Monster Hunter Now: Best Great Sword Build for High Damage

Mastering the Monster Hunter Now Great Sword: A Sleep-Based Build Guide

The Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now is a powerful weapon, capable of devastating blows. However, its size makes it less agile. This guide details a build maximizing its potential using the sleep element.

To create a highly effective Great Sword build, you'll need to reliably put monsters to sleep. Recent updates have introduced sleep-inducing weapons, but you'll also need supporting skills.

Optimal Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

Unlike the poison-focused Long Sword, the Great Sword shines with sleep. This build requires materials from a somewhat rare monster, but the majority of equipment comes from more common hunts.

Complete Great Sword Build

ItemEffect Weapon: Frilled BladeSleep Element; Evade Extender I (Grade 8) Helmet: Nightshade Paolumu HelmetRude Awakener I (Grade 5), Rude Awakener II (Grade 8), Driftstone Slot (Grade 8) Mail: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku MailStatus Sneak Attack (Grade 2), Artful Dodger (Grade 4), Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) Vambraces: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku VambracesStatus Sneak Attack I (Grade 2), Status Sneak Attack II (Grade 4), Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) Coil: Tzitzi-Ya-Ku CoilEvade Extender (Grade 2), Status Sneak Attack (Grade 4), Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) Greaves: Nightshade Paolumu GreavesRude Awakener (Grade 5), Status Sneak Attack (Grade 6), Driftstone Slot (Grade 5)

Weapon Choice

The Frilled Blade is the optimal sleep-based Great Sword. Its Evade Extender skill enhances defensive maneuvers, improving your survivability. You'll need to hunt Somnacanth for its crafting materials.

Helmet and Greaves

The Nightmare Paolumu, introduced in an early paid event, provides crucial components. Its parts offer Rude Awakener (all three levels), significantly boosting damage against sleeping monsters. While less frequent now, they appear in events or as rare spawns.

Mail, Vambraces, and Coil

The remaining pieces focus on Status Sneak Attack, maximizing sleep buildup with rear attacks. You'll also gain additional Evade Extender and Artful Dodger for improved evasion. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, readily located with the paintball tracker, is the primary source for these materials.

Optimizing Driftstone Slots

This build benefits from a low Driftstone slot requirement. Five Sleep Attack slots are ideal, but you can also enhance dodging (Artful Dodger, Evade Extender) or rear-attack damage (Sneak Attack).

• Sleep Attack: Increases sleep buildup (Azure only). 50 at rank 1, 150 at rank 5.
• Sneak Attack: Boosts damage from rear attacks (Pale only). 10% at rank 1, 30% at rank 5.
• Artful Dodger: Improves evasion (Azure only).
• Evade Extender: Increases evasion distance (Pale only).

This comprehensive guide will help you build a formidable sleep-based Great Sword, significantly increasing your effectiveness in Monster Hunter Now.