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This is a guide to the best high rank builds for Switch Axe in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise). Learn about the best Switch Axes from Update 3.0, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Switch Axes for High Rank, and Endgame.
List of Contents
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rampage Slicer S
 |
ーーー | 210 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 0% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Power | |||
| Recommended Rampage Skills for Agitato S | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sharpness Type IV | Non-Elemental Boost | Phial: Exhaust III |
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
 Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
 Vaik Mail S
|
③②① | No Skills |
 Valstrax Braces
|
②ーー |
Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Dragonheart Lv. 1
|
 Anjanath Coil S
|
②①① |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
|
 Hunter's Greaves S
|
②ーー |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
Stun Resistance Lv. 1
|
| Talisman Skill | Evade Extender Lv. 2
with one additional ② slot |
|
| Decorations | ||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Attack Boost Lv. 7
| Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 Razor Sharp Lv. 3 | Stamina Thief Lv. 3 Rapid Morph Lv. 3 | Evade Extender Lv. 2 Stun Resistance Lv. 1 | Dragonheart Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | This is a straightforward 3.0 build that maximizes our modded Rampage Slicer S. Damage is improved through Attack Boost, Weakness Exploit, and Stamina Thief while Evade Extender offers increased mobility in both Sword and Axe forms. Rapid Morph eases the transition between the Switch Axes two forms and increases the damage of transitional attacks as well. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Reddnaught Dunat
 |
②ーー | 180 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 0% | 
37 |
|||
| Phial Type | Element | |||
| Name | Req. Materials |
|---|---|
| Reddnaught Dunat |
 Crimson Glow Valstrax+ Material ×15 pts
|
| Recommended Rampage Skill | Wyvern Exploit |
|---|
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Vaik Mail S
|
③②① | No Skills |
|
Valstrax Braces
|
②ーー |
Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Dragonheart Lv. 1
|
|
Anjanath Coil S
|
②①① |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
|
|
Golden Hakama
|
①①ー |
Latent Power Lv. 1
Critical Boost Lv. 2
|
| Talisman Skill | Evade Extender Lv. 2 with at least one ② slot | |
| Decorations | ||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Attack Boost Lv. 7
| Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 Critical Boost Lv. 3 | Dragon Attack Lv.5 Rapid Morph Lv.3 | Flinch Free Lv.1 Dragonheart Lv. 1 | Evade Extender Lv.2 Latent Power Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | This build is especially made for hunting wyvern monsters with the Rampage Skill Wyvern Exploit. Mobility is enhanced with the help of Evade Extender at Lv. 2. This build may be good in dealing with wyvern monsters but you may want to switch up your build to the 3.0 Morphing Rampager, especially when facing an Elder Dragon. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rex Gnasher
 |
ーーー | 220 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| -20% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Exhaust 24 | |||
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Almudron Mail S
|
①ーー |
Power Prolonger Lv. 1
Razor Sharp Lv. 2
|
|
Kaiser Vambraces
|
②ーー | |
|
Nargacuga Coil S
|
②ーー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
Evade Extender Lv. 2
|
|
Golden Hakama
|
①①ー |
Latent Power Lv. 1
Critical Boost Lv. 2
|
| Talisman Skill | Weakness Exploit Lv.2 | |
| Decorations | ||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Critical Eye Lv. 4
| Critical Boost Lv. 3 Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 | Stamina Thief Lv. 3 Rapid Morph Lv. 3 | Razor Sharp Lv. 2 Evade Extender Lv. 2 | Latent Power Lv. 1 Power Prolonger Lv. 1 | Teostra Blessing Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | Rex Gnasher's -20% affinity rating is negated through Critical Eye Lv. 4, allowing you to fully utilize Weakness Exploit and Critical Boost. Rapid Morph also allows faster transitions between sword and axe forms, while increasing the overall damage of those transitional attacks as well. Stamina Thief improves the potency of Rex Gnasher's Exhaust Phials while sharpness loss is managed through Razor Sharp. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grand Chaos
 |
①ーー | 240 | 15 | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| -15% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Exhaust 16 | |||
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Tobi-Kadachi Mail S
|
③ーー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
Mind's Eye Lv. 1
|
|
Tigrex Braces S
|
③ーー |
Bludgeoner Lv. 2
Mind's Eye Lv. 1
|
|
Anjanath Coil S
|
②①① |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
|
|
Ingot Greaves
|
ーーー |
Attack Boost Lv. 1
Critical Eye Lv. 1
|
| Talisman Skill | Rapid Morph Lv. 1
with two additional ② slots or more |
|
| Decorations | ||
 Attack Jewel 2
x3
 Mind's Eye Jewel 2
x1
 Jumping Jewel 2
x2
 Blunt Jewel 2
x1
 Drain Jewel 1
x3
 Brace Jewel 1
x1
|
||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Attack Boost Lv. 5 | Bludgeoner Lv. 3 Mind's Eye Lv. 3 | Rapid Morph Lv. 3 Stamina Thief Lv. 3 | Critical Eye Lv. 2 Evade Extender Lv. 2 | Flinch Free Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | With Grand Chaos as the centerpiece, this build revolves around pumping this Switch Axes attack through Attack Boost while taking advantage of its sharpness bar via Mind's Eye and Bludgeoner. Rapid Morph is once again included to improve transitions between axe and sword forms. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Night's Crescent
 |
②ーー | 180 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 40% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Poison 17 | |||
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Tobi-Kadachi Mail S
|
③ーー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
Mind's Eye Lv. 1
|
|
Kaiser Vambraces
|
②ーー | |
|
Nargacuga Coil S
|
②ーー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
Evade Extender Lv. 2
|
|
Kadachi Greaves S
|
②①ー |
Constitution Lv. 1
Critical Eye Lv. 2
|
| Talisman Skill | Rapid Morph Lv.1
with two additional ② slot or more |
|
| Decorations | ||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Critical Eye Lv. 5
| Rapid Morph Lv. 3 Critical Boost Lv. 3 | Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 Master's Touch Lv. 3 | Evade Extender Lv. 3 Mind's Eye Lv. 1 | Constitution Lv. 1 Flinch Free Lv. 1 | Teostra's Blessing Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | Night's Crescent's 40% affinity rating as the base, this build easily reaches over 100% affinity on weak spots with the aid of Weakness Exploit and Critical Eye. Critical damage is improved through Critical Boost. Once again, Rapid Morph is included to ease transitions between sword and axe forms. Sharpness management is improved with the addition of Master's Touch. This skill synergizes with our current setup because we will be dealing critical attacks primarily. Lastly, mobility is improved by including Evade Extender into the build. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Night's Crescent
|
②ーー | 180 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 40% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Poison 17 | |||
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Conqueress
 |
①①① | 210 | 10 | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 0% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Exhaust 30 | |||
| While Conqueress falls short in sharpness and affinity when compared to Night's Crescent, its Exhaust Phials and superior base attack rating make it a solid alternative for those who prefer to control the fight by tiring a monster out. |
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Almudron Mail S
|
①ーー |
Power Prolonger Lv. 1
Razor Sharp Lv. 2
|
|
Rathalos Braces S
|
②ーー |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
|
|
Anjanath Coil S
|
②①① |
Attack Boost Lv. 2
|
|
Arzuros Greaves S
|
③②① | No Skills |
| Talisman Skill | Evade Extender Lv.1
two additional ② slots recommended but not required |
|
| Decorations | ||
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Attack Boost Lv. 5-7
| Focus Lv. 3 Rapid Morph Lv. 3 | Razor Sharp Lv. 2 Evade Extender Lv. 2 | Power Prolonger Lv. 2 Flinch Free Lv. 1 |
| Build Merits | A comfort build that makes use of several QoL skills to make hunting easier. Sharpness, Switch Gauge, and evasion are all easier to manage and maintain. Despite lacking massive amounts of affinity, your damage from attack boosts are enough to compensate for it. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Night's Crescent
|
②ーー | 180 | - | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 40% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Poison 17 | |||
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conqueress
|
①①① | 210 | 10 | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 0% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Exhaust 30 | |||
| 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. |
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Almudron Helm S
|
②②ー |
Rapid Morph Lv. 2
|
|
Almudron Mail S
|
①ーー |
Power Prolonger Lv. 1
Razor Sharp Lv. 2
|
|
Dober Vambraces
|
②①① |
Dragon Attack Lv. 1
Power Prolonger Lv. 1
|
|
Nargacuga Coil S
|
②ーー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
Evade Extender Lv. 2
|
|
Almudron Greaves S
|
③①ー |
Razor Sharp Lv. 1
|
| Skills | |
|---|---|
|
Razor Sharp Lv. 3
| Evade Extender Lv. 2 Rapid Morph Lv. 2 | Power Prolonger Lv. 2 Dragon Attack Lv. 1 |
| Recommended Talisman Skills | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weakness Exploit | Rapid Morph | Evade Extender |
| Build Merits | While it lacks offensive 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. Rapid sharpness loss is not an issue thanks to Razor Sharp. |
|---|
| Weapon | Slots | ATK | DEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 General's Strongaxe II
 |
①①① | 170 | 10 | |
| Affinity | Element/Status | |||
| 0% |
-
|
|||
| Phial Type | Exhaust 28 | |||
| General's Strongaxe II boasts amazing stats across the board and has Exhaust Phials, allowing you to tire monsters out with ease. These factors make this particular Switch Axe amazing at this stage of the game. |
| Armor | Slots | Skills |
|---|---|---|
|
Izuchi Helm S
|
①①ー |
Critical Eye Lv. 1
|
|
Volvidon Mail S
|
②ーー |
Jump Master Lv. 1
Rapid Morph Lv. 1
|
|
Lagombi Vambraces S
|
②①ー |
Critical Eye Lv. 2
Ice Attack Lv. 1
|
|
Volvidon Coil S
|
①①ー |
Bludgeoner Lv. 1
Rapid Morph Lv. 1
|
|
Volvidon Greaves S
|
①①ー |
Evade Extender Lv. 2
Rapid Morph Lv. 1
|
| Defense | 222 |
|---|---|
| Skills | |
|
Critical Eye Lv. 3
| Rapid Morph Lv. 3 Evade Extender Lv. 2 | Ice Attack Lv. 1 Bludgeoner Lv. 1 | Jump Master Lv. 1 |
|
| Build Merits | A straightforward build to help you get started in High Rank hunts. Critical Eye and Rapid Morph are your primary offensive skills while Evade Extender improves general mobility. |
|---|
| Best Skills for Switch Axe | |
|---|---|
| Rapid Morph ★★★ |
Speeds up morph speed and damage. |
| Weakness Exploit ★★★ |
up to 50% bonus affinity when striking enemy weakspots. |
| Critical Eye ★★★ |
Higher affinity means more damage. Try to aim for at least 80-100% affinity for final builds. |
| Evade Extender ★★★ |
More distance covered per dodge means you can easily get out of harms way or move to a better position faster to hit enemy weakspots. |
| Attack Boost ★★★ |
More damage. Try to aim for level 4 for extra stat bonus. |
| Razor Sharp ★★★ |
Switch Axes are known for their rapid sharpness loss. Razor Sharp allows you to efficiently maintain your sharpness during hunts. |
| Evade Window ★★ |
Longer invincibility frames greatly improves the Switch Axe's survivability since the Switch Axe can't guard and must only rely on evasion. |
| Power Prolonger ★ |
Extends buffed up state. |
| Focus ★ |
Faster Switch Axe charging. |
| Flinch Free ★ |
A must have skill for multiplayer. |
|
• 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 |
I'm on ps5 no sunbreak need build for that? Switch axe
High Rank Switch Axe Builds | Monster Hunter Rise
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Why does the HR 8+ build use the Arzuros greaves instead of the Almudron greaves suggested in the HR 6-7 build? All that seems to do is lose a point of Razor Sharp.