If you’ve ever felt the rush of landing a perfectly timed charged slash that cuts a monster’s tail clean off in one hit, you already know why the great sword Monster Hunter Wilds players swear by is one of the franchise’s most iconic weapons. I’ve spent 40+ hours testing its new moves, damage multipliers, and synergy with the game’s new open-world traversal mechanics after maining great sword in every Monster Hunter title since World, and I’m breaking down everything you need to know to make this heavy hitter work for you, even if you’re new to slow, high-damage weapon classes. It’s not the easiest pick for beginners, but the payoff of landing those big hits against endgame monsters is hard to beat.
Core Great Sword Monster Hunter Wilds Moves You Need to Master First
The great sword’s core loop of slow charges and high-damage hits is still intact in Wilds, but Capcom added a few quality-of-life changes that make it far more accessible for new players without taking away the skill ceiling for veterans. The biggest change is the new charge cancel mechanic, which lets you roll out of a charge at any point without losing all your charge progress, a feature long-time fans have been begging for for years. I used to miss 30% of my fully charged slashes in Monster Hunter Rise because I couldn’t dodge out in time, but that new cancel mechanic cut that miss rate down to less than 10% in my first week of testing.
You don’t need to memorize dozens of combos to be effective with the great sword, but there are four core moves you should practice until they feel second nature:
- Light tap combo: 3 fast, low-damage slashes ideal for building up charge gauge or breaking small monster parts like claws and wings during staggers
- Charged slash tiers: Tier 1 is fast with moderate damage, Tier 2 balances speed and power, Tier 3 deals 2x the damage of Tier 1 but requires 3 full seconds of charging
- Charge cancel dodge: New to Wilds, hold the dodge button mid-charge to roll out of the way without losing all your charge progress, so you can pick up right where you left off once the monster’s attack passes
- Shoulder bash: Use this mid-charge to absorb small monster attacks without flinching, perfect for getting that Tier 3 slash off when a monster roars or swats at you with a light attack
The charged slash is still your highest damage output move, but don’t sleep on the quick tap slashes for breaking small parts or building up stun damage when the monster is staggered. You also don’t always need to go for Tier 3. For example, if a monster is only going to be staggered for 2 seconds, a Tier 2 slash will land, while a Tier 3 will miss entirely, wasting your time and opening you up to counterattacks.
Optimal Great Sword Builds for Early, Mid and Endgame Wilds
You don’t need to chase meta builds to be effective with the great sword, but there are a few key skills that will make your runs far smoother no matter what stage of the game you’re in. Early game, for your first 10 hours of hunting, you don’t have access to many decorations or high-tier armor sets, so prioritize stats that give you immediate value without fancy synergies.
Raw attack power first, then affinity, is the rule for early game great sword builds. Most low-level monsters have low overall defense and no significant elemental resistance, so raw damage will carry you further than stacking fire or water damage for specific matchups. I recommend the first iron great sword upgraded twice, paired with the starting Kulu Ya Ku armor set that gives you Attack Up (S) and Stamina Thief, which makes it easier to stun monsters with charged slashes to the head. You can swap in a few pieces of Jagras armor if you need extra defense to survive early boss fights.
Mid game, once you beat the first 3 main story monsters, you can start farming decorations and higher-tier armor sets to refine your build. Quick Charge skill is non-negotiable here, as it cuts your charge time by up to 30% at level 3, letting you land Tier 3 slashes far more often without getting hit. I also recommend adding 2 levels of Stamina Surge, so your stamina refills faster between charges and dodges, so you don’t get caught with an empty stamina bar mid-fight.
Endgame, you can specialize your build for either general use or specific monster matchups. My go-to general endgame build has 70% affinity, level 3 Quick Charge, level 4 Critical Boost, and level 2 Stun Resistance, which lets me deal consistent high damage against most monsters without getting caught out by roars or charge attacks. If you’re farming a specific monster with a known elemental weakness, you can swap out a few attack skills for elemental damage to cut your hunt times down by 15-20%.
Pro Tips for Using Great Sword in Wilds’ Open World
Wilds’ open world is the biggest change to the Monster Hunter formula in years, and it completely changes how you approach hunts with heavy weapons like the great sword. You don’t have to fight monsters in small, enclosed arenas anymore, and you can use the environment to your advantage to land huge hits you never could in previous titles.
Use the new glider mechanic to get height for a plunging charged slash – I’ve dealt over 1200 damage with a single plunging Tier 3 slash against a Rathian that was roaming below a cliff, which knocked it out immediately and cut the entire hunt down to less than 8 minutes. You can also use the new mount system to position yourself right next to a monster’s weak point before unsheathing your sword, so you don’t have to waste time running across the map to get in position.
You also don’t have to fight monsters in open fields if you don’t want to. Lure them into narrow canyons or rocky areas where they can’t charge at you easily, so you have more time to charge your slashes without dodging every 2 seconds. I like to lure fast, mobile monsters like Tobi-Kadachi into narrow cave systems where they can’t jump around as much, which makes it far easier to land consistent charged hits.
Another small tip that saves me a ton of time: use the new scoutflies to mark weak points on monsters before you engage, so you know exactly where to aim your charged slashes for maximum damage and part breaks. I used to waste a lot of slashes hitting monster shells or armor that had 70% damage resistance, but marking weak points first made my runs 25% faster on average. Also, keep your sword sheathed until you’re right next to the monster, since you move 40% faster with your weapon put away, which is a huge help in the large open world.
Common Great Sword Mistakes to Avoid in Monster Hunter Wilds
Even with the new quality-of-life changes, the great sword is still a punishing weapon if you make small mistakes, and I’ve made almost all of them in my 40 hours of testing. The most common mistake new players make is always going for Tier 3 slashes no matter the situation. I used to make this exact mistake when I first picked up the weapon in Wilds, wasting three full carts on an Anjanath because I kept going for Tier 3 slashes instead of dodging its fire breath. Don’t be stubborn, if you see a monster winding up for an attack, cancel your charge and dodge, even if you’re 0.1 seconds away from finishing a Tier 3 slash.
The second most common mistake is ignoring stamina management. You need stamina to charge your sword and dodge, so don’t spam dodges when you don’t need to. If you have 20% stamina left, don’t start a Tier 3 charge, you’ll run out right as you finish and won’t be able to dodge if the monster attacks. I keep a few stamina buff items in my item pouch at all times for long fights, just in case I burn through my stamina faster than expected.
Time your shoulder bash right before a monster roars, and you can keep charging your slash without flinching, landing a perfect hit to the head right as the roar ends. So many new players don’t realize how powerful the shoulder bash is, and they waste charge time dodging roars that they could have absorbed easily. The shoulder bash can absorb any attack that deals less than 20% of your max health, which includes most roars and small tail swipes.
The last mistake to avoid is using the same playstyle for every monster. Fast monsters like Tobi-Kadachi won’t give you time for Tier 3 slashes most of the time, so focus on Tier 1 and Tier 2 slashes, and only go for Tier 3 when it’s staggered or trapped. Slow, heavy monsters like Diablos are perfect for Tier 3 slashes, since their attacks are slow and easy to predict, so you can get full charges off between their attacks easily.
At the end of the day, the great sword Monster Hunter Wilds players use is all about patience and timing, not fast combos or flashy moves. You’ll mess up a lot at first, miss more slashes than you land, and probably cart a few times because you held a charge for too long. But once you get the hang of the new mechanics and find a build that fits your playstyle, it’s easily one of the most satisfying weapons in the game, capable of taking down even the toughest endgame monsters in just a few well-placed hits. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different skills and moves, and remember that the best way to get better is to jump in and hunt as much as you can.