In the expansive world of Monster Hunter Now, the Great Sword stands out as a formidable weapon, capable of dealing massive damage with each swing. However, its large size can make it challenging to wield effectively. To craft a powerful Monster Hunter Now Great Sword build, slowing down enemies with sleep-based effects is key. Thanks to recent updates, you can now craft sleep-based weapons using specific monster materials. To maximize the sleep effect, you'll need the right skills and gear. Here's how to create the ultimate Great Sword build.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
Unlike the Long Sword, which thrives on poison attacks, the Great Sword excels with sleep effects. You'll need to hunt a somewhat rare monster to complete this build, but you can gather most of the equipment from more common foes.
Full Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
| Item | Effect | |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Frilled Blade | - Element: Sleep - Evade Extender I (Grade 8) |
| Helmet | Nightshade Paolumu Helmet | - Rude Awakener I (Grade 5) - Rude Awakener II (Grade 8) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 8) |
| Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Mail | - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 2) - Artful Dodger (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) | |
| Vambraces | Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Vambraces | - Status Sneak Attack I (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack II (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Coil | Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Coil | - Evade Extender (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Greaves | Nightshade Paolumu Greaves | - Rude Awakener (Grade 5) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 6) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
Weapon
The Frilled Blade is your go-to sleep-based Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now. It comes equipped with the Evade Extender skill, which helps you gain distance after dodging, making defensive play smoother. While not essential for the build, it's a valuable asset. To craft this weapon, you'll need to hunt Somnacanth for the necessary materials.
Helmet & Greaves
The core of this build comes from the Nightshade Paolumu, introduced in the first paid event. This monster provides crucial parts and skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, which boosts your damage by 100% on the first hit to a sleeping monster. While Nightshade Paolumu are more common now, they may still require patience to encounter, either through events or as rare spawns in later seasons.
Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil
The rest of the build focuses on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, ensuring sleep buildup when attacking from behind. You'll also gain points in Evade Extender and Artful Dodger to enhance your evasion capabilities. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, a more common monster thanks to the paintball tracker, is your target for these parts.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftstone Slots
This build benefits from a relatively low requirement to unlock all its Driftstone slots. Ideally, you should aim for five slots in Sleep Attack to maximize sleep buildup. Alternatively, you can enhance your dodging with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender or boost your damage with Sneak Attack when striking from behind.
- Sleep Attack - Increases the weapon's sleep buildup value. 50 at rank 1 and 150 at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Sneak Attack - Increases the damage dealt to a monster when attacked from behind. 10% at rank 1 and 30% at rank 5. (Pale only)
- Artful Dodger - Makes evading easier to perform. Slightly easier at rank 1 and significantly so at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Evade Extender - Extends evasion distance. Very slightly at rank 1 and massively at rank 5. (Pale only)
