Monster Hunter Now: Top Great Sword Build for Max Damage

The Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now stands out as a powerhouse, capable of delivering massive damage with each swing. However, its size makes it a bit cumbersome to wield effectively. To create a formidable Monster Hunter Now Great Sword build, you'll want to focus on slowing down your adversaries, and recent updates have introduced sleep-based weapons that can help you achieve this. Crafting a sleep-focused build requires specific monster materials and a set of skills that enhance sleep effects, so let's dive into the gear you need for the ultimate Great Sword setup.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

Unlike the Long Sword, which excels with poison attacks, the Great Sword thrives with sleep-based strategies. To fully realize this build, you'll need to hunt a somewhat rare monster, but most of the gear can be sourced from more common foes.

Full Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

Weapon

When it comes to sleep-based Great Swords in Monster Hunter Now, the Frilled Blade is your go-to choice. It comes equipped with the Evade Extender skill, which allows for a bit more distance after dodging, enhancing your defensive play. While not crucial for the build, this skill can greatly improve your maneuverability with the Great Sword. To craft this weapon, you'll need to hunt Somnacanth for the necessary materials.

Helmet & Greaves

The core of this build is sourced from the Nightshade Paolumu, introduced in the first paid event. This monster provides essential parts and skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, which boosts your damage by 100% for the first attack on a sleeping monster. Nightshade Paolumu are more common now, but they might still be elusive outside of specific events or as rare spawns post-story completion.

Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil

The rest of your gear focuses on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, ensuring sleep buildup when attacking from behind. You'll also gain points in Evade Extender and Artful Dodger, improving your evasion capabilities. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, a more common monster thanks to the paintball tracker, is your target for these parts.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftstone Slots

This build requires relatively few Driftstone slots to unlock its full potential. Ideally, you'd want to allocate five slots to Sleep Attack. However, you can also use these slots to enhance your dodging with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender or boost the damage of your sneak attacks.

• Sleep Attack - Boosts the weapon's sleep buildup. Rank 1 provides 50, while rank 5 increases it to 150. (Azure only)
• Sneak Attack - Increases damage when attacking from behind. Rank 1 boosts damage by 10%, and rank 5 by 30%. (Pale only)
• Artful Dodger - Makes evading easier. Rank 1 slightly improves evasion, and rank 5 significantly enhances it. (Azure only)
• Evade Extender - Increases evasion distance. Rank 1 offers a small increase, while rank 5 provides a massive boost. (Pale only)