Yet Another Weapon Guide - Switch Axe
Switch the way you play with Switch Axe! Having two distinct movesets and the ability to fluidly switch between the two of them, Switch Axe can be extremely fun to play and to master. Hack monsters down with the force behind Axe Mode, while cutting them down with the utility and speed of Sword Mode! Abuse the power of Demon Riot and Energy Charge in GU to amplify your damage output! Use the long recovery frames to precisely iframe attacks!
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This guide is meant for new players of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (MHGU) or for players who haven’t played Blademaster in the old-school games, and wish to play as Switch Axe. Note that this guide will not assume any prior knowledge, regardless of games played before in the Monster Hunter series.
This guide will contain a comprehensive guide on Switch Axe controls, details on phial types, commentary on SA styles and combinations, recommendations on progression SA, and a final note on matchups against all monsters in the game.
Two Hunter Art slots (1 SP Art), unlimited access to the two finishers and Morph Attacks.
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Guild Style is the typical SA style featuring unlimited and full access to both moves. Guild SA itself is underwhelming due to all of the fancy additions to the other styles, namely HA slots for Striker and Alchemy and the lack of loss of moves on Adept and Aerial. You can use this style if you want to try out the pure SA experience, but other than that? Not really.
Recommended Hunter Arts:
Cl-axe-ic Three-Stage Combo
Axe Mode: (loop) X, X, X (end loop)
(loop) Down Slash -> Side Slice -> Upswing (end loop)
A standard Axe Mode combo. The opening Down Slash may be very slow, but once you start up the combo, it can be very fast.
Axe ‘n Slash
Axe Mode: X, X, X, (loop) A (end loop), R
Down Slash -> Side Slice -> Upswing -> (loop) Hack ‘n Slash (end loop) -> Hack ‘n Finisher.
An Axe Mode combo that leads into the Hack ‘n Slash. Vary up the amount of A attacks you do depending on your stamina and on the opening length.
Axe You A Question
Axe Mode: Forward X, X, R
Forward Thrust -> Down Slash -> Morph to Sword.
A simple gapclosing attack in Axe Mode that transitions to Sword Mode.
Sword
Sword Mode: (loop) X (end loop)
(loop) Down Slash -> Up Slash (end loop).
The simplest ‘combo’ you can do in Sword Mode. Pretty much the bread-and-butter of Guild Sword Mode attacks.
Elemental Discharge Canceling
Sword Mode: (loop) A, X+A, A, X+A, (end loop)
(loop) Side Slash -> Elemental Discharge Thrust -> Side Slash -> Elemental Discharge Thrust (end loop).
The most optimal DPS combo for Sword Mode. Elemental Discharge Canceling takes up a lot of Switch Gauge, so be careful with it. Unless you have Demon Riot up.
Elemental Discharging
Sword Mode: A, A, X+A, X (repeat)
Side Slash -> Double Slash -> Elemental Discharge Thrust -> Elemental Discharge -> Elemental Explosion.
A full Elemental Discharge combo. Useful for shorter monster downed opportunities.
3 Hunter Art slots (1 SP Art), loses extra attacks from Guild to gain a third HA slot.
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Striker Style is the new-old style favored by many in GU, just that you can’t perform A spam as well as you can in Guild Style and you can’t use the Hack ‘n Finisher like you can there too. The key thing here is the HA slots, which let you use the trifecta of SA HAs: Energy Charge, Demon Riot, and Absolute Readiness.
Recommended Hunter Arts:
X Gonna Give It To Ya
Sword Mode: (loop) Forward X, X, Forward X, X, (end loop)
(loop) Down Slash -> Up Slash -> Down Slash -> Up Slash (end loop).
A good way to move yourself and attack at the same time in Sword Mode.
1 Hunter Art slot (1 SP Art). Use the Aerial Hop to jump off of monsters and absolutely wallop them in Sword Mode.
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Aerial Style automatically attacks when you jump on the monster, as long as you’re in Sword Mode. It also lets you attack once more when you’re landing, and this includes performing an Elemental Thrust. Aerial Style Axe Mode doesn’t really let you do much aside from the normal stuff you can do when jumping from a ledge, so this style really turns up the “Make Sword Mode Better” dial. Though I suppose that every style does that more or less.
Recommended Hunter Arts:
Aerial Sword
Sword Mode: (loop) B, X, B, X (end loop)
(loop) Boost Jump -> Aerial Upslash -> Jumping Down Slash (end loop).
Up and down, then the monster goes all around. A simple Aerial Sword Mode combo.
Aerial Ax-No Wait, Sword
Axe Mode: B, R
Boost Jump -> Jumping Morph to Sword.
An easy way to immediately transition into Sword Mode from Axe Mode midair.
1 Hunter Art slot (1 SP Art). Use the Adept Dodge to roll through monster attacks and perform extremely powerful, wide-ranging attacks.
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Adept Style locks the Axe Finisher behind Adept Dodging, rather than Hack ‘n Slash, while it doesn’t do much to Sword Mode. That said, the Axe Finisher is an instant-ish 3 hits of 95 MV, but Sword’s Adept counterattack is two swings, totalling 50 MV, which uses up Phial Gauge. This style is probably the most Axe-beneficial style there is, so if you really like Axe Mode, then you should consider using this style.
Recommended Hunter Arts:
Adept Axe ‘n Sword
Axe Mode: Adept Dodge, X, R.
Adept Dodge -> Adept Axe Swings -> Morph to Sword.
A good way to immediately counterattack Post-Adept Dodge and transition to Sword Mode afterwards.
1 Hunter Art slot (1 SP Art). Charge up the Valor Gauge to unlock chaining Morph Attacks, and a Double Discharge attack in Sword Mode.
In any State -
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Outside of Valor State -
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
In Valor State -
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Valor Style grants you 3 ways to play, at least, while you’re in Valor Mode. The more obvious style is to keep on chaining Morph Attacks with R, letting you save on phials while pumping out damage. The next most obvious style is Elemental Discharge spam, using the Double Discharge to inflict large amounts of damage in short bursts. The Double Discharge also uses the phial energy of one Discharge, so you’ll save phials that way. The third and probably most boring way to play is Axe Mode, which is basically just like Axe Mode in other styles except you have faster Valor Steps than Sword??
Recommended Hunter Arts:
Valor Switchin’
Y, R
Valor Sheathe -> Valor Morph.
A good way to transition between Axe and Sword while charging up the Valor Gauge.
Faster Valor Charging
Sword Mode: Y, A
Valor Sheathe -> Valor Double Slash.
This combo uses the Switch Gauge in order to charge up the Valor Gauge. That’s the life cycle.
Putting the ‘Switch’ in ‘Switch Sword Axe’
In Valor State, Axe Mode: (loop) R, R, R (end loop)
(loop) Hack ‘n Slash -> Hack ‘n Finisher -> Valor Morph Slashes -> Double Slash (end loop)
This sort of fluid SA combo is conservative on the Switch Gauge while pumping out decent amounts of damage while in Valor State.
Valor Double Discharge Spam
In Valor State, Sword Mode: B, A, X+A, (Mash) X, R, R
Valor Dash, Valor Double Slash, Elemental Discharge Thrust, Elemental Discharge, Valor Double Discharge, Valor Heavy Axe Morph, Valor Heavy Sword Morph
With Demon Riot up, this is easily the bestest way to squeeze out DPS in Valor Style. Link back to the Valor Double Slash any way you like, including dashing after the Double Discharge, Down Swinging after a Valor Heavy Axe Morph, and more.
3 Hunter Art slots (3 SP Arts). Automatically Morph between Axe and Sword by using X for Axe, and A for Sword. Charge the Alchemy Barrel to use special Alchemy items and upgrade SP.
Axe Mode:
Sword Mode:
Alchemy Style puts the Morph Attacks on X or A, depending on which mode you’re in currently. Switch and use Axe Mode with X, and Sword Mode with A. You can perform one attack with the opposite mode’s button, but when you do it twice you’ll switch. Because of this, you cannot perform the infinite X attack, but you do have infinite A. Usage of this style or Striker Style will mainly depend on which infinite you need. Infinite X can weave in the gapcloser attack by using the Forward + X, while infinite A has the Double Slash. It’s up to you which style would fit best in which fight.
Recommended Hunter Arts:
Gapclosing Sword Morph
Axe Mode: Forward X, A, A
Forward Thrust -> Morph to Sword -> Double Slash.
An easy way to immediately transition from Axe Mode to Sword Mode while playing Alchemy SA.
Alchemy Switchy Combo
Sword Mode: (loop) A, X, A, A (end loop)
(loop) Double Slash -> Side Slash -> Up Slash -> Double Slash (end loop)
A combo which conserves the Switch Gauge while performing an infinite.
The Style Hierarchy goes Striker/Alchemy > Valor/Guild > Aerial/Adept. Striker has the Energy Charge/Demon Riot combo going for it, so it’s naturally powerful, while Alchemy also has that but has the Double Slash. Usage on each monster will vary depending on if the monster stays still or if you’ll need to gapclose a lot with X. Guild’s got 2 HA slots, so you’ll have to choose between infinite Switch Gauge or Sharpness… but at least you can make that choice. Valor’s up there because of the Valor Double Discharge loop, which is extremely powerful. Adept and Aerial bring up the rear because they don’t have the power behind them that can compensate for the one HA slot. To be clear, none of these styles are outright bad, but they’re just kinda underwhelming.
Perform an extremely lengthy combo of Axe and Sword attacks, finishing off with an Elemental Discharge Explosion. If you have Demon Riot and/or Tempest Axe active at the time you activate this art, it adds additional hits.
HA Rank | To Charge | Total Damage |
I | 670 (1004 SP) | (Axe) 13 + 15 + 20 + (Sword) 20 + 25 + 30 + (15 * 4) + 80 = 263% |
II | 750 (1100 SP) | (Axe) 15 + 17 + 22 + (Sword) 24 + 29 + 35 + (25 * 4) + 90 = 332% |
III | 830 (1196 SP) | (Axe) 18 + 20 +25 + (Sword) 28 + 33 + 40 + (30 * 4) + 100 = 384% |
Full Extensions:
HA Rank | Total Damage |
I | (Axe) 13 + 15 + 20 + (Tempest Axe) 16 + (10 * 3) + 34 + (Sword) 20 + 25 + 30 + (15 * 4) + (Demon Riot) 70 + 20 = 353% |
II | (Axe) 15 + 17 + 22 + (Tempest Axe) 16 + (10 * 3) + 34 + (Sword) 24 + 29 + 35 + (25 * 4) + (Demon Riot) 80 + 30 = 442% |
III | (Axe) 18 + 20 + 25 + (Tempest Axe) 16 + (10 * 3) + 34 + (Sword) 28 + 33 + 40 + (30 * 4) + (Demon Riot) 90 + 40 = 494% |
Applies Phial only during the Sword Mode segment.
The most powerful HA in the entire game, only crippled by its use time and the fact that the other HAs can do more for less. You can try to use this, but after you get slapped around by a Narga a few times, you’ll probably conclude that this HAs use cases are incredibly few and far between. For full meme, use both Tempest Axe and Demon Riot and watch as your hunter pulls off an incredibly long combo that you’ll probably go to sleep in the middle of, or miss.
It’s also important to note that you can readjust yourself at various points in the HA, so if the monster happens to move, which will happen a lot, you can point yourself in its direction, so you don’t look like an idiot when you use the finisher on the air. Also, you stop performing the HA if you run out of Switch Gauge, so you should probably keep an eye on it.
After performing a short animation, your Switch Gauge begins to drain over time, rather than per attack. Furthermore, you can no longer reload your Switch Gauge for the duration of the art, and phial effects are boosted. Once the Switch Gauge depletes, Demon Riot will end.
HA Rank | To Charge | Effects | Duration (at full Switch Gauge) |
I | 1080 (1496 SP) | +5% Phial Effects | 105 seconds |
II | 1170 (1604 SP) | +10% Phial Effects | 120 |
III | 1250 (1700 SP) | +20% Phial Effects | 105 |
The listed duration for the art is based off of 100% Switch Gauge, so you may experience reduced duration otherwise.
Demon Riot is one of the two HAs that made SA a force to reckon with in Gen. While nerfed in GU to have a shorter duration, Demon Riot is still great to use along with Energy Charge so long as you either use EC II or a Deviant weapon to boost your HA charge rate. Once you start to use it though, you’d best attack as much as you can to take the most advantage of Demon Riot.
Also, since you don’t use Switch Gauge on attacks, you can use Elemental Discharges constantly without it being a pain on your Switch Gauge.
Quickly reloads the Switch Gauge, after which your hunter performs a quick sweeping attack. This attack can chain into the normal Sword Mode attacks. Later levels also give you Affinity.
HA Rank | To Charge | Effects |
I | 500 (1004 SP) | Reloads 70% Switch Gauge. |
II | 650 (1100 SP) | Reloads 100% Switch Gauge, +10% Affinity for 2 minutes. |
III | 850 (1196 SP) | Reloads 100% Switch Gauge, +30% Affinity for 2 minutes. |
The sweeping motion performed deals 25% damage.
The other half of the famed Demon Riot/Energy Charge combo of Gen, Energy Charge chaining allows you to skip the Demon Riot’s restriction on reloading, letting you maintain Demon Riot, and thus the enhanced phial effects. The Affinity you gain is a bonus. Though having an increased charge time in GU, you can still chain together Energy Charges, though it will be slightly harder than before. Keep up the assault of Demon Riot-empowered Sword Mode Attacks and you should be able to get Energy Charge II recharged quickly enough. III might need the help of Deviant weapons.
Performs a few opening swings in Axe Mode, then empowers your hunter to perform the Hack ‘n Slash faster, consuming less stamina. Furthermore, you move at twice the speed while you’re in Axe Mode and you can also perform an enhanced finisher when you press X during Hack ‘n Slash.
HA Rank | To Charge | Duration |
I | 420 (704 SP) | 120 seconds |
II | 500 (800 SP) | 150 |
III | 580 (896 SP) | 180 |
Opening swings deal 22% + 22% damage. During Hack ‘n Slash (any style), can perform the special finisher by pressing X. The finisher deals 25% + 55% damage. Grants +33% movement speed, +25% Axe Thrust speed, and gradually speeds up Hack ‘n Slash by giving the second slash +10% speed, then +25% speed from the 3rd slash onwards.
The new HA introduced in GU, Tempest Axe functions as a parallel to Demon Riot, except it makes your Hack ‘n Slash swings more efficient in terms of Stamina and they also speed up the more you Hack ‘n Slash. The finisher, which can be accessed in all styles, is also pretty good in terms of damage. It also charges quickly, which means it can be maintained fairly easily, as opposed to Demon Riot. Though Tempest Axe is still outshined in terms of meta usage as compared to Energy Charge/Demon Riot.
When it comes to SA Phial Types, there’s usually only one answer when people ask about it. “Power Phial or bust!” And that answer would be right. But we’ll cover all the other SA Phial types here anyway.
SA Phials are activated and applied to your Sword Mode attacks, so while they may be weaker, their speed and phial application makes a real difference between Axe and Sword. Universally, you’ll choose an SA based on its phial type, unless you want to exclusively use Axe Mode and Tempest Axe. Axe Mode doesn’t take into account Phial Type at all, so you can mostly ignore the phial type if you want to play that way.
Power Phial
+20% raw to Sword Mode attacks.
20% more raw on all Sword Mode attacks makes the difference on their attacks, easily closing the gap between Sword and Axe attack MVs, and making it so that it may surpass Axe Mode MVs. I cannot overstate how great Power Phial is, especially with Demon Riot doubling the raw boost from Power Phial. It’s just more damage, it’s how simple that is.
Element Phial
+25% Element/Status damage on Sword Mode attacks.
Despite the large numbers, you must remember that SA is about the middle of the road in terms of hit speed, making element not the best thing around. And when Power Phial is around, Element Phial just doesn’t seem as good as pure raw.
Dragon Phial
Adds a specific amount of Dragon-elemental damage, listed on the SA Status tip, to all Sword Mode attacks.
Now this phial type, if you can believe it, is somehow more niche than even the upcoming status phials. Only a few monsters in the game are really weak to Dragon, and being forced to use Sword Mode to apply Dragon? I’d rather you just have Dragon-elemental damage naturally.
Poison/Para/Exhaust Phial
Enables you to deal the respective status damage at the same rate as normal Blademaster weapons (33% of hits) at the damage listed on the SA Status tip to Sword Mode attacks.
Pretty weak, especially when you consider that you don’t even apply the status at a 100% rate. This includes Exhaust Phial for some reason, while Hammer and HH apply it 100% of the time. Oh, and you can KO monsters with Exhaust Phial if you hit them on the head, but good luck actually trying to KO things with that. Avoid at all costs if you even think about using Sword Mode.
First and foremost, always choose Power Phial SAs. Unless you plan to exclusively only use Axe Mode, Power Phial makes way too much of a splash compared to the other phial types. Then, choose raw power over elemental damage, since SA in general has high MVs, and the effects of Power Phial can further be amplified. You don’t necessarily need a long Sharpness grade on an SA, but if you lack the ability to carry around Razor Sharp, then it might be a good idea to do so.
Low Rank (Village 1-6*, Hub 1-3*)
This is a classic SA because this is really the only SA that you can use. No other SA has quite as much raw or sharpness in this point in the game for a long while, so you’d better get used to this.
The first Switch Axe to gain Green Sharpness. Available in Village 2, and is a fine replacement for the Petrified Axe before it itself gains Green Sharpness.
Thunder tech-in for monsters weak to it. Also has a good amount of Green Sharpness.
Along the same lines, this is a fine Water Switch Axe for Low Rank. It becomes good in late G-Rank progression later, but if you just want to go fast, this is fine to skip.
If you feel comfortable with the low Green Sharpness, the Bone Axe offers higher damage output than the Petrified Axe.
Fire tech-in for monsters weak to Fire. This eventually becomes the best Fire Switch Axe in the game and is good consistently through progression (but not better than just using Seregios’s Switch Axe).
Zinogre’s SA. Petrified SA will lose a bit of effectiveness by this point, so this is basically looking for SAs to fill in late Low Rank. Zinogre’s SA qualifies, with decent raw, Power Phial, and good Sharpness. It’s even got Thunder, and upgrades into the best Thunder SA in the game.
Mizutsune’s SA. This basically fulfills the above requirements, but for Water. You’ll be using this for parts in both HR and GR too, so keep it maintained.
Gammoth’s Switch Axe is a good choice because Capcom didn’t stick it with Element Phial like they did for Charge Blade. Yay! Remains constantly powerful throughout progression.
Seregios’s SA is easily the best SA you can get at this point because of the auto-sharpening mechanic. And you’re an SA user, if you’re not rolling, then you’re probably sheathed and running towards the monster. Furthermore, the blue sharpness this SA has is effectively infinite. This SA is invaluable for progression, so use it and love it.
Kirin’s Switch Axe briefly takes over through the transition from Low to High Rank. Totally skippable if you don’t want to fight Kirin, but cmooooon, do it anyway. They’re easy.
High Rank (Village 7-10*, Hub 4-7*)
Seregios’s SA can be upgraded relatively early on in HR, when it just needs Keenbones and some Seregios materials.
Upgrades early on in High Rank, making this a choice for Fire-weak monsters.
Fond Farewell at this point has the same raw and Sharpness as the Petrified, but also has additional Water on top of it, and some Affinity. This may be only a minor improvement, but if you’ve kept up your Mizu SA improvements you should use this.
Upgrades later on in High Rank, but the Blue Sharpness it gets combined with the ease of access make it crest higher than Peal at this point.
Same Gammoth Axe, same Gammoth reasoning. Hits hard and is an Ice Switch Axe.
Same story as with the last time this appeared; hits pretty hard but has low Green Sharpness. If you like playing the Sharpness game, then this is a fine craft.
Agnaktor’s Switch Axe comes up briefly in High Rank as a Fire solution… but only here. If you’re hyper-optimizing for matchups, this is worth considering, but otherwise you don’t have to make this.
The two branches off of Seregios SA are really competitive with each other, so I’ve recommended both here. They both retain the sharpness-restoration effect of the original Seregios SA but the Aksa Switch has less Sharpness, Affinity, and slots, but has higher raw damage, as well as an easier upgrading line. Baran Defiance has more Sharpness, Affinity, and two slots, but slightly less raw and a harder upgrading line. Your call, since it’s really close.
Honorable Mentions:
The stellar Hellblade Axe is a formidable force to be reckoned with, at least if you’re willing to farm Hellblade early on and are also willing to just stay in High Rank for a while, because Elder Axe is right there.
If you’re looking for an end-of-High-Rank solution to Blast-resistant monsters or just looking for an Axe with not nearly as much reliance on sharpening, Silverwind Axe hits almost as hard and has longer White Sharpness.
G-Rank (Hub G1-G4*)
Elder Axe, at last, has the highest raw you’ve seen yet on a natural-White weapon. And it even has Power Phial! Too good to be true? Hell no. Make this and love it to get through the beginning stages of G-Rank.
The Anti-Lao tech choice. Just sit at the crotch with Striker & Demon Riot up and you can’t go wrong.
Returns as a solid progression option, scaling through from G3 to G4 with its White Sharpness and high Attack power.
Mizu’s SA is in the same boat as Zinogre’s SA, with a high amount of raw, natural White Sharpness, and a decent amount of Water. This is a solid option through G3 and G4.
Hits hard for a Water Switch Axe in late G-Rank and has a decent amount of White Sharpness at base.
Gammoth’s Switch Axe hits freakin’ hard, man. High Attack power and decent Sharpness also make it a good alternative to the Elderfrost Unleasher once you max it out too.
Main Recommendations:
High raw outbalances low Sharpness when you use Sharpness +2 here. Deviant bonus is crucial to maintaining Demon Riot when you combine it with Energy Charge, so Elderfrost is generally a great choice. Run Absolute Readiness for maximum sharpness upkeep.
Ahtal-Ka’s SA is solid with 3 slots, average raw, and a bit of Purple Sharpness that you can maintain with Readiness and Razor Sharp. S+2 is optional here because of that. You will also miss the Deviant boost with this SA so run Energy Charge II instead of III.
Soulseer Mizutsune’s SA is the best Water SA mostly because of Deviant boost, but also because of its decent stats too. All you need is S+1 here, not S+2.
Has a massive 52 Thunder, making it a great option for bludgeoning (not the armor skill) any Thunder-weak monster who’s more resistant to raw Attack power.
This is Black Fatalis’s SA, upgraded from the one you get from mining materials at Pokke’s giant stone. Slightly above-average raw with a healthy amount of Dragon, though you need to run Sharpness +2 with this one to get a usable amount of high Sharpness.
Valstrax’s SA packs Element Phial rather than Power Phial, but is (slightly) compensated by the fact that you don’t need to run either S+2 or Razor Sharp on this SA. Two slots with a high amount of Dragon is also nice. Useful for Axe Mode focus, like headlocking a Rathian.
Hellblade’s SA is still relevant in GU because you don’t have to run S+2 nor RS on this SA. Has a decent amount of Blast to compensate for its below-average raw. This is more suited for longer hunt-a-thons.
Crystalbeard Uragaan’s Switch Axe is locked to Green Sharpness, but has a massive 370 raw. Functionally, this serves as a replacement for the non-existent Rustrazoe weapon. Use when you can’t run Absolute Readiness for some reason, such as on the one-slot styles.
Off-Meta Recommendations - Don’t Use Unless You Really Want To!
Elemental SA Recommendations
Rathalos’s SA is the best Fire SA due to it having the highest raw and access to Power Phial. You’ll need S+2 to get Purple Sharpness though.
Dreadking’s Axe. Though it’s a Fire Element Phial Switch Axe, the offering of good Fire power, decent Attack, and Deviant Boost is a fine package for specific matchups.
Great stats across the board without sacrificing too much on either raw or element. Only needs S+1 for a decent amount of Purple.
Hits really hard, as mentioned before. Compared to the Elderfrost Unleasher, yeah this loses Deviant Boost, but has more manageable Sharpness. Thank Capcom this doesn’t have Element Phial, like the Charge Blade does.
Another Ice matchup alternative to Elderfrost Unleasher. This has higher Sharpness than Behemoth’s and positive Affinity, as well as Deviant Boost.
Status SA Recommendations
Disclaimer: Status SA is particularly ineffective because it doesn’t hit often enough to apply the status. If you do use these SAs, bring out and use that Sword Mode.
The highest amount of Attack power amongst the Poison Switch Axes. Hits hard with Power Phial to boot, so it’s less reliant on Poison-weak matchups.
Deviant boost, good amount of Poison, good Sharpness. The only thing not going for this SA is the low-ish amount of raw it has, but if you’re going Poison SA, you’re probably fighting Crystalbeard or Kushala anyway, so.
The Chameleos Switch Axe has OOO-slottage for maximum flexibility. It’s got the lowest amount of raw out of all of them, but if you can get extra skills with this, it’s fine.
You’ll deal little damage with this SA, but you’ll actually have a chance of paralyzing the monster with this one. Triple slots and natural Purple is okay for Status SA.
This is the only Sleep SA with Power Phial. That’s it. This kinda wins by default.
We’ll go over skills and armor sets for progression in this section. SA can go for the general Blademaster stuff but with a few caveats -- You can opt to take Evade Extender and/or Evasion +1, since you’ll be rolling around the area anyway. EE also helps with your sidehops, letting you get more distance on those. As for skills, stacking affinity, like the other weapon types, is generally recommended. Sharpness + and Razor Sharp are also used for many SAs, as well.
Low Rank (Village 1-6*, Hub 1-3*)
Standard early-LR set for Blademasters. Grants Attack Up (L) early in the game by using alternating Bulldrome and Jaggi parts. You’ll need to gem in the rest of Attack, and you need to use the Bulldrome Cap instead of the Helm.
Alternative LR set that you can use on basically any Blademaster weapon type. Has Razor Sharp and Critical Eye, so this set will be a little less effective in terms of damage output this early in the game, but if you want a sorta-good looking set and don’t want to use BuJaBu anymore, then you can use this.
An interesting alternative really only useful for non-Adept SA sets because it has Evade Extender and Critical Eye, which are both important for SA sets… but this is kinda too early in the game for Critical Eye to be useful, as mentioned.
Provides a variant of Attack Up and Weakness Exploit, which will boost your damage quite effectively. This will most likely take you to early High Rank, so keep and maintain this armor for a little bit.
Exchanges some points of Attack for points to Sharpness, which provides a measure of utility for Blademasters. Specifically, this set needs Rathalos Cap, Rathalos Mail, Ceanataur Braces, Rathalos Faulds, and Bnahabra Boots and a few decorations to get the right skill setup, but this can be even more effective than the standard Rathalos set, especially if you plan to use the Aksa Switch.
High Rank (Village 7-10*, Hub 4-8*)
An improved version of BuJaBu but with more Defense than the Low Rank version. Doesn’t really have other advantages, so only get it if you didn’t get Rathalos armor and do not want to farm Rathalos.
Has more points in Critical Eye compared to the LR version and has more Defense too. Still packs Razor Sharp, so this is a solid set for Blademasters.
Has Evade Distance, Evasion +1 (with a few decorations), and Critical Eye, which is pretty nice for SA. Don’t use Adept SA though since Evasion doesn't stack with Adept’s triggering frames.
More Attack and more Defense than the LR version, this set is pretty great on its own, and easily capable of taking you through the early vestiges of G-Rank.
This set is the same as the standard Rathalos mixset from Low Rank but with all of the parts upgraded to their respective High Rank versions. Still great for the same reasons, and even better at taking you through early G-Rank.
If you somehow managed to get through High Rank without getting Rathalos S, this is a good alternative. Packs Weakness Exploit and Critical Boost, which grants an instant 20% on-average damage boost when you hit weakspots, but you have to suffer through Silver Rathalos to get it, so.
The legendary mixset from Gen is great as a progression set, so long as you have the required charm and the ability to get both the Hayabusa Feather and to defeat the extremely-hard event Hyper Silver Rathalos. More often than not though only people who transferred their end-game character from Gen will use this as progression. If you do so though, this can take you all the way through Ahtal Ka.
G-Rank (Hub G1-G4*)
Depending on the variant, you’ll get one of these 3 sets in G2 and G3, and it’s a great set to take you through the remainder of G2 and partway through G3. It’s got lots of Critical Eye and still has Razor Sharp, so it’s perfect for taking up to G-Rank Defense properly.
A simple upgrade from Narga S with more points in Expert and Evasion for your evasion needs. Remember to only use this with non-Adept SA sets, as Adept won’t benefit from the Evasion boosts.
Rathalos X packs more points in Attack and Tenderizer as well as points in Earplugs, which can be useful at times. This set will be the last one you make before Ahtal-Ka in all likelihood.
Sacrifices the ability to get Earplugs but grants you more Blademaster-relevant skills like Attack Up (L), Weakness Exploit, and Razor Sharp. Composed of Rathalos X/Rathalos X/Rathalos X/Vaik X/Bnahabra X.
The legendary Jho Cena provides Sharpness +2 and Razor Sharp at base, without charms or decorations. S+2 and RS isn’t quite required for most SAs, but if you plan on using Elderfrost’s SA then this is a set to shoot for.
For maximum effectiveness, you’ll generally want to tailor your set to the appropriate weapon, and sometimes even the specific monster you’re gonna be tackling. In general, the priorities for Blademasters goes Sharpness-related skills (Sharpness +1 or 2, Razor Sharp), then weapon-specific core skills, then skills that boost Attack as appropriate. Take a look at the following section to get a good idea of what you’ll want.
This is a classic damage-boosting skill, where if you hit weakspots your Affinity rises by 50%, which is a 12.5% boost to your damage! SA is kind of a pro at hitting weakspots with Sword Mode, since your strikes are so precise and very vertical, so there’s little chance you’ll miss the hitzone you’re targeting.
Being a Blademaster weapon, Razor Sharp is always nice to prolong your sharpness bar and prevent dropping into lower levels of sharpness. SA may only be faster than GS, but swinging that sword around will eat your sharpness somewhat quickly. That, and Readiness really helps with managing Sharpness.
Stack Critical Boost with Weakness Exploit to get a further 7.5% damage boost at base! This is a pretty obvious choice if you even think about taking Weakness Exploit, which you should most of the time.
Required for some SAs, not so much for others. If you’re looking at a particular SA and wondering whether or not S+2 is useful, look at the Sharpness Gauges. If it gains White or Purple, like Elderfrost does, then this is great. If with Sharpness +1 you get a solid chunk of Purple to work with, then you just need Sharpness +1. And obviously if you have a full sharpness bar or if you don’t get a higher sharpness grade than White with S+2, don’t take this.
More Affinity is more damage, and you really can’t say no to more damage, right? Furthermore, crits in Sword Mode will benefit off of Power Phial, making them extra-sweet.
If you can’t fit anything of relevance on your armor set, then this is the skill to go for. Especially useful if your SA doesn’t need S+2, since you can devote those 15 points to something else. Plus the monster is nearly always gonna be enraged in G-Rank, so this is a solid pick nevertheless.
Hotly debated as to whether or not this is actually worth it or not, Evade Extender is seen by a crutch by more advanced players but is also viewed as core by people that keep their SA unsheathed. More likely than not useless and prone to overreliance, but can be useful if used responsibly.
Sometimes useful to open up additional windows of opportunity on monsters, especially since you’re rolling all the time. A word of warning though, it’s discouraged to run both this and Evade Extender at the same time, and both skills can easily make you dependent on them, so use sparingly.
SA, despite the Demon Riot/Energy Charge combo being nerfed from Gen, still is a house, so long as you can keep up the aggression to quickly charge up Energy Charge. With Evade Extender in tow and well-timed sidesteps, you can just hop through attacks and keep up aggression, making high levels of play interesting and effective too. Most matchups for SA are favorable too, since Sword Mode is not only powerful but also has Mind’s Eye, and Axe Mode has the utility of the high reach. SA is very strong in this game without being mindlessly broken, like some other meta weapon/style combos.
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