Sunbreak Weapon Tier List (October 2022) | Monster Hunter Rise

This is our updated tier list rankings for all weapons in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise): Sunbreak as of October 2022. We've taken the recent changes from Title Update 2 into account, so read on to know the best weapons to use in the current version of the game, and why they're at the top and bottom of the tier list!

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Sunbreak Weapon Tier List

We are currently evaluating weapons for Title Update 3! Please check back later for updates!

Let us know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

▼ Check out the Tier Changes here! ▼

Click on the weapon's icon to see its full evaluation!

Builds and Best Armor for Each Weapon

Tier List Criteria

The Game8 team considers the four factors below during the creation and update of this Tier List. Take note that this tier list is extremely subjective based on our experience playing the game.

① Balance Between Ease of Use and Power Please do note that no weapon is weak - when given enough practice and love, all fourteen weapons can shine. However, some weapons are just very easy to get into while maintaining high damage output. For starters, the weapons in the SS Tier are quite easy to learn plus can dish out tons of damage!

② Overall Kit Synergy With all Switch Skills introduced and basically the whole kit of a weapon finalized, one of the criteria for this tier list is weapon kit synergy. There are certain weapons that has great kit synergy that enables them to perform exceptionally and that affects their placement in this tier list.

③ Improvements in Sunbreak & Title Updates One more criterion we considered is the weapon's improvements in the expansion and subsequent title updates. Some weapon may have received game-changing improvements either from balance patches or new armor sets & skills.

④ Overall Fit in the Current Meta Lastly, we would consider how a weapon performs in the currently set meta and how it maximizes the weapon to be above all else.

Tier List Changes (October 2022)

Title Update 2 Changes

Sunbreak's Title Update 2 has brought us new skills to play with and incorporate in our weapon builds, but after a thorough look, we have come to a conclusion that our weapon tier list will have the same placements and not receive any changes.

The reasoning behind this is that the second Title Update has pushed for the use of poison weapons thanks to the introduction of the skill Buildup Boost.

The weapons that synergize well with the current poison meta are also the same weapons which took the center stage during Title Update 1, where weapons with elements were dominant.

Additionally, elemental builds are still viable in the current version of the game, and we still recommend using those if the monster you are against resists poison.

Sunbreak Best Builds

Title Update 1 Changes

Weapon	Summary
Dual Blades	to SS ・Dual Blades benefits greatly from the elemental damage meta we have now. ・3 of the 4 new armors introduced in Title Update 1 (Silver Rathalos, Gold Rathian, and Lucent Nargacuga armors) are viable options for this weapon. ・Really effective at popping qurio spots against Afflicted Monsters as it can either go ham on the ground or fly up in the air.
Lance	to A ・Lance has proven to be a great weapon to use because of its buffs in Sunbreak. ・Insta-Block has proven to be a great tool against difficult monsters in Master Rank. With the added leniency of the counter window in Sunbreak, Lance now has another counter that do not cost wirebugs. ・Shield Tackle and Guard Dash keeps Hunters safe while also dealing damage. ・Shield Bash most especially resets the Lance's combos quick enough to increase Lance's overall DPS.
Light Bowgun	to SS ・Like the Dual Blades, Light Bowgun has benefitted greatly from the elemental damage meta we have today. ・With the game pivoting more on adding higher difficulty Afflicted Monsters, bowguns are more important than ever especially in focusing on qurio spots for easy popping. ・It is also generally more mobile that its clunkier sibling, the Heavy Bowgun, which gives players more leeway especially against high level monsters that can OHKO gunners.
Heavy Bowgun	to S ・Like the Dual Blades and the Light Bowgun, HBG also benefits greatly from the elemental damage meta we have right now. ・Setting Sun and Rising Moon are great DPS boosting tools for all bullets, even from other bowguns - light or heavy. ・It deals more damage than the Light Bowgun, but is relatively more clunky and vulnerable than the LBG.
Bow	to S ・This weapon also benefits from the elemental damage meta we have right now. ・The Bow has access to Dodgebolt, a free to use parry move that players can use to absorb heavy hits. ・It is also very mobile and can deal targeted damage especially on qurio spots around Afflicted Monsters' bodies.
Gunlance	to A ・The Gunlance, while explosive, relies too heavily on wirebugs / silkbind attacks to dish tons of damage. This hinders the players to maximize the weapon without Wirebug Whisperer. ・it also doesn't benefit from the elemental damage meta at all. Combined with its clunky nature, solidifies its drop to A.
Hunting Horn	to A ・The Hunting Horn is one of those weapons that do not benefit greatly from the elemental damage meta we have today. ・We decided to put it together with the Hammer because it is imperative that HH users stay on the head, making it unreliable against Afflicted Monsters where you need to pop qurio spots around their body during a hunt.
Switch Axe	to S ・Switch Axe is a great weapon to use, but to maximize the damage you have to use Power Phials. This requires a "counter-fishing" playstyle that needs a high level of skill to pull of consistently. ・The Elemental Burst Counter is also a lot harder to pull off than the counters of other weapons like that of the Charge Blade. Not to mention it costs two wirebugs to use, easily eating up all your wirebugs if you're not carrying 3 of them and not have Wirebug Whisperer.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

B Tier Removed

After careful deliberation, we have removed the B Tier! No weapon fit this category anymore so we decided to phase it out completely.

SS Tier Weapon List

Jump to a Tier!
SS Tier	S Tier	A Tier
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Long Sword

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Long Sword Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Additional Sunbreak Switch Skills synergy is top notch Additional counterattack opportunity with Tempered Spirit Blade Harvest Moon creates a pseudo-arena that deals additional hits Sacred Sheath Combo deals an insane amount of damage Skill Swap enables shifting between Spirit Gauge gain and expend moves.

Top Notch Sunbreak Kit Synergy

The number one reason for Long Sword's high placement even with the nerf it received in Update 10.0 is its amazing kit synergy. All its Switch Skills are viable in the game and can be used to further improve its performance. With the introduction of Skill Swap, Long Sword mains can go ham with this weapon!

More Counterattack with Tempered Spirit Blade

Tempered Spirit Blade when used properly is an instant counter move that increases the Spirit Gauge level. This helps Long Sword users increase their Spirit Gauge as fast as possible for better damage scaling.

Harvest Moon Deals Increased Damage

The addition of Harvest Moon gave Long Sword users an arena that enables all counterattacks to deal extra damage. With how many counterattacks / parries this weapon has, it definitely would not disappoint.

Sacred Sheathe Combo Deals an Insane Amount of Damage

Not only does Sacred Sheathe Combo has a small counter window at the start, it also enables Long Sword users to expend all the Spirit Gauge levels and charge their Long Swords to deal insane damage. With the proper build, Long Swords can reach Great Sword levels of damage with this move!

Skill Swap is Really Effective for the Long Sword

The addition of Skill Swap enables the Long Sword users to freely switch between two Switch Skill loadouts. Usually, they're between Spirit Gauge level gain moves and level expend moves.

For example, Long Sword users have to choose between Silkbind Sakura Slash (gain move) and Soaring Kick (expend move) - but now they can easily Skill Swap between both of them to shuffle between gains and expend dealing damage more effectively.

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Great Sword

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Great Sword Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Additional counterattack move with Strongarm Stance True Charged Slash is easier to achieve True Charged Slash buffed Surge Slash Combo revived Unsheathing GS gamplay Increased mobility with Backslide

Counterattack with Strongarm Stance

One of the greatest addition to the Great Sword, Strongarm Stance enables Great Sword users to effectively counterattack an enemy move instantly with a charged attack.

Not only does it provide a window of opportunity though - when using this move while charging, it goes straight to True Charged Slash making it the fastest way to reach that powerful attack.

True Charged Slash is Easier to Achieve

With the addition of Strongarm Stance, True Charge Slash is even easier to achieve! This gives the Great Sword a significant performance upgrade from what it was in base MHRise.

True Charged Slash Was Buffed

Not only did they make reaching True Charged Slash easier to achieve, but its damage was also buffed in Update 10.0 as well! This factored into its high placement in the tier list.

Surge Slash Combo Revived Unsheathing GS Gameplay

Aside from Strongarm Stance, the addition of Surge Slash Combo enabled Great Sword users to revert to the safe, unsheathing Great Sword gameplay from the old games, albeit significantly upgraded.

Surge Slash Combo does not deal damage like the original Charged Slashes, but it makes up for its quick actions. This makes it effective in dealing with small bursts of damage while giving Hunters time to reposition. With how much damage Master Rank monsters deal, this is a highly effective playstyle.

Increased Mobility with Backslide

The addition of Backslide is a godsend for Charging Great Sword-style users. Not only does this give the Hunter a short dash for repositioning, it also retains your charge levels making it really effective for repositioning.

This increase in mobility helped with Great Sword's long-standing problem: mobility.

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Light Bowgun

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Light Bowgun Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Nerf in Sticky and Slicing Ammo Sticky / Slicing Ammo management with Tune Up Critical Firepower is awesome Improved mobility with new Silkbind changes Benefits from the elemental damage meta

Nerf with Sticky and Slicing Ammo

There is no denying it: the nerf on Sticky and Slicing ammo generally decreased the LBG's firepower in Sunbreak.

Update 10.0 brought a decrease in damage and increase in recoil for both ammo. Additionally, stun values for Sticky Ammo are also decreased. This affected LBG's top-tier status back then and caused it to drop rankings in Sunbreak.

Nerf Management with Tune Up

The nerf on Sticky/Slicing can be managed with the new Tune Up skill though. Tune Up basically improves the effectiveness of LBG modifications to mitigate and lessen the impact of the nerf.

Also, the fact that you have to invest on Tune Up to mitigate said nerf just goes to show that those ammo types are overtuned in the base game.

Critical Firepower is Awesome

The addition of Critical Firepower is a great addition to the LBG. It basically shortens your critical distance BUT increases your damage output. Always be ready with your mobility silkbind moves cause you're more susceptible to damage at this distance.

Improved Mobility with New Silkbind Changes

Various silkbind attacks were also buffed in Update 10.0 to further promote mobility.

Silkbind Glide wirebug cost was reduced to 1 but has slower wirebug regen time. The addition of Wyvern Counter also acts as a safety net for when you need to quickly create a gap between you and the monster.

Benefits From the Elemental Damage Meta

Light Bowgun is just too good as of Title Update 1 and with the new elemental meta shaping up, the Light Bowgun is now a top weapon! It deals an insane amount of damage as well as great against afflicted monsters!

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Dual Blades

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Dual Blades Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Spiral Slash is a great burst option Slide Slash Combo provides increased mobility and repositioning mid-combo Ironshine Silk helps with sharpness management, but is hard to use Benefits GREATLY from the elemental damage meta

Spiral Slash is a Great Burst Option

Spiral Slash provides press-when-ready burst damage whenever there's an opening for any monster. It deals tons of damage that can break parts since it concentrates multiple hits in one location.

The only caveat with this skill is its difficulty in execution. Some monsters move a lot so you're stuck with using this on a high-area monster body part like the head. It also only sticks on weak parts so you're limited to where to use this move.

Side Slash Combo Improved Mobility and Reposition Mid-Combo

This new move provides an option for the Dual Blades user to reposition even if they're mid-combo. This helps immensely since DB users need to achieve a high combo count to deal damage efficiently.

Ironshine Silk Helps with Sharpness Management, but Hard to Use

Since Dual Blades hits a lot of times, it eats up your sharpness bar like crazy. The addition of Ironshine Silk gives Dual Blades users an option to regenerate sharpness as they execute near-miss evasions.

This is pretty hard to execute though as you need to have a high level of iframe awareness or invest on Evade Window to increase iframe. With how Evade Extender is a generally stronger skill in Sunbreak, trying to gem in Evade Window in your builds for this alone is counterproductive.

Benefits GREATLY From the Elemental Damage Meta

The Dual Blades has always been the the elemental master compared to all the weapons in the game, and with the meta shifting more to elemental damage, Dual Blades shone really bright in Title Update 1.

New Armors Are Built for Dual Blades

Almost all the new armors have parts that can greatly improve Dual Blades' performance. Want to go full elemental? Explore builds around Silver Rathalos' Silver Sol Armor. Status is the way to go? Try out Golden Lune from Gold Rathian!

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S Tier Weapons List

Jump to a Tier!
SS Tier	S Tier	A Tier
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Switch Axe

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Switch Axe Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

New counterattack move Instantly charge your amp gauge Mobility option with Wire Step Charge both the switch gauge and the amp gauge with 2-Stage Morph Slash Combo

New Counterattack Move: Elemental Burst Counter

Capcom has finally added a much-needed counterattack move for the Switch Axe: the Elemental Burst Counter! Not only does this counter all incoming moves, it also fill-up your Amp Gauge immediately making it a staple for hard-filling phial Switch Axe like Power Phial Switch Axes!

It does not come with its own caveat though: it costs two Wirebugs to operate and quite hard to execute. You have to prime your Switch Axe first then time the counter with another button input like the Long Sword's Special Sheathe Combo. It's not the instant counter that you might be thinking so don't use it mid-combo unless you're confident you can pull it off.

Instantly Charge your Amp Gauge

As mentioned above, Elemental Burst Counter provides an easy way to maximize your Amp Gauge. It can even counter roars so you can have a full Amp Gauge at the start of every hunt. Partner this with Power Prolonger Lv. 3 and you'll have an almost 100% uptime for your Amp Gauge for the whole hunt.

Increased Mobility with Wire Step

Not only did Switch Axe gain a counterattack opportunity, but it also received a robust repositioning move in Wire Step that has a huge invulnerability window at the start. This saves you from overcommitting close to a monster and saves you a ton of carts.

Charge Both Gauges with 2-Staged Morph Slash Combo

2-Staged Morph Slash Combo introduced a way to gain switch and amp gauge quickly even from Axe Mode. This saves Switch Axe users a ton of time trying to maintain Switch Gauge so as not to be stuck in that reload animation consistently.

With this, hunters can have the option of not using Switch Charger as a charging tool for the Switch gauge.

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Charge Blade

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Charge Blade Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Ultra Element Discharge hitzone has been fixed New mobility option with Air Dash Chain Crit scales well with Condensed Spinning Slash Ready Stance is a great attack blocking tool Versatile Phial-based Switch Skills

Ultra Element Discharge Hitzone is Finally Fixed

With Update 10.0, the hitzone for the Ultra Element Discharge is finally fixed.

The height of the hitbox has been boosted significantly so that it can now hit hovering monsters. It is now way easier to hit.

New Mobility Option with Air Dash

Air Dash offers a great way to execute an aerial attack on an enemy while at the same time having the option to retreat if needed. Couple this with Condensed Spinning Slash and you'll get a very mobile pizza cutter weapon that deals a lot of tick damage.

Chain Crit Scales Well with Condensed Spinning Slash

With how Condensed Spinning Slash deals multiple hits in a single swing, it works perfectly well with Chain Crit that increases both attack and elemental attack after multiple successive hits.

This makes the Charge Blade a damage machine that can topple any monster it can lay its blades on.

Ready Stance is a Great Attack Blocking Tool

Ready Stance gives charge blade users the ability to block at a moment's notice from most positions. It may not have the phial charging capabilities counter peak performance, but it's a nice alternative for those who prefer Condensed Spinning Slashes over Element Discharges.

Versatile Phial-based Switch Skills

Charge Blade also got a variety of choices when it comes to Phial-based attack Switch Skills. The introduction of Firing Pin gives users the option to accumulate energy on the monster and not on the weapon that can be later on detonated for big damage.

This gives the Charge Blade user a versatile option on what gameplay they want, which is always a welcome addition.

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Insect Glaive

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A - B) 3 Level Tier

All Insect Glaive Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds
Best Kinsects and How to Upgrade Them

New Kinsect Bonuses are great More ways to open up aerial attacks Kinsect Slash is great to reposition and get extracts One big burst from Awakened Kinsect Attack

New Kinsect Bonuses are Great

Capcom opens up with new types of Kinsect Bonuses for the Insect Glaive: Powder Vortex, Boosted Powder Extract, and Kinsect Charge.

Powder Vortex for example, enables Hunters to concentrate powder particles into a single vortex and detonate them for huge damage. Kinsect Charge essentially gives your Kinsect the ability to attack autonomously even if it's not with you.

These great additions give the Insect Glaive additional choices on how they want to battle along with their trusty Kinsect.

More Ways to Open up Aerial Attacks

in addition to improvements for the Kinsect, some moves add aerial attack initiation for the Glaive. Kinsect Glide essentially pulls you to the desired section on the monster - where you can start your aerial Insect Glaive combo.

Kinsect Slash is Good for Extract Harvesting and Repositioning

Not only did Insect Glaive receive new initiation moves, they also gave it a mid-flight combo mobility tool in Kinsect Slash. What's more, this also absorbs extract so it's a win-win!

Awakened Kinsect Slash as a Huge Burst Damage Option

When your extract is about to expire, Awakened Kinsect Slash is Silkbind Attack that Hunters can use to deal damage.

This move consumes all extracts and is more powerful when you have multiple so it's perfect as a last-ditch effort to deal damage before your extract effect expires.

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Heavy Bowgun

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Heavy Bowgun Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Nerf on Sticky, Cluster, and Slicing Ammo Ammo Nerfs can be Managed with Tune Up Crouching Shot is Restrictive New Silkbinds Did Not Promote Mobility Benefits from the elemental damage meta

Nerf Sticky, Cluster, and Slicing Ammo

Like the Light Bowgun, the Heavy Bowgun suffered greatly with the sticky, cluster, and slicing ammo nerfs in Update 10.0.

Not only was the damage decreased, but the recoil was increased as well. It can be mitigated by certain armor skills in Sunbreak but you can feel the difference in firepower from Base Rise.

Ammo Nerfs Can Be Managed with Tune Up

On the bright side though, the ammo nerfs introduced can be managed with the new armor skill Tune Up. It increases the effectiveness of mods installed on your Heavy Bowgun so you mitigate and lessen the impact of the nerfs.

Also, the fact that you have to invest on Tune Up to mitigate said nerf just goes to show that those ammo types are overtuned in the base game.

Crouching Shot is Restrictive

The new silkbind attack Crouching Shot enables you to stay stationary and shoot a flurry of shots from your Heavy Bowgun while managing an overheat meter.

This silkbind attack is awesome and can deal a great amount of damage, but the management for the skill (not being able to move while doing it and keeping the overheat meter in check) is very restrictive. It's like the negatives of the skill overpowered the positives greatly.

New Silkbinds Did Not Promote Mobility

In addition, the new silkbind attack for the Heavy Bowgun did not provide any mobility at all.

Setting Sun and Rising Moon was great but it requires you to shoot inside the circle further limiting your aiming and positioning further. With how monsters in Sunbreak were generally more mobile, these skills are hard to manage.

Benefits From the Elemental Damage Meta

Heavy Bowgun is deals a lot of damage as of Title Update 1 and with the new elemental meta shaping up, the Heavy Bowgun can perform thru sheer damage alone! It deals an insane amount of damage as well as great against afflicted monsters!

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Bow

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Bow Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Charge Level 3 and 4 were nerfed New silkbind move feels lacking Bolt Boost is risky, but powerful New Bow Charge Plus decoration make builds making easier Some Bows Have Inherent Charge Level 4 in Sunbreak

Charge Level 3 and 4 Were Nerfed

The biggest reason why the Bow was bumped down from S to A is a huge nerf on the Level 3 and Level 4 charge in the recent Update 10.0 balance patch for Sunbreak. This translates to an overall DPS decrease for the Bow since all Bow users maintain their Level 3/4 charges 100% of the time for maximum damage.

New Switch Skills Feels Lacking

Besides Bolt Boost, the addition of Butcher's Bind and Stake Thrust is underwhelming.

Butcher's Bind only gives the Bow capabilities to cut tails whenever you hit the bound spot. Stake Thrust requires the player to go near a monster to stab the stake - effectively exposing yourself to hits.

These new additions are welcome yes, but don't make up for the huge nerf the Bow received from the balance patch.

Bolt Boost is Risky, but Powerful

Bolt Boost shortens the critical distance to boost your damage while in Super Critical Range. Unless you're using Dodgebolt lowering your distance toward the monster increases your likelihood of getting hit by powerful attacks. This skill is great, but not with equally great risks.

New Bow Charge Plus Decoration Makes Builds Making Easier

Rejoice Bow users! With the addition of the Bow Charge Plus decoration, you are not stuck on using the Mighty Bow Feather as your headpiece!

It's a Level 4 Jewel though so it still requires the same level of socket but would make the builds much easier to make!

Some Bows Have Inherent Charge Level 4 in Sunbreak

In addition to Bow Charge Plus having a decoration in Sunbreak, some great good bows already have inherent Charge Level 4 even without the Bow Charge Plus skill. This opens up builds variety and widens the pool viable early to endgame builds!

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A Tier Weapon List

Jump to a Tier!
SS Tier	S Tier	A Tier
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Hunting Horn

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Hunting Horn Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds
Songs and Effects

Crazy burst damage from Sonic Bloom Sharpness Melody maintains sharpness for the whole team Doot Range Rampage Decoration helps in spreading the effects More Mobility with Swing Combo

Burst Damage from Sonic Bloom

Sonic Bloom offers a way to deal burst damage while playing melodies on your Hunting Horn. It is crazy good when used to wake-up monsters to get that sweet wake-up damage multiplier.

What's more, you can leave this in front of a toppled monster and play your notes. Eventually, the bloom will pop dealing massive damage for free. Hunting Horn just keeps getting better in Sunbreak.

Sharpness Melody Maintains Sharpness for the Whole Team

One of the key points for Hunting Horn maintaining this high spot is the Sharpness Melody. This new Hunting Horn melody is found on multiple weapons in Sunbreak and can regenerate sharpness not just for yourself but for the whole team!

This useful melody makes sure that your purple sharpness is maintained for the whole fight and you get 100% uptime on the sharpness damage multiplier.

Doot Range Rampage Decoration Reaches Far Teammates

The introduction of Rampage Decorations enables multiple weapons to be slotted with specific rampage skills that were otherwise locked in a weapon in the base game.

The Doot Range decoration basically acts as an amplifier so your teammates far away from you can hear the notes and get the bonus. Helpful when you want to buff gunners that stay far away from the monster.

More Mobility from Swing Combo

Though mobile because it is usually built with Evade Extender, Swing Combo offers another avenue of mobility for the Hunting Horn. This allows Hunters to reposition and hit the intended target more effectively - especially when the target is moving a lot.

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Sword and Shield

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Sword and Shield Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Free option between elem./status procs or stun procs Destroyer oil is a nice addition, but not strong enough Shield Bash adds mobility and stun damage Perfect Rush was buffed

Choose Between More Elem/Status or More Stun

The addition of Twin Blade Combo to replace the mid-combo Shield Bash gave Sword and Shield users an option if they want to proc more elem./status damage. This is a great replacement if you're running a status/elemental SnS build on your hunts.

Destroyer Oil is a Nice Addition, But Not Strong Enough

We were hyped when oils got announced as a Switch Skill! It's not as good as the oils in MHGU though as Destroyer Oil only provided SnS players with an additional damage option and the ability to stagger monsters easily.

Shield Bash Adds Mobility and Stun

The new Silkbind Attack, Shield Bash introduced a new way for the SnS user to deal stun damage while getting close to a monster. This is a welcome addition and can help greatly in keeping up with the very mobile monsters in Sunbreak.

Perfect Rush was Buffed

The staple bread-and-butter combo of Sword and Shield was also buffed in Update 10.0! This addition is great considering all SnS players weave this combo in whenever the opportunity arrives (toppled monster, huge monster opening, etc.).

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Hammer

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Hammer Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Level 3 charged attack with Spinning Bludgeon: Charge Great mobility option with Keeping Sway Deal additional stun damage with Impact Burst Stun values generally increased

Level 3 Charged Attack with Spinning Bludgeon: Charge

Spinning Bludgeon: Charge gives the Hunter an easy way to land multiple Level 3 charge attacks! This makes sure you deal maximum damage for every swing of your Hammer.

Great Mobility Option with Keeping Sway

Keeping Sway not only provides a sudden dash of movement but also maintains your Hammer's current charge level. Use this to reposition without sacrificing your hard-earned charge levels!

Additional Stun Damage From Impact Burst

Impact Burst is a great addition to the Hammer's arsenal that can deal additional stun damage to monsters. What's more, the initial burst damage from this silkbind attack is great too so use it when the monster is toppled down!

Stun Values Generally Increased

The Hammer also received stun value increases across the board. We think this is because it has been in the shadow of the SnS as the KO Machine of the game. These increases make sure the Hammer keeps up with other weapons that deal stun damage.

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Gunlance

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Gunlance Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Switch Skill option versatility Additional mobility option with Reverse Dash Huge burst damage with Bullet Barrage Really strong for breaking parts Relies too heavily on Wirebugs

Switch Skill Option Versatility

Gunlance received additional Switch Skills in the Sunbreak expansion that are versatile and used on the fly with Skill Swap. It can cater to any playstyle - either aggressive or defensive with a variety of Switch Skills that are tailored to both.

Additional Mobility Option with Reverse Dash

Reverse Dash is the opposite of Blast Dash - instead of dashing towards a monster, you dash away. This is a great repositioning and retreat tool for when you're in a pinch.

Huge Burst Damage from Bullet Barrage

Bullet Barrage loads your full arsenal of ammo and unleashes it into a huge burst explosion towards a monster. This huge explosion of concentrated damage makes it easier for Gunlance to break parts!

Really Strong for Breaking Parts

As mentioned above, the Gunlance is great at breaking parts. This makes it a perfect choice from some really strong armor skills like Bloodrite from the Malzeno armor that gives you Lifesteal whenever you attack a broken part.

Relies Too Heavily on Wirebugs

Gunlance is powerful, but it relies too much on silkbind attacks that uses wirebugs. This essentially hinders players to maximize the weapon without Wirebug Whisperer.

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Lance

MHRise Ranking	→	Sunbreak Ranking
(S - A - B) 3 Level Tier		(SS - S - A) 3 Level Tier

All Lance Guides
Trees & Full List	How to Use	Best Builds

Overall damage buff in Update 10.0 Old Switch Skills were improved New Switch Skills were not game changing Can Perform Well But Still Not Enough

Overall Damage Buff in Update 10.0

Lance received a very welcome general damage buff in Sunbreak with Update 10.0. The Lance sorely needed this as the damage has been mediocre in the base game. Good to see that the Monster Hunter Team looked into Lance's measly damage output and improved on it.

Old Switch Skills Were Improved

In addition, old silkbind attacks like the Twin Vine were improved.

It now costs 1 Wirebug to deploy and can have 100% uptime whenever you're using it! Anchor Rage and Insta-Block received buffs as well with Anchor Rage getting a longer effect duration and Insta-Block getting a wider counter window.

New Switch Skills Are Not Game-Changing

On another note though, the new Switch Skills aren't exactly game-changing for the Lance.

Shield Tackle is just a version of Guard Dash that deals stun damage on hit in exchange for shorter hops. Skyward Thrust deals huge damage but can only be used on wide monster openings because the wind-down animation for the skill leaves you open for attacks. Sheathing Retreat is good theoretically but suffers with how slow the Wirebug recovers after using the move.

Can Perform Well But Still Not Enough

The Lance received significant buffs to mitigate its problems in base Rise but that doesn't mean it can shine as much as other weapons. Yes, the Lance received improvements but so did other weapons, which offsets Lance's improvements in Sunbreak.

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Sunbreak Weapon Popularity Ranking

Which Weapon Do You Think is The Best?

Poll Update	・Reset the poll on August 2022 ・Poll will run until September 2022 ・Updated most popular weapon table for data from June 2022 to July 2022

Why do you like this weapon?
Sound off in the comments!

Game8's Most Popular Weapons
(as of August 2022)

Game8 ran a poll from June 2022 to July 2022 to determine the most popular weapon used by readers and garnered a total of 1529 responses. This poll evaluates the popularity of each weapon since the start of the Sunbreak DLC up to near the start of the Free Title Update 1.

After the conclusion of the poll, Dual Blades had the lead at 245 votes which constitutes 16.02% of all votes!

1st Dual Blades 245 votes (16.02%)
2nd Long Sword 170 votes (11.12%)		3rd Great Sword 153 votes (10.01%)

Monster Hunter Rise Related Links

Weapon Type Guides
Weapons and Weapon Types	Weapon Type Tier List	Builds for Each Weapon Type

Melee Weapon Guides

Melee Weapons
Great Sword Guide | Weapon Tree	Long Sword Guide | Weapon Tree	Sword and Shield Guide | Weapon Tree
Dual Blades Guide | Weapon Tree	Lance Guide | Weapon Tree	Gunlance Guide | Weapon Tree
Hammer Guide | Weapon Tree	Hunting Horn Guide | Weapon Tree | Melodies	Switch Axe Guide | Weapon Tree
Charge Blade Guide | Weapon Tree	Insect Glaive Guide | Weapon Tree | Kinsects

Ranged Weapon Guides

Ranged Weapons
Light Bowgun Guide | Weapon Tree	Heavy Bowgun Guide | Weapon Tree	Bow Guide | Weapon Tree