Monster Hunter World Best Solo Weapon: Complete Guide

Monster Hunter World is an RPG game that is beloved by all of its players. As the name suggests, you have to hunt monsters – big or small, using various weapons and gather their trophies. Speaking of weapons, today’s guide is all about Monster Hunter World Best Solo Weapon.

There are about 14 unique weapons in the game, all of which have different interactions and effectiveness. Some are weak against certain monsters, while others excel against that type of monster. It mostly depends on your playstyle but also what type of monster you are hunting.

This guide will be taking a look at some of those weapons, and if you are a solo player, you’ll want to know which one you should look out for. With that said, let’s dive straight into the Monster Hunter World Best Solo Weapon.

Monster Hunter World – Best Solo Weapon

As previously mentioned, there are 14 unique weapons in the game. Discussing all of them at once will overwhelm most newer players; this guide will focus on a few good ones – especially for solo players. There are all types of weapons from bows, swords, and lances; so, sit back and let’s get started.

Sword & Shield

Considered by many as the most beginner-friendly weapon; don’t take this thing lightly. I wouldn’t describe it as easy, instead calling it versatile is more appropriate. As the name implies, the weapon sports both a small sword and a shield. While not the best shield in the game when it comes to guarding, it still proves to be a valuable asset.

Sword attacks are swift and relentless with great recovery. They deal low damage per hit than other melee weapons, but the speed more than makes up for it – especially when inflicting elemental damage. On top of that, the shield isn’t only for defense. As the saying goes, “a good defense is a good offense”; you can use the shield to deal blunt damage.

This weapon is great all across the board in attack speed, mobility, recovery, and utility. Pick up this clever pair if you prefer to have access to as many tools and forms of damage as possible.

Long Sword

While not as fast as the sword and shield, this weapon has greater reach and attacks of higher damage. Moderate in speed, the longsword’s attacks are a mix of wide sweeps and far-reaching thrusts. This weapon doesn’t come with any form of guarding, but you can easily roll out of your combos.

Dealing damage with the longsword builds the Spirit Gauge – a small bar found right below your Health and Stamina. You can spend some of this gauge to use the stronger Spirit Attacks. For every time you finish it with the last spirit attack of the combo, you’ll upgrade the Spirit Gauge.

Each time further increases your overall attack damage and enables you to use more stylish moves. Looks can be deceiving; however, the longsword is an elegant, honest weapon; what you see is what you get. A longsword in skilled hands will make short work of any monster as the fight progresses.

Proper utilization of the Spirit Gauge and Spirit Attacks is key for maximizing your damage output.

Greatsword

Keeping up with the sword tradition, next up is the biggest one, the Greatsword. Without a doubt, this weapon has the highest damage per strike in Monster Hunter World. Much like Dark Soul 3’s Farron Greatsword, this is a large and heavy weapon and as such, it will be slow.

At its core, the greatsword is a basic and easy weapon to use with little patience. Single-button inputs to string together a combo, a decent guard, and despite its size and weight, you can roll when required. But the true power shines in the charged attacks.

Holding down your standard attack button charges the blow. If you perfectly time the release, you will deal a tremendous amount of damage. Use caution though, while charging you will be immobile and vulnerable; so, it does require careful timing and positioning.

Dual Blades

This is the fastest weapon in the game by far. Damage per hit can be considered low, but the onslaught of attacks from the dual blades more than makes up for it. Combos of this weapon look exactly the way they are. A relentless flurry of slashes and cuts great for elemental damage.

The lack of guard shouldn’t concern you in the slightest as the dual blades have a strong dodge property allowing you to move swiftly. The best part about this weapon is the Demon Mode. As the name suggests, this is an alternative move activated manually.

It grants you additional damage, makes you immune to knockbacks, and gives you access to stronger combos. It’s not all positive though, Demon Mode is extremely taxing on your stamina. The dual blades are short in range and low in damage but aggressive, fast, and often unstoppable.

Lance

Even the most fearsome of dragons should fear the lance – a bulky weapon with an even bulkier shield. With the lance unsheathed, you’re incapable of rolling, so your only form of defense is guarding with your shield. The lance’s guard is the strongest in the game. Capable of tanking even the most powerful of attacks.

The best way to describe the playstyle of a lancer s an impenetrable fortress that quickly turns into an aggressive harasser and even rusher. The lance sports an array of far-reaching thrusts and counter-attacks even from behind its guard on the offensive side.

The lance is a bastion of defense – often an impenetrable fortress. You can use the shield to block all types of incoming damage without any worry.

Heavy Bowgun

Moving on toward the ranged weapons, we have the heavy bowgun. This is less of a gun and more like your own personal artillery sniper. With the farthest range of any of the ranged weapons, this gun can fire a multitude of specialized rounds from elemental to shotgun-like spreads.

Each attack is different in its way and not just in damage or status, but also in a critical or optimal range. The versatility doesn’t end there, as you can also modify your blowgun with attachments like a strong shield.

It comes with two types of special ammo – Wyvernsnipe and Wyvernheart. The former of which allows you to charge up your attack and deal massive explosive damage. You fire an explosion towards an enemy which, after a brief delay, blows up more to knock down the monster.

Wyvernheart allows you to use the weapon as a minigun at the cost of using your ammo faster. Each ammo has its pros and cons, but it comes down to the type of monster you are facing.

Bow

The bow is the final weapon that we will be discussing today. Lightest among the ranged weapons, the bow is the best at mid-range with its quick rate of fire. With little to no weight, you can take full advantage of the bow’s mobility to find and pick at any monster’s weak spots.

Shots can be either charged or fired in rapid succession for higher damage output. The bow has an enhanced dodge called the Charging Sidestep. You can use it to both evade and power up your shots. Alternatively, you can respond with wide spreadshots or even arc shots capable of raining barbs on your target.

When it comes to all-out damage, your charged Dragon Piercer will shred through any monster. Fortunately, the arrows are unlimited in supply. You can even use consumable coatings on these arrows to give them unique properties like inflicting sleep, poison, or paralyzing status effects.

Be wary of your supply though, as you are limited in your coatings; and should you run out, you’ll have to craft more. Like the bowgun, this weapon has an optimal range that should be considered while using it.

Takeaway

There are weapons for everyone on this list, no matter your playstyle. While I did exclude a few weapons, they are mostly different variants of the ones discussed here. Like the Light Bowgun or the Gunlance. The hammers are also not included here due to them performing about the same as the heavy swords or the greatsword.

Each weapon is unique and viable in different scenarios. I found the longsword to be the best melee weapon in Monster Hunter World as it has decent speed and tons of damage. You can use multiple combos to enhance your damage and cover-up for the lack of agility. The only downside is that you cannot guard while having the longsword equipped.

When it comes to ranged weapons, the bow is my favorite. It offers your tons of mobility and allows you to deal consistent damage from a range. While it has the shortest range out of all the ranged weapons, it makes up for it in terms of combos, agility, and fire rate. Using the bow feels smooth and accurate as compared to the bowgun due to the lack of control on the recoil.

That about does it for today’s guide on Monster Hunter World Best Solo Weapon. You should be able to find one that perfectly suits your style and use It to hunt down monsters in your solo adventures. Let me know in the comments below which weapon is the most fun to use.