MHW Tier List (MHW Best Weapons)

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Updated:

14 Nov 2021

And yet again another Monster Hunter: World true spice of life and reason for living best weapon tier list. Fact and only the facts dished out with a hint of popular belief (if that has any real value… ok it does I don’t mean to be a grouch, not sorry though you guys can be such sheep) and how much ass can the weapon really kick.

What weapon should you use in Monster Hunter: World? This list should help you make up your timid wavering mind.

Be a Goat Not A Sheep

S-Tier:

Great Sword
Long Sword
Dual Blades
Heavy Bowgun
Switch Axe

A-TIer

Light Bowgun
Bow
Insect Glaive
Hammer
Gunlance
Sword and Shield
Charge Blade

B-Tier

Hunting Horn
Lance

S-Tier

Great Sword

This heavy hitting great sword delivers the highest single hit damage in the game and is easy to pick up and just start swinging silly monsters all about. The swings are slow however leaving you invulnerable and each big swing is a huge stamina drainer. So making sure each swing connects is critical.

With such an oversized Japanese style Great Sword there is plenty of range and even though there is much sharpness consumed when guarding it can be done. Also with the weapon unsheathed there is poor mobility and while one reason for this weapon's incredible DPS is through charged attacks the charging times are slow leaving you vulnerable to attacks.

Long Sword

The ever popular and free form longsword takes very little practice to master and is great for just picking up and running off into the hills for free for all ass whippery and big stick swinging. Who doesn’t just wanna swing around their big stick? Just swing it around yall and maybe hit stuff.

The Long Sword is well rounded, has fast attacks with good damage and reach and all this without the sacrifice of mobility and evasion. And with some fandangling of its Spirit Gauge system, using Spirit Attacks efficiently can deliver some top notch Monster Hunter: World socks flying off your targets feet damage. Yep I hit em so hard their socks fly off their feet, shoes still on yall.

Dual Blades

Attack, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack and then…. Hmmmm I wonder what I should do next. Oh yea. Attack, attack, attack, attack and then attack. The dual blades are great for continuously attacking if you didn’t notice, and stand with pride as having the highest attack speed in the game. However, this does come at the cost of defense.

And going into the coveted Monster Hunter: World demon mode (Who is this demon anyway I would love to meet him, or would I?) will boost your attack power and open up other attack moves, gives a knockback resistance and generally just makes you even more of a badass with a red fiery aura.

Heavy Bowgun

The artillery is here and there is just something so devastatingly sweet and satisfying as shooting a pissed off monster right in the face. From spread fire, pierce shots, slicing ammo and fully automatic special ammo Wyvernfire to the explosive sticky ammo, cluster bombs and Wyvernblast and special ammo Wyvernsnipe, there are so many possibilities in wrecking monster face.

The movement and dodging is slow and reloading leaves you vulnerable and also it takes some time going over your arsenal of choice but let me tell you as a Heavy Bowgun user myself, once you are ready and I mean really ready for you’re hunt, all that preparation is definitely worth it and extremely rewarding. Ahhh sweet staggering, KO’ing, screaming and part breaking little asshole monsters. Why do you complete me so?

There is a plethora of weapon mods as well such as recoil suppressor, close range up and the defensive shield which at high mod levels and with certain skills equipped can block just about any attack.

Switch Axe

Like the Longsword, Greatsword, Bow and pretty much every weapon in Monster Hunter: World, there is a serious oversized weapon problem going on here, and the Switch Axe makes no exception. The Switch Axe does just what the name says, switches from axe to sword modes, axe for mobility, power and long reach; sword being for faster attacks and big bang elemental finishers.

Like its cousin the Charge Blade, the Switch Axe is a complex weapon with a phial dispensing system to allocate powerful elemental/status damage. Switching in and out of these modes takes certain moves and combos which takes much practice to master but is definitely worth it once you start laying down some high damage sword mode law.

A-Tier

Light Bowgun

For a fast fire rate with a moderate range there is the Light Bowgun. Now don’t take that word “Light” in Light Bowgun lightly. This gun will make any monster it’s female turtle when combining its rapid fire mode with certain ammos such as Normal Ammo 3 and Sticky Ammo.

High mobility is what sets the Light Bowgun apart from the Heavy Bowgun and a variety of ammo types is available for your every hunter need. And the damage range can be modified by mods and attachments to increase damage for various ranges and also other weapon mechanics such as deviation and recoil suppression, Wyvernblast counter, which alters its special ammo shot, and reload assist.

Bow

If you like glass cannons, variety in ammo types and keeping a mid range distance from your target then you will like the Bow. Charging your bow before each shot increases its power and being precise about shooting the monster’s weak spots is very important. (Is it always the head or what?) Good Maneuverability and fast weapon sheathing is a big plus with the bow.

Ok just shoot him in the head right? So glass cannon meaning you are fragile but powerful but also stamina consumption as well as damage taken is important when using the bow. Also the bow is really well known for its elemental damage as well as great crowd control due to certain bow coatings and moves like Arc Shot.

Insect Glaive

Achieve great heights and unparalleled aerial acrobatics with this helluva badass bladed bo staff on steroids. Oh and in case you were wondering, it does come with a gigantic flying beetle pet that provides buffs and also damage to your target and can be upgraded at the Kinsect Trees.

Ok wait so I get a giant flying beetle called a Kinsect which also does damage and buffs me? We should meditate on this. Ok anyways, the Insect Glaive offers very high mobility and because of its huge aerial advantage makes mounting monsters a breeze.. It has great reach on and off the ground and fast attacks which can be chained indefinitely into uninterrupted fluid combos that can be stopped for evasive maneuvers as needed.

Hammer

Again, with the hammer you can deliver some very high damage single hits that will knock the monster’s socks clean off their feet. I know they don’t look like they wear socks but trust me they do, and hitting them hard enough will knock the gorgeous hosiery right off their feet.

The hammer is the number one stunner in Monster Hunter: World, thrashing and knocking about monsters like Rock’em Sock’em Robots getting some of the highest KO potential of all weapons. Its very high raw attack power, good movement speed despite such a heavy weapon and extremely powerful charged attacks make this weapon notable and worth trying.

Gunlance

Image

Would you like a long reach melee weapon that also shoots highly explosive rounds that are fixed and unblockable, breaking harder monster parts while still being in the top ranks of guarding capabilities? Well it’s not really my thing but you just might like it.

Dodging is slow and clunky and the mobility is poor, also using the Wyvernfire does wear down on sharpness so keeping a close eye on your sharpness gauge is important. But other than that there are some good times to be had with the Gunlance in Monster Hunter: World.

Sword and Shield

Another great lightweight weapon for high speed attacks but without losing valuable defense that the shield offers. The only weapon that allows for the fabulous activity of using items while your weapon is drawn or whilst guarding, the mobility is great and the breaks between individual attacks/guarding is minimal keeping all your moves fluent and fast.

This fast recovery time does make Sword and Shield one of the highest DPS raw weapons in Monster Hunter: World but this type of fast successive chain attacks and comboing technique does leave you vulnerable to attacks, lowering your defense.

Charge Blade

If you like chewing meat and are tired of sipping on baby’s milk of weapons in Monster Hunter: World’s, then the complex Charge Blade is definitely worth trying out. Switch between sword and shield to axe forms that both use a phial system that dispenses elemental/status energy accordingly to your attack damage.

The sword and shield mode boast a balance of mobility, defense and attack while the axe mode dispenses charged phialed elemental energy with long reach and powerful attacks but at the cost of defense. Because of the complex phial charging and moveset to switch between sword and shield to axe forms, the Charge Blade is known to be the most complicated melee weapon in the game.

B-Tier

Hunting Horn

The infamous team buffing and supporting, melody tooting and everybody's favorite player on the team for taking such a sacrifice Hunting Horn. Oh and it is good at still delivering some kick ass blunt KO damage, don’t be fooled by its cute little melodies. The Hunting Horn is good. The Hunting Horn is good. I repeat the Hunting Horn is mmmm so good.

Its attacks create notes which can be weaved into team buffing melodies and because it is a blunt weapon, stunning and KO’ing capabilities are in the mix as well. It has a built in Mind’s Eye skill which will keep your attacks from bouncing off and it has good movement speed but slow attack speed with low power and a limited move set.

Lance

If you want to be ridiculed and not taken seriously in Monster Hunter: World the Lance can do that for you. It is the least popular and the typical last weapon anyone would ever use video games love to throw out there from time to time. I don’t understand the logic behind why developers make a weapon or concept so obviously bad knowing damn well nobody will like it, yet still include it in the game. Perhaps it is just so we will have something to talk shit about, In that case, well done Capcom.

The Lance does have the strongest blocking ability in the game with a long range and reach, but its low attack power, slow movement speed and poor evasion among a huge loss of other overpowering disadvantages just makes you a sitting duck perfect for monster lunchmeat.

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