The Sword & Shield is one of the most iconic and traditional weapons that you may pick up inMonster Hunter Wilds. It is simple and easy to use, but it is extremely powerful and gets the job done for you, regardless of the difficulty.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a new player or a veteran, Sword & Shield is the one trusty friend that will make sure your hunts are a breeze. If you are looking to pick up Sword & Shield and want to have an easy time in the game, here’s a detailed build that will prepare you for the endgame.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a relatively new game, and builds are still being adjusted as players are figuring out optimal buffs that deal the most damage. As such, builds are subject to change and that goes the same with the following Sword & Shield setup as well.
Sword & Shield Build Overview
Sword & Shield is very simple to use, but when it comes to getting the build ready, you need to put both parts of the weapon to use. The Sword will be your damage option, and you will need offensive buffs likeCritical Boost and Weakness Exploitto make it work.
However, when it comes to the Shield,you will need Offensive Guardto ensure that blocking attacks rewards you with a damage boost. Additionally, you will have tolearn to perfect guardand, whenever it is necessary, perform a power clash against a monster. As a rule of thumb, whenever there is a shield involved, Offensive Guard is a skill that will benefit you.
It is also important to remember thatDecorations are restricted in Monster Hunter Wilds, and they are separated based on armor and weapons. As such, you will have to spend a lot of time farming to gather all the Decorations needed to get this build ready.
Ideally, it is recommended to farm Tempered Arkveld and Tempered Gore Magala for the best loot.
Sword & Shield Build Guide
Here’s a rundown of your armor and Decorations for an endgame Sword & Shield build:
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Exploiter Charm 2
In theweapon slot, go for Jager-Ankh, the Gore Magala Sword & Shield, and it comes with aLevel Three, Level Two, and Level One Jewel slot. You will need to attach Guardian/Dragon Jewel Three to it, which will give youOffensive Guard Level Three and Dragon Attack Level One. Critical Jewel will give youCritical Boost, which enhances your damage significantly. Additionally,Artian Sword & Shield is also very strong,and if you want to min-max your damage even further, you can go with that instead of the Gore Magala weapon.
If you really want to go overboard on Dragon Attack,you’re able to remove the Guardian/Dragon Jewel and go with Dragon Jewel Level Three. However, the Offensive Guard buff is essential since you can make the most out of the shield when blocking.
In thehead slot, go for G. Ebony Helm Beta, which comes with aLevel Two Jewel slot. Here, you will slot in Phoenix Jewel Two, which comes with theCoalescence buff, and it increases your elemental damage and status build-up whenever you cleanse a debuff. While fighting monsters such as Arkveld, you will often get afflicted by blights, which makes triggering this skill extremely easy.
In thechest slot, go with Arkvulcan Mail Beta, which comes with aLevel Three Jewel slot and a Level Two Jewel slot. Here, you need to slot in a Tenderizer Jewel Level Three forWeakness Exploitand another Phoenix Jewel Level Two toincrease the level of Coalescence. This armor piece also provides Weakness Exploit Level Two.
In thehand slot, you will need the G. Ebony Bracers Alpha, and it comes withBurst Level Two alongside Divine Blessing Level One. However, it doesn’t have any Decoration slot, but you don’t need one either, since the armor buffs are the important ones here.
In thewaist slot, go with Gore Coil Beta, which comes with aLevel Three and a Level Two Jewel slot. Here, you need to attach anotherTenderizer Jewel Level Three and a Phoenix Jewel Level Twoto increase the levels of Weakness Exploit and Coalescence.
Finally, in thelegs slot, go with Gore Greaves Beta, where you need to attach a Chain Jewel Level Three and two Level One Sane Jewels. The Chain Jewel Level Three helpsincrease the Burst level, and Sane Jewel provides theAntivirus buff. If you want, you’re able to drop Chain Jewel Level Three and insteadgo for Challenger Jewel Level Threefor Agitator which buffs up your attack and Affinity when monsters are enraged.
The Exploiter Charm gives youWeakness Exploit Level Two, which helps max out the buff for the highest possible Affinity when hitting weak monster parts. However, if you aren’t hitting wounds and weak parts but want more attack and Affinity in general,you can also go with Challenger Charm 2 for the Agitator buff.
The Gore Magala Gear comes with theBlack Eclipse buff, which inflicts the player with Frenzy. Curing it gives you a 10% Affinity boost and also triggers Antivirus, which further gives a 15% Affinity boost. All you need to do is attack a monster aggressively to clear the Frenzy debuff.
Sword & Shield Build Skill Overview
The skill overview for the Sword & Shield build is as follows:
Tips To Play This Sword & Shield Build
The Sword & Shield is pretty simple to play, as theonly learning part here is to parry monster attacksand perform a perfect guard. This willtrigger Offensive Guardfor you, which in turn will increase your attack massively.
Additionally, you will need tolearn some basic combos with your Sword & Shieldso that you can continue cutting through the monster consistently. One of the biggest advantages of this weapon is that it isextremely low risk but comes with a high reward.
One of the issues with Sword & Shield is that you lose out on Sharpness extremely fast. As such, you can use Razor Sharp instead of Critical Boost if you want. Otherwise, it’s better to keep sharpening your weapon occasionally.
You get the speed of Dual Blades and the defensive strength of a Greatshield, but your combos and attacks don’t have a lot of commitment, which means you are never at the threat of death. If things ever look bleak, simply block, and you will hopefully survive long enough until you can find an opening to heal.
