Let’s look at all the playable weapon classes in Monster Hunter: Rise.
Monster Hunter Rise is coming soon to Xbox and PlayStation. While Monster Hunter World was different in many ways to bring in more new players, Monster Hunter: Rise is more aligned with the true hardcore Monster Hunter experience. The game is a bit more complex and harder to master. That does not mean that you cannot still enjoy this game.
Monster Hunter: Rise is still very newcomer friendly and has tons of tutorials and segments to walk you through the complex mechanics that make this RPG series legendary. Monster Hunter: Rise does a few things differently than Monster Hunter: World and adds new elements to its gameplay, such as a new companion and the Wirebug grappling hook.
But the core gameplay of hunting, combat, weapons, and armor remain the same. So if you loved the earlier title, you should jump in on Monster Hunter: Rise on your next-gen consoles.
The most important part when choosing your build is your weapon class. Like any other RPG or JRPG, you need to pick a class that suits your playstyle. In Monster Hunter: Rise, classes are tied to a weapon type, aka weapon classes. Each weapon is very different from the others and has pros and cons. Hence, we cannot say one type is excellent and another is bad. Everything depends on your strategy, team combination, preference, etc. Therefore this guide walks you through all the weapon classes in Monster Hunter: Rise and what they’re all about.
All Weapon Classes in Monster Hunter: Rise
There are 14 Weapon Classes in Monster Hunter: Rise. Understanding and choosing the correct weapon class can be confusing, especially since each has a different style of use and dictate what role you’d have to play if you’re playing with a group. Each weapon has specific abilities and attacks.
Furthermore, you need to stick with it for a while to master it and also craft the best weapons of your type. All the weapon classes in Monster Hunter: Rise:
14. Bow

Silkbind Attacks:
- Focus Shot: With the Wirebug grappling hook, your character jumps backwards and lands crouched. During this time, your stamina increases rapidly, allowing you to shoot arrows in quick succession with accuracy.
- Herculean Draw: Charge forward with increased attack power.
The Bow is a signature weapon in any RPG. It offers exceptional ranged attacks and also allows the players to be agile. In Monster Hunter: Rise, the Bow lets you fire multiple arrows from both close and distant. You can also apply coatings for different effects, such as status effects or raised damage.
The Bow is a powerful weapon class in Monster Hunter: Rise, but it is also one of the hardest to master. Since it requires a lot of grinding and crafting to perfect the weapon’s stats. Furthermore, you’d also need suitable armor and perks that improve your movement and stamina recovery. With enough practice, you can master the art of hunting with a classic bow and arrow.
13. Light Bowgun

Silkbind Attacks:
- Silkbind Glide: Charges forward with great speed and attacks with a powerful close-range strike.
- Fanning Vault: Use the Wirebug to jump over an enemy and attack with Wyvernblast, which are explosive rounds.
The Light Bowgun is the simplest-to-use ranged weapon. Hence it is also an excellent choice for beginners. The Light Bowgun does not have varied combos and attacks like the Bow, nor does it require you to be very nimble, although you can since it does not eat up much stamina.
With the Light Bowgun, you’ll be more focused on positioning, ammo, and inventory management as you will be unloading different types of ammo on the biggest monsters to take them down against their weaknesses.
12. Heavy Bowgun

Silkbind Attacks:
- Anchor Guard: Absorbs enemy attacks and counters with an attack.
- Counter Shot: Stretch out a web of silk and take a stance to prepare for a decisive counterattack.
- Counter Charge: Parry with the Wirebug to absorb damage and decrease the time for a charged shot.
- Counter Shot: Stretch out a web of silk and take a stance to prepare for a decisive counterattack.
- Free Silkbind Glide: Use the Wirebug to lunge forward and perform a melee attack or quickly sheath your gun.
The Heavy Bowgun can be considered the bigger brother of the Light Bowgun in size and damage-dealing potential, although it is much slower. And since it is heavy, it also slows you down.
The core gameplay is the same as the Light Bowgun. You have to keep a well-stocked and varied ammo collection in your inventory and position yourself to let you fire accurately. It differs in how it fires its ammo. The Light version can fire in quick succession, whereas this one needs to be charged up for every shot and the damage dealt depends on the charge time. The Heavy Bowgun also has better ammo capacity and can be used as a shield with its shield attachment.
Although it can deal massive damage when appropriately utilized, it is very slow and cumbersome to some players.
11. Longsword

Silkbind Attacks:
- Soaring Kick: Uses the wirebug to jump high up in the air and attack with a kick that can be finished off with a downward thrust with your sword.
- Serene Pose: Enters a special stance that counterattacks when hit by a Monster.
- Silkbind Sakura Slash: Dash past a target with great speed and damage.
The Longsword is a powerful and fun weapon to use. It can be used to combo attacks, is powerful, and can also be used to counter attacks. However, its size means it is a bit heavier to yield. Hence, slower movement, but enough to keep yourself on your toes and chase down even the quickest Monsters.
With the Long Sword, your task is to keep attacking until you raise the Spirit Gauge. With this Gauge, you can unleash powerful combos that leave you with an attack buff.
10. Sword and Shield

Silkbind Attacks:
- Falling Shadow: Performs a forward leaping attack, which can be followed by Scaling Slash and Falling Bash.
- Windmill: Uses Ironsilk to swing around your sword. The first swing can nullify enemy damage.
- Metsu Shoryugeki: Uses the Wirebug to jump while uppercutting a monster with your Shield. It can be used to counter as well.
The classic Sword and Shield can never go wrong. It is easy to use but hard to master. Sword and Shield rely on quick movement and deadly combos. The Shield provides extra defense and can be used to stun Monsters.
Moreover, you can use other items while the Sword and Shield are equipped. It is the only weapon class that allows this. Its fast, powerful, fun and simple mechanics make it the perfect beginner’s choice.
9. Dual Blades

Silkbind Attacks:
- Piercing Bind: A Kunai is stabbed into a Monster that detonates after some time. Attacking the stabbed area does more significant damage.
- Shrouded Vault: Jumps forward in the air. Getting hit allows you to counter with a spinning attack.
- Tower Vault: Uses the Wirebug to jump and swing through the air for better mobility.
There is only one thing to do with the Dual Blades. Perform myriads of combos and dish out insane damage with lightning speed. Furthermore, the combos are easy to perform. The only thing you have to look out for is proper Stamina management and agility of your character. You need to move around and dodge a lot.
There are two modes you can enter, Demon and Archdemon Mode. The Demon Mode can be activated after getting enough hits and with your weapon. Archdemon Mode can be activated while getting enough hits with the Demon Mode and filling up the Demon Gauge.
Both mode changes and significantly raises your attacks, movement speed, and evasion. It also makes you immune to knockback. The Demon Mode drains stamina, while the better version Archdemon Mode drains the Demon Gauge.
8. Great Sword

Silkbind Attacks:
- Power Sheathe: Dashes forward as you quickly sheath your sword, boosting attack.
- Hunting Edge: Leaps forward with an attack. It can be followed up by a Charged Slash or Plunging Thrust.
- Adamant Charged Slash: Uses the Wirebug to dash forward. Knockdown attacks are negated, and your player performs a Charged Slash.
The Greatsword is a Monster Hunter classic. Fitting since you have to go against giant monsters ready to eat you whole. The Great Sword is one of the slowest but also the best damage dealers.
New players should steer clear from using a Great Sword on their playthrough since you need patience and skill to deal maximum damage in the minimum amount of hits. Otherwise, you’ll be too late to evade attacks.
Great Sword attacks with combos and hits that have to be charged frequently. The idea is to hit hard and run away to a safe distance. Each charged attack does colossal damage. Experience with enemy attacks and movement is required for this. But if you manage to get a hold of the Greatsword, nothing can stop you.
7. Hammer

Silkbind Attacks:
- Silkbind Spinning Bludgeon: Jumps to an enemy with a spinning attack that can be charged for serious damage. The attack hits multiple times.
- Impact Crater: Jumps up with an uppercut and again crashes down with multiple hits.
- Dash Breaker: Attacks by dashing forward. Incoming attacks are negated while moving.
If you want to start with heavy weapons, you should begin with the Hammer. It is similar to the Greatsword in that both eat up a lot of stamina and do enormous damage in the shortest hits.
The Hammer also offers excellent mobility despite its weight. With the Hammer, your task would be to put pressure on Monsters with your weapon and stun or tire them out with its Blunt Damage. Then the whole group can freely attack.
Aim for the head as much as possible for maximum damage and quicker stuns. You don’t need much experience or positioning knowledge to excel with a Hammer. But you need to learn to dodge and evade attacks since it has lower reach. Moreover, Hammers cannot cut Monster tails since it does no Severing Damage.
6. Lance

Silkbind Attacks:
- Twin Vine: Jabs a Monster with a Kunai. Pressing the appropriate buttons will cause you to launch towards the Kunai while guarding.
- Anchor Rage: Your Shield absorbs incoming attacks to charge you up. This raises your attack. The more damage absorbed, the more damage you deal.
- Spiral Thrust: Use your Shield to parry an attack, then counteract by jumping forward and dealing damage in retaliation.
The Lance allows you to fight from a distance due to its reach and also defend yourself using its Shield. You also have some good combos that make the Lance worthwhile. On the other hand, you sacrifice maneuverability entirely in battle. So combat is about position, patience, and switching between shielding and attacking.
The Lance allows you to jump around and attack, which drains a lot of stamina. It does not have flashy moves or looks, making the Lance quite boring, but it does the job.
The best part of the Lance is that it is highly precise, so you’ll always hit the right spot, even if the Lance does lesser damage compared to other weapon classes in Monster Hunter: Rise.
5. Gunlance

Silkbind Attacks:
- Guard Edge: Parries enemy attacks to increase weapon sharpness and counterattacks.
- Hail Cutter: Attacks with a Rising Slash followed by an Overhead Smash to reduce the cooldown for Wyvern’s Fire, the Gunlance’s most vigorous explosive attack.
- Ground Splitter: Dashes forward with a rising attack into the air. The Gunlance gets dragged across the ground to heat up its barrel and increase the damage of its cannon fire.
The Gunlance is an improved and exciting version of the Lance. Apart from its stabbing attacks and shielding capabilities, the Gunlance can fire explosive shells, which can also be charged for better destruction. This further increases Gunlance’s reach.
Balancing between attacking and firing takes some practice and timing, so if you’re seeking to get into the Gunlance, try a hand with the Lance first.
4. Insect Glaive

Silkbind Attacks:
- Silkbind Vault: Leaping attack that propels you forward into the air. While in the air, you can perform a Midair Evade, Jumping Slash or a Jumping Advancing Slash.
- Recall Kinsect: Recall Kinsect while dodging. The Kinsect does spin attacks and releases healing powders. Kinsect’s stamina is recovered through a recall.
- Diving Wyvern: Dives down with immense and precise damage.
The Insect Glaive is one of the best weapons in Monster Hunter: Rise. It is also fun to play if you get over its steep learning curve. The Glaive itself can perform various combos and incredibly satisfying aerial attacks. Additionally, you can also use it to vault and jump around quickly. The Insect Glaive weapon class hence grants both severe damage and high mobility.
But what sets it apart is its Kinsect. As you attack, you’ll order your insect companion to help you by attacking the target’s specified location and gathering Extract that gives you various boosts and even heals.
Red boost attack, White boost Speed, and Orange resist knockback. Moreover, you can combine them to create new ones with better boosts and effects.
Hence, the Insect Glaive gives you unstoppable combat abilities and movement abilities. But learning the use of Kinsect is hard. The type of Extract depends on the specific Monster parts. You need to memorize and command accordingly while in combat. You also need to buy improved and better Kinsects from sellers consistently.
3. Switch Axe

Silkbind Attacks:
- Switch Charger: Wirebugs you forward and quickly regenerate the Switch Gauge. The Switch Gauge drain is stopped for a short while.
- Invincible Gambit: Move forward with a continuous, powerful spinning attack. While spinning, you resist being knocked out, stunning or flinching.
- Soaring Wyvern Blade: Slash upwards into the air using the Wirebug, followed by a Forward Slash while in the air. The Activation Gauge increases and an explosion is set off where the blade hits.
The Switch Axe is another interesting weapon in Monster Hunter Rise. It can be switched from a large, slow but hard-hitting axe to a fast-hitting sword that makes you nimble in combat.
The primary mode is the Axe mode. As you attack monsters, it builds up the Switch Gauge, which allows you to switch to sword mode. The sword mode can be used to deal even greater damage. Additionally, you can also achieve satisfying combos as you transition from an axe to a sword.
The Switch Axe uses Phials which can be used to increase the power of your weapon or add extra boosts or effects.
The only downside is that it offers no defensive capabilities, so you must be on your feet to dodge attacks.
2. Charge Blade

Silkbind Attacks:
- Morphing Advance: Launches forward and transforms to Axe mode. Can be followed up by attacks. Invulnerable to knockback and stuns.
- Counter Peak Performance: Wields the shields to absorb damage. If hit, Phials are entirely filled.
- Axe Hopper: Uses the Axe to jump into the air. It can be followed by Elemental Discharge while in the air.
The most challenging weapon class to use, Charge Blade, has a lot going on. To even do proper damage, you must keep track of multiple things simultaneously. However, it effectively decreases large amounts of enemy health in one go.
Like the Switch Axe, the Charge Blade also has two modes, Sword and Axe, and uses phials to charge up for different attacks. Perform powerful combos with Sword mode and use as an Axe to use the charged-up Phials to discharge powerful elemental blows. This can also charge up your shields which then causes explosions while blocking incoming attacks.
The Charge Blade is slow and switching to Axe further slows you down. So you need to make use of the movement abilities. Also, you must learn to efficiently switch between a sword and an axe and defend with a shield.
1. Hunting Horn

Silkbind Attacks:
- Slide Beat: Lungs forward with a spinning attack and grants a status boost.
- Earthshaker: Pierces a Monster with an Ironsilk blade. The blade releases a sonic blast that explodes inside the Monster and deals immense damage.
- Bead of Resonance: Place a Wirebug cocoon on the ground. The cocoon resonates with the song you play to amplify its effects within a radius.
The Hunting Horn is a complicated weapon to use. You need to learn a lot of things and execute them simultaneously. However, if you’re successful, you and your team can become almost invincible.
The Hunting Horn lacks combo attacks but can still do significant damage thanks to its Silkbind Attacks, Attack Up Melody, Self-improvement ability which negates deflection from the hardness of Monster parts, and Sonic Wave Attacks.
Other than damage, it greatly focuses on supporting your teammates. The job of the Hunting Horn user is to attack while playing melodies and notes that buffs stats or heal as it is stored on the Music Staff. Keeping track of these melodies, proper use to support your group, and attacking simultaneously requires practice. The Melodies are:
- Self-improvement: Boosts speed and prevents attacks from being bounced back.
- Health Recovery: Recovers health
- Attack Up: Raises Attack
- Defense Up: Raises Defense
More Guides on Monster Hunter: Rise to follow for PlayStation and Xbox: All Trophies and Achievements, Where to Find Golden Egg.