This is a guide to all 14 weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds (MH Wilds). Learn all Weapon differences and weigh in each of their strengths to see which Weapon best fits your playstyle here!

Weapon Guides
Weapon Tier List	List of All Weapons	Beginner Weapons
Secondary Weapons	Weapon Combinations	Weapons Quiz

All Weapon Types

Like previous Monster Hunter games, Wilds has 14 weapon types. To help you choose, we've summarized the playstyle for each weapon type below. Feel free to check out our guides for the best weapon and best secondary weapons too!

▼Great Sword	▼Long Sword	▼Sword & Shield
▼Dual Blades	▼Hammer	▼Hunting Horn
▼Lance	▼Gunlance	▼Switch Axe
▼Charge Blade	▼Insect Glaive	▼Light Bowgun
▼Heavy Bowgun	▼Bow

Great Sword Guide and Overview

Great Sword Guides
Great Sword Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Great Sword Best Builds

The Great Sword is one of the slowest weapons in the game both in terms of mobility and attack animations. Despite the massive disadvantage, it's one of the fan favorites for the franchise's weapon due to its monstrous amount of damage per hit.

If you're willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of big damage numbers per strike then the Great Sword is the ideal weapon for you.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Long Sword Guide and Overview

Long Sword Guides
Long Sword Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Long Sword Best Builds

The Long Sword, true to its name, is a medium-ranged melee weapon. it has an excellent reach that allows it to strike specific monster parts that are normally out of reach while featuring a decent amount of mobility to reposition in fights.

Its greatest strength it its ability to ramp up its damage output by utilizing its spirit gauge and increasing it over the course of battle to gain an increased amount of damage output or use the charged up spirit to unleash deadly attacks.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Sword & Shield Guide and Overview

Sword & Shield Guides
Sword & Shield Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Sword & Shield Best Builds

The Sword & Shield is a versatile weapon that allows for quick movement on the battlefield, and enables hunters to use some items even while the weapon is drawn.

The shield can be used to both guard and attack, further diversifying the weapon's capabilities in battle as it can both cut with the sword, and stun with the shield.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Dual Blades Guide and Overview

Dual Blades Guides
Dual Blades Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Dual Blades Best Builds

The Dual Blades are the pinnacle of speed and agility, as they focus on a rapid flurry of attacks and evasive maneuvers. Hunters using them can enter Demon Mode and Archdemon Mode to further increase their combat capabilities.

Despite being a weapon class that consumes its own stamina rapidly, it more than makes up for it with an insane amount of damage output. While each individual hit may not seem much, if you want to fill up your screen with damage numbers then the Dual Blades is one of the best weapon choices for you.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Hammer Guide and Overview

Hammer Guides
Hammer Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Hammer Best Builds

The Hammer is a hefty blunt weapon that can deliver immense amounts of stun damage to monsters when striking their heads, while remaining mobile. Similarly to the Great Sword, the Hammer can charge to augment its attacks.

This is a great tempo weapon that you can use to navigate around the battlefield while charging up your weapon for strong and lethal concussive strikes.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Hunting Horn Guide and Overview

Hunting Horn Guides
Hunting Horn Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Hunting Horn Best Builds
Hunting Horn Songs

The Hunting Horn is another blunt weapon that can play melodies and lay down Echo Bubbles that buff all allies. These melodies provide beneficial buffs to the party, and are an invaluable form of support during hunts.

Don't mistake the Hunting Horn for just being a buff or support weapon, the Hunting Horn is a lethal weapon that can bring down any enemy it faces with its strong blunt attacks while strengthening its own user with its wide array of buffs.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Lance Guide and Overview

Lance Guides
Lance Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Lance Best Builds

The Lance is a weapon with top-class defense, as its shield can block many monster attacks. Its thrusting attacks are fast and safe to use, and it can also utilize guard-related moves and counters to diversify its strategy in battle.

This weapon does not employ any flashy mobility nor jaw-dropping attacks but what it does offer, is the most stable weapon that can tank the strongest monster attack and live and then continue the hunt.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Gunlance Guide and Overview

Gunlance Guides
Gunlance Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Gunlance Best Builds

The Gunlance is a weapon that utilizes Shells in its attacks for explosive damage. It also carries a tough shield, and uses sidestepping to reposition for attacks. It has access to a variety of shell-based attacks to use in combat.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Switch Axe Guide and Overview

Switch Axe Guides
Switch Axe Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Switch Axe Best Builds

The Switch Axe is a weapon that can swap between two forms: Axe Mode has great reach and sweeping attacks, while Sword Mode is more agile and attacks faster. Switching between the two forms the core of this weapon.

This is one of the two morphing weapons in the game and the Switch Axe is the more aggressive weapon form that's capable of unleashing massive explosions to demolish monsters it faces.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Charge Blade Guide and Overview

Charge Blade Guides
Charge Blade Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Charge Blade Best Builds

The Charge Blade is another weapon that swaps between its quicker Sword Mode to build Phials, and the Axe Mode to use those Phials for more damage. The Sword Mode also carries a shield, enabling hunters to guard.

One of the highest difficulty weapon in the game due to its advance mechanics of multiple boost types as well as its many forms of guard points for countering enemy attacks.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Insect Glaive Guide and Overview

Insect Glaive Guides
Insect Glaive Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Insect Glaive Best Builds
Kinsect Tree and List

The Insect Glaive brings a Kinsect onto the field, and works as an acrobatic weapon with lots of aerial mobility. It uses these Kinsects to harvest Extracts from monsters, enhancing the hunter in combat.

This weapon requires a massive amount of knowledge against monsters to utilize its kinsect buffs while also playing around the vertical areas of the field to maximize its jump attacks.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Light Bowgun Guide and Overview

Light Bowgun Guides
Light Bowgun Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Light Bowgun Best Builds
Bowgun Mods Explained

The Light Bowgun is a ranged weapon that expends various types of ammo to attack at mid-range. It is lighter than its Heavy counterpart, allowing for quick attacks and repositioning.

It can also use Rapid Fire energy to swiftly fire attacks in succession, barraging monsters in the hunter's line of sight. This energy regenerates over time and on landing hits on a monster.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Heavy Bowgun Guide and Overview

Heavy Bowgun Guides
Heavy Bowgun Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Heavy Bowgun Best Builds
Bowgun Special Ammo Guide

The Heavy Bowgun also uses Ammo, but trades the mobility of the Light Bowgun for more firepower. It can use Ignition Mode to fire rapidly, and can use Auto-Guard to defend against attacks from monsters.

Energy for Ignition Mode also regenerates over time, or when landing hits on monsters.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Bow Guide and Overview

Bow Guides
Bow Tree	Full Weapon Guide	Bow Best Builds

The Bow is a ranged weapon that fires arrows instead of ammo, and has high mobility in combat. It can charge its shots, with shots charged for longer doing more damage.

It can also launch a Tracer that causes arrows to home in on the part it hits; the Tracer explodes after it takes enough hits, or when enough time has passed.

⬆ Back to Weapons

Which Weapon Should You Choose?

Long Sword and Dual Blades for Melee Light and Heavy Bowgun for Ranged Hunting Horn as a Sub Weapon Use Your Preferred Weapons

Long Sword and Dual Blades for Melee

The Long Sword and Dual Blades are popular melee options that have garnered a lot of fans from players of the series. Players looking to pick them up can find lots of tutorials and advice online, making them simpler to learn.

Light and Heavy Bowgun for Ranged

Similarly, both the Light and Heavy Bowgun have a reputation for being high-damage weapons used to quickly clear fights. It is expected that setting these weapons up with the proper build will lead to great performance.

Hunting Horn as a Sub Weapon

As Monster Hunter Wilds allows players to take two weapons out on hunts, the Hunting Horn is recommended as a secondary weapon for its invaluable buffing songs.

Choose the Weapon That Fits Your Playstyle

The best weapon really depends on which weapon type you find easy or fun to use! If you like getting up close and personal, the Great Sword, Long Sword, and Dual Blades are good choices, but if you prefer fighting from a distance, then we recommend trying the Bow and Heavy Bowgun instead.

Weapon Characteristics Summary

Weapon	Summary
Great Sword	・ Slow swings, but big damage numbers ・ Dodge damage with guards and tackles ・ Simple but deep controls and gameplay
Long Sword	・ Fluid combos and movement ・ Good damage as the Spirit Gauge ramps up ・ One of the most popular weapons in previous titles
Sword & Shield	・ Agile movement and attacks ・ Great evasive backstep with a long invincibility period ・ Powerful combo attack in Perfect Rush
Dual Blades	・ Can perform rapid attacks ・ Increases attack frequency even more in Demon Mode ・ Top-tier elemental damage
Hammer	・ Surprisingly mobile in battle ・ Immense stun damage when attacking the head ・ Simpler gameplay loop for ease of use
Hunting Horn	・ Long-reaching and easy to use weapon ・ Access to supportive effects via melodies ・ Greatly increased efficacy in multiplayer
Lance	・ Best defense amongst weapons ・ Quick and safe thrusting attacks give monsters no openings ・ Has access to counterattacks for more damage
Gunlance	・ Uses artilery shells to attack in combos ・ Various explosive attacks, like Wyvern Fire ・ Can defend well using sidesteps and guarding
Switch Axe	・ Swaps between Axe and Sword Mode ・ Sword Mode attacks quicker for more damage ・ Zero Sum Discharge is a great finisher attack
Charge Blade	・ Great damage from Element Discharge attacks ・ Shield allows for guard points and counterattacks ・ Various ways to strengthen the weapon using phials, such as through the sword, shield, and axe
Insect Glaive	・ Unique aerial mobility and movement ・ Can improve its performance by collecting Essence with the Kinsect ・ Can fight well in aerial combat
Light Bowgun	・ Mid-range weapon with quick shots and good evasion ・ Great elemental damage with elemental ammo ・ Can also utilize status ailment bullets, like paralysis and sleep ammo
Heavy Bowgun	・ Long-range weapon with more firepower ・ Also has good elemental damage with elemental ammo ・ Can be customized to guard against attacks better
Bow	・ Close-to-medium-range weapon that can charge its shots ・ Can use coatings to empower arrows or inflict statuses ・ Access to Rapid, Pierce, or Spread Bows for better efficiency against certain monsters

Which Weapon is Right for You?

Is There a New Weapon?

No New Weapons for MH Wilds

As of the moment, there are no new weapon types that will be added to Monster Hunter Wilds. All weapon trailers have currently been released, and similar to previous entries, there will only be fourteen in the game.

Are There New Weapon Types in the Game?

Weapon Popularity Poll

Which Weapon Are You Using?

Place your votes on which weapon is your favorite, and share your thoughts in the comments below!

Jump to the Comments! (0)

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough Wiki

Monster Hunter Wilds Wiki Contents
Weapons	Armor Sets
Monsters	Builds
Story Walkthrough	Artian Weapons
Maps and Locations	Items and Materials
Tips and Tricks	Endemic Life
Skills	Decorations
Talismans	Characters
Quests	Palico
Trophies	Cosmetics
Furniture	News and Game Info
Message Boards	-

Recommended Guides

Best Weapons Tier List	Secondary Weapons
Weapon Combos	Best Items to Bring
Armor Set Search	Endgame Guide
Unchangeable Features and Missables	Best Skills
Weapon Popularity Tier List	How to Prepare for Title Update 1