MHF-ZZ Weapon Reference

There are comprehensive information sheets for each weapon below. Click the text to jump to a different sheet!
Sword & Shield Dual Swords Great Sword Long Sword Hammer Hunting Horn Lance Gunlance Switch Axe F Tonfa Magnet Spike Light Bowgun Heavy Bowgun Bow Elements Farewell
I was going to do a bit more but then COG hit us with the closure notice. Oh well. Nope, English patch got a lot of people interested and I got carried away.
You can find a compilation of information here. (Not just fist.moe)
The weapon articles were originally made for JP but changes were made to accommodate TW as well.
Content on here has no bearing to any altered servers and was designed for the unmodified game's Zenith-era metagame.
Hello /mhg/, I cannot help you out with anything regarding leaked servers. All information here will remain here as-is, though.
The rest of this specific sheet covers weapon families, monster status immunities, and combination elements.
Currently Relevant Weapon Families Status Immunities Poison Paralysis Sleep Blast
Older G-Rank Weapon Groups Kirin Y
A lot of these have lost relevance by this point in the game's life, especially with the ease of creating + upgrading Zenith weapons. Lao-Shan Lung Y Y Y
The 'G50' weapons were the old standard, only on TW + English patch do they have use with easier upgrades as early game choices. Yian Garuga Y
Origin weapons can keep up and have a bonus skill, but lose out on cyan sharpness with the lack of Origin armor being used today. Shen Gaoren Y Y Y
Exotic weapons are also not far off and include Speed Eating for free, they can get cyan too but are otherwise outdone by Zenith weapons. Yama Tsukami Y Y Y
There are some miscellaneous one-off G-Rank weapons, such as the Diva Defense 'Prayer' weapons. Espinas** Y
One of the main features of G-Rank weapons in the first place over high rank ones were sigils, a weapon-only decoration. Akura Vashimu** Y Y Y
Akura Jebia Y Y Y
Zenith Weapons Berukyurosu Y Y
These are practically the baseline weapons of the game's Zenith cycle, granting a special partbreaker effect vs Zenith breaks. Pariapuria Y Y Y
Every 'Z' weapon has a skill booster attached to it, if the skill is active on your armor set it will get boosted effects. (Guild Food won't do) Raviente See note Y Y Y
In spite of the arrival of the Blue series of Tenrou weapons, these can still very much keep up in power with some passable sigils. Doragyurosu* Y Y
Almost all of these exclusively require Zenith monster parts, event materials are only invoked when necessary. Baruragaru** Y Y
They often come with four upgrade stages, corelating with the Zenith GR200 to GR800 progression. Inagami** Y
This is the only weapon family that can utilize Zenith sigils on JP, which can activate a temporary self or AoE buff! Duremudira Y Y Y
Varusaburosu Y
Tenrou/Tower Weapons Gasurabazura** Y
Weapons with customizable stats within an allocated point budget, using materials exclusively bought from road or regular events. Yama Kurai Y Y Y
They use specialized decorations and sigils. Tower decos provide full skills, tower sigils can provide Element and Status, plus Zenith skills. Keoaruboru Y
You can find the official weapon building simulator here. You only need LV1 sharpness on the blue weapons for cyan (after S+1). Subspecies and Zeniths are covered where applicable.
Were made relevant again when a new batch of weapons were released in ZZ without any fanfare (blue series), but those are JP only. Raviente is immune to normal poison, but support can invoke a DOT effect if slayers use it. This is
considered lowest priority and is never invoked until the final phase, if it can be fired off at all.
Blue series can get raw surpassing G100 Raviente weapons and a shitload of element + status. BM weapons get 3x tower sigil slots.
Abnormality is the real reason why those are very strong for some Blademaster weapons, Zenith stuff can generally keep up otherwise. A seldom few monsters are immune to Magnet Spike's pin, notably Zenith Rukodiora, musous, and some
With the loss of the Tower, its decorations essentially became RNG rewards behind Duremudira. However, with the English patch they siege monsters. Those otherwise immune to paralysis or traps still invoke paralysis animations.
are now much more deterministic to acquire on the Taiwan server.
*Doragyurosu is immune to these statuses only in G-Rank, and also as a Zenith.
**Is also part of Zenith content, and their same immunities still apply.
Evolution Weapons Yes, this is intentionally here if you want to go abusing Abnormality on monsters.
Raviente's special weapons start from HR2 and upgrade all the way through in four segments of 100 levels piecemeal, to Z100.
They can fork over to another statline's path between each of these, with four available from G-Rank. Last call is at G100 to Z1. Combo Elements Fire Water Thunder Dragon Ice Signature
Successful hunts reward Raviente gems that provide Geki/G Geki (g/Gg) that powers up these weapons. Blaze 炎 70% 70% None
Power Crystal usage is the primary perk for raw-heavy weapons, while the LBG's Acid S is a meta staple against Berserk Raviente itself. Light 光 70% 70% Zerureusu
A reason why they're not just called 'Ravi weapons' is that there are alternatives with non-Dragon elements but limited upgrade paths. Lightning Rod 雷極 70% 70% Rebidiora
This is the fucking huge grind of Frontier; a single G100 weapon is only a goddamn fraction of a finished Z100. Tenshou 天翔 30% 100% 70% Shantien
The Energy Store + English patch on Taiwan shit out a ton of Gg gems, making them more viable to obtain and farm for. Okiko 熾凍 80% 40% 80% Disufiora
The patch did trades for 4* Zenith materials and its homebrew 'UL' Taikun. Black Flame 黒焔 50% 150% Fatalis
Find the energy store here after logging in. Obtain points by hunting with other players, the more the merrier. Music 奏 100% 100% Diva weapons
Dark 闇 80% 80% Meraginasu
Premium Weapons Crimson Demon 紅魔 150% 50% C. Fatalis
For the most part, money-related weapons peak as worse Zenith weapons outside of a seldom few that are difficult to obtain. Wind 風 80% 80% Garuba Daora
Netcafe weapons such as Gallatin (SnS) and Dainsleif (DS) are very powerful, but are mostly out of reach to most foreigners. Sound 響 100% 100% Diva weapons
Burning Zero 灼零 125% 125% Elzelion
You won't get one on JP unless Capcom offers some handouts, but the English patch in TW makes it possible to acquire them. Emperor's Roar 皇鳴 150% 50% W. Fatalis
Combo elements are equivalent to having 2-3 of them but at a percentage of your elemental power value.
Reasons for weapon suggestions For visual effects, the element that deals the most damage will take precedence. GL heatblade alternates.
Most of the Zenith weapons that can be fully upgraded are quite similar in statlines with some outliers going in either direction. If you With Transcendence bursts, there is a hierarchy on which elements take precedence first. Fire is at the top.
want to experiment or if you know what you're doing, other options are definitely usable. This just gives insight on what can be relevant.
Negative elemental hitzones will still apply their raw penalty normally if the 'wrong' element is involved.
Length is mostly subjective, but on some monsters it can be key to hit vital hitzones on larger monsters like Disufiora or Guanzorumu. Owning Determination will brute force all elements involved, using the weapon's Dissolver modifier.
The pool of Bowguns are mostly samey, but Pierce S compatibility is generally what's wanted. Bows often go for Rapid, so that's easy too.
If you lack the skill Determination, going with one of each elemental weapon or hybrid options can work just fine.
Abnormality however stands out too because it is very powerful when Poison is involved, and it works on the vast majority of monsters.
Blast is comparatively not as powerful, but it's much more universal and Bogabadorumu's weapons have Rush Up. They're easy to suggest
since it's not a difficult Zenith, it just werks if the option is available. Blast has no real presence on modern weapons in TW (except Keo).
Status/element aside, Zenith skills can definitely help or hinder a weapon's potential. Road's Burning Zero weapons have great stats but
Dissolver Up can be a fair reason to not use them since it has no real practical use, and something else could be much more useful.
This is a key advantage that Blue Tower weapons have, because they can get any Z skill they want.
In Japan, there are more powerful Z skills that may be more useful or suffice over regular skills, and hiden cuffs help free up a skill slot.
In Taiwan, special decorations with entire skills on them exist and a lack of hiden cuffs can make Skill Slots Up all the more valuable.
Other Notes
If a weapon isn't available in TW, then look into a similar equivalent (ie Festival Ruber Tonfas can replace Anorupatisu's). Although, the
elemental variety isn't as good when considering in monsters exclusively, so festival quests are kind of important too.
It's a pain in the dick to make some certain tower sigils for Zenith skills due to them sharing the same recipes as cuffs. Some are much
easier to make than others: grinding for like Stylish Up or Rush Up is much easier than trying to make Ceaseless Up or Skill Slots Up sigils.
Farewell to Monster Hunter Frontier and the JP, CN, and EN communities. Thanks for hunting!
~ Matt
Only for quick reference. This is not the end of all ele hitzone data on relevant monsters; these are literally only the averages between all hitzones. Monsters could very well have either a thin spread or higher concentration for a given element.
The averages are all counted from Ferias and fist.moe/database.
Bold indicates the element the Zenith break is weakest to. If there are no changes in elemental hitboxes, cells are left empty.
T;LDR: Fire and Thunder are probably the better elements overall.
Zenith Averages Alt. Conditions Fire Water Thunder Dragon Ice Notes Misc GR Averages Alt. Conditions Fire Water Thunder Dragon Ice Notes
Calm 0 6.42 5 7.8 13.5 Phase 1 16.4 10 10 14.2 15
Espinas White Fatalis Road boss
Rage 10 15.7 Phase 2 18.5 5 -9.2 15.7 5.7
Hypnocatrice 12.8571 6.42 12.8 5 7.8 Keoaruboru 0 14.1 0 13.3 15 Interception boss
Khezu 21.4 5 0 5 5 1st District 12.8 5 5 15 0
Tower boss
Regular 12.5 5.8 12.5 0 11.6 Duremudira 2nd District 12.1
Daimyo Hermitaur Guard state has no impact on element weaknesses
Sand Cloak 15.8 10.8 16.6 15.8 Musou 10 5 0 11.4 11.4 Arrogant Duremudira
Rathalos 0 15.7 5 11.4 13.5 Standard 8.8 11.4 0 5.7 16
Howling Zinogre
Blangonga 22 5 15 0 0 Thunder Cloak 6.2 10
Takes no elemental damage without using
Akura Vashimu Irrelevant to ele 0 0 0 0 0 Standard 0 7.5 11.6 16.6 7.5
Solid Determination and/or a HH debuff melody (+5) Ruling Guanzorumu Easiest true slay
Regular 1.42 6.4 12.5 5.7 2.1 Rage 13.3 19.1
Tigrex Hindlegs take no elemental damage
Rage and Roaring 10
Thirsty Pariapuria
Regular 20 8.5 15.7 0 0
Hyujikiki Counterattacks hits with spikes in guard state
Guarding 40 0 15
Starving Deviljho Twinhead quest
Base 22.1 0 7.1 7.1 0 Giaorugu has three different rage states
Giaorugu
Rage State Max 27.8 9.2 9.2 Actual increases all vary between elements Standard/Spinning 0 0 0 0 0 Immune to element in base form and spin attack
Standard 0 15 5 0 15 Shifting Mi-Ru Most Modes 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.3 Takes large elemental damage only on one hitzone
Midogaron for a given element, but consistent on all forms
Rage, Roaring 16 17 Hybrid Mode 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Standard 0 8.5 0 12.1 5.7 Standard 13.5 3.5 17.1 10 5.7
Rukodiora Blinking Nargacuga
Magnetized 0 16.4 Rage 10.7 2.8 13.5 6.4 3.5
Plesioth 14.2 0 14.2 4.2 4.2 Standard 9.2 5.7 5.7 0 9.2
Musou Elzelion Supposedly identical data between regular Elzelion
Standard 20 0 14 10 0 Rage 6.4 2.8 2.8 6.4
Inagami Bamboo reinforces damaged parts
Armored 14 10 8 Standard 9.2 5.7 5.7 0 9.2
Musou Boggy Supposedly identical data between regular Boggy
Toridcless Irrelevant to ele 6.4 13.5 0 10.7 0 Broken / After Blast 6.4 2.8 2.8 6.4
Doragyurosu Irrelevant to ele 8.5 5 0 0 0 Musou Zerureusu 0 14.2 0 13.5 12.1 Does not have adapting hitboxes
Poison 0 0 16.4 0 5.7 Shiten Unknown
Gasurabazura
Rage 6.4 3.5 Shiten Disufiroa
Standard 16.4 0 9.2 0 5 Element Total All averages 7.772222222
6.311764706
5.005555556
9.694117647 8.05
Anorupatisu "Rage" could be standard or low HP desperation
Rage 20.7 17.8 Immunities All monsters 4 1 5 3 2 Includes mid-fight weakness shifts where applicable
Standard 9.2 5.7 5.7 0 9.2
Bogabadorumu Obtains Zenith breaks mid-fight
Broken / After Blast 6.4 2.8 2.8 6.4
Standard 0 10.7 0 10 7.8 Factors in Stage 1-2 Z break Combined Totals Alt. Conditions Fire Water Thunder Dragon Ice Notes
Gravios
Multi-Stage Z Break 16.4 11.4 9.2 The back isn't as weak on Stage 3 Z break Element All monsters listed 10.23121869
6.373813387
6.985130719
8.23372549
7.471774194Combined average of Zenith & GR weaknesses
Standard 17.1 0 7.8 10.7 0 Immunities (Currently) 11 10 12 14 11 Sum of Zenith & GR immunities
Baruragaru Blood Stored 10 15.7 Tongue weakness depends on condition This one here more or less means jackshit, but okay.
Bleeding Tongue 22.8 19.2 15.7
Phase 1 11.6 5 0 0 11.6
Taikun Zamuza
Phase 2 5 18 12
Armored 17.8 0 7.1 21.4 0
Harudomerugu
Exposed Flesh 22.8 17.1 27.8
Element Total All averages 12.69021515

6.435862069
8.964705882
6.773333333
6.893548387 How the fuck do I tidy decimal places
Immunities All Zeniths 7 9 7 11 9 Includes mid-fight weakness shifts where applicable

Sword & Shield Displayed Multiplier: 1.4x
This weapon is for certain far more easier to operate than Dual Blades Dual Swords, it however also has notoriously long hitlag effects. It is also arguably the highest benefactor of Determination's effects.
It has some of the best paralysis weapons in the game, playing a large part in multiplayer road runs.
Hiden Skill Effects
SnS obtains a larger 1.30x raw modifier rather than the usual 1.20x Blademaster weapons usually get. It can also use all elemental and status sword crystals, and has slighty faster movement speed.
Notes
The slide attack has a few i-frames (~9 with E+2) and can do a 180° turning slash at the end.
Long length is generally a flat upgrade with its reach. Very Long is usable if you're just going to spam roundslashes but may want some spacing management.
SnS has a very lenient hit requirement to ready the Transcend burst attack.
You can technically manipulate a transcend burst to any element you want by using the sword crystal compatibility from the hiden skill.
Shield attacks do impact damage and can stun, but they use white sharpness values at best.
The vacuum slash has no hitlag or sharpness cost on the extra hit it adds to the roundslash. It isn't as a big deal today, but can be nice to have.
Using items unsheathed resets the Rush skill's stage counter as if you sheathed.
Of note, some time attack players have had success with dropping Fencing +2 for the sake of reducing hitlag.
SnS's blocking isn't good, but the Perfect Defense caravan skill can technically be used with Obscurity Up to amass 300 raw in two blocks cleanly if you have good timing, keeping it until you take knockback.
You are not a support weapon.
Honestly, SnS lacks a lot of good Zenith weapon options on the TW server due to the unfortunate cut-off denying several solid elemental options. Your best bet is running Abnormality sets with the English patch's hldeter mode and possibly making your way to obtaining Gallatin.
SnS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Dissolver adjustment 15 Determination has the effects of Dissolver but with no hitbox requirements, technically forcing elemental damage or negating/lessening negative shitzones
Vampirism leeching 4 per hit Up to 80 attack can be obtained from leeching
Stylish Assault uptime 15 seconds Duration can be reset by successfully using i-frames again
Stylish recovery 8 sharpness SnS gets 4 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
Lavish Attack cost -2 sharpness Lavish Attack decreases the amount of free hits from Stylish Up down to 2 hits
Obscurity max attack 300 Maxes out in two perfect guards with Obscurity Up, who also allows successive guarding to restore 4 or 12 sharpness depending on timing
Ice Age stages 1 hit 17 hits 38 hits All weapons have the same stage decay timer, Ice Age Up only affects the third stage's decay rate
Rush (Up) stages 16 MV 800 MV (?) MV The third stage is exclusive to Rush Up, and has a timed duration
Ceaseless (Up) stages 10 second decay window 20 (15) hits 46 (35) hits (54) hits The third stage is exclusive to Ceaseless Up, which also decays per stage than altogether
Point Breakthrough 30 seconds 15 (12) 9 (8) The previously afflicted hitbox is more vulnerable (Stage 2), Fencing +2 makes activation slightly easier
Furious stages 2 (1) 3 (2) 7 (5) These are for both successful evasions and perfect guards (where applicable), however attacking is also required to advance stages
SnS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Slide Attack Motion value change (21 > 31) No
Shield Attacks Motion value changes, but doesn't influence Extreme style attacks No
Infinite Slash Motion value change (25 > 28) No
Tech Change
Vacuum Slash Roundslash obtains a second hit (16 MV). No sharpness used, but no Fencing +2 Yes
Misc
SnS Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Depends
Strengthen SnS Raw Pure raw SnS get an extra raw attack addition, the weapon cannot have ele/status No
Weapon Recommendations
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Length Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Espinas Zenith Espinas Drug Knowledge 570 - 800 Poison 0% Long Ample Nice for general use
Vashimu Zenith Akura Vashimu Drug Knowledge 555 - 460 Paralysis 0% Normal Average Only regular Zenith option for paralysis, outdone by Tenrou and Gallatin
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 578 1500 B. Zero - 0% Normal Average Best Fire and Ice SnS, tremendous element, Length Up sigil suggested
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values Hypnoc (raw), Khezu (ele) Any (-1 Sigil) 690 3600 Any Mono 1000Po / 700Pa 60% Long Varies Roundslash sigil requires 2nd District Dure slain, competes against element/status/Z skill sigils
Poison-Element As desired 520 2700 Any 1000 Poison 0% Long Lv1 Pick an element based on desired trascend burst (Determination) or hunt
Paralysis-Element As desired 520 3300 Ice 700 Paralysis 0% Long Lv1 Stellar in multiplayer; Ice transcend bursts are an extra means of restraining monsters
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
N/A Look, if you're on TW just get Gallatin it still has a massive amount of element + status
Premium
Gallatin Z Netcafe (133,000 NP) Skill Slots Up 540 2500 Light 550 Paralysis 15% Long Large Best overall SnS in the game when poison is not necessary, highest upgrade only on JP
Skill Recommendations
Skill Accessibility Notes / Reasoning
Core
(Weapon) Hiden Easy Second best skill for any weapon. Good raw multiplier, super earplugs, and a myriad of benefits. Does not take up a skill slot on JP if a hiden cuff is used.
Determination Hard Best in slot skill in all of Monster Hunter. Supersedes Issen, Critical Eye, Exploit Weakness, Elemental Exploiter, and any source of Adrenaline +2 in one skill. Makes Guts unusable.
Strong Attack Effectively Unavoidable Up to +150 true raw with Strong Attack +5 (40). JP has access to Strong Attack +6 (50).
Issen +1/2/3 Rare Critical hit multiplier. Difficult to obtain higher levels of it on Zenith equipment outside of JP, but still very potent if you lack Determination.
Furious JP Only Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback.
Sword God +2 Common Combines Sharpness +1, Fencing +2, and Razor Sharp +2 into one excellent compound skill.
Evasion +2 Easy Greatly increases survivability in Frontier, also triggers evasion-reliant skills much more easily. Obtain it through Drawing Arts +2, Evasion Boost, Encourage, or wearing a piece of Nargacuga armor.
Thunder Clad Common Fill up a meter for a bonus against hitzones, additional movement speed, and basic status immunity.
Vampirism (Up) Average Dramatically increases sustainability with health leeching and also adds some attack. You do not need more than Vampirism +1 (10pts), going higher only increases leech rate.
Flash Conversion (Up) Common Get +30% affinity, and all excess affinity is converted into extra raw. May be dropped by some players. Bad Z skill outside of Affinity-inclined Raviente weapons.
Skill Slots Up Common Z skill that boosts the amount of maximum skill slots you can have by one (you have 12 by default with a full set of G-Rank armor). You can get up to +7 for a maximum of 19 skill slots, but this competes with other Z skills.
Recommended
Drawing Arts +2 Common A compound skill that is perhaps the best Evasion skill for SnS with its stamina benefits, constant evasion can surprisingly drain it quickly.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Free +100 true raw on successful dodging and for effectively playing well. Use the Z skill to boost raw gains further.
Stylish (Up) Common Sharpness restoration on avoiding attacks.
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed, but it will reset if you use items regardless. Cannot get the Z skill on TW.
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Repeat Offender on crystal meth with up to +50% affinity and even a higher critical hit multiplier. Cannot get the Z skill on TW.
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Stellar compound skill when paired with poison. Also makes paralysis incredibly consistent for SnS.
Other Skills
Unaffected Common Catch-all hearing/tremor/wind resist skill. Can create some more attacking opportunities and quality of life, but min-maxing may involve avoiding this skill. Can be paired with Z skill equivalents for Zenith-grade resists.
Adrenaline Varies Popular in Frontier due to the availability of -60 HP food, Evasion +2, and overall more dangerous but predictable monsters. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Vigorous (Up) Common Provides a 1.15x boost to raw if your HP is 100 or greater. Vigorous Up provides +100 true raw at maximum HP. Its usefulness varies a lot and may outright be skipped on JP depending on your other skills.
Lavish Attack Uncommon Provides +100 true raw at the expense of sharpness. Is often paired with SnS's roundslash attack and Stylish.
Point Breakthrough Uncommon Successive attacks on a single hitzone provide a bonus. Not always a consistent skill.
Ice Age (Up) Average Grants a DOT AoE around your character, pairs great with poison and grants other benefits. Useless Z skill.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. These vary greatly but it can be an alright quality of life skill.
Exploit Weakness Rare Behaves like MH3U/MH4U Weakness Exploit but at 35> hitzones. Powerful raw skill, but hard to get with a high point requirement as well. Pairs very well with Thunder Clad. Obsolete with Determination.
Expert / Critical Eye Common Alternate source of pre-Determination affinity, but affinity itself is not difficult to get with other sources.
Status Immunity Easy Niche or outright unnecessary for anything at a given point. Shagaru Magala armor is an easy means of obtaining this, but it comes with bad resistances and low defense in its stead.
Obscurity (Up) Average Viable with a combination of Obscurity Up and the Perfect Guard caravan skill. This needs good timing and the boost is lost on knockback, but for playing well you can get +300 true raw on two perfect guards.
Element Attack Up Very Rare Can be potent, but the means of obtaining this skill are rare (the most reliable are hiden decorations and premium gear).
Encourage (Up) Rare The user gets Horn Maestro and also grants party-wide Evasion +2 and KO immunity. The Z skill confers party-wide stamina buffs. You could run it on Road SnS but it will dig into your set potential significantly.
Not Recommended
Combat Supremacy Rare Too difficult for SnS to keep up.
Dissolver (Up) Rare Very little actual payoff. Obsolete with Determination.
Guard skills do not Reflect, Fortification +2/Guard +2, etc. You are not a lance.
Dual Swords Displayed Multiplier: 1.4x
One of the best weapons in the game, but with a higher skill ceiling due to its unique sharpen motion. Now compatibile with Vampirism, they are drastically more accessible to pick up.
Duals have some of the fastest clear times against musous, competing with Tonfa.
Hiden Skill Effects
Attacks in any Demon mode restore 3 stamina per hit. Compatible with Combat Supremacy.
Notes
Like SnS, long length is pretty much an upgrade and often a common find on modern weapons.
Today, there is no reason to use any demonization that isn't Extreme Demon Mode. However, you cannot receive any healing other than from Vampirism in this state.
Each sharpen in a combo adds 1.05x raw, stackable four times for up to a 1.20x raw bonus. The attacking evades in True/Extreme Demon modes continue this combo state.
You can't receive any healing when demonized, Vampirism leeching is the only exception. This is made much more apparent on road.
DS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 12 sharpness DS gets 5 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
Lavish Attack cost -2 sharpness Lavish Attack decreases the amount of free hits from Stylish Up down to 2 hits
Furious stages 2 3 7 These are for both successful evasions and perfect guards (where applicable), however attacking is also required to advance stages
DS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Front Flip Slash Motion value change (11-15 > 16-22) No
Rush Slash Motion value change (11-5 > 16-7) (14-6 > 21-9 demonized) No
Sharpening Technique The first sharpen within a combo counts as two sharpens for the multiplier Maybe
Misc
DS Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Depends
Zenith
Espinas Zenith Espinas Drug Knowledge 535 - 800 Poison 0% Long Ample Incredible with Abnormality, best Zenith general use if possible
Anorupatisu Zenith Anorupatisu Skill Slots Up 532 1050 Ice - 0% Long Average Much less element than B.Zero, but offers a readily available Skill Slots Up if required
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 535 1000 B. Zero - 0% Normal Average Highest element DS, length up suggested
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values Khezu (raw), Daimyo (ele) Any (-1 Sigil) 670 2800 Any Mono 1000Po / 150Pa 60% Normal Varies Pairs very well with Furious as hybrid element/status weapons
Rough Suggestion As desired 530 2000 Any 1000 Poison 0% Normal Lv1 Less length, but even crazier and flexible than Espinas DS; balance raw/element as you see fit
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
N/A Just get Dainsleif on TW it's still best in slot
Premium
Dainsleif Z Netcafe (133,000 NP) Skill Slots Up 520 1550 Darkness 650 Poison 15% Long Large Best DS in the game, last upgrade exclusive to JP
Core
Drawing Arts +2 Common Best Evasion +2 skill for DS due to the stamina benefits. Evasion Boost is sometimes used in time attack for consistency.
Vampirism (Up) Average Leech back HP even when demonized. You do not need more than Vampirism +1 (10pts), going higher only increases leech rate.
Recommended
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed. Cannot get the Z skill on TW.
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Stellar compound skill when paired with poison.
Other Skills
Adrenaline Varies Especially popular on DS. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Lavish Attack Uncommon Provides +100 true raw at the expense of sharpness. It can work well with Stylish Up on harder fights that require constant evasion.
Element Attack Up Very Rare Can be potent, but the means of obtaining this skill are rare (the most reliable is premium gear).
Vigorous (Up) Common Difficult to maintain as easily with Extreme Demon Mode.
Combat Supremacy Rare It can technically be paired effectively with Rush Up on JP because DS Hiden restores stamina on every hit.
Not Recommended
Dissolver (Up) Rare Very little actual payoff. Obsolete with Determination.
Great Sword Displayed Multiplier: 4.8x
A weapon balanced around premium gear and Raviente, with standard content only getting harder for it. Still, it can hit really fucking hard, but it's a matter of when it's allowed to do so.
Ironically the hardest weapon to play properly on Raviente, but a good GS player makes a world of difference.
Hiden Skill Effects
Faster charging that stacks with Focus, and a wider window before the charged upswing attack overcharges down to Lv2. Timed parries can recover some sharpness, being a net gain with Sharp Sword +2.
Other effects for non-Extreme styles have been truncated.
Notes
You are a friendly fire liability.
Hold R1 before unsheathing to do a regular overhead attack, as you'll otherwise do a special wide slash (although it does combo into any charged slash). You can also do upswing charges and parries (Storm, Extreme) from a sheathed state.
Very Long length is the most popular due to the most-used attacks being vertical slices and overall more leniency with keeping a distance. Long is plenty usable, though.
Combat Supremacy is the Frontier equivalent of Critical Draw on GS, pairing very well with hit & run strategies with the stamina drain and 1.20x raw increase. Starving Wolf +2 w/ Rush is an alternative for unsheathed play.
GS gets the best mileage out of Raviente power crystals. They do not work on the shining attack however, but at least they don't get used up.
The unsheathed running hop attack has a few i-frames at the start, but it's rarely used.
Well-timed parries with GS Hiden and Obscurity Up greatly manage sharpness when using Lavish Attack.
Large amounts of hitstop is a valid way of avoiding some attacks.
If you have 30 power crystals with a Raviente GS and if the hunt isn't over by the time they're all used up, you are doing something wrong.
GS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness GS gets 2 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
Lavish Attack cost -6 sharpness Lavish Attack decreases the amount of free hits from Stylish Up down to 1 hit
GS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Upswing Motion value change (56 > 72), does not benefit charged upswings No
Rotation Slash Motion value change (56 > 72) No
Guard Slash Heaven/Storm guard slash can block an extra attack, stacks up to two times No
Misc
GS Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Depends
Zenith
Unknown-style Zenith Daimyo Hermitaur Skill Slots Up 570 - - 0% Very Long Average Zenith partbreaker GS with very long length and an excellent Z skill
Gasurabazura Zenith Gasurabazura Obscurity 570 - 800 Poison 0% Long Healthy Long length alternative, excellent Zenith skill for GS
Tenrou
ZZ Blue 1 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 700 4000 Any Mono 1200Po / 900Pa 60% Long Varies More raw for less range
ZZ Blue 2 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 680 4000 Any Mono 1200Po / 900Pa 60% Very Long Varies Less raw for more range
Suggestion (Blue 2) Skill Slots Up 670 - - 0% Very Long Lv1 Highest raw GS outside of Raviente, but lacks both power crystals and Zenith partbreaker effects
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Element Raviente Skill Slots Up 610-775 2000-3500 - 0-30% Normal Fine-Fuckhuge Technically the best option, but needs good sigils + 1x GS Length Up for best results
Affinity Raviente Skill Slots Up 600-720 - - 50-100% Very Long Fine-Fuckhuge Safest and also a very /fa/ option, will not look like a glowstick after sigils
Premium
N/A what are you doing ravi is that way
Core
Drawing Arts +2 Common The stamina boosts make this source of Evasion an excellent pairing with the Combat Supremacy playstyle.
Recommended
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Faster charging for the weapon's strongest attack. Can be acquired with Gore Magala armor, but more reliably obtained with premium gear. Trained only exists on JP.
Combat Supremacy Rare Benefits the GS hit & run playstyle massively as stamina drain only happens when you unsheathe.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Confers large damage boosts towards the weapon's hardest hitting attacks. Also includes shining sword attack.
Obscurity (Up) Average Can get up to +225 true raw by parrying. The Z skill boost reduces the amount of steps required and enables sharpness recovery at max buff.
Lavish Attack Uncommon Provides +100 true raw at the expense of sharpness. The higher sharpness cost can be mitigated with GS Hiden and Obscurity Up.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks proc a 72 MV Reflect attack and can immediately be rolled out of.
Other Skills
Guard/Fortification +2 Uncommon Allows parrying to block more kinds of attacks. You can get Guard +2 with Uragaan armor. Guard Up has little discernible effect on parry weapons.
Caring +3 / Trained +2 Varies Disables friendly fire through either direction, notably because the upswing charges are very disruptive. Can be obtained as a guild food skill. Trained only exists on JP.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common While harder to implement, you can definitely invoke it in the GS playstyle.
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Not as good on GS with sheathing involved. Still, on parries it's a free +50 true raw. You could use this with Starving Wolf for an alternative to Combat Supremacy.
Starving Wolf +2 Rare Grants +0.10x to the crit multiplier, +50% affinity and Evasion +2 if you are at 25 Stamina and do not have infinite stamina buffs.
Stylish (Up) Common You're a GS.
Not Recommended
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Not a good pairing, GS has issues with sustaining the buff even with shining.
Reflect +3 Rare Generally not worth how hard it is to get alongside everything else. Try the Perfect Guard caravan skill instead.
Absolute Defense Rare Takes priority over guarding.
Long Sword Displayed Multiplier: 4.8x
Building off the 2nd gen iteration, Frontier's evolutionary path combines numerous anime tropes into one effective, but chuuni package. Strangely, it actually takes effort to play effectively in Frontier.
LS is comparable to Swaxe in power, it arguably has a higher skill ceiling to use effectively but does not rely on parrying to sustain its moveset.
Hiden Skill Effects
Spirit meter consumption is halved, and the glowing meter attack buff is increased from 1.15x to 1.25x.
Notes
There is no spirit level mechanic like MH3 and newer. Fill up the bar completely to get a temporary raw bonus.
Length is largely up to taste. Keep in mind LS has multiple kinds of slashes that go in all kinds of directions.
Learning to use the Evasion Slash properly is good practice, and it can also be used to reset combos. The i-frames start at the beginning but don't last too long.
Piercing stabs from parries are powerful, but require good positioning to hit with them.
You can do an upswing from rolling. Parry from sheathe has a different button combination (Triangle + Circle) than other weapons due to unsheahe > spirit slash.
The orange/white bar below the spirit meter builds up a stronger multi-hit attack that can be done halfway filled or when maxed out. It otherwise depletes when you sheathe or are forced into doing so (ie tremors).
LS receives the smallest raw boost from Obscurity, but it's still sizeable.
If you really want a Fade Slash back, just play Switch Axe instead.
LS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness 7 (Blink) LS gets 3 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
LS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Uncharged (24-12x2 > 32-16x2), Charged (24-12x5-30 > 32-16x5-40) MV changes
Piercing Stab Maybe
Does not benefit piercing stabs via parrying
Upswing Motion value change (28 > 42) No
Retreating Sword Earth Fade Slash obtains i-frames No
Blink Extends teleport distance No
Misc
LS Draw Strength Unsheathe attacks boosted by x1.50 No
LS Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Up to taste
Zenith
Espinas Zenith Espinas Drug Knowledge 560 - 1000 Poison 0% Long Ample Poison option
Doragyurosu Zenith Doragyurosu Flash Conv. +1 550 450 Dragon - 40% Normal Average Low element but fairly good native affinity + extra raw (+31 true) as a pre-Determination option
Taikun Zenith Taikun Zamuza Ceaseless 563 750 Thunder - 0% Long Ample Good Zenith skill, raw, reliable element
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 566 1250 B. Zero - 0% Normal Average Highest element LS
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ?, Blangonga (ele) Any (-1 Sigil) 680 3200 Any Mono 1000Po / 700Pa 60% Normal Varies Pairs very well with Furious as hybrid element/status weapons
0% Normal Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Raw Raviente Skill Slots Up 640-800 400-1200 - 0-30% Normal Fine-Fuckhuge Mostly similar between each other, pick the raw/element/length stats you prefer (calc suggested)
Element Raviente Skill Slots Up 600-770 1400-2800 - 0-30% Normal Fine-Fuckhuge
Length Raviente Skill Slots Up 620-780 1000-1800 - 0-30% Long Fine-Fuckhuge
Premium
Murakumo Z Netcafe (133,000 NP) Skill Slots Up 554 1500 Music 350 Para 25% Long Large Overall good statline
Core
Evasion +2 Common Greatly increases survivability in Frontier, also triggers evasion-reliant skills much more easily. Obtain it through Drawing Arts +2, Evasion Boost, Encourage, or wearing a piece of Nargacuga armor.
Recommended
Obscurity (Up) Average Can get up to +150 true raw by parrying. The Z skill boost provides a different means of restoring sharpness.
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Good compound skill when paired with poison.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks do not take chip damage, proc a 72 MV Reflect attack, and can immediately be rolled out of.
Other Skills
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Faster charging and meter gain, but generally not that useful after obtaining hiden. Can be acquired with Gore Magala armor, but more reliably obtained with premium gear. Trained only exists on JP.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Can be used in charged thrust sets but is otherwise niche.
Not Recommended
Hammer Displayed Multiplier: 5.2x
Being much more focused on charged attacks in this game, Hammer sadly shares similar premium and Raviente problems as GS. It still has the best stun, but is also upstaged by Magspike in damage.
Hammer had been largely phased out by MS in the Ravi meta, but the reality is that it's much more consistent with landing KO.
Hiden Skill Effects
Well-timed charges add an extra 1.30x raw bonus; the difference can be briefly seen on the guild card. This bonus does apply to every hit on the Lv3 infinite swing until the combo is over (the baseball swing finisher counts as part of the combo).
Notes
Golfswings are effectively obsolete, you're best charging an attack. Focus +2 is highly recommended.
Length on Hammer is largely up to taste. Lv4-Lv5 charge attacks are pretty much all vertical so the moved hitbox isn't often a problem and can outright reach some hitzones on different monsters, but the Lv3 infinite is less cumbersome with shorter lengths.
Three Worlds Protection is very useful to create openings. Try using Zenith cuffs for specific resists, depending on the hunt.
Unlike mainline, every source of additional stun/KO damage you can grab is recommended (Caravan Skill + Stun Sigil) as they stack and contribute a lot of stun damage.
Because of the multiplied raw from timed charges with hiden, you should get an appropriate of overhead with attack ceiling from My Missions.
You can technically dodge some very low profile attacks with the leap from the Lv5 charge.
HA Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 3 sharpness Hammer gets 2 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
HA Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Baseball Swing Motion value change (100 > 130) Not really
Unsheathe Upswing Motion value change (32 > 48) No
Charging Movement Non-running charges have higher base movement speed, stacks three times Okay
Misc
Stun Value Not Hammer-specific, but important Recommended
HA Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Ugly as fuck NO [1]
Zenith
Tigrex Zenith Tigrex Hearing Protect. 540 - - 20% Very Long Ample Best hearing protection
Gravios-style Zenith Khezu Skill Slots Up 560 - - 0% Very Long Ample Best SSU Hammer with Zenith partbreaker
Festival Ruber Zenith Hyujikiki Skill Slots Up 553 1300 C.Demon - 0% Long Average Alternative SSU Hammer with Long length and element
Festival Ravina Zenith Rukodiora Quake Resist 554 1440 Okiko - 0% Long Average Best quake resist
Festival Azura Zenith Tigrex Wind Resist 555 1350 Tensho - 0% Very Long Average Best wind resist, interchangeable with the Road C. Demon equivalent
Tenrou
ZZ Blue 1 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 690 4000 Any Mono 1000Po / 800Pa 60% Normal Varies More raw for less range
ZZ Blue 2 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 670 4000 Any Mono 1000Po / 800Pa 60% Long Varies Less raw for more range
Suggestion (Blue 1) As desired 680 - - 0% Normal Lv1 Highest raw hammers outside of Raviente, but cannot benefit from Zenith partbreaker or crystals
Suggestion (Blue 2) As desired 660 - - 0% Long Lv1 Other weapons would require good sigils to catch up
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Length Raviente Skill Slots Up 615-780 1000-1500 - 0-20% Long Fine-Fuckhuge Safest option to take for most users (Hammer length is still subjective, though)
Premium
N/A
Core
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Increases the charging rate for the weapon's most heavily used attacks. Can be acquired with Gore Magala armor, but more reliably obtained with premium gear. Trained only exists on JP.
Recommended
Unaffected +3 Common This catch-all hearing/tremor/wind resist skill provides Hammer the extra opportunities it needs to deal damage with. Zenith resists are recommended.
Stylish (Up) Common Sharpness restoration on avoiding attacks. You may not feel the need to carry the Z skill.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Powers up the weapon's strongest attacks.
KO Technique Caravan Skill Boosts stun damage. Stack it with the sigil effect.
Other Skills
Combat Supremacy Rare Mainly only used in Raviente hunts as the stamina drain is mostly disruptive to Extreme Hammer play.
Not Recommended
- - -
Hunting Horn Displayed Multiplier: 5.2x
The buffs are extremely powerful, but the actual weapon isn't. It does however have the benefit of being a free ticket to Raviente trains, due to the buffs being a large centerpiece for teams and also contributing KO damage.
Buffs are potent elsewhere as well, though the weapon is not as easy to play and not too many Zenith monsters openly roam the maps.
Hiden Skill Effects
Notes come out 34% faster.
Notes
The weapon uses a tweaked version of recital mode from Monster Hunter 2. The biggest difference is that notes are retained until you encore, play a debuff melody, or sheathe.
Always take up Encourage +2 for Horn Maestro and party-wide Evasion +2 . Encourage Up grants party-wide stamina benefits if you have it.
Every HH in the game has Attack Up Large, by virtue of Storm style's pink notes.
Chaining attacks into recitals plays the note faster than usual. If you were to start a melody with Purple, Hilt Stab > Recital is the fastest way to get your song going.
HH has the lowest hit requirement of all weapons to ready a Transcend burst attack.
HH is a good but also somewhat harsh learning tool in regards to fighting Raviente as part of a combat team, especially in regards to animation lock.
If you are using Cyan + Red notes, do not attempt to cross streams and go from AuL to DuL without encoring the former first if there are Adrenaline users. You will end up playing a Health Increase melody in the process, which will deactivate it.
You are not a support weapon.
Going the healslut route with items is not a great idea because you will already be trying to juggle buffs and damage on a relatively slow weapon. It's not worth it.
The sonic bomb and debuff song motions can reliably apply the effects of the Red & Blue Soul skills onto other hunters.
The offerings of Soul Up are pretty reasonable, so it's not uncommon for HH users to take up both Red Soul (via Blazing Majesty) and Blue Soul for extra buffs.
HHSkill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes
Stylish recovery 5 sharpness HH gets 2 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
HH Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Musical Attacks Motion value changes to all recital mode motions, all made roughly ~50% stronger Eh
Beatdown Motion value change on the hilt stab (16 > 27) Not really
Note Change (1, 2, 3) Can change the respective note's slot to the color listed on the sigil To preference
Misc
Stun Value Not HH-specific, but important Recommended
Sonic Bomb Range Also extends the reach of the HH's sonic bomb effects Okay
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Recital Notes Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Toridcless Zenith Toridcless Encourage 530 1600 Thunder - 0% ♪ ♪ ♪ Ample Excellent Zenith skill, popular in Raviente trains on any server, overall great horn
Anorupatisu Zenith Anorupatisu Skill Slots Up 531 1400 Ice - 0% ♪ ♪ ♪ Average Readily available SSU; alternative is Festival Ruber with less sharpness
Bogabadorumu Bogabadorumu Rush 550 - 900 Blast 0% ♪ ♪ ♪ Ample High raw, good Zenith skill
Harudomerugu Zenith Harudomerugu Ceaseless 565 - - 0% ♪ ♪ ♪ Large Highest raw HH with Zenith partbreaker, good Zenith skill
Raviente Plush ? Skill Slots Up 560 - - 0% ♪ ♪ ♪ Ample Highest raw SSU HH (with partbreaker), cute
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 670 3400 Any Mono 1000Po / 800Pa 60% Any Varies Cannot use Zenith sigils, which will pair well in supporting contexts
Suggestion (Raw + Ele) As desired 640 1800 Any - 0% As desired Lv1 Some element pairs well with the infinite thrust and HH's low hit requirements for a transcend burst
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
PGR, PCR, PBR Raviente Skill Slots Up 620-790 0-1200 - 0-20% ♪ * ♪ Fine-Fuckhuge Green, cyan, and blue songlists have element, which is useful with repeated use of infinites
Affinity Raviente Skill Slots Up 600-820 - - 50-100% ♪ ♪ ♪ Fine-Fuckhuge Affinity after conversion provides a larger raw increase
Premium
N/A
Core
Encourage +2 Rare The user gets Horn Maestro and also grants party-wide Evasion +2 and KO immunity. The Z skill confers party-wide stamina buffs. Effectively mandatory on HH.
Recommended
Red & Blue Soul Up Rare Attack teammates or use sonics to provide them bonuses; Soul Up modernizes these skills to be useful. Blue Soul can be often found on Soul Up pieces and you can get Red Soul via Blazing Majesty +1/2.
KO Technique Caravan Skill Boosts stun damage. Stack it with the sigil effect.
Other Skills
Unaffected +3 Common This catch-all hearing/tremor/wind resist skill can provide less interruptions when playing music.
Ice Age (Up) Average The skill has low hit requirements for HH and it can be a nice source of extra damage.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. These vary greatly but it can be an alright quality of life skill, including the aforementioned Red Soul.
Stylish (Up) Common HH doesn't attack as frequently, so the use case for this isn't exactly high priority.
Combat Supremacy Rare Mainly only used in Raviente hunts as the stamina drain is mostly disruptive, especially with being unable to roll out of recital mode.
Not Recommended
Assistance (Up) Rare Effectively superseded by Red/Blue Soul Up and is on fewer pieces You also have to be in range of other teammates for the buffs to apply.
Wide-Range +3 Guild Food It's going to be a pain in the dick juggling damage dealing, buffs, debuffs, and items. Though HH in Frontier is more support oriented than mainline and that this can still be useful, never go full-in support bitch.
Lance Displayed Multiplier: 2.3x
THE WALL. And the last guy to return from a trip on road, when you stop tripping them that is.
Its best use is on hunting road for extra survival, or as part of cheese methods to beat certain fights.
Hiden Skill Effects
Take no chip damage from blocking any attack. Can chain up to four consecutive hops instead of three. +10 MV bonus to the final Normal/Upward/Skyward thrust in a combo.
Notes
Long is the most common length on Zenith Lances for a reason. Very Long may have uses, but you may find it to be very unwieldly (and ridiculous).
Lance retains its cutting/impact hitzone adjustment modifier; if 0.72x of impact's hitzone is still superior to cutting; Lance uses impact's value as cutting damage. (Carapaceons are a good example of this)
With Lance Hiden, Guard/Fortification +2, and Guard Up, only a handful of attacks in the game cannot be blocked safely. This list mostly extends to things like most modern nukes, DOTs, Barioth applying snowman, etc.
Zenith-level hazards will always cause pushback if you're not using the heavy guard, guard advance, or running shield bash.
The shield bash while running takes zero pushback from guarding with it and has an innate Guard +2. The only equivalent to this from neutral is Storm's guard advance, which is much more rigid.
The ranged guard works by blocking the hit yourself for it to block for other players.
Backhop thrusts return into guarding faster, you can also do them from neutral.
Actual time attack play mostly invokes an evasive playstyle, although reflects from the Perfect Guard caravan skill see usage and shield bashes still build Obscurity + shield phial charges.
Guard lancing can be a good tool to learn parrying with other weapons.
LA Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness Lance gets 3 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
LA Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Shield Attack Motion value change (3-25 > 4-37) No
Charge Finisher Motion value change (50 > 75) No
Tech Change
Drill Charge Earth-only attack change No
Misc
Draw Strength Unsheathe attacks boosted by x1.50 No
Lance Length Up Length raised one step at the cost of -25 raw (stacking yields no extra raw loss) Depends
Zenith
Bogabadorumu Bogabadorumu Rush 560 - 800 Blast 0% Long Ample Highest raw with Zenith partbreaker by a margin, good Z skill, fair all-round choice
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 558 1250 B. Zero - 0% Normal Average Best elemental Lance, length up suggested
Festival Ruber Zenith Hyujikiki Skill Slots Up 558 1020 C. Demon - 0% Long Small One of few SSU Lances available
Tenrou
ZZ Blue 1 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 690 3200 Any Mono 1000Po / 700Pa 60% Very Long Varies Longest length, highest raw
ZZ Blue 2 MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 670 3200 Any Mono 1000Po / 700Pa 60% Long Varies A more comfortable length, but lower raw
0% Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Element Raviente Skill Slots Up 590-750 1400-2500 - 0-10% Normal Fine-Fuckhuge Good element and raw, would not suggest outside of TW
Length Raviente Skill Slots Up 590-780 900-1200 - 0% Long Fine-Fuckhuge Highest raw option, good length, ideal for niche Reflect playstyles
Premium
N/A
Core
Furious JP Only Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback. Requires perfect guards and evasion to advance reliably.
Recommended Note that Lance can run evasion and guard playstyles. It is common to mix elements of the two somewhat for buffs but it is best to focus on one or the other due to constraints.
Obscurity (Up) Average Can get up to +300 true raw by guarding. The Z skill boost provides a decent means of restoring sharpness on guard sets especially. Should be taken on either playstyle.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Free +100 true raw on successful dodging and for effectively playing well. You could skip this if you're playing a guard-oriented set.
Stylish (Up) Common Sharpness restoration on avoiding attacks. Recommended for evasion-focused play
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Good compound skill when paired with poison or paralysis.
Evasion +2 Common Lance does lend itself well to an evasion playstyle. It is reasonable to drop any source of this skill (Drawing Arts +2, etc) if you require space for a guard-focused set.
Fortification +2 Uncommon Grants Guard +2 and stamina buffs. Guard Up in Frontier is a Z skill, granting Lance 360° blocking; it only trips the player if they are hit from behind.
Reflect +3 (Up) Hard With the Reflect Up Z skill, every blocked monster attack sets off a 68 MV hit. It benefits from raw and deals impact damage, but it cannot crit or use element/status.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks do not take chip damage, proc a 72 MV Reflect attack, and can immediately be dodged out of. If you are using Reflect 3 + Up, reflect damage from perfect guards are boosted to 92 MV.
Other Skills
Unaffected Common Can create some more attacking opportunities and quality of life, but Lance has other reliable means to deal with hazards and this competes for precious skill points and slots.
Adrenaline Varies Lance Hiden negates chip damage entirely from blocking monster attacks, so it may be safer to run outside of unblockable damage sources. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Can be used with charged slash combos and evasion slashes, but is otherwise niche.
Not Recommended
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed It only boosts the charged stab.
Combat Supremacy Rare Very harsh on Lance.
Status Immunity Easy Just block everything.
Gunlance Displayed Multiplier: 2.3x
With shelling not being that useful today, GL's main shtick is being a more aggressive Lance, utilizing the Heat Blade feature and blast dashes for forward mobility.
Very comparable to the regular Lance in survivability, it's mostly up to taste.
Hiden Skill Effects
Both Wyvern Fire and Heat Blade cooldowns are halved, and the latter starts up faster. Shelling capacity is increased, the amount depends on the weapon's shelling type.
Notes
Heat Blade grants numerous benefits; a second hitbox on every physical attack, extended reach, and there is no sharpness loss until it wears off for -100 units. On activation, it also restores a bit of sharpness.
If the weapon has status, Heat Blade doesn't inflict extra. But if it doesn't have an element, it will use the higher raw heat blade motion value.
Although GL can get similar guarding benefits as Lance, it cannot negate chip damage which will make blocking certain attacks potentially lethal, especially on Adrenaline.
Hit requirements for multiple skills and transcend are easier to meet with Heat Blade activated.
You can Blast Dash from neutral via guard.
Recoil/Gentle Shot enables GL to evade after shelling.

Consumption Slayer can be freely abused during Heat Blade's uptime, and can be offset with Obscurity Up's sharpness recovery during downtime.
GL Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness GL gets 2 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
GL Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Rush Thrust Motion value change (38 > 57) Not really
Horizontal Slash Motion value change (34 > 51), does not affect Extreme dash followup Not really
Misc
Shell Change Shelling type changes to the one displayed on the sigil Not that useful
Shelling Level Up Upgrade shelling by one level, can stack up to the maximum of Lv9 Unnecessary
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Shelling Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Espinas Zenith Espinas Drug Knowledge 550 - 800 Poison 0% Wide Lv9 Ample Poison pairs well with Abnormality and quick guard thrusts
Bogabadorumu Bogabadorumu Rush 570 - 800 Blast 0% Normal Lv9 Ample Highest raw with Zenith partbreaker by a margin, good Z skill, fair all-round choice
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 563 1200 B. Zero - 0% Wide Lv9 Average Best elemental GL
Festival Chroma ? Skill Slots Up 559 1220 B. Flame - 0% Long Lv9 Average One of few SSU GLs available, marginally better than Ruber
Tenrou
Grey MAX Values - Any (-1 Sigil) 594 2000 Any Mono 800Po / 600Pa 50% Any Varies Older series may still be relevant for sets that utilize Reflect +3 tenrou decorations
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 690 3200 Any Mono 1000Po / 700Pa 60% Any Varies Shelling type is customizable on all series, but level counts towards point budget
0% Any Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Affinity/Raw Raviente Skill Slots Up 600-800 - - 50-100% Long Lv9 Fine-Fuckhuge Highest raw for Reflect; used in the first GL true slay of Musou Dure (on JP)
Premium
N/A
Core
Furious JP Only Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback. Requires perfect guards and evasion to advance reliably.
Recommended
Obscurity (Up) Average Can get up to +300 true raw by guarding. The Z skill boost provides a decent means of restoring sharpness on guard sets especially, which GL can use to mitigate the sharpness drop from Heat Blade expiring in advance.
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Builds up incredibly fast on GL. Cannot get the Z skill on TW.
Lavish Attack Uncommon Provides +100 true raw and the sharpness penalty is negated if Heat Blade is activated. However, it may be harder to keep up sharpness on road.
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Good compound skill when paired with poison or paralysis.
Evasion +2 Common It is reasonable to drop any source of this skill (Drawing Arts +2, etc) if you require space for a guard-focused set, but this will come at the expense of few i-frames on the blast dash.
Fortification +2 Uncommon Grants Guard +2 and stamina buffs. Guard Up in Frontier is a Z skill, granting GL 360° blocking; it only trips the player if they are hit from behind.
Reflect +3 (Up) Hard With the Reflect Up Z skill, every blocked monster attack sets off a 68 MV hit. It benefits from raw and deals impact damage, but it cannot crit or use element/status.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks do not take chip damage, proc a 72 MV Reflect attack, and can immediately be dodged out of. If you are using Reflect 3 + Up, reflect damage from perfect guards are boosted to 92 MV.
Other Skills
Point Breakthrough Uncommon Much easier to utilize with Heat Blade.
Unaffected Common Can create some more attacking opportunities and quality of life, but GL has other reliable means to deal with hazards and this competes for precious skill points and slots.
Adrenaline Varies Good user of this skill, but chip damage from guard always poses a risk. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Good source of raw, but might be difficult to find room for.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. The most notable for GL is Artillery God, boosting shelling and WF damage but their usage is almost absent at this point.
Not Recommended
Recoil / Gentle Shot Mixed Can evade after shelling, Gentle Shot also bolsters shell capacity by one. Unfortunately shelling isn't really worth it.
Combat Supremacy Rare Very harsh on GL.
Status Immunity Easy Just block everything.
Switch Axe F Displayed Multiplier: 5.4x
In a strange alternate reality, Swaxe gained proper defensive options and helpful things like getting meter from axe hits.
This is a very consistent weapon if you can reliably parry attacks to sustain phial energy.
Hiden Skill Effects
Wild Swings have halved stamina drain, axe attacks gain more meter, and attacks using the phial use less meter. Additionally, successful parries (in Extreme style) reward a temporary 1.05x bonus to raw, indicated by a glowing arm effect.
The means for receiving the 1.05x boost differs between styles.
Notes
Consider using Focus +2 if you lack Switch Axe Hiden.
A power phial doesn't increase raw per se, it boosts the motion values of phial attacks by roughly 10% instead. It's still considered the best kind, but is found on fewer Swaxes.
Elemental phials are currently the most common phial type on Zenith weapons, and in some cases do still provide a massive boost.
A source of Guard +2 is much more important on Swaxe than its comtemporaries LS and MS, because the weapon relies on parries to sustain meter and not just Obscurity stacks.
With hiden, it takes two parries to fill the meter and activate light sword mode. If the Swaxe active feature is one, it only takes one.
The elemental discharge from Earth can still be done in Extreme, just tap the other button after the initial thrust.
Swaxe's healing from the guard sigil is useful to get around attacks that cause chip damage on parrying, especially on Adrenaline levels of HP.
As Swaxe's unsheathed running uses the phial instead of stamina, you may find it easier to use skills like Starving Wolf or Combat Supremacy.
The second stage of Rush negates all meter drain while running.
Some monsters may start fights doing two hits that can be parried in succession to start you in lightsword right away. If you have a Prayer Swaxe with the buff active, you only need to parry one hit.
SAF Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness Swaxe gets 3 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
SAF Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Stunning Blast Adds stun values on elemental discharge and absorption release Not really
Guard Parry hitbox slightly increased(?) and successful parries heal 15 HP Yes
Charge Movement Spd Can move faster while charging Not really
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Phial Type Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Gasurabazura Zenith Gasurabazura Obscurity 550 - 780 Poison 0% Status Healthy Most accessible Abnormality option
Baruragaru Zenith Baruragaru Skill Slots Up 530 600 Water - 0% Power Fine Excellent raw Swaxe with SSU + Zenith partbreaker, good transcendence element
Taikun Zenith Taikun Zamuza Thunder Clad 534 700 Thunder - 0% Power Large Highest raw Zenith Swaxe
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 551 1220 B. Zero - 0% Element Average Extremely high element Swaxe
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 670 3400 Any Mono 1000Po / 400Pa 60% Any Varies Can change phial type, best overall however is Power
As desired 0% Power Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Raw Raviente Skill Slots Up 630-770 700-1000 - 0-30% Power Fine-Fuckhuge Fantastic raw along with some element
Premium
Fransisca Z Netcafe (133,000 NP) Skill Slots Up 565 2200 Light 400 Para 15% Stun Large Good, but held back by the stun phial
Core
Furious JP Only Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback. Builds up very fast on Swaxe.
Recommended
Guard/Fortification +2 Uncommon Allows parries to block more kinds of attacks, vital for meter in certain hunts (ie Z Hypnoc) or allows for more opportunities in general. Can get Guard +2 with Uragaan armor. Guard Up doesn't do much for SAF at all.
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Good compound skill when paired with poison.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks do not take chip damage, proc a 72 MV Reflect attack, and can immediately be rolled out of.
Other Skills
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Very useful before hiden but fairly redundant afterwards outside of charge attack-based sets. Can be acquired with Gore Magala armor, more reliably obtained with premium gear. Trained only exists on JP.
Combat Supremacy Rare Legitimate playstyle with Swaxe. However, the evasion slashes and meter-based unsheathed running become the only reliable means of dodging attacks.
Not Recommended
Tonfa Displayed Multiplier: 1.8x
The Tonfa is a weapon that attacks primarily with airdashes. It could also fight on the ground.
Effectively the strongest weapon in the game, relative to effort taken.
Hiden Skill Effects
The combo and EX meters are both extended to have a sixth segment each. The former technically augments Tonfa's combo multiplier with an additional 1.10x raw, up to a maximum of 1.60x.
Notes
Due to how the combo meter inflates raw, Tonfa requires a much higher My Mission attack ceiling than most weapons!
Long mode is the default and does more KO damage. Short mode was reworked into being centered around meter gain, but it has a ton of hitlag and isn't really worth using outside of the dash attack for meter.
Guardpoints do exist on some attacks, but it's not that practical to invoke them. Iron Arm is also fairly tough to get on modern sets.
The Ryuuki finisher tops up meters of all nearby Tonfa players. It can also be triggered by Tonfa-wielding hunter NPCs. These bursts also grant a fair few other benefits, but most are pretty lightweight in function at this point.
To keep your combo meter, just hit or evade things. Generally, the timer runs slower if the monster is going through a lengthy attack when you can't or shouldn't be hitting them.
EX Evasion doesn't cost stamina, only meter.

EX Pursuit (charged jab + meter) benefits from Gunnery/Artillery (obtainable via Blazing Majesty), Charge Attack Up, and Focus, but is quite expensive compared to airdash spam.
Like SnS, two well-timed blocks with the Perfect Defense caravan skill alongside Obscurity Up can amass 300 raw until you get knocked back.
TO Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 5 sharpness 3 (Jump) 6 (Dash Kick) 10 (EX/Emerg.) Tonfa gets 4 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
TO Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
EX Meter Slightly increases EX meter gain Marginal
Combo Timer The combo timer decreases more slowly before meter is lost Marginal
Misc
Stun Value Not Tonfa-specific, but still relevant as an impact weapon Yes
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Gasurabazura Zenith Gasurabazura Stylish 540 - 450 Poison 0% Healthy Excellent when paired with Abnormality and has a good Z skill
Anorupatisu Zenith Anorupatisu Skill Slots Up 534 1050 Ice - 0% Average Readily-available SSU Tonfa
Bogabadorumu Bogabadorumu Rush 540 - 800 Blast 0% Healthy Good Z skill, could be used for general use
Taikun Zenith Taikun Zamuza Ceaseless 539 700 Thunder - 0% Healthy Good Z skill and choice of element
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 538 1000 B. Zero - 0% Average Highest element Tonfa
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 670 2800 Any Mono 1000Po / 300Pa 60% Varies Incredible poison values compared to alternatives
As desired 0% Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Status Raviente Skill Slots Up 570-750 600-1000 Dra 700 Poison 0% Fine-Fuckhuge Best Abnormality Tonfa on TW
Affinity Raviente Skill Slots Up 595-850 - - 50-100% Fine-Fuckhuge Amazing raw, benefits EX Pursuit usage
Premium
N/A Caduceus Z is a bit powercrept at this point
Core
(Weapon) Hiden Easy Second best skill for any weapon. Good raw multiplier, super earplugs, and a myriad of benefits. Does not take up a skill slot if a hiden cuff is used.
Recommended
Abnormality Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Stellar compound skill when paired with poison.
Other Skills
Combat Supremacy Rare Pairs well with EX Evasion spam on the ground as they do not cost stamina. On JP it is more commonly paired with Rush Up and used in the air if possible.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. For Tonfa, this can boost the damage from EX Pursuits significantly due to the Artillery God portion.
Obscurity (Up) Average Viable with a combination of Obscurity Up and the Perfect Guard caravan skill. However, this needs good timing and the boost is lost on knockback, but if executed well you can get +300 true raw on two perfect guards.
Starving Wolf +2 Rare Grants +0.10x to the crit multiplier, +50% affinity and Evasion +2 if you are at 25 Stamina and do not have infinite stamina buffs. Pairs well with Combat Supremacy.
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Focus can be used with Storm EX Pursuit attacks, otherwise effectively a luxury. Trained only exists on JP, and also includes Martial Arts +2 which can help sustain airtime.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Increases the damage of the EX Pursuit and the charged overhead.
Not Recommended
Lavish Attack Uncommon Your sharpness will get murdered.
Iron Arm +2 Rare Technically boosts Tonfa's guardpoints by 7 frames, but the skill is very rare.
Magnet Spike Displayed Multiplier: 5.4x
Magspike is to Frontier what Charge Blade was to MH4U. Although it hasn't put Hammer out of a job completely, you can take this thing on any content you want.
The weapon sees heavy usage on Raviente trains and can magnetize itself to the crystal on its head during the final phase, saving some time.
Hiden Skill Effects
The marker does not disappear unless you faint, and base movement speed is increased by 1.2x. Successfully using i-frames on evade motions grants a small raw boost (1.03x) and better meter recovery (1.5x).
Notes
Follow these instructions for starting and going through the questline to unlock Magnet Spikes, and how to use them.
The pin attack applies the damage to where you have placed a marker on a monster, you can use this to break certain parts faster.
Pinning reliability depends on who the current area host is. If you are not the host, there is a chance that it can fail. NPCs are tied to their host player in this context.
Pay attention to whether you are running unsheathed or not, since it can limit your attack options.
Falling attacks via magnetic attraction have both generous motion values and i-frames.
The basic cutting attacks all have a very large window between each of them, which can be roll cancelled or delay attacks.
Cutting's guard motion is effectively a guardpoint attack, it can chain into the Finishing Slash, a magnetic dodge if you need more intangibility, or another guard attack.
Impact's guard has forced fixed knockback and the rebounding attack is similar to, but doesn't chain into any meter attacks like Magnetic Assault does - although it can be roll cancelled and still has i-frames.
There is officially a second control bindings menu for the weapon, but only the approach cancel is binded by default for PSP controls in that menu.
Magspike lacks an elemental multiplier for Charge Attack Up. The skill will only boost the impact charged strike, although by a large degree.
It can be practical to skip out on a source of Evasion +2 completely, due to the copious amount of innate i-frames.
MS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Stylish recovery 10 sharpness 9 (Mag. Evade) MS gets 3 free hits if using Stylish Up before sharpness is consumed again
Ice Age stages 1 hit ?? hits ?? hits All weapons have the same stage decay timer, Ice Age Up only affects the third stage's decay rate
Rush (Up) stages ?? MV ???? MV (?) MV The third stage is exclusive to Rush Up, and has a timed duration
Point Breakthrough 40 seconds ? (?) ? (?) The previously afflicted hitbox is more vulnerable (Stage 2), Fencing +2 makes activation slightly easier
MS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

There are no Magnet Spike-specific sigil effects outside of UL.
Misc
Stun Value Not Magspike-specific, but still relevant in impact mode Maybe
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Status Affinity Sharpness (+1) Notes
Zenith
Espinas Zenith Espinas Drug Knowledge 565 - 900 Poison 0% Healthy Magspike has surprisingly good Abnormality values...
Taikun Zenith Taikun Zamuza Ceaseless 568 800 Thunder - 0% Healthy Good Z skill, although low element
Festival Poeto ? Skill Slots Up 555 1050 Music - 0% Average Probably the best SSU Magspike with Zenith partbreaker
Chibi Legendary Rasta ? Dissolver 570 1400 B. Zero - 0% Average ...and also surprisingly good Dissolver values (same statline as Road BZ weapons)
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values Rukodiora (raw), Any (-1 Sigil) 670 3400 Any Mono 900Po / 300Pa 60% Varies For some reason gets less max poison than other Blademaster weapons
As desired 0% Lv1
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Raw Raviente Skill Slots Up 640-780 800-1200 - 0-30% Fine-Fuckhuge Additional element is still useful, but raw takes longer to climb
Status Raviente Skill Slots Up 620-740 1000-1800 Dra. 500-800 Poison 0-20% Fine-Fuckhuge Better than Blue Tenrou, but requires a lot more work (and lacks alternate elements)
Affinity Raviente Skill Slots Up 680-780 - - 50-100% Fine-Fuckhuge Starts with more raw, gets marginally more out of it with Flash Conversion, diminishing returns
Premium
Gacha (Blazing, Wind) Zenith Hypnocatrice Skill Slots Up 550 800+800 Combo [2]
- 0% Average Actually usable stats, but will be outclassed by Poeto if you have Determination
Core
(Weapon) Hiden Easy Second best skill for any weapon. Good raw multiplier, super earplugs, and a myriad of benefits. Does not take up a skill slot if a hiden cuff is used.
Strong Attack Effectively Unavoidable Up to +150 true raw with Strong Attack +5 (40) or Strong Attack +6 (50).
Furious Average Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback. Builds up very fast on MS.
Recommended
Rush (Up) Easy Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed.
Ceaseless (Up) Easy Repeat Offender on crystal meth with up to +50% affinity and even a higher critical hit multiplier. Builds up quickly in cutting mode.
Abnormality Uncommon Stellar compound skill when paired with poison.
Perfect Guard Caravan Skill Timed blocks do not take chip damage and proc a 72 MV Reflect attack.
Evasion +2 Common MS's meter attacks already have a generous amount of i-frames, but this can be a nice luxury otherwise.
Other Skills
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Very useful before hiden for meter, but effectively a luxury afterwards.
Charge Attack UP +2 Uncommon Bolsters the MV of Impact mode's charged swing attack dramatically. Does not grant it extra elemental damage.
Combat Supremacy Rare Usable, but stamina has to be managed.
Not Recommended
Light Bowgun Displayed Multiplier: 1.2x
In MHF, rapid fire and element take a backseat as raw and the 'Just Shot' take precedence. The easier bowgun to get into and also have results with.
Ironically, no Raviente combat team is complete without a Raviente LBG, thanks to their exclusive Acid S. The role however does require you to know what you are doing, often leading a slayer party.
Hiden Skill Effects
A 'Perfect Shot' window is added to the Just Shot meter which deals more damage. Ammo has a chance of not bouncing off monsters, and items can be used unsheathed like SnS.
Notes
As a Gunner weapon, LBG can meet the requirements of various skills extremely quickly.
Long barrels don't provide a raw bonus. Instead it is a shot speed increase, which may screw up timing with pierce ammo hits.
As Rapid Fire doesn't really have a place in modern Frontier, newer guns don't come with it. You can still force it with sigils, though.
Pierce S is the workhorse raw ammo type used.
It may be easier to stick with first-person camera options if you are having trouble tracking ammo when using Just Shots, with the >clip display moved under the crosshairs.
Like SnS, using items unsheathed with LBG hiden resets Rush.
Spacing increases the size of LBG Hiden's Perfect Shot window when the buff activates.
Consider building sets with and without Combat Supremacy. Thunder Clad provides good mobility, but some monsters may call for evasion.
Acid S applies a hitzone debuff, which is why they are extensively against Raviente (because the monster is largely three hitboxes)
Combined with Caring +3, LBG is a common pick on Raviente support teams to clean up trash mobs fast with Pellet S.
LBG Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Spacing buff 35 seconds +0.1x Meter is invisible, only boosts attacks in critical distance
Rush (Up) stages 400 value 20,000 value (?) value The third stage is exclusive to Rush Up, and has a timed duration
Point Breakthrough 30 seconds 20 12 The previously afflicted hitbox is more vulnerable (Stage 2)
LBG Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire Add Can fire X shot type as rapid fire No
Super RF Add Can fire X shot type as super rapid fire No
Rapid Fire Immunity Disables rapid fire of X shot type Redundant
Tech Change
J Gauge Just Shot's sweetspot window increased Eh
Misc
Blunt Bullets Pellet shots use impact damage ?
Explosion Cluster shots may detonate into large explosions ?
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Normal S Pierce S Pellet S Affinity Recoil Reload Notes
Zenith
Inagami Zenith Inagami Skill Slots Up 605 9-0-12 0-6-6 6-6-0 0% Very Small Normal Probably the best overall SSU Pierce gun for Zeniths
Baruragaru Zenith Baruragaru Bullet Saver 606 9-0-0 0-6-6 0-0-0 0% Small Normal Can fire Pierce 3 as-is, good Zenith skill
Festival Vora Zenith Hypnocatrice Skill Slots Up 590 9-9-12 6-6-0 6-6-6 0% Medium Normal Slightly less raw than early Z LBGs, but has access to another raw shot type
Event Tank Zenith Tigrex Hearing Protect. 640 9-0-12 0-0-6 0-0-0 0% Medium Small Highest raw Pierce 3 Zenith LBG
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 700 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 60% Any Any Has two sigil slots and one tenrou decoration slot
As desired 0%
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Raw Acid Raviente Skill Slots Up 675-785 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 0-0% Very Small Very Fast Overall BiS LBG, can fire raw hitzone-debuffing acid shots - ironically vital for Raviente hunts
Twin Acid Raviente Skill Slots Up 675-775 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 0-0% Very Small Very Fast Alternative option with marginally less raw, but can also fire dragon acid shots
Premium
N/A Taiwan had a notable premium LBG but it is largely not useful or worth it in the slightest anymore [3]
Zenith Armor Piece Easy Not a formal skill, but wearing at least one Z/ZF/ZY/ZX or ZP piece grant an innate critical distance bonus. This is effectively compulsory and provides a large damage boost.
Core
(Weapon) Hiden Easy Second best skill for any weapon but massively powerful for Gunners especially. Does not take up a skill slot on JP if a hiden cuff is used.
Determination Hard Best in slot skill in all of Monster Hunter. Supersedes Issen, Critical Eye, Exploit Weakness, Elemental Exploiter, and any source of Adrenaline +2 in one skill. Makes Guts unusable and Critical Shot/Precision +2 redundant.
Furious JP Only Very powerful skill that grants successive raw, element, status, and affinity bonuses. Stacks are lost on getting hit, not just knockback. Relies on evasion to build stacks.
Steady Hand Common Combines Normal/Pierce/Pellet Up in one skill. In JP, a second rank provides the hitzone buff of Critical Shot/Precision +2 but it is redundant with Determination.
Critical Shot / Precis +2 Mixed Grants +5 to hitzones if the monster is in critical distance. Obsolete with Determination.
Loading Varies You will want either Mounting or Gentle Shot for the +1 to capacity. Either one will suffice on a Raviente LBG.
Spacing Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Lowers critical distance but attacks within it build up an invisible meter to further boost damage and grant mobility skills. LBG's Perfect Shot window increases.
Thunder Clad Common Fill up a meter for a bonus against hitzones, additional movement speed, and basic status immunity. Builds up incredibly quickly on guns.
Vampirism (Up) Average Dramatically increases sustainability with health leeching and also adds some attack. You do not need more than Vampirism +1 (10pts), this builds up very quickly with guns.
Recommended
Combat Supremacy Rare Incredibly safe skill for LBG to take in many matchups, effectively being a free 1.20x raw boost.
Evasion +2 Easy Might be wasted on Combat Supremacy sets outside of JP's Rush Up if you can obtain the stamina buff before the bar runs dry. Obtain it through Drawing Arts +2 or wearing a piece of Nargacuga armor.
Bullet Saver (Up) Uncommon Have a chance to not consume ammo on firing, up to 46% with the Z skill.
Reload / Mounting Average Used to 'fix' reload speed. 'Fast' is needed to reload Pierce 2 quickly and 'Very Fast' for Pierce 3. Mounting +2 and +3 require less points on JP.
Recoil / Gentle Shot Average Used to 'fix' recoil levels. 'Small' is needed to fire Pierce 3 effectively. The +3 versions of both skills require less points on JP.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Free +100 true raw on successful dodging and for effectively playing well. Try using it on sets without Combat Supremacy.
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed (and do not use any items with LBG hiden). Cannot get the Z skill on TW, but it can halt stamina drain from Combat Supremacy on JP. Builds up quickly on guns.
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Repeat Offender on crystal meth with up to +50% affinity and even a higher critical hit multiplier. Cannot get the Z skill on TW. Builds up quickly on guns.
Other Skills
Adrenaline Varies Somewhat easier to run this on guns than on Blademaster weapons. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Point Breakthrough Uncommon Successive attacks on a single hitzone provide a bonus. Not always a consistent skill, especially with Pierce.
Exploit Weakness Rare Behaves like MH3U/MH4U Weakness Exploit but at 35> hitzones. Powerful raw skill, but hard to get with a high point requirement as well. Pairs very well with Thunder Clad and other Gunner skills. Obsolete with Determination.
Ammo Combiner Rare You could also take multiple Books of Combos and Caravan skills instead. Can be obtained with Uragaan armor.
Shiriagari Rare This skill can squeeze some extra raw out but may be contested by other skills especially. Often employed with skill fruits in time attack.
Not Recommended
Rapid Fire Rare Little practical use as Rapid Fire capabilities are effectively absent in the current meta.
Auto-Reload / Sniper Uncommon Unlike MHFU, this effectively makes your gun unusable.
Vigorous (Up) Common Gunners are significantly more fragile, of which you might as well run Adrenaline if you have to run a skill dependent on HP. The benefit from the Z skill is also halved.
Heavy Bowgun Displayed Multiplier: 1.2x
Frontier's HBG sets itself apart from mainline with the ability to use compressed and charged shots, on top of laser beams. An acquired taste.
Raviente HBGs are a huge investment, but also have an incredible amount of attack that enables them to keep up in trains as a potential GS replacement.
Hiden Skill Effects
Innate Evade Extender. The power of Element and Status shots are increased by 1.2x, while Melee, Crag, Cluster inflict (more) KO. Compression shots can be perfectly-timed for extra damage, and Heat Beams deal 1.2x more damage.
Notes
As a Gunner weapon, HBG can meet the requirements of various skills extremely quickly.
One use of compressed shots is on faster targets. Mitigating recoil on these requires more work than usual.
Extreme style's heat gauge doesn't require any item management. Blast dodges use its meter and have a ton of i-frames, and can go into a run or roll after landing.
Charging shots can be used to save ammo, works best with compressed Normal 3 and Element.
Spacing increases the size of HBG Hiden's 'perfect' window for compression shots when the buff activates.
Bullet Saver factors in every shot used in a single compression shot salvo. All saved ammo is still retained in the >clip and can be fired off.
Raviente HBG bomb shots are kinda shitty, nobody uses them for those (just the retarded statline will do).
The shield addon doesn't benefit from Obscurity.
HBG Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

HBG Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Heat Cannon Adds the heat beam functionality, co-exists with Extreme's blue beam No
Misc
Blunt Bullets Pellet shots use impact damage ?
Explosion Cluster shots may detonate into large explosions ?
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Normal S Pierce S Pellet S Affinity Recoil Reload Notes
Zenith
Rukodiora Zenith Rukodiora Hearing Protect. 695 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 0% Medium Normal Higher recoil than most Z HBGs, but can fire every raw shot type
Inagami Zenith Inagami Skill Slots Up 705 9-0-12 0-6-6 6-6-0 0% Very Small Normal Probably the best overall SSU Pierce gun for Zeniths
Festival Vora Zenith Espinas Skill Slots Up 700 9-9-12 6-6-0 6-6-6 0% Very Small Normal Effectively a direct upgrade over early Z LBGs
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 820 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 60% Any Any Has two sigil slots and one tenrou decoration slot
As desired 0% It'll effectively end up as a higher raw equivalent of the Rukodiora HBG
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Affinity Raviente Skill Slots Up 745-940 9-9-12 6-6-6 6-6-6 50-100% Very Small Very Fast Highest raw weapon in all of Monster Hunter
Premium
N/A
Core
Zenith Armor Piece Easy Wearing at least one Z/ZF/ZY/ZX or ZP piece grant an innate critical distance bonus. This is effectively compulsory and provides a large damage boost.
Determination Hard Best in slot skill in all of Monster Hunter. Supersedes Issen, Critical Eye, Exploit Weakness, Elemental Exploiter, and any source of Adrenaline +2 in one skill. Makes Guts unusable and Critical Shot/Precision +2 redundant.
Critical Shot / Precis +2 Mixed Grants +5 to hitzones if the monster is in critical distance. Obsolete with Determination.
Loading Varies You will want either Mounting or Gentle Shot for the +1 to capacity. A Raviente HBG will take the latter.
Spacing Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Lowers critical distance but attacks within it build up an invisible meter to further boost damage and grant mobility skills. HBG's perfect compression window increases.
Evasion +2 Easy Greatly increases survivability in Frontier, also triggers evasion-reliant skills much more easily. Obtain it through Drawing Arts +2, Evasion Boost, or wearing a piece of Nargacuga armor.
Thunder Clad Common Fill up a meter for a bonus against hitzones, additional movement speed, and basic status immunity. Builds up incredibly quickly on guns.
Vampirism (Up) Average Dramatically increases sustainability with health leeching and also adds some attack. You do not need more than Vampirism +1 (10pts), this builds up very quickly with guns.
Recommended
Bullet Saver (Up) Uncommon Have a chance to not consume ammo on firing, up to 46% with the Z skill. It rolls for every round in a compression shot.
Reload / Mounting Average Used to 'fix' reload speed. 'Fast' is needed to reload Pierce 2 quickly and 'Very Fast' for Pierce 3. Mounting +2 and +3 require less points on JP.
Recoil / Gentle Shot Average Used to 'fix' recoil levels. High investment is required for less to no recoil on compressed shots. The +3 versions of both skills require less points on JP.
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed. Cannot get the Z skill on TW, but it can halt stamina drain from Combat Supremacy on JP. Builds up quickly on guns.
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Repeat Offender on crystal meth with up to +50% affinity and even a higher critical hit multiplier. Cannot get the Z skill on TW. Builds up quickly on guns.
Other Skills
Focus/Trained +2 Mixed Charged shots can be useful against fast monsters and other matchups, but this skill might be difficult to fit on. Trained only exists on JP.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Free +100 true raw on successful dodging and for effectively playing well.
Adrenaline Varies Somewhat easier to run this on guns than on Blademaster weapons. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. For HBG the Artillery God portion can boost heat beam damage.
Exploit Weakness Rare Behaves like MH3U/MH4U Weakness Exploit but at 35> hitzones. Powerful raw skill, but hard to get with a high point requirement as well. Pairs very well with Thunder Clad and other Gunner skills. Obsolete with Determination.
Combat Supremacy Rare Difficult to use, especially as you won't be able to roll out of blast dodges.
Not Recommended
Auto-Reload / Sniper Uncommon Unlike MHFU, this effectively makes your gun unusable.
Obscurity (Up) Average It doesn't work with the shield addon.
Bow Displayed Multiplier: 1.2x
The Bow in Frontier continues to do what it has been doing since the 2nd generation and shoots things with charged shots. Deceptively powerful.
Hiden Skill Effects

Power Coatings are boosted to x1.7 with Gou/G-Rank/Evolution Bows. Arc shots can be fired at Lv2 charge and arrows cannot bounce.
Notes
Focus doesn't do anything for Bow in Frontier. Use Auto-Reload instead.
As a Gunner weapon, Bow can meet the requirements of various skills extremely quickly.
Bow has numerous aiming modes in the options, but ultimately it is left with 2nd generation-style controls. With that said, while charging you can press Square (or X) to dodge.
While aiming, you can see the critical distance ranges of your shot.
Holding down L1 while releasing a shot does a coatingless shot, not consuming nor granting the benefits of the loaded coating. This technique is based off a glitch in MH2.
Rapid shot types are recommended. Spread is powerful, but awkward. Pierce works well as a Lv3 charge.
Crouching shots are awkward to use, but with the piercing shot sigil they can inflict status well.
As Sniper's critical distance bonus is wrapped into both Steady Hand +2 and Determination, just using Auto-Reload is fine.
Bow Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Lavish Attack cost -1 coating Applies a +0.2x raw modifier to all coatings, excluding bomb
Bow Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Tech Boost
Rising Dragon Bow Motion values boosted on Shoryuken attack (Heaven style and newer) Somewhat
Tech Change
Piercing Shot Fully charged crouching shots (Storm/Extreme) turn into piercing shots Status coatings
Misc
Arc Shot Change Changes arc shot behavior to the type displayed on the sigil ?
Name Required Monster Z Skill True Raw Element Coatings Affinity Lv3 Charge Lv4 Charge Notes
Zenith
Bogabadorumu Bogabadorumu Rush 605 800 Blast Power, Sleep 0% Spread Lv4 Rapid Lv4 Good general use Bow, Lv3 charge works reasonably well with Blast
Road Emperor's Roar Various Hearing Protect. 580 780 E. Roar Power, Para 0% Pierce Lv4 Rapid Lv4 Better statline than Toridcless
Road Burning Zero Various Dissolver 595 950 B. Zero Power, Sleep 0% Pierce Lv4 Spread Lv4 Highest elemental bow, if you can find a good target to use Spread on
Festival Dua Zenith Toridcless Thunder Clad 582 850 Sound Power, Poi, Par 0% Pierce Lv4 Rapid Lv4 Good combo element, three coatings
Tenrou
ZZ Blue MAX Values ? Any (-1 Sigil) 730 2800 Any Mono Power, Status 60% Any Any Has two sigil slots and one tenrou decoration slot, can customize charge levels to your liking
Suggestion As desired 675 1800 0% Anything Lv1 Rapid Lv4 Investing into anything else than the Lv4 charge has a discernible impact on point budget
Evolution (Z1-Z100)
Pierce-Rapid Raviente Skill Slots Up 650-850 1500 All Standard 0-20% Pierce Lv4 Rapid Lv4 Best overall Bow, can use special impact coatings
Premium
N/A
Core
Zenith Armor Piece Easy Wearing at least one Z/ZF/ZY/ZX or ZP piece grant an innate critical distance bonus. This is effectively compulsory and provides a large damage boost.
Determination Hard Best in slot skill in all of Monster Hunter. Supersedes Issen, Critical Eye, Exploit Weakness, and any source of Adrenaline +2 in one skill. Makes Guts unusable and Critical Shot/Precision +2 redundant.
Critical Shot / Sniper Mixed Grants +5 to hitzones if the monster is in critical distance. Sniper provides this bonus and Auto-Reload. Obsolete with Determination.
Mounting Varies You will want the skill for an extra charging level.
Spacing Rare (TW), Uncommon (JP) Lowers critical distance but attacks within it build up an invisible meter to further boost damage and grant mobility skills. Bow's charge times are also made shorter under this buff.
Drawing Arts +2 Easy Great to have, not only it provides Evasion +2 but it also serves as a stamina skill for Bow.
Thunder Clad Common Fill up a meter for a bonus against hitzones, additional movement speed, and basic status immunity. Builds up quickly on Bow.
Vampirism (Up) Average Dramatically increases sustainability with health leeching and also adds some attack. You do not need more than Vampirism +1 (10pts), this builds up very quickly on Bow.
Recommended
Auto-Reload / Sniper Uncommon Bow does not use Focus in Frontier but rather shortens charge times with this skill instead. Sniper also includes the benefits of Critical Shot, but so does Determination. Auto-Reload is easier to gen into sets.
Lavish Attack Uncommon Adds a multiplier bonus to attack when using any type of coating at the cost of two coatings used up per shot.
Stylish Assault (Up) Common Free +100 true raw on successful dodging and for effectively playing well.
Rush (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Good source of raw if you stay unsheathed. Cannot get the Z skill on TW, but it can halt stamina drain from Combat Supremacy on JP. Builds up quickly on Bow.
Ceaseless (Up) Average (TW), Easy (JP) Repeat Offender on crystal meth with up to +50% affinity and even a higher critical hit multiplier. Cannot get the Z skill on TW. Builds up quickly on Bow.
Other Skills
Adrenaline Varies Somewhat easier to run on Bow than on Blademaster weapons. Get it through guild food, Buchigire, Blazing Majesty +2, or Determination.
Blazing Majesty Uncommon Compound skill with a myraid of benefits. For HBG the Artillery God portion can boost heat beam damage.
Exploit Weakness Rare Behaves like MH3U/MH4U Weakness Exploit but at 35> hitzones. Powerful raw skill, but hard to get. Pairs very well with Thunder Clad and other Gunner skills. Obsolete with Determination.
Combat Supremacy Rare Can only work on JP with Rush Up. Stamina is vital for the weapon to work at all.
Bullet Saver (Up) Uncommon Have up to a 46% chance with the Z skill to not use up coatings. It does not ignore coating usage entirely for Lavish Attack,
Not Recommended
Encourage +2 Rare Hard to reliably obtain for Gunners.
Focus / Trained +2 Rare It doesn't do anything here.
[1] The blue aura effect is hideous on Hammers especially
[2] Wind and Blazing varieties, whose base values amount to having roughly 800 of each element.
[3] It was a shark

MHF-ZZ Weapon Reference

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MHF-ZZ Weapon Reference

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There are comprehensive information sheets for each weapon below. Click the text to jump to a different sheet!

Element Total All averages 12.69021515

Immunities All Zeniths 7 9 7 11 9 Includes mid-fight weakness shifts where applicable

SnS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

SnS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

DS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

DS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

GS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

GS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

LS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

LS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

HA Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

HA Sigil Effects Useful Today?

HH Sigil Effects Useful Today?

LA Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

LA Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Recoil/Gentle Shot enables GL to evade after shelling.

GL Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

GL Sigil Effects Useful Today?

SAF Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

SAF Sigil Effects Useful Today?

EX Evasion doesn't cost stamina, only meter.

TO Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

TO Sigil Effects Useful Today?

MS Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

MS Sigil Effects Useful Today?

LBG Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

LBG Sigil Effects Useful Today?

HBG Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

HBG Sigil Effects Useful Today?

Hiden Skill Effects

Bow Skill Interactions Value Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Other / Notes

Bow Sigil Effects Useful Today?

[3] It was a shark

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