How To Use The Long Sword In Monster Hunter Wilds All Moves And Combos

Best Way To Use the Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Long Sword is a versatile weapon that combines speed and damage potential depending on how you want to use it. It has combos that can be chained, as well as counterattacks to defend yourself.

All Moves

Spirit Gauge

The Spirit Gauge is unique to the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds, serving as an enhancement to the damage potential of the weapon. The higher the level, the more damage you will deal, and at its maximum, it changes the basic attacks with powerful follow-up attacks. To charge the Spirit Gauge, players will need to land attacks on the monster. To increase the level, hunters must use Spirit Blade attacks and land the final Spirit Roundslash or land a Focus Strike. When the gauge is red, landing a Spirit Roundslash or a Spinning Crimson Slash will extend the duration, as the gauge will decrease with time. In terms of damage increases:

White – 1.02x Yellow – 1.04x Red – 1.1x

Combos

There are a few combos that feed into Long Sword combat in Monster Hunter Wilds, and by combining all of these, you can become a fast-moving damage dealer.

Spirit Gauge Filling Combo/Spirit Gauge Leveling

By chaining four of the basic Overhead Slashes using Triangle/Y, the Spirit Gauge can be filled to the maximum quickly. This then allows for Spirit Blade attacks to increase the level of the Spirit Gauge. For that to happen, it is also a four-chain of R2/RT presses, and while you can miss with the first three attacks, the key is to land the final Spirit Roundslash. This ensures that the Spirit Gauge gets pushed up to the next level.

Crimson Slash Combo

With the Spirit Gauge at the maximum level and red, your basic attacks now change to Crimson Slashes. Chaining three of them using Triangle/Y will complete the swift combo with increased damage.

Stationary Combo

Similarly, with a maxed out Spirit Gauge, you can use this combo to stay stationary by using the combo of Triangle/Y + Circle/B + Triangle/Y, which sees a Crimson Slash follow a Rising Slash, and then finish with another Crimson Slash. This helps you stay in place while dealing damage to the target, removing the hassle of aiming and moving.

Long Sword Tips

The Spirit Gauge is the core aspect of the Long Sword, and there are a few ways in which you can maximize the damage output using this mechanic.

Spirit Charge

By holding down R2/RT, players can start the Spirit Charge. Fully charging the move will allow the Spirit Roundslash to be unleashed without the preceding chain and will increase the Spirit Gauge immediately. Just make sure you are relatively safe when charging up.

Spirit Helm Breaker/Spirit Release Slash

The highest damage that can be dealt using the weapon is the Spirit Helm Breaker. It will consume the current level of the Spirit Gauge, but you can make full use of the Crimson Slashes first before trying this move. Once you manage to hit the enemy with the Spirit Thrust, followed by the Spirit Helm Breaker, you can follow up with R2/RT for the Spirit Release Slash. This will deal plenty of damage at high speed, while looking cool simultaneously. If you have friends distracting the monster, it will become easier to unleash this combo.

Free Spirit Gauge Levels

By attacking wounds with the Focus Strike, players using the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds will gain one level of the Spirit Gauge per wound. If you have inflicted several wounds on a monster, using the Focus Strike can instantly get your Spirit Gauge to the red without a fuss. If not, this shortcut can work with just one wound as well. After the Focus Strike lands, you can immediately trigger the Spirit Blade combo and end with a Spirit Blade Roundhouse, increasing the gauge by one more level instantly.

Countering with Iai Spirit Slash

With no ability to block damage, the only way to defend yourself is to be faster than the enemy. This comes in the form of the Iai Spirit Slash from Special Sheathe. After an attack, press R2/RT and Cross/A for Special Sheathe. Now, wait for the enemy to attack and press R2/RT in time to perform the powerful Iai Spirit Slash through the attack. This will prevent you from taking damage, while punishing the monster instead. That’s all you need to know about mastering the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Wilds. Be sure to check out the rest of The Escapist for more help with the game. Monster Hunter Wilds is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.