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Two truths coexist. The shattered mirror great sword design selected as the winner of Capcom's recent player and dev-voted Monster Hunter Wilds weapon design contest is cool. At the same time, great sword always wins these and the hammer design featuring a fluctuating black hole on a stick was so cool.
At the very least, my GamesRadar+ colleague Scott got his wish. I admit, the Shatterseal great sword by creator Nolan Lu is genuinely inspired, its charged attacks so powerful they crinkle the very fabric of the universe at the point of impact.
Great swords are huge and big weapons give artists more of a canvas to work with – this is one reason I love the great sword, lance, hammer, and charge blade so much – so I'm not shocked by its victory. A great sword also won the Monster Hunter World weapon design contest, blessing players with a Valstrax-esque rocket-equipped blade. In World's Iceborne DLC, we got a fan-made charge blade feathered with inky plumage.
"Since now the contest has ended and I can post about this freely, thank you all so much for the immense support you all showed me these months and still do right now (I see posts pop in and out of the net asking for my design to be used somewhat)," they wrote on Reddit.
"As a Gen 2 hunter, seeing my own design get so close to [being] in the game has been heartwarming to an insane extent, a dream coming true. I was getting into a big creative slump and this whole thing reinvigorated me to no end, I wanna make so much more stuff and hopefully get a shot in the DLC contest if that will happen."
"It's sad to see hammer still get nothing from any design contest," they conclude, "but that means I have to do something even better for the next! I'll try my best to make y'all proud, thank you all again and happy hunting!!!"
It warms my heart to see plenty of hammer and black hole appreciators in the replies. "I wanted this one way more than the great sword. Dammit Capcom, give [us] some variety!" writes Ragnatoa, a true scholar of our time. "Hopefully there is an aspiring modder out there that will see this design and model it," suggests Insanely_Mclean. Don't give me hope.
You could fairly argue that every finalist deserved the win, of course; this hammer design was just especially striking to me, and it felt like the perfect cherry on top following the humongous buffs and changes the hammer received in a previous balance patch. Oh well. Hammer still rules, and the Shatterseal, set to arrive in a future update, is a worthy champion.
Be sure to take a look at our Monster Hunter Wilds review while you're here, as well as our roundup of the best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons.
