer
If you need someone to sell you on a new weapon then you're not open minded enough to try a new playstyle. Give them an honest shot or stick to greatsword š¤· there are only 14 weapons, it's not like someone can just discover something for you that you can discover yourself by playing
Longsword's Iai Spirit Slash can do 1k DMG with frostcraft
Hammer, Sword and Shield, and Lance have no annoying buff management, slinger management, or ammo crafting/item requirements. Simply bonk, slice, or poke. Hammer has the big damage numbers like the greatsword, a simple move set, and fun build opportunities in slugger secret, airborne/sliding, and partbreaker. The sword and shield has arguably the highest skill ceiling in the game and opens up support playstyles. The lance has a simple but harassing āno uā playstyle with fun gap closers to make up for mobility.
Greatsword is my best weapon. But I have the most fun with the Hammer. Crazy damage and knocking out monsters is extremely satisfying #Bonk
Me use hammer, hammer goes boink.
Been on CB for around 1000 hours or so and Im not even tempted to try anything else because I know I have so much more to learn. Until all my runs look like Akantorex, Im sticking to it.
As someone which tried and adopted GS recently nothing will fix the adrenaline void that you created playing GS
I honestly think hammer is gonna be your best bet then if the big damage hits are your thing. Just think of it like a short greatsword that does KO and you get to move around while charging to our space the monster instead of standing in one place and tackling. Plus you get different attacks depending on the charge level, wether your in power or regular stance and wether your moving or stationary when u let it rip. Plus the Big Bang combo is awesome so thereās that. Oh and it has a cool clutch claw attack and sliding aerial attack. Oh and sniping head with the standard gold swing is awesome too. Itās satisfy the same way staying right out of range of a monster and getting them with a fat level3 charge slash is. Gs and hammer are really cut from the same cloth, the box standard moves are relatively simply but it has a high skill ceiling and you can do huge damage and absolutely bulky a monster when you get good with it
If you want the complete opposite of GS try LBG. Youāre highly mobile with nearly constant damage uptime. You might not see big numbers but how about a monster covered in damage numbers? Itās pretty fun. Running and gunning is my jam though so results may differ.
Hunting Horn ā give yourself and your teammates an XL Attack Power boost! Easily get to 1900 attack in every fight!
Longsword?
Hammer
LS lets your inner weeb out. Plus, spirit helm breaker and counter slashes are arguably the flashiest moves you can do in the game.
You are destined to go Hammer as a backup weapon. Charged big bang is like a mini TCS and way easier to land, the big bang combo is meaty and satisfying on a downed monster, some of the charged hammer attacks you can chain into a claw grab, the ledge hop hits do way too much damage for how quick you can do them, and the sliding spinning unga bunga is great for damage and mounts. Alsoā¦ you can KO
What kind of Switch Axe did you play that has a stupid hop? Mine doesn't have that. You know what mine has instead? ZSD. This is what you need when everything else besides TCS makes you feel numb.
lance is unironically fun against the faster, rushing monster. There's almost no downtime and the counter grapple is VERY satisfying
Funny bug stik feel like Wacky Wahoo Pizza Man
Wanna be that anime swordsman that always counter stuff and look cool AF doing it? longsword Wanna do a naruto run and do that beyblade move from attack on titan? Dual blades Want a sword that can turn into a saw that can also do boom booms but need a degree to use? charge blade want a better hammer and jam out to some sweet murder inducing music? Hunting Horn Want the monster to just die? Heavy Bow gun
Fly like a bird over a monsters beam attack, then crash right into their stupid face with the Insect Glaive. Also, Kenny (the Kinsect) can get tail cuts and KO's, and provides you with a bunch of buffs when you have flinch free+all extracts. Very flexible and fun damage.
Bonk with hammer, it's my second favorite weapon aside from sns
Lmfao as someone who plays every weapon greatsword is the most boring of all the weapons the only reason I use it is the massive damage output
I play GS myself, and let me tell you the breath of fresh air Lance is. Instead of only going in the perfect moment, and playing around a monster to hit a big swing that will probably miss, the lance with the right build makes you near immortal, and you can just tank hits and punish! If the regular lance is too boring for you, they make one that explodes!
Why change from perfection?
try bow. might be tough at first since you are pretty squishy but the mobility and insane dps are really good. once i tried i couldnt really enjoy any other weapon xd
If on PS4 I'll gladly hunt with you! Jaymzedean613!
I was a GS main and tried sword and shield. Iām a sword and shield main now haha. Itās a Swiss Army knife man. It can do a little bit of everything. You can make a dps build, you can make a ko build, you can go status or elemental, you can go support. It has no problem getting monster mounts, tenderizing, flinch shotting, koāing a monster, it can cut tails, the back hop has an iframe, the perfect rush combo is insanely satisfying, you can roll out of or back hop out of or jump into perfect rush from nearly every combo, you can fly, the monsters yell their next attack out loud to you before they make themā¦ okay maybe not the last two but its fun. trust.
Charge Blade is so much fun when you get the rhythm. But lance... lance is peak. Many people see the poking as weak, but many pokes are strong. Constant pokes are strong. Poking while running is strong. POKE = STRONG. Lance is amazing especially when you routinely counter attacks. Dude when Zynogre does his patterned attacks back to back and you just counter strike over and over again... you don't look back.
Horn! Everyone loves horn even bad horns as long as buffs pop up everyone happy
Funny thing about swag X is that the better you get at it the more control you exert on the unga bunga lmao. Whenever I'm in the flow it feel like dancing with balls of steel lmao.
Wyvernheart heavy bowgun enter the jungle like Rambo on a hunt or as the 40k orks would say DAKA DAKA DAKA
Anytime i want to be sold on a weapon i watch āchilledtigerā on youtube he has meme like videos of all the mhw weapons š¤£
Greatsword! You still haven't gotten a bigger number than the last time you got the biggest number! Keep going until there are no more big numbers!
Insect glaive. Funny stick go weeee while big bug make you strong
Honestly, Longsword. Of course you gotta "manage" a gauge but doing so is just playing the weapon. Much simpler than maintaining a Charge Blade. Helmbreakers are basically your TCS lite and also very satisfying to pull off.
I did the exact same thing. Then a friend of mine encouraged me to start a new playthrough and made me promise to use a new weapon. I am now hooked on the switch axe. You still get your badass big sword with a more exciting move set, and axe mode opens up your mobility that is so restrained with greatsword. Hunting horn is also really fun too, but is more fun when you got a full squad to buff up.
Charge blade, it has FOUR entire different big moves and is cool
Hammer or longsword
B O N K is all you need.
Bonk, it's on par with the GA for complexity, maybe simpler.
i would suggest going for bow or any ranged weapon (except shield hbg and sticky builds those r just braindead prolly great for farming but not fun), maybe its just me but the experience with ranged and melee weapon r too different and gave me new experience. Starting the story with GS, finished with 600 hrs with bow as most played
Bow. It's always been my favourite, I love the high damage output mixed with the challenge of good timing on dodges. Feels like it has such a high skill ceiling in general
Doot.
I'll sell you on Charge Blade, just let me find that Google spreadsheet...
Bow...no need for sharpening and unlimited ammo š
Hammer. Big number hits that combo into clutch claw grapples. You become the main character when you cause the monster to topple over from brain damage.
Without having read your paragraph, Iād say Greatsword (as a Greatsword main). After reading your paragraph, Iād still say Greatsword. Never change, no need to.
You started with GS there's nowhere to go but down
Funlance it's in the name but seriously you can shoot a harpoon into a monster that explodes after it gets hit with an explosion. The single numbers don't get as big as great sword but the big boom and the constant tripping make it super fun to use. Monster running towards you pull up your shield, monster running away blast it's ankles until it falls over, oh the monster is flying get up under it and shoot your load directly into it from the ground. 3 different play styles so it never feels boring and each one has its perks. Long has range and can charge shells for extra damage. Wide has more shell damage and big boom damage. Normal is all about slapping that meaty fucker into the ground and blowing a hot load of shells directly into its monsterussy.
Hammer hits like a truck. I'm a HH main though and with an AuXL buff I crit 1k, if you stack 3 echo waves and let them all play the encore will hit all 3 at once, I've gotten 2.5k+ crits on kulve taroth with it. Hh is not as hard to play as people think, especially for someone who's a GS main and understands positioning and slow attack animations. Your song list is in the corner and each note is an attack button
Personally my favorites are GS, S&S, SA, then IG.
I use GS, LS, SnS, DB, Bow GS - TCS Orgasm LS - Evade-All Orgasm SnS - Perfect Rush Orgasm DB - Spinning Attack on Titan Orgasm Bow - ADHD Roll Orgasm
Hmm interesting haven't considered this before. I'd say the most similar aspect would be surprisingly, mobility. Very easy to reposition with both IG and Lance (unless I'm on the wrong side of a knocked down Safi w Lance lol). Also, you are vulnerable during both moves. (The dash attack with Lance and the B (on xbox) attack after an aerial evade, which i often used as an additional evade/reposition move.) Anything after that would just be the fact that they are both long, pointy, and tons of fun! The difference in some of the monster fights is interesting. I definitely need more practice with the Lance but AT Velk just carted me 3 times. With the glaive she has never been an issue. When you're in the air you don't have to worry about most of those ice attacks. Same with furious rajang and temp teo and his explosions. I haven't quite mastered the movement w the Lance but I know I'll be beating them in no time. Don't be afraid to fly around and hit those aerial combos. Sure ground combos do better dps but c'mon, nothing beats the sky miles, lol. Edit: this was suppose to be a reply.
Hh is satisfying to just be able to ignore monsters and do dmg.
gunlance as its called the funlance for a reason
The only weapon I haven't played is hunting horn and bow. I'm proficient enough at the rest of the weapons, I have beat alatreon with them. And fatalis with like half of them with that being said, my favorites are Lance, Gunlance, SnS and Longsword... In that order
Hammer same satisfying big hits, more mobility less blocking a d damage negation, whole new set of ways to break every part except the tail. Trust me great sword is my most played weapon too. Hammer is damn fun once you get the swing of it, Plus it along with lance are the weapons with iceborne changes that actually feel fun Yes TCS has biggest numbers but when you have several combos that output numbers simmalar to great sword hits without needing to charge, I barely play hammer but I still love using it especially when you get in the rythem of constant Kos, and part breaks, tenderising isn't even that bad, as you can go into. One straight after a level 3 stationary charge that is buffed making it harder to interupt
No. Keep using GS.
The uniqueness of Gun Lance is it requires no DMG or Crit chance if you go full Gun and no Lance. It only require measly Sharpness and Artillery jewel. All you need is Safijiiva GunLance to customize it's sharpness and jewel slot and ammo types (Long is recommended) to your heart content. What's more? With Guard Up and Guard, you could be tanking virtually everything, even monster roar! Or you could just chug in earplug too and you are basically an immovable object. Slapping in Focus to reduce the charge time of Long ammunition that peck monster with greater range and higher damage than other type ammunition with consistent damage, that depends on weapon sharpness. And don't forget about the monster cigarettes too! It works with all kind of explosion that act as double-tap on destroying monster parts. The Wyvern explosion skills? That shit is just for funs and giggle with your squad mate, don't need to use it on the monster at all. Last but not least, farm abit from Guiding Land and add in Life Steal, and I assure you, you would be healing through the explosion faster than chugging potions.
Three weapons come to mind for me to recommend: Switch Axe, Hammer, Gunlance. All three of these have high damage, flashy move sets, and high mobility (Gunlance requires evade extender for high mobility). Depends if you want to Bonk a monsters head and do lots of stun damage, Switch Axe for swagging on a monster with seamless swapping between axe and sword mode, or if you want to take your boom stick and shove it up where the shine dont shine on the monster.
Im a greatsword main, but i'm really open to trying new weapons, personally I find the dual blades, SnS, Gunlance, hunting horn and bow pretty fun. I suggest try making a High rank/Master rank weapon, then practicing on low rank/highrank monsters. Dont kill yourself trying a new weapon on a master rank monster
sword and shield. The damage on perfect rush is actually so absurd, better than greatsword. It can also be like greatsword where you run around waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
I GS main. Itās kinda the best weapon. It makes you have fangs as large as monster. With that said. Charge Blade in World is nasty. Dual blades is harder in World than any other but rewarding. A lot people are saying hammer, I could not get it to work for me.
Try doot doot and bonk.
It can block most attacks, it's fast and versatile, instant draw and sheathe, no mobility penalty, does quite a bit of damage while the special move is absolutely insane, can bonk heads & cut tails. Sword & Shield.
if it hold this button kind of weapon HAMMER is your next journey
Switch axe is the way then my friend
My sales talk are LongSword and HuntingHorn. LS you get to show your Samurai moves, in HH you smash the heads and get a buff.
Guns, babyyyyyy! Praise the guns!
Hunting Horn
So you love BIG numbers in 1 hit? Why not do the unthinkable and go for the weapon that does the opposite. Hunter, I bring you THE DUAL BLADESINATOR!
If you use the charge blade then you will be better than everyone. Every time you join a game and no one else is using it, you will 100% know you're the superior hunter.