Switch Axe Builds and Best Equipment | Monster Hunter Rise | MHR (MH Rise)

This is a guide to the best builds and equipment for Switch Axe in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise) for the Nintendo Switch. Learn about the best Switch Axe, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Switch Axe for Low Rank, High Rank, and endgame.

All Switch Axe Guides
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This is a developing guide for Best Switch Axe Builds & Equipment. If you have any suggestions or additional information, please comment them below!

High Rank Build: Post-Game (Hub Quest 7★ Cleared)

Best Switch Axes

Best Switch Axe Stats (Post-Game)

Sinister Shadowslice for Power Phials

Sinister Shadowslice
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	200	0	Blast 23
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②①ー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Blast Boost II Magnamalo Soul
Phial Type	Power

Magnamalo's Sinister Shadowslice is an amazing all-purpose weapon at this stage of the game, with great stats across the board. It's Blast Element and Power Phial takes it to the top of the mountain in terms of raw damage.

Night's Crescent Offers High Affinity

Night's Crescent
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	180	40	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Affinity Boost II Boost Equipped Coating
Phial Type	Poison 17

Nargacuga's Night's Crescent earns its place in this list due to its amazing sharpness bar and 40% affinity rating!

Czar Switch Axe Has Paralysis!

Czar Switch Axe
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	5	200	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	①ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Defense Boost III Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Paralysis 22

Czar Switch Axe offers great stats across the board, with the added benefit of Paralysis Phials. This particular Phial type is particularly useful for Switch Axes because they provide extra windows of damage throughout hunts.

Conqueress for Exhaust Phial Lovers

Conqueress
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	210	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	10	①①①
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost III Boost Equipped Coating Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Exhaust 30

Arguably the most unique one in this list, Conqueress earned its way to the top due to its Exhaust Phial type. This particular Phial type is dealt through the Switch Axe's Sword Form, slowing monsters down to complete exhaustion. Pair this with Conqueress' amazing stats and you have a efficient combination for any hunt in the game.

Best Armor

Comfortable All-Rounder

A comfort build that makes use of several QoL skills to make hunting easier. Sharpness, Switch Gauge, and evasion are all easier to use and despite lacking massive amounts of affinity, your damage from attack boosts are enough to compensate for it.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Almudron Helm S	64	Rapid Morph Lv. 2
Torso	Almudron Mail S	64	Power Prolonger Lv. 1 Razor Sharp Lv. 2
Arms	Rathalos Braces S	62	Attack Boost Lv. 2
Waist	Anjanath Coil S	60	Attack Boost Lv. 2
Legs	Arzuros Greaves S	36
Talisman Skill		Evade Extender Lv. 1; Lv.2 jewel slots would be great but not required.
Decorations		Charger Jewel 2 x3 Quickswitch Jewel 2 x1 Jumping Jewel 2 x1 Brace Jewel 1 x1 Attack Jewel 2 x1 or more

High Rank Build: Endgame (Hub Quest 6★ to 7★)

Best Switch Axes

Best Switch Axe Stats (Endgame)

Sinister Shadowslice for Power Phials

Sinister Shadowslice
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	200	0	Blast 23
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②①ー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Blast Boost II Magnamalo Soul
Phial Type	Power

Magnamalo's Sinister Shadowslice is an amazing all-purpose weapon at this stage of the game, with great stats across the board. It's Blast Element and Power Phial takes it to the top of the mountain in terms of raw damage.

Night's Crescent Offers High Affinity

Night's Crescent
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	180	40	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Affinity Boost II Boost Equipped Coating
Phial Type	Poison 17

Nargacuga's Night's Crescent earns its place in this list due to its amazing sharpness bar and 40% affinity rating!

Czar Switch Axe Has Paralysis!

Czar Switch Axe
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	5	200	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	①ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost III Defense Boost III Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Paralysis 22

Czar Switch Axe offers great stats across the board, with the added benefit of Paralysis Phials. This particular Phial type is particularly useful for Switch Axes because they provide extra windows of damage throughout hunts.

Conqueress for Exhaust Phial Lovers

Conqueress
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	6	210	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	10	①①①
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost III Boost Equipped Coating Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Exhaust 30

Arguably the most unique one in this list, Conqueress earned its way to the top due to its Exhaust Phial type. This particular Phial type is dealt through the Switch Axe's Sword Form, slowing monsters down to complete exhaustion. Pair this with Conqueress' amazing stats and you have a efficient combination for any hunt in the game.

Best Armor

Best Talisman Skills

Balanced Offense and Utility

While it lacks offensive stat boosts, the Rapid Morph Skill together with Razor Sharp and Power Prolonger makes hunting easy by utilizing morph attacks to deal high damage to enemy large monsters. Massive Sharpness loss is not an issue thanks to Razor Sharp Lv. 2.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Almudron Helm S	64	Rapid Morph Lv. 2
Torso	Almudron Mail S	64	Power Prolonger Lv. 1 Razor Sharp Lv. 2
Arms	Dober Vambraces	52	Dragon Attack Lv. 1 Power Prolonger Lv. 1
Waist	Nargacuga Coil S	60	Critical Eye Lv. 1 Evade Extender Lv. 2
Legs	Almudron Greaves S	64	Razor Sharp Lv. 1

High Rank Build: Late game (Hub Quest 4★ to 5★)

Best Switch Axes

Best Switch Axe Stats (Late-Game)

These three Switch Axes boast great stats across the board for relateively cheap materials and are considered the best ones to start with in High Rank!

Kamura Iron Axe V for Power Phials

Kamura Iron Axe V
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	4	150	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	②ーー
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost III Defense Boost II Master Rider
Phial Type	Power

Elite Switch Axe II has Paralysis Phials

Elite Switch Axe II
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	4	160	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	①ーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Defense Boost III Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Paralysis 18

General's Strongaxe II offers Exhaust Phials

General's Strongaxe II
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	5	170	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	10	①①①
Rampage Skills
Affinity Boost II Boost Equipped Coating Silkbind Boost
Phial Type	Exhaust 28

Best Armor

High Rank Morpher

A damage focused build. It has a small amount of affinity but the loss of Razor Sharp may make usage difficult. But since Bludgeoner is slotted in the skills, the damage you lose from lowered sharpness are somehow alleviated.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Izuchi Helm S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Torso	Volvidon Mail S	50	Jump Master Lv. 1 Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Arms	Lagombi Vambraces S	36	Critical Eye Lv. 2 Ice Attack Lv. 1
Waist	Volvidon Coil S	50	Bludgeoner Lv. 1 Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Legs	Volvidon Greaves S	50	Evade Extender Lv. 2 Rapid Morph Lv. 1

Low Rank Build: Mid Game (Village Quests 4★ to 6★ Quests)

Best Switch Axes

Sinister Axe I

Sinister Axe I Stats

Sinister Axe I
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	3	130	0	Blast 17
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Blast Boost I Magnamalo Soul
Phial Type	Power

Magnamalo's Sinister Axe I offers great stats across the board and has Blast Element. These factors make it an amazing weapon in most hunts at this stage of the game!

Best Armor

Rapid Morph + Razor Sharp Combo

Following up on our recommended early game set, this armor combination follows the same principle but with the added benefits of Razor Sharp.

Switch Axes are weapons that are notorious for losing sharpness relatively faster than other weapon types. Having Razor Sharp prevents sharpness loss when activated — with a 25% proc chance at level 2.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Almudron Helm	30	Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Torso	Almudron Mail	30	Razor Sharp Lv. 1
Arms	Almudron Vambraces	30	Evade Window Lv. 1 Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Waist	Volvidon Coil	20	Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Legs	Almudron Greaves	30	Razor Sharp Lv. 1

Evasive Switch Axe

Those who prefer a more mobile playstyle can opt for this evasive set.

This armor combination swaps out Rapid Morph with Evade Extender, enabling its wearer to quickly reposition while the Switch Axe is unsheathed.

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Wroggi Helm	16	Evade Extender Lv. 1
Torso	Almudron Mail	30	Razor Sharp Lv. 1
Arms	Nargacuga Braces	26	Evade Extender Lv. 1 Evade Window Lv.
Waist	Nargacuga Coil	26	Evade Extender Lv. 1
Legs	Almudron Greaves	30	Razor Sharp Lv. 1

Low Rank Build: Early Game (Village Quests 1★ to 4★ Quests)

Best Switch Axes

Improved Steel Axe and the Ore Tree

Improved Steel Axe Stats

Improved Steel Axe
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	110	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost I Defense Boost II
Phial Type	Paralysis 14

The Switch Axes within the Ore Tree feature great stats for relatively cheap materials, making them amazing starter weapons.

The Improved Steel Axe, in particular, boasts decent green sharpness and Paralysis Phials.

Daidalos Axe

Diadalos Axe Stats

Daidalos Axe
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	110	0	- -
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Affinity Boost II Defense Boost I
Phial Type	Power

Those who prefer Power Phials may opt for the Daidalos Axe early on. This particular Switch Axe's base attack rating is on par with Improved Steel Axe's despite falling short in the sharpness department.

Ludroth Axe II

Ludroth Axe II Stats

Ludroth Axe II
	Rarity	Attack	Affinity	Elem.
	2	100	0	Water 26
	Defense	Slots	Sharpness
	-	ーーー
Rampage Skills
Attack Boost II Water Boost I Waterblight Exploit
Phial Type	Element

Ludroth Axe offers generous green sharpness decent attack rating. Its Water Element makes it a particularly good weapon against Magnamalo later on.

Best Armor

Rapid Morph Set

The challenge with the Switch Axe is being able to dish out its already high damage output efficiently. Rapid Morph allows us to transition between Sword and Axe forms faster, making it a great compliment to the Switch Axe!

Piece	Armor	Base Defense	Skills
Head	Izuchi Helm	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Torso	Volvidon Mail	20	Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Arms	Alloy Vambraces	10	Critical Eye Lv. 1
Waist	Volvidon Coil	20	Rapid Morph Lv. 1
Legs	Ingot Greaves	18	Attack Boost Lv. 1 Critical Eye Lv. 1

Best Switch Axe Skills

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All Builds and Best Equipment

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Best All-Purpose Builds

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