In the vast arsenal of Monster Hunter Now, the Great Sword stands out as a formidable weapon. Its ability to deliver massive damage with each swing makes it a favorite among hunters, though its size can make it a bit tricky to handle. Crafting a potent Monster Hunter Now Great Sword build requires a strategy to slow down your quarry, and thanks to recent updates, sleep-based weapons have become a viable option. To make the most of this approach, you'll need the right gear and skills to consistently induce sleep in monsters. Here's a comprehensive guide to assembling the ultimate Great Sword build.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
Unlike the Long Sword, which thrives on poison, the Great Sword excels with sleep-based attacks. To fully realize this build, you'll need to hunt down a somewhat rare monster, but the rest of the equipment can be sourced from more common foes.
Full 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) |
| 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
The Frilled Blade is your go-to sleep-based Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now. It comes equipped with the Evade Extender skill, which is handy for creating distance after dodging an attack. While not crucial for the build, it enhances defensive play with the Great Sword. You'll need to hunt Somnacanth to gather the necessary materials for crafting this weapon.
Helmet & Greaves
The core of this build is sourced from the Nightmare Paolumu, introduced in the first paid event. This monster provides essential parts and skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, which boosts your first attack on a sleeping monster by 100%. While Nightmare Paolumu have become more frequent, they may still require patience to encounter, either through events or as rare spawns in subsequent seasons after their introduction in the main story.
Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil
The remaining pieces of the build focus on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, ensuring sleep buildup when attacking from behind. You'll also gain points in Evade Extender and Artful Dodger, which help in evading monster attacks. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku is your primary target for these parts, and fortunately, it's more readily available with the help of the paintball tracker.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftsmelt Slots
This build benefits from a relatively low threshold to unlock all its Driftstone slots. Ideally, allocate five slots to Sleep Attack to maximize sleep buildup. Alternatively, you can enhance your dodging capabilities with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender, or amplify your damage when attacking from behind with Sneak Attack.
- Sleep Attack - Boosts the weapon's sleep buildup value. 50 at rank 1 and 150 at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Sneak Attack - Increases damage dealt to a monster when attacked from behind. 10% at rank 1 and 30% at rank 5. (Pale only)
- Artful Dodger - Enhances the ease of evading attacks. Slightly easier at rank 1 and significantly so at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Evade Extender - Extends the distance covered during evasion. Very slightly at rank 1 and massively at rank 5. (Pale only)
