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The Charge Blade is often considered one of the most complicated weapons inMonster Hunter Wilds. With its buffs that boost each part of the weapon, complex combos, Guard Points, and tactical flow, it’s not hard to see why.
However, when mastered, the Charge Blade is easily one of the most versatile and powerful weapons you can wield, capable of denying monster attacks, inflicting status effects, dealing high burst damage, and a whole lot more. If you want to walk the path of the Charge Blade, we’ve got a build for you here.
Charge Blade Build Overview
The Charge Blade is a complicated weapon with a fairly straightforward premise. In Sword and Shield mode, you charge up the weapon by attacking and filling Phials, then swap to Axe mode to spend the Phials on empowered attacks. This is the general flow of the weapon, but of course there are dozens of variations on this that add to its complexity.
Due to the weapon’s innate complexity and versatility, there are a million different ways you can build around it, all with varying degrees of success. This is largely in part due to the different Phial types, which each have their own uses and applications.
The build outlined below is a standardone size fits all buildthat focuses on theAgitator skill, with a few levels in Burst.This build is meant to be customizable, allowing you to easily swap Charge Blades depending on your playstyle or target.
This build can also balance in the other way, using five levels of Burst and two of Agitator. This variation ismore suited for use with Elemental Phials, but provides essentially the same skills and damage output. For a Burst-oriented build, swap the Arms for theGuardian Ebony alpha gloves, and the Talisman for theExploiter Charm 2. Also, slot in aChain Jewelin the level three Decoration slot.
Charge Blade Build Skill Overview
Gear And Skills Explanation
As mentioned above, there are a variety of viable weapons you can use, and these will work independently of the armor build. We’ve gone with theHard Bone Strongarmfor its high attack,Impact Phials, andLoad Shellsweapon skill.
You could also use theLeidenskraftfor Dragon damage,Bardichion Bladefor Fire damage,Valeroje-of-the-Wavesfor Water damage, or custom Artian weapon (Chrono Gear) for any other damage type.
As for the armor, in theHeadslot, we are using theGuardian Ebony Helm beta, which providestwo levels of Burstand alevel two Decoration slot, which we will slot in our firstMighty Jewelto gain a level of Maximum Might.
In theChestslot, we have theArkvulcan Mail beta, which pairs with theArkvulcan Coil betato provide the first set bonus of theArkveld’s Hungerskill. In the Chest armor’s Decoration slots, we haveone Challenger Jewelfor more levels in Agitator, and asecond Mighty Jewel.
In theArmsslot, we are usingGuardian Arkveld Vambraces beta, which providestwo levels of Weakness Exploit, an essential damage-boosting skill. These gloves also havethree level one Decoration slots, which you may really slotany skills you wantinto. We have threeDefense Jewelsfor Defense Boost.
You can swap out the glove Decorations for any others you want, such as Elemental Resistance, Recovery, Free Meal, or Divine Blessing.
As previously mentioned, in theWaistslot is theArkvulcan Coil betato provide the second piece needed forArkveld’s Hunger, as well as two additional levels ofWeakness Exploit. Like the Gloves, you can put any two level one Decorations in this armor piece’s slots. We have chosen two levels ofDivine Blessingfor added protection.
In theLegsslot, we are usingDahaad Shardgreaves beta, grantingtwo levels of Agitator. In the level two Decoration slot, we have athird Mighty Jewelproviding the final point in Maximum Might.
Finally, for the Talisman, we are using theChallenger Charm 2for thelast two points in Agitator. This skill makes up some of the highest gains to DPS for any weapon, making it an essential part of this build.
For your mantle, theCorrupted Mantleprovides the highest damage boost, but the other three are safer options. Use whichever suits your playstyle best.
Tips For Playing The Charge Blade Build
As we’ve mentioned above, theweapon and armor set for this build can work interchangeably with other variations; for example, using this build’s armor set with a different Charge Blade (like the Leidenskraft or Bardichion Blade). Because of this, there are a number of different playstyles available.
In particular, this build emphasizes theHard Bone Strongarm’s Impact Phials, using them to stun the monster as much as possible. Meanwhile, a build using the Bardichion Blade would have a focus on dealing elemental damage with the entire weapon.
Because of this, it would be more beneficial to understand the key components of this build and put them into practice. The core of the armor skills of this build areWeakness Exploit, Agitator, and Maximum Might, each providing essential damage bonuses across a variety of situations.
Weakness Exploit will have you dealing evenmore damage to Wounds, which the Charge Blade is great at breaking. At level five Weakness Exploit, attacks against weak points have30 percent increased Affinity, while hitting Wounds grants anextra 20 percent.
Agitator level five grants increased 20 attack and 15 percent more Affinitywhen the monster enrages, while Maximum Might increases Affinity by an additional 30 percentwhen Stamina is kept at full for three seconds. This means if Maximum Might is active and the monster is enraged, hitting a Wound has a95 percent increased Affinityon your attack.
Hitting normal weak points (not Wounds) with Maximum Might and Agitator active will grant your attacks75 percent increased Affinity.
Outside of these three major skills, we also haveBurst, which grants a decent damage bonusas long as you keep hitting the monster, andArtillery, which increases thedamage of your Impat Phials, making it easier to stun the monster.
As mentioned above, this build hasfive free level one Decoration slotsthat you’re able to really do anything you want with. Defense Boost becomes more effective the more points you stack in it, but Divine Blessing has the potential to be better overall, so you may want to put three levels into that first. Alternatively,Elementalorstatus resistancemay come in handy against certain monsters.
Overall, the strengths of this build are its versatility and customizability, just like the Charge Blade itself. Run your favorite Charge Blade and make personal adjustments to the build where necessary.
