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The Great Sword inMonster Hunter Wildsis one of the most powerful weapons. This slow but hard-hitting weapon will give you the edge in battle in raw damage alone. But with the right build setup, you can turn this already powerful weapon into an insane powerhouse of a weapon as well. The best possible build for the Great Sword will require you to build a particular weapon and armor as well as farm some specific armor decorations for maximum damage output, but it is worth the work.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Dragon Piercer Bow Build
Utilize the bow’s most powerful attack as often as possible.
Crafting Your Artian Weapon
The first and most important step in this build is crafting the Varianza Artian Weapon.
To get started with the build, you will need to craft the Artian Great Sword. The Varianza is going to be the weapon of choice due to the flexible gem slots as well as the ability to upgrade the weapon via the blacksmith. It is here where you’ll want to consider your element of choice too. The Dragon Element will be the most optimal for damage output. If you prefer Paralysis or Blast elements, these will work too, but you will need to make sure to equip some gems that will complement the weapon.
Decoration
Skill Description
Critical Jewel [3]
Increases the damage of critical hits.
Focus/Dragon Jewel [3]
Increases the fill rate for weapons with gauges and the charge rate for weapons with charge attacks.
Increases the dragon element attack power. (Elemental attack power has a maximum limit.)
Critical Jewel [2]
These gem decorations on the weapon will allow you to deal as much critical damage as possible. The benefit of the Focus/Dragon Jewel is going to allow you to use charge attacks frequently while also boosting your dragon element attack power. One other thing to note about the Varianza weapon is that you’ll want to prioritize all three crafted parts to be under the Attack Affinity. This is going to further boost your attack power. Three is the preference, but two will also do just fine, with only one Attack Affinity piece being the least optimal option for the build.
Crafting The Optimal Armor
For the second stage of the build, you’ll need to get yourself the correct gear to maximize your armor skills.
The armor that you’ll need will mostly be comprised of the second Gore Magala set of armor. The B set of armor will come with more gem slots for you to utilize as well as give you the bonus skills from the 4-piece set to deal more damage to large monsters. The Gore Magala set is ideal because you’ll be infected with Frenzy when on hunts; this will further increase your attack power when you also cleanse the status effect. This set is perfect for the Great Sword and will give you even stronger damage against the monsters you are seeking to take down.
Udra Mirehelm B
Resentment
Increases attack when you have recoverable damage (the red portion of your Health Gauge).
Counterstrike
Temporarily increases attack power after being knocked back.
Gore Mail B
Evade Window
Extends the invulnerability period when evading.
Gore Vambraces B
Constitution
Reduces stamina depletion when evading, blocking, or doing certain other actions.
Gore Coil B
Gore Greaves B
Once infected, makes it easier to overcome the Frenzy and increases affinity if cured.
Exploiter Charm II
Weakness Exploit
Increases the affinity of attacks that exploit a monster’s weak points and wounds.
Rocksteady Mantle
Reduces damage taken and prevents damage reactions when attacked. Grants protection from wind, pressure, roars, and tremors.
The combination of this gear will allow you to be as aggressive as possible with the Great Sword, combined with some solid defensive ability with the Evade Window skill when in a pinch. Another benefit is that the Rocksteady Mantle lets you tank through some of the more powerful monster attacks. This mantle will make you a rock, and you’ll be able to block more monster attacks with the Great Sword with less stamina drain while also ignoring many knockback attacks while you are charging your attacks.
Finding the Best Armor Decorations
The last and final step to getting the build ready is getting the correct armor decorations for your gear.
Armor Decoration
x2 Counter Jewel [2[
Tenderizer Jewel [3]
Physique Jewel [1]
x2 Mighty Jewel [2]
Mighty Jewel [2]
x2 Sane Jewel [1]
One of the most important things to keep in mind when making the Great Sword into a very powerful weapon is picking out some armor jewels that complement the weapon. Counter Jewels are a fantastic choice because they give you some bonus attack power when getting knocked back. Just two of these rank 2 jewels will give you level 3 Counterstrike, which will give you +25 attack while also extending the effect timer. These jewels will give you some extra room for damage if you have missed a block or counter window with the weapon.
The second set of jewels you will need will be the Tenderizer rank 3 jewels. Tenderizer will give you the Weakness Exploit armor skill, giving you increased affinity when you attack weak points and wounds on a monster. Paring these three jewels with the Exploiter Charm II will give you the maximum level of the skill. Attacks on weak points will have a 30% increase to affinity and an extra 20% on wounds. A maximum level of Weakness Exploit will give you an even greater boost to the Great Sword and give you the best opportunities for high damage output.
The last set of jewels you’ll need will be the Sane Jewels. These are relatively simple jewels for your armor, giving you some extra levels to the Antivirus skill that your Gore Magala armor will come with. At the highest level, it will grant you an increased recovery rate from Frenzy while also granting a +15% affinity if cured. The Gore Magala armor will inherently give you Frenzy regularly while fighting, allowing you to cure the status effect several times while on a hunt and increase your power multiple times.
The Great Sword is a slow weapon, but it hits extremely hard and will give you some of the biggest damage numbers available from singular hits. Charged attacks take some time to get used to, but the more you build around them, the more hits you’ll be able to land on a monster. Getting some Focus Jewels on the weapons you use will give you a shorter charge attack window to not only throw out more attacks but also respond to monsters to counter or block to stay safe. This build will give you the best defensive options while giving you the maximum damage output on monsters, making you a monster in your own right.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Lance Tank Build
Become the shield that your party deserves.
Monster Hunter Wilds
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
