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Everything you need to know about the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds, including its basic combos, Focus Strikes, and more.
The Long Sword, much like the Great Sword, excels at raw damage while also being incredibly efficient at breaking monster parts. Although the weapon is much more technical compared to other melee weapons, it’s still approachable enough to entice newcomers.
In fact, the Long Sword is one of the most-used weapon types in the modern Monster Hunter games. Not only is the weapon capable of dealing incredibly high amounts of damage, but it also comes with the added bonus of looking incredibly cool while doing so. The Long Sword is essentially on par with the Great Sword in terms of raw DPS, but without compromising agility. As such, it’s no surprise why many new players tend to gravitate toward it.
Although the Long Sword is an easy weapon to “pick up and use,” it’s quite difficult to master. The weapon has always been a DPS powerhouse, and that doesn’t seem to have changed with MH Wilds. However, the Long Sword has received some changes to its core moveset in the latest title, which players should be mindful of. Here’s everything you need to know about the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds.
How To Use the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds?
The Long Sword is a weapon that excels at counter-attacks. As you land hits using the Long Sword, you will charge up its Spirit Gauge, which lets you execute Spirit Blade attacks. Even the Focus Strike can charge up the Spirit Gauge. Although the regular attacks do decent damage, your priority with the Long Sword will be to make use of Spirit Blade as much as possible.
Furthermore, when the Spirit Gauge turns red, your Spirit Blade combos will gain a significant attack boost. The best way to quickly charge up the Spirit Gauge is to counter monster attacks. However, it should be noted that, unlike the Great Sword or Sword and Shield, the Long Sword doesn’t have any defensive capabilities.
As such, countering monster attacks with the weapon comes with its own risks. Thankfully, countering isn’t the only way to charge up the Spirit Gauge. And although the combo list for the Long Sword might look quite intimidating, it’s quite easy to learn. Here’s a look at the basic combos for the Long Sword in MH Wilds:
| Combos | Button Combinations (PlayStation/Xbox) |
|---|---|
| Overhead Slash | Triangle > Triangle > Triangle/Y > Y > Y |
| Spirit Blade | R2 (when Spirit Gauge is full)/RT (when Spirit Gauge is full) |
| Spirit Charge | Hold-R2/Hold-RT |
| Fade Slash | Triangle+Circle (Spirit Gauge)/Y+B (Spirit Gauge) |
| Foresight Slash | R2+Circle (Spirit Gauge)/RT+B (Spirit Gauge) |
| Spirit Thrust | R2+Triangle (Spirit Gauge)/RT+Y (Spirit Gauge) |
| Special Sheathe | R2+Cross (Spirit Gauge)/RT+A (Spirit Gauge) |
| Iai Slash | Triangle (after Special Sheathe)/Y (after Special Sheathe) |
| Iai Spirit Slash | R2 (after Special Sheathe)/RT (after Special Sheathe) |
Long Sword Offset and Focus Strike in MH Wilds
The Long Sword doesn’t have an Offset Attack. However, it’s a weapon built to counter monster attacks. Furthermore, you can essentially get the same result as an Offset ability with the Long Sword’s Spirit Blade skills. The Long Sword does have a Focus Strike skill – Unbound Thrust. The Focus Strike deals massive amounts of damage to wounds and also staggers the monster. Here’s a look at the combos for the Long Sword’s Focus Strike:
| Combos | Button Combinations (PlayStation/Xbox) |
|---|---|
| Unbound Thrust | Hold-L2 > R1/Hold-LT > RB |
Is Long Sword Beginner-Friendly?
In MH Wilds, the Long Sword is left more or less unchanged compared to the previous entries in the series. The Fade Slash is still incredibly powerful in knocking back monsters. Furthermore, the Foresight Slash, much like in MH Rise, has a huge invulnerability window while also allowing you to counter a monster’s attack and fill the Spirit Gauge.
On top of that, Iai Slash has also gained a buff in terms of the Spirit Gauge. Additionally, the weapon’s raw damage has also been buffed, making it viable even if you don’t rely too often on the Spirit Gauge. Suffice it to say, the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds is incredibly powerful, more so than its previous iterations.
However, most of the buffs seem to have been made to the weapon’s Spirit Blade skills. There’s still a level of skill involved in properly using the weapon. However, despite that, the Long Sword is a good choice for beginners, especially if you don’t plan on switching weapons later on. It’s a weapon that demands commitment. However, it rewards said commitment with what is easily one of the most fun playstyles in Monster Hunter.
We will update the article as we learn more in Monster Hunter Wilds or MHW. Meanwhile, you can check out the following Monster Hunter articles:
