Back whenMonster Hunter Risereleased in 2021, it brought with it the new mechanic of wirebugs. These creatures allowed the game’s pace to increase immensely, functioning as anything from grappling hooks to vines for players to swing on.
Possibly the biggest feature they brought however, wereRise’s silkbind attacks, which provided every weapon with extra utility and damage potential. With the release ofMonster Hunter Rise:Sunbreak, several more of these have been added to the game, allowing for new playstyles, and big boosts to already powerful playstyles. Here are some of the best the DLC has to offer.
7Spiral Slash
The Dual Blades are a weapon class that excels in mobility and fast hits, but are in danger of being low on damage. In baseRise, they were given a strong damage dealer in the silkbind move Piercing Bind, but the class still wanted more high impact moves.
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Spiral slash isSunbreak’s answer to this. The attack is an adaptation of a similar move fromMonster Hunter Generations, and is easily the coolest looking attack in the Dual Blades’ arsenal, while leaning into the weapon’s focus on multi-hits. It also strengthens the weapon’s aerial playstyle. It can be performed midair, and dishes out an impressive amount of damage by drilling into a monster’s weak spot.
6Bolt Boost
While the Long Sword often gets called the strongest weapon in the series,Monster Hunterexperts are well aware thatthe bowis secretly just as powerful. Particularly, the Dodgebolt switch skill allows for an untouchable, parry-based playstyle that can decimate any foe in the right hands.
Bolt Boost is a rather unassuming silkbind move, simply providing extra damage within a certain range. However, this range is exactly where Dodgebolt users want to be, making an already strong playstyle even more powerful, and asking very little of the player mechanically that Dodgebolt didn’t already require.
5Awakened Kinsect Attack
A lot ofRise’s silkbind attacks are actually adaptations of the ‘hunter arts’ fromMonster Hunter Generations.For Insect Glaive players, the one hunter art they wanted most inRisewas Extract Hunter, a move that launched the kinsect at a monster to collect all three extracts in one hit. Rise did bring back Extract Hunter as Awakened Kinsect Attack; however it now works in reverse.
Instead of collecting extracts, the move spends them for big damage. It also drags the user directly into the monster’s face afterwards, refreshing one of their extracts. This gives the Insect Glaive a way to spend expiring extracts and stay on the offensive, further eliminating the need for any downtime for extract collection, which is a huge buff againstSunbreak’s stronger monsters.
4Bullet Barrage
Speaking of damage potential, the Gunlance was one ofthe weaker weapons inMonster Hunter Rise. The weapon’s focus on explosive shell damage has proved inconsistent in the past, soSunbreakneeded to give it something to really make it worth using.
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Bullet Barrage takes everything that makes the Gunlance unique and shows it all off in one big move. While costing both wirebugs, the move unloads every single one of the Gunlance’s resources at once, dealing massive damage that isn’t affected by what part of the monster it hits. It’s so powerful, some players are even basing their entire playstyle off using it as much as possible.
3Harvest Moon
As previously stated, the Long Sword has a reputation in theMonster Huntercommunity as the most broken weapon in the game. Whether or not this is accurate, it is undoubtedly a strong weapon, with a multitude of counter moves, allowing skilled players to never get hit while dealing massive damage.
Harvest Moon seeks to empower this already powerful playstyle to absurdity. It creates a ring in which the Long Sword receives infinite spirit gauge, and extra hits on all of its many counters. While monsters can still freely move in and out of the ring, if playing solo, players can guarantee they will be targeted, giving them the chance to turn any fight into a one sided beatdown.
2Elemental Burst Counter
One of thenewer weapons in theMonster Hunterseries, the Switch Axe has quickly advanced to a fan favorite position. With the growing power of monsters and hunters alike though, some worried that the Switch Axe might be falling behind in ways to cope with the game’s increased speed.
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Elemental Burst Counter helps to keep Switch Axe in the game, providing its own counter in a landscape where most weapons have some form of counter. It is far from an easy one to use, requiring precision timing and patience. However, it rewards players with not only an impactful reprisal, but also an instant activation of the weapon’s powered up state, which would otherwise take several attacks to activate.
1Strongarm Stance
When someone thinks ofMonster Hunter, they think of the Great Sword. It’s been the series’ premier weapon since the first game, and is a common first weapon amongstMonster Hunterbeginners.WorldandRisesought to turn it into a tank of a weapon, allowing it to power through monster attacks before unleashing the strongest hits in the game.
The Great Sword’s power has increased further with the addition of Strongarm Stance. This counter-attack allows players to block even the strongest attacks, then instantly unleash the Great Sword’s highest level charge. With clever use of small barrel bombs, Great Sword players have also used this to make the weapon’s already secured role as the best for wake up hits on monsters even safer. AsSunbreakspeedrunners start uploading their feats, it’s safe to say that Strongarm Stance will be a vital part of getting the fastest kills in the game.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakis out now for Nintendo Switch and PC
