Monster Hunter Wilds

Best Switch Axe Builds for High Rank

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough Team

Last updated on: October 23, 2025 03:14 AM

MH Wilds - Switch Axe Builds for High Rank

These are the best High Rank Switch Axe builds in Monster Hunter Wilds. Learn about all the builds in the early game, tips for building at the beginning, and the best Skills and Armor pieces to use with the Switch Axe while in High Rank.

List of Contents

Builds Progression
Endgame High Rank Build (HR 50++)
Endgame High Rank Builds (HR 36++)
High Rank Build (HR21 - HR35)
High Rank Build (HR9 - HR20)
Related Guides

Switch Axe Builds Progression (High Rank)

Endgame Builds Recommendation

Rating	Build Name
★★★★★	NEW Omega Lord's Soul SA Build High Affinity, Omega Resonance Switch Axe build ideal for multiplayer.
★★★★★	Counterstrike Agitator Raw SA Build High-damage endgame Swax build utilizing Gore and Numinous pieces with Counterstrike.
★★★★★	Lagi Gore Agitator SA Build Aggressive, high-damage build leveraging Elemental Absorption and Counterstrike for massive damage.
★★★★	Lagi Thunder SA Build A Thunder-based build for hunting 9-Star monsters: Uth Duna, Mizutsune, Seregios, and Gore Magala.
★★★★	Guts Counterstrike SA Build Endgame comfort and high raw damage Swax build using Lord's Soul gamma pieces.
★★★★	Rey Gore Agitator SA Build High affinity endgame Swax build using Rey Dau γ and Gore pieces
★★★	Seregios Gore Comfy SA Build Comfy endgame build that uses Gore and Seregios parts including the Seregios weapon.
★★★	Evasive Earplugs SA Build Endgame comfort build that uses a mixed Numinous set allowing Evade Extender 3 and Earplugs 3.

Progression Builds

Hunter Rank	Build Name
HR 36++	Counterstrike Frenzied Raw Build
HR 36++	Frenzied Agitator Build
HR21 - HR40	Second Wind Max Might Build
HR9 - HR20	WEX Foray Switch Axe

Note that if you are still comfortable with a previous build you're using, you can skip some builds. This is a suggested build progression that you can follow until endgame.

Date	Changes
August 19, 2025	Added Lagi Thunder build for hunting 9-Star monsters: Uth Duna, Mizutsune, Seregios, and Gore Magala.
August 15, 2025	Added Lagi Gore Agitator build, including an Appraised (RNG) Talisman.
July 24, 2025	Added Guts Counterstrike Build for the Switch Axe.
July 23, 2025	Added 2x Afi Agitator Max Might Switch Axe build for the Festival of Accord: Flamefete event.
May 19, 2025	Added Evasive Earplugs Switch Axe build. Started adding Skill Buffs Breakdown and DEF and RES Totals table sections.
May 7, 2025	Took out the 2x Sakuratide Agitator General Build at the end of the Blossomdance Event. The archived build can be found on the Sakuratide α Armor page.
May 5, 2025	Added Rey Gore Agitator build.
April 25, 2025	Added TU1 2x Sakuratide Agitator General Build for the Blossomdance Event.
April 5, 2025	• Changed the Artian weapon decoration for both HR36++ builds to have Critical Boost than Rapid Morph. • Added an HR50++ build considering Zoh Shia's release in Title Update 1. • Tweaked the HR21 build to include Mizutsune for extra two points of Burst in exchange for a point in Weakness Exploit.
March 8, 2025	A fourth build was added as an option for the endgame. This build uses G. Fulgur and Gore pieces for maximum damage while also maintaining Agitator 5 from the previous build. Maximum Might replaces WEX as the biggest source of affinity, with Counterstrike and Burst added in for more Raw damage.
March 6, 2025	Weapon decorations for the third High rank build was adjusted to prefer Power Prolonger over Focus.
March 3, 2025	The third High Rank build was made and is the first endgame armor build.
March 2, 2025	Second High Rank build was made and posted.
March 1, 2025	First High Rank build was made and posted.

Endgame High Rank Build (HR 50++)

Counterstrike Agitator Raw Switch Axe Build

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	735 (210)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	130	25%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Elemental Attack + 20 Element Type: Blast	• Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

The best Artian weapon for this build is the Mundus Altus with a 2 of 5 production bonus on Attack and the rest to Affinity. Make sure to aim for Blast by putting atleast two out of three Artian materials be of the two. This will automatically make it Power Phial. Note that you may also change it into Paralysis, if you want that status type better than Blast.

If you're using a monster weapon, we recommend the Blazing Mahaiah. It has a Power Phial, has the highest Raw power, positive affinity, and an equally great Dragon element stat on top of it all. It has the Zoh Shia weapon's exclusive skill, Whiteflame Torrent, which deals extra 50 damage on top of your existing damage. This accumulates in the long run as a way to increase your overall DPS for free.

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Numinous Crown β		Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 1
Numinous Shroud β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
Gore Vambraces α	ー	Evade Window Lv. 1 Constitution Lv. 2
Gore Coil β	ー	Constitution Lv. 2
Numinous Greaves α	ー	Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Counterstrike Lv. 2 Elemental Absorption Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Challenger Jewel【3】 Agitator Lv. 1 Handicraft Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x3 Jumping Jewel【2】 x2 Mighty Jewel【2】 x1 Counter Jewel【2】 x1 Sane Jewel【1】 x3
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 325 Fire Res: -10 Water Res: 12 Thunder Res: 4 Ice Res: 4 Dragon Res: -14

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	2	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Constitution	4
Weakness Exploit	3	Counterstrike	3
Antivirus	3	Recovery Speed	2
Evade Extender	2	Maximum Might	1
Evade Window	1	Elemental Absorption	1
Group / Set Skills
Black Eclipse I		Super Recovery I
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AV3: +25% ・WEX3: +15%~25% ・AGI5: +15% ・MM1: +10% ・Weapon: 25% Lowest-Highest: ・25%~100%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・CS3: +25 Raw ・Crit.B4: +40% Crit Dmg. ・Weapon: 210 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・210~255 Raw ・+40% Crit Dmg

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman and Artian Weapon.

This build this time focuses on increasing the general attack and affinity of the build without reliance on G. Fulgur's Second Wind bonus. When all the skills are activated, you will get a total of around 75% Affinity from Agitator, WEX, and Antivirus. We kept Black Eclipse as a required skill to trigger Antivirus more reliably. With this in mind, you can easily get to around 100% affinity if you get your Artian weapon rolls right. We have noted in the weapons section the required affinity rolls to get there!

The raw damage of the build will come from Agitator and Counterstrike, especially since the Switch Axe has a lot of offset attacks and hyperarmor moves that can trigger it. In total, the build provides +45 True Raw on top of the high Attack of the Power Phial switch axe.

For the weapon, we still went with the max level Critical Boost and Power Prolonger. Power Prolonger extends your amped mode duration so you can release up to around 5 Full Release Slashes if the situation permits. Critical Boost is there to take advantage of the high affinity with Handicraft chosen as the secondary skill for Power Prolonger's decoration to extend the sharpness meter.

Best Mantles to Use

Best Mantles	Explanation
Rocksteady Mantle	•　This is a good mantle for tanking hits and if you want to ensure your combos and attacks are uninterruped in crucial moments. •　Works well with Counterstrike as the skill can trigger even by just tanking moves that can knock you back.
Corrupted Mantle	•　Increases your damage even more. •　You will need to manage the drain though, so be careful!

For this build, we recommend slotting in the Rocksteady Mantle to ensure your combos and attacks are uninterrupted. Counterstrike will also trigger when you get hit while wearing it, so you get free attack boost every time!

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Any Other Artian Weapon Except Dual Blades or Bow	•　This build is very flexible in terms of providing essential armor skills for any other Artian Weapon. •　Just make sure you're slotting in the correct Weapon Skills in your Artian weapon. •　The only real exception is probably Dual Blades or Bow, mostly because they will also rely on Stamina Surge. •　The Bow and the Dual Blades are also mostly elemental, so a raw damage weapon would be better like the Gunlance for example.

Weapon & Type

Explanation

Any Other Artian Weapon Except Dual Blades or Bow

•　This build is very flexible in terms of providing essential armor skills for any other Artian Weapon.
•　Just make sure you're slotting in the correct Weapon Skills in your Artian weapon.
•　The only real exception is probably Dual Blades or Bow, mostly because they will also rely on Stamina Surge.
•　The Bow and the Dual Blades are also mostly elemental, so a raw damage weapon would be better like the Gunlance for example.

Playstyle and Combos

The general gameplay of the build revolves around reliably triggering Counterstrike with the Switch Axe's Counter Rising Slash. This gives the build a great boost of raw Attack that will take this weapon to new heights!

Before starting the combat, make sure to sneak on the monster to deal a quick Sneak Attack. This is not only free damage, but also charges your axe into its Powered Axe form.
Start charging your Amp Gauge using the sword mode. The only way to do this is using the sword mode.
When facing a monster attack, make sure to use Offset Rising Slash while in Axe Mode and Counter Rising Slash in Sword Mode to counterattack. If you are not familiar with the move, evade out of the way with the help of the Level 2 Evade Extender.
You also need to hit Counter Rising Slash occassionally to trigger Counterstrike. This will last you 45s per activation so you only really need to do it periodically.
Successfully following up the Counter Rising Slash with a Heavensward greatly charges your Amp Gauge so always do it.
With Power Prolonger, you can maintain the Amped Mode for a long time. This gives you the chance to use Full Release Slash whenever there is an opening multiple times.
Repeat the process when the Amped Mode expires. Learning to manage the gauge is of utmost importance for Switch Axe users, so always try to maintain your Amped Mode.

This build takes advantage of Agitator, WEX, and Counterstrike to deal massive damage on enemies. Make sure you are always on Amped Mode and successfully hitting Counter Rising Slashes to maintain the buff from Counterstrike.

Switch Axe Weapon Guide and Best Combos

Omega Lord's Soul Switch Axe Build

Best Weapons

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	788 (225)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	280	5%
Phial	Element Phial

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

This weapon decoration setup is an example for Fire element Switch Axe. You may swap the decorations for any element.

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

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

Omega Lord's Soul Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Rey Sandhelm γ	ーー	Stamina Surge Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Udra Miremail γ	ー	Counterstrike Lv. 2
Omega Vambraces α	ー	Divine Blessing Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 1
Omega Accessory α	ー	Divine Blessing Lv. 1 Burst Lv. 1
Duna Wildgreaves γ		Quick Sheathe Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Steadfast Jewel【1】 Rapid Morph Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Alternate Charm (HR 50+)	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x2 Counter Jewel【2】 x1 Mighty Jewel【2】 x2 Steadfast Jewel【1】 x2 Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x3
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 341 Fire Res: 10 Water Res: -2 Thunder Res: -5 Ice Res: 2 Dragon Res: -4

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

When using Challenger Charm II, swap one Challenger Jewel for a Tenderizer Jewel to max out both Agitator and Weakness Exploit.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Rapid Morph	3
Master's Touch	1	Handicraft	1
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Weakness Exploit	5
Counterstrike	3	Maximum Might	3
Quick Sheathe	3	Stun Resistance	3
Divine Blessing	2	Burst	1
Stamina Surge	1	ー
Group / Set Skills
Resonance I		Guts (Tenacity)
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AGI5: +15% ・WEX5: +50% ・MM3: +30% ・Resonance I: +20% ・Weapon: 5% Lowest-Highest: ・5%~120%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・CS3: +25 Raw ・BST1: +8 ・Resonance I: +10 Raw ・Guts: +11 Raw ・Weapon: 225 Raw Lowest-Highest: 225~299 Raw

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman and Artian weapon loadout.

This build is recommended for multiplayer or when hunting with Support Hunters to gain +20% Affinity or +10 Attack from Omega Resonance.

This build has maxed out Agitator, Weakness Exploit, and Maximum Might for high levels of Affinity that goes well with Critical Boost 5 and Master's Touch. Lord's Soul provides a consistent boost in damage, as long as Guts (Tenacity) is not triggered.

Lagi Gore Agitator Switch Axe Build

Best Weapons

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	788 (225)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	280	5%
Phial	Element Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Quickswitch/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1 Blaze/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

This weapon decoration setup is an example for Fire element Switch Axe. You may swap the decorations for any element.

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

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

This build uses an Artian weapon of any element, focused on Attack production and reinforcement bonuses, with a single Sharpness reinforcement.

The best alternate weapon is the Blazing Mahaiah for its high raw damage and has a Power type phial. It also has Whiteflame Torrent that periodically deals extra 50 damage that adds up over the course of a hunt.

Lagi Gore Agitator Switch Axe Build Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Lagiacrus Helm β		Maximum Might Lv. 2
Gore Mail β	ー	Evade Window Lv. 2
Numinous Vambraces β	ー	Elemental Absorption Lv. 2
Lagiacrus Coil β		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Gore Greaves β		Flinch Free Lv. 1 Antivirus Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Critical Jewel【1】 Attack Boost Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x4 Counter Jewel【2】 x3 Physique Jewel【1】 x1 Sane Jewel【1】 x2 Steadfast Jewel【1】 x3
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 317 Fire Res: -12 Water Res: 12 Thunder Res: 8 Ice Res: 2 Dragon Res: -10

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

If you don't have the appraised charm, use a Challenger Charm II instead, then swap out a Challenger Jewel for a Chain Jewel. This keeps Agitator at level 5 while getting a value point in Burst.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	4	Rapid Morph	3
Elemental Attack	3	Handicraft	3
Attack Boost	3	-
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Antivirus	3
Counterstrike	3	Maximum Might	3
Stun Resistance	3	Elemental Absorption	2
Evade Window	2	Constitution	1
Flinch Free	1	Weakness Exploit	1
Group / Set Skills
Black Eclipse I		Azure Bolt I
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AGI5: +15% ・AV3: +25% ・MM3: +30% ・WEX1: +8% ・A.Bolt 1: +15% ・Weapon: 5% Lowest-Highest: ・5%~98%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・CS3: +25 Raw ・E. Abs 2: +50 Elem ・A. Boost 3: +7 Raw ・E. Atk 3: +56 Elem (+20%) \| +60 Elem ・Crit.B4: +37% Crit Dmg. ・Weapon: 225 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・225~277 Raw ・396~446 Element ・+37% Crit Dmg

This is a high-damage, general-purpose build with multiple skills that boost Affinity, raw, and elemental damage. Azure Bolt deals extra damage periodically and adds even more Affinity that pairs well with Critical Boost 4.

Comfort skills include Rapid Morph, Handicraft, and Evade Window while also enabling an aggressive play style.

Lagi Thunder Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon Loadout

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
High Bolt Axe	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	300	0%
Skills	Power Prolonger Lv. 2 Convert Thunder Resistance Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Bolt/Enhancer Jwl【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Critical Jewel【1】 x1

This build uses the High Bolt Axe and boasts high Thunder element damage with the innate weapon skill Convert Thunder Resistance.

This is effective against four of the nine 9-Star monsters that reward Glowing Stones namely: Seregios, Uth Duna, Mizutsune, and Gore Magala.

All 9-Star Quests

Lagi Thunder Switch Axe Build Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Lagiacrus Helm β		Maximum Might Lv. 2
Rey Sandmail γ	ーー	Latent Power Lv. 3
Rey Sandbraces γ	ー	Evade Extender Lv. 2
Lagiacrus Coil β		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Duna Wildgreaves γ		Quick Sheathe Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Critical Jewel【1】 Rapid Morph Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Chain Jewel【3】 x1 Challenger Jewel【3】 x3 Counter Jewel【2】 x2 Steadfast Jewel【1】 x3 Thunder Res Jewel【1】 x3
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 333 Fire Res: -7 Water Res: 4 Thunder Res: 33 Ice Res: -8 Dragon Res: -4

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

If you don't have the Appraised Talisman, use a Challenger Charm II, then swap out a Challenger Jewel for a Chain Jewel.

For decorations, if you're hunting Uth Duna or Mizutsune in the Scarlet Forest, swap out two Steadfast Jewels for two Mirewalker Jewels to help with mobility.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	4	Power Prolonger	3
Rapid Morph	3	Thunder Attack	3
Convert Thunder Resistance	1	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Thunder Resistance	3
Latent Power	3	Maximum Might	3
Quick Sheathe	3	Counterstrike	2
Evade Extender	2	Stun Resistance	3
Burst	1	Weakness Exploit	1
Group / Set Skills
Thunderous Roar I		Guts (Tenacity)
Azure Bolt I		ー
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AGI5: +15% ・MM3: +30% ・WEX1: +8% ・LP3: +30% ・A.Bolt: +15% ・Weapon: 0% Lowest-Highest: ・0%~92%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・BST1: +8 Raw \| +60 Thunder ・CS2: +15 Raw ・TA3: +120 Thunder ・CTR: +132 Thunder ・CB4: +37% Crit Dmg ・Guts: +11 Raw ・Weapon: 220 Raw Lowest-Highest: ・220~274 Raw ・+312 Thunder ・+37% Crit Dmg

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman.

This build focuses on increasing High Bolt Axe's Thunder element damage with maxed out Thunder Resistance for the Convert Thunder Resistance skill and supplemented by Azure Bolt. It also has plenty of offensive skills including Latent Power that is enhanced by Thunderous Roar, maxed out Agitator, Maximum Might, and Critical Boost.

It also has plenty of comfort skills including Power Prolonger, Rapid Morph, Evade Extender, and Lord's Soul to help you stay aggressive.

Guts Counterstrike Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	735 (210)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	130	25%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Elemental Attack + 20 Element Type: Blast	• Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

The Guts build uses a Power Phial Mundus Altus with a 2 of 5 production bonus on Attack and the rest to Affinity. For its element, we recommend either going full on Blast or Paralysis.

The recommend non-artian alternative weapon is the Blazing Mahaiah for its high raw potential, white sharpness and damage skill Whiteflame Torrent.

Guts Counterstrike Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Rey Sandhelm γ	ーー	Stamina Surge Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Numinous Shroud β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
Rey Sandbraces γ	ー	Evade Extender Lv. 2
Lagiacrus Coil β		Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Duna Wildgreaves γ		Quick Sheathe Lv. 3 Agitator Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Counter Jewel【2】 Counterstrike Lv. 2 Handicraft Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Counter Charm III
Armor Decorations	Chain Jewel【3】 x1 Challenger Jewel【3】 x2 Earplugs Jewel【2】 x2 Protection Jewel【1】 x3 Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x2
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 337 Fire Res: -6 Water Res: 4 Thunder Res: 11 Ice Res: -7 Dragon Res: -6

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	2	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Weakness Exploit	4
Counterstrike	3	Divine Blessing	3
Quick Sheathe	3	Earplugs	2
Evade Extender	2	Maximum Might	2
Burst	1	Stamina Surge	1
Group / Set Skills
Thunderous Roar I		Guts (Tenacity)

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman.

This Guts Counterstrike build takes from our top Counterstrike Agitator Raw SA Build and integrates Guts (Tenacity) from the gamma sets, leaning damage output more towards raw damage and opening up more space for comfort skills like Earplugs and Divine Blessing.

Regios Gore Comfy Build

Best Weapon

Main Weapon

Alternate Weapon

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	788 (225)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	80	5%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1 Quickswitch/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

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

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Baran Defiance	8	735 (210)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	None	25%
Skills	Bladescale Honing Lv. 1
Phial	Dragon Phial 300

Weapon Decorations	Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Critical Jewel【1】 x1

This comfy build uses an Artian weapon with production bonuses and reinforcements focused on Attack.

For a non-Artian alternative, Baran Defiance's Bladescale Honing works well with Adrenaline Rush for comfort and damage.

Regios Gore Comfy Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Gore Helm β	ー	Evade Window Lv. 1 Coalescence Lv. 1
Gore Mail β	ーー	Evade Window Lv. 2
Rey Sandbraces γ	ー	Evade Extender Lv. 2
Regios Coil β		Evade Window Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 1
Regios Greaves β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 1 Adrenaline Rush Lv. 2
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Counter Jewel【2】 Counterstrike Lv. 2 Handicraft Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Counter Charm III
Armor Decorations	Chain Jewel【3】 x1 Challenger Jewel【3】 x1 Sane Jewel【1】 x3 Shockproof Jewel【1】 x1 Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x3
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 317 Fire Res: 4 Water Res: 4 Thunder Res: -4 Ice Res: -3 Dragon Res: -2

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Power Prolonger	3	Rapid Morph	3
Critical Boost	3	Handicraft	3
Armor Skills
Adrenaline Rush	5	Evade Window	4
Agitator	3	Antivirus	3
Weakness Exploit	3	Evade Extender	2
Burst	1	Coalescence	1
Shock Absorber	1	ー
Group / Set Skills
Razor's Edge I		Black Eclipse I
Adrenaline		ー
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AV3: +25% ・AGI3: +7% ・WEX3: +25% ・Weapon: 5% Lowest-Highest: ・5%~62%		Attack \| Element ・AR5: +30 Raw ・AGI3: +12 Raw ・BST1: +8 Raw ・Crit.B3: +34% Crit Dmg. ・COA1: +4 Paralysis ・Weapon: 225 Raw Lowest-Highest: ・225~275 Raw ・+34% Crit Dmg ・+4 Paralysis

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman.

The play style of this comfy build is to use dodge rolls to consistently activate Adrenaline Rush 5 and use Full Release Slash at opportune moments. Dodging attacks should be a breeze thanks to Evade Window 4 and Evade Extender 2.

Other comfort skills include Power Prolonger 3, Rapid Morph 3, and Handicraft 2 to keep the pressure on.

Rey Gore Agitator Build

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	788 (225)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	80	5%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

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

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

Rey Gore Agitator Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Rey Sandhelm γ	ーー	Stamina Surge Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Maximum Might Lv. 1
Gore Mail β	ー	Evade Window Lv. 2
Rey Sandbraces γ	ー	Evade Extender Lv. 2
Rey Sandcoil γ	ーーー	Latent Power Lv. 2 Maximum Might Lv. 2
Gore Greaves β		Flinch Free Lv. 1 Antivirus Lv. 1
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Counter Jewel【2】 Counterstrike Lv. 2 Handicraft Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Counter Charm III
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x5 Sane Jewel【1】 x2 Protection Jewel【1】 x1
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 325 Fire Res: -4 Water Res: 0 Thunder Res: 10 Ice Res: -5 Dragon Res: -2

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	1	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Counterstrike	3
Maximum Might	3	Antivirus	3
Evade Window	2	Evade Extender	2
Latent Power	2	Weakness Exploit	1
Stamina Surge	1	Divine Blessing	1
Flinch Free	1	ー
Group / Set Skills
Black Eclipse I		Thunderous Roar I
Lord's Soul
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・MM3: +30% ・AV3: +25% ・LP2: +20% ・AGI5: +15% ・WEX1: +5%~8% ・Weapon: 25% Lowest-Highest: ・5%~123%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・CS3: +25 Raw ・Crit.B4: +40% Crit Dmg. ・Weapon: 210 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・225~255 Raw ・+40% Crit Dmg

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman and Artian Weapon.

This set can achieve 100% Affinity when all offensive skills are active, which is enhanced by Critical Boost 5.

Aside from enhancing Latent Power, the Rey Dau Gamma pieces grant Guts (Tenacity), which grants a consistent and significant attack boost as long as you don't trigger the revive component of the skill.

Evasive Earplugs Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	80	10%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

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

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Blazing Mahaiah	8	770 (220)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	150	5%
Skills	Whiteflame Torrent Lv. 1
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

We recommend the Mundus Altus artian weapon with at least x6 boosts of Attack, 1x Affinity boost, and 1x Sharpness boost. Paralysis is the go-to general element for immobilizing monsters, but you can also opt for Blast if you prefer more damage and knockdown potential.

For the non-Artian alternative, we recommend Blazing Mahaiah for its raw attack, sharpness, and Whiteflame Torrent skill which can proc often on most of its normal combos. For all weapons, we encourage you put in enough jewels for Power Prolonger 3 to maximize the length of Amped State.

Evasive Earplugs Swtich Axe Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Numinous Crown β		Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 1
Arkvulcan Mail β	ー	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Rey Sandbraces γ	ー	Evade Extender Lv. 2
Arkvulcan Coil β	ー	Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Dahaad Shardgreaves β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
Appraised Charm (HR 100+)	Challenger Jewel【3】 Agitator Lv. 1 Handicraft Lv. 1
Charm (HR 50+)	Challenger Charm II
Armor Decorations	Chain Jewel【3】 x1 Earplugs Jewel【2】 x3 Jumping Jewel【2】 x1 Physique Jewel【1】 x2 Shockproof Jewel【1】 x1 Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x2
DEF and RES Totals	Defense: 329 Fire Res: -1 Water Res: 2 Thunder Res: 3 Ice Res: -1 Dragon Res: -11

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	2	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Weakness Exploit	5
Evade Extender	3	Earplugs	3
Constitution	2	Recovery Speed	2
Burst	1	Shock Absorber	1
Group / Set Skills
Hasten Recovery I		ー
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・WEX5: +30~50% ・AGI5: +15% ・Weapon: 10% Lowest-Highest: ・10%~75%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・BST1: +5~8 Raw ・Weapon: 220 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・225~248 Raw

The skill summary above uses the specified Appraised Talisman and Artian Weapon.

This is a comfy Switch Axe Build that includes Evade Extender, Earplugs, and Constitution as its main utility skills while maintaining Agitator and Weakness Exploit as its core offensive skills. For additional comfort, Shock Absorber is also present, but you can swap it out for Adaptability if you wish.

If you want a bit more offense to this comfort build, you can swap out 1x Jumping Jewel and/or 1x Earplugs for 1-2x Mighty Jewels for Maximum Might (raising the 75% affinity ceiling up to 95%). You may not need the extra Evade Extender, or the extra Earplugs if you're not dealing with strong roars from the likes of Zoh Shia.

This build is viable for any Switch Axe playstyle, but we recommend a Full Release Slash-spam style since it outputs a lot of damage in a short amount of time in addition to the move itself providing Hyperarmor during the attack animation.

Endgame High Rank Build (HR 36++)

Counterstrike Frenzied Raw Switch Axe Build

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	735 (210)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	130	25%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Elemental Attack + 20 Element Type: Blast	• Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Eisengeist	8	700 (200)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	200	20%
Skills	Critical Element Lv. 3
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

The best Artian weapon for this build is the Mondus Altus with a 2 of 5 production bonus on Attack and the rest to Affinity. Make sure to aim for Blast by putting atleast two out of three Artian materials be of the two. This will automatically make it Power Phial. Note that you may also change it into Paralysis, if you want that status type better than Blast.

If you're using a monster weapon, we recommend the Eisengeist. It has a Power Phial, has great Raw power, and an equally great Dragon element stat on top of it all. It also has Critical Element so you will deal great damage against majority of the enemies in the late game.

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
G. Fulgur Helm β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
Blango Mail β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
G. Fulgur Vambraces β	ー	Maximum Might Lv. 1
Gore Coil β	ー	Constitution Lv. 2
Gore Greaves β		Flinch Free Lv. 1 Antivirus Lv. 1
Charm	Counter Charm III
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x1 Chain Jewel【3】 x1 Mighty Jewel【2】 x2 Jumping Jewel【2】 x3 Sane Jewel【1】 x2

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	1	-
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Antivirus	3
Counterstrike	3	Evade Extender	3
Maximum Might	3	Constitution	2
Burst	1	Flinch Free	1
Group / Set Skills
Black Eclipse I		Second Wind I
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AV3: +25% ・AGI5: +15% ・MM3: 30% ・Weapon: 25% Lowest-Highest: ・25%~95%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・CS3: +25 Raw ・BST1: +5~8 Raw ・Crit.B5: +40% Crit Dmg ・Weapon: 210 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・210~263 Raw ・+40% Crit Dmg

These are the total Skills when equipping the recommended Artian Weapon.

This build focuses on increasing the general attack and affinity of this build using a mix of G. Fulgur and Gore sets for the Second Wind-Max Might and Black Eclipse-Antivirus combination. Second Wind ensures that your Maximum Might is always at an almost 100% uptime for +30% Affinity while Black Eclipse and Antivirus works hand-in-hand to add another +25% to the affinity after overcoming Frenzy.

The build draws raw damage from Agitator and Counterstrike especially since the Switch Axe has a lot of offset attacks and other hyperarmor moves like the Full Release Slash that can trigger the latter. In essence, max Agitator provides +20 True Raw and +15% Affinity while Counterstrike gives +25 True Raw while active. We then also gemmed in a single point of Burst for additional damage since the Switch Axe can easily maintain the requirement of the skill.

With these in mind, you can easily reach 100% Affinity if you roll your Artian weapons right. If not, you can just as easily reach around ~70% affinity without using Artian weapons.

Best Mantles to Use

Best Mantles	Explanation
Rocksteady Mantle	•　This is a good mantle for tanking hits and if you want to ensure your combos and attacks are uninterruped in crucial moments. •　Works well with Counterstrike as the skill can trigger even by just tanking moves that can knock you back.
Mending Mantle	•　The most flexible and arguably the best mantle in the game. •　Heals you in set intervals which can mean safety from certain deadly situations.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type

Explanation

Any Other Artian Weapon Except Dual Blades or Bow

Frenzied Agitator Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Mundus Altus	8	735 (210)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③③③	130	25%
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl【3】 x1

Production Bonus	Artian Reinforcements
• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Affinity +5 • Elemental Attack + 20 Element Type: Blast	• Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Eisengeist	8	700 (200)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	③②①	200	20%
Skills	Critical Element Lv. 3
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Critical Jewel III【3】 x1 Enhancer Jewel II【2】 x1 Enhancer Jewel【1】 x1

The best Artian weapon for this build is the Mondus Altus with a 2 of 5 production bonus on Attack and the 3/5 to Affinity. Make sure to aim for Blast or Paralyze by putting atleast two out of three Artian materials be of the two. This will automatically make it Power Phial.

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Gore Helm β	ー	Evade Window Lv. 1 Coalescence Lv. 1
Gore Mail α	ーー	Evade Window Lv. 2 Antivirus Lv. 1
Dahaad Shardbraces α	ーーー	Adaptability Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 2
Arkvulcan Coil β	ー	Recovery Speed Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 2
Dahaad Shardgreaves β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
Charm	Leaping Charm III
Armor Decorations	Challenger Jewel【3】 x1 Tenderizer Jewel【3】 x1 Phoenix Jewel【2】 x1 Physique Jewel【1】 x1 Sane Jewel【1】 x2

Decorations are randomly obtained, so feel free to adjust with what is available.

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	5	Power Prolonger	3
Handicraft	1	ー
Armor Skills
Agitator	5	Antivirus	3
Evade Extender	3	Evade Window	3
Weakness Exploit	3	Coalescence	2
Constitution	1	Adaptability	1
Group / Set Skills
Black Eclipse I		Binding Counter I
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AV3: +25% ・AGI5: +15% ・WEX3: 15-25% ・Weapon: 25% Lowest-Highest: ・25%~90%		Attack \| Element ・AGI5: +20 Raw ・Crit.B5: +40% Crit Dmg ・COA1: 5% Status Buildup ・Weapon: 210 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・210~230 Raw ・+40% Crit Dmg ・+5% Status Buildup

These are the total Skills when equipping the recommended Artian Weapon.

This build focuses on showcasing balanced attack power and affinity while using the Gore Set. With the Black Eclipse bonus of the 2-pc Gore set skill, you will contract the Frenzy when fighting any large monster which makes activating Coalescence & Antivirus a prime requirement.

We have also slotted in Agitator as the biggest skill mostly because most monsters are enraged in the later parts of High Rank. In tandem with Weakness Exploit and the previously mentioned effects from Antivirus and Frenzy itself, this can raise your affinity to around 65%~ depending on your Artian rolls.

Of course, the build features Power Prolonger for longed Amped State uptime. This generally increases your chances of using Full Release Slash, your most devastating move. We then maxed out Critical Boost to Level 5, making sure you are making the most out of your critical hits!

Best Mantles to Use

Best Mantles	Explanation
Rocksteady Mantle	•　This is a good mantle for tanking hits and if you want to ensure your combos and attacks are uninterruped in crucial moments. •　This is useful when using a quick Unbridled Slash, because only Full Release Slash gets the knockback immunity.
Mending Mantle	•　The most flexible and arguably the best mantle in the game. •　Heals you in set intervals which can mean safety from certain deadly situations.

The Rocksteady Mantle is an alternative mantle you can take with you if you want no interruptions in your combos.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Any Other Artian Weapon Except Dual Blades or Bow	•　This build is very flexible in terms of providing essential armor skills for any other Artian Weapon. •　Just make sure you're slotting in the correct Weapon Skills in your Artian weapon. •　The only real exception is probably Dual Blades or Bow, mostly because they will also rely on Stamina Surge.

High Rank Build (HR21 - HR35)

Second Wind Max Might Switch Axe Build

Artian Weapon

Non-Artian Alternative

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Artian Saw I	6	683 (195)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②②②	90	20%
Phial	Power Phial

The stats above are showing the Artian Weapon stats before any production bonuses were applied.

Weapon Decorations	Quickswitch Jewel II【2】 x1 Critical Jewel II【2】 x2

Production Bonus	Reinforcement Prioritization
• Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5 • Element Infusion +20 Element Type: Blast or Paralysis	• Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Affinity +5 • Attack +5 • Attack +5

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Rath Flamesplitter I	6	630 (180)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②①ー	210	10%
Skills	Critical Boost Lv. 3
Phial	Power Phial

Weapon Decorations	Quickswitch Jewel II【2】 x2 Quickswitch Jewel【1】 x1

The weapon mainly suggested for this build revolves around creating the first tier Artian Switch Axe weapon at this stage of the game. Since the Switch Axe is pretty much element-independent, you can opt to roll for any element but you can always aim for Status if your Artian materials have enough matches. What's important is you get Attack while forging the Artian weapon itself, with reinforcements that focus on Attack and Affinity.

For the decorations of your Artian weapon, go for one of the essential skills of the Switch Axe: Rapid Morph. Afterwards, slot in two Critical Jewel II's for four levels of Critical Boost since this build will increase affinity by a lot!

If you do not want to use any Artian weapon, you may use the Rath Flamesplitter I from the normal Rathalos. The Switch Axe features a Critical Boost Lv. 3 weapon skill already so you only need to gem in a Quickswitch Jewel I and a Quickswitch Jewel II for the maximum level of Rapid Morph. It is also using a Power Phial so it deals more damage in general!

Second Wind Max Might Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
G. Fulgur Helm β	ーー	Agitator Lv. 2
G. Rathalos Mail β	ーー	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1 Intimidator Lv. 1
G. Fulgur Vambraces α	ーー	Maximum Might Lv. 1 Agitator Lv. 1
G. Rathalos Coil α	ー	Windproof Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Mizutsune Greaves β	ーー	Burst Lv. 2
Charm	Leaping Charm III
Decorations	Physique Jewel【1】 x3 Mighty Jewel【2】 x2 Counter Jewel【2】 x1

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Critical Boost	4	Rapid Morph	2
Armor Skills
Agitator	3	Constitution	3
Evade Extender	3	Maximum Might	3
Burst	2	Weakness Exploit	2
Windproof	1	Counterstrike	1
Intimidator	1	ー
Group / Set Skills
Second Wind I		-
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・AGI5: +7% ・MM3: +30% ・WEX2: 10-15% ・Weapon: 20% Lowest-Highest: ・20%~72%		Attack \| Element ・AGI3: +12 Raw ・Crit.B4: +37% Crit Dmg ・BST2: +5-10 Raw ・CS1: +10 Raw ・Weapon: 195 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・195~227 Raw ・+37% Crit Dmg

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

This build focuses on the unique synergy imposed by Second Wind and Maximum Might which ensures almost 100% uptime for the latter as long as you are not yet using your Hunter's original Stamina bar.

This provides +30% affinity all the time then coupled with Weakness Exploit and Agitator, makes your Switch Axe a critical machine. We also added in two points of Burst with Mizutsune's legs to bolster your damage even more. Finally, adding Critical Boost as decorations makes use of the increased affinity by increasing your critical multiplier.

A bunch of essential Switch Axe skills are also included, specifically Rapid Morph and Evade Extender. Constitution is also present to ensure that you're using up less stamina to help manage the extra stamina bar.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Any Other Artian Weapon Except Dual Blades or Bow	•　This build is very flexible in terms of providing essential armor skills for any other Artian Weapon. •　Just make sure you're slotting in the correct Weapon Skills in your Artian weapon. •　The only real exception is probably Dual Blades or Bow, mostly because they will also rely on Stamina Surge.

High Rank Build (HR9 - HR20)

WEX Foray Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Dragonmaiden Axe I	5	560 (160)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	②①ー	120	15%
Skills	Critical Status Lv. 2 Poison Duration Up Lv. 1
Phial	Element Phial

Weapon Decorations	Quickswitch Jewel II【2】 x1 Quickswitch Jewel【1】 x1

For the starter High Rank Switch Axe build, we suggest going for the first Dragonmaiden Axe accessible by defeating a Rathian in High Rank. It is easy to build and has Critical Status and Poison Duration Up from the get-go, which works perfectly with the Foray build we have below.

We suggest slotting in a Quickswitch Jewel 2 and a Quickswitch Jewel 1 so you have the maximum level of Rapid Morph!

Weapon	Rarity	ATK	DEF
Iron Accelerator II	4	560 (160)	0
	Slots	Element	Affinity
	①ーー	None	0%
Skills	Rapid Morph Lv. 2
Phial	Poison Phial 200

A relatively easy to build alternative for the Dragonmaiden Axe I, this has a Poison Phial with Rapid Morph Lv. 2 so it's easy to slot in a Venom Jewel [1] to increase Poison Buildup!

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Armor	Slots	Skills
Bulaqchi Specs α	ーーー	Entomologist Lv. 1 Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Rathian Mail α	ーーー	Foray Lv. 2
Balahara Vambraces β	ーー	Evade Extender Lv. 1
Rathian Coil β	ーー	Foray Lv. 1
Chatacabra Greaves β	ーー	Weakness Exploit Lv. 1
Charm	Chainblade Charm I
Decorations List	Jumping Jewel【2】 x2 Protection Jewel【1】 x1

Skill Summary

Weapon Skills
Rapid Morph	3	Critical Status	2
Poison Duration Up	1	ー
Armor Skills
Evade Extender	3	Foray	3
Weakness Exploit	2	Flayer	1
Divine Blessing	1	Entomologist	1
Skill Buffs Breakdown
Affinity ・Foray: +10% ・WEX2: 10-15% ・Weapon: 15% Lowest-Highest: ・15%~40%		Attack \| Element ・Foray3: +10 Raw ・Weapon: 160 Raw Lowest-Highest:: ・160~170 Raw

This build focuses on applying poison with the a poison Switch Axe and boosting damage with the Foray skill, coupled with the great combination of Weakness Exploit and Flayer. The weapon chosen also has innate Critical Status and Poison Duration Up that bolsters the power of this build even more.

A bunch of essential Switch Axe skills are also present, specifically Rapid Morph and Evade Extender. Both are mostly gemmed in, but the build should still work if you do not have the decorations yet.

Best Secondary Weapons

Weapon & Type	Explanation
Valkyrie Fire I (Light Bowgun)	•　Has access to Rapid Fire Poison Ammo, so you can proc Foray reliably. This can even be your primer weapon before going ham with the Switch Axe.

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

MH Wilds - Builds Partial

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

Non-Meta Builds & Guides
Immortal Build	Support Build
Best Gathering Sets	How to Make a Good Build
Rey Dau Gamma Builds	Uth Duna Gamma Builds

Comment

Walkthrough Team@Game8 3 months

Hello! If you're planning to use the craftable charm, you can remove one Agitator Decoration and insert one Burst Decoration to avoid going over the Agitator skill level limit. Thank you and we hope this helps!

Selenia Drake 4 months

it seems to me that Lagi Thunder Switch Axe Build has an Agitator decoration too many, isn't it rather Counterstrike in its place?

See more comments (13 Comments)

Author

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough Team

This article was created by Game8's elite team of writers and gamers.

Leave feedback(Login required)

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Builds
Switch Axe Builds
Best Switch Axe Builds for High Rank

Please participate in our site
improvement survey
12/2025

Would you assist in
improving Game8's site?

This survey will take about 1 minute.
Your answers will help us to improve our website.

We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.

The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.

Begin Survey

Not Now

Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.

Amount of Ads

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Fine

Somewhat Satisfied

Highly Satisfied

Placement of Ads

Timing of Ad Display

Ad Loading Speed

Safeness of Ads

Content of Ads

Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.

Amount of information

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Fine

Somewhat Satisfied

Highly Satisfied

Frequency of updates

Speed of new information

Accuracy of articles

Understandibility of articles

Readability of sentences

Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.

Ease of finding information

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Fine

Somewhat Satisfied

Highly Satisfied

Loading Speed

Use of Color

Font Size

Visibility of Images

Easy to Understand Layout

Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.

Ease of Writing

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Fine

Somewhat Satisfied

Highly Satisfied

Readability

Ease in Finding Information

Comment Quality

Comment Quantity

Admin Response

Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.

Please rate our site's new design

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Fine

Somewhat Satisfied

Highly Satisfied

Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?

Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?

Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?

How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?

How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?

Very Unlikely

Very Likely

If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.

Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.

Thank You

Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
We hope you continue to make use of Game8.

For other opinions or comments, go here.

Rankings

Gaming News

Pokémon Legends Z-A Exclusive Café Donuts Hint At Two Leg...

Popular Games

Recommended Games

©CAPCOM

The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.

Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

Quick Access

Best Switch Axe Builds for High Rank

Switch Axe Builds Progression (High Rank)

Endgame Builds Recommendation

Progression Builds

Endgame High Rank Build (HR 50++)

Counterstrike Agitator Raw Switch Axe Build

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Best Mantles to Use

Best Secondary Weapons

Playstyle and Combos

Omega Lord's Soul Switch Axe Build

Best Weapons

Omega Lord's Soul Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Lagi Gore Agitator Switch Axe Build

Best Weapons

Lagi Gore Agitator Switch Axe Build Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Lagi Thunder Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon Loadout

Lagi Thunder Switch Axe Build Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Guts Counterstrike Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Guts Counterstrike Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Regios Gore Comfy Build

Best Weapon

Regios Gore Comfy Loadout

Skill Summary

Rey Gore Agitator Build

Best Weapon

Rey Gore Agitator Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Evasive Earplugs Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Evasive Earplugs Swtich Axe Loadout

Skill Summary

Endgame High Rank Build (HR 36++)

Counterstrike Frenzied Raw Switch Axe Build

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Best Mantles to Use

Best Secondary Weapons

Frenzied Agitator Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Best Mantles to Use

Best Secondary Weapons

High Rank Build (HR21 - HR35)

Second Wind Max Might Switch Axe Build

Second Wind Max Might Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Best Secondary Weapons

High Rank Build (HR9 - HR20)

WEX Foray Switch Axe Build

Best Weapon

Switch Axe Armor Loadout

Skill Summary

Best Secondary Weapons

Monster Hunter Wilds Related Guides

All Weapon Builds in Monster Hunter Wilds

Non-Meta Builds in Monster Hunter Wilds

Comment

Author

Rankings

Gaming News

Popular Games

Recommended Games

All rights reserved

Title Update 4

Title Update 3

Version 1.021 Update

Title Update 2

News and Game Info

Event Quests

Title Updates

Patch Notes