Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Guide - Monster Hunter Wilds features 14 different weapons, the same as the previous installments with the Great Sword being one of them. In this MHW Wilds Great Sword Guide, we will take a look at Great Sword changes, what the combos are and special moves, going over things like what the weapon can do, how to use them as well as some differences and additions compared to the previous games in the franchise. If you’re looking to start using the Great Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds or need a quick refresher on how it works, this Guide is for you.
Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Guide to Combos & Changes
The Great Sword has been a staple of the Monster Hunter series and is arguably the best weapon in terms of pure raw power in the game. Even though it is a very straightforward weapon, it can feel clunky and slow in the hands of newcomers because timing is very important for effectively utilizing the Great Sword.
As veterans of the franchise would already know, the Great Sword has a fairly longer wind-up compared to other weapons and as a result, it’s very easy to miss your mark and leave yourself open. The new addition of the Focus Mode can alleviate some of these issues and the Great Sword has been given additional options ranging from counters to follow-ups but this can still be a problem in inexperienced hands. Thus, when you’re starting out in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Great Sword can feel very hard to use and is difficult to recommend as a starting weapon to newcomers.
Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Combos
The True Charged Slash Combo
As the name states this attack consists of 3 charged attacks which can be charged up to 3 times each. Veteran Great Sword users will feel right at home with this combo as the charged attack has been the main staple of the Great Sword for a long time. Not much has changed in this regard in Wilds from the previous games in the franchise and this attack still has the highest damage per strike and still has a long wind-up time.
As such, you cannot rely on this combo to be effective all the time in hunts where things can get chaotic. Unlike the previous franchises, however, you can use the focus mode to aim your charge attacks to a certain degree if the monster is in range of your strike. You can also change the direction of your strike mid-swing using the focus mode, which allows you to rotate a full 360 degrees, so this can be used to effectively aim your true charged slash - Hold Y (Xbox) or Hold Triangle (Playstation) for the wake-up attacks for maximum damage output with minimal chance of missing your slash.
Forward Lunging Attack Combo
This move can help you close the distance to the monster if it is moving around a lot. Even though this combo doesn’t do as much damage as the charged attacks it can help you keep your mobility and dodge the monster’s attacks, preventing you from getting interrupted or knocked down to follow up with more attacks.
While using Tackle has always been a core part for Great Sword users, Tackle has been improved in Monster Hunter Wilds. You can perform a tackle which can give you an uninterruptible “hyperarmor” state and as an added mechanic in Wilds, if you time the tackle perfectly with a monster’s attack, you can perform a “Perfect Tackle” which will allow you to keep your current Charge level and unleash a powerful charged attack afterwards. Thus if you can get the timing of Tackle you can quickly charge up your slashes to the true charged slash to get the raw powerful attack.
The Stationary Combo
This combo is pretty straightforward as the name suggests with you standing in a position dealing damage. Even though this combo by itself does not do too much, the wide slash is used to combo into the Rising Slash and Offset Rising Slash – Y + B (Xbox) or Triangle + Circle (Playstation), which is a great addition to the Great Sword’s capability.
Great Sword New Additions in Monster Hunter Wilds
In addition to the above-mentioned combos, there are also great additions to the Great Sword move set in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Offset Rising Slash
One of the above-mentioned additions being the Offset Rising Slash: Hold Y + B (Xbox) or Hold Triangle + Circle (Playstation). The Offset Rising Slash is a very powerful tool that can counter Monster’s attacks and can topple them easily. The Offset damage functions in the way of an invisible status effect, where it can have diminishing returns. What this means is, that it takes more hits to topple the monsters after the first offset slash topple. In order to trigger the offset damage, you have to time your strikes when the monster attacks and you can only hold the offset slash charge for a set amount of time.
Due to this, it can take practice to get the timing down for each different monster and can present a slight learning curve for players. However, it is still a very powerful tool because the Offset Rising Slash can be followed up with a True Charged Slash: Hold Y (Xbox) or Hold Triangle (Playstation), and if you topple the monster in the process, that will open a long window for hunters to deal damage. Once you’ve toppled the monster with the Offset Rising Slash, it can also be followed up with a move called Follow Up Cross Slash - Y (Xbox) or Triangle (Playstation) which is a two hit attack. The Offset Slash is a great addition to the core gameplay of the Great Sword because it opens multiple combo pathways to the True Charged Slash which allows hunters to access the Great Sword’s raw power more easily.
Perfect Guarding
The Great Sword can guard against monster attacks, but not to the same extent as shields. However, in Monster Hunter Wilds, with newly added mechanics, you can perform perfect guards - RT (Xbox) or R2 (Playstation) with the correct timing. Triggering a perfect guard will mitigate would be damage greatly and will allow you to trigger a Power Clash which can deal great damage. Holding the guard button after a perfect guard leads to more frequent Power Clashes. Also, a perfect guard can be followed up with a True Charged Slash which will help keep your damage output high.
Mount Attacks
With the addition of the Seikret, you can perform mounted attacks for all the weapons. The Great Sword provides a simple mounted attack, a dismount attack that will launch you in the selected direction and can be followed up with two attacks, the plunging attack - RT (Xbox) or R2 (Playstation), which plunges your sword down to the ground and the Jumping Charged Slash - Hold Y (Xbox) or Hold Triangle (Playstation) while in air. This attack can be used to easily mount monsters and can lead to a powerful mount finisher dealing massive damage to the monster.
Focus Attack
With the added feature of focus attacks in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Great Sword’s focus attack, Perforate - in focus mode, RB (Xbox) or R1 (Playstation), digs into the wounds of the monster and drags across it. If there are multiple wounds on the monster, this attack also bursts all of the wounds the sword drags across to deal more damage. After attacking the wounds, the Perforate attack can be directly followed by a True Charge Strike and can lead you into the main combo for the Great Sword.
Great Sword - Final Tips
As with previous installments in the franchise, the Great Sword remains the top-tier weapon for inflicting damage when your attacks land. In order to maximize damage output, learn the timing of the charged attacks and countering with Offset Rising Slash. These attacks will greatly help with your hunts.
In addition, fully utilizing the “perfect tackle” ability to keep your charges up and maintaining your True Charge Slashes will help you stand tall in the face of adversity.
Great Swords are also excellent at severing monsters’ tails, especially after a topple or a stun. Making your way towards the tail and charging up to a true charged strike to deal the cutting strike will help you get those tails to come right off. Although it deals sever damage, the Great Sword can also break heads and wings if you land a true charged strike on the specific parts but this can take a bit of practice to do so because of the relatively long wind-up times.
Sheathe your weapon between your combos to keep your pace with the monster or dodge powerful attacks will help with your mobility in your hunts
Secondary Weapons
For the secondary weapons, there are some options depending on what you are looking for.
Since the Great Sword deals Sever/Slash damage, having a Hammer as your secondary weapon if you need Blunt damage either to stun the monster more easily or to destroy armor parts, or break the head more easily is not a bad idea.
If you are looking to set status effects on the monster fast before engaging with your Great Sword, the Light Bowgun is a great option since its fast fire rate allows you to apply a status effect quickly and will keep you mobile on your feet while doing it. Ranged Weapons also have the added benefit of being able to shoot while you are mounted on your Seikret, so you can try to apply the status effects as you are chasing the monster on your mount.
The Hunting Horn is also a viable option for Buffing yourself or the whole team before using the Great Sword for even higher damage or defensive options depending on the monster you are hunting.
That wraps up our Monster Hunter Wilds Great Sword Guide, and I hope you found it helpful, and be sure to check out our other Monster Hunter Wilds Guides. If you have questions you can leave them in the comments or drop by our Discord and ask. We also have a Monster Hunter Wilds Wiki with all the information you could possibly need about the game.