★ TU4, TU5, and Bonus Update Available Now for PS, XBOX, and Game Pass!
┗ Title Update 4 | Title Update 5 | Bonus Update
┗ Check out all our Best Builds For Every Weapon!
┗ TU4 Monsters: Velkhana | Risen C.G. Valstrax
┗ TU5 Monsters: Amatsu | Risen Shagaru Magala
┗ Bonus Update Monster: Primordial Malzeno
This is a guide to the best builds and equipment for Great Swords in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise): Sunbreak. Learn about the best Great Swords for the Sunbreak expansion, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Great Swords for Low, High, and Master Rank.
| All Great Sword Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
 Trees & Full List |
 How to Use |
 Best Builds |
List of Contents
| If you have any suggestions or additional information, please comment them below! |
|---|
| Weapon | ATK | DEF | Affinity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Merak's Asterism
 |
340 | 0 | 0% |
| Element / Status |
Slots | Rampage Slots | |
20 |
④②ー | ① |
| Decorations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Armor | Slots | Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Primordial Helm
|
④④ー |
Blood Rite Lv. 3
|
|
 Primordial Mail
|
④④② |
Burst Lv. 1
Blood Awakening Lv. 1
|
|
 Primordial Vambraces
|
④④② |
Critical Boost Lv. 1
Blood Awakening Lv. 1
|
|
 Virtue / Prudence Coil
|
④②ー | ||
 Primordial Greaves
|
④④ー | ||
| Talisman | Frostcraft 3 with a ②②① slot or better | ||
| Rampage Decoration |
 Anti-Wyvern Jewel 2
x 1 or Anti-Aerial Jewel 2
x 1 or Anti-Aquatic Jewel 2
x 1 or Fanged Exploit Jewel 2
x 1
If only ① Rampage Slot:  Wirebug Jewel 1
x 1
|
||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
| Rampage Skill | Swap between Wyvern Exploit, Anti-Aerial Species, Anti-Aquatic Species, or Fanged Exploit depending on the monster.
If only using ① Rampage Slot, you can use Wirebug Wrangler for keeping extra Wirebugs longer. |
|
Critical Eye Lv. 7 | Attack Boost Lv. 4
Frostcraft Lv. 3 | Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 Stun Resistance Lv. 3 | Blood Rite Lv. 3 Blood Awakening Lv. 3 | Speed Sharpening Lv. 3 Partbreaker Lv. 3 | Quick Sheathe Lv. 3 Wirebug Whisperer Lv. 3 | Critical Boost Lv. 3 Coalescence Lv. 2 | Evade Extender Lv. 1 Frenzied Bloodlust Lv. 1 | Burst Lv. 1 Bloodlust Lv. 1 | Intrepid Heart Lv. 1 |
|
| Weapon Augments | |
|---|---|
| Armor Augments |
Armor Augments for this build are not necessary. However, feel free to add as you please once you get comfortable with your build! Generally, you'd want to get better skills and more slots for your armor.
For damage, aim for any of the following: ● Powder Mantle ● Buildup Boost For comfort, aim for any of the following: ● Recovery Up ● Wind Mantle ● Frenzied Bloodlust |
| Build Merits and Notes |
|---|
| Blood Awakening is a new aggressive comfort skill introduced in the Bonus Update. It pairs with Blood Rite and helps in dealing with large monsters that inflict Bloodblight.
Merak's Asterism is the choice weapon for this build. Another alternartive would be Scorned Magnamalo's Azure Blaze Great Sword, having a ③ decoration slot instead of ④, and a ② rampage slot. You can get more damage out of these Status Effect weapons are rolling Buildup Boost as armor augments. If you do not yet have a Frostcraft talisman, you can use Buildup Boost as an alternative. Quick Sheathe, Stun Resistance, and Speed Sharpening are added for comfort use. Critical Eye, paired with Weakness Exploit, is maxed out to make the most out of Critical Boost. These damage skills will help in part breaks, leading to a quicker activation of Blood Awakening. Wirebug Whisperer is recommended if Strongarm Stance is used often. If not needed, you can swap it out and max out Attack Boost to Lv. 7 with decorations. In addition to helping you tank hits and land charged attacks uninterrupted, Intrepid Heart can make it less risky for you to receive Bloodblight. You can use this to your advantage to get the most out of Blood Rite. |
Master Rank Great Sword Builds
Whether you're just breaking in the High Rank at HR 4 or are just looking for some new strategies at HR 100, we've got the best High Rank Great Sword builds to spice up your hunts.
| Latest Builds | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2.0 Raw Damage + Critical Build | HR 40 to 99 |
Check out the best Great Sword builds for Monster Hunter beginners or for speeding through Village Quests or Low Rank Gathering hub.
| Latest Builds | Rank |
|---|---|
| Critical Draw + Critical Eye Combination | Village Quest ★4 to ★6 |
These skills make it possible to deal extra damage! Aim for these skills for maximum DPS to defeat those monsters easier and finish those quests faster!
| Best Skills | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Attack Boost ★★★ |
This skill increases the Great Sword's damage values, especially when hitting a successful True Charge Slash! |
| Offensive Guard ★★★ |
Increases overall damage output for the Strongarm Stance playstyle. |
| Weakness Exploit ★★★ |
A staple skill for any meta builds. The Great Sword's playstyle requires targeting weakspots to inflict optimal damage, so having this skill provides a significant boost to your DPS. Always max out this skill whenever possible. |
| Critical Boost ★★★ |
Further amplifies critical hit damage. Make sure to have high affinity first before equipping! |
| Critical Eye ★★★ |
Always aim for 80-100% affinity to amplify the Great Sword's base damage efficiently! It is best to max this out when you're using a Surge Slash-focused build. |
| Frostcraft ★★ |
With Velkhana's return to Sunbreak, this skill is a must-have for the old-school playstyle of hitting the monster then running away to regroup! With this in mind, we highly recommend the gloves from the Velkhana Armor Set for a level of this skill plus max level of Critical Draw. Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 4 |
| Critical Draw ★★ |
Grants up to a 60% affinity on draw attacks. On Free Title Update 4, this skill is best paired with the Frostcraft skill. |
| Element Attack ★★ |
Sunbreak featured buffs for elemental damage, making elemental builds viable. Be sure to max out this skill to get the most out of its potential. Fire | Water | Ice | Thunder | Dragon |
| Element Exploit ★★ |
This skill is ideal to have on elemental builds because of the Great Sword's playstyle of targeting a monster's weakspots, making sure you pull off significant damage every time you hit them! Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 1 |
| Charge Master ★★ |
Provides extra elemental damage every time a charged attack hits. |
| Powder Mantle ★ |
This skill from the Risen Teostra Armor provides the Great Sword with additional blast damage every time it activates, contributing greatly to DPS. Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 3 |
| Dereliction ★ |
Using the Red Scroll for elemental builds and the Blue Scroll for raw builds improves overall damage; just be wary of your health, especially when you're doing the small barrel bomb counter technique! Available in Sunbreak Base Game |
| Bloodlust ★ |
Overcome the Frenzy Virus to power up with this skill; best paired with Coalescence. Available in Sunbreak Base Game |
| Critical Element ★ |
For elemental builds, this skill contributes greatly to the damage dealt to a monster. Consider this skill when doing a Surge Slash-focused build. |
These are skills that make managing weapon mechanics a lot easier. Damage is only part of the equation - taking time to slot in comfort skills that increase consistency & comfort will also increase overall DPS!
| Best Skills | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Focus ★★★ |
Speeds up the Great Sword's charge attacks and is a must-have skill for any Great Sword player. |
| Defiance ★★ |
Three levels of this skill prevent most roars, tremors, and winds from interrupting your charged attacks. The Cornerstone Jewel is a level 1 decoration, so slot it in whenever possible! Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 1 |
| Quick Sheathe ★★ |
Makes Power Sheathe quicker, providing enough time to reposition for a counterattack or regroup. |
| Handicraft ★ |
Consider slotting this skill in when a single point is enough to get your Great Sword to a decent amount of purple sharpness. |
| Shock Absorber Flinch Free ★★ |
Useful especially in multiplayer so no minor attacks can interrupt you or your team's combos! |
| Frenzied Bloodlust ★ |
The Risen Shagaru Magala Armor introduced this new skill. After overcoming the Frenzy Virus, it grants you an extra Wirebug on your arsenal. If you have 3 Wirebugs equipped, activating this skill will allow you to access 4. This will allow you to access Strongarm Stance more, doubling your DPS in a fight. Synergizes well with Wirebug Whisperer and/or Wind Mantle. Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 5 |
| Speed Sharpening ★ |
Reduces a cycle for sharpening with each level. Useful for getting your sharpness level up mid-fight. |
| Intrepid Heart ★ |
Whenever the gauge above your health bar is full, this skill can be useful in preventing monster attacks from interrupting your combos, making it possible to pull off an extra charged attack before you can regroup. Available in Sunbreak Free Title Update 2 |
|
• Weapons marked withNEW have been updated. • Weapons withUP have been reviewed and does not warrant an updated build from the Bonus Update. |
| All Weapon Build Guides | |
|---|---|
 Great SwordNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Long SwordNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Sword & ShieldNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Dual BladesNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 HammerNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Hunting HornNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 LanceNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 GunlanceNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Switch AxeNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Charge BladeNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Insect GlaiveNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 BowNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Light BowgunNEW Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
 Heavy BowgunUP Low Rank | High Rank Master Rank |
| Other Build Guides | |
|---|---|
| General High Rank Builds and Best Equipment | Buddy Equipment Builds Palico | Palamute |
Great Sword Builds and Best Armor
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Attack Jewel+ 4
Expert Jewel+ 4
Hard Grinder Jewel 4
Hard Steadfast Jewel 4
Sheath Jewel+ 4
Wirebug Jewel+ 4
Expert Jewel 2
Jumping Jewel 2
Sheath Jewel 2
Intrepid Jewel 1
Attack Boost
Rampage Slot Upgrade
