Tired of having short reach, but still want to wield a melee weapon? If so, Monster Hunter: World’s Long Sword may be for you. With this absurdly elongated weapon, you can perform wide-reaching attacks that keep you safely out of a monster’s jaws while laying down the damage. But not everything is easy with the Long Sword — it takes a little finesse to master.
This Monster Hunter: World Long Sword guide will teach you the basics of the weapon and set you on the path to victory.
The Basics of the Long Sword in Monster Hunter: World
The Long Sword is best known for its sweeping, long-range combos. It’s less complicated than some of the other choices in the game, making it good for new hunters or those that want to quickly change up what weapon they’re using.
You may worry that the Long Sword’s lengthy combos will leave you open to attack. Thankfully, you can dodge to cancel most of the weapon’s moves, so you won’t be left vulnerable most of the time. However, you cannot block with the Long Sword, so you need to be ready to dodge at a moment’s notice.
You Got Spirit
The unique aspect of the Long Sword is the Spirit Gauge. This gauge — represented by the sword in the left-hand corner — gains power when you land a hit, but loses power if you’re not attacking a monster.
When you gain Spirit Gauge, you can use it to launch a Spirit Attack. By hitting R2/RT, you’ll launch a Spirit Attack — which can be a full combo, if you so choose. These attacks lower the gauge, but Spirit Attacks that land can raise your Spirit Level.
The Spirit Level begins at Level 0 and can build up to Spirit Level 3. Level 1 is represented by a white aura around the gauge, Level 2 is orange, and Level 3 is red. Each level increases the attack power of the Long Sword, making it preferable to stay in Level 3 as much as possible. However, the higher the level the quicker the Spirit Gauge drains, and when it goes empty you lose a level. You can also lose levels by doing certain, powerful attacks.
The main thing to focus on when using the Long Sword is keeping your Spirit Gauge in the red and pushing the offensive, while not getting hit by the monster you’re trying to kill. It takes some practice to learn the timing, but once mastered you’ll be nearly unstoppable.
Tips for Long Sword Users in Monster Hunter: World
Watch out for your teammates. When using the Long Sword, you’ll have great range and wide sweeping attacks. Those attacks, however, can trip up your melee teammates, stopping their own combos. Try to be mindful of your teammates’ general locations and the range of your combos to try and prevent this.
Push the offensive as much as you can. A lot of the Long Sword’s effectiveness comes from landing combos and keeping the Spirit Gauge up. Since Spirit Attacks can break through monsters’ hides that most weapons bounce off of, the only time you should stop attacking is to heal.
Skills that get you back into the fray quickly and keep you fighting are ideal. Speed Eating is a great skill that at max level can make Potion consumption near instantaneous. There are skills that can make your weapon stay sharper for longer. Skills like these are good for most hunters, but great for Long Sword users as it minimizes the time that they’re not hitting something.
