Mastering the Long Sword: A Hunter's Guide to Monster Hunter World & Iceborne

This guide is for those who are already familiar with Monster Hunter: World and the basics of the game.(i.e. basic movement, attacking, using items, hunting monsters) but are not very experienced and are looking to use the Long Sword as a new weapon.

About this Guide

Welcome to the Advanced Guide for "Monster Hunter: World"! This guide is crafted for players who are familiar with the fundamentals of the game, such as basic movement, attacking, using items, and hunting monsters. If you're looking to master the Long Sword and elevate your gameplay, you've come to the right place.

If you are new to "Monster Hunter: World" and are starting from scratch, please consult a beginner’s guide. Here's a link to an excellent resource for new players: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Monster Hunter World

Get ready to unsheathe your Long Sword and embrace the challenges ahead. Here, we do more than just hunt monsters; we learn to become masters of the hunt.

A Brief about Monster Hunter: World

"Monster Hunter: World," a captivating game unleashed by Capcom in 2018, now celebrates six remarkable years of thrilling hunts. In this installment, you step into the boots of intrepid monster hunters, constantly enhancing their prowess by forging superior weapons and gear from the spoils of their conquests.

One of the game's most fascinating aspects is its diverse arsenal. With 14 distinct weapon types at their disposal, players can delve into unique operational styles and master intricate techniques. This article will shine a spotlight on the Long Sword, offering key insights and tips to maximize its potential in the world of Monster Hunter.

What is the Long Sword?

The Long Sword in "Monster Hunter World" is a nod to the storied Japanese Katana, particularly the Tachi, notable for its longer blade reminiscent of the historic Odachi.

This melee weapon, which has been a staple in the Monster Hunter series since "Monster Hunter 2," has won the favor of many players not only because of its unique appearance and cool moves but also because it is one of the few weapons in the game with a counterattack skill.



"Mobility," "wide sweeping attacks," "inability to defend," and "risk and reward" are quintessential characteristics of the Long Sword in "Monster Hunter World." These features make the weapon challenging yet rewarding for newcomers while offering seasoned players a versatile tool that excels in nearly any scenario. Its exceptional mobility ensures a distinct and exhilarating hunting experience.

This guide aims to bridge the gap for newcomers to the Long Sword. We will systematically unfold the fundamental aspects of the Long Sword, providing step-by-step instructions to help new players not only use but master this elegant and powerful weapon.

Mechanisms

• Sharpness & Whetstone

In the game, the Sharpness of your weapon is indicated by a knife-shaped bar in the top left status bar, with levels ranging from red (lowest) to purple (highest). Higher Sharpness levels increase damage for both regular and elemental attacks. Sharpness decreases with each attack and dropping a color level reduces damage and increases the risk of your attacks being deflected by monsters. To maintain maximum damage and prevent deflection, use the whetstone from your inventory to restore Sharpness.

• Spirit Gauge

The Spirit Gauge is a unique mechanic to the Long Sword and is central to achieving high damage output with the weapon. The Spirit Gauge is represented as a sword-shaped bar that is relatively longer than the Sharpness bar. It consists of an inner part for Spirit and an outer part for Spirit Level. Players can grow their Spirit by inflicting damage on monsters with regular attacks.

Once the Spirit is sufficiently filled (it doesn’t need to be full), players can use a special attack method (which we will cover later) to consume Spirit and elevate one tier of Spirit Level. The Spirit Levels progress from none to white, to yellow, to red. Similar to Sharpness, the higher the level, the larger the attack boost. Therefore, the Long Sword is at its maximum damage output when it is in the red level.

Additionally, the Spirit Level decreases over time, and if too much time passes, it will drop to the next lower level. However, at the red level, players can reset the maintenance time of the red level by utilizing their Spirit Gauge skills.


No spirit level present: 1x damage

White Level: Damage is increased by 1.05 times, lasting for 3 minutes.

Yellow Level: Damage is increased by 1.1 times, lasting for 2 minutes.

Red Level: Damage is increased by 1.2 times, lasting for 1 minute.

Basic moves (Controller)

• Basic Attacks

Y : Standard Attack
(can be chained indefinitely)

B : Thrust
(can be mixed into the Standard Attack chain)


Y-Y-Y-Y Combo with B mixed in

Y+B: Fade Slash
(can be done in any direction)
RT after Fade Slash: Spirit Jumping Slash.
RT after Spirit Jumping Slash: Spirit Blade III


Maneuvering around with Fade Slash

• Spirit Attacks

RT: Spirit Blade [I, II, III, Roundslash]
(Use of RT consumes spirit;
can be chained up to 4 times, known as Spirit Blade Combo;
connecting Spirit Roundslash will raise the spirit gauge by one level)


Spirit Blade I, II, III, Roundslash in succession

LT after any Spirit Blade attack: Slinger Burst


Stinger Burst in action

RT+B after any attack: Foresight Slash
(fills the Spirit Gauge if an attack is dodged during the backstep, can be followed with Spirit Roundslash)


Foresight Slash in action

RT+Y and if successful,
Y: Spirit Thrust and Spirit Helmbreaker
(costs one Spirit Gauge level, causes the gauge to refill gradually if it connects)


An attack into Spirit Thrust to Spirit Helmbreaker

• lai attacks

RT+A after any attack: Special Sheathe
(can be followed with Iai attacks)

Y: Iai Slash
(has iframes, gradually refills Spirit Gauge if it connects)


Special Sheath into Iai Slash

B: Iai Spirit Slash
(has iframes and hyper armor; consumes a spirit level unless it successfully dodges an attack)


Special Sheathe into Iai Spirit Slash

• Mid Air

Y: Jumping Slash


Jumping Slash in mid air

RT: Jumping Spirit Blade III
(can be performed repeatedly off a ledge with the white gauge or higher
continued RT leads into Spirit Blade III, IV)


Jumping Spirit Blade III in mid air

• While Sliding

Y: Jumping Rising Slash
(can be followed up with mid air attacks)


Jumping Rising Slash while sliding

RT: Aerial Draw Spirit Blade
RT leads into Spirit Blade IV


Aerial Draw Spirit Blade into Spirit Roundslash

Basic moves full actions video:

Basic Moves(Full Video)

Combo Moves (Controller)

• Combos to increase Spirit Meter

Y - Y - B - Y - B - Y - B…
(Standard attacks can be chained indefinitely)


Chaining Y and B for a combo

Y - B - Y + B
(Adding fade slash into combo;
Simple combo to gain spirit meter)


Adding fade slash for maneuverability during combo

• Combos that increase Spirit Gauge level

RT - RT - RT - RT
(Spirit Blade combo from basic moves)

Y + B - RT - RT - RT
(Faster way to increase Spirit Gauge level;
Fade Slash + Spirit Jumping Slash + Spirit Blade III + Spirit Roundslash)


Fade Slash into Spirit Attacks

B - RT + B (successfully dodge) + RT
(Fastest way to increase Spirit Gauge level, needs a successful dodge;
Thrust + Foresight Slash + Spirit Roundslash)


Foresight Slash for a quick Spirit Roundslash

• Spirit Helmbreaker and lai attack combo

same combo that ends with different Iai attacks

RT + Y - Y - RT + A - Y
(Spirit Thrust + Spirit Helmbreaker into special sheathe which can be followed with Iai Slash)


Ending the combo with Iai Slash

RT + Y - Y- RT + A - B
(Spirit Thrust + Spirit Helmbreaker into special sheathe which can be followed with Iai Spirit Slash)


Ending the combo with Iai Spirit Slash

Combo Moves full actions video:

Combos(Full Video)

Aim Rules and More Details

The Long Sword excels at poking and nimbly repositioning based on the monster’s movements. This makes it easy to target certain body parts of the monster and evade when an attack is coming. As a weapon that deals cutting damage, if the monster has a tail, Long Sword players should generally attack the tail to cut it off the monster. This results in more materials (carving from the tail and materials at the results screen).


A hunter cutting the tail off of a Diablos with the Long Sword


Another part of the monster that Long Sword players should target are the legs. If the legs take enough damage, the monster will stagger and trip. It is especially more likely to stagger if a monster is exhausted (drooling). This creates an opening for a big attack.

When there is an opening, the player can do a spirit blade combo to get a damage buff, do a helmbreaker to do massive damage, etc.


A hunter tripping a Tigrex with a Spirit Roundslash and using the opening to perform a Spirit Helmbreaker

• Playing with Other Players while Using the Long Sword

Generally, playing with other players does not change much from playing solo.
However, the Long Sword player should stay away from other players when attacking. Due to the Long Sword’s reach and nature of wide range attacks, it is easy to stagger/trip teammates via friendly fire.

If there is a blunt weapon user in the party (hammer, hunting horn), the monster’s head should be left to them.


A hammer-using hunter unable to attack the head because their teammates are staggering them(A clip from MHR, but you get the idea)

• Skills that Synergize with the Long Sword

Long Sword does not require any skills to deal good damage. However, there are a number of skills that synergize well with the Long Sword.
This guide will go over skills that uniquely synergizes with the Long Sword, general DPS skills, as well as general utility skills.

DPS Skills for the Long Sword

These are skills that are generally increase DPS (damage per second) for all weapons, including the Long Sword.

SKILL	DESCRIPTION
Weakness Exploit	Attacks on weak spots will have a chance to crit. This chance is larger when the body part is wounded.
Crit Boost	Critical hits will deal more damage.
Crit Eye	Increases the chance for critical hits.
Agitator	Gives a flat attack increase and increases the chance for critical hits.
Attack Boost	Gives a flat attack increase and at later levels, increases the chance for critical hits.

Skills with Unique Synergy with the Long Sword

These are skills that uniquely synergize with the Long Sword, offering the Long Sword advantages that the skill may not offer to other weapons.

SKILL	DESCRIPTION	COMMENTS
Critical Draw	Attacks when drawing a weapon will have a chance to crit, or at level 3, will be guaranteed to crit.	This synergizes with Special Sheathe, which causes the next attack to be a draw attack. An experienced Long Sword player will always be sheathing for Iai attacks
Quick Sheathe	Allows for faster sheathing.	When using Special Sheathe for Iai attacks, the sheathe time will be shorter. However, in Monster Hunter: World, the reduction in sheathe time is very little. The need for this skill is basically up to preference.

Utility Skills for the Long Sword

These are skills that are generally helpful for all weapons, including the Long Sword.

SKILL	DESCRIPTION	COMMENTS
Earplugs	At max level, nullifies the roars of all monsters.	When a monster roars, players can basically treat it as an opening, since the roar doesn’t stun the player.
Evade Extender	Increases evade distance.	When this skill is used, it increased the length of your roll. This allows for greater repositioning.
Evade Window	Increases the window of invulnerability for evasion actions, such as rolling.	The increase in invulnerability is massive at max level. This helps survivability when just dodging out of the way is not enough.

Conclusion

Now you know all about the Long Sword! All that is left is to pick it up and go hunt some monsters!

Please use the table of contents for ease of navigation if you need to refer back to any parts of this guide.

Happy hunting!

[Shumaku]

Old hunter approved. And I may add, since there's no shockproof decos in world, be mindful of your fellow hunters!

[镜镜]

ok

[Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...]

*teleports behind you*

[BUTTER]

Very useful for a newbie like me!