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With the release ofMonster Hunter Wilds, there are sure to be plenty of new players looking to get started in the adventures that the series offers. One of the hardest parts of starting Monster Hunter for the first time is picking out a weapon that will help you learn as you play. There are 14 choices and each weapon has a playstyle to it that will require adjustments to how you think about approaching a hunt. However, there are a few solid choices for new players that will aid in learning and hunting monsters at the same time.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Bow Guide
The Bow has received some new and interesting new tricks in this newest iteration.
Picking a Starter Weapon
It is important to find something that will allow you to learn while being able to take down these intimidating monsters.
Not every weapon is going to be the best to learn right away. Some might not mesh well with you if you’re new to the Monster Hunter series. The Long Sword might be tempting at first, but the weapon will be a bit harder to get used to right away when you’re learning the ins and outs of Monster Hunter Wilds and how everything is going to work with and against you. There are some solid choices to start with as a beginner hunter, each covering a different playstyle, and if these click with you, then they will open up multiple new weapons that might be even better for you as you continue playing.
Best Melee Weapons for Beginners
Sword and Shield
This weapon is probably the best one to get started with if you’re just diving into Monster Hunter for the first time. It has easy combos and the shield will keep you safe when under pressure. The Sword and Shield also allows you to use items and potions while the shield is up and protecting you, making it even better for mitigating damage in certain scenarios. The downside to the weapon is the low damage in general, but with how it is tailored, it is more focused on learning and adapting to new fights and monsters.
Dual Blades
The Dual Blades weapon is another good weapon, but it’s at the opposite end of the spectrum to the Sword and Shield. This weapon is still easy to use and learn, but it is focused on maintaining constant damage. Unlike the other melee weapons, you will drain your stamina to keep your Demon Gauge filled up to keep dealing more damage. It has a slight learning curve to it, but if you are confident in your ability to avoid damage, then it will be an excellent choice when taking on monsters.
Great Sword
If you are looking for a melee weapon that deals a significant amount of damage then the Great Sword might be a good fit for you. However, this isn’t strictly beginner-friendly in the normal sense. You can perform blocks with the weapon, but it is a very slow weapon in the game to make up for the high damage output. You’ll need to be focused on how to handle each fight with every monster and look for opportune moments to strike, where the other two entries allow you to get away with a lot of damage output with relative ease. But with some practice and patience, you can use the Great Sword easily when just starting.
Best Ranged Weapons for Beginners
The Bow is a very good option for anyone looking to get started but would prefer to keep some distance between you and a monster. It doesn’t require sharpening like the melee weapons, but it does drain stamina quickly. This weapon doesn’t have any huge combos to learn to deal large amounts of damage, it is all about making sure you’re positioned properly in a fight and picking your best avenues for dealing that damage while in a safe spot.
Light Bowgun
If you’d like a ranged weapon that allows you to stay more mobile, then you may want to look at the Light Bowgun. It has special ammo types with each monster variant, likeExhaust AmmoorFreeze Ammo, being two examples to use in a large variety of options of the weapons that are available. While this weapon has a much lower damage output than any other weapon, it does have the ability to put out constant and reliable damage. It is a great weapon for beginners, straightforward, has access to unique ammo types per variant, and is fun to use. This is another weapon that will allow you to prioritize learning monster attacks while you’re able to throw out damage.
Looking for Alternate Weapons
Once you are comfortable with these weapons, look at branching out and trying some harder weapons.
After you get the hang of the basics with these easier weapons, you can always branch out and give the other more complex weapons a shot. If you choose the Sword and Shield or the Dual Blades, you can try out the Long Sword, which prioritizes being offensive while being able to counter incoming attacks with correct timing. The Great Sword gives you the basics to learn the Charge Blade or Hammer weapons once you’ve gotten the hang of something slower as well. If you liked both ranged options here, you can also move on to the Heavy Bowgun, which is a much slower but more powerful ranged weapon. Both the Bow and Light Bowgun allow you to learn what you can and can’t get away with, allowing that knowledge to easily transfer over to the Heavy Bowgun and maximize what you can do with the weapon.
Always make sure to try out multiple weapons when starting a new adventure in Monster Hunter. Each game updates and changes how the weapons work, and a weapon in the past entries may still be great, but the changes may open up some new avenues and make an unexpected weapon fun for you this time around. These five weapons are the best to branch out with at the start and each has an alternate weapon to look at when you’ve mastered it and want something that may be even better.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Dual Blades Guide
The Dual Blades are designed to keep you close to a monster while giving you the tools to attack as often as possible.
Monster Hunter Wilds
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
