A Comprehensive Guide to Wilds Greatsword
Table of Contents
- Part 1: Gameplay Guide
- Part 2: Progression Guide
- Part 3: Endgame Build Guide
- Changelog
- 9. Acknowledgements
- 10. Final words
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Part 1: Gameplay Guide
1) About the Author
Jackscin. He plays Greatsword with a sense of whimsy and wonder.
2) Introduction to the Weapon
The following is a list of the used moves:
3) Inputs and Basics
The following is a list of the used moves:
4) Mechanics
Greatsword revolves around the mechanic of charging your attacks. Up to 3 levels.
The higher your charge, the more damage you’ll do. Do be careful however, as holding charge for too long will result in an overcharge (Overcharged attacks are the same damage as level 2 charge.).
4.1 Offsets
Offset attacks are one of the new mechanics added to Greatsword. Greatsword’s offset is attached to
its new Offset Rising Slash. After charging, then upon releasing it, if any monster’s physical attack, i.e.
the part of the monster’s body it used to attack you, connects with your sword, the monster will dramatically fumble over which automatically leads you into a Follow-Up Cross Slash. Offset Rising Slash has 3 levels, and each level determines the MV of the Follow-Up Cross slash.
Level 1 = 44 + 180
Level 2 = 49 + 200
Level 3 = 58 + 230
Offset Rising Slash also provides damage reduction of 70%. Depending on your timing, it is possible to do no damage at all. If the monster’s body part touches you upon releasing the offset, you will take chip damage. If your sword exclusively touches the monster’s body part upon offset. you will take no damage. Note: Unlike Greatsword’s other charges, this one can be rolled out of.
4.1.1 Offset Buildup
After sometime of using Offset Rising Slash, you may have noticed that sometimes the monster won’t actually offset despite you actually getting the offset effect (spark efx + shotgun sfx). This is because Offset operates on a threshold system. Every time you perform an offset rising slash, and the monster does the fumbling over, the threshold increases. This is why at the start hunt, your first offset slash, even if it’s level 1, will always offset the monster, but then after the 2nd or 3rd one, it won’t always proc.
The offset buildup of Offset Rising Slash goes as following:
Level 0 = 75
Level 1 = 100
Level 2 = 150
Level 3 = 200
Overcharged is the same as level 3.
4.2 Focus Mode/Slash
Focus Mode is Wild’s most standout feature that allows you to fully turn, spin, 360 attacks in the middle of its animation; not only that, when being Focus Mode will significantly move you forward towards the monster.
If you press the Focus Mode button + left click, you will perform Focus Slash. It has two variations, pressing the forward key, will perform the overhead version, pressing a left or right key, will perform a sideways version. For the overhead version, you can control which direction your hunter is perforating in after connecting by using a directional key/input. You can then perform either a Leaping Wide Slash, Strong Charge Slash, or go into Offset Rising Slash. Also, you can perform this motion after any almost other attack, and it carries over charge.
So if you did a level 3 Strong Charge Slash, the Focus Slash will also be level 3; and if you choose to follow up with Leaping Wide Slash, that will also retain its level. When performing Focus Slash on a wound, you will do an extended version of this with many more strikes involved and will allow you to go into TCS. (TCS does not retain a level, it will start at level 1).
4.3 Perfect Tackle
Tackle is multi-faceted motion. It deals KO damage, negates oncoming damage by 90% and allows you to shortcut into the next charge. In Wilds, Tackle was given a buff in Perfect Tackle. Normal tackle does skip into the next charge, however, outside of Leaping Wide Slash, tackle does not hold the previous charge; but, Perfect Tackle does. So say, you were holding a Strong Charge Slash 3, and you Perfect Tackle a monster’s attack, your next motion, True Charge Slash, will immediately be level 3. To perform a perfect tackle, you react with a tackle right before the monster’s attack touches you.
4.4 Perfect Guards
Guarding has always been a no-no with Greatsword. A last resort if you had literally no other option to deal with a monster’s oncoming attack; until now. Unlike normal guarding, which is slow and clunky, consumes sharpness and un-offensively non-beneficial, Perfect Guard is the opposite of all that. If you press the guard button at the right time upon reacting to a monster’s motion, you will hear a very distinct guard sfx along with a different guarding animation.
As stated before, Perfect Guarding doesn’t consume any sharpness and is significantly faster than a standard guard. This speed allows you to respond rapidly with a motion coming out of your guard.
You can perform either Overhead, Focus Strike and even Offset Rising Slash significantly after Perfect Guarding compared to standard guard. This is something you definitely want to master. Biggest advice for activating Perfect Guards is to press forward key (controller moves the joystick up) and whatever your guard key (RT for controller) is at the same time after ending any of your motions. This allows guarding to come out way faster than just holding the guard button.
5) Playstyles, Assumed Movesets, and Utility Moves
Greatsword has 2 playstyles. The standard one where you utilize the whole kit, and the other one being Critical Draw. The former resolves maximizing Charge Slash, Strong Charge Clash, Jumping Wide Slash, True Charge Slash and Offset Rising Slashes to combat the monster. This is the strongest playstyle. The latter revolves around returning to the traditional Greatsword playstyle of hit -> sheathe -> run -> repeat. It is significantly weaker than the playing normally, but it is the strongest it has ever been for a modern MH.
6) Optimal Damage Combos and Damage Loops
Greatsword is not really a combo weapon like Longsword or Switch Axe where you’re doing a set combo regardless of monster state. The motions that you perform are based upon what the monster is currently doing. So I’ll provide a couple of scenarios with the optimal motions to perform in that said scenario:
Sneak Attack Intro (Assuming not using Earplugs)
Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash level 2 -> Perfect Guard -> Wide Slash -> Offset Rising Slash 3
Exceptions are monsters who have quick roars (Doshaguma and Gore Magala for example) or really long roar startups (Mizutsune). In case-by-case examples like this you would do:
For Doshaguma: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 3 (don’t release it) -> Tackle(Ideally, Perfect Tackle) -> Offset Rising Slash
For Mizutsune: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 2 -> Roll -> Tackle -> Strong Charge Slash 2
For Gore Magala: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 3 -> Roll -> Tackle -> Strong Charge Slash 3
Wound Focus Striking
As mentioned prior. you can go into Perforate after any Greatsword motion. If you have performed an attack on the monster., and a wound has appeared, your best next choice of action would be to perform a Perforate on that wound. This will temporarily stop the monster from doing whatever it was doing, and flinch it, providing you just enough time to land a Leaping Wide Slash.
Tempered Wound Focus Striking
Perforate -> True Charge Slash 3 -> Perforate -> Offset Rising Slash or Leaping Wide Slash
Tempered Wounds, the blue ones, will topple the monster once they are popped. As soon as you see these, you should be Preforating immediately.
Wound Strike QTE
Perforate -> True Charge Slash 3
Some monsters, during or after a specific motion, leave a specific body part vulnerable to a Focus Strike that will knock them down. Example(s):
Rey Dau’s face after using its major railgun blast.
Doshaguma’s belly when it is standing up on its hind legs to body press you.
Arkveld’s forearms after doing its nova.
Rompolo’s tongue after that one tongue motion.
Mizutsune’s face after blasting the ground with water.
7) Advanced Player Tips
Guarding to cancel animation endlag
When you land an offset rising slash, but it doesn’t actually offset the monster, it leaves you in a long ending animation. At first, the most optimal thing to do would be to roll out of animation, but in a majority of cases, this is actually sub-optimal cause it is much slower to now go back into the charging state. The proper thing after connecting an offset that doesn’t actually offset is guard cancel to quickly shorten the animation. This is applicable to all motions with long ending animations, not just offset, but offset gets the most mileage out of this tech.
8) Player Skill Benchmarks
• Inexperienced - Players who constantly get hit. Miss their timings.
• Intermediate - Players who have an understanding of the weapons moveset, can hit about half of their counters, and can clear quests reliably within 7-14 minutes.
• Advanced - Players who can target and hit parts at will, formulate and adapt on the fly, consistently land their offsets, have great reactivity and usually clear without carting within 5-7 minutes.
• Expert - Players who have a perfect understanding of the moveset, nail nearly all of their offsets, perfect guards, and TCSs. They also take full advantage of all the tech.
9) Closing Thoughts
Weapon is great.
Part 2: Progression Guide
Home:
A Comprehensive Guide to Wilds Greatsword
1. When to Use Progression Builds
Progression builds are best used by players who:
1. Are new to the franchise and need to find something effective and comfortable to learn in.
2. Are overwhelmed by the large number of choices the game gives you starting out.
3. Find themselves struggling in a new encounter
4. Feel like their hunt times have reached the point of being intolerably long.
5. People who just want pointers!
You should not go out of your way to farm every set in this document unless you feel that you fall into these categories. Learning to stretch out a set of armor until you are able to go no further with your level of skill can be a healthy practice. It both helps you gauge your own limits and can give you insight to where you are struggling by magnifying some of your mistakes. However, not everyone is up for that sort of thing, and that’s okay! These sets will still leave you in a great spot as you learn the game and transition from early game to endgame.
2. Story Progression Guide
2.1 Chapter 1 progression
Simple starting set, Hope armor and Buster Sword I.
2.2 Chapter 2 Progression set
Chapter 2 set. 4 piece Doshaguma gives Powerhouse II which gives you +25 raw when you land an offset attack. Free Meal 3 is also very comfortable for progression.
2.3 Chapter 3 Progression Set
3. Early Post-Game Progression Guide
Since the goal is to get you, the player, to endgame as smoothly as possible, these sets will not require any decorations. Assume that you should slot in anything that gives you affinity on your armor, like Maximum Might, and Focus + Critical/Attack Boost on your weapons. Use whatever you have on hand.
3.1 Chapter 4 Progression Set
Start of HR. Same deal as LR. HR Doshaguma Armor for Powerhouse II and a couple of other comfort skills.
3.2 Chapter 5 Progression Set
HR21 Set.
3.3 Chapter 6 Progression Set
HR31 Set. Pulling up to the function with a whole 42% affinity. You also receive the skill, Binding Counter, which gives you +25 raw after being grabbed/frozen in place/power clashing/slept.
If you come across any maximum might jewels, please do slot them.
4. Late Post-Game Progression Guide
4.1 Early HR40+
4.2 Post-Game 2P Fulgur
This will be your standard before ATs Endgame Build Guide
Endgame Build Guide
A Comprehensive Guide to Wilds Greatsword Version 1.3.0 By Jackscin and OPGZ2
FOR MOBILE USERS: Use the Google Docs app to fix blurry/not loaded images
All headers are collapsible, in order to read the paragraphs, press the button to their left side.
Header by T3h Phish
Part 3: Endgame Build Guide
1. A Preface by the Author
Fig. 1. Death to Varianza. RIPBOZO
- J a c k s c i n#0007
Contact Jackscin. Ping me in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall or Monster Hunter Hub in #great_sword/#great-sword respectively for feedback.
2. Build Guide Assumptions
2.1 Skill Priority
2.1.1 Armour Skill Priority
1 Weakness Exploit
Crit skills are essential since Greatsword is a raw focused weapon through and through. And since they are on the armour set they don’t take away what we need on our weapon.
1 Latent Power
1 MM3
1* Agitator
1 Counterstrike +25 raw for 45 seconds on Hyper Armor/Offset trades
1 Burst +10 total raw. 5 raw initially for attacking. Another 5 for attacking consecutively within the next 5 seconds.
2 Resentment Additional damage when you have recoverable damage. Perfect synergy with Darkside.
2 Earplugs Comfort and/or additional damage opening on roars.
2
Flayer
Everso slightly makes wounds easier to appear, and does a fixed 140 damage. Over the course of a 3-4 minute hunt, you’ll get 3-4 of these procs. (Doesn’t proc on Kick, Tackle, Focus Strikes after doing a charge slash, and Cross-Up Slash)
Fig. 2.1A - Offensive Armour Skill Priority
2.1.2 Weapon Skill Priority
1
Focus 3
Makes charging attacks faster. Biggest DPS gain for Greatsword.
1 Critical Boost Strongest skill in the game
2 Handicraft
+10 sharpness per level. Should be comboed with Offensive Guard and/or Focus on a decoration
2 Attack Boost More raw.
3 Critical Draw
This is the most viable “Crit Draw” playstyle has even been since pre-5th gen games due to the massive buffs to Draw Slash MV along with some other factors. Paired with Adrenaline Rush and you’ve got something very decent.
-10
Punishing Draw
Not worth slotting. 1-2 slot must take up Critical Boost, another takes up Focus, and that leaves no space for Punishing Draw
Fig. 2.1B - Weapon Skill Priority
2.2 Gear Requirements
At least HR41 is required for the listed sets
Talismans and Artian weapons however, might take a while to properly come online.
Every Non-Level 3 Decoration becomes target meldable at HR 100, which means you should be able to obtain a build after a sufficient amount of time.
3. Meta Build Guide
3.1 Recommended Weapons
3.1.1 Section for Varianza(s).
Rarity 8 Artian Greatswords currently stand as one the best Greatswords in the game.
- Natural White
- High Raw
- Affinity
- Sensational Slotage (3-3-3)
- Ability to put an element(status) on it
Fig 3.1 Artian
Decos setup:
3.1.2 Craftable Alternatives to Artian
- Powerful craftable that comes with Focus 3 built-in.
- Has 40 hits of white. Whiteflame Torrent can make up for the loss of 2 levels of CB compared to Stalwart Lamorak.
- Best craftable until True Shadowbringer.
3.3. True Shadowbringer (Your current endgame)
The Newest. The Latest. The Shiniest. 220 raw, but with its weapon skill, it buffs The Charged Combos when you perform them at level 2 or higher. When you perform one of the charged combos, it takes away your health but retains recoverable damage. (Note, unlike Safi’Jiiva’s set bonus, you cannot self-cart with this skill). Due to this, Resentment’s uptime becomes much higher and Latent Power can be activated significantly earlier in a hunt. Combining all these factors, this greatsword undoubtedly surpasses Varianza, making it the best Greatsword in the game right now.
3.2 The Armour Sets
3.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Poverty
Still using Lord’s Soul, but replacing Rey with New Udra. The new pieces are very efficient and come with the set bonus Bad Blood which gives you a blast-proc like damage whilst Resentment is activated.
3.2.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
Any charm that is Focus 2 3-0-0 will suffice. Attack Boost is ideal, but not required.
3.2.3 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
3.2.4 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
Kriticool Draw is the traditional pre-world Greatsword playstyle where you prioritize draw slashes mostly. With the buffs to Overhead and Strong Charged’s Motion Values and the buff to draw skill, this playstyle returns as a pretty great alternative.
Note: With CritDraw’s lingering affinity, you can do a lvl2 SCS or lvl3 Offset Rising Slash after a Draw Slash. Draw Slash can be any charge level since the timer only starts ticking after you land Draw Slash; however with 2pc bale addition, it’s stronger to do SCS3 even if it doesn’t crit.
5. Meme Sets
5.1 Waterrrrrr
Set for Scarlet Forest/Oilwell Basin/Any place that has a lot of waterrr. Slicked Blade 3 phase 1 gives 9% affinity for being wet. Being “wet” includes rain, water, and puddles. Phase 2 of Slick Blade gives 21% when Bubbly Dance II is activated.
To activate Bubbly Dance II, just roll 3 times. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to have both Bubbly Dance II and Maximum Might up at the same time. For additional spiciness, you can drop WEX1 for Adrenaline Rush 1.
5.2 Aura Farming (A MUST USE)
Fasho one of the best sets in the game. The way this set works is simple. You use the self-inflicted damage from Shadowbringer to bring you down to Heroics hp range. After this, you now aura farm on the monster by doing (mostly) draw slashes. Like I’m not even trolling, this set will save your life.
Before, I was getting like 35 minute clear times. After discovering and using this set, I am now clearing everything in 7 minutes or less.
6. Changes throughout Title Updates
7.1 Base game -> TU1
Due to the stealth buff, Maximum Might still persists 3s after you’ve lost stamina. Due to this yuge shadow buff (and superior pieces being added), 2P Fulgur is no longer required.
Update: As of May 28th, the Akuma update, this has been undone. But 2P Fulgur is still dead.
Gore 4P is now the best set for damage due to Zoh Shia Chest Beta allowing it to fit in Burst 1.
On April 29th, Arch Tempered Rey Dau was added, and with its addition, came Rey Y armor. 3p yields 5% raw and has Guts. It also brought Latent Power to the forefront as being a viable skill.
7.2 TU1 -> TU2
GS received MV buffs to Charged Slash, Strong Charge Slash, Strong Wide Slash and True Charged Slash. Its element modifiers were also increased across the board. Attack speed changes were also made. SWS -> TCS’s animation was significantly sped up. The animation speed of JWS -> Side Blow was also sped up.
On July 12th, Arch Tempered Uth Duna was added (1 week earlier than scheduled), and with that came its armor set Duna Gamma. Because the emphasis of this armor was Peak Performance, this set barely saw use, but its leg piece came in clutch with Agitator 1, Quick Sheathe 3 and a 3 slot; and because it’s a Gamma piece, it allowed us to synergize with two other pieces of Rey Gamma allowing for Lord’s Soul.
On August 13th, RNG charms were added to the game which increased the power of sets.
7.3 TU2 -> TU3
Greatsword was heavily buffed with the addition of True Shadowbringer and Bale armor.
True Shadowbringer’s weapon skill, Darkside increases damage on Charge Slash, Strong Charge Slash and True Charge Slash if you charged to at least level 2. Bale armor, its 2 piece set bonus came with the skill The Dark Arts which essentially adds a 20MV to Charge Slash, Strong Charge Slash, True Charge Slash on charge levels 2-3. The 4 piece gives you the skill called The Blackest Night.
On October 22, Arch-Tempered Nu Udra was added alongside its very efficient pieces which emboldened the already good skill Resentment.
7.4 FAQs
Q: Which mantle to use?
A: Corrupted and Rocksteady mantle.
Q: What about Flayer, how does it work?
A: It makes wounds appear faster. Level 2 makes them appear the fastest, it does not work as intended currently. Addendum: Allegedly, that is the intended function. Source: Reddit, Reddit 2, Official Capcom FAQ.
Q: Elemental sets
A: As of TU3, True Shadowbringer is definitively the best Greastword in the game. This makes elemental matching superfluous.
Q: Why not Partbreaker, it says it increases Focus Strike damage?
A: It only increases the wound pop damage, which is around 30 per pop.
Q: Why do the sets overcap affinity? Frenzy gives 15% and Antivirus 3 gives 15%!
A: Description was fixed in TU2.
Q: How much does Power Charm add?
A: Power Charm grants +6 Raw.
Q: How to make Artian weapons? What’s the best one?
A: Section 3.1.1 covers Artian weapons.
Q: How does the Offset work? Why does it topple sometimes but not all time?
A: As far we know, Offset operates on a threshold. At the start of the hunt, the threshold is really low, everytime the actual offset happens, the threshold increases. Which would explain why the offset effect (big shotgun sound effect) appears on your screen, but the actual topple doesn’t happen. You need to reach the threshold everytime. If the topple doesn’t happen, you can still go for a follow-up TCS
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: Why can I not join SOS’s? Why does the SOS say 1/4 but when I try to join it says it's full?
A: SOS is currently bugged.
Q: Why do I sometimes just have my mantle active?
A: Mantles don't work properly currently, they sometimes get auto equipped.
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.
Q: How does Scorcher work?
A: Similar to how Status works. It “randomly” procs an extra hit of pure fire damage. That proc does not scale with Attack and doesn’t care about innate weapon element, but scales with Burst, Coalescence and Fire Attack. On the dummy (80/30 hitzones), the procs are worth 12/30 damage respectively for 2/4 piece rathalos. Addendum: After initial theory of the damage being 100 (scalable) flat fire and thus being always equal to the fire hitzone, this has since been discarded; the damage is wildly inconsistent. On Chatacabra’s butt, it will sometimes proc as 6 damage, despite it being a 10 hitzone for fire. It will however never exceed 6, and seemingly randomly throw 3 and 1 as values. This could be explained either by defense modifiers, or bugs.
Q: What does Frenzy Mantle do?
A: While equipped, it drains health, but procs an additional hit on some combos, depending on Weapon Type.
For Greatsword, these moves are:
Overhead Slash, Charged Slash, Strong Charged Slash, True Charged Slash (outside of the first hit).
Additionally, while attacking with this mantle equipped, an invisible gauge is filled, likely based on how much MV the attacks have. Once cleared, this mantle also grants +10% Affinity as well as +5% Raw.
Q: Why do you recommend X charms? They don’t exist!
A: The game does not currently tell you what is required to upgrade charms, it will only let you open the upgrade menu if you happen to have the materials required to upgrade them.
Q: How much damage do you get from wakeup hits? Is it worth putting bombs for sleeping monsters?
A: 2x damage for the hit that wakes up the monster. It’s not worth it to put bombs, since they deal very little damage and are time consuming.
Q: Does hitting the first hit of TCS matter?
A: Yes! If you hit the first hit of TCS on a weak point (45 HZV or more,) TCS will deal more damage.
Q: Is Zoh Shia GS stronger than Artian GS?
A: On a 5 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Doshaguma, Whiteflame Torrent did 14 procs which totaled to 700 damage. On a 6 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Arkvled, Whiteflame Torrent did 20 procs which totaled to 1000 damage. From these numbers, we can conclude that this weapon does not surpass Artian (225-5 or 220-10). The damage from whiteflame torrent does not make up for the loss of Critical Boost 5. This alone makes it inferior to Artian, but additionally when account for other factors such as sharpness (Even with a Focus/Handicraft jewel which would max my sharpness to 50, I was still dropping to blue before the hunt was even over, something which never happens to me when using Artian), Slot inference, (Veiah basically denies you the option to use Offensive Guard 3 or Critical 3 as its only level 3 slot obviously must be occupied by Focus) and element comparison. Artian has sleep/paralysis options. You will get at least 2 procs of whichever option you are running over the course of a 5 minute or less hunt, and the damage you’ll run up from those procs are significantly stronger than Whiteflame Torrent. Even if you don’t use Sleep or Paralysis, Artian can match elements to its matchup, and with Greatsword’s decent element modifiers, using an element Artian would still have it pull away from Whiteflame Torrent. Once all factors are considered, the conclusion is clear. It is not.
8) Resources
1. Wilds ASS here
2. Datamines here
3. Wilds builder here
4. Wilds database through Kiranico here
5. Monster Hunter Gathering Hall discord here
9) Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who’ve made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
10) Final words
- Zero
Femboys hmu, @Kage_MH
Jackscin? More like Jacksoff - Aki
Part 1: Gameplay Guide (WIP)
1. About the Author
Jackscin. He plays Greatsword with a sense of whimsy and wonder.
2. Introduction to the Weapon
3. Inputs and Basics
The following is a list of the used moves:
4. Mechanics
Greatsword revolves around the mechanic of charging your attacks. Up to 3 levels.
The higher your charge, the more damage you’ll do. Do be careful however, as holding charge for too long will result in an overcharge (Overcharged attacks are the same damage as level 2 charge.).
4.1 Offsets
Offset attacks are one of the new mechanics added to Greatsword. Greatsword’s offset is attached to its
new Offset Rising Slash. After charging, then upon releasing it, if any monster’s physical attack, i.e. the part of the monster’s body it used to attack you, connects with your sword, the monster will dramatically fumble over which automatically leads you into a Follow-Up Cross Slash. Offset Rising Slash has 3 levels, and each level determines the MV of the Follow-Up Cross slash.
Level 1 = 44 + 180
Level 2 = 49 + 200
Level 3 = 58 + 230
Offset Rising Slash also provides damage reduction of 70%. Depending on your timing, it is possible to do no damage at all. If the monster’s body part touches you upon releasing the offset, you will take chip damage. If your sword exclusively touches the monster’s body part upon offset. you will take no damage. Note: Unlike Greatsword’s other charges, this one can be rolled out of.
4.1.1 Offset Buildup
After sometime of using Offset Rising Slash, you may have noticed that sometimes the monster won’t actually offset despite you actually getting the “offset effect” (spark efx + shotgun sfx). This is because Offset operates on a threshold system. Every time you perform an offset rising slash, and the monster does the fumbling over, the threshold increases. This is why at the start hunt, your first offset slash, even if it’s level 1, will always offset the monster, but then after the 2nd or 3rd one, it won’t always proc.
The offset buildup of Offset Rising Slash goes as following:
Level 0 = 75
Level 1 = 100
Level 2 = 150
Level 3 = 200
Overcharged is the same as level 3.
4.2 Focus Mode/Slash
Focus Mode is Wild’s most standout feature that allows you to fully turn, spin, 360 attacks in the middle of its animation; not only that, when being Focus Mode will significantly move you forward towards the monster.
If you press the Focus Mode button + left click, you will perform Focus Slash. It has two variations, pressing the forward key, will perform the overhead version, pressing a left or right key, will perform a sideways version. For the overhead version, you can control which direction your hunter is perforating in after connecting by using a directional key/input. You can then perform either a Leaping Wide Slash, Strong Charge Slash, or go into Offset Rising Slash. Also, you can perform this motion after any almost other attack, and it carries over charge.
So if you did a level 3 Strong Charge Slash, the Focus Slash will also be level 3; and if you choose to follow up with Leaping Wide Slash, that will also retain its level. When performing Focus Slash on a wound, you will do an extended version of this with many more strikes involved and will allow you to go into TCS. (TCS does not retain a level, it will start at level 1).
4.3 Perfect Tackle
Tackle is multi-faceted motion. It deals KO damage, negates oncoming damage by 90% and allows you to shortcut into the next charge. In Wilds, Tackle was given a buff in “Perfect Tackle”. Normal tackle does skip into the next charge, however, outside of Leaping Wide Slash, tackle does not hold the previous charge; but, Perfect Tackle does. So say, you were holding a Strong Charge Slash 3, and you Perfect Tackle a monster’s attack, your next motion, True Charge Slash, will immediately be level 3. To perform a perfect tackle, you react with a tackle right before the monster’s attack touches you.
4.4 Perfect Guards
Guarding has always been a no-no with Greatsword. A last resort if you had literally no other option to deal with a monster’s oncoming attack; until now. Unlike normal guarding, which is slow and clunky, consumes sharpness and un-offensively non-beneficial, Perfect Guard is the opposite of all that. If you press the guard button at the right time upon reacting to a monster’s motion, you will hear a very distinct guard sfx along with a different guarding animation.
As stated before, Perfect Guarding doesn’t consume any sharpness and is significantly faster than a standard guard. This speed allows you to respond rapidly with a motion coming out of your guard.
You can perform either Overhead, Focus Strike and even Offset Rising Slash significantly after Perfect Guarding compared to standard guard. This is something you definitely want to master. Biggest advice for activating Perfect Guards is to press forward key (controller moves the joystick up) and whatever your guard key (RT for controller) is at the same time after ending any of your motions. This allows guarding to come out way faster than just holding the guard button.
5) Playstyles, Assumed Movesets, and Utility Moves
Greatsword has 2 playstyles. The standard one where you utilize the whole kit, and the other one being Critical Draw. The former resolves maximizing Charge Slash, Strong Charge Clash, Jumping Wide Slash, True Charge Slash and Offset Rising Slashes to combat the monster. This is the strongest playstyle. The latter revolves around returning to the traditional Greatsword playstyle of hit -> sheathe -> run -> repeat. It is significantly weaker than the playing normally, but it is the strongest it has ever been for a modern MH.
6) Optimal Damage Combos and Damage Loops
Greatsword is not really a combo weapon like Longsword or Switch Axe where you’re doing a set combo regardless of monster state. The motions that you perform are based upon what the monster is currently doing. So I’ll provide a couple of scenarios with the optimal motions to perform in that said scenario:
Sneak Attack Intro (Assuming not using Earplugs)
Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash level 2 -> Perfect Guard -> Wide Slash -> Offset Rising Slash 3
Exceptions are monsters who have quick roars (Doshaguma and Gore Magala for example) or really long roar startups (Mizutsune). In case-by-case examples like this you would do:
For Doshaguma: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 3 (don’t release it) -> Tackle(Ideally, Perfect Tackle) -> Offset Rising Slash
For Mizutsune: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 2 -> Roll -> Tackle -> Strong Charge Slash 2
For Gore Magala: Sneak Attack -> Strong Charge Slash 3 -> Roll -> Tackle -> Strong Charge Slash 3
Wound Focus Striking
As mentioned prior. you can go into Perforate after any Greatsword motion. If you have performed an attack on the monster., and a wound has appeared, your best next choice of action would be to perform a Perforate on that wound. This will temporarily stop the monster from doing whatever it was doing, and flinch it, providing you just enough time to land a Leaping Wide Slash.
Tempered Wound Focus Striking
Perforate -> True Charge Slash 3 -> Perforate -> Offset Rising Slash or Leaping Wide Slash
Tempered Wounds, the blue ones, will topple the monster once they are popped. As soon as you see these, you should be Preforating immediately.
Wound Strike QTE
Perforate -> True Charge Slash 3
Some monsters, during or after a specific motion, leave a specific body part vulnerable to a Focus Strike that will knock them down. Example(s):
Rey Dau’s face after using its major railgun blast.
Doshaguma’s belly when it is standing up on its hind legs to body press you.
Arkveld’s forearms after doing its nova.
Rompolo’s tongue after that one tongue motion.
Mizutsune’s face after blasting the ground with water.
7) Advanced Player Tips
Guarding to cancel animation endlag
When you land an offset rising slash, but it doesn’t actually offset the monster, it leaves you in a long ending animation. At first, the most optimal thing to do would be to roll out of animation, but in a majority of cases, this is actually sub-optimal cause it is much slower to now go back into the charging state. The proper thing after connecting an offset that doesn’t actually offset is guard cancel to quickly shorten the animation. This is applicable to all motions with long ending animations, not just offset, but offset gets the most mileage out of this tech.
8) Player Skill Benchmarks
• Inexperienced - Players who constantly get hit. Miss their timings.
• Intermediate - Players who have an understanding of the weapons moveset, can hit about half of their counters, and can clear quests reliably within 7-14 minutes.
• Advanced - Players who can target and hit parts at will, formulate and adapt on the fly, consistently land their offsets, have great reactivity and usually clear without carting within 5-7 minutes.
• Expert - Players who have a perfect understanding of the moveset, nail nearly all of their offsets, perfect guards, and TCSs. They also take full advantage of all the tech.
9) Closing Thoughts
Weapon is great.
Part 2: Progression Guide (End)
[The rest of Part 2 and Part 3 content mirrors the original document and continues with detailed sections for progression, endgame builds, armor sets, alternatives, memes, and update changelogs. It includes diagrams, figure captions, and step-by-step build setups, as well as extensive FAQs and resource lists. The content is preserved in full to ensure a complete data export of the original guide.]
Changelog
1.0.0
● Released Endgame Guide
1.0.1
● Removed Part 3, Section 3.1 Preamble: Artian Weapons
● Added Part 3, Section 3.1 Recommended Weapons
● Added Progression Guide
1.1.0
● Added TU1 Sets
1.1.1
● Added more Alternative Builds
1.1.2
● Added AT Rey Set
1.1.3
● Some formatting changes, by Lemon (93696too)
1.2.0
● Added TU2 Sets
1.3.0
● Added TU3 sets
● Updated Progression guide
1.3.1
● Updated TU3 sets with the addition of Udra
9. Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who've made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
10. Final words
- Zero
Femboys hmu, @Kage_MH
Jackscin? More like Jacksoff - Aki
9. Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who’ve made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
3. Meta Build Guide
3.1 Recommended Weapons
3.1.1 Section for Varianza(s). [remainder of section preserved]
3.1.2 Craftable Alternatives to Artian
- Powerful craftable that comes with Focus 3 built-in.
- Has 40 hits of white. Whiteflame Torrent can make up for the loss of 2 levels of CB compared to Stalwart Lamorak.
- Best craftable until True Shadowbringer.
3.3 True Shadowbringer (Your current endgame)
The Newest. The Latest. The Shiniest. 220 raw, but with its weapon skill, it buffs The Charged Combos when you perform them at level 2 or higher. When you perform one of the charged combos, it takes away your health but retains recoverable damage. (Note, unlike Safi’Jiiva’s set bonus, you cannot self-cart with this skill). Due to this, Resentment’s uptime becomes much higher and Latent Power can be activated significantly earlier in a hunt. Combining all these factors, this greatsword undoubtedly surpasses Varianza, making it the best Greatsword in the game right now.
3.2 The Armour Sets
3.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Poverty
Still using Lord’s Soul, but replacing Rey with New Udra. The new pieces are very efficient and come with the set bonus Bad Blood which gives you a blast-proc like damage whilst Resentment is activated.
3.2.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
Any charm that is Focus 2 3-0-0 will suffice. Attack Boost is ideal, but not required.
3.2.3 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
3.2.4 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
Kriticool Draw is the traditional pre-world Greatsword playstyle where you prioritize draw slashes mostly. With the buffs to Overhead and Strong Charged’s Motion Values and the buff to draw skill, this playstyle returns as a pretty great alternative.
Note: With CritDraw’s lingering affinity, you can do a lvl2 SCS or lvl3 Offset Rising Slash after a Draw Slash. Draw Slash can be any charge level since the timer only starts ticking after you land Draw Slash; however with 2pc bale addition, it’s stronger to do SCS3 even if it doesn’t crit.
5. Meme Sets
5.1 Waterrrrrr
Set for Scarlet Forest/Oilwell Basin/Any place that has a lot of waterrr. Slicked Blade 3 phase 1 gives 9% affinity for being wet. Being “wet” includes rain, water, and puddles. Phase 2 of Slick Blade gives 21% when Bubbly Dance II is activated.
To activate Bubbly Dance II, just roll 3 times. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to have both Bubbly Dance II and Maximum Might up at the same time. For additional spiciness, you can drop WEX1 for Adrenaline Rush 1.
5.2 Aura Farming (A MUST USE)
Fasho one of the best sets in the game. The way this set works is simple. You use the self-inflicted damage from Shadowbringer to bring you down to Heroics hp range. After this, you now aura farm on the monster by doing (mostly) draw slashes. Like I’m not even trolling, this set will save your life.
6. Changes throughout Title Updates
7.1 Base game -> TU1
7.2 TU1 -> TU2
7.3 TU2 -> TU3
7. FAQs
Q: Which mantle to use?
A: Corrupted and Rocksteady mantle.
Q: What about Flayer, how does it work?
A: It makes wounds appear faster. Level 2 makes them appear the fastest, it does not work as intended currently. Addendum: Allegedly, that is the intended function. Source: Reddit, Reddit 2, Official Capcom FAQ.
Q: Elemental sets
A: As of TU3, True Shadowbringer is definitively the best Greastword in the game. This makes elemental matching superfluous.
Q: Why not Partbreaker, it says it increases Focus Strike damage?
A: It only increases the wound pop damage, which is around 30 per pop.
Q: Why do the sets overcap affinity? Frenzy gives 15% and Antivirus 3 gives 15%!
A: Description was fixed in TU2.
Q: How much does Power Charm add?
A: Power Charm grants +6 Raw.
Q: How to make Artian weapons? What’s the best one?
A: Section 3.1.1 covers Artian weapons.
Q: How does the Offset work? Why does it topple sometimes but not all time?
A: As far we know, Offset operates on a threshold. At the start of the hunt, the threshold is really low, everytime the actual offset happens, the threshold increases. Which would explain why the offset effect (big shotgun sound effect) appears on your screen, but the actual topple doesn’t happen. You need to reach the threshold everytime. If the topple doesn’t happen, you can still go for a follow-up TCS
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: Why can I not join SOS’s? Why does the SOS say 1/4 but when I try to join it says it's full?
A: SOS is currently bugged.
Q: Why do I sometimes just have my mantle active?
A: Mantles don't work properly currently, they sometimes get auto equipped.
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.
Q: How does Scorcher work?
A: Similar to how Status works. It “randomly” procs an extra hit of pure fire damage. That proc does not scale with Attack and doesn’t care about innate weapon element, but scales with Burst, Coalescence and Fire Attack. On the dummy (80/30 hitzones), the procs are worth 12/30 damage respectively for 2/4 piece rathalos. Addendum: After initial theory of the damage being 100 (scalable) flat fire and thus being always equal to the fire hitzone, this has since been discarded; the damage is wildly inconsistent. On Chatacabra’s butt, it will sometimes proc as 6 damage, despite it being a 10 hitzone for fire. It will however never exceed 6, and seemingly randomly throw 3 and 1 as values. This could be explained either by defense modifiers, or bugs.
Q: What does Frenzy Mantle do?
A: While equipped, it drains health, but procs an additional hit on some combos, depending on Weapon Type.
For Greatsword, these moves are:
Overhead Slash, Charged Slash, Strong Charged Slash, True Charged Slash (outside of the first hit).
Additionally, while attacking with this mantle equipped, an invisible gauge is filled, likely based on how much MV the attacks have. Once cleared, this mantle also grants +10% Affinity as well as +5% Raw.
Q: Why do you recommend X charms? They don’t exist!
A: The game does not currently tell you what is required to upgrade charms, it will only let you open the upgrade menu if you happen to have the materials required to upgrade them.
Q: How much damage do you get from wakeup hits? Is it worth putting bombs for sleeping monsters?
A: 2x damage for the hit that wakes up the monster. It’s not worth it to put bombs, since they deal very little damage and are time consuming.
Q: Does hitting the first hit of TCS matter?
A: Yes! If you hit the first hit of TCS on a weak point (45 HZV or more,) TCS will deal more damage.
Q: Is Zoh Shia GS stronger than Artian GS?
A: On a 5 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Doshaguma, Whiteflame Torrent did 14 procs which totaled to 700 damage. On a 6 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Arkvled, Whiteflame Torrent did 20 procs which totaled to 1000 damage. From these numbers, we can conclude that this weapon does not surpass Artian (225-5 or 220-10). The damage from whiteflame torrent does not make up for the loss of Critical Boost 5. This alone makes it inferior to Artian, but additionally when account for other factors such as sharpness (Even with a Focus/Handicraft jewel which would max my sharpness to 50, I was still dropping to blue before the hunt was even over, something which never happens to me when using Artian), Slot inference, (Veiah basically denies you the option to use Offensive Guard 3 or Critical 3 as its only level 3 slot obviously must be occupied by Focus) and element comparison. Artian has sleep/paralysis options. You will get at least 2 procs of whichever option you are running over the course of a 5 minute or less hunt, and the damage you’ll run up from those procs are significantly stronger than Whiteflame Torrent. Even if you don’t use Sleep or Paralysis, Artian can match elements to its matchup, and with Greatsword’s decent element modifiers, using an element Artian would still have it pull away from Whiteflame Torrent. Once all factors are considered, the conclusion is clear. It is not.
8) Resources
1. Wilds ASS here
2. Datamines here
3. Wilds builder here
4. Wilds database through Kiranico here
5. Monster Hunter Gathering Hall discord here
9) Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who've made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
10) Final words
- Zero
Femboys hmu, @Kage_MH
Jackscin? More like Jacksoff - Aki
3. Meta Build Guide
3.1 Recommended Weapons
3.1.1 Section for Varianza(s).
Rarity 8 Artian Greatswords currently stand as one the best Greatswords in the game.
- Natural White
- High Raw
- Affinity
- Sensational Slotage (3-3-3)
- Ability to put an element on it
Fig 3.1 Artian
Decos setup:
3.1.2 Craftable Alternatives to Artian
- Powerful craftable that comes with Focus 3 built-in.
- Has 40 hits of white. Whiteflame Torrent can make up for the loss of 2 levels of CB compared to Stalwart Lamorak.
- Best craftable until True Shadowbringer.
3.3. True Shadowbringer (Your current endgame)
The Newest. The Latest. The Shiniest. 220 raw, but with its weapon skill, it buffs The Charged Combos when you perform them at level 2 or higher. When you perform one of the charged combos, it takes away your health but retains recoverable damage. (Note, unlike Safi’Jiiva’s set bonus, you cannot self-cart with this skill). Due to this, Resentment’s uptime becomes much higher and Latent Power can be activated significantly earlier in a hunt. Combining all these factors, this greatsword undoubtedly surpasses Varianza, making it the best Greatsword in the game right now.
3.2 The Armour Sets
3.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Poverty
Still using Lord’s Soul, but replacing Rey with New Udra. The new pieces are very efficient and come with the set bonus Bad Blood which gives you a blast-proc like damage whilst Resentment is activated.
3.2.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
Any charm that is Focus 2 3-0-0 will suffice. Attack Boost is ideal, but not required.
3.2.3 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
3.2.4 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
Kriticool Draw is the traditional pre-world Greatsword playstyle where you prioritize draw slashes mostly. With the buffs to Overhead and Strong Charged’s Motion Values and the buff to draw skill, this playstyle returns as a pretty great alternative.
Note: With CritDraw’s lingering affinity, you can do a lvl2 SCS or lvl3 Offset Rising Slash after a Draw Slash. Draw Slash can be any charge level since the timer only starts ticking after you land Draw Slash; however with 2pc bale addition, it’s stronger to do SCS3 even if it doesn’t crit.
4.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
4.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
4.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recom.)
4.3 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
4.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
4.3 True Shadowbringer (Your current endgame)
4.2 The Armour Sets
3.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Poetry
3.2 The Armour Sets
3.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Poverty
Still using Lord’s Soul, but replacing Rey with New Udra. The new pieces are very efficient and come with the set bonus Bad Blood which gives you a blast-proc like damage whilst Resentment is activated.
3.2.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
Any charm that is Focus 2 3-0-0 will suffice. Attack Boost is ideal, but not required.
3.2.3 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
3.2.4 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
Kriticool Draw is the traditional pre-world Greatsword playstyle where you prioritize draw slashes mostly. With the buffs to Overhead and Strong Charged’s Motion Values and the buff to draw skill, this playstyle returns as a pretty great alternative.
Note: With CritDraw’s lingering affinity, you can do a lvl2 SCS or lvl3 Offset Rising Slash after a Draw Slash. Draw Slash can be any charge level since the timer only starts ticking after you land Draw Slash; however with 2pc bale addition, it’s stronger to do SCS3 even if it doesn’t crit.
5. Meme Sets
5.1 Waterrrrrr
Set for Scarlet Forest/Oilwell Basin/Any place that has a lot of waterrr. Slicked Blade 3 phase 1 gives 9% affinity for being wet. Being “wet” includes rain, water, and puddles. Phase 2 of Slick Blade gives 21% when Bubbly Dance II is activated.
To activate Bubbly Dance II, just roll 3 times. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to have both Bubbly Dance II and Maximum Might up at the same time. For additional spiciness, you can drop WEX1 for Adrenaline Rush 1.
5.2 Aura Farming (A MUST USE)
Fasho one of the best sets in the game. The way this set works is simple. You use the self-inflicted damage from Shadowbringer to bring you down to Heroics hp range. After this, you now aura farm on the monster by doing (mostly) draw slashes. Like I’m not even trolling, this set will save your life.
6. Changes throughout Title Updates
7.1 Base game -> TU1
7.2 TU1 -> TU2
7.3 TU2 -> TU3
7. FAQs
Q: Which mantle to use?
A: Corrupted and Rocksteady mantle.
Q: What about Flayer, how does it work?
A: It makes wounds appear faster. Level 2 makes them appear the fastest, it does not work as intended currently. Addendum: Allegedly, that is the intended function. Source: Reddit, Reddit 2, Official Capcom FAQ.
Q: Elemental sets
A: As of TU3, True Shadowbringer is definitively the best Greastword in the game. This makes elemental matching superfluous.
Q: Why not Partbreaker, it says it increases Focus Strike damage?
A: It only increases the wound pop damage, which is around 30 per pop.
Q: Why do the sets overcap affinity? Frenzy gives 15% and Antivirus 3 gives 15%!
A: Description was fixed in TU2.
Q: How much does Power Charm add?
A: Power Charm grants +6 Raw.
Q: How to make Artian weapons? What’s the best one?
A: Section 3.1.1 covers Artian weapons.
Q: How does the Offset work? Why does it topple sometimes but not all time?
A: As far we know, Offset operates on a threshold. At the start of the hunt, the threshold is really low, everytime the actual offset happens, the threshold increases. Which would explain why the offset effect (big shotgun sound effect) appears on your screen, but the actual topple doesn’t happen. You need to reach the threshold everytime. If the topple doesn’t happen, you can still go for a follow-up TCS
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: Why can I not join SOS’s? Why does the SOS say 1/4 but when I try to join it says it's full?
A: SOS is currently bugged.
Q: Why do I sometimes just have my mantle active?
A: Mantles don't work properly currently, they sometimes get auto equipped.
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.
Q: How does Scorcher work?
A: Similar to how Status works. It “randomly” procs an extra hit of pure fire damage. That proc does not scale with Attack and doesn’t care about innate weapon element, but scales with Burst, Coalescence and Fire Attack. On the dummy (80/30 hitzones), the procs are worth 12/30 damage respectively for 2/4 piece rathalos. Addendum: After initial theory of the damage being 100 (scalable) flat fire and thus being always equal to the fire hitzone, this has since been discarded; the damage is wildly inconsistent. On Chatacabra’s butt, it will sometimes proc as 6 damage, despite it being a 10 hitzone for fire. It will however never exceed 6, and seemingly randomly throw 3 and 1 as values. This could be explained either by defense modifiers, or bugs.
Q: What does Frenzy Mantle do?
A: While equipped, it drains health, but procs an additional hit on some combos, depending on Weapon Type.
For Greatsword, these moves are:
Overhead Slash, Charged Slash, Strong Charged Slash, True Charged Slash (outside of the first hit).
Additionally, while attacking with this mantle equipped, an invisible gauge is filled, likely based on how much MV the attacks have. Once cleared, this mantle also grants +10% Affinity as well as +5% Raw.
Q: Why do you recommend X charms? They don’t exist!
A: The game does not currently tell you what is required to upgrade charms, it will only let you open the upgrade menu if you happen to have the materials required to upgrade them.
Q: How much damage do you get from wakeup hits? Is it worth putting bombs for sleeping monsters?
A: 2x damage for the hit that wakes up the monster. It’s not worth it to put bombs, since they deal very little damage and are time consuming.
Q: Does hitting the first hit of TCS matter?
A: Yes! If you hit the first hit of TCS on a weak point (45 HZV or more,) TCS will deal more damage.
Q: Is Zoh Shia GS stronger than Artian GS?
A: On a 5 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Doshaguma, Whiteflame Torrent did 14 procs which totaled to 700 damage. On a 6 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Arkvled, Whiteflame Torrent did 20 procs which totaled to 1000 damage. From these numbers, we can conclude that this weapon does not surpass Artian (225-5 or 220-10). The damage from whiteflame torrent does not make up for the loss of Critical Boost 5. This alone makes it inferior to Artian, but additionally when account for other factors such as sharpness (Even with a Focus/Handicraft jewel which would max my sharpness to 50, I was still dropping to blue before the hunt was even over, something which never happens to me when using Artian), Slot inference, (Veiah basically denies you the option to use Offensive Guard 3 or Critical 3 as its only level 3 slot obviously must be occupied by Focus) and element comparison. Artian has sleep/paralysis options. You will get at least 2 procs of whichever option you are running over the course of a 5 minute or less hunt, and the damage you’ll run up from those procs are significantly stronger than Whiteflame Torrent. Even if you don’t use Sleep or Paralysis, Artian can match elements to its matchup, and with Greatsword’s decent element modifiers, using an element Artian would still have it pull away from Whiteflame Torrent. Once all factors are considered, the conclusion is clear. It is not.
8) Resources
1. Wilds ASS here
2. Datamines here
3. Wilds builder here
4. Wilds database through Kiranico here
5. Monster Hunter Gathering Hall discord here
9) Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who’ve made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
10) Final words
- Zero
Femboys hmu, @Kage_MH
Jackscin? More like Jacksoff - Aki
Part 3: Endgame Build Guide
1. A Preface by the Author
Fig. 1. Death to Varianza. RIPBOZO
- J a c k s c i n#0007
Contact Jackscin. Ping me in Monster Hunter Gathering Hall or Monster Hunter Hub in #great_sword/#great-sword respectively for feedback.
2. Build Guide Assumptions
2.1 Skill Priority
2.1.1 Armour Skill Priority
1 Weakness Exploit
Crit skills are essential since Greatsword is a raw focused weapon through and through. And since they are on the armour set they don’t take away what we need on our weapon.
1 Latent Power
1 MM3
1* Agitator
1 Counterstrike +25 raw for 45 seconds on Hyper Armor/Offset trades
1 Burst +10 total raw. 5 raw initially for attacking. Another 5 for attacking consecutively within the next 5 seconds.
2 Resentment Additional damage when you have recoverable damage.
Perfect synergy with Darkside.
2 Earplugs Comfort and/or additional damage opening on roars.
2
Flayer
Everso slightly makes wounds easier to appear, and does a fixed 140 damage. Over the course of a 3-4 minute hunt, you’ll get 3-4 of these procs. (Doesn’t proc on Kick, Tackle, Focus Strikes after doing a charge slash, and Cross-Up Slash)
Fig. 2.1A - Offensive Armour Skill Priority
2.1.2 Weapon Skill Priority
1
Focus 3
Makes charging attacks faster. Biggest
DPS gain for Greatsword.
1 Critical Boost Strongest skill in the game
2 Handicraft
+10 sharpness per level. Should be
comboed with Offensive Guard and/or
Focus on a decoration
2 Attack Boost More raw.
3 Critical Draw
This is the most viable “Crit Draw” playstyle has even been since pre-5th gen games due to the massive buffs to Draw Slash MV along with some other factors. Paired with Adrenaline Rush and you’ve got something very decent.
-10
Punishing Draw
Not worth slotting. 1-2 slot must take up
Critical Boost, another takes up Focus,
and that leaves no space for Punishing Draw
2.2 Gear Requirements
At least HR41 is required for the listed sets
Talismans and Artian weapons however, might take a while to properly come online.
Every Non-Level 3 Decoration becomes target meldable at HR 100, which means you should be able to obtain a build after a sufficient amount of time.
3. Meta Build Guide
3.1 Recommended Weapons
3.1.1 Section for Varianza(s).
Rarity 8 Artian Greatswords currently stand as one the best Greatswords in the game.
- Natural White
- High Raw
- Affinity
- Sensational Slotage (3-3-3)
- Ability to put an element on it
Fig 3.1 Artian
Decos setup:
3.1.2 Craftable Alternatives to Artian
- Powerful craftable that comes with Focus 3 built-in.
- Has 40 hits of white. Whiteflame Torrent can make up for the loss of 2 levels of CB compared to Stalwart Lamorak.
- Best craftable until True Shadowbringer.
3.3 True Shadowbringer (Your current endgame)
The Newest. The Latest. The Shiniest. 220 raw, but with its weapon skill, it buffs The Charged Combos when you perform them at level 2 or higher. When you perform one of the charged combos, it takes away your health but retains recoverable damage. (Note, unlike Safi’Jiiva’s set bonus, you cannot self-cart with this skill). Due to this, Resentment’s uptime becomes much higher and Latent Power can be activated significantly earlier in a hunt. Combining all these factors, this greatsword undoubtedly surpasses Varianza, making it the best Greatsword in the game right now.
3.2 The Armour Sets
3.2.1 Bale’s Lord Soul Poverty
Still using Lord’s Soul, but replacing Rey with New Udra. The new pieces are very efficient and come with the set bonus Bad Blood which gives you a blast-proc like damage whilst Resentment is activated.
3.2.2 Bale’s Lord Soul Budget (Recommended)
Any charm that is Focus 2 3-0-0 will suffice. Attack Boost is ideal, but not required.
3.2.3 Bale’s Lord Soul Perfected (Recommended)
3.2.4 The Darkest Night
4. Alternative Sets
4.1 Kriticool Draw
Kriticool Draw is the traditional pre-world Greatsword playstyle where you prioritize draw slashes mostly. With the buffs to Overhead and Strong Charged’s Motion Values and the buff to draw skill, this playstyle returns as a pretty great alternative.
Note: With CritDraw’s lingering affinity, you can do a lvl2 SCS or lvl3 Offset Rising Slash after a Draw Slash. Draw Slash can be any charge level since the timer only starts ticking after you land Draw Slash; however with 2pc bale addition, it’s stronger to do SCS3 even if it doesn’t crit.
5. Meme Sets
5.1 Waterrrrrr
Set for Scarlet Forest/Oilwell Basin/Any place that has a lot of waterrr. Slicked Blade 3 phase 1 gives 9% affinity for being wet. Being “wet” includes rain, water, and puddles. Phase 2 of Slick Blade gives 21% when Bubbly Dance II is activated.
To activate Bubbly Dance II, just roll 3 times. It lasts for 30 seconds, which is more than enough time to have both Bubbly Dance II and Maximum Might up at the same time. For additional spiciness, you can drop WEX1 for Adrenaline Rush 1.
5.2 Aura Farming (A MUST USE)
Fasho one of the best sets in the game. The way this set works is simple. You use the self-inflicted damage from Shadowbringer to bring you down to Heroics hp range. After this, you now aura farm on the monster by doing (mostly) draw slashes. Like I’m not even trolling, this set will save your life.
6. Changes throughout Title Updates
7.1 Base game -> TU1
7.2 TU1 -> TU2
7.3 TU2 -> TU3
7. FAQs
Q: Which mantle to use?
A: Corrupted and Rocksteady mantle.
Q: What about Flayer, how does it work?
A: It makes wounds appear faster. Level 2 makes them appear the fastest, it does not work as intended currently. Addendum: Allegedly, that is the intended function. Source: Reddit, Reddit 2, Official Capcom FAQ.
Q: Elemental sets
A: As of TU3, True Shadowbringer is definitively the best Greastword in the game. This makes elemental matching superfluous.
Q: Why not Partbreaker, it says it increases Focus Strike damage?
A: It only increases the wound pop damage, which is around 30 per pop.
Q: Why do the sets overcap affinity? Frenzy gives 15% and Antivirus 3 gives 15%!
A: Description was fixed in TU2.
Q: How much does Power Charm add?
A: Power Charm grants +6 Raw.
Q: How to make Artian weapons? What’s the best one?
A: Section 3.1.1 covers Artian weapons.
Q: How does the Offset work? Why does it topple sometimes but not all time?
A: As far we know, Offset operates on a threshold. At the start of the hunt, the threshold is really low, everytime the actual offset happens, the threshold increases. Which would explain why the offset effect (big shotgun sound effect) appears on your screen, but the actual topple doesn’t happen. You need to reach the threshold everytime. If the topple doesn’t happen, you can still go for a follow-up TCS
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: Why can I not join SOS’s? Why does the SOS say 1/4 but when I try to join it says it's full?
A: SOS is currently bugged.
Q: Why do I sometimes just have my mantle active?
A: Mantles don't work properly currently, they sometimes get auto equipped.
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.
Q: How does Scorcher work?
A: Similar to how Status works. It “randomly” procs an extra hit of pure fire damage. That proc does not scale with Attack and doesn’t care about innate weapon element, but scales with Burst, Coalescence and Fire Attack. On the dummy (80/30 hitzones), the procs are worth 12/30 damage respectively for 2/4 piece rathalos. Addendum: After initial theory of the damage being 100 (scalable) flat fire and thus being always equal to the fire hitzone, this has since been discarded; the damage is wildly inconsistent. On Chatacabra’s butt, it will sometimes proc as 6 damage, despite it being a 10 hitzone for fire. It will however never exceed 6, and seemingly randomly throw 3 and 1 as values. This could be explained either by defense modifiers, or bugs.
Q: What does Frenzy Mantle do?
A: While equipped, it drains health, but procs an additional hit on some combos, depending on Weapon Type.
For Greatsword, these moves are:
Overhead Slash, Charged Slash, Strong Charged Slash, True Charged Slash (outside of the first hit).
Additionally, while attacking with this mantle equipped, an invisible gauge is filled, likely based on how much MV the attacks have. Once cleared, this mantle also grants +10% Affinity as well as +5% Raw.
Q: Why do you recommend X charms? They don’t exist!
A: The game does not currently tell you what is required to upgrade charms, it will only let you open the upgrade menu if you happen to have the materials required to upgrade them.
Q: How much damage do you get from wakeup hits? Is it worth putting bombs for sleeping monsters?
A: 2x damage for the hit that wakes up the monster. It’s not worth it to put bombs, since they deal very little damage and are time consuming.
Q: Does hitting the first hit of TCS matter?
A: Yes! If you hit the first hit of TCS on a weak point (45 HZV or more,) TCS will deal more damage.
Q: Is Zoh Shia GS stronger than Artian GS?
A: On a 5 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Doshaguma, Whiteflame Torrent did 14 procs which totaled to 700 damage. On a 6 minute hunt on 5 Tempered Arkvled, Whiteflame Torrent did 20 procs which totaled to 1000 damage. From these numbers, we can conclude that this weapon does not surpass Artian (225-5 or 220-10). The damage from whiteflame torrent does not make up for the loss of Critical Boost 5. This alone makes it inferior to Artian, but additionally when account for other factors such as sharpness (Even with a Focus/Handicraft jewel which would max my sharpness to 50, I was still dropping to blue before the hunt was even over, something which never happens to me when using Artian), Slot inference, (Veiah basically denies you the option to use Offensive Guard 3 or Critical 3 as its only level 3 slot obviously must be occupied by Focus) and element comparison. Artian has sleep/paralysis options. You will get at least 2 procs of whichever option you are running over the course of a 5 minute or less hunt, and the damage you’ll run up from those procs are significantly stronger than Whiteflame Torrent. Even if you don’t use Sleep or Paralysis, Artian can match elements to its matchup, and with Greatsword’s decent element modifiers, using an element Artian would still have it pull away from Whiteflame Torrent. Once all factors are considered, the conclusion is clear. It is not.
8) Resources
1. Wilds ASS here
2. Datamines here
3. Wilds builder here
4. Wilds database through Kiranico here
5. Monster Hunter Gathering Hall discord here
9) Acknowledgements
Daykeras#6169 for Artian GS maths.
Knuckles#6097 for WEX recalculations and JinGore set
Some sections of this doc are based on Sasch’s SwAxe build guide.
Dataminers such as dtlnor who\'ve made our lives much easier.
Upgreid, who created the Wiggler Standard.
10) Final words
- Zero
Femboys hmu, @Kage_MH
Jackscin? More like Jacksoff - Aki