Monster Hunter World – Long Sword Guide & Builds [2019 Meta Long Sword Builds]

Introducing MHW Long Sword guide with the latest meta (pre-Iceborne) If you decided to pick up Long Sword as a change of pace, this is for you!

With MHW Iceborne on the horizon (Release date 26 September) Capcom has also opened the Festival Fest again with all the Event Quest available. I jumped back in MHW again with a new focus – to add a new weapon to my arsenal.

MHW Long Sword Overview

The Long Sword originally dates back to the very first entry of Monster Hunter – where a giant katana was disguised as a Great Sword. At this time, the first model of the Long Sword is just a cosmetic variant of the Great Sword. Not long after that, realizing the potential of an iconic weapon, Capcom added Long Sword to the arsenal in Monster Hunter Freedom 2.

With this addition, the Long Sword has become one of the beginning weapons of Monster Hunter series. Monster Hunter Long sword drops out the Great Sword damage for more focus in evasion and swift attacks

MHW Long Sword Basic Attacks


At first glance, the number of moves for Long Sword may discourage new players due to it’s blandness (Especially the thrust, while it may effective in combat, I personally don’t like the animation of this attack) But don’t let look alone deceive you from the Long Word. Master these normal attacks is the key to move up in the next interesting mechanic of MHW Long Sword – the Spirit Combo

  • Vertical Slash Combo

Playstation 4 TriangleTransitionPlaystation 4 TriangleTransitionPlaystation 4 Triangle

The most basic attack of MHW Long Sword since Monster Hunter Freedom 2. The combo starts with double Vertical Slash and a Thrust. Each attack will fill up the Spirit Gauge

  • Thrust Attack

PlayStation 4 Circle

That’s it – a simple thrust attack that some time may turn down new players when picking up MHW Long Sword.  We will cover this move more on the Advanced Move section, as this can be incorporated in many of Long Sword core attacks. Let’s move on to other attacks of the Long Sword.

  • Thrust Attack >> Rising Slash

PlayStation 4 CircleTransitionPlaystation 4 Triangle

  • Fade Slash

Playstation 4 TrianglePlayStation 4 Circle

Another unique attack of the Long Sword. This attack is a combination of a Slash and an evasion manuever. During any of your attacks, hit Playstation 4 TrianglePlayStation 4 Circle with a directional input will result in an attack while dodging away. This is perfect for repositioning and to dodge some of the small attacks. Later this can also be combined with other combos to get out the most of the Long Sword.

MHW Long Sword Advanced Attacks


  • Spirit Combo 

TransitionTransitionTransition

The very first mechanic that empower the Long Sword is the Spirit Combo, trigger by pressing in succession. This combo will require the Spirit Gauge – the red bar inside the sword icon. Every attacks withPlaystation 4 Triangle and PlayStation 4 Circle will fill up the Spirit Gauge. While this bar is full, you can then perform the Spirit Slash combo. The Spirit Combo will end with a Spirit Roundhouse Slash, a flashy attack covers a wide distance. If this attack connects with the monster, the sword icon will glow with white color. This is the first level of the Spirit Gauge. You will have three levels for this gauge

  • Long Sword White Spirit Gauge – This is the first level of the Spirit Gauge. This will allow the hunter to perform an advanced version of the Spirit Thrust (Helm Breaker)
  • Yellow – The Second level of the Long Sword Spirit Gauge. Increase damage for Long Sword Spirit Combo as well as Helm Breaker.
  • Red – The final level and also increase the most damage for Spirit Combo and Helm Breaker.

Spirit Thrust – A forward lunging thrust attack. With at least one level Spirit Gauge, you can then follow up with a Helm Breaker. This is a multi-hit attack on the way down and dishes out the most damage for MHW Long Sword.

Playstation 4 Triangle


A quick reference on Spirit Level and Damage of Spirit Thrust + Helm Breaker

  • Spirit Thrust: 27
  • Helmbreaker with White gauge: 11 + 11 + 11 + 11 + 11 + 10 + 10
  • Helmbreaker with Yellow gauge: 18 + 18 + 18 + 16 + 16 + 16 + 16
  • Helmbreaker with Red gauge: 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 28 + 28 + 28

Sources: Fextralife


You can perform Helm Breaker as long as you have at least one level of Spirit Gauge. However, it is more efficient to unleash it at max Spirit Gauge level, as it is also beneficial for your Spirit Combo with R2(RT)

Foresight Slash – Dodge incoming attack and counter with a Slash.

PlayStation 4 Circle

This is one of the reasons MHW Long Sword is popular among players. When performing the Foresight Slash, you will quickly step back and follow up with a Slash. However, that alone will not make you become the best Long Sword player. If the monster attacks you during the dodging animation, a blue particle effect will be triggered and you can then Follow up with a counter slash without taking any damage.

But it’s not just that, if you land the Foresight Slash with perfection, this will then allow you to follow up with the Spirit Roundhouse Slash by pressing (RT for Xbox) right after the attack. This will immediately fill up one level of Spirit Gauge, making this combo become the best way to gain Spirit Gauge Level. While it may be dangerous to perform, it is super satisfying to pull off and also make you more powerful with the Spirit Level always maxed out.

MHW Long Sword Best Combos


The typical gameplay of a Long Sword Hunter will be as below:

Normal Attack Playstation 4 Triangle >> Build Up Spirit Gauge>> Perform Spirit Combo >> Repeat (or Counter With Foresight Slash) >> Using Spirit Thrust with maximum Spirit Level (or when openings are present)

Getting the Spirit Gauge to the maximum level and maintain this state is the key thing to an efficient hunt Long Sword hunt. While the standard approach is to perform the Spirit Combo and landing the Spirit Roundhouse Slash, this is sometimes a hindrance to do for agile monsters. However, the Long Sword also has other option to fill this gauge a lot faster.

Check out below Spirit Roundhouse Slash combo:

  • Fade Slash >> Spirit Slash Level 2 >> Spirit Roundhouse Slash

Playstation 4 TrianglePlayStation 4 Circle TransitionTransition

Right after a Fade Slash, you can follow up with R2 immediately. This will remove the first Spirit Slash and can get you to land the Spirit Roundhouse Slash a lot faster.

The next combo to fill up the Spirit Gauge:

  • Foresight Slash >> Spirit Roundhouse Slash

PlayStation 4 Circle Transition (After landed Foresight Slash)

The ultimate move to fill up the Spirit Gauge level. What could be better than this – Dodging the attack of the fierce monster at the last minute, counter it and deliver a powerful finish move.

These combos can be performed anytime during your attacks, either the Vertical Slash or the Thrust. This is also when the thrust come in handy, as the frame data for the thrust is shorter than the normal Vertical Slash, whenever you are planning to deliver any of the above combos, try to sneak in a Thrust to speed up the process!

 

It was supposed to end here, but as MHW Iceborne is on the horizon, here is a bonus!

MHW Iceborne Long Sword New Moves

 

I decided to also cover this with the weapon guide as well. In the same vein of other weapons, our Long Sword also got new updates in moveset.

Same as other weapons, the first addition in MHW Iceborne for the Long Sword is the ability to fire out Slingershot during attacks. For Long Sword, during Spirit Combo, you can then fire off a quick burst of Slinger Ammo with

 

Next off is the most badass move for Long Sword.

  • Special Sheath – A special stance after the Spirit Slash, the hunter will put the sword back to the sheath. From this stance, you can follow up with either Iai Slash or Iai Spirit Slash. After a brief time, the hunter will return to normal stances.

From the Special Sheath stance, you can then follow up with either of the following

  • Playstation 4 Triangle Iai Slash – Quickly draw the sword and perform a double slash.

After Iai Slash, the Spirit Gauge will fill automatically. While this does not increase the Spirit Level right away. This is a quick way to get to your Spirit Combo.

  • Iai Spirit Slash – A Stronger Slash, if you fill up the Sword energy to a certain level, this can deal additional damage (Similar to Spirit Thrust)

If you decide to follow the Sheathing Stance with , an Iai Spirit Slash is unleashed. With Spirit Level, this is followed by an additional hit (Not to mention how bad-ass you look while performing this…)

As mentioned in my Ultimate Guide For MHW Iceborne Weapons changes. These two new special moves will benefit from the Critical Draw and other skills that affect the Sheathing mechanic (Punishing Draw & Quick Sheath) It is pretty common to see hunter going around with Raw damage and Affinity Builds, but with this addition, we will surely need to update this Long Sword guide with another build…

MHW Meta Builds – Long Sword

This is just a random builds I came up with.

For Console Player, the current meta stopped at Arch-Tempered Nergigante () with the Gamma set for Nergigante armor. The current meta has all of the Arch Tempered version of the Elder Dragons as well as Siege Monsters (Kulve Taroth and Behemoth)

Compare to the infamous Drachen set (Which has dominated the meta for a long time) The latest Nergigante Gamma set focus more on Attacks and also put in a lot of customization with slots for the jewels.


For weapons that trade out the power for speed, the common approach is to add in Affinity and Critical Boosts to powerup the current average damage. Another benefit of Long Sword is the relative strong damage compare to other fast weapons (Insect Glaive or SnS)

With a good build that has enough Affinity, you are already good to go with the Long Sword. Below are the most beneficial armor skills for a Long Sword builds:

Affinity (Critical Chance)

  • Critical Eye – This increase the Affinity by  (3% each level until level 4, after that it will be 5%)
  • Weakness Exploit – 30% Affinity when hitting weak spots of monsters.
  • Critical Boosts – Increase Critical Damage by 30% (+5% each level, max 3 level)
  • Maximum Might – Increase Affinity when stamina is full

Even with full Critical Eye slot you only get 30% of Affinity. This is why additional armor skills are needed to get the most out of any Critical Build. The first being Weakness Exploit. This armor skills will net you 50% Affinity when your attacks land on weak spots of the monster. Combine with the Affinity Rate from weapon or other skill, you can easily achieve 100% Affinity Rate.

Almost in every build, you only need one point in Critical Boost. The main reason is the return for level 2 and 3 is very minimal (35% at Level 3 and 40% at Level 4) The Critical Jewel 2 is also hard to come, if you already get one, use that for every build require critical damage.

Of course, Attack Boosts is a no-brainer and other situational attack boosts skill (Increase damage in certain condition) is always a nice supplement to a Long Sword Builds

  • Attack Boost Level  4 – This is to get the 5% Affinity (As getting Attack Jewel is pretty hard, you can opt for just Level 4 of Attack Boosts)
  • Peak Performance – Increase Attack when Health is full. This is better when you already Augment your weapons.

After getting enough armor skills for the above, your next priority is to increase the Sharpness of the weapon. Essentially, this is the easiest way to increase your damage, with White Sharpness, you simply increase the base attack damage by 32% (White Sharpness attack raw damage multiplier is 1.32)

  • Handicraft Level 3 – Increase weapon sharpness. This skill is critical if you need White Sharpness for your weapons.

Utility Skills

  • Power Prolonger – Increase duration of Spirit Gauge for Long Sword. This will come in handy in hunts where you may need to chase the monster around the map for a long time.
Below is the some of the universal Meta Builds in this reddit post You can check out more sample builds at this link

MHW Long Sword Alt Raw Damage Build

Weapon –  Divine Slasher

Armor – Full Drachen Set (Critical Boosts + Affinity) Nergigante Helm (For Maximum Might)

Charm – Handicraft Charm

Jewels

  • Tenderizer (Weakness Exploit) x 3.
  • Elementless (Non-elemental Boosts) x 1.
  • Critical (Critical Boosts) x 1.
  • Attack (Attack Boosts) x 1.
  • Handicraft x 1.

Just as other melee weapons, Raw Damage (or more technically Effective Raw) is always a safe bet. At first, I jumped in the skill tree and look for the Diablo Tree (A silly mistake, yes) but cannot find any, turn out our Long Sword doesn’t have a variant for this. But an interesting weapon seem to fit the criteria – The Divine Slasher, a weapon crafted from the rewards in the Arena. This weapon has a very basic look and make from “coins” literally.

But this does not mean it is a weak weapon, with a Base attack of 693 and Affinity 0%. This is enough for a powerful Raw Damage builds, if you don’t have those fancy Critical or Tenderizer jewels, you can change the helm to Dragon King Eye patch, this can give you two points in Weakness Exploit.

MHW Long Sword Deviljho Build

Weapon –  Reaver Calamity

Armor – Full Drachen Set (Critical Boosts + Affinity + 1 point in Power Prolonger) Nergigante Helm (For Maximum Might)

Charm – Handicraft Charm

Jewels

  • Tenderizer (Weakness Exploit) x 3.
  • Elementless (Non-elemental Boosts) x 1
  • Critical (Critical Boosts) x 1.
  • Expert (Critical Eye) x 1.
  • Attack (Attack Boosts) x 1.

This build is more viable and easier to get before you got the first fight with those Arch Tempered monster. This leave out the Elementless jewel, as Reaver Calamity has an innate Dragon Elements, making this build more powerful with monsters that are weak to Dragon element.

MHW Long Sword Kulve Taroth Raw Damage Build

Weapon –  Taroth Sword ‘Fire’

Armor – Full Drachen Set (Critical Boosts + Affinity) Nergigante Helm (For Maximum Might)

Charm – Handicraft Charm

Jewels

  • Tenderizer (Weakness Exploit) x 3.
  • Elementless (Non-elemental Boosts) x 1.
  • Critical (Critical Boosts) x 1.
  • Attack (Attack Boosts) x 1.

If you happen to pick up Taroth Sword ‘Fire’ during any of your Kulve Taroth run, this can be used as an alternate weapons for a Raw Damage (Given the Fire is hidden)

 

Conclusion

MHW Long Sword is definitely one of the coolest weapon to experience during your journey in Monster Hunter World. If you are switching from a high affinity and nimble weapon like Insect Glaive, Long Sword can easily the best choice. For me, the ability to counter with the Foresight Slash is what make this a good pick for solo player.

Have you decided to pick up the Long Sword as your next weapon in Monster Hunter: World? What do you like about this weapon? Drop us a comment below.

My Ranged weapon guide so far:

Or Check out my guides on other melee weapons

Comments
  1. admin

    Do you have any Long Sword Meta Builds to share?

Leave a Comment
Newsletter

Advertisement
Login
Loading...
Sign Up

New membership are not allowed.

Loading...