Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - Weapons Guide

By Airbender (Online Hunter Name: Toph)

Systems: 3DS, Wii U
Release Date: March of 2013 (NA, Europe)

Weapons:
Almost the meat of the game (more like dessert in my opinion), are the weapons and your choice of how the monster you hunt dies. Some are easy to learn, others take months to get the hang of; and your weapon is your companion in this game, so choose wisely.

There are no limits to how many weapons you have; you can have all of them if you want. However, I only recommend one or two to begin with, as they take up precious materials; some can take weeks to get due to rarity. Imagine having 5 different weapons to upgrade. Deciding which weapon gets a rare material is difficult, especially when a piece of bone you earned took you weeks to get.

To beginners: While you can have all of the weapons, you can only take one with you for the fight, so don’t go making all the weapons then expect to take 5 with you…you can’t.

*Recommendations: I use terms like beginner and intermediate mostly to set up what you fellow hunters should expect with a weapon and its difficulty. Nothing is set in stone. Even though you may be a beginner, you could handle a hammer straight off (not always though). A weapon recommended to beginners is easy to handle and allows you to get to know the monster without worrying about your weapon getting the best of you due to being too slow or not giving you any breathing room. I would say to upgrade yourself when you find yourself familiar enough with the game mechanics and can easily handle most monster fights.

**Experience: There is no experience in this game. Your experience is your materials in the form of weapons and armor, so you can’t earn experience and become more efficient with a certain weapon. Should you find you don’t like a certain weapon, fear not. Just make a different one. It’s simple when you’re starting out and finding the weapon you want to use through beating smaller monsters. However, it can get more difficult when you work on a hard-earned weapon, only to hate it later.
  
That being said, here are the weapons in Monster Hunter Tri:

Sword and Shield – This is a basic sword and shield weapon and the one I recommend to beginners. It’s versatile, yet powerful, and fast with the swings. Some hunters can take it to the very end and take down even the toughest monsters with the right upgrades. What makes it so easy to work with is you, obviously, have a shield, and it’s ideal when you expect to make a mistake that sends you flying backwards. Just remember to keep your stamina high.

Greatsword – This is a classic weapon used by many and can even be considered the “cover sword” (come on, every time I see a game cover of Monster Hunter I see a character holding one of these huge swords). It’s large and heavy, and I only recommend it to experienced hunters. Sure it’s strong and intimidating, but it’s as slow as molasses and timing is everything with it. You also gotta watch your upswing and make sure you don’t send allies flying through the air. It’s a mix of offense and defense, as despite lacking a shield, you can block with the sword.

Longsword – This is another classic weapon which is considered cliché by many, but it’s still powerful. It’s also one of the most hazardous to use, as one ability has a major swipe to it that can trip up allies. It’s to be used by intermediate players seeking a challenge; however, it’s also to be used carefully when in groups due to its ability. Once mastered, it can be a devastating weapon and brutal to monsters, especially slow ones.

Dual Swords – This is my personal favorite from the PSP Monster Hunter games; it’s all offense and very little defense. Timing and dodging is everything, so I would only recommend it to the intermediate class of hunters. It it’s given the right combination of materials, it can make an effective weapon against any foe. The Dual Swords were absent in Tri, but they are reappearing in Ultimate.

Switchaxe – This is my weapon of choice in Monster Hunter Tri. It’s a new weapon introduced in the game and a powerful one. It is a cross between the Longsword and Greatsword in that it can shift between two modes. One mode is similar to the Longsword, and the other mode is more like a Greatsword. When used properly, It’s one of the most effective weapons used alone and in groups. However, it has a powerful upswing that can annoy most players (no one wants to fly into the mouth of an awaiting monster), so it must be used with caution. I recommend the Switchaxe to intermediate and experienced hunters.

Lance and Shield – This is probably the most defensive weapon I know of. A lot of people I’ve seen (not all, so don’t come after me…heheh) block then poke the monster to death, unless it’s so far away they have to charge. However, they do it for a reason. With high stamina, their defense is nearly unbreakable, so it’s a lifesaver when a monster is charging or breathing an attack that would normally slaughter a hunter or open them to another attack. This is recommended to beginner and intermediate hunters.

Gunlance – This is a cross between the lance and Bowgun. It uses ammo but can give a jab or two when needed. The jabs aren’t recommended though, as they are very weak and don’t have the power of the lance. The Gunlance was absent in Tri, but it’s making a comeback in Ultimate. It’s very deadly in the hands of the right user, and I recommend it to intermediate and experienced hunters, or for Lance or Bowgun users looking for another weapon to use.

Hunting Horn – If there was ever a support weapon to name, it’d be this one. Depending on the horn you make and the songs you play, you can heal your allies, weaken monsters, strengthen allies and more. However, this is also one weapon I would NOT recommend to use alone. It’s very slow to swing and, as such, is hazardous to most hunters’ health (except the most experienced). However, when in the right hands it’s a very good weapon due to its support abilities. It’s another weapon making return in Tri and is recommended to experienced hunters as a lone weapon, but I can recommend it to beginners when in a group and with lots of practice.

Bowgun - A Bowgun user’s best friend is ammo, which can come in all kinds: sleeping ammo, burst, paralyze, fire, ice and more. A Bowgun also has two types: light and heavy. What’s the difference, you ask? The two Bowguns have their own benefits and risks. A Light Bowgun is, of course, lighter to run around with and reload, but may be unable to use certain kinds of ammo. A heavy Bowgun can, of course, use more kinds of ammo, but it’s heavier to run around with and takes longer to reload. They both have their places on the field. A Light Bowgun is recommended against faster opponents, where speed is everything, and also as a single player weapon (technically I don’t recommend it single player at all, but if you must have one, use the light Bowgun all the way). The Heavy Bowgun is recommended against slower opponents and in groups. Of course, there is no defense, so dodging is your best friend. Light Bowgun: beginners and intermediate, single player. Heavy Bowgun: intermediate and experienced, group play.

(pictures above; Left: Light Bowgun; Right: Heavy Bowgun)

Bow - A counterpart to the Bowgun, the Bow uses different kinds of arrows as ammo but works the same way: stand back and fire until dead. The two can almost go hand-in-hand, so if you can master one, you can probably master the other as well. Not much else to say other than it too lacks defense, so dodge lots and watch your shots to make sure you’re not shooting your buddies in the back…unless you have healing arrows (ironic isn’t it?). This is last weapon reappearing in Ultimate and it’s recommended to intermediate players or bowgunners looking for something fresh.

Hammer – This is a weapon known for destruction and the go-to weapon for breaking parts off of monsters and stunning them. It’s somewhat fast but is very clunky to use (almost as bad as the Greatsword). It also has a very nasty but very dangerous move that causes the character to swing the hammer ‘round and ‘round. The hazard is that you are very vulnerable, and controlling yourself is very difficult. I recommend this weapon for intermediate to experienced hunters, as beginners may have a tough time learning how to swing it around.

This weapons guide is to give you a gist for the weapons and what you feel might work for you in the game, but blindly trying out weapons offline or online works too (highly recommend the offline part, that way you don’t annoy fellow hunters by shooting or upswinging them while getting used to the weapon). Keep in mind, again, that this is just what I recommend; nothing’s set in stone. I started off with the Switchaxe and was swinging it like a pro within a week, and I had no idea how it worked. But I was also somewhat familiar with the game and mechanics.

The control schemes will come later, once I get the game in my hands and start posting playing guides. Thanks for reading; armor is up next.

Source: http://monsterhunter.wikia.com/wiki/MH3U:_Weapons