In the vast arsenal of *Monster Hunter Now*, the Great Sword stands out as a powerful, if somewhat unwieldy, weapon. Its devastating blows can obliterate unsuspecting monsters, but mastering its use requires strategy. This guide details a build maximizing the Great Sword's potential, focusing on a sleep-based approach for maximum damage.
To create a truly effective Great Sword build, you'll need to exploit monster weaknesses. Recent updates introduced sleep-inducing weapons crafted from specific monster materials. However, maximizing sleep effects also requires specific skills. This guide provides the complete equipment list for optimal performance.
The Optimal Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
Unlike the poison-focused Long Sword, the Great Sword shines with sleep-inducing attacks. While this build requires materials from a relatively rare monster, the majority of the equipment comes from more common hunts.
Complete Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Weapon: Frilled Blade | - Element: Sleep - Evade Extender I (Grade 8) |
| Helmet: Nightshade Paolumu Helmet | - Rude Awakener I (Grade 5) - Rude Awakener II (Grade 8) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 8) |
| Mail: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Mail | - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 2) - Artful Dodger (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Vambraces: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Vambraces | - Status Sneak Attack I (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack II (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Coil: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Coil | - Evade Extender (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Greaves: Nightshade Paolumu Greaves | - Rude Awakener (Grade 5) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 6) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
Weapon: Frilled Blade
The Frilled Blade is the ideal sleep-based Great Sword. Its Evade Extender skill provides crucial distance after dodging, significantly improving survivability. While not strictly essential, it enhances the Great Sword's maneuverability. You'll need to hunt Somnacanth for its crafting materials.
Helmet & Greaves: Nightshade Paolumu Gear
The core of this build utilizes gear from the Nightmare Paolumu, introduced in an early event. This monster provides crucial skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, boosting damage by 100% on the first hit against a sleeping monster. While initially event-exclusive, Nightmare Paolumu are now more readily available.
Mail, Vambraces, & Coil: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Gear
The remaining equipment focuses on maximizing Status Sneak Attack, guaranteeing sleep buildup with attacks from behind. Additional skills like Evade Extender and Artful Dodger further enhance survivability and evasion. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, a more common monster, provides these materials.
Optimizing Driftstone Slots
This build boasts a relatively low Driftstone slot requirement. Five slots dedicated to Sleep Attack are ideal, but you can also enhance dodging with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender, or boost damage with Sneak Attack. Here’s a breakdown of the available Driftstone options:
- Sleep Attack (Azure): Increases weapon's sleep buildup (50 at rank 1, 150 at rank 5).
- Sneak Attack (Pale): Boosts damage from behind (10% at rank 1, 30% at rank 5).
- Artful Dodger (Azure): Improves evasion ease (noticeable at rank 5).
- Evade Extender (Pale): Extends evasion distance (significantly at rank 5).
