There has to be a "best" weapon for solo play

[Master Blaster]

Ive looked this up so much, and I still see the same responses on youtube, there is "no" best weapon for solo play it has to do with the player skill, no weapon is better than the others....BS, the clear leaderboards say otherwise, I see people ranking on Dual blades, Bow, CB, HBgun...obviously there is some kinda meta here, I feel like at least until the online is fixed this will be a solo play for me, but my problem is that I have no idea what weapon to main, Ive been bouncing between Bow, LS, CB, Switch axe and SnS for awhile now, I just can't decide, and each time I change it up I feel like my skillset gets a handicap cause some weapons play drastically different from one another. Personally I really want to like the bow and SnS but I feel like their damage output wouldn't be enough for solo play, currently Im HR12, Im actually just at the part where I have to fight a pink Rathian...and obviously getting my ass handed to me....so Not really sure what to do, I feel like the more I try to train with weapons the worse I end up getting, So any thoughts would be helpful, I am trying to get better at the game, but I need to know what to invest in early on, again my preferences in order are:

-Bow
-Sword and Shield
-Long Sword
-Switch Axe
-Charge Blade

[d k'n n'd'noarf]

The best weapon you want should have all type of damage + all elements = don't exist XD .

[Diabolical]

There is literally no best weapon. Just use what you like, they all do work if you know what you're doing with them.

[mitspieler]

Originally posted by Master Blaster:

I still like hearing opinions, I'm not opposed to people making biast comments about weapons because at this point I'm willing to take any info I can get so long as its clear and constructive.

Personally I like to go completely different sets for different situations. I mean, you end up having multiple weapons anyways. Be it a collection of 12 hammers, or one of anything. Right now I just hit hr and got me a zorah set ( ♥♥♥♥ is too easy to get, srsly), so much fun with zorah blast hammer. So blast is covered. For poison I'm going to get a rathian sns + set. For ice I have this awesome glacier lance atm which also solves general lance purposes so far (ok, I admit, I farmed hornetaurs for the blast lance -.-). I think the next element/status I go for is glaive. Maybe switchaxe after that, but already played it a lot in gen.... and it'll go on.
Trust me, I'm not a pro but can usually solo my way with either of those weapons. Different approach, different "meta" if you will, but all unique and fun in their own way.

[Krustenkäse]

There is no best Weapon or Weapon Type.

[cruste]

finsihed the whole story with the hammer and i had 0 problems

using ls or db to cut tails, because gs is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slow.
cs is okish but it is also pretty slow and you need good timing for the attacks
i never got over the point to use normal attacks of the bow, i kept spamming dragon piercer and all the stuff from the speedrun videos never worked for me, so bow is pretty low on my fav list.
i hate how its mechanic work with consuming the stamina, so you never have enough left in the dangerous moments.

everyone finds his own fav
you need to find the stuff, which fits best to your playstyle

[proto]

imo depending on the type of monster you need certain type of weapon. for example I struggled with Kirin while using long sword and bow, but when I grabbed great sword it worked like magic. on the other hand using bow i kill Rathian and Rathalos pretty fast. against Diablos lance with shield work really good for me.
also since this game has a lot of environmental stuff that might help you, plus debuffs and tricks, plus certain weaknesses of monsters I would say that it is important how well you know the game overall rather how skilled you are with certain weapon. I mean pro players probably able to take downn any monster with any weapon =)

[Miu]

oh, m8, that's just how i felt, when i try to switch from Dual Blades to something different. I try Switch Axe, Hammer, Insect Glaive, Long Sword and hunt Legiana for tests. And now feel like DB just suits better for my playstyle than everything else.

[gardfiel]

The reason you dont find info on the "best" weapon for solo play is because each weapon feels different. If a weapon fits with your playstyle, then that will be your best shot. So just try out weapons either in the training area or on expedicions (you can change weapon at any camp) and find the best one for you. For me it was Insect Glaive.

[charm]

Highest single hit dps is for sure the great sword and it has a block. I feel like the charge blade has a really good move set, a good amount of dps, with the utility of a shield. Gun lance and switch axe have huge burst potential/dps which makes breaking parts and stunning easy.

[Armageddon]

"Best weapon" is the one you play the best. And your gunna get that response from most people.

What i will add is this.

IMO there are 3 main types of pure damage weapons.

DPS, Burst, Single hit.

DPS are simply those that deal a steady flow of damage with little down time. I'd put the ranged weapons , IG, and SnS here as examples

Burst weapons are those that have high burst over a period of time.
Examples here would be the DB and LS as they both have some charge time but once charged can do significant burst damage

Single hit weapons are those with very spikey damage, Low whilst setting up, very high once a hit connects.
Examples being the like of the GS and CB, requiring setup time, charging and vial use to deal massive damage in a few hits.

I find DPS weapons more forgiving but require you to stick to the monster keeping up the pressure.

Burst weapons are good middle ground. Requiring some pressure to charge yourself up, and timing to unload. Miss time your burst and you loose out.

And Single hit weapons tend to be very punishing, if you miss or attack at the wrong time you loose signifcant damage and open yourself up to attack. but get good at setting up and hit your mark most the time and they come into their own.

In the end its down to what you find best. Prior to the introduction of CB i used to main GS, i prefer the punishing game play of seting up massive attacks. but when i 1st played a MH game back with MHFU i went to LS, for the added reach untill i got used to how the game handled and how monsters moved.

[alung777]

It depends on your playstyle and preparations,,,I solo-ed all the way using bow just fine

[Minorika]

Just try all weapons out on the training area.
And watch some youtube videos explaining all the different moves and combos you can do with them.

[Zeon]

Every weapon type is better than another at something, it really boils down to how you prefer to deal damage. Personally I like greatsword it has wide sweeping attacks and massively damaging chops. That mixed with a shoulder barge that lets you eat the biggest of attacks with little to no damage. GS also lets you block at the cost of durability, ohh and it has the wake up meta, nothing like slapping a sleeping nergigante in the face for 1500 damage plus any exploding barrels XD.

[Friends with Benedicts]

@Master Blaster, I know you're not a noob, but since this was not covered, do you know that if you went solo, you can search the place for another palico to team up with you?

Having the monster on normal HP scale, with 2 invicible targets other than you is really amazing! Specially if that cat has an ailment weapon. Easiest run I've ever had was with a sleep and a paralysis cat, while I was using a paralysis weapon. Monster simply didn't move.

Also, I try to have all weapons to the latest technology at my reach. I.e: I'm maining CB, and I'm only missing the water one. I have a poison one, a thunder, paralysis, dragon, ice and so on... That helps a lot.

Also, take deep breathes. The game really puts you in panic sometimes. If that's happening to me, I farcast to base, fill up my inventory, eat again if possible, and go back to hunt.

[ArtemisHunt]

In terms of low skill floor/skill ceiling, I'd say it's the lance. Of course, the best weapon for solo play are generally what you're best with.