MONSTER HUNTER RISE: How to Choose Your Weapon

Monster Hunter Rise has fourteen different weapon types to choose from. You are not locked in to one. Your character is free to use as many of them as they see fit, and change between them as much as they want. Every weapon type is viable.

You start with a basic Kamura weapon of every type, so do yourself a favor. This game offers dozens to hundreds of hours of gameplay, so at least spend 5-10 minutes in the training area with each weapon to familiarize yourself with each one. The training area is accessible from a boat in the Buddy Plaza, and from then on you can go there with fast travel. Do a hunt or three with the few weapons that seem interesting to you. It’s fine to “main” a single weapon type, but versatility can be helpful if you want a change of pace from your main, or need a tail cut when you main a blunt weapon, or your main weapon isn’t well suited to fighting your current target. Don’t worry about finding the “best” or “meta” weapon type. Monster Hunter is about using what works for you.

When choosing weapons, feel free to compare damage values between weapon types. Capcom has opted to use comparable damage values in the menu rather than the arbitrary bloated values they used in World. This means that in Monster Hunter Rise, weapons that have the same damage values will deal roughly equal damage if played at a similar level. So, a greatsword with 120 damage will have similar overall damage throughout a hunt as a set of dual blades with 120 damage.

It’s difficult to get the gist of the weapons just through text. Seeing them in motion is a lot more helpful. Here is a good, quick overview of each weapon type, some basic combos, and main concepts.

Often touted as the de facto beginner weapon of the series, the Sword & Shield is not to be underestimated. It has decent versatility across the board, not lacking in any particular department except attack range. Sword & Shield is unique in that it can use items while the weapon is unsheathed. Best paired with elemental and status weapons. Attacks that utilize the shield deal KO damage and can knock out a monster.
Rurikhan SnS Guide
Arrekz SnS Tutorial

With fast attacks and dashes, dual blades are masters of elemental damage and status application. When engaging Demon Mode and draining stamina, they get a stronger moveset that makes them immune to small forms of knockback. If they deal enough damage to maximize their gauge, they enter Archdemon mode, increasing attack and extending their relentless assault. Stamina management is key to their strategy.
Rurikhan Dual Blades Guide

With long range and ease of use, it’s no wonder the Long Sword is so popular. By landing attacks, the Long Sword raises its spirit gauge. By hitting the final attack of its spirit combo, the Long Sword becomes stronger. In some ways, it can be considered a weapon of momentum: as long as you can keep your spirit level up, your damage will remain high. It can reposition mid-combo with Fade Slash, and can counter monster attacks without missing a beat. The high-reaching vertical attacks make cutting tails easy. The high damage and strong counters make this an offensive and defensive powerhouse.
Rurikhan Long Sword Guide
Arrekz Long Sword Tutorial

Without a doubt the most iconic weapon of the series. While slow, it’s also capable of incredibly destructive damage. Great Sword users benefit the most from knowing the monsters. They often adopt a hit-and-run style: hit where it hurts, then get out and wait for the next opportunity. The shoulder tackle and wirebug techniques makes it easy to maintain a charge through monster roars and get to the monstrous True Charged Slash. When a monster is asleep and you’re not capturing it, the Great Sword user is the wake-up call.
Rurikhan Great Sword Guide
Arrekz Great Sword Tutorial
Xan MH’s Beginner and Advanced Great Sword Guides

The lance boasts the strongest shield in the game, but don’t let that fool you: it is among the most aggressive of the weapons. While other weapons have to sheath and run to dodge dangerous attacks, a proper Lancer is relentlessly on the monster, unfazed. The attack cadence is sometimes compared to a dance. When the monster runs away, the Lance can charge and run the poor thing down.
Rurikhan Lance Guide

Or “Funlance,” as it’s often called. A lance with a short-range cannon attached to it. It can stab, it can shoot! It can do both at the same time, with the Wyrmstake, which sticks in the monster then explodes. Shots from a Gunlance always do a set amount of damage, which is useful for hard parts that are hard to break. To cap it all off, the Wyvern’s Fire takes a while to charge up, but is a huge burst of damage. The three different shelling types are favorable to different playstyles, offering gunlancers among the widest variety of strategies within a single weapon.
Rurikhan Gunlance Guide
The Absolutely Complete Gunlance Guide
Caoslayer’s Playlist: A Gunlance Expert

There’s beauty in simplicity. Take this big thing, and apply it directly to the monster’s forehead. The Hammer is the King of KO’s, and has dibs on the head in any multiplayer hunt. They can buff up quickly by charging, then go ham. The charge attacks are useful for hit-and-run strikes, and the Big Bang combo is best on stunned or paralyzed monsters. Hammer attacks tend to feel especially satisfying on impact. As a blunt weapon, it can’t cut tails, but at least it exhausts monsters faster.
Rurikhan Hammer Guide

Everyone loves a Hunting Horn user. Revised in Rise, Hunting Horn has gotten a new surge in popularity. Every basic attack with this weapon plays a note. Play two notes in a row to automatically play a song and get its benefits. Play one of each note and start a performance to give the benefits of all your songs at once! But don’t just play in the corner… you’re a battle bard, not a cheerleader! Your songs hit HARD. Kill the monster with the power of music! While everyone touts the buffs, what’s lesser known is that HH is the King of Exhaust. Monsters hit by a hunting horn tire out much faster than normal, meaning an easy hunt is getting even easier.
Rurikhan Hunting Horn Guide

Arrekz Hunting Horn Tutorial

A Switch Axe is a decently mobile axe with high reach and wide range that has a gauge. It truly shines when it transforms into a sword that doesn’t bounce off hard monster parts and, when the second gauge fills, also benefits from a phial effect, depending on what axe it is. It could be bonus raw damage, element, status, or KO/exhaust. It has the ability to use an Element Discharge, which deals out continuous damage which finishes in a huge explosion. As long as you have the gauge for it, you can seamlessly switch between sword and axe mode mid-combo for a smooth attack flow. Just watch that manage that sword gauge and don’t get it too low. Ever wanted to reload an axe?
Rurikhan Switch Axe Guide
gaijin hunter Switch Axe Tutorial

Arguably the most complex weapon, but one of the most versatile and rewarding once mastered. The Charge Blade charges up sword energy with sword attacks. Charge up phials with this sword energy to open up options in combat. Your weapon can transform into an axe, which can use those phials for elemental discharges in axe form. For more advanced uses, you can push the charged phials into the shield, empowering your axe mode and expanding your options further. However, nothing compares to its capstone ability, the Super Amped Elemental Discharge, which causes a massive series of explosions that cause similarly massive amounts of damage as a satisfying pay off for how long it takes to build up. Just don’t miss!
Rurikhan Charge Blade Guide
Arrekz Charge Blade Tutorial

The Insect Glaive is really a pair of two weapons: the glaive itself, and the kinsect. The kinsect is a flying bug that follows your instructions. Your first priority is to command the kinsect to fly in and hit the monster’s various body parts to gather extract and return it to you to give you buffs. Most important is red buff, which increases your attack power and gives you much stronger attack animations. Once buffed up, you can command your kinsect to attack the monster at will, then attack the monster yourself. The glaive has aerial attacks which makes it easier to pester monsters from above (and break their back!), but the most damaging combos are the ones on the ground.
Rurikhan Insect Glaive Guide
Arrekz Insect Glaive Tutorial

Unlike blademaster weapons which deal with sharpness, the bow has infinite arrows but has to bring along consumable coatings. By applying coatings to arrows, the arrows get additional properties such as increased damage or status effects. When shooting, maintain proper critical distance by ensuring the crosshairs have two complete circles when aiming at the monster. Arrows deal less damage if you are too far away from the monster. Charge shots by holding down the button, or by continuously shooting, to keep up your assault. The Dragon Piercer attack roots you in place while charging up, but deals incredible damage as it pierces through monsters, especially lengthy ones. The bow also has the ability to provide buffs and heals.
TwoSixNine Bow Guide
Poogie Boogie Bow Guide Playlist

The little brother of the bowguns sacrifices a bit of damage for much more mobility. Bowgunners must buy or craft their ammo, though there’s usually some free ammo in the supply box at the beginning of each hunt. The Light Bowgun’s unique ability is called the Wyvernblast, an explosive mine of sorts. You can place up to three at a time on the ground, or even on the monster itself if you drop it from above. Every time damage is applied, they explode, dealing heavy damage in an area around it. Bowguns can be customized at the smithy, allowing you to boost attack, increase range, reduce recoil, and so on. As you upgrade your bowgun, you gain more customization slots. Like the bow, you have to stay within the right distance to deal the most damage, but this varies with the ammo you’re currently using.
Sam Pham Tips and Tutorials: Light Bowgun Guide

The heavy bowgun moves slower than the light bowgun, but has larger clips and hits harder. Bowgunners must buy or craft their ammo, though there’s usually some free ammo in the supply box at the beginning of each hunt. It has the ability to charge its shots, much like a greatsword. The Heavy Bowgun has two different special ammo, depending on the gun. The first is Wyvernheart, which turns your weapon into a machine gun for a while. It can be fired in short bursts or as one continuous stream of bullets. The second is Wyvern Snipe, a single explosive piercing shot. If fired correctly, it can ruin a large monster. The Heavy Bowgun can be customized in the same way that a Light Bowgun can, but one of the exclusive options for Heavy Bowgun is a shield that can automatically block attacks for you.
Genoen N. Jun – Heavy Bowgun Guide