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Melee Weapons
Great Sword
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Slow
Move Speed: Slow
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: Yes
The Great Sword is the heaviest hitter in the slashing damage category. It takes a long time to swing, and greatly slows your run, but delivers powerful chops if you manage to land a hit. We would not recommend the Great Sword to new players, because even though it allows you to block using the R button, it is difficult to land hits while you are learning how to dodge monsters and learn what their tells are.
Long Sword
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Medium
Move Speed: Fast
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: No
The Long Sword is a medium damage weapon with medium swing speed. This weapon can be charged by landing attacks, and it can release powerful spin combos using the R button. This weapon is moderate choice for beginners or players that use fast weapons and want to wean their way up to the Great Sword.
Sword and Shield
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast
Move Speed: Fast
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: Yes
Ah, the good old Sword and Shield – the blade provides less damage than the Long Sword, but with faster swing speed. The R button can be held to block incoming attacks, even though your move speed is not hindered much by the light weapon. This is the only weapon in the game that allows you to use items with your shield out. The Sword and Shield is a good choice for beginning hunters, who may need to block a few hits if they miss a monster’s tell.
Dual Blades
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast
Move Speed: Fast
Dodge Roll: Short Dash
Blocking: No
The Dual Blades offer great speed and mobility at the cost of outright damage. Damage can be increased by using R to enter demon mode. Demon mode greatly increases your damage and attack speed, but quickly drains your stamina. Because the Dual Blades require advanced stamina management and do not have a shield, we would not recommend them to new players.
Hammer
Damage Type: Impact
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Slow
Move Speed: Medium
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: No
The Hammer is the strongest weapon in the impact damage category. It takes a long time to swing, and you cannot cut off tails with a hammer, as it doesn’t deal slashing damage. Hammers have a high chance to stun monsters, and have a spinning whirlwind attack tied to the R button. It's not a great weapon for new players, because its long wind-up makes it hard to dodge monster attacks. Also, don’t immediately deny yourself the experience of cutting off tails – cutting off tails is super fun.
Hunting Horn
Damage Type: Impact
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Medium
Move Speed: Medium
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: No
The Hunting Horn is the only support weapon in the game. If you enjoy playing as a Bard in other RPGs and providing your party with buffs, the Hunting Horn is the weapon for you. It can deal formidable melee damage, but cannot slice tails because it deals Impact damage. Different combinations of X and A are strung together to create a “song” which can then be played by hitting the R button. Each hunting horn has different songs it can play. We wouldn't recommend this weapon if you want to focus on the singleplayer, because it is meant to shine by providing your party with buffs in the multiplayer.
Lance
Damage Type: Slashing, Impact
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast
Move Speed: Slow
Dodge Roll: No, shuffles in the opposite direction you are facing
Blocking: Yes
Lances are versatile, dealing slashing and impact damage. Due to their length, they help you maintain a safe distance from the monster, and can be stabbed upward to cut tails. They come with a shield, which you will find yourself using often. Your move speed using the lance is slow, and without a decent dodge roll, you’re a sitting duck if you don’t block some attacks. It lets you block those smaller pesky monsters by holding R, but you can’t easily dodge out of trouble.
Gunlance
Damage Type: Slashing, Impact
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast
Move Speed: Slow
Dodge Roll: No, hops backward from the direction you’re facing
Blocking: Yes
Why use a regular Lance when you can use a Gunlance? We... don't actually have a good answer to that question. Holding R provides you with a shield as with all shield weapons, but if you hold R and press A you can load your Gunlance’s ammo. Hitting A fires off the extremely short range ammo, and hitting combinations of A and Y will have you shooting and poking in all different directions, including upwards. Hold R then press A and Y at the same time to unleash the ultimate Wyvernfire move! Kamehameha! The gunlance is a great choice for beginners, because it lets you block, and also attack from a short range while learning a monster’s tells. Hold Y and forward to perform a short charge in lieu of not having a roll, and you should be fine.
Switch Axe
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Medium, Fast
Move Speed: Medium, Slow
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: No
The Switch Axe provides the mobility of the Long Sword mixed with with the damage of the Great Sword. You start in Axe mode, which is slow and cumbersome, and build up charge to stay in Sword Mode. Because this requires landing slow deliberate attacks and managing your charge power, we recommend this weapon for advanced hunters only.
Charge Blade
Damage Type: Slashing
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast, Slow
Move Speed: Medium
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: Yes
The Charge Blade provides the versatility of the Sword and Shield mixed with with the damage of the Great Sword. You start in Sword Mode, which is fast and has a shield that you use with R. After you build up charge hits or put a monster in an uncompromising position, deploy the Axe Mode by pressing R + X. Even though this weapon is complex, it's fine for a beginner, because Sword Mode offers quick movement and blocking with a high skill ceiling for Axe Mode. This weapon is ideal training wheels for players looking to get into heavier weapons, who still aren’t confident enough to give up mobility and blocking. For more detailed info on this new weapon, check out our Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Charge Blade Guide.
Insect Glaive
Damage Type: Slashing, sometimes Impact
Required Armour: Blademaster
Weapon Speed: Fast
Move Speed: Fast
Dodge Roll: Yes
Blocking: No
The Insect Glaive is a versatile, fast weapon. Though the Insect Glaive is light in the damage category, it deals Slashing and Impact damage, and can send out a “Kinsect” to bring back juice essences to buff you. The insect Glaive can be used to vault onto monsters and mount them by pressing R and B at the same time. Though the Insect Glaive is complex with a high skill ceiling, we recommend trying it out even if you're new to the series, simply because vaulting on monsters is the easiest way to mount them, and mounting monsters is really, really fun (and effective). For more detailed info on this new weapon, check out our Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Insect Glaive Guide.
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