Long Sword High Rank and Endgame Builds for Monster Hunter Wilds
Learn everything about the best Long Sword builds for High Rank as well as endgame builds for Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds including the best skills to focus on as well as the best weapons, best armor all to help you progress through High Rank.
Welcome to our Monster Hunter Wilds build guide for the Long Sword in both High Rank as well as endgame. Listed below you will find the best builds for the Long Sword both for progressing through the earlier stages of High Rank as well as the best builds for Long Sword at endgame.
To skip straight to the endgame builds, click the button below!
Long Sword Gear Changes in Title Update 1
Title update 1, released on April 4th brought two major new monsters to hunt in High Rank - Zoh Shia and Mizutsune - each with new armor sets and weapons available. Mizutsune unlocks at HR21, adding new gear options to the pool around the midgame, while Zoh Shia only becomes available in High Rank at level 50 at the tail end of your journey.
A quick breakdown of changes on this page as of the title update are as follows:
- An additional set focused on HR50+ endgame has been added, with the previous Gore Magala HR40 set being rolled into the mid-game section.
- Zoh Shia items can be found on the HR50 Endgame set, with both the Helm and Weapon being recommended crafts in the standard build. Skills have switched over to taking Counterstrike and some points in Agitator over Adrenaline Rush.
- Mizutsune Legs are used in the mid-game set, along with some switches to Guardian Ebony Odogaron pieces to support Burst until you reach endgame.
- Artian Weapons now include better recommendations around element counters for optimal damage setups.
Long Sword Starter Armor Set - HR 10
The first set you should aim to be crafting as you begin your journey into High Rank is a mixture of pieces to keep access to Quick Sheathe while grabbing as much offense and comfort as possible to farm hunter ranks efficiently.
As your access to decorations will still be quite limited, while appealing it's not worth the time to go out of your way to farm them as the ones you're on the look out far can be crafted with melding points quite early on. Once you gain access to some of these decorations though, it opens up room to start pivoting to more offensive pieces without relying on the Alloy Set to fill out gaps.
| Gear | Decorations | |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Wyvern Blade "Verde" I | N/A |
| Head | G. Ebony Helm | N/A |
| Chest | G. Arkveld Mail | N/A |
| Gloves | G. Arkveld Vambraces | N/A |
| Waist | G. Ebony Coil | N/A |
| Legs | Alloy Greaves α | N/A |
| Talisman | Sheathe Charm II | N/A |
Note - until Sheathe Charm is at level 2, use Alloy Coil α in your Legs slot.
This set will be more than sufficient to farm up some hunter ranks and progress through the chapters to unlock more difficult enemies. You have an option between either Wyvern Blade Verde or Rey Tonitrus II as they both use Rathian parts, though the extra Affinity on the Poison Long Sword alongside status build-up being quite fast for the weapon type makes it the recommended option.
Your priority hunts are Rathian and Ajarakan early to craft both your weapon to bring it up to blue sharpness, and to level your Sheathe Charm to level 2, allowing you to shift away from Alloy Coil α as early as possible. The 2-piece Guardian Ebony Set brings 2 points in Burst and a slight bump in power (though the main benefit comes from the first point), and the Arkveld set also heals when you pop wounds, adding a good amount of comfort on top.
HR 10 Armor Set Skills and Set Bonuses
- Quick Sheathe - Level 3
- Burst - Level 2
- Flayer - Level 2
- Critical Status - Level 2
- Poison Duration Up - Level 1
- Blight Resistance - Level 1
- Bleeding Resistance - Level 1
- Flinch Free - Level 1
- Guardian's Pulse - 3-piece
- Ebony Odogaron's Power - 2-piece
- Guardian Arkveld's Vitality - 2-piece
Long Sword Mid-Game Armor Sets - HR 20-40+
As you progress through High Rank and unlock stronger monsters, we can start to to form a build closer to the final endgame sets and cutting Low Rank armor pieces. This comes in two stages, with the first being available as you reach 6 star hunts opening up more Alpha and Beta sets, and the second with access to Gore Magala at 40+.
We've separated these two stages into the tabs below depending on what gear you currently have access to:
Long Sword Mid-Game HR Sets
Long Sword HR20-39 Build
| Gear | Decorations | |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Wyvern Blade "Blood" I | N/A |
| Head | G. Ebony Helm α | N/A |
| Chest | G. Arkveld Mail | N/A |
| Gloves | G. Arkveld Vambraces | Sheath |
| Waist | G. Ebony Coil β | N/A |
| Legs | Mizutsune Greaves β | N/A |
| Talisman | Sheathe Charm II | N/A |
This set still maintains the 2-piece from Arkveld for some comfort, though it's time to start looking at more offense and move away from it as you get closer to endgame. With the addition of Mizutsune's set, the legs provide an extremely efficient way to reach Burst level 5 early. While ordinarily stacking this is inefficient, the stronger alternatives like Weakness Exploit aren't easy to max out in the mid-game, so this is a great alternative.
By this stage you should have pivoted to a Sheathe Charm II which can be paired with a single Sheath decoration to maintain your level 3 Quick Sheathe. Wyvern Blade "Blood" I from Rathalos is an excellent catch-all mid-game craft that will last through to the end-game, providing Critical Boost, high raw and solid sharpness.
Your priority hunts after unlocking them becomes Rathalos, Guardian Ebony Odogaron and Mizutsune in that order to pick up these crafts. This set should bring you toward the end of the High Rank unlocks at 35+, allowing you to access the most powerful sets available.
HR 20-39 Armor Set Skills and Set Bonuses
- Burst - Level 5
- Quick Sheathe - Level 3
- Critical Boost - Level 3
- Flayer - Level 2
- Earplugs - Level 1
- Blight Resistance - Level 1
- Guardian's Pulse - 3-piece
- Ebony Odogaron's Power - 2-piece
- Guardian Arkveld's Vitality - 2-piece
Long Sword HR 40+ Mid-game Build
After unlocking Gore Magala and High Rank Arkveld you can start gathering Hunter Symbol III, opening up crafts to move toward a much more focused offensive setup. By now you should have 3 Sheath decorations to keep it active, though if not you have the option to directly meld them.
| Gear | Decorations | |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Stahlrecht |
|
| Head | Xu Wu Helm β |
|
| Chest | Arkvulcan Mail β |
|
| Gloves | G. Arkveld Vambraces β |
|
| Waist | Gore Coil β |
|
| Legs | Gore Greaves β |
|
| Talisman | Exploiter Charm II | N/A |
In a fully optimized set a lot of comfort is sacrificed to leverage as much damage as possible. You always want to max out Weakness Exploit while having one slot free to get a single point of Burst, as it gives the biggest returns without needing heavy investment.
Using the Gore Magala set alongside some Sane decorations grants a large 15% Affinity bonus when recovering from Frenzy, which is automatically applied with the 2-piece effect. Other skills picked up here each have their reasons to round out the set, so you can click for notes on each here below.
-
Maximum Might - Click for Notes
Gives a 30% Affinity bonus when at full Stamina, which is incredibly efficient for the investment so long as you play around it. This is the best way to push yourself close to 100% when you overcome Frenzy. -
Consitution - Click for Notes
While there aren't enough slots to fully max this, reducing the cost of using Foresight Slash to maintain Maximum Might more consistently is a good way to spend the remaining decoration slot. -
Adrenaline Rush - Click for Notes
Gives a strong raw attack boost when successfully using Foresight Slash, which is a big payoff when played correctly. Since you will already be maxing out other 3-slot skills that have high value, this is the best last option. Counterstrike can also be considered here if you're using Iai Spirit Slash more frequently, but this is easier to play around.
The Gore Magala weapon is also your best monster-related craft, giving a high amount of raw, white sharpness and affinity. It also comes with Dragon element which is a more universal counter. As decorations are a bit harder to come by, some options in place of what's suggested if you don't have access to Critical Boost are:
- Razor Sharp - simplest way of extending your sharpness bar, but needs 3 points to really feel it.
- Master's Touch - affinity is high enough that this is very efficient, though requires using your 3-slot.
- Handicraft - less efficient than the above two but can be slotted in as an extra.
- Attack - really needs you to reach 4-5 points to get the full value out of it, but is a solid offensive alternative.
- Enhancer - while it's quite easy to get to red gauge, this gives you more room to use Crimson combos without needing to worry about it. More of a comfort pick.
HR 40+ Armor Set Skills and Set Bonuses
- Critical Boost - Level 5
- Weakness Exploit - Level 5
- Adrenaline Rush - Level 4
- Critical Element - Level 3
- Maximum Might - Level 3
- Constitution - Level 3
- Quick Sheathe - Level 3
- Antivirus - Level 3
- Burst - Level 1
- Handicraft - Level 1
- Flinch Free - Level 1
- Gore Magala's Tyranny - 2-piece
Long Sword HR 50+ Endgame Armor Set
With the new additions in Title Update 1, there are some additional crafts available to further push Long Sword builds to their limit, but require access to the final endgame hunt available currently in Zoh Shia.
| Gear | Decorations | |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Blazing Rafel |
|
| Head | Numinous Crown β |
|
| Chest | Arkvulcan Mail β |
|
| Gloves | G. Arkveld Vambraces β |
|
| Waist | Gore Coil β |
|
| Legs | Gore Greaves β |
|
| Talisman | Counter Charm III | N/A |
As you reach full endgame status most comfort is sacrificed for one goal - reach 100% Affinity to make use of the very efficient management of Master's Touch. The best way to do this is maxing out both Weakness Exploit and Maximum Might, with spare points going into Agitator to get you over the final hurdle.
2-piece Gore Magala is still maintained alongside some Sane decorations for the additional Affinity provided too. Remaining 1-slot decorations are used to keep Quick Sheathe level 3, with any spares going into Constitution to help with Maximum Might uptime.
The Zoh Shia weapon becomes the strongest crafted weapon available, providing excellent raw, high sharpness and some Dragon element on top of base affinity. The skill is reasonably good as well, though not enough to beat out well crafted Artian weapons.
Some alternative skills to consider if you want to tailor the build to your playstyle are:
-
Agitator - Click for Notes
Provides both raw and affinity when monsters are enraged - which is a large amount of the time during hunts. This is a fairly efficient skill even though it costs 3-slot decorations, and is even a consideration against Weakness Exploit if you struggle to stick to weak points. -
Counterstrike - Click for Notes
Currently this is taken due to the efficiency of the charm providing level 3, and can be maintained during the hyper armor of many Long Sword attacks. If you're struggling to maintain this throughout a hunt, consider switching to alternatives. -
Adrenaline Rush - Click for Notes
Gives a strong raw attack boost when successfully using Foresight Slash, which is a big payoff when played correctly. As this is a 3-slot skill it comes at a heavy cost and can only take two points using the charm, but if you use a more evasive playstyle it can suit very well.
When it comes to weapon decorations however you're much more limited in how many you can slot in, with the Zoh Shia sword having one of each slot size. With the extremely heavy investment into affinity, Master's Touch is your best sharpness option and should always be placed in the 3-slot. For the other two, Critical Boost is by far the best option available in both the 1-slot and 2-slot, but can't be maxed out.
HR 50+ Armor Set Skills and Set Bonuses
- Weakness Exploit - Level 5
- Critical Boost - Level 3
- Maximum Might - Level 3
- Quick Sheathe - Level 3
- Constitution - Level 3
- Antivirus - Level 3
- Counterstrike - Level 3
- Agitator - Level 2
- Whiteflame Torrent - Level 1
- Master's Touch - Level 1
- Burst - Level 1
- Recovery Speed - Level 1
- Flinch Free - Level 1
- Gore Magala's Tyranny - 2-piece
Artian Weapons for the Long Sword
Artian Weapons are the strongest weapons available at the endgame and are worth the investment if you're willing to grind out the ideal rolls. While the Zoh Shia Blazing Rafel weapon is extremely good, if you're looking to have a fully complete set crafting a strong Rarity 8 Dimensius is your ultimate goal.
Your options on what primary attribute are any element option if you're countering a specific monster, though Paralysis is a universal raw option if you want something open for use against any monster type. Aim to use Attack base parts to craft the weapon, and then ideally you're looking for the following reinforcements:
- Sharpness Boost +30
- Attack Boost +5
- Attack Boost +5
- Attack Boost +5
- Attack Boost +5
These can shift around some depending on which base parts you used, and it's not the end of the world if you end up with a mix. Aim to avoid Element reinforcements if possible.
For the 3 decoration slots, fill this with Critical Jewel II & III to max out Critical Boost and either Mastery Jewel to enable Master's Touch or Razor Sharp Jewel III to max out Razor Sharp.
Element Counters
The absolute strongest options still involve using element counters on specific monsters, as these come at no cost to raw power on Artian weapons. You still want to aim for the same all-attack infusions, though having a Long Sword of each element available for match-ups is your ultimate goal. Below are some drop-down lists of monsters countered by each element:
-
Fire - Click for Match-ups
-
Water - Click for Match-ups
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Thunder - Click for Match-ups
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Ice - Click for Match-ups
-
Dragon - Click for Match-ups
Changelog
- 08 Apr. 2025: Updated for Title Update 1.
- 14 Mar. 2025: Guide added.
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This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can also follow him on Twitter.
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