Best Sword and Shield Builds for Iceborne 2023-2024

Want to learn about the best Sword and Shield Builds for Monster Hunter World (MHW) Iceborne? Look no further than our best endgame builds for Sword and Shield! This build is made on Iceborne's last patch and is a build that is centered around Iceborne's Meta Endgame builds.

Sword and Shield Endgame Meta Build

Full Fatalis Build

Weapon		Decorations
True Fatalis Sword		Challenger Jewel+ 4 x1 Evasion Jewel+ 4 x1 Augment: Health Regen/Affinity
Armor		Decorations
Head	Dragonhead Beta +	Critical/Maintenance Jewel 4 x3
Armor	Dragonhide Beta +	Handicraft/Maintenance Jewel 4 x2 Attack Jewel+ 4 x1
Greaves	Dragonclaws Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x2 Attack Jewel+ 4 x1
Waist	Dragonbarbs Alpha +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x2 Handicraft Jewel 3 x1 Shaver Jewel 3 x1
Legs	Rimeguard Greaves Gamma +	Attack Jewel 1 x1 Handicraft Jewel+ 4 x1
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Full Fatalis Skills

Skills
Critical Eye 7	Agitator 7
Attack Boost 7	Handicraft 5
Tool Specialist 5	Peak Performance 3
Stun Resist 3	Critical Boost 3
Weakness Exploit 3	Evade Window 3
Quick Sheathe 2	Clutch Claw Boost
Fatalis Legend 4

	A sample endgame build utilizing Peak Performance, Critical Eye, and Agitator for increased damage and Affinity. The usual Critical Boost and Weakness Exploit are there to further increase critical hit damage. Other QoL skills like Clutch Claw Boost, Evade Window, and Tool Specialist are also mixed in to further improve performance.

Sword and Shield Meta Builds

Velkhana Armor Build

Velkhana Armor Build	Blast Sword and Shield Build
Awakened Blast Build	Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build

Weapon		Decorations
True Fatalis Sword		Attack Jewel+ 4 x2 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Rimeguard Helm Gamma +	Handicraft Jewel+ 4 x1 Tenderizer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Armor	Rimeguard Mail Gamma +	Brace/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Rimeguard Vambraces Gamma +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 x1
Waist	Dragonbarbs Alpha +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Critical Jewel 2 x2
Legs	Rimeguard Greaves Gamma +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Velkhana Armor Build Skill List

Skills
Critical Eye 7	Attack Boost 7
Ice Attack 6	Agitator 5
Health Boost 3	Recovery Up 3
Critical Draw 3	Critical Boost 3
Weakness Exploit 3	Peak Performance 3
Coalescence 3	Handicraft 2
Quick Sheath 2	Resuscitate 1
Flinch Free 1	Clutch Claw Boost 1
Velkhana Divinity 4

	Sheath your weapon, focus on healing but don't neglect to use your charged attacks for Frostcraft's bonus damage! Elemental weapons are great for a Velkhana set due to the true critical element bonus too!

Blast Sword and Shield Build

Velkhana Armor Build	Blast Sword and Shield Build
Awakened Blast Build	Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build

Weapon		Decorations
Lightbreak Sword		Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Mind's Eye Jewel 2 x1
Armor		Decorations
Head	Kaiser Crown Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1
Armor	Brachydium Mail Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Kaiser Vambraces Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Brace Jewel 3 x1
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Brachydium Greaves Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x2
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Blast Sword and Shield Build Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 7	Critical Eye 7
Agitator 7	Health Boost 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Blast Attack 2	Heat Guard 1
Latent Power 1	Flinch Free 1
Mind's Eye/Ballistics 1	Teostra Technique 3
Brachydios Will 2

	When talking about Blast Weapons, the Raging Brachydios weapon tree is always there for you. Featuring a passive 65% affinity without attacking weak spots, this build sports a lot of raw damage AND blast damage allowing you to demolish monsters with ease.

Awakened Blast Build

Velkhana Armor Build	Blast Sword and Shield Build
Awakened Blast Build	Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build

Weapon		Decorations
Safi's Shatterfang		Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Brachydium Helm Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Armor	Brachydium Mail Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Vambraces	Kaiser Vambraces Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Brace Jewel 3 x1
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Evasion Jewel 2 x1 Attack Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Garuga Greaves Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Evasion Jewel 2 x1 Evasion Jewel 2 x1
Charm	Challenger Charm V	None

Awakened Ability
Teostra Essence	Sharpness Increase VI	Attack Increase V x3

Awakened Blast Build Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 7	Agitator 7
Critical Eye 6	Health Boost 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Evade Window 3	Blast Attack 2
Flinch Free 1	Heat Guard 1
Teostra Technique	Brachydios Will

	An alternative and better build to the previous blast weapon but sports a rarer weapon. The Safi blast weapon can dish out more damage than the Lightbreak Sword when it's fully awakened. Add your damage-boosting skills and you become a huge source of DPS for your team.

Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build

Velkhana Armor Build	Blast Sword and Shield Build
Awakened Blast Build	Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build

Weapon		Decorations
Safi's Bindfang		Para Jewel+ 4 x1 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Safi Crested Crown Beta +	Expert Jewel+ 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Armor	Kaiser Mail Beta +	Critical/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x2
Vambraces	Safi Crested Chest Beta +	Brace/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Paralyzer Jewel 1 x2
Waist	Kaiser Coil Beta +	Tenderizer/Vitality Jewel 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Expert Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Safi Crested Boots Beta +	Attack Jewel+ 4 x1 Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Resistor Jewel 1 x1
Charm	Attack Charm V	None

Awakened Ability
Teostra Essence	Status Effect Up VI	Status Effect V

Paralysis Sword and Shield Awakened Build Skill List

Skills
Attack Boost 7	Critical Eye 7
Paralysis Attack 4	Health Boost 3
Critical Boost 3	Weakness Exploit 3
Blight Resistance 3	Blast Attack 2
Latent Power 1	Evade Window 1
Flinch Free 1	Teostra Technique
Safi'jiiva Seal

	A paralysis build featuring the Safi + Teostra set build. increased affinity and status up from the Safi set makes the paralysis tick in faster resulting in more DPS. Just make sure to always be on the offensive to regain your health back!

Sword and Shield Progression Build

Early Iceborne Progression Build

Mid-Late Iceborne Build

MHW Related Links

Starter Iceborne Build

Weapon		Decorations
Defender Warhatchet V
Armor		Decorations
Head	Guild Cross Circlet Beta	Steadfast Jewel 1 x3
Armor	Rathalos Mail Beta	Protection Jewel 1 x1
Greaves	Kushala Grip Beta	Evasion Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Empress Coil Beta	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1 Vitality Jewel 1 x1
Legs	Death Stench Heels Beta	Vitality Jewel 1 x2
Charm	Handicraft Charm III	None

Starter Iceborne Skill List

Skills
Health Boost 3	Divine Blessing 3
Stun Resist 3	Handicraft 5
Weakness Exploit 3	Evade Window 2
Tool Specialist 2

	A defensive skillset that utilizes weakness exploit and the blast ailment from the Defender series to deal damage to monsters. Its skills are enough to make you survive against the hard-hitting monsters in Iceborne's quests.

Early Iceborne Progression Build

Weapon		Decorations
Gnashing Flammensucher +		--- ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Anja Helm Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Armor	Bone Mail Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Greaves	Alloy Vambraces Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Lumu Coil Alpha +	Vitality Jewel 1 x2
Legs	Alloy Greaves Alpha +	Handicraft Jewel 3 x1
Charm	Handicraft Charm III	None

Early Iceborne Skill List

Skills
Fire Attack 2	Fire Resist 1
Attack Boost 2	Health Boost 3
Defense Boost 2	Speed Sharpening 3
Divine Blessing 2	Windproof 2
Handicraft 4	Weakness Exploit 3

	Sword and shield consume a lot of sharpness quickly so this build focused on having speed sharpening and handicraft to avoid losing DPS in the middle of the fight. It also comes with essential defensive skills to lessen the risks of battle.

Mid-Late Iceborne Progression Build

Weapon		Decorations
Chrome Knight Sword III		Vitality Jewel 1 x2 ---
Armor		Decorations
Head	Nargacuga Helm Alpha +	Attack Jewel 1 x2
Armor	Nargacuga Mail Beta +	Elementless Jewel 2 x1
Greaves	Damascus Vambraces Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Waist	Odogaron Coil Alpha +	Tenderizer Jewel 2 x1
Legs	Nargacuga Greaves Alpha +	Attack Jewel 1 x2
Charm	Handicraft Charm III	None

Mid-Late Iceborne Progression Build Skill List

Skills
Critical Eye 3	Peak Performance 3
Evade Window 3	Health Boost 3
Attack Boost 4	Weakness Exploit 2
Non-Elemental Boost	Handicraft 3

	A decent damage dealer build that focuses on the Sword and Shield's mobility to keep Peak Performance on. It also utilizes the Nargacuga set's secret to avoid Sharpness loss hence the dropping of Speed Sharpening skill.

Sword and Shield Best Weapons and Skills

Recommended Weapons for Sword and Shield

Weapon
True Fatalis Sword [Atk] 490 | [Affinity] -30%	・Highest Raw Damage Sword and Shield ・Fatalis Armor Set can prolong sharpness through the True Razorsharp armor bonus skill
Alatreon Star [Atk] 420 | [Affinity] 0%	・Extremely High Dragon element damage ・ Best weapon against enemies weak to Dragon element
Lightbreak Sword [Atk] 420 | [Affinity] 0%	・High Power with decent purple sharpness ・ Has a high blast attribute ・Easy to Build
Nyx Tabar II [Atk] 336 | [Affinity] 0%	・Has a high sleep damage
Lunatic Rose [Atk] 406 | [Affinity] 10%	・Balanced Sword and Shield ・ Has Poison Damage

Recommended Skills for Sword and Shield

Skill	Explanation
Health Boost ( ★★★ )	・Increase your vitality and greatly increases your survival rate. Essential for beginners who get hit a lot.
Teostra's Technique ( ★★★ )	・Reduces the sharpness depletion of your weapon.
Weakness Exploit ( ★★★ )	・Increases your affinity towards monster weak parts.
Critical Boost ( ★★★ )	・Boosts the damage of your critical attacks.
Clutch Claw Boost ( ★★★ )	・Allows the Sword and Shield to wound a specific part with a single clutch attack.
Critical Eye ( ★★★ )	・Increases your the base affinity of your weapon.
Velkhana Divinity (★★ )	・Increases the elemental damage of your weapon on critical hits when 2 pieces are worn and increases your weapon's damage after being drawn when 4 pieces are worn.
Agitator ( ★★ )	・Increases your damage and affinity when a monster is angry.
Attack Boost ( ★★ )	・Increases your base damage and adds 5% affinity when at level 4.
Wide-Range ( ★★ )	・Your consumables will also affect your teammates.
Speed Eating ( ★★ )	・Decreases the time of item consumption.
Elemental Attack ( ★★ )	・Increases your weapon's elemental damage.

Best Skills for Sword and Shields

MHW Related Links

Best Builds

Best Endgame Builds and Weapon Progression Builds

Best Builds Per Weapons

Melee Weapons
Long Swords	Great Swords	Sword and Shield	Dual Blades
Hammer	Hunting Horn	Lance	Gunlance
Switch Axe	Charge Blade	Insect Glaive

Ranged Weapons
Bow	Light Bowgun
Heavy Bowgun

Best Counter Builds

Monster Counterbuilds
Fatalis	Alatreon