Monster Hunter Now: Top Great Sword Build for Max Damage

The Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now is a formidable weapon that packs a hefty punch with each swing. Its large size, however, can make it challenging to handle effectively. To create a top-notch Great Sword build, you'll want to slow down your foes, and with recent updates, you can now craft sleep-inducing weapons. To maximize the effectiveness of sleep, you'll need the right skills. Here's the gear you'll need for the ultimate Great Sword build.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

While the Long Sword thrives on poison, the Great Sword excels with sleep. To fully realize this build, you'll need to hunt down a somewhat rare monster, but the majority of the gear can be sourced from more common creatures.

Full Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

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 maintain distance after dodging. While not crucial, this skill can significantly improve your defensive play. To craft this weapon, you'll need materials from Somnacanth.

Helmet & Greaves

A significant portion of this build relies on gear from the Nightshade Paolumu, introduced during the first paid event. This monster provides essential parts and skills, including the Rude Awakener, which boosts your damage by 100% on the first hit to a sleeping monster. Nightshade Paolumu are more frequent now but still require patience to encounter in events or as rare spawns post-main story.

Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil

The rest of your gear focuses on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, which guarantees sleep buildup when attacking from behind. Additional skills like Evade Extender and Artful Dodger enhance your evasion capabilities. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, easily tracked with a paintball, is your main source for these components.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftstone Slots

This build has the advantage of needing fewer Driftstone slots to be fully effective. Ideally, you'll want five slots dedicated to Sleep Attack. Alternatively, you can enhance your evasion with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender or boost your damage with Sneak Attack when striking from behind.

• Sleep Attack - Boosts the weapon's sleep buildup value. Rank 1 provides 50, while Rank 5 offers 150. (Azure only)
• Sneak Attack - Increases damage when attacking from behind. Rank 1 increases damage by 10%, and Rank 5 by 30%. (Pale only)
• Artful Dodger - Enhances evasion ease. Rank 1 slightly improves evasion, while Rank 5 significantly does so. (Azure only)
• Evade Extender - Extends evasion distance. Rank 1 slightly extends it, while Rank 5 does so massively. (Pale only)