Why did Charge Blade get a reputation for being complicated?

[Arcanyxia]

It's got about the same layer of hidden mechanics that all other weapons do, there's not that much special about it in the name of complex mechanics. Like half the other weapons, it looks complicated to learn, but if you take even 5 minutes to sit down and learn it, you've got the basics down, like all others. (The other half of weapons look simple, and then you realize they are actually more complex than they look. Same rule of about 5 minutes of raw training with it to figure it out, and some guides, of course)

[Kashra Fall]

Purple Flame の投稿を引用：

It's easy to get the combos, but it's nothing easy to execute them correctly, especially when it comes down to SAED.
And that's only basics, from what i know there's also guard points...

There are guard points, the easiest to pull off is RT+Y. Standard block timing if you're used to parries etc from other game. It basically nullifies the damage+doesn't do much sharpness damage and gives you a chance to counter attack. Basically, anytime your sword and shield/axe is in transition and the shield is infront, you're in a guard point.

[iNol]

Tenshi の投稿を引用：

iNol iGunggung の投稿を引用：

Because CB, for melee damage dealer type, is relatively complicated. In comparison, GS needs less work/maintenance and seems to do more damage (based on starter weapon comparison).

if you think CB is harder to play than GS then you're playing Greatsword veeeery wrong

Don't try to be a smartass when your reading comprehension is lacking. I'm not talking about easy or hard, but about what a weapon needs to do the big damage. How the weapon is designed to do the big ultimate damage. Assuming the user have 100% mastery of the monster behavior, GS just need click, click, hold click to do the ultimate damage (no maintenance, can repeat right away), CB needs substantially more work and maintenance (phial/charge). Thus, more sophisticated, more complicated.

The real edge CB has is shield. If you want to shield often, CB is better. GS blocking reduce sharpness thus require maintenance. CB doesn't require maintenance on the blocking (no sharpness maintenance).

[GameTaco]

As stated, I suppose the core complications surrounding Charge Blade are from how the game gives you the bare minimum of information on how to use it beyond a few extremely basic combos/expects some degree of familiarity from previous generations and just kinda leaves you to figure out how to flow between Sword and Axe on your own.

I'm 120+ hours in and I feel like without outside help and guides, I'm still learning new combos and ways to efficiently fill meter. It's a very meaty, all-purpose weapon that gives you a long cutting tool, bludgeoning explosions and a shield in one package, and all you really have to do is maintain your phials and know what buttons to press.

It's a bit of work from the start of any given hunt though, considering you go in with nothing, need to hit red, fill phials, have enough of an opening to do all the motions to start an AED and cancel into the shield charge, charge and fill again (and charge sword if you want), and THEN you can be a one-man wrecking crew. Contrast with something like how even Switch Axe finally starts the quest at full meter for Sword Mode openers and leaves you free to build the new meter with Heavenward Flurries and Zero-Sums before ever needing to morph back into your Axe swings, or how older Artillery cousin Gunlance can just open up with a Wyvern Fire to the face and all the shells and Wyrmstakes you ever need are a reload away.

[mitspieler]

iNol iGunggung の投稿を引用：

The real edge CB has is shield. If you want to shield often, CB is better. GS blocking reduce sharpness thus require maintenance. CB doesn't require maintenance on the blocking (no sharpness maintenance).

Wiki says that's wrong

Guarding (Great Sword or Charge Blade), resulting in small knockback -1
Guarding (Great Sword or Charge Blade), resulting in medium knockback -2
Guarding (Great Sword or Charge Blade), resulting in large knockback -10

https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/Sharpness

That's why sns is still superior ^^ gs/cb blocking just sucks. -10, that's a lot.

[Prinny]

the problem with CB is that you have a lot of moves just to buff your blade, your shield, and fill phials, just for one ultimate, it's too much useless moves for one hit, lol

[Xilo The Odd]

yeah CB isnt that daunting, i mean, i went through most of low rank on console not knowing how to charge the sword, which, is super useful and leads to some nice high damage attacks.

but yeah, all i can say is. learn Valor charge blade on MHGU. im about to try and do this...

[Prinny]

Valor mode in MHGU is ♥♥♥♥ to my eyes, i tried it for hammer or GL, honestly having to fill a jauge to get some attacks back up (but not all) is really stupid x), gonna stick to others

[Ydyp]

It is called a complex weapon because you have to think about so many things, like keep your shield charged as well as your vials. Then you got all kinds of combos in shield?sword mode as well as a few in axe mode. You got to learn 2 distances for hitting for each mode one.

Other weapons are easier to get good with, but good is not mastering it. As that can be harder for some other weapons then the CB. It just is that wlith the CB you have to keep track of much more during the fight compared to other weapons.

And it isn't the first time I encountered a CB user that only knew how to charge their shield and do SAED and know nothing else about the weapon like how to fast reposition in sword and shield or how to cancel SAED when the monster moved and he isn't going to hit it. Or those that use SAED on a small/medium monster just from a combo and then don't even notice they just overswing the monster and completely miss it with it.

[Xilo The Odd]

Prinny の投稿を引用：

Valor mode in MHGU is ♥♥♥♥ to my eyes, i tried it for hammer or GL, honestly having to fill a jauge to get some attacks back up (but not all) is really stupid x), gonna stick to others

yeah valor doesnt shine bright for all the weapons but CB and bowguns... so OP its not even funny.

for CB once the gauge is full you get a boosted shield that does not go away after the super amped finisher (much like it is now in world.) so i kinda want to do it for that reason, beyond that being able to abuse phial damage like its nobodies business. for bowguns though, light gets a special shot you fire when you side step dodge that can exhaust and KO. HBG gets its crouch fire back with a twist, each shot speeds up your fire rate for the crouch fire till you've basically dumped the same size mag in half the time.

there are other bonuses too and the gauge lasts long enough that maintaining it should be pretty easy.

[Prinny]

Xilo The Odd の投稿を引用：

Prinny の投稿を引用：

Valor mode in MHGU is ♥♥♥♥ to my eyes, i tried it for hammer or GL, honestly having to fill a jauge to get some attacks back up (but not all) is really stupid x), gonna stick to others

yeah valor doesnt shine bright for all the weapons but CB and bowguns... so OP its not even funny.

for CB once the gauge is full you get a boosted shield that does not go away after the super amped finisher (much like it is now in world.) so i kinda want to do it for that reason, beyond that being able to abuse phial damage like its nobodies business. for bowguns though, light gets a special shot you fire when you side step dodge that can exhaust and KO. HBG gets its crouch fire back with a twist, each shot speeds up your fire rate for the crouch fire till you've basically dumped the same size mag in half the time.

there are other bonuses too and the gauge lasts long enough that maintaining it should be pretty easy.

interesting for the HBG indeed, but since i played HBG on MHW, i just can't take my HBG on MHG, even if i loved crouch fire, aiming in this game just feel so weird

[Franz]

Guard Points make CB a fairly technical weapon, but for the rest it's just a matter of memorizing input like everything else.

I get what you say about DS being more complex but I think you're just raising flames by sticking to the word "complex":
DS is not "complex" according to most because all you do is go into demon mode, click click click, out of demon mode, click click, back into demon mode... The charge meter is not something you have to be concerned about, it's basically just there. There are no alternative weapon forms, no vials to store, no bullets to reload, no extracts, no counters to time... It's "simple", even tho most attacks have long animation that carry a lot of movement so to use DS optimally you have to account for your position, the monster, the amount of stamina left and where you'll end up your attack, otherwise you'll end up hitting thin air, run out of juice and unable to dodge. That make optimal DS a technical weapon. Of course you can play DS more casually and still manage to kill anything by just spamming.
CB is "complex" as it has two modes, the vials, the SAED, charging the blade, charging the shield, spending the vials... Most attacks are pretty straightforward tho, you stay in place, swing the thing. SAED requires positioning but that's pretty much it. As I said the only "technically advanced" part of CB is guard points, those require great timing and good knowledge of the moveset, that pushes optimal CB rightfully into "hard to learn" realm. Of course you can play CB by charging up, SAED, charge, SAED...

[Katitoff]

Sanima の投稿を引用：

It's got about the same layer of hidden mechanics that all other weapons do, there's not that much special about it in the name of complex mechanics. Like half the other weapons, it looks complicated to learn, but if you take even 5 minutes to sit down and learn it, you've got the basics down, like all others. (The other half of weapons look simple, and then you realize they are actually more complex than they look. Same rule of about 5 minutes of raw training with it to figure it out, and some guides, of course)

There is a difference between "getting the basics" and "using the weapon optimally".

Just because you understand how the weapon works, does not translate automatically to you knowing how to use its pretty wide moveset.

All weapons are relatively easy to get into, but this one sits at the top in the "how to master" tree, its not there alone, but its there.

[ImHelping]

It's the usual mix of "Not as good as it sounds" and "nowhere near as bad as claimed".

I'll never be as impressed by it as say, people who are great at great swords (the one thing that makes me legit jealous). But it's still got more moment to moment to juggle than most.

More importantly than any DPS d*ck waving is the fact it's STILL the only weapon in the game that can outright DEBUFF you if you don't pay your button press tax.

But man, what an amazing series of videos that would be? "Charge blade: so complicated you need an instruction manual to defeat Jargas with it." by pranking people via not warning them about the bounce penalty.

Hardly anywhere near "bad" "worst", etc. It's solidly "good", even "great". Hard to go wrong with a sword that shoots explosions.

But this is the internet. people won't settle for anything less than "Perfect" or they think you are trolling them.

[Superlative Smegma Savant]

As many have stated, the only complex mechanic to this weapon that makes try hards swoon religiously is the guard-points, which don't even need to be utilized just a fun "oh look I accidently swung and then blocked a roar or something lmaoooooo". You can take the time to master them and become extremely proficient with it, or you can just learn how to SAED and clear missions fast, no difference in the two really.

[Ydyp]

Me!Me!Me! の投稿を引用：

As many have stated, the only complex mechanic to this weapon that makes try hards swoon religiously is the guard-points, which don't even need to be utilized just a fun "oh look I accidently swung and then blocked a roar or something lmaoooooo". You can take the time to master them and become extremely proficient with it, or you can just learn how to SAED and clear missions fast, no difference in the two really.

The transforming to axe guard point is the easiest and pretty fast to pull of and it does increase you dmg output then just the normal block, and with impact vials it is even a way to add more KO power to the monster. So don't underestimate the usefullness of guard points.

But there are so many different ways to play CB, as you said you can go with charge/SAED discharge spam, or you could use a more defensive playstyle and focus to break every part on the monster instead of killing it in SAED spam. And this versatility is not there with every weapon, that it provides you with so vast different playstyles.