Monster Hunter Wilds has a plethora of weapons to pick from, and the first step to becoming a hunter is choosing something that resonates with you. Some weapons rely on swift attacks and dodges, while others have slower but hard-hitting attacks and rely on facing the monsters head-on.

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The fan-favorite Greatsword is an iconic weapon perfect for those direct attacks. If you're a new player who wants to become part of the long-standing legacy of the Greatsword or a veteran looking for everything new to this weapon, this will cover you all the way.

Greatsword Overview

The Greatsword is a heavy weapon that is slow in its movement, but it boasts absurdly high damage numbers with every hit. In terms of complexity, Greatsword stands somewhere in the middle, where it's not too hard to pick up, but you need a certain level of understanding about the game, timing windows, and monster patterns to use it effectively.

Apart from that, unlike previous games, where the gameplay loop around Greatsword was to get a massive hit, sheath the weapon, and run around until you find an opportunity, in Wilds, you can play more aggressively due to the counter moves you have.

Offset Rising Slash

This is a new move to the Greatsword that was added to Monster Hunter Wilds, where you can use the Offset attack to counter a monster's attack. The way this works is you press this move right when the monster is about to hit you, and you will counter the move and even topple the monster the first time. Consecutive uses will reduce the topple chance for the monster.

Once you land this move perfectly, you can follow it up with a Cross Slash, where you will deal massive damage to the monster and even destroy its wounds.

While you can hold the Offset Rising Slash, you can't do it for too long. So, if you are holding it and hoping the monster attacks you, but it misses, you will be left vulnerable, where the monster can knock you down.

True Charged Slash

This is an iconic move to the Greatsword, which deals the single highest damage number across all weapons in the game. You have the option to charge up your basic attack, hit the monster, and then follow it up again with consecutive charged attacks. The final charged attack in the entire string will be the True Charged Slash, which can not only deal massive damage but also break monster parts.

However, while you use it, you have to execute the three charges properly to make it work:

  • Level One: Hold the attack button until your character glows red, and you will land the level one strike on the monster.
  • Level Two: Once the attack is executed, immediately hold the attack button once again and keep doing so until your character glows red for the second hit.
  • Level Three. Repeat the same as level two, and you will land two massive hits on the monster, with the second hit being the True Charged Slash.

The longer you charge, the more vulnerable you become, so it's recommended you learn the timing windows before using it.

Greatsword Strengths

Greatsword is an exceptionally powerful weapon, and it comes with quite a lot of benefits:

  • You can easily break monster parts with Greatswords since the True Charged Slash deals so much damage that it can trigger the threshold for the various parts a lot quicker.
  • Shoulder Tackle and Offset Rising Slash allow you to tackle through monster's attacks and continue your combos.
  • Greatswords don't require as much frequent sharpening as compared to something like Dual Blades or Long Swords.

Greatsword Weaknesses

Here's a look at some of the glaring weaknesses of a Greatsword:

  • Despite the big damage numbers and all the counter moves it has, the weapon can feel clunky for a new player. It is slow and relies heavily on timing your attacks and reading the monster's moves. As such, for a new player, a hunt that takes five minutes can go up to 30 minutes due to a lack of understanding of timing windows.
  • You walk very slowly with the weapon in your hand, which means you are susceptible to monsters knocking you down as you try to run away.
  • The Greatsword also has a really big recovery timing after launching a big attack. If you aren't careful, you will be left vulnerable multiple times during a fight.

Greatsword Combos and Tips

Basic Combo

One of the best combos for the Greatsword is the Forward Lunging Combo. What you do is start with a Wide Slash, follow it up with a Tackle, and then use a Leaping Wide Slash. The advantage of this combo is that it helps you close the gap with the monster while also allowing you to fight through any move the monster might be using.

It doesn't do a lot of damage but can be used as an opener, especially when the monster is out of your range.

True Charged Slash Combo

This is something that you will use when the monster is either exhausted or toppled. However, the way it works is that you won't spend a lot of time charging, and instead, you release your level one and level two quickly, which allows you to land a True Charged Slash quicker and thereby deal massive damage to the monster.

You also have the option to cancel one of the charges by pressing tackle. This allows you to keep the charge level and still use True Charged Slash without getting interrupted by a monster's attack.

It is best to use the True Charged Slash on the weapon parts of a monster for the maximum benefit. Your True Charged Slash becomes True Charged Slash (Power) when you use it on weaker sections and thereby inflict massive damage to a monster.

You must also remember that if you charge less, the overall damage will be low, but its better to go for consistency so that you can always land your True Charged Slash, instead of going for the higher damage number and missing it.

Focus Slash

The new Focus mode in this game has massive benefits, especially with the Greatsword. You can use Focus Slash: Perforate to easily break monster wounds in one single hit. Once the monster has multiple wounds on its body, use this move, and you will drag your Greatsword through the monster's body, thereby leading to massive damage and destroying all the wounds.

The Focus mode also helps to ensure you don't miss the True Charged Slash. In previous games, once the True Charged Slash was under motion, there was no way to switch the direction. However, in this game, you can use the Focus Mode to switch direction while in the middle of a charge and thereby always land the True Charged Slash on a monster's head.

Perfect Guard

The Greatsword has the Perfect Guard option, where you can use the weapon as a shield right as the monster's attack hits you and trigger a Power Clash. This will allow you to push the monster away and follow it up with a True Charged Slash for massive damage to the monster.

This move is quite hard to execute as you will have to learn the monster's move sets and their timings properly. However, once you master it alongside Offset Rising Slash, it will make your hunts a lot faster.

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