Base Game Best Weapon Tier List (2024)

This is Game8's best weapon tier list ranking for the base game of Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise) in 2023. This tier list took into account all the weapon balance changes that were implemented in Version 10 before Sunbreak expansion that are also available to base game-only owners.

Weapon Related Guides
Weapons and Weapon Types	Builds for Each Weapon Type
Weapon Type Tier List (Base Game)	Weapon Type Tier List (Sunbreak Expansion)

Tier Lists
Weapon Tier List (Base Game)	Weapon Tier List (Sunbreak)	Follower Tier List (Sunbreak)

Base Game Monster Hunter Rise Weapon Tier List

Let us know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

Base Game MHRise Weapon Tier List

Tier List Reminders · Click on the weapon's icon to see its full evaluation! · The weapons in each tier are unordered. · Please also note that this tier list is for the base game only.

Builds and Best Armor for Each Weapon

Sunbreak Expansion Weapon Tier List

The Sunbreak expansion introduced a plethora of new things like additional Switch Skills and Weapon Augmentations via Qurious Crafting which have shifted the tier list drastically!

If you have purchased the Sunbreak DLC, check out our weapon tier list considerig this huge expansion!

Sunbreak Weapon Tier List 2023

Base Game Tier List Criteria

The Game8 team considers the two factors below during the creation of this Tier List. Take note that this tier list is still extremely subjective based on our current information about the game.

Tier List Criteria
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 very easy to learn plus can dish out tons of damage!
②	Balance Changes in Update 10.0 Monster Hunter Rise introduced a pre-Sunbreak update that balances all fourteen (14) weapons. This change is available even if you don't have the Sunbreak expansion. It is also currently available for our new Hunters playing via PlayStation, XBOX, and Game Pass!

SS Tier Weapons List (Base Game)

Long Sword

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

Easy to understand Spirit Gauge mechanic Dodge attacks using Foresight Slash Special Sheathe can also counter attacks Spirit Helmbreaker still exists in the game but requires wirebugs Serene Pose is another counter-attack move for the Long Sword Silkbind Sakura Slash is a way to increase your Long Sword Spirit Level.

Easy-to-Understand Combos and Mechanics

The fairly simple combo and easy-to-understand Spirit Gauge mechanic makes the Long Sword a weapon for beginners but do not think that this weapon is weak! The Long Sword is one of the most versatile weapons when in good hands.

Helmbreaker is Still Strong!

Though nerfed in Updated 10.0, Spirit Helmbreaker is still one of the best options if you're running the Long Sword. Its mechanics continue to be unchanged, hence the Long Sword is still top tier.

Multiple Counterattack Opportunities

The Long Sword has three counterattack opportunities: Foresight Slash, Special Sheathe to Iai Slash, and the recently added Serene Pose. This gives the Long Sword one of the most powerful kits in the game!

Silkbind Sakura Slash is an Option

The new Silkbind Attack Switch Skill Silkbind Sakura Slash effectively removes Soaring Kick which in turn removes Spirit Helmbreaker. Even with Soaring Kick removed, the Long Sword still is one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

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Light Bowgun

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

Wyvernblast is easier to use Can execute aerial moves using Fanning Vault Further mobility and damage increase with Silkbind Glide Increased DPS by having access to Heavy Bowgun ammos. Still one of the best support weapons

Wyvernblast is Easier to Execute

Do not worry, the Light Bowgun is now not all support - it packs a punch too! Wyvernblast can now be shot while airborne, not just on the ground. Just remember to aim properly.

Silkbind Attacks are Great!

The two Silkbind attacks introduced for the Light Bowgun give you easy access to Wyvernblast with Fanning Vault as well as improve Light Bowgun's mobility & damage with Silkbind Glide. And here we thought Light Bowgunners can't be more agile!

Increased DPS

Light Bowgun can now use ammo previously reserved for Heavy Bowguns only. This makes Light Bowgun users very agile while at the same time capable of dishing tons of damage. Don't sleep on the LBG!

Still the Best Support Weapon

If you choose to go full support, the Light Bowgun is still an awesome choice. It has access to a variety of ammo that can deal status ailments which can effectively help in hunts and elemental ammos for added damage! Best of both worlds, if we may say!

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Bow

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

Damage is insane if you manage your stamina Herculean Draw increases the Bow's firepower Focus Shot promotes rapid stamina recovery Aerial Aim is a spammable move that can deal tons of damage

Insane Damage If You Can Manage Your Stamina

The Bow can dish out insane amounts of damage if you manage your stamina wisely. This can be easily done by investing in Dash Juices while hunting or armor skills like Constitution and Stamina Surge. Expensive but a small price to pay to use this very powerful weapon effectively!

Aerial Aim Switch Skill is Too Good

Aerial Aim is the main reason why the Bow jumped from the bottom of the list to the top. This Switch Skill propels you upwards to shoot arrows from above - all dealing an insane amount of damage almost equivalent to using Power Coatings! What more, you can do this multiple times because it only costs 1 Wirebug!

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S Tier Weapons List (Base Game)

Great Sword

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

Easy-to-understand and has powerful single-hit damage using Charged Slashes. Simple gameplay and easy to remember combos Access to aerial charge attacks. The silkbind move Power Sheathe is good for offense and defense. Rage Slash and Adamany Charged Slash can tank hits!

Easy-to-Use, Difficult to Master

The Great Sword is very powerful and easy to use, even for beginners. You only have to memorize simple combos and practice a little bit of timing. Mastering it, however, is a different story. You have to know how to time your attacks to land all your powerful hits efficiently!

Access to Aerial Charge Attack

With the introduction of the Wirebug, Great Sword users now have easy access to aerial charge attacks. This is faster than the conventional ground charge attack and can be used when given the proper timing!

Power Sheathe is Your Best Friend

Power Sheathe is a silkbind move that benefits the Great Sword both offensively and defensively. You can increase your next unsheathe attack while at the same time automatically sheathing while dashing. This is a great balance of mobility and offense.

Rage Slash and Adamant Charged Slash Can Tank Hits!

The Switch Skills Rage Slash and Adamant Charged Slash enables you to tank hits without being thrown away. This is extremely useful when you need to charge your Greatsword over a monster attack! Punish those monsters with a powerful charged attack!

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Sword and Shield

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

Sword and Shield applies elemental blights to monsters effectively Items can be used while unsheathed Perfect Rush is back and is just as powerfu The silkbind attack Windmill has a long invicibility frame at the start as well as a wide attack range. A new Guard Point with Guard Slash! Sword and Shield is a knockout pro

The Good Old Sword and Shield We Know And Love

The Sword and Shield in Monster Hunter Rise is still the same old beast we know and love. It is still good in applying elemental blights to monsters as well as deploy items while the weapon is unsheathed and with the introduction of Hunting Helpers, this is even more useful.

Perfect Rush is also back for more so use it whenever possible.

Windmill is a Great Addition

A new silkbind attack called Windmill gives the Sword and Shield an attack that both damages a monster and gives the hunter a long invulnerability frame. Treat this as an emergency button for when you cannot evade an oncoming attack!

Sword and Shield Now Has a Guard Point!

Guard Slash now has a Guard Point that goes straight into a Perfect Rush when timed properly! Use this whenever you are in a pinch and counterattack like a boss!

Sword and Shield is a Knockout Pro

Sword and Shield in Monster Hunter Rise (MH Rise) has a plethora of moves that includes shield-based blunt attacks. This can effectively stun monsters when used repeatedly! When on a monster's head, consider these moves!

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Dual Blades

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

Best weapon to combo with in the game The DPS is increased in Demon and Archdemon Mode Counter-attack with Shrouded Vault The silkbind attack Piercing Bind deals a lot of damage!

The Best Elemental and Status Weapon

Dual Blades still have the most versatile combo in the game hence, making it the best elemental weapon in the game. It applies status and elements more efficiently than other weapons!

Increased DPS in Demon and Archdemon Mode

Dual Blades also dishes tons of damage with its demon and archdemon modes. Take note, being in Demon Mode drains stamina so keep that in mind!

Full Offense Silkbind Attacks

The two silkbind attacks introduced for the Dual Blades made an offensive powerhouse to watch out for.

Shrouded Vault allows the hunter to evade all monster attacks while at the same time dishing a spinning attack.

Piercing Bind adds extra hits to your attacks as long as you are 'bound' to the monster via a wirebug thread. Use this one when the monster is down or when you have a huge opening!

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Hammer

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

Has easy combos to execute like the Great Sword Can stun monsters with its blunt damage Can close-out monsters with Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon Can execute a huge one-hit damage attack with impact Crater Water Strike nullifies damage and follows up with an Upswing

Easy to Remember Combo Like the Great Sword

The Hammer has very easy to remember combos like that of Great Sword - hold to charge, release at the right time for maximum damage. The Hammer is even safer than the Great Sword because it has good mobility even when the weapon is unsheathed.

Blunt Damage To Stun (KO) Monsters

The Hammer is also very effective in KO'ing monsters! It has full blunt damage so it is imperative that you hit the head. This is one of the drawbacks, however, as sometimes the monster's head is too high and the Hammer's short reach is not helping.

High Damage Using Silkbind Attacks

The Hammer's silkbind attacks help it immensely regarding its lack of reach. Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon launches you in the air giving you access to heads that are too high! This attack makes the Hammer viable in the game even when its cousin, the Hunting Horn, has taken the spotlight.

Water Strike Nullifies Damage

The introduction of the Water Strike move made the Hammer a force to be reckoned with. This gave the Hammer a way to nullify incoming damage which can then be followed up by a powerful Upswing. Hammer mains rejoice!

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Hunting Horn

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

Made easier to use! Notes are automatically played Magnificent Trio gives all melody effects while attacking.

Now Easy to Use

The Hunting Horn is now very easy to use and is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. The combos are now very simple so a beginner can excel with this weapon!

Notes Play Automatically

Yes, you heard that right - notes now play automatically when using a Hunting Horn. You just have to input the same note twice in succession to activate its effect. Gone are the days when you have to find the timing to play your Attack Up notes!

Conversely, you may go back to the original way of playing notes (lining up notes then playing) using the Switch Skill Melody Mode: Echo. Though this is like the old Hunting Horn, this is still faster and the playing action has damage!

Magnificent Trio is Very Powerful

This move enables the hunter to play all three Hunting Horn effects while at the same time attacking the monster! This move is too good as this allows the Hunting Horn user to be viable support and a force to be reckoned with.

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Charge Blade

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

Elemental Discharge is very powerful Charging the sword gives Mind's Eye Guard Points are still present Counter Peak Performance fills up the gauge when executed properly! Still a complicated weapon to use.

Same Old Charge Blade - With Some Changes

The Charge Blade is back with the same arsenal in Monster Hunter World Iceborne. It still has the familiar Guard Point mechanic and charging your sword for Mind's Eye. Elemental Discharges are still very powerful.

Condensed Spinning Slash

Savage Axe also makes a return as a Switch Skill called Condensed Spinning Slash. Not only does it deal crazy damage, but it also charges phials while in Axe Mode! This is a very powerful move so consider using it!

Counter Peak Performance is Very Good!

Counter Peak Performance is a counter move that charges your phials instantly and chained into an Elemental Discharge. This effectively simplifies Charge Blade's core gameplay loop!

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Insect Glaive

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

Top tier aerial combat Possible to get two extracts in one go Silkbind Vault gives you plenty of attack opportunities Diving Wyvern deals an insane amount of damage

Top Tier Aerial Combat

The Insect Glaive is still top tier when it comes to aerial combat. You can still go full ham against a monster while airborne! It is also the only weapon that can latch on walls freely so you can reposition properly!

Possible to Get Two Extracts in One Go

There are certain Kinsect types that you can purchase from the Smithy that provides two-extract harvesting. The more difficult red extract can now be harvested automatically wherever - just use the proper Kinsect!

Diving Wyvern Deals So Much Damage

Unlocking Diving Wyvern changes the whole narrative of the Insect Glaive - it just deals so much damage. You can even spam this Silkbind Attack because it only costs 1 Wirebug (with a medium recovery speed).

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Heavy Bowgun

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

High Versatility because of Piercing Shots Can use elemental bullets depending on the monster's weakness Better mobility because of Free Silkbind Glide Introduces a new counter-attack opportunity with Counter Shot Light Bowgun is a more agile choice

Piercing Shots Are So Good!

Heavy Bowgun's access to pierce shots is still a blessing for this weapon. It allows the Heavy Bowgun to dish huge, consistent damage in a single shot!

Can Also Use Elemental Ammo

The Heavy Bowgun's access to elemental ammos also increases the already high damage output by this weapon by a ton (next to piercing shots of course). What more, elemental ammos also have piercing elemental ammo counterparts that give you power from both worlds.

Better Mobility and Counterattack With Silkbind Attacks!

Counter Shot is a great counterattack move for the Heavy Bowgun. When you find yourself stuck in a position with a monster flying towards you, hit this silkbind attack as your trump card! Also, Free Silkbind Glide gives the Heavy Bowgun a much-needed mobility boost so use this often!

Light Bowgun is a More Agile Choice

The Heavy Bowgun received a significant number of mobility improvements but with how the Light Bowgun functions like the Heavy Bowgun now (LBG has access to HBG ammos), HBG has a lower ranking in this tier list.

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Gunlance

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

Can cause damage regardless of monster armor Now easier to maintain sharpness Makes it easier to execute a Full Burst with Hail Cutter Can sharpen weapon with Guard Edge when used properly Blast Dash is a great mobility tool

Damage That Ignores Monster Armor

The Gunlance still keeps its forte - dishing damage regardless of monster armor. This makes it capable of damaging parts where normal weapons would bounce off using its shelling attacks. This is why always incorporate shelling into your attacks because if you are not, then you are better off just using the Lance.

Silkbind Attacks Maintain Sharpness

Guard Edge provides help when it comes to maintaining sharpness for the Gunlance. This also acts as a counter guard and at the same time sharpens your weapon so this solves the problem of shelling depleting sharpness quickly.

Silkbind Attacks and Switch Skills Revived and Refined Old Favorites

The return of Blast Dash and Guard Reload really solidifies the Gunlance's place in S-Tier. These returning moves have been refined to a point where they can be used easily and intuitively.

Blast Dash, in particular, has significantly improved the Gunlance's mobility that one can easily reposition on the fly and with great speed regardless of what their hunting!

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Switch Axe

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

Powerful elemental discharges Morphing is possible from different combos Sturdy while using Invincible Gambit Charge the gauge and disallow decrease with Switch Charger No guards or counters.

Morph Anytime!

The Switch Axe is still the same old weapon we know and love. You can morph between Axe and Sword between combos easily which adds flexibility to your attacks.

Switch Charger has a Huge Invincibility Frame!

Switch Charger launches you to the monster while providing a huge invincibility frame at the start. More so, this charges the gauge and prevents it to decrease for a short time!

Invincible Gambit Makes You Sturdy

Invincible Gambit gives you the ability to charge onto the monster with powerful attacks while not being knocked out or flinched by any monster attack. Take note that this does not make you immune to damage, just knockbacks and flinches. It is composed of two powerful swing attacks where you can change the direction of the second swing using the Left Analog Stick.

Switch Axes in Rise are Easier to Charge!

The addition of Switch Skills such as Soaring Wyvern Blade and silkbind moves like Switch Charger made it incredibly easy to reach full charge in Sword Form compared to previous games. This translates to increased DPS, which allows the Switch Axe to be in S Tier!

No Guards or Counter

With how almost every weapon gets a new counterattack move of some sort (Long Sword has like 3), it's quite sad that Switch Axe did not get any in the base game. It could've been a very good weapon but with the current trend of the Hunter going full offensive, Switch Axe falls short in this category.

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A Tier Weapons List (Base Game)

Lance

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

Easy to understand attack and guarding combos Can counter effectively Can overcome weak DPS with Anchor Rage Twin Vine is compatible with the usual Lance gameplay Often outperformed by other weapons

Easy to Understand Moves

The Lance has a fairly simple gameplay loop to understand - poke when open, guard when not. This makes the Lance a very versatile weapon to fight a monster head-on. It also has counterattack capabilities with Guard Counter which gives the hunter a very big opening!

Silkbind Attacks Helps Overcome Its Shortcomings

Though easy to understand, the Lance has very low DPS. You have to consistently poke a monster to dish out decent damage. Anchor Rage is a guard move that when hit by a monster attack, increases your damage proportional to that attack. Twin Vine also connects the hunter to a monster for a short while, making it easy for the hunter to dash to the monster and close out the gap quickly.

The Lance is Often Overshadowed

Don't get us wrong—the Lance is an amazingly strong weapon if used properly. The reason why it is the lone entry at B Tier is simply because all of its strengths are easily matched, if not outclassed, by the other 13 weapons in Monster Hunter Rise.

The Lance's blocking prowess has been overshadowed by Gunlances, Charge Blades, and Sword and Shields due to the introduction of their new silkbind attacks. Its ability to effectively target weak spots also falls seconds to the likes of Insect Glaives and Bows.

The most glaring case of its inferiority, however, stems from its proficiency to stay in the thick of things. The Lance is no longer considered to be the only weapon that can stand face-to-face with Monsters. The introduction of various switch skills and silkbind attacks improved other weapons' efficiency to remain in close proximity to their target to the point where it is simply more efficient to use other weapons like Long Swords and Switch Axes for that particular playstyle instead.

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Monster Hunter Rise Related Guides

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