Long Sword Weapon Guide and New Moves

The Long Sword is a fluid weapon that chains together combos and counterattacks in Monster Hunter Wilds. Find out what the new moves for the Long Sword are, how to use it, and what its controls are in this guide!

New Long Sword Moves

Spirit Charge

Platform	Input
PC
PS5
Xbox

In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Long Sword can now perform the Spirit Charge action by pressing and holding R2. If held down for the entire animation, the hunter will flash, indicating that the R2 button may now be let go.

If fully charged, the hunter will then perform a Spirit Roundslash, increasing the Spirit Gauge's charge level by one stage. This makes it a powerful tool for quickly charging the Spirit Gauge.

Spirit Release Slash

Platform	Combo Input
PC	+ ↓ + ↓
PS5	+ ↓ + ↓
Xbox	+ ↓ + ↓

The Spirit Release Slash is another new move for the Long Sword, and can only be performed after a Spirit Helm Breaker. Pressing R2 after the previously mentioned move will execute the Spirit Release Slash.

The attack does a lot of damage, and additionally grants the hunter super armor while it is being performed.

Helm Breaker Cancel

A new functionality was added to the Spirit Helm Breaker where you can now cancel it by sheathing your weapon mid-air. This is a great addition as you can avoid using the move and waste your Spirit Gauge if the enemy moves away during your attack animation.

How to Use the Long Sword

Disclaimer: The guide presented here includes info from previous games in the series.

Long Sword Gameplay Tips
Charge the Spirit Gauge Use Counters to Charge the Gauge Helm Breaker Deals Huge Damage Use the Long Sword's Sheathe Combos

Charge the Spirit Gauge

The Long Sword makes use of the Spirit Gauge to amplify its damage, as well as perform stronger attacks. It has three stages: White, then Yellow, then Red.

Landing attacks like the Spirit Roundslash or the Iai Spirit Slash will fill up the gauge, increasing your damage.

Use Counters to Charge the Gauge

Making use of the Foresight Slash and Spirit Roundslash / Foresight Whirl Slash can quickly fill up the Spirit Gauge.

The former attack costs some of the Gauge to perform, but doing so successfully refills a lot more, and allows hunters to do the latter attack as a follow-up for more Spirit Gauge charging.

Helm Breaker Is One of Your Highest Damaging Move

Action	Button
Spirit Thrust → Spirit Helm Breaker	When the Spirit Gauge is White or Higher, + → +
Spirit Thrust ↓ Spirit Helm Breaker ↓ Spirit Release Slash	+ ↓ + ↓

The Long Sword has access to a powerful attack through the Spirit Helm Breaker. Performing it costs one whole level of the Spirit Gauge, meaning that players need to constantly refill the gauge to use the attack often.

If the gauge is Red, players can follow the Helm Breaker up with another powerful attack, the newly added Spirit Release Slash.

Use the Long Sword's Sheathe Combos

Some attacks in the Long Sword's kit have a large amount of delay after being performed, so it is recommended to follow these attacks up with the Special Sheathe to recover faster.

The Special Sheathe can then be succeeded by the Iai Slash to continue your combo and build up the Spirit Gauge or by Iai Spirit Slash to counter a monster's attack.

Long Sword Controls and Moves

Basic Controls

Action	PC	PS5	Xbox
Regular Attack
Thrust Attack
Downward Slash	+	+	+

Actions that Use the Spirit Gauge

Action	PC	PS5	Xbox
Spirit Slash
Directional Spirit Slash	+	+	+
Spirit Thrust	+	+	+
Spirit Thrust → Spirit Helm Breaker	When the Spirit Gauge is White or Higher + → +	When the Spirit Gauge is White or Higher + → +	When the Spirit Gauge is White or Higher + → +
Spirit Thrust → Spirit Helm Breaker → Spirit Release Slash	When the Spirit Gauge is Red + → + →	When the Spirit Gauge is Red + → + →	When the Spirit Gauge is Red + → + →

Other Advanced Actions

Action	PC	PS5	Xbox
Foresight Slash ↓ Foresight Whirl Slash	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,
Special Sheathe	After attacking, +	After attacking, +	After attacking, +
Iai Slash	After Special Sheathe,	After Special Sheathe,	After Special Sheathe,
Iai Spirit Slash	After Special Sheathe,	After Special Sheathe,	After Special Sheathe,

Spirit Gauge Explained

Actions that Increase Spirit Gauge Level
Action	PC	PS5	Xbox
Foresight Slash ↓ Foresight Whirl Slash	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,	+ ↓ After a successful Foresight Slash,
Spirit Blade Slash I → II → III → Spirit Roundslash	, , ,	, , ,	, , ,
Charge, then Release for Spirit Roundslash
Special Sheathe → Iai Spirit Slash	After attacking, + →	After attacking, + →	After attacking, + →

The Spirit Gauge is a Long Sword mechanic indicated by a color-changing bar that fills up as you land the above attacks and combos.

Long Sword Combos

Basic Overhead Combo

Platform	Combo Input
PC	→ → →
PS5	→ → →
Xbox	→ → →

This is your standard poke and the move you'll want to start your fight with the monster as you'll need to fill up your Spirit Gauge to use Spirit-related slash type moves.

Spirit Slash Combo

Platform	Combo Input
PC	→ → →
PS5	→ → →
Xbox	→ → →

This is a standard combo that allows you to consume your Spirit Gauge to unleash a Spirit Roundslash. Hitting an enemy will increase the level of your Spirit Gauge by 1 which makes your next set of attacks stronger.

Iai Spirit Slash to Spirit Helm Breaker

Platform	Combo Input
PC	From Iai Stance → ( + ) → or
PS5	From Iai Stance → (+) → or
Xbox	From Iai Stance → ( + ) → or

This is a short counter that you can use if you'll anticipate that a monster will land an attack on your. Counter their attack with Iai Spirit Slash's invulnerability frames (I-frames) to increase your Spirit Gauge level by 1 then consume it with a Spirit Helm Breaker for a burst of damage.

Spirit Helm Breaker to Spirit Release Slash

Platform	Combo Input
PC	Requires a red Spirit Gauge ( + ) → or →
PS5	Requires a red Spirit Gauge (+) → or →
Xbox	Requires a red Spirit Gauge ( + ) → or →

Once you have a red Spirit Gauge, you can use the Helm Breaker then follow it up with another R2 input to use Spirit Release Slash which is a new follow up move to the Spirit Helm Breaker. It also consumes 1 Spirit Gauge level and can only be used if Spirit Helm Breaker was used with a red gauge.

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

All Weapons and Guides

All Weapon Guides

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