Introduction

A Guide to: Wilds Charge Blade

TU3

Version 1.3.0

By timmy

Header by T3h Phish

Welcome to the MH Wilds Charge Blade Guide! This guide will go over how to play, build progression, and endgame builds.

Please contact me with any questions, corrections, or general feedback: @timee_ in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall

Mobile users should use the Docs app to view this document. Not doing so may cause images to appear blurry.

Headings are closed by default for easier navigation use the latest version of Docs for the best experience! Look for a button like this to the left of the heading.

Table of Contents

Home: Introduction

Part 1: Weapon Guide

1. About the Author

2. Introduction to the Weapon

3. Inputs and Basics

4. Mechanics

5. Playstyles, Guards, and Useful Moves

6. Optimal Damage Rotation

7. Advanced Player Tips

8. Player Skill Benchmarks

9. Closing Thoughts

Part 2: Build Progression

1. When to Use Progression Builds

2. Story Progression Guide Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

3. Early Post-Game Progression Guide HR10 HR20

4. Late Post-Game Progression Guide HR30: HR40:

Part 3: Endgame Build Guide

1. A Preface by the Author

2. Build Guide Assumptions 2.1 Skill Priority 2.2 Other Considerations

3. Meta Build Guide 3.1 Weapon Recommendations 3.1.2 Regarding TU2 and 3

3.2 Infusions and Reinforcements 3.2.1 Raw 3.2.2 Element 3.3 Raw Savage Axe 3.3.1 4P Gore 3.3.2 Comfy Set 3.3.3 Lord’s Soul 3.3.4 Guardian Rathalos CB 3.3.5 Zoh Shia CB 3.4 Element 3.4.1 Savage Axe 3.4.2 Earplugs 2 3.4.3 Anti-Guardian 3.4.4 SAED 3.4.5 Dragon SAED

4. Meta Matchups 4.1 Savage Axe Matchups 4.2 SAED Matchups

5. Meme Builds 5.1 RAW IMPACT SAED

6. Update Changes

7. FAQs

8. Resources

9. Acknowledgements

10. Final words

Changelog

1.0.0 ● General Release 1.01 ● Reformatted Endgame Build Guide to Wiggler Standards

1.1.0 Title Update 1 ● Updated Weapon Recommendations, Artian Infusions and Reinforcements, and sets for TU1.

● Updated Matchup Chart. ● Added Critical Draw and Evasion Mantle meme builds. ● Added Section 6 Update Changes 1.1.1 AT Rey Dau Update ● Combined Weapon, Prog, and Endgame Guides into a single guide ● Removed the “Gear Requirements” from Chapter 3, Section 2.2 ● Removed the “Preamble: Artian Weapons” from Chapter 3, Section 3.1 ● Added “Weapon Recommendations” to Chapter 3, Section 3.1 ● Added Table of Contents

1.2.0 Title Update 2 ● Updated Weapon Recommendations, Infusions and Reinforcements, and sets for TU2 ● Updated Weapon Guide due to balance changes, listed here ● New additions to SAED and Savage Axe matchup table, reworked format

1.2.1 9* Quests Update ● Added 3.3.3 Lord’s Soul set ● This update yet again had balance changes for CB, so the optimal damage rotations (and by extension, builds) were changed.

1.3.0FFXIV Collab Update ● No weapon changes until further notice ● Added section 3.1.2 to Chapter 3

Weapon Guide

Part 1: Weapon Guide

By timmy

Header by T3h Phish

Please contact us with any questions, corrections, or general feedback: @timee_ in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall

Mobile users should use the Docs app to view this document. Not doing so may cause images to appear blurry.

Headings are closed by default for easier navigation use the latest version of Docs for the best experience! Look for a button like this to the left of the heading.

Table of Contents

Home: Introduction

Part 1: Weapon Guide

1. About the Author

2. Introduction to the Weapon

3. Inputs and Basics

4. Mechanics

5. Playstyles, Guards, and Useful Moves

6. Optimal Damage Rotation

7. Advanced Player Tips

8. Player Skill Benchmarks

9. Closing Thoughts

1. About the Author

This guide was written by timmy. I love cheat blade!!!

2. Introduction to the Weapon

Chargeblade may seem like a complex weapon on the surface, but it is actually quite straightforward: charge/load your shield, phials, and axe in order to use your big damage moves. Just like World and Rise, Wilds CB has 2 distinct playstyles. Savage Axe (also known as “Pizza Cutter”), which uses the Axe to slice through monsters, and SAED, which loads phials to release them all at once in big explosions. While Savaxe is significantly stronger in Wilds, the playstyle you choose is up to personal preference.

This Weapon is for you if you: ● Like using a shield to block monster attacks ● Want to charge up before unloading damage ● Enjoy both big and small explosions ● Feed your superiority complex by playing the ‘most complex’ weapon

3. Inputs and Basics

The following is a list of the most commonly used moves:

Basic moves (Sword):

● Weak Slash: X ● Forward Slash: X+A while unsheathed or Forward + X while sheathed ● Fade Slash: Direction + A after any sword attack or in Focus Mode ● Charged Double Slash: Hold A ● Shield Thrust: X+A after any sword attack ● Guard: ZR ● Perfect Guard: Tap ZR right before an attack ● Load Phials: ZR + A ● Elemental Roundslash: Cancel AED/SAED with ZR ● Shield Element Boost: Load phials -> keep holding A ● Condensed Element Slash: Hold X after loading phials ● Morph Slash: ZR + X ● Sheathe: Y ● Dodge: B ● Focus Mode: ZL ● Focus Strike (either mode): ZL+R on wound

Basic moves (Axe)

● Rising Slash: X ● Dash Slam: Forward + X ● Lateral Fade/Backstep Slash: Left/Right/Back + X after any axe attack or while in Focus Mode ● Savage Axe Slash: X after Perfect Guard ● Morph Slash: ZR ● Elemental Discharge (ED) I: A ● Elemental Discharge II: A after ED I ● Amped Elemental Discharge (AED): X+A after Shield Thrust or neutral (in Axe Mode) or A after ED II ● Amped Elemental Discharge Followup: A after AED

● Super Amped Elemental Discharge: X+A after AED/AED Followup/Guard

Important Combos:

● Charge Double Slash -> Roundslash -> Charged Double Slash -> Load Phials: Hold A -> X -> Hold A -> ZR + A ● Weak Slash -> Shield Thrust -> AED -> Elemental Roundslash: X -> X+A -> X+A -> cancel with ZR ● Load Phials -> Shield Element Boost: ZR + A (hold) ● Weak Slash -> Shield Thrust -> AED -> SAED: X -> X+A -> X+A -> X+A ● ED I -> ED II -> Rising Slash: A -> A -> X ● ED I -> ED II -> AED -> AED Followup: A -> A -> A -> A ● Weak Slash -> Shield Thrust -> AED -> AED Followup: X -> X+A -> X+A -> A ● AED -> AED Followup -> Axe: Morph Slash -> Shield Thrust -> repeat: X+A -> A -> ZR -> X+A -> repeat ● Guard -> SAED: ZR -> X+A ● Guard -> AED: ZR -> X+A -> cancel SAED with back + X

You will learn more about the combos in Section 5. These are the Stats Charge Blade users should care about:

Fig. 3.0A Weapon Stats Attack: Important for Savage Axe playstyle, universal damage, usually referred to as Raw. Wilds, for the first time ever, lets us choose between Bloat and True values, the option for that is in Game Settings -> Page 3: Weapon Attack Power Display -> Display Without Coefficent. This Guide will only care about True Values. Sharpness: Acts as a modifier for Raw and Elemental Damage, but phials are unaffected. Being a High Rank Game, Savage Axe sets will want to have white sharpness throughout the overwhelming majority of any given hunt. SAED does not care about sharpness. Unlike other Weapon types, Charge Blade does not have built-in sharpness reduction modifiers, every input consumes 1 unit of Sharpness. Skills like Handicraft and/or Razor Sharp will be used to help with Sharpness consumption, but only for Savage Axe.

Sharpness Raw Mod Elemod White 1.32 1.15 Blue 1.2 1.0625 Green 1.05 1 Yellow 1 0.75 Orange 0.75 0.5 Red 0.5 0.25 Fig 3.0B Sharpness Table

Element: Status and Element is listed here if applicable, depending on the specific set you aim for, all of these can be important, or they can not matter. Affinity: Every non phial hit can crit, making this stat very important for Savage Axe. Defense Bonus: Due to the nature of the Defense stat's scaling, any additional defense is unlikely to have an impact on damage received, making it a negligible Bonus at best. Safe to ignore. Slots: All maxed out weapons have either 3-2-1 or 3-3-1 slots. The exceptions are Artian weapons, which have 2-2-2 on the Rarity 6 and 7, and 3-3-3 on the rarity 8 Versions, always. Phial Type: Can be either Impact or Element Phial, and this affects the damage and effects of the phial explosions. Impact phials scale with raw, ignore hitzones, and can stun when used on the head. Element Phials scale with element, affected by elemental hitzones, and do not stun.

4. Mechanics

Charge Blade has several important mechanics: Phials, Shield Charge, Power Axe, and (not so important) Sword Charge. Landing Sword attacks or Guarding will generate Sword Energy, which is indicated by either a yellow or red outline. These can then be loaded with ZR + A. Loading from Yellow

will give 3 phials, and Red will give 5. Load Shells will make Yellow give 5 phials, and Red will give 5 overcharged Phials.

Another important thing to note is that you can have too much Sword Energy. When this happens, your phials and sharpness bar will flash red, and all your sword attacks will bounce. This should be avoided at all costs.

Fig. 4.0A Charge Blade Phials (Yellow)

Fig 4.0B Charge Blade Phials (Red)

Fig 4.0C Loaded Phials

Fig 4.0D Overcharged Phials

Fig 4.0E Too much Sword Energy

Once phials are loaded, they can be stored into the with one of 2 ways:

• Canceling AED/SAED with ZR

• Holding A after loading phials

This will charge the shield, which does several things:

• Increases the guard strength of Guard Points

• Allows the use of SAED

• Adds a small phial explosion when guarding

• Increases the attack of all axe attacks by 10% Charging the shield is important because it provides a large damage boost. Each phial will add 24s to the shield, for a maximum of 120s. Each overcharged phial will add 12s, increasing the maximum to 180s.

If the shield is charged, the sword can also be charged by holding X after loading phials. This will add small explosions to sword attacks, and prevent it from bouncing. While nice to have, it is unnecessary as the main purpose of sword attacks are to charge phials.

Fig 4.0F Charged Sword and Shield indicators

Pressing X after a Perfect Guard will grant the Power Axe buff. This will add chainsaw-like ticks to every axe swing when the buttons are held down, making this a powerful buff (also known as Savage Axe). This buff lasts 120s, and should be prioritized when playing Savage Axe. Aside from Perfect Guards, Focus Strike, Power Clash, and Mounting can also be used for Power Axe.

Fig 4.0G Power Axe indicator

Focus Mode/Strike Like all other weapons, we can enter Focus Mode with ZL, and press R for a small hit. If it hits a wound, it unleashes a strong multi-hit attack with the axe. This will also activate or refresh Power Axe, making it a good option mid-hunt when Power Axe is running out.

Fig. 4.0H Focus Strike

Power Clash Guarding certain monster attacks will enter a Power Clash, an animation where you spam X to attack the monster. Winning the Power Clash will allow you to activate Savage Axe with X, or go into AED/SAED with X+A.

Fig. 4.0I Power Clash

Another big addition was the Corrupted Mantle, which gives some attacks a weaker secondary hit. For CB, it applies to most sword attacks, and axe attacks except for AED, AED Followup, SAED, Focus Strike, and Savage Axe ticks. Due to Mantle timers not resetting on either Quest End nor Quest Start, this will go largely ignored for the sake of this guide, as it is likely to be relegated to speedruns only.

Sneak Attack While a monster has not spotted you and is not engaged in combat and grounded, you can approach it from behind and follow the button prompt (A) to use Sneak Attack, a reasonably strong attack that generates some Sword Energy. A common opener is Sneak Attack -> Charged Double Slash -> Load Phials -> Perfect Guard roar -> Savage Axe Slash.

Fig. 4.0J Sneak Attack opener

5. Playstyles, Guards, and Useful Moves

Charge Blade has 2 notable playstyles: Savage Axe and SAED.

Savage Axe will use the Axe to deal many smaller hits on the monster, while SAED will wait for openings to unleash a big attack.

Perfect Guard While in Sword mode, pressing ZR right before an attack will block it with Perfect Guard. This guard has no knockback, massively reduced chip, and can be followed up with Savage Axe Slash, AED, or SAED. Perfect Guard is the only guard with practical use in Wilds, so it is important to get good at it.

Guard Points Any animation with the shield in front of the hunter will be a Guard Point, which include:

• Sword: Morph Slash

• Sword: Roundslash

• Elemental Roundslash

• Shield: Element Boost

• Sword: Fade Slash

The shield will also glow white during the Guard Point window.

Fig. 5.0A CB Guard Points

Starting from TU2, Perfect Guard can be pulled off via Guard Points since they changed it so that PG detection frames are in GP. This also means that you can almost pull off Perfect Guard consistently with Guard Points that have small amounts of frames, like Shield: Elemental Boost.

SAED Cancel Using SAED from a guard can be cancelled into AED with back + X. This is used if you want to AED from a Guard.

Fig 5.0C SAED cancel into AED

6. Optimal Damage Rotation

ED Loop

The highest sustained DPS combo for Savage Axe. JK WE’RE SO BACK !!!! (for raw at least)

ED I -> ED II -> Rising Slash -> Repeat

The loop is 408 MV over 6.4 seconds (~63.75 MVs per second) with Power Axe active. While this loop takes a while, it is the single highest raw damage loop for Savage Axe, so it should be used on long openings.

Sometimes, the opening is not enough for the full loop. In such cases, ED I -> ED II or just ED I should be used instead before dodging/guarding.

Fig 6.0A ED Loop

AED Loop

Slower than ED Loop, but more damage overall. Less raw DPS compared to ED Loop, but more ele. Therefore, this loop should be used more often when using Element Phial.

ED I -> ED II -> AED -> AED Followup -> Repeat

This loop has a total of 563 MV over 10.367 seconds (~54.3 MVs per second) with Power Axe active. While it has less sustained DPS than ED Loop, the latter part (AED -> AED Followup) of this loop has more burst damage. This AED and AED Followup also have more stun (if using Impact Phial) or element value (if using Element Phial) than ED I or ED II. As such, it should be favored in the following scenarios:

• The damage window is long enough for one AED Loop but not two ED Loops

• If pushing for a stun with Impact Phial

• Free opening for Guard -> AED -> AED Followup

• When using Element Phial on high element hitzone monsters

Fig 6.0B AED Loop

AED Followup Loop

After TU 2 balance changes, ED and AED loop fell out of favor for AED Followup loop. This is now the highest sustained damage combo for Savage Axe.

Capcom decided to give CB balance changes AGAIN, less than a month after the previous changes. AED Followup loop is now weaker than ED Loop for both raw and element.

AED -> AED Followup -> Axe: Morph Slash -> Shield Thrust -> repeat

EDI/EDII Axe hits and Power Axe ticks received minor nerfs, while AED and AED Followup axe hits got slightly buffed. Phials were buffed across the board, but AED and AED Followup received larger buffs compared to EDI/EDII. This makes it so that this new loop is now favored over everything else, especially when things like Load Shells, Artillery, and Rapid Morph are considered.

Fig 6.0C AED Followup Loop (with Rapid Morph equipped)

SAED

The single highest damage move Charge Blade has, but not necessarily the highest DPS.

(In Axe mode) AED ->AED Followup (optional) -> SAED or Guard -> SAED

SAED spamming is a completely different playstyle than Savage Axe. This move has a total of 65 element modifier with 5 overcharged phials, so it does very large elemental damage. As such, this playstyle is best used with Element Phials on monsters with high elemental weaknesses. Unfortunately for SAED enjoyers, this playstyle will be weaker than Savage Axe in most cases.

Unlike previous games, SAED cannot be used from neutral; it can only be used after AED or a guard. Usually, guarding an attack to go immediately into SAED is preferred, but using AED or AED -> AED Followup before SAED can also be good for the extra damage or potential flinch. This will depend on which move the monster does.

Fig 6.0B Perfect Guard -> SAED

7. Advanced Player Tips

This section will be short due to how new the game is.

Focus Strike: Focus Strike can be used to refresh the Power Axe buff and flinch the monster. Ideally, this is used right before the buff runs out for minimal downtime.

Might Pill: Might Pills now overwrite the buff but not the timer of Might Seeds, meaning that if you take a seed and then a pill, after the pills 20 seconds are over, Might Seed applies again. Useful at the start of a hunt for more Sneak Attack damage.

Axe: Lateral/Fade Slash By using back/left/right and X after any axe attack, you can reposition while attacking. This has niche usage if you need to move around during your Savage Axe swings.

Fig. 7.0A Axe movement

8. Player Skill Benchmarks

● Inexperienced: Players who barely know the weapons moveset, having very little understanding of its mechanics and intricacies, having very little or no experience playing it at all.

● Intermediate: Players who have an understanding of the weapons moveset, can hit about half of their guards, and can clear quests reliably within 8-15 minutes. ● Advanced: Players who can target and hit parts at will, formulate and change their gameplan, hit most of their guards, have good spatial awareness and usually clear without carting within 6-8 minutes. ● Expert: Players who have good understanding of the moveset, nail nearly all of their guards, have great positioning and dps upkeep and usually clear any quest within 4-6 minutes. In addition, they have a good general grasp of most monster’s movesets.

9. Closing Thoughts

Charge Blade more like CHEAT blade cuz its OP af in wilds xd “OP no more, it’s mid now” jerrynt 4/7/2025 “erm acakstudshually its still OP (nerd emoji)” timmy 10/7/2025

Build Progression

Part 2: Build Progression

By timmy

Header by T3h Phish

Please contact me with any questions, corrections, or general feedback: @timee_ in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall

Mobile users should use the Docs app to view this document. Not doing so may cause images to appear blurry.

Headings are closed by default for easier navigation use the latest version of Docs for the best experience! Look for a button like this to the left of the heading.

Table of Contents

Home: Introduction

Part 2: Build Progression

1. When to Use Progression Builds

2. Story Progression Guide Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

3. Early Post-Game Progression Guide HR10 HR20

4. Late Post-Game Progression Guide HR30: HR40:

1. When to Use Progression Builds

This progression Guide is aimed at players who are new to the franchise, feel overwhelmed by all the options and choices the game offers, and those who are just looking for a refresher or need some pointers for what to look out for during progression.

The Sets themselves aim to support you, from the start of the game all the way until the Endgame. From there, you should be in a great spot to follow the Endgame sets, accessible through the sidemenu or the buttons at the end of the page.

2. Story Progression Guide

Chapter 1

Monster Hunter Wilds Progression has a very short Low Rank Story, that consists of a total of 20 hunts. Early armor doesn’t provide anything useful, except for maybe some comfort skills. Use whatever you’d like.

Fig. 2.1A Chapter 1 Prog Set

Lala Barina CB is available early and comes with decent sharpness and free Paralysis.

Chapter 2

At this point, still no great armor pieces. Hirabami is an option if you want some comfort skills, but not needed. Upgrade the Barina CB for slightly more raw and sharpness.

Fig. 2.2A Chapter 2 Prog Set

Chapter 3

Guardian Ebony allows us to get to finally some decent damage skills. Burst 2 with the 4p set bonus gives a solid +25 raw. Anything works for the chest, Rey Sandmail is just there as a placeholder.

Guardian Rathalos CB is the best option at the end of Low Rank with good raw, decent sharpness, and some base affinity. Comes with Master’s Touch which doesn’t do much just yet, but better than nothing.

Fig. 2.3A Final LR Set

3. Early Post-Game Progression Guide

HR10

Same set as before, but uses Low Rank Guardian Arkveld Mail for Flayer 1. Not a necessary upgrade by any means, but is nice for creating wounds.

Rathian CB is the recommended upgrade. While it has the same raw and affinity as G. Rathalos CB, the extra sharpness and poison are good.

Fig. 3.1A HR 10 Prog Set

From this point on, slot any Razor Sharp/Handicraft decos that drop.

HR20

Farm the Weakness Exploit Charm. It will be used from now on.

Fig. 3.2A Exploiter Charm I

HR 20 unlocks some Guardian Rathalos, letting us finally get some decent affinity. Slot in Maximum Might if you have it. Upgrading the Guardian Rathalos CB gives more raw and some extra sharpness with Master’s Touch.

Fig. 3.2B HR 20 Prog Set

From this point onward, the recommended way to progress is doing Side Quests. They unlock the “farms”, some new systems like random villagers inviting you to dinner, the Power and Armor charm for some free Raw, as well as some decoration melding options. After doing them, you should be well on your way to Hunter Rank 40, which is the current final monster unlock of the game.

4. Late Post-Game Progression Guide

HR30:

Gore Magala unlocks after hunting Jin Dahaad and the other Apexes, and its set bonus with Antivirus 3 gives a nice 25% affinity and 15 raw. Slot any decent decorations you have.

Rathian CB is used here for its good sharpness, raw, and affinity, but Barina CB is a good option for Paralysis.

Fig. 4.1A HR 30 Prog Set

HR40:

Upgrade your Weakness Exploit Charm, Hunter Symbol III needs Tier 3 Tempered Investigations.

Fig 4.2A Exploiter Charm II

Fig. 4.2B Final HR Prog Set

Similar set as before but with more Weakness Exploit, use this to start farming endgame investigations. The increased affinity combined with Master’s Touch from Guardian Rathalos CB is a good combination of damage and sharpness. Slot any good decorations you have, Tenderizer/Mighty decorations are recommended to slot if possible. From here, move onto the Endgame Build Guide.

Endgame Build Guide

Part 3: Endgame Build Guide

By timmy

Header by T3h Phish

Please contact me with any questions, corrections, or general feedback: @timee_ in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall

Mobile users should use the Docs app to view this document. Not doing so may cause images to appear blurry.

Headings are closed by default for easier navigation use the latest version of Docs for the best experience! Look for a button like this to the left of the heading.

Table of Contents

Home: Introduction

1. A Preface by the Author

2. Build Guide Assumptions

2.1 Skill Priority 2.2 Other Considerations

3. Meta Build Guide 3.1 Weapon Recommendations 3.1.2 Regarding TU2 and 3 3.2 Infusions and Reinforcements 3.2.1 Raw 3.2.2 Element 3.3 Raw Savage Axe 3.3.1 4P Gore 3.3.2 Comfy Set 3.3.3 Lord’s Soul 3.3.4 Guardian Rathalos CB 3.3.5 Zoh Shia CB 3.4 Element 3.4.1 Savage Axe 3.4.2 Earplugs 2 3.4.3 Anti-Guardian 3.4.4 SAED 3.4.5 Dragon SAED

4. Meta Matchups 4.1 Savage Axe Matchups 4.2 SAED Matchups

5. Meme Builds 5.1 RAW IMPACT SAED

6. Update Changes

7. FAQs

8. Resources

9. Acknowledgements

10. Final words

1. A Preface by the Author

Welcome to the MH Wilds Charge Blade Endgame Build Guide! Please feel free to contact me (timee_) in MHGH #charge-blade chat for any questions or feedback.

2. Build Guide Assumptions

2.1 Skill Priority

Armor Skill Priority 1 4 Piece Gore + Antivirus 3^ These skills provide both raw and affinity, 2 important skills for 1 Agitator 5^ Charge Blade.

1 Burst 1^ +8/6 Raw/Ele for 3 seconds after hitting a monster 5 times. Very efficient 1 point skill.

1 Coalescence^ 10-30% Element increase after curing a status. Very strong for Element sets.

1 Maximum Might 3^ The most efficient source of affinity available.

2 Weakness Exploit^ More inefficient and expensive source of affinity compared to Max Might.

2 Burst 2-5^ Adds 2/2/3/3 for Lvl 2-5 raw and 2 ele per level, less value compared to Burst 1.

2 Convert Element 3^ Very strong, but only for Dragon SAED builds. Fig. 2.1A Offensive Armor Skill Priority

Weapon Skill Priority

1 Critical Boost 5^ The strongest skill in the game for raw sets.

1 Sharpness Skills^ Savage Axe uses quite a bit of sharpness. 70-100 hits is the recommended amount.

1 Load Shells 2^ Lets you overcharge phials with red, good for comfort and damage.

2 Offensive Guard 3^

A massive 15% base raw for 12s after guarding, good if you can maintain the buff. However, it can be quite difficult to have good uptime especially with impact phial and paralysis CC.

2 Ele Attack 3^ For Elemental sets only.

3 Focus 3^ Slightly speeds up Sword Double Slash and requires less hits for red. Only used for SAED.

Fig. 2.1B Weapon Skill Priority

2.2 Other Considerations

Food Skills: First Slot: Meat as a base for food grants +2 Raw. Second Slot: Caprice Meal (Hi) (Airy Egg) gives +15 Raw in random intervals during its duration, which lasts for 10 seconds each. Black Belt (Hi) (Droolshroom) reduces the stamina consumption of rolls and hops, so this helps maintain Maximum Might. Alternatively, Tumbler Meal (Mud and Turbid Shrimp) grant additional iframes on dodges. Lastly, Moxie Meal (Specialty/Slid Garlic) can prevent one cart. Third Slot depends on Set and Location. Ultimately, there is no stand-out absolute banger meal that will make a ginormous impact, so eating whatever is available or cooked by villagers or even just Meat is good enough.

Cat: Just use Lala Barina weapon and cripple monsters lmao Cat unlocks extra abilities by doing its Side Quests, namely: ● Revive on cart with half health (once/quest)

● Spawn Vigor Wasps ● Steal materials

Cats max out at level 30.

3. Meta Build Guide

3.1 Weapon Recommendations

Charge Blade currently uses both raw and element in endgame, depending on the matchup. While most matchups will favor Artian, Guardian Albathos and Blazing Yirmiya are competitive options. While not optimal for every matchup, Status Artians are good for general use. Prioritize Paralysis and Blast, the other two statuses have little value.

Element Weapons

Fire (^) Craftable: Guardian AlbathosBest: Chrono Gear Water (^) Craftable: Final FieldbladeBest: Chrono Gear Thunder (^) Craftable: Lagia Storm IBest: Chrono Gear Ice Best: Chrono Gear Craftable: None Dragon (^) Craftable: Blazing YirmiyaChrono Gear Paralysis (^) Craftable: Lala EumenophorbBest: Chrono Gear Blast Best: Chrono Gear Craftable: None

Fig. 3.1A Weapon Recommendations

3.1.2 Regarding TU2 and 3

For the 2 title update(s), they introduced potential sidegrades but offer no substantial improvement to the current meta, but for the sake of it there’ll be 1 set that came along. Until further notice for TU4/5, the weapon’s best comfort is with Gore 4pc.

3.2 Infusions and Reinforcements

3.2.1 Raw

Fig 3.2A Raw Infusions and Reinforcements

Paralysis is used here for the free CC, but Blast is also good for the damage and flinches. The infusions and reinforcements are the same for all the raw builds.

While Attack reinforcements are stronger than Affinity reinforcements, having a few Affinity instead of Attack is fine the damage difference is quite small. Dropping 1 Sharpness is okay as well, but 2 is recommended for comfortable sharpness.

TL:DR is 1-2 Sharpness, rest Attack/Affinity, no Element

3.2.2 Element

Fig 3.2B Elemental Infusions and Reinforcements

Elemental Savage Axe will use 4 element and 1 sharpness with the rest being attack. For SAED, only the 4 element matters. However, it is recommended to use the same CB for both playstyles due to the RNG nature of Artian Reinforcements.

3.3 Raw Savage Axe

3.3.1 4P Gore

Standard 4P Gore set. While this set only reaches 85% affinity, having more raw attack over affinity is more damage overall. With the TU2 balance changes, phial damage was given a large buff, especially for AEDF. This means that Artillery + Load Shells + Rapid Morph is the most consistent and comfortable damage option for Impact Savaxe. After balance changes (again), AEDF loop is no longer optimal. This means we drop Artillery and Rapid Morph for Critical Boost 5. However, feel free to continue to use AEDF loop with Rapid Morph if you prefer it’s only slightly weaker compared to ED and AED Loop now.

3.3.2 Comfy Set

Variation with 2P Zoh Shia for Super Recovery I. This allows you to heal naturally even with no red HP, making this set very comfy. Fairly even with the previous set as long as Peak Performance is up, but keep in mind that PP is quite difficult to maintain (even with 2P Zoh).

3.3.3 Lord’s Soul

While slightly weaker compared to 4P Gore, Lord’s Soul comes with Guts, which prevents one cart. Also comes with Quick Sheathe 3, making this set rather comfy.

3.3.4 Guardian Rathalos CB

The best non Artian CB along with Zoh, this set is a good option for those who don’t want to use Artian. This set also deals more damage than raw Artian on Fire matchups, but loses Para/Blast. Feel free to replace Crit Boost/Attack Boost with Load Shells/Rapid Morph based on personal preference.

3.3.5 Zoh Shia CB

The other best general use craftable CB. Actually does slightly more raw damage than Artian, but loses Para/Blast. Comes down to personal preference.

3.4 Element

3.4.1 Savage Axe

Elemental Savage Axe is quite strong, beating out raw in many matchups. Although suboptimal, this set can be used with a hybrid Savaxe/SAED playstyle. *charm should be Burst 2 instead of Weakness Exploit 2

3.4.2 Earplugs 2

Variation with Earplugs 2 and Burst 5. While this set is slightly weaker than 4P Gore after Coal is active, it has more Element before Coal. Earplugs 2 is also useful for ignoring roars.

3.4.3 Anti-Guardian

Variation with Wex 5 for Guardian monsters. Agitator has low uptime on them, so Wex will be better.

3.4.4 SAED

SAED wants to max element for damage. However, due to the low ele cap and lack of many elemental skills, there are many slots left over. Earplugs 2 are used to ignore most roars, while Maximum Might/Agitator/Antivirus are there to marginally increase the damage of axe hits. Feel free to replace those slots with whatever you’d like.

3.4.5 Dragon SAED

Convert Element is strong, but only good for Dragon.

4. Meta Matchups

4.1 Savage Axe Matchups

The main target hitzone will be the head unless noted otherwise. (Omega Planetes is thunder)

Fig. 4.1A Savaxe Meta matchup table

4.2 SAED Matchups

The main target hitzone is the head, unless noted otherwise.

Keep in mind that Savaxe will still be stronger even for ‘good’ SAED matchups, except for Gravios. (Omega Planetes is thunder)

Fig. 4.2A SAED Meta matchup table

5. Meme Builds

5.1 RAW IMPACT SAED

lmao :COPIUM: “it’s a bit better now, but still copium” jerrynt

6. Update Changes

TU1 added Zoh Shia and Mizutsune.

• Zoh CB joins G. Rathalos as best craftable, and is also competitive with Status Artian.

• Zoh Chest is used as a direct upgrade to Blango Chest.

• Mizutsune CB is now the best water craftable. Still loses to Artian.

AT Rey update added new armor.

• While Guts is good for some bonus damage and Moxie, CB doesn’t have a reliable way of activating Latent Power without tanking hits, making it an inferior option to 4P Gore.

TU2 added Seregios and Lagiacrus, along with some balance changes.

• Lagiacrus Armorseems good for thunder builds, but it’s still behind 4P Gore.

• Perfect Guard is now a subset of Guard Point within its animation.

• List of balance changes for CB here. TLDR is that Savaxe got slightly weaker, while phials got stronger. SAED phials are further buffed when used after AED/AEDF.

• Savaxe is still king lmao

• Ele Savaxe will prefer AED -> AEDF even more than before

AT Uth update added new armor.

• The new armor allows for a decent Lord’s Soul set without Latent Power reliance, making it a valid alternative to 4P Gore. Slightly weaker, but comfy.

9* update added a new Talismen system to roll for, along with some buffs to the weapon.

• ED1/2 MV has reverted back to Pre nerf MV (TU0) and various buffs across phials.

• It is very unlikely for the new talisman to replace the old craftable as the RNG is horrendous.

• Talisman table, combos, and skill group here

• Raw Savaxe will prefer ED Loop, and Ele Savaxe will prefer AED Loop.

FFXIV Collab update added new Armor Sets and weapons that do not include Charge Blade.

• New Bale Armor 2p bonus provides basically Elemental Resentment and 4p bonus allows buffs for Greatsword but you take much much more damage in return, further testing needed.

• Savage Omega Armor 2p/4p set bonus provides either 20/40% affinity or 10/20 raw with a very specific condition to activate and the uptime (highest 50%) is not guaranteed therefore bad.

• Savage Omega Armor has solid picks for Arms and Coil, further testing needed.

7. FAQs

Q: Should I use Offensive Guard or Load Shells? A: Offensive Guard is huge damage for Savage Axe when you are able to maintain the buff through guarding. Specifically, solo play on matchups where you know the monster moveset well, and know which openings to use Perfect Guard into Savage Axe Slash or AED. Otherwise, Load Shells provide both comfort (overcharged phials extend Shield Charge) and damage (on AED/AEDF phials). After balance changes, Load Shells should always be used as it provides even more damage.

Q: What about Rapid Morph? A: It’s good now. After the TU2 update, AED Followup got buffs which made morphing between Sword and Axe much more common. Pre TU2 it sucked. It’s bad again lmao

Q: How long do Sword Charge, Shield Charge, and Power Axe last? A: 90/120/120 seconds, respectively. Each overcharged phial adds 12s to shield, for a maximum of 180 seconds.

Q: Why no Power Prolonger? A: Savage Axe can easily be refreshed before it runs out, and Load Shells is the better option for extending Shield Charge.

Q: How does Flayer Work? A: It makes wounds appear faster. Also builds up like a status, then does damage as a small explosion. Does not work on Savage Axe ticks, so not worth using.

Q: How does Whiteflame Torrent work? A: Has a small chance to deal 50 flat damage on certain attacks, but has a 3s cooldown. Will proc every ~7-8s or so.

Q: Why do the builds have no mantles? A: They don’t fundamentally change your approach to the gameplay in a meaningful way. Update had changed it so that the mantle resets after every quest.

Q: Why not Partbreaker, it says it increases Focus Strike damage? A: It does currently not increase Focus Strike damage. It does, however, increase damage wounds deal when they are broken, by the specified amount in the skills description.

Q: How much does Power Charm add? A: Power Charm grants +6 Raw.

Q: How long do Might Seed, Demon Powder, and Demondrug last? A: Seed and Powder last 3 minutes each, drug lasts 30 minutes. The timer does not tick down in Base Camp.

Q: How does Self Improvement work? A: Every 5 minutes, you gain +5 Raw, until the cap at 30 Raw after 30 Minutes.

Q: Why do I randomly get disconnected from MP? Why am I still in the hunt/group/lobby after disconnecting? Why do monsters teleport? A: Multiplayer is currently bugged.

Q: I cut off a monster’s tail, why did it become a different monster’s material? A: Cutting off and carving tails does not currently function as intended.

Q: Why can’t I talk to certain NPCs? A: NPC interaction detection currently isn’t working properly. If you’re too close to an NPC, you cannot talk to them.

8. Resources

1. Wilds Ass

2. Collection of datamines

3. Wilds Builder

4. Kiranico Wilds Database

9. Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank:

• Sasch, Kat, and Upgreid for heading the Wiggler Project

• juzzi, who looked over my sets and helped with testing values

• jerrynt, who reworked the matchup chart and helped with various parts of the guide

• technoraptor, phobia, crypticbull, and the rest of #charge_blade chat for all the helpful discussions, suggestions, and feedback

• dan4159, who reached out to me and helped me further optimize the sets

• The rest of the Wiggler Team

10. Final words

MAKE SAED GREAT AGAIN!!!

capcom pls