Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak takes the expansive roster of weapons in Monster Hunter to even greater heights with the addition of new Switch Skills, gameplay mechanics, and spectacular end-game monster hunts.
With the revamped Master Rank expansion, Monster Hunter veterans and fresher hunters alike may feel overwhelmed navigating all 14 weapons to find their true calling. Every weapon caters to a unique playstyle – whether that means unleashing devastating bursts of damage, countering monster attacks with split-second reaction times, inflicting debilitating status ailments, or keeping your allies buffed along the way.
This comprehensive guide breaks down optimized end-game builds for all weapons in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak to push your hunting prowess to its peak performance.
Great Sword – A Powerhouse Of Devastating Damage
The Great Sword remains a powerful option for hunters who want to turn monsters into titanslaying weapons themselves. However, the sheer weight of your giant slab of metal makes precision a priority. Miss a charged slash or tackle and you may open yourself to be trampled over.
Recommended Great Sword: Royal Order+
Key Skills: Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Attack Boost
This Rathalos-tree Great Sword hits white sharpness at Handicraft 2 and has excellent base affinity to work with for devastating critical draw builds. Paired with the right skills, expect charged slash attacks dealing upwards of 1,000+ damage.
Disclaimer: Damage thresholds depend on hitzone values
Prioritize landing fully-charged slashes on monster weak points by studying their movements and patterns carefully. Tackle through attacks when possible to cancel into True Charged Slashes seamlessly.
Longsword – Gracefully Slay Monsters With Elegant Blade Work
The Longsword continues to be a popular option, offering some of the best 1-on-1 skirmishing capabilities against monsters in solo and co-op hunts alike. Mastering the unique Spirit Blade mechanics unlocks exceptional mobility, fluid combos, and rewarding counterattack options.
Recommended Longsword: Abyssal Flicker
Key Skills: Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Resentment
Soar through the skies and reap critical hits gallore with the Abyssal Flicker as your unsheathed dance partner. Augmenting your Spirit Gauge enables spectacular Spirit Helm Breaker finishes. The key lies in carefully studying monster attack patterns to know when to seamlessly transition from combo aggression to Silkbind counters. Maintain peak damage uptime by keeping your Spirit Gauge charged red.
Alongside damage-oriented skills, the Resentment + Dereliction combination enables you to use health loss as a resource. Just be wary of incoming attacks, as you sacrifice defense for intense offense.
Sword & Shield – Barrel Through With Barroth
The unassuming Sword & Shield weapon class boasts incredible Raw damage capabilities with the right build while retaining versatile mobility both on the ground and in the air. Don‘t be fooled by its innocuous looks – rapid-fire Element Discharge finishers inflict KO status with impunity.
Recommended Sword & Shield: Royal Order‘s Sword+
Key Skills: Critical Eye, Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Offensive Guard
Though written off as a beginner weapon by some, the Sword & Shield‘s flexible moveset enables both offensive and supportive capabilities in equal spades. Don‘t sleep on the Royal Order‘s Sword+ – boasting white sharpness, 10% affinity, and one of the highest Raw damages for any Sword & Shield option in Sunbreak.
Backstepping through attacks to proc Offensive Guard rewards you with significant attack bonuses on your next hits. Paired with loopable perfect rush combos, monsters will collapse in no time. Stick to weak points as much as possible to fuel the carnage.
Charge Blade – Master An Complex Arsenal
Of all the weapon categories in Monster Hunter Rise, none come close to the Charge Blade in terms of mechanical complexity. However, those brave enough to dedicate themselves to mastering the Morphing Ax will unlock one of the most versatile and explosive weapons around. Just beware of sharpness management.
Recommended Charge Blade: Kamura‘s Fine C. Blade
Key Skills: Rapid Morph, Artillery, Load Shells, Guard
Transforming between axe and sword modes, making use of Phials to charge the Shield and Sword, and unleashing Elemental Discharges takes attentive focus. Lean into Morphing Advance and Counter Peak Performance to close gaps and guard against attacks seamlessly.
The Kamura‘s Fine C. Blade provides excellent base blue sharpness alongside Impact Phial explosions. Make sure to pack materials to craft additional Phials during longer hunts. Sliding off ledges into an Amped Element Discharge will detonate monsters prone on the ground.
Swap Between Damage Modes With Switch Axe
For hunters who want best of both worlds between heavy hits and quick flurries, the Switch Axe offers two distinct forms. Just beware draining your sword gauge too quickly, or you may be left exposed lining up Zero Sum Discharge finishers.
Recommended Switch Axe: Abyssal Torrent
Key Skills: Rapid Morph, Power Prolonger, Evade Extender
The two modes of Switch Axe cater to wildly different situations. Power Axe mode features slower but tremendously heavy attacks; while Sword mode provides quicker mobility at the cost of lower damage.
Morphing between both forms quickly is key, paired with sidesteps and rolls to reposition using Evade Extender. Entry attacks like the Morphing Advance excel for closing gaps and initiating combos. Lean into Elemental Burst counters to punish overcommittal.
Just don‘t get too trigger happy unloading Zero Sum Elemental Discharges, no matter how tempting landing the full Big Bang combo may be. You‘ll drain your sword gauge quickly, leaving you vulnerable recharging it.
Bow – Dodgebolt Through The Skies
Bow remains arguably the best pure damage ranged weapon thanks to charging mechanics adding layers of complexity behind wounding weakspots from safe distances. Just be sure to bring materials to craft additional coatings and ammo to avoid running dry mid-hunt.
Recommended Bow: Araknabuster+
Key Skills: Constitution, Stamina Surge, Normal/Rapid Up, Element Attack
The addition of Dodgebolt in Sunbreak takes Bow to even greater soaring heights, offering unreal mobility and stamina management to dart around the battlefield. Arc shots enable hitting of hard to reach regions like wings and tails when aimed properly alongside racking up mounting status.
As with all ranged weapons, maintaining critical distance is critical to maximize damage potential. Bring materials to craft additional Power Coatings – don‘t expect Close Range Coating to net you significant rewards.
Elementally-aligned Bows can also enable rampant critical elemental damage when striking precise hitzones. Just beware the stamina drain per shot adds up quickly even with Constitution skills. Manage dash dancing carefully between Power Shot volleys.
Gunlance Offers Explosive Fun
Let sleeping wyverns lie… and then explode them with the volatility of Gunlance. The ability to use shells offers unique gameplay compared to traditional Blademaster weapons. Just know that shelling damage doesn‘t scale with raw attack.
Recommended Gunlance: Scissor Cannon
Key Skills: Artillery, Guard, Guard Up, Razor Sharp
Trading overall mobility for sheer explosiveness, the Gunlance offers tremendously fun and fiery hunts…quite literally. While Full Burst combos dish out pain in spades, be mindful of burning through sharpness quickly.
Quickly follow up shield blocks into charged shots, and time Guard Edges properly to minimize sharpness loss. Tackle out of lengthy animations when possible as well. Nothing quite beats using Hail Cutter silkbinds to close gaps and blow away monsters with the Wyvern‘s Fire finisher either.
Conclusion
With 14 dramatically diverse weapons encompassing ranged, melee, explosive, elemental, statuses, and more playstyles, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak‘s armory continues to prove that variety breeds mastery. Hopefully these optimized late-game builds for each weapon class will help both seasoned veterans and intrepid apprentices alike rise up against the apex monsters that await!
The journey only deepens from here. Soon the mysterious Anomaly hunts will challenge everything hunters thought they knew about their favorite weapons and monsters thus far. Though the road proves long and arduous, take heart that you need not walk it alone.
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