Weapons in Monster Hunter World (MHW) are equipment that assists the player during their hunts by helping them deal damage to Monsters. Weapons are divided into fourteen types, each with special requirements and a unique move-set, complete with strengths and weaknesses.
To better understand the combat mechanics of MHW, please see:
- Combat for tips and Weapon Mechanics for detailed information on how weapons perform.
- Defense and Elemental Resistance for detailed information on surviving combat with Monsters.
- Some weapons have Elemental Damage that is grayed out and in parentheses. These weapons require a skill called Free Elem/Ammo Up to take effect
- For information on configuring your Hunter arsenal, see Loadouts.
- For information improving Weapons, see Augmentations and Upgrades.
- See Kulve Taroth Weapons for the special event weapons
- Please see Master Rank Weapons for Iceborne weapons
Choosing a Weapon in MHW
When choosing a Weapon, it is important to consider its Damage Type and/or Status Effect to take advantage of a Monster's weaknesses.
- Raw (Physical) Damage from Weapons is dealt as one of three types: Cutting (Sever), Blunt, and Ammo, while Elemental Damage has five types: Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, and Dragon.
- Status Effects do not directly deal damage, but rather build up effects including Poison, Stun, Paralysis, Sleep, and Blast.
- Monsters' resistance to Raw and Elemental Damage will vary by body part, while resistance to Status Effects vary by Monster.
Additionally, keep in mind that wielding a Blademaster (melee) Weapon will reduce Physical Damage taken, while ranged Weapons will reduce Elemental Damage taken.
- See Monsters or the ingame Monster Field Guide for more information.
- See Damage Types and Status Effects for details.
Also not all upgrades will be avalible at the start of MHW. you will see an Under Development area of the upgrade Screen, these will update as the story progresses.
- At the start of the game you will be able to upgrade your weapons to Rarity 3.
- After arriving in the Rotten Vale and doing some Exploring, you will get a Field Master(Tracker) cut scene.
After you will be able to upgrade weapons to Rarity 6.
Monster Hunter World Weapon Categories
There are fourteen different weapons at the Hunter's disposal, each with their own unique characteristics and attacks. Many hunters acquire proficiency in multiple types, while others prefer to gain mastery in one.
Great Sword
Sword & Shield
Dual Blades
Long Sword
Hammer
Hunting Horn
Lance
Gunlance
Switch Axe
Charge Blade
Insect Glaive
Bow
Light Bowgun
Heavy Bowgun
All MHW Weapons List
For Iceborne Weapons, please see Master Rank Weapons.
Great Sword Gallery MHW
Great Sword Ore Weapons
Buster Blade
Chrome Razor
Nergal Judicator
Purgation's Atrocity
Great Sword Bone Weapons
Sword & Shield Gallery MHW
Sword and Shield Ore Weapons
Sword and Shield Bone Weapons
Dual Blades Gallery MHW
Dual Blades Ore Weapons
Dual Blades Bone Weapons
Long Sword Gallery MHW
Long Sword Ore Weapons
Long Sword Bone Weapons
Hammers Gallery MHW
Hammer Ore Weapons
Hammer Bone Weapons
Hunting Horns Gallery MHW
Hunting Horn Ore Weapons
Hunting Horn Bone Weapons
Lances Gallery MHW
Lance Ore Weapons
Lance Bone Weapons
Gunlance Gallery MHW
Gunlance Ore Weapons
Gunlance Bone Weapons
Switch Axes Gallery MHW
Switch Axe Ore Weapons
Switch Axe Bone Weapons
Charge Blades Gallery MHW
Charge Blade Ore Weapons
Charge Blade Bone Weapons
Insect Glaives Gallery MHW
Insect Glaive Ore Weapons
Insect Glaive Bone Weapons
Bows Gallery MHW
Bow Ore Weapons
Bow Bone Weapons
Light Bowguns Gallery MHW
Light Bowgun Ore Weapons
Light Bowgun Bone Weapons
Heavy Bowguns Gallery MHW
Heavy Bowgun Ore Weapons
Heavy Bowgun Bone Weapons
Anonymous07 Jul 2020 13:44
Hammerbros are obnoxious, you know.... being so obsessed with hammers is just stupid. I love hammer, also. Its just that almost everyone who plays hammer acts like a f*cking child with a god-complex on steroids. Every weapon is fun to play. I prefer other weapons, and thats my choice. There is nothing wrong with hammers. But its not just hammers that, when used correctly, destroy monsters left and right. I’m a longsword main, just not a noob who doesn’t know hot to Monster Hunter. I can slay every monster effortlessly. And I’m very happy with actually knowing how to time my attacks and counters, especially the Spirit-Iai (thats pronounced “iai” for those who don’t know) and the Spirit Helm-Breaker. To be clear, I love every weapon and I praise every other player I was ever with in any hunt I did in multiplayer. Hammers are amazing, hunting horns are god-like, greatswords are satisfying, bow is sooooooo clean, charge blade is epic, switch-axes are chads and longsword (when used correctly) is just beastly. I play mainly single player, so I don’t have much experience in actually seeing ls users stagger others that much. In fact; I’ve never seen such a thing. But I’m sure you have your own reasons to either love or hate a weapon. Just don’t be toxic about it in any way. Don’t say people should stop using ls because its a noob weapon, sure its easy to learn so a lot of true noobs use it, but experts at this weapon absolutely slay. And don’t be that hammerbro that spews toxic sh*t like “STOP ATTACKING THE HEAD NON-HAMMER SCRUBS, THATS OUR JOB!!!!”. Choose your own weapon, don’t discriminate others for using a different weapon than your own. Every weapon is awesome, its just that the players are either good or bad at the game. Lets just all have fun hunting the way we like best.
- Anonymous
14 Jun 2020 05:11
No weapon is the best, and the isn't a worst, it just depends on how well you use them. I can't use DB effectively but I can destroy with LG and SA. It's pretty easy to find pros for each weapon who destroy their enemies and it's soooo satisfying to see a pro dominate a monster. And really it doesn't matter which weapon is the best as long as it gets the job done.
- Anonymous
30 May 2020 16:28
I somehow went from starting with the DB to going to the IG then the LS THEN SA after a while I got good with CB but then after all that I became amazing with the hammer and now I switch between 5 different weapons constantly. (Is this bad?)
- Anonymous
26 May 2020 03:34
When you use a 200 pound sword to kill a dragon then someone uses a bow and does the same
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01 Mar 2019 16:15
Switch Axes are not as good with damage, but i am attacking a lot more so i think its worth it
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10 Oct 2018 13:59
OEF i think the bristle grudge stats aren't correct yet, because a purple sharpness hammer is insane O_O
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19 Sep 2018 15:57
Well I was lost on weapon choice at first, so in my view for anyone newer: as much as I hate to say it after 100 hours what I heard when I first started playing MH world seems to be right: Greatswords are pretty solidly the best melee weapon overall. Simply put it's the best at fitting the most damage into the smallest windows of opportunity, which ultimately is most of what combat is about in MH. As lackluster as the GS seems and as tempting as I found fancier weapons like the charge blade, unfortunately as time went on and I encountered faster, stronger monsters/multiple monsters where openings can be fleeting maintaining a charge became more and more of a burden; by the time a charge blade/long sword/insect glaive is set up to deal real damage, a GS is already out there landing 750 damage combos. Add to that special sitiuations where speed is irrelevant vs. raw damage, like jumping attacks/mounted finishers, or most importantly wakeup attacks where, for ex, my leviathan blade generally does just below 1k damage not including barrel bombs, and IME it becomes tougher and tougher to justify using other melee weapons outside niche circumstances. I mean, I guess the real (let's see if that works) choice of pros is bows as used by all those ludicrous speed runners, but they only start becoming really impressive once one has a proper fancy armor/jewel setup to support it.
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09 Aug 2018 18:39
is there any weapon that can cut both tail and breaking horns? i'm planning to play solo since my internet kinda suck
12 Oct 2020 16:34
im a charge blade main
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