What is the best Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword build? This classic MH weapon is basically a giant katana, so it should be no surprise that it’s one of the most popular weapons for beginners and experts alike. We’ve put a ton of hours into mastering its moves to bring you the best build to hunt monsters.
The Long Sword is the best MH Wilds weapon for players who pride themselves on pulling off lengthy combos and counters. It’s received some fantastic changes in Monster Hunter Wilds, including a revamped Spirit Gauge mechanic for a more aggressive approach. Its extensive moveset and enormous skill ceiling can be pretty intimidating, so let us walk you through the best MH Wilds build for the Long Sword.
Best Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword build
The best build for the Long Sword is:
- Primary Weapon: Rompo Mytoxin (Long Sword)
- Secondary Weapon: Ajara Reverberator (Hunting Horn)
- Armor: Artian Helm A (Head), Kranodath Mail (Chest), Artian Vambraces, Dahaad Shardcoil A (Waist), Alloy Greaves A (Legs)
- Decorations: Critical Jewel, Expert Jewel, Venom Jewel, Defense Jewel, Protection Jewel, Destroyer Jewel
- Talisman: Chainblade Charm
- Mantle: Rocksteady Mantle
- Equipment Skills: Critical Boost, Critical Eye, Poison Attack, Flayer, Earplugs, Flinch Free, Partbreaker, Weakness Exploit, Quick Sheathe
The best Long Sword build harnesses the Rompo Mytoxin’s blend of raw and poison damage. The Power Prolonger weapon skill comes in at max level, extending the uptime of your crimson gauge for longer so you can choose the perfect time to perform Spinning Crimson Slash. Its white sharpness also eliminates whetstone downtime for all but the most arduous fights.
We’ve chosen the MH Wilds Hunting Horn as the best secondary weapon for the Long Sword due to its supportive buffs. The Ajara Reverberator’s Echo Bubble boosts movement speed and evasion within its area of effect, which certainly helps when you’re dashing in to pop a wound. Its Attack Up and Earplugs melodies are also indispensable to eke out every drop of damage and ensure you don’t get interrupted by a monster’s roar.
The Artian Helm A also comes with Earplugs, but Flayer is its main appeal. This skill makes it easier to inflict wounds, and popping them is a quickfire way to cycle through the Long Sword gauges without lengthy combos. This follows through to the Artian Vambraces, which come with bonus Blight Resistance for survivability.
Weakness Exploit is a fantastic skill for the Long Sword, and Dahaad Shardcoil A brings it to the table with a dash of Tremor Resistance to keep your footing with the beefiest monsters. Kranodath Mail lets you take advantage of those wounds to break parts quickly. We round off our armor set with Alloy Greaves for its Quick Sheathe skill to accommodate quick counters, the Chainblade Charm for a final tick of Flayer, and the Rocksteady Mantle for damage absorption.
Aside from poison-resistant monsters, the Rompo Mytoxin’s main drawback is its low affinity. We’ve mitigated by socketing Expert Jewel to increase your crit chance with every hit; Critical Jewel slots in alongside it for a damage bonus every time that crit lands. The final slot goes to Venom Jewel for a handy boost to your poison buildup.
This brings a lot of power to the table, but it also leaves you quite squishy. We’ve also gone for the Defense Jewel and Protection Jewel for even more damage reduction, particularly given the Long Sword’s inability to guard. The Destroyer Jewel also brings bonus part-breaking if that’s to your taste.
How to use the Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword
True to its name, the Long Sword is long. It might not have the range of a MH Wilds Bow, but it’s an exceptional poke stick with enough mobility to let you dodge in and out of close-quarters combat. However, to master the Long Sword you first need to master its Spirit Gauge.
Represented as an hollow blade below your stamina, the Spirit Gauge has three levels to reach its full potential. Begin with your basic attacks to fill it, then use your Spirit Blade combo to execute Spirit Roundslash and move up a gauge level. Once the gauge turns red, you have access to crimson attacks, which are faster and more powerful.
While most Spirit Blade attacks expend the gauge, Spirit Roundslash will be your go-to move to replenish it, ensuring you stay empowered for longer. You can also time your Iai Spirit Slash to counter an attacking monster; a successful counter raises the gauge.
Iai moves are powerful and can help you max out your Spirit Gauge in a short amount of time. However, they also demand enough experience to anticipate an attack. Once you’re familiar with a specific monster’s moveset, start to incorporate Spirit Charge into your rotation. This stance has a long charge to contend with, but it gives you immediate access to your most powerful Spirit attacks.
The Monster Hunter Wilds focus mode grants the Long Sword even more precision, letting you aim thrust attacks to exploit wounds and weak points. Take advantage of Spirit Helm Breaker for some welcome verticality, and follow it up with the Spirit Release Slash to knock your foe off-balance.
The Long Sword isn’t able to guard against monster attacks, which makes it a high-risk, high-reward weapon. It has decent mobility, and you always have access to the built-in dodge attached to the Foresight Slash and Lateral Fade Slash if you can’t reliably land a counter.
Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword moveset
Here are all the moves and combos for the Long Sword:
- Overhead Slash: A vertical chop that can be chained up to two times, with an optional follow-up horizontal Crescent Slash.
- Crimson Slash: A powerful alternate attack to Overhead Slash, only available with a fully charged Spirit Gauge.
- Thrust: A forward jab with an optional Rising Slash follow-up attack.
- Lateral Fade Slash: A diagonal slash and quick dodge to the left.
- Spirit Step Slash: A transitional attack that lets you jump from Lateral Fade Slash to Spirit Blade III.
- Spirit Blade: Expend your Spirit Gauge to perform a powerful sequence of aggressive slashes.
- Spirit Roundslash: The last attack in the Spirit Blade combo. Successfully landing this attack increases the Spirit Gauge by one.
- Foresight Slash: A backward dodge followed by a rapid forward strike.
- Special Sheathe: A preparatory stance that grants you access to Iai moves.
- Iai Slash: Two quick forward slashes that slowly replenish the Spirit Gauge.
- Iai Spirit Slash: An aggressive whirling attack that can transition into Spirit Roundslash.
- Spinning Crimson Slash: A powerful forward leap attack after performing a Spirit Blade combo that’s only available with a fully charged Spirit Gauge.
- Spirit Thrust: A charging thrust attack that you can chain into a Spirit Helm Breaker.
- Spirit Release Slash: A spinning follow-up to the Spirit Helm Breaker that can hit at mid-range. This consumes two Spirit Gauge levels, but a successful hit refills it.
- Spirit Charge: Fills the Spirit Gauge to access Spirit Blade III and Spirit Roundslash after a short delay.
- Focus Strike – Unbound Thrust: A powerful forward thrust effective against wounds or weak points with an optional finisher.
With the best Monster Hunter Wilds Long Sword build equipped, get set for your next hunt with our list of all the MH Wilds monsters. We’ve also got comprehensive builds for the MH Wilds Lance and MH Wilds Sword and Shield if you can’t get enough of melee combat, or you can get to grips with the MH Wilds Light Bowgun for something completely different.