Of all the weapons to choose from in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Sword and Shield is easily the most versatile choice. Its ease of use and flexibility to fit into different types of builds makes it a contender for one of the best weapons in the end game.
Monster Hunter Wilds: High Rank Sword and Shield Build
Here's a flexible Sword and Shield build that players can use for every fight in Monster Hunter Wilds.
When making a build in Monster Hunter Wilds, catering to certain skills based on your weapon of choice is what brings your build to the next level. Some are more generic and can fit with any weapon, while others only work for certain ones. To add to the Sword and Shields strengths, here are the skills you should focus on when making a build.
Critical Boost Is Great For Increased Damage
One of the best overall skills to add to Sword and Shield is Critical Boost. This skill will increase the damage you deal whenever you land a critical hit on a monster. Critical hits are determined by a weapons Affinity stat, and you will land more critical hits the higher that stat is. Critical Eye is a skill that increases your overall Affinity stat.
However, it is not something to prioritize over Critical Boost. Many of the best Sword and Shields naturally have high affinity, especially the highly acclaimed Artian Weapons. Therefore, making sure you can maximize your damage when you do land a critical hit is more valuable.
Antivirus Buffs You When Dealing With Frenzy
If you are looking to prioritize an elemental build with your Sword and Shield, the Antivirus skill is a must-have. This skill is most effective when wearing at least 2 pieces of the Gore Magala armor set, which states that you gain an increase to your overall attack and elemental attack when you recover from the Frenzy Virus.
Where Antivirus comes into play is that it makes it easier to overcome the Frenzy Virus, and it grants you an increase in affinity when you do. Since the armor can intrinsically infect you with the Frenzy Virus, you will always be able to recover from it no matter what monster you are hunting and get that buff every time.
Offensive Guard Boosts Damage After Perfect Guard
A skill that caters well to the Sword and Shields play style is the Offensive Guard skill. This skill grants you an increase in damage after you execute a perfectly timed guard. The shield aspect of the weapon makes it part of the many weapons that can utilize these perfect guards, which can be done by pressing the guard button as soon as a monster's attack is about to hit you.
This can also give you the chance to enter a power clash with the monster if possible. Utilizing the perfect guard is an integral part of the Sword and Shields combat loop, so being able to get an increase in damage while doing so makes this skill even more useful.
Master's Touch Maintains High Sharpness For Longer
Since the Sword and Shield is a weapon that can attack rather quickly, the Master's Touch skill can be useful in maintaining consistent DPS. Master's Touch helps reduce the amount of sharpness that is depleted from your weapon while you attack.
The better the sharpness of your weapon is, the more damage you will do throughout the fight. So, maintaining high sharpness for longer spans of time will make sure you do not have to nurture your weapon too often in the middle of a hunt.
Agitator Provides Great Passive Damage When Monsters Are Enraged
Finally, another good skill to have that can be useful in a passive way is the Agitator skill. It states that you deal more damage once the monster is enraged. All monsters can enter this enraged state after some time has passed in the hunt and as you continue to do damage to them.
While your scoutflies are tracking the monster you are hunting, you will see the monsters pulse near your mini-map. When the lines are red, that signifies the monster is enraged.
Since the Agitator skill provides a passive overall damage buff that happens naturally, it makes it one of the easiest skills to slot into your build.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes, all platforms
- Cross Save
- No
- Franchise
- Monster Hunter
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- February 28, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- February 28, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- February 28, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
