These are the best High Rank Long Sword builds in Monster Hunter Wilds. Learn about all the builds in the late game, tips for building for the Endgame, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Long Sword while in High Rank.

Long Sword Builds Progression (High Rank)

Endgame High Rank Build (HR36++)

Raw Critical Long Sword Build

Effective Raw

300.83

Effective Element

34.5

Raw Crit Damage

1.4x

Element Crit Damage

1.00x

Attack

710

Element

300

Affinity

15%

Sharpness

Defense

319

vs. Fire

2

vs. Water

6

vs. Thunder

-5

vs. Ice

4

vs. Dragon

-12

Weapon Skills

Critical BoostLv.5

Master's TouchLv.1

Armor Skills

AgitatorLv.5

Weakness ExploitLv.5

AntivirusLv.3

Divine BlessingLv.3

Quick SheatheLv.3

Evade WindowLv.2

CoalescenceLv.1

Flinch FreeLv.1

Recovery SpeedLv.1

Set Skills

Black EclipseLv.1

Hasten RecoveryLv.1

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Dimensius	8	710	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	300	15%

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Mastery Jewel【3】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Element +20 • Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5 Element Type: Any Element	• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Sharpness +30

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Wyvern Blade "Maple"	8	660	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	350	10%
Skills	Critical Boost Lv. 3

Weapon Decorations	Mastery Jewel【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1

For this build, the Dimensius is once again recommended. Infusing the Dimensius with Attack will make the build work while we target affinity in the weapon reinforcements. To further boost the damage potential of the build, it is recommended to max out Critical Boost in the weapon decorations as well. Mastery Jewel is added to help the player with sharpness management.

For the monster weapon, the Wyvern Blade Maple is a solid alternative. This Long Sword already offers Critical Boost at level 3, needing one less decoration slot to max this skill out. Mastery Jewel is recommended to help with sharpness management. The final level 1 decoration slot can be filled up with any decoration that the player prefers.

Raw Critical Long Sword Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Gore Helm β	ー	Evade Window Lv. 1 Coalescence Lv. 1
Arkvulcan Mail β	ー	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
G. Arkveld Vambraces β		Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Arkvulcan Coil β	ー	Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Gore Greaves β		Flinch Free Lv. 1 Antivirus Lv. 1
Charm	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x3 Evasion Jewel【2】 x1 Sheath Jewel【1】 x3 Protection Jewel【1】 x3 Sane Jewel【1】 x2

Skill Summary

The skill summary above takes note of all the skills if you use the Artian Weapon.

With this build, it is highly recommended that players use the Crimson Slash Combo Loops found in the Best Combos section of this Long Sword Weapon Guide page. While this build is designed to maximize the overall damage output of the Long Sword, the combo mentioned greatly benefits from this build.

This build utilizes the skills Antivirus, Black Eclipse, Agitator, and Weakness Exploit to fully max out the player's affinity. If all the mentioned skills are activated and the player targets the monster's wound on a weakspot, this build can achieve 100% affinity- granted that the weapon used is one of the recommended above.

Quick Sheathe and Evade Window are a staple to these builds to maximize the Long Sword's Iai Slash and Iai Spirit Slash. Quick Sheathe makes it quicker to use these moves to give more reaction time to the player, while Evade Window extends the I-Frames of both moves. Coalescence, Flinch Free, Divine Blessing, and Hasten Recovery are all welcome additions to the build that may still help in the hunt.

Best Mantle

Mantle	Effect
Evasion Mantle	•　Evasion Mantle can be used as a safety net when trying to level up the Spirit Gauge by using Iai Slashes. •　The evasive maneuver gives the player the ability to continue the build up or levelling up of the Spirit Gauge.
Corrupted Mantle	•　The mantle for Long Sword masters. The boost to attack and affinity is tempting even with the reduced health effect. •　An experienced Long Sword player can take full advantage of the benefits and never suffer its draw backs due to the Long Sword's Iai Slashes that have built-in I-Frames.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Rathling Phoenix (Light Bowgun)	•　Having a ranged weapon as a back-up provides an additional option on hunting a monster. •　Light Bowguns have access to supporting ammo types which can be tailored to maximize the build's potential.
Varianza (Great Sword)	•　The Varianza is an artian weapon that offers customization wherein the player can tailor an element if it is needed for a hunt. •　Great Swords often enjoy great benefits from high affinity builds as these maximize their slow hitting attacks.

Build Playstyle and Combos

The recommended playstyle to maximize the build is as follows:

1. Initiate an ambush attack. Aside from dealing damage, this will make the monster flinch- giving us time to use Spirit Charge.
2. Follow up with your Spirit Charge all the way to Spirit Roundslash. This levels up the Spirit Gauge to one.
3. Use Special Sheathe and immediately follow up with Iai Spirit Slash. This will allow you to parry the monster's roar, levelling up the Spirit Gauge to two. Having Quick Sheathe at max level allows Special Sheathe to be executed quickly.
4. Successfully parrying the monster's roar with Spirit Slash allows us to combo straight into Spirit Blade III.
5. Use Spirit Blade III and follow up with Spirit Roundslash. This whole sequence will grant you a red Spirit Gauge at the start of the hunt.
6. The monster may counterattack immediately after your Spirit Roundslash, so start off by doing Rising Slash to prepare Foresight Slash and use it if needed. If you see an opening, immediately use Crimson Slash Combos to dish out damage.
7. Before the red Spirit Gauge is about to run out, you may use Spirit Helm Breaker and Spirit Release Slash to deal a burst of damage and inflict wounds to the monster. Use these wounds to once again level up your Spirit Gauge to red.

There will be a good chance that the monster will immediately enrage, activating Agitator earlier. Maximize Crimson Slash Combo Loops by targetting weakspots and wounds. Having Weakness Exploit ensures that the damage output is superb.

The main goal for this build is to reach the red gauge and use Crimson Slash Combos. With the opening combo above, players will get a free red gauge to push out damage much earlier. Remember that Crimson Slash Combos offer the highest damage output for the Long Sword, so prioritize using it over Spirit Helm Breaker for maximum damage.

Long Sword Weapon Guide and Best Combos

High Rank Build (HR 21 to HR 35)

Critical Exploiter Long Sword

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Artian Saber I	6	627	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②②②	260	20%

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Draw Jewel II【2】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Element +20 • Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 Element Type: Any Element	• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Sharpness +30

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Wyvern Blade "Blood" I	6	594	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②①ー	290	10%
Skills	Critical Boost Lv. 3

Weapon Decorations	Draw Jewel II【2】 x1 Critical Jewel【1】 x1

Once you get past High Rank 20, the Artian Weapons will soon be available. This is an excellent weapon choice as it lets you infuse different characterestics to the weapon. For this build, we recommend to infuse Affinity and Attack. This build utilizes a lot of Critical Boost, so going for these infusions will net great results for the build. Sharpness reinforcement is also an option to give more comfort while hunting.

For the monster weapon, the Wyvern Blade Blood I is an excellent choice. This weapon offers good damage and sharpness, along with 10% affinity. Additionally, having innate Critical Boost level 3 lessens the need to hunt for Critical Jewel Decorations which are needed in the Artian Saber I.

Critical Exploiter Long Sword Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
G. Rathalos Helm β	ー	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Blango Mail β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
G. Rathalos Vambraces β		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Blango Coil β	ー	Agitator Lv. 2
G. Rathalos Greaves β	ーー	Windproof Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Charm	Evasion Charm II
Armor Decorations	Sheath Jewel【1】 x3 Protection Jewel【1】 x3 Evasion Jewel【2】 x3

Skill Summary

The skill summary above takes note of all the skills if you use the Artian Weapon.

This build focuses on maximizing the Long Sword's affinity by combining Agitator and Weakness Exploit. At this point in the game, monsters will most likely be agitated for the majority of the hunt.

Agitator takes advantage of this and provides the player additional attack and additional affinity. Inevitably, the monster will suffer wounds during the hunt. This is where Weakness Exploit comes in and boosts the effects of Agitator by increasing affinity to monster weak points while adding another boost of affinity when hitting monster wounds.

Critical Boost completes the offensive aspect of the build by boosting the damage done by critical hits. This includes hits done by Critical Draw, making draw attacks much more powerful. At level 4, critical hits enjoy a damage increase of 37%- a substantial damage boost that will make the hunt faster and easier.

Quick Sheathe and Evade Window are added to maximize the Long Sword's Iai Slash and Iai Spirit Slash. Quick Sheathe makes it quicker to use these moves to give more reaction time to the player, while Evade Window extends the I-Frames of both moves.

Divine Blessing is maxed out by filling in the decorations through the armor. This skill provides great comfort and defense, but can be switched out if the player prefers another skill.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
G. Veldian Impetum II (Light Bowgun)	•　Having a ranged weapon as a back-up provides an additional option on hunting a monster. •　Light Bowguns have access to supporting ammo types which can be tailored to maximize the build's potential.
Red Wing I (Great Sword)	•　Red Wing I offers Critical Boost which greatly compliments the build and lessens the hunt for this decoration. •　Great Swords often enjoy great benefits from high affinity builds as these maximize their slow hitting attacks.

High Rank Build (HR 9 to HR 20)

Elemental Long Sword

Best Weapon

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Wyvern Blade "Verde" I	5	528	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②①ー	140	15%
Skills	Critical Status Lv. 2 Poison Duration Up Lv. 1

This build mainly uses Foray, so having a weapon that has innate poison status will elevate this build is going to be perfect. It checks all the boxes in Wyvern Blade Verde I with an additional bonus of having Critical Status Lv. 2 and Poison Duration Up Lv. 1 so it is really made to take advantage of Foray.

We also slotted in a Draw Jewel [2] to provide Affinity on your draw attacks and a Crit Status Jewel [1] for another level of Critical Status.

Alternative Weapon Choices

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Barina Flamberge III	5	495	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②①ー	180	15%
Skills	Critical Draw Lv. 2 Critical Status Lv. 1

Barina Flamberge is a very good alternative to the Wyvern Blade Verde. This weapon's Elemental Damage also works with this build's armor set and even offers Critical Draw, which compliments the Long Sword very well.

While it offers more Elemental Damage, this weapon deals considerably less raw damage. Due to the Long Sword relying more on raw attack damage, the Wyvern Blade Verde still holds the top spot.

Elemental Long Sword Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Alloy Helm α		Quick Sheathe Lv. 1
Rathian Mail β	①①①	Foray Lv. 1
Hirabami Vambraces β	①①ー	Evade Window Lv. 1
Rathian Coil β	ーー	Foray Lv. 1
Alloy Greaves α	ーー	Quick Sheathe Lv. 1 Flinch Free Lv. 1
Charm	Foray Charm I
Decorations List	Weapon Decorations: Draw Jewel II【2】 x1 Crit Status Jewel【1】 x1 Armor Decorations: Sheath Jewel【1】 x1 Protection Jewel【1】 x2 Evasion Jewel【2】 x1

Alternative Armor Choices

Armor Alternatives	Explanation
Bulaqchi Specs α	Entomologist Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Chatacabra Greaves β	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1

Inserting these two armor pieces trades the comfort that Quick Sheathe gives for more damage. Weakness Exploit further increases the weapon's affinity, resulting into a higher damage output. However, both armor pieces do not have a decoration slot.

Skill Summary

At this point of the game, most Long Swords feature Elemental Damage to their qualities. This build helps the Long Sword maximize thier Elemental Damage by incorporating Foray. This skill boosts damage and adds affinity when attacking monsters that are affected by poison or paralysis. Critical Draw also helps in boosting the affinity when attacking.

This added affinity not only increases damage but also boosts the Elemental Damage done with the help of Critical Status. This skill increases abnormal status effects, such as poison, when landing critical hits on the monster. Poison Duration Up is a complimentary skill that makes poison affect the monster longer.

The armor has seven level one decorations slot, making the build very flexible to tailor the player's needs. However, for this build we will add Protection Jewels to max out Divine Blessing which the armor already possess. The rest of the slots to be filled will be up to the player.

Quick Sheathe and Evade Window are added to maximize the Long Sword's Iai Slash and Iai Spirit Slash. Quick Sheathe makes it quicker to use these moves to give more reaction time to the player, while Evade Window extends the I-Frames of both moves.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Valkyrie Fire I (Light Bowgun)	•　Having a ranged weapon as a back-up provides an additional option on hunting a monster. •　Light Bowguns can easily inflict poison as an Elemental Damage, complimenting the build's main purpose.
Dual Battleaxes I (Dual Blades)	•　With eight decoration slots in the armor build, the player can tailor decorations to fit the Dual Blades. •　Dual Blades trigger elemental damage quickly due to their quick and successive attack. With that in mind, Dual Blades will benefit from this build.

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

List of Builds for Each Weapon

All Weapon Builds in Monster Hunter Wilds

All Weapon Builds & Guides
Great Sword Low Rank | High Rank	Long Sword Low Rank | High Rank
Sword and Shield Low Rank | High Rank	Dual Blades Low Rank | High Rank
Hammer Low Rank | High Rank	Hunting Horn Low Rank | High Rank
Lance Low Rank | High Rank	Gunlance Low Rank | High Rank
Switch Axe Low Rank | High Rank	Charge Blade Low Rank | High Rank
Insect Glaive Low Rank | High Rank	Bow Low Rank | High Rank
Light Bowgun Low Rank | High Rank	Heavy Bowgun Low Rank | High Rank

Non-Meta Builds in Monster Hunter Wilds