Starting your Monster Hunter Wilds adventure can be overwhelming with 14 different weapon types to choose from, but picking the right beginner weapon can make all the difference. The Sword and Shield stands out as the best starting weapon for newcomers, thanks to its exceptional mobility, ease of dodging and blocking, and straightforward combos that let you focus on learning the game’s mechanics without getting bogged down. If you want a bit more power without sacrificing accessibility, the Long Sword and Hammer are also excellent beginner-friendly choices, offering a balance of reach, damage, and manageable complexity. Whether you prefer quick, versatile melee or a bit more punch, these weapons provide a smooth entry into the thrilling world of monster hunting.
To help, we’ve selected the five best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons for beginners should consider starting with, as well as our thoughts on what you should be looking for in a starting weapon. Then, once you’ve have decided, you can then focus on the best secondary weapon combo.
What makes for a good beginner weapon for new players?
A good beginner weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds is one that balances ease of use, mobility, and survivability, allowing new players to focus on learning the game’s core mechanics without being overwhelmed by complex combos or mechanics. The Sword and Shield stands out as the top choice for beginners due to its low skill floor, fast and easy combos, and the ability to both block and dodge attacks, providing excellent survivability and versatility. It also allows players to attack and defend simultaneously, with shield attacks causing exhaust damage without wearing down the weapon’s sharpness, making it forgiving for newcomers. Other beginner-friendly options include the Long Sword, which offers great reach and speed with a straightforward moveset, and the Hammer, known for its simple but effective attacks and high mobility. These weapons help new players get comfortable with combat flow while still being effective throughout the game.
What makes a good beginner’s weapon will, of course, depend on what playstyle you’re comfortable with, but you’re ideally looking for something that can output decent damage and combos with simple inputs, which doesn’t require a lot of preparation or memorization to achieve results that also make you look good.
For players who want to play more cautiously, we’ve also included weapons that also allow you to guard or fight from range to avoid getting direct hits from monsters.
Ultimately, you’ll find each weapon has its own unique depth that’s also been further refined in Monster Hunter Wilds, but for beginner weapons we’ve opted for choices that you can get a lot out of even if you do not make use of all of its possibilities. For example, while the Insect Glaive is designed to allow for easy aerial attacks, its kinsect mechanics make it more complex, so we have not included it in this list of weapons for beginners.
Remember, if you can to experiment with a new weapon in a safe environment, seek out the training area in the camp.
Monster Hunter Wilds best beginner weapon
The best beginner weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds is widely considered to be the Sword and Shield. This weapon offers excellent mobility, allowing new players to easily dodge and block attacks while maintaining consistent damage output. Its combos are straightforward to learn, and the shield can be used both defensively and offensively, providing versatility and survivability. Additionally, the Sword and Shield allows players to consume potions without sheathing their weapon, which is a significant advantage for beginners. Its balance of offense, defense, and ease of use makes it the ideal choice for those just starting their Monster Hunter journey.
What follows are our picks for the five best weapons to start experimenting with in Monster Hunter Wilds.
When starting out in Monster Hunter Wilds, the best beginner weapon is widely considered to be the Sword and Shield due to its exceptional versatility and ease of use. It offers a balanced mix of offense and defense, allowing players to block attacks and counterattack effectively. Its fast combos are easy to learn, and the ability to consume items without sheathing the weapon adds to its convenience. This weapon is highly mobile, which helps new players dodge monster attacks while maintaining steady damage output. For those seeking a straightforward and reliable weapon to learn the game’s mechanics, Sword and Shield is the top recommendation. Other beginner-friendly options include the Dual Blades for fast-paced combat, the Light Bowgun for ranged play, the Great Sword for powerful single hits, and the Long Sword for a blend of reach and agility, each catering to different playstyles but generally accessible for newcomers.
| Beginner weapon | Pros | Cons |
| Sword and Shield | Quick attack movements, you can guard with a shield (including perfect guard), and some items can be used while weapon is drawn | Not the most exciting weapon in the roster |
| Dual Blades | Fast and cool-looking combos, easy to activate demon mode for higher damage, and you can use swift side-stepping evasion while itâs active | Low raw damage, and demon mode drains stamina even when not attacking |
| Light Bowgun | Ranged attacks with rapid fire option, has good evasive mobility, and can use while riding Seikret | Low damage, ammo prep can be complex |
| Great Sword | Powerful single-hit damage, can be charged for even more devastating damage, and can guard against and offset monster attacks | Knowledge of timing and positioning required |
| Long Sword | Swift and flashy combos, the power increases with end of spirit combos, and more moves are unlocked with spirit gauge | No defensive moves |
Here they are broken down, weapon-by-weapon:
Sword and Shield
With such a variety of weapons to choose from, the Sword and Shield can feel like the most boring traditional choice, but it remains the most versatile and beginner-friendly, while still providing a lot of depth in its moveset and combos for more experienced players.
Most importantly, its shield can be used offensively and defensively, and if you can time a perfect guard, it also allows you to follow up with a counter slash. By holding guard, you can also consume potions without having to sheathe your sword like you do with other weapons.
For the early hours of the game, if you’re looking for just raw damage without worrying about affinity or elemental bonuses, it’s worth upgrading the Hope Sword in the Expedition Tree, which has a longer sharpness durability even if its attack power isn’t as high as other comparable weapons, and is also quicker to sharpen due to having the speed sharpening skill. The materials required are also just from farming ores from mining spots rather than from hunting specific monsters.
Dual Blades
The closest you’ll get to playing Monster Hunter Wilds like a button-mashing hack-and-slash action game is with the Dual Blades. Combos are fast, fluid and simple to execute but stylish, all the more so when you perform a focus attack on a monster wound. Speed, however, means that actual raw damage is low, though you can land more hits chipping away at a monster compared to a slower weapon that might swing and miss.
You can also increase their power by activating demon mode with R2/RT, which also lets you perform evasive sidesteps while continuing your attack flow instead of rolling to dodge. Be warned that demon mode gradually drains your stamina even if you’re not attacking – so be sure to activate it only when you’re definitely going to keep up the offensive.
For the early hours of the game, consider forging Dual Hatchets I from the Ore Tree, which only requires ores from mining spots. Its base damage is comparably high and also includes the Power Prolonger skill, which will benefit demon mode. Once you’ve hunted Ajarakan, you can then forge Ajara Twin Edges I, which has the Power Prolonger skill at Level 2 and also deals bonus blast elemental damage.
Light Bowgun
The Light Bowgun is the easiest of the three ranged weapons to use, dealing mid-ranged burst-fire shots that can also be switched to a rapid fire mode to fire multiple shots, which consumes the rapid fire gauge. A chaser shot can also be fired after a regular shot that packs more power and helps restore the rapid fire gauge if it hits.
As a more mobile weapon, the Light Bowgun doesn’t require charging up to fire and you can also move while aiming, with the ability to sidestep to evade attacks. It’s also possible to use while riding on your Seikret, albeit with some limitations, with just one firing mode while you cannot sprint at the same time. Its normal ammo is however quite weak compared to other weapons, while the many other ammo types you can change to can also require more prep beforehand, making it a little more complex if you want it to be more effective.
If you want to avoid the ammo system’s complexity starting off, then consider forging and upgrading the Hunter’s Rifle in the Bone Tree, using bone materials found from bonepiles. Your spread ammo starts at Level 2 while the weapon includes the opening shot skill that reduces reloading time, before later adding attack boost.
If you want to be able to use ammo that inflicts status effects, then the Hope Rifle in the Expedition Tree lets you use poison ammo while the Chain Blitz from the Ore Tree lets you use paralysis ammo.
Great Sword
The Great Sword is by far the most iconic weapon in the Monster Hunter series, and usually the default weapon seen on the key art or first gameplay footage for a new instalment. Its high raw attack power makes a single hit more powerful than the attacks of the other weapons in this list combined. In a sense then, it’s quite easy for beginners to use as you can just run and charge up a single attack, then back away before looking for another opening, whereas other weapons may need to stay on the offensive for longer to get close to the equivalent damage.
It can also be used to guard against attacks, and it’s one of the weapons that can offset monster attacks, a new devastating counter in Monster Hunter Wilds. While the inputs are technically easy to use, its complexity comes from actually being knowledgeable on the monsters’ movements, as timing and positioning is key to successfully landing attacks.
For increased raw damage, you can continue upgrading the starting Hope Blade or the Quematrice Espada in the Quematrice Tree, which doesn’t just have the same base attack value, but 5% affinity with bonus fire damage, while its punishing draw skill means you’ll also gain an attack bonus using draw attacks.
Long Sword
As popular and iconic as the Great Sword, but more agile, the Long Sword is just as easy to pick up and play with, and its core mechanic isn’t actually that tricky to master. Essentially, using regular attacks builds up a bar called the spirit gauge, which allows you to use slashing spirit blade attacks with R2/RT.
When the gauge is full, you’ll be able to swing a long combo sequence, but if the final hit connects with your target, it automatically levels up the spirit gauge, changing the color. When the gauge is red, it’s at max level, enhancing both regular and spirit blade attacks with some more flourish while also allowing for more devastating combos at the cost of the gauge level.
While many of the Long Sword’s moves are very flashy, it does also require some mastery so that your swings don’t just miss. It also lacks any defensive abilities so you do have to commit to the animations and either rely on being able to roll or dive out of the way afterwards, or just get knocked back.
There isn’t a specific recommendation of Long Sword, though early on you can focus on upgrading the Hope’s Edge in the Expedition Tree, but once you’ve hunted the Doshaguma, you can forge the Dosha Fatecleaver I, which has a higher base attack at the expense of -5% affinity while increasing your defense by 20, making up for the weapon’s lack of defensive maneuvers.
Could the Sword and Shield become my go-to weapon for quick hunts
The Sword and Shield can be a decent choice for quick hunts in Monster Hunter Wilds due to its mobility and ability to block, but many players find it somewhat underwhelming compared to other weapon styles like dual wielding or two-handed weapons, which tend to offer higher damage per round. While Sword and Shield provides defensive utility, it often lacks the offensive power and appeal that make it a go-to for fast-paced hunts, leading some to consider it more of a niche or roleplay option rather than a top-tier choice for quick kills. If your priority is speed and efficiency, other weapons might better suit quick hunts, though Sword and Shield’s versatility can still make it a viable option depending on your playstyle.
Can the Sword and Shield effectively handle fast-paced hunts for quick kills
Yes, the Sword and Shield can effectively handle fast-paced hunts for quick kills in Monster Hunter Wilds. It is a fast and strong weapon with excellent mobility, allowing you to land many quick hits while maintaining the ability to guard and use items without sheathing, which keeps you constantly on the offensive. Its moveset includes rapid combos, shield bashes that can stun monsters, and the ability to perform Perfect Guards that nullify damage and open opportunities for counterattacks, making it very versatile in both offense and defense. Although it has a shorter reach and weaker shield compared to other weapons, its agility and fluid attacks let you adapt to hit-and-run tactics effectively, which is ideal for quick-paced hunts. The Sword and Shield’s ability to apply both severing and blunt damage, stun monsters, and use items mid-fight further enhances its efficiency in fast hunts. Mastery of timing for dodges, Perfect Guards, and combos will maximize its effectiveness in quick kills.
