Monster Hunter World (MHW)

Best Skills for Long Swords

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Long Sword Skill Recommendations
This is a guide about the best skills for Long Swords. Read on to know which skills to look out for when making a Long Sword build and why.

Offensive Skills

Recommendations
Affinity Skills Agitator Partbreaker
Attack Boost

Affinity Skills

Affinity Skills.png
Long Swords are damage-dealing juggernauts that can maintain the offensive better than any other weapon. Any of these Affinity skills will synergize perfectly with the Long Sword's move set and playstyles.

Agitator

Agitator.png
The introduction of the Clutch Claw made the Agitator Skill a community staple when making builds. When active, Agitator grants hunters +20 attack and affinity by 10% at level five. (Level six and seven are unlocked via the Agitator Secret Skill.)

The Clutch Claw, specifically its Flinch Shot Attack, gave hunters the ability to enrage the monster whenever the opportunity presents itself. This gave hunters a way to maintain their Agitator's up-time.

Partbreaker

Partbreaker.png
The Long Sword excels at breaking monster parts due to its long reach and wide slashes. Partbreaker increases part damage by 30% at level three and is worth considering when making a build.

Partbreaker's damage increase does NOT reflect in floating damage numbers.

Attack Boost

Attack Boost.png
Attack Boost may be outperformed by the other skills in this list, but it is always worthy of consideration when met with an abundance of vacant slots.

Defensive Skills

Recommendations
Divine Blessing Vitality Earplugs

Divine Blessing

Divine Blessing Secret.png
The Long Sword doesn't need much in terms of defensive skills because of its counteractive and evasive moveset. However, hunters who prefer having an extra layer of protection may consider adding Divine Blessing into their builds.

Divine Blessing offers protection against a monster's attack. Reducing the damage taken from the attack that triggered it by 50% at level three. Levels four and five are unlocked via the Divine Blessing Secret.

Vitality

Health Boost.png
It never hurts to pump up one's HP! Vitality increases a hunter's Health by 50 at level three, making it a solid addition to any build - especially early on in the game.

Earplugs

Earplugs.png
Tired of getting roared out of your Spirit Helm Breaker? Earplugs offer completely protection against monster roars at level five.

Utility Skills

Recommendations
Quick Sheath Speed Sharpening Protective Polish
Mind's Eye/Ballistics

Quick Sheath

Quick Sheath.png
Hunters who love using the Long Sword's Iai Stance may find Quick Sheath useful. This skill greatly improves sheathing times at level three.

Speed Sharpening

Speed Sharpening.png
Being the offensive juggernauts that they are, Long Swords tend to lose sharpness fast. Speed Sharpening removes three cycles of the sharpening animation at level three, making it a great addition to Long Sword builds.

Protective Polish

Protective Polish.png
Protective Polish coats the weapon with a protective layer after sharpening, preventing sharpness loss for a certain amount of time. This is another solution to the Long Sword's rapid loss sharpness.

Mind's Eye/Ballistics

Mind
Monsters with thick hides can deflect normal long sword slashes. Hunters who find this an issue may consider using Mind's Eye/Ballistics.

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