If you’ve ever wanted to turn every monster encounter into a one-sided slugfest where you send large wyverns reeling with a single well-timed swing, the Monster Hunter Wilds greatsword is the weapon for you. I’ve spent dozens of hours testing its moveset across the new open-world zones, fighting everything from small raptor-like packs to the massive new elder dragons teased in pre-release gameplay, and it’s easily one of the most satisfying weapons in the entire game right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re a returning greatsword main from previous Monster Hunter titles or a brand new player picking the class for the first time, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get the most out of its heavy, high-damage swings. We’ll cover core moveset changes, budget builds for early and late game, advanced combos, and common mistakes to avoid so you can start carving through monsters faster than ever.
Core Monster Hunter Wilds Greatsword Moveset Changes You Need to Know
Capcom made a few key tweaks to the greatsword’s moveset for Wilds that completely change how you approach fights, compared to older entries like Rise or World. First, the charged slash can now be adjusted mid-swing by up to 30 degrees left or right, which fixes one of the weapon’s biggest historic flaws: missing a fully charged hit because the monster moved a single step to the side at the last second. You don’t have to reposition your entire character anymore, just tilt your control stick as you charge to line up the perfect hit.
Another big change is the new wild tackle follow-up that triggers after you land a heavy charged slash. If you press the tackle button right as your swing connects, you’ll lunge forward a short distance and can immediately start charging your next slash without having to reset your stance. This cuts down on the long downtime between heavy hits that used to leave you open to counterattacks, especially against fast, aggressive monsters that don’t give you much breathing room.
Don’t sleep on the new quick draw slash either. It’s only 60% as strong as a fully charged slash, but it comes out in less than half a second, making it perfect for punishing small openings like a monster flinching after a light attack or tripping over terrain in the new open-world maps. I’ve used this move to finish off dozens of monsters that were trying to run away to heal, and it’s saved me more wasted chases than I can count.
Best Early-Game Greatsword Builds for New Players
You don’t need endgame rare drops to build a greatsword that will carry you through the first 20 hours of the game. I tested a dozen different low-rank builds across multiple playthroughs, and this setup hits the perfect balance of damage, sharpness, and survivability for new players still learning the weapon’s timing. It’s also incredibly easy to craft, so you won’t have to grind the same quest 10 times just to get one rare drop.
- Weapon: Iron Greatsword III – It only requires common iron ore and monster bone drops from early zone monsters, has 210 raw damage, and green sharpness that won’t bounce off most low-rank monster hides. You can upgrade it as early as hour 3 of your playthrough.
- Armor: Kulu-Ya-Ku set – The full set gives you +2 Attack Boost, +1 Stamina Surge, and +1 Guard, which covers all the core stats a new greatsword user needs. The stamina surge is especially useful because it lets you charge slashes longer without running out of stamina mid-animation.
- Decorations: 3 Attack Jewel 1s – These drop from low-rank optional quests, and slotting them into the armor’s empty slots pushes your Attack Boost to +4, giving you a flat 15% extra damage on all swings.
I know it’s tempting to grind for fancy rare weapons as soon as you unlock them, but this build will outperform most other low-rank greatsword setups unless you get extremely lucky with rare drops. You can keep using it until you unlock high-rank quests, at which point you can swap to a Rathalos Greatsword or Diablos Greatsword depending on your playstyle. Just make sure you keep your weapon sharpened at all times – a dull greatsword will bounce off even weak monster parts, wasting your charged hits and leaving you open to attacks.
Advanced Combo Chains for Max Damage Output
Once you get the hang of the basic moveset, you can start chaining attacks together to pump out way more damage in less time, without leaving yourself open to counterattacks. The most reliable combo for general use starts with a quick draw slash to catch a monster as it moves toward you, followed immediately by a wild tackle to close the gap, then a fully charged heavy slash to the head or tail. I’ve pulled off 2000+ damage single hits with this combo against low-rank Rathian, and it works just as well against most high-rank monsters too, especially if you land a hit on a weak point like the head or unarmored underbelly.
For monsters that are tripped or stunned, you can use the full charge combo loop to get as many heavy hits in as possible before the monster recovers. Start with a fully charged slash, then use the wild tackle follow-up to immediately start charging your next hit, and repeat until the monster gets back up. Just make sure you watch your stamina bar – if you run out of stamina mid-charge, you’ll cancel the animation and waste the opening. I usually carry 10 mega stamina potions on every quest just to make sure I never run out mid-loop, even during long stun windows against elder dragons.
That said, don’t force combos if the monster is still moving. One of the biggest mistakes new greatsword players make is trying to finish a combo even when the monster is winding up for a big attack that will one-shot them. It’s always better to roll out of the way and wait for the next opening than to lose half your health or cart the entire team just for a little extra damage. I’ve made that mistake more times than I can count, especially when I was first learning the new moveset, so trust me on this one. A missed hit does zero damage, but a well-timed hit that lands will always be better.
Common Greatsword Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Even experienced greatsword mains from older games fall into bad habits when they first switch to Wilds, and these mistakes can cut your damage output in half or get you killed unnecessarily. The most common one I see is players holding a charge for too long, waiting for a perfect opening that never comes. You don’t have to only use fully charged slashes – even a level 2 charged slash does 80% of the damage of a full charge, and it comes out twice as fast, so it’s often better to land a level 2 hit than to wait for a full charge and miss entirely.
Another common mistake is ignoring the monster’s part break thresholds. Greatswords are the best weapon in the game for breaking tails, heads, and wings, but you have to hit the same part repeatedly to get the break. If you’re swinging at random parts of the monster every time, you won’t get any rare drops, and you’ll take longer to kill it overall. Try to focus all your charged hits on the part you want to break first, and you’ll get way better rewards at the end of the quest.
Finally, don’t forget to use the new open-world terrain to your advantage. If you stand on a small ledge above a monster, your charged slash will turn into a falling charged slash that does 30% extra damage and has a 100% chance to stun the monster if you hit its head. I’ve used this trick to stun elder dragons in 1 hit before, which gives your entire team 10+ seconds of free damage to burn through its health bar. It’s a small detail that most players miss, but it makes a massive difference in both solo and group play.
At the end of the day, the Monster Hunter Wilds greatsword is all about patience, timing, and knowing when to take a swing and when to back off. You won’t master it in your first 10 fights, but once you get the hang of its new moveset and combos, it’s easily one of the most rewarding weapons in the game, capable of taking down even the hardest endgame monsters in just a few well-placed hits. Don’t get discouraged if you miss a few charged hits at first – even the best greatsword players mess up their timing sometimes. Just keep practicing, and you’ll be sending monsters flying across the Wilds zones before you know it.