Monster Hunter Wilds Best Great Sword Build Guide

by

A comprehensive guide on crafting the optimal Great Sword setup in Monster Hunter World, covering essential Decorations, Talismans, and additional tips.

In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Great Sword stands out as the weapon type with the highest single-strike damage. Historically, it’s been a popular choice for players aiming for high Damage Per Second (DPS) in Monster Hunter games. With the addition of new features like Focus Strikes and Power Clash in MH Wilds, the Great Sword has also gained some agility, although this comes at the expense of its raw attack power.

In contrast to past Monster Hunter games, the True Charged Slash (TCS) of the Great Sword no longer deals the highest damage in its combo. Instead, TCS now works in tandem with the full Charged Slash combo. Consequently, canceling a Tackle into TCS isn’t as effective in Monster Hunter Worlds as it was in previous games.

With the ability to steer TCS (Twin Slasher Combo) towards any direction while using Focus Mode, you can amass significant damage in a single hit. This is especially effective when your build is tailored to capitalize on the Focus Strike mechanic. In this article, we will explore an exceptional Great Sword build suitable for Monster Hunter Wilds.

Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Overview

The Great Sword is simple to grasp initially, but it takes significant effort to truly excel with it. Unlike other weapons where memorizing combos can help you reach their full potential, mastering the Great Sword requires not only a deep understanding of your own weapon but also intimate knowledge of the monsters you’re facing.

With limited mobility, you won’t have numerous opportunities to strike effectively using the Great Sword. Therefore, it’s essential to know exactly when and where to attack. Additionally, the Great Sword offers solid defensive strategies through its Guard and Tackle combinations. Particularly noteworthy is the Guard, which has been significantly strengthened due to the addition of the Power Clash mechanic.

In a different context, tackling remains effective for canceling combos or serving as a shield against specific monster attacks, often referred to as “hyperarmor.” Although the Teostra Cannon Slash (TCS) has been significantly weakened in Monster Hunter Worlds, there are now more chances to perform TCS combinations. In fact, you can link several TCS combos in Monster Hunter Worlds, both following a Power Clash and a Focus Strike.

Here’s a look at the pros and cons of the Great Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds:

Pros Cons
Very high single-hit damage. Very low mobility.
Access to both Offset and Power Clash. Long combo strings with lengthy charge animation.
Effective with both Elemental and Raw damage types. Requires a lot of monster knowledge for better positioning.

Best Great Sword Build in Monster Hunter Wilds

This sword-building strategy emphasizes high Damage Per Second (DPS) and minimizing the gaps between charged attack sequences (TCS). Additionally, it incorporates decorations to boost the effectiveness of the newly introduced Focus Strike feature. In essence, this build aims to inflict numerous wounds and then profit from the Focus Strike to triple a knockdown, thereby providing frequent TCS access and dealing extra damage instantly.

Here’s a breakdown of the best Great Sword build in MH Wilds:

  • Weapon: Dusterstolz (Rarity 8, Gore Magala Tree)
  • Weapon Decorations:
    • Focus/Dragon Jewel [3]
    • KO Jewel II [2]
    • KO Jewel [1]
  • Armor: Full Arkvulkan (Arkveld) β set
  • Arkvulkan Helm β
    • Decorations:
      • Tenderizer Jewel [3]
      • Jumping Jewel [2]
      • Sheath Jewel [1]
  •  Arkvulcan Mail β
    • Decorations:
      • Tenderizer Jewel [3]
      • Destroyer Jewel [2]
  • Arkvulkan Vambraces β
    • Decorations:
      • Destroyer Jewel [2]
      • Destroyer Jewel [2]
      • Steadfast Jewel [1]
  • Arkvulkan Coil β
    • Decorations:
      • Steadfast Jewel [1]
      • Steadfast Jewel [1]
  • Arkvulkan Greaves β
    • Decorations:
      • Flayer Jewel [3]
      • Sheath Jewel [1]
  • Talisman: Defense Charm 4
  • Mantle: Rocksteady Mantle

Great Sword Build Skills

Here are the skills that you get access to with the best Great Sword build:

Equipment Skills

  • Critical Element: Level 3
  • Focus: Level 3
  • Slugger: Level 3
  • Dragon Attack: Level 1
  • Weakness Exploit: Level 5
  • Defense Boost: Level 4
  • Convert Element: Level 3
  • Stun Resistance: Level 3
  • Partbreaker: Level 3
  • Quick Sheathe: Level 3
  • Flayer: Level 1
  • Recovery Speed: Level 1
  • Evade Extender: Level 1

Set Bonus Skills

  • 2-set bonus active: Hasten Recovery I
  • 4-set bonus active: Hasten Recovery II

Group Skills

  • 3-set bonus active: Diversion

Great Sword Build Stats

Following are the raw stats for the best Great Sword build:

Attack Status

  • Attack: 1018
  • Affinity: 20%
  • Element: 440 (Dragon)

Defense Status

  • Defense: 424
  • Fire Res: 13
  • Water Res: 3
  • Thunder Res: -2
  • Ice Res: 3
  • Dragon Res: -12

Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Build Explained

The Great Sword build focuses on these primary factors:

  • Increased overall raw damage.
  • Faster charging speeds.
  • Higher damage on wounds.
  • Resistance to stun (for more efficient Tackles)

Let’s understand how all these factors come into play for the aforementioned Great Sword build:

Increased Raw Damage

In the latest Monster Hunter games from Capcom, despite some adjustments to the Elemental qualities of the Great Sword, it remains that Raw Damage reigns supreme. Just as in previous installments, the Great Sword excels at dishing out Raw Damage, and while you can incorporate Elemental aspects into your build, doing so is challenging, particularly after the TCS nerf. Our strategy, therefore, has been to emphasize the weapon’s raw damage capabilities. Moreover, Raw Damage is particularly potent when it comes to bringing down monsters, an area where the Great Sword truly outshines, especially with a Slugger Level 3 boost.

Faster Charging Speeds

The powerful strike from the Great Sword, known as a Charged Slash, inflicts a large amount of damage, regardless if it’s fully charged or part of a combo. However, charging this weapon isn’t something you can do quickly. Using the Charged Slash effectively often depends on your positioning, which requires practice and familiarity with each monster in the game. To speed up the slow charging times, we’ve included Focus Level 3 in the build.

With the Focus ability, you can swiftly build up charge for your attacks. This speed significantly boosts your efficiency when using TCS. Notably, when both Partbreaker and Slugger are activated, Focus becomes an indispensable asset.

Higher Bonus Damage on Wounds

Using the “Weakness Exploit” ability, the Great Sword will inflict extra damage on wounded enemies. The “Focus Strike” is our main method for dishing out both raw and KO damage to monsters with the Great Sword. To enhance this, we’ve incorporated both “Slugger” and “Weakness Exploit” into the build. Additionally, there’s a skill point in “Flayer”, which makes it simpler to inflict wounds on monsters. Wounds are also advantageous for dealing Elemental damage, as long as you can hit multiple wounds with a single Focus Strike.

Efficient Tackles

In the moveset of the Great Sword, Tackles are a common feature. Unlike in Monster Hunter World, these Tackles don’t possess stun resistance in MH Wilds. To address this problem, we’ve incorporated Stun Resistance Level 3 into the build. This not only renders the Hunter invulnerable to being stunned (even during Gypceros’ flashes), but it also enhances the effectiveness of Tackles.

How To Use the Best Great Sword Build in Monster Hunter Wilds

Here are some tips on how to use the best Great Sword build efficiently:

  • Since this build focuses on wound damage, your primary objective while using it would be to tenderize the monster as quickly as possible. The best way to do so right at the start of the fight is to mount the monster. Before you land a single hit on your target, use your Seikret to get close to the monster and perform a Jumping Slash attack while aiming your camera toward said monster. This allows you to mount the monster consistently. While you’re mounted, perform the weapon attacks to create wounds, and deal a ton of damage before the actual confrontation.
  • Try to stay close to the monster’s head, and use the Focus Mode to keep its weak points in sight. We aren’t focusing on Offset Attacks using this build simply because the timing for it can be a bit confusing, especially in the case of Tempered Monsters.
  • You can, however, use Guard quite extensively. It also works really well as a way to quickly transition into a TCS, courtesy of the Power Clash mechanic.
  • Make sure to use the Rocksteady Mantle whenever the monster is enraged. This allows you to negate the roars as well as ground tremors for a short while, letting you continue your Charged Slash combos without any interruptions.
  • Remember to carry Demon Power and the Armorskin with you, especially on Tempered Investigations. Since you’re always up close to the monster’s head, having additional Defense helps a lot.

Additional Tips For the Best Great Sword Build

In this specific build, we’ve opted for the Dusterstolz (Gore Magala) Great Sword due to its decent balance between raw damage, Dragon Elemental, and Affinity. However, feel free to swap it out with another weapon that suits your preference, as the build will still perform well. If you’re looking for alternatives, consider the Varianza (Dragon Elemental) or Stalwart Lamorak (Arkveld Great Sword). These weapons are outstanding choices, boasting high raw damage and numerous Decoration slots. For optimal results, use the Artian Weapons because they provide 3 Level-3 Decoration slots. Yet, using them isn’t mandatory as long as you have other Rarity 8 weapons at your disposal.

Looking For More?

Read More

2025-02-27 17:46