Your weapon is the most important part of your set up in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. It defines your entire play style, informs your quest choices and in many ways it reflects the type of hunter you are. That being said, your choices early on in Monster Hunter title are all the more important, after all you’d hate to have your experiences with a weapon marred by a simple poor choice of equipment. So today we’re going to detail to absolute best weapons that we think Low Rank has to offer – one for each weapon type. We’ve previously suggested three for each, which we’ll link to in each section, but thought we’d distil things a little further in one big list. Enjoy!
Long Sword: Khanga Edge
The Seregios Long Sword takes the cake for us. It combines all of the attributes you really need from this weapon type; good sharpness, great raw damage for this early stage, a little bit of affinity and a slot to help you out. All of this alone makes it a very viable weapon in Low Rank, but it’s boosted even further by the Seregios weapons’ extra feature: Rolling five times in a row will grant you a little sharpness back. Some might argue that evading is something that happens less as you improve, and it’s certainly something you’ll do less when using some styles, but for Low Rank this free evasion is a superb bonus. It’s really hard to go wrong with Seregios weapons, but the Long Sword in particular feels ideal.
Weapon Benefits
- Self sharpens itself every 5 dodge rolls.
- Good level of raw damage.
- Comes with 10% Affinity (unlike our image, where our equipment is providing 30%).
- Blue sharpness, which the passive sharpening helps to retain.
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Dual Blades: Smoldering Cities
Despite their clear ‘break point’ in both MHGU and MHGen, we don’t often recommend weapons derived from the Fated Four (Glavenous, Mizutsune, Astalos & Gammoth). Typically they’re good-but-not-spectacular elemental weapons that get outdone by more niche choices. When it comes to Low Rank however, we found that this particular pair stood out. The Smoldering Cities are the Glavenous Dual Blades, which means you should have no trouble crafting them as you progress through Low Rank and the 4-Star quests. Once you do, you’ll be in possession of a weapon with a great deal of green sharpness, good raw damage, a jewel slot and some fire element damage on top! The fire damage may not have a great deal of uses, but if you keep upgrading them into High Rank you’ll get some good use out of them. It helps that they’re pretty easy to upgrade too!
Weapon Benefits
- Great raw damage, for it’s early craft point.
- Good level of green sharpness. Eventually upgrades to white and purple!
- Fire Element is actually quite useful in MHGU.
- Good upgrade route, after all you’ll face Glavenus plenty during progression.
- Who doesn’t love those weapon models?
Great Sword: Santoku Reaver
The Great Sword is all about one thing: Hitting the monster’s weak spot with a huge slab of sword, having preferably charged up first. MHGU makes this easier than ever by providing a whole host of weapons to work alongside the new styles, and a massive amount of armour to adapt things ever further.
Why the Santoku Reaver then? As you can see, it has some great raw damage for it’s crafting time – basically after taking on Tetsucabra in 3-Star – but it does have a few caveats: It has a very small amount of green sharpness and it comes with 10% negative affinity, meaning your hits will occasionally do a ‘blunt’ attack that does less damage. Happily these small negative points don’t do the Great Sword much harm. You’re not going to be hitting the monster much, so sharpness isn’t a major issue, and the negative affinity can easily be resolved by going for the Crit Draw skill, which gives your draw attacks 100% chance to crit, including charged draw attacks.
Weapon Benefits
- High raw damage for it’s unlock time, which it retains as it upgrades.
- Negative affinity isn’t an issue for the Great Sword, thanks to Crit Draw and other skills.
- Yes, it looks a bit like a food knife.
- Can take a while to reach blue sharpness.
Hammer: Skullcrusher
The Hammer is such a unique weapon. In the right hands it can completely ruin a monster’s day, offering the ability to knock it out and rendering it unable to defend itself for significant periods of time. Quite the opposite is true in the wrong hands of course, and whilst we can’t really consider our advice as substitute for a lot of practice, we can at least make sure you’re using some good equipment.
We’ve recommended the Skullcrusher because it features one main thing: Huge raw damage. It stands above similar options when you can craft, which is quite early, and we found it pretty easy to upgrade and keep relevant all the way through High Rank. It’s not quite as ‘flashy’ as some of the others, but if you’re insistent on getting those KO, this will do the job just nicely. It even comes with a bit of defence – useful for a weapon that requires that you frequently stand in front of your target.
Weapon Benefits
- Very high raw damage, since it’s crafted very early – ideal for causing KOs!
- Nice bonus to Defense, which you’ll need for practicing those headshots!
- Easy upgrade route, where it retains that high damage.
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Sword & Shield: Kirin Bolt Ultimus
Good ol’ Sword n’ Board is better than ever in MHGU. The addition of oils means that a weapon that used to feel a step behind is just as powerful as its brethren. Much like previous iterations it excels in dealing Elemental and Status damage, due to it’s ability to rack up hits in quick succession. The Styles available certainly add a bit of spice to this formula, but it remains roughly the same: Hit the weak spots a lot with a vulnerable element or status.
All that being said, the Thunder element is one that will serve you well throughout MHGU. A lot of monsters are considered weak to this, and the Sword and Shield is ideally suited to pick away at soft spots. Kirin Bolt Ultimus is by far our favourite Thunder version, and if we’re honest it’s probably our favourite Thunder element weapon in the game. It comes with excellent sharpness, a huge amount of Thunder damage, a slot, mid level raw damage and even a slot to play with. It’s one of the best SnS in Low Rank, a title it holds onto throughout the entire game, even into G-Rank.
Weapon Benefits
- Great raw damage for Low Rank.
- Big chunk of blue sharpness for this early point.
- Huge amount of Thunder Element, which is very useful in MHGU.
- Bonus slot and +10 Defense are nice to have.
- Requires Hub hunts in Low Rank.
Hunting Horn: Hell Horn
The Hunting Horn is always a difficult weapon to nail down to a recommendation. There are so many options, each with different songs and statistics, that you’re likely to tailor to the particular hunt you’re taking on. You might want to bring Attack Up for a quicker hunt, or you might want to remove the effect of Wind for a Daora hunt, there are options for everything and you’d be a fool not to try them all out.
Still, we’ve managed to settle on what we think is, on balance, the best Low Rank horn: Hell Horn. This is essentially the ‘Glavenous Horn’, which you’ll be able to make once you’ve taken down the beast in 4-Star. We chose this because it has that ever popular Attack Boost, and Fire Resist – something that will come in handy as you venture into the hotter maps more and more. It also has some great raw damage to help you better bop those monster heads. Plus we really like the design – it genuinely looks like a lug of Glavenous flesh has been torn off and fashioned into a horn.
Weapon Benefits
- As per from the Glavenus weapons, it has good raw damage.
- Excellent selection of melodies.
- Good amount of green sharpness.
- Attack Boost (S) will upgrade to Attack Boost (L) as you progress.
Lance: Paladin Lance
The Lance has always been one of our favourite weapons in Monster Hunter, and in Generations Ultimate it’s no different. There’s something super satisfying about being a walking tank, able to block almost anything the Monsters throw at you whilst whittling away their health bit by bit. The Styles and sheer amount of equipment in MHGU make the weapon all the more viable, but why then have we chosen a relatively basic Lance to recommend today?
We’re acutely aware that the weapon excels at elemental and status damage, mainly due to the amount of hits you can apply in a short period of time, but what about when you’re just starting out? You’re unlikely to be hitting weak spots all of the time, and your attention will be entirely spent on learning the monsters and their patterns. This is where the Paladin Lance comes to the fore: It has reasonable raw damage, plenty of sharpness, it’s easy to upgrade and it has some defence to boot. It’s ideal for an aspiring Lance user to learn the ropes with. Looks pretty good too.
Weapon Benefits
- All round great Low Rank Lance.
- Good starting level of raw damage.
- Large amount of green sharpness, to keep thrusting for longer.
- Small bonus in Defense is nice.
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Gunlance: Jaya Gunlance
The Gunlance in many ways is considered the more complex half brother of the Lance. Whilst this is debatable they do share a lot of common points; you have a beefy shield, a lance to stab with and a hop with which to evade. The shelling and explosions are where the Gunlance differ of course, but when it comes to a weapon you’ll be looking for broadly similar qualities: Load up on sharpness and raw damage.
The Jaya Gunlance achieves both of these with ease. The raw damage is great for this early part of the game, and it’s also one of the earliest options you can grab with access to blue sharpness. Happily it retains the Seregios tradition and returns some sharpness as you evade, albeit at a slower rate than non-lance based weapons. This is another weapon that you can carry with you as you make your way up the rank, though it will eventually be outclassed in G-Rank.
Weapon Benefits
- Great level of raw damage, considering the other benefits.
- Sharpness is a highlight, peaking in blue even in the base form.
- Comes with the self sharpening feature of all Seregios weapons.
- Slot and 10% Affinity are here too, and appreciated!
Switch Axe: Aksa Switch
Another favourite of ours, the Switch Axe is such a versatile weapon. In Axe mode you have access to some sweeping, far reaching attacks that allow you to close the distance. Once you’re up in the monster’s face it’s time to bring out Sword mode to rack up huge amounts of damage in short order. In MHGU it’s even been made versatile enough to allow you to commit to one or the other and still pump out big damage. It’s also somewhat unique in being a non lance weapon that’s able to hop during some evades, rather than rolling like the remaining blademaster choices.
It’s this evasion that makes our Low Rank choice – Aksa Switch – all the better. As you may know by now, Seregios weapons sharpen themselves as you evade, which you’ll be doing almost constantly whilst attempting to hit weak spots with your Sword mode. On top of this the raw damage is respectable, the sharpness reaches blue and there’s some affinity on there as a bonus. It’s yet another Seregios weapon that will keep you going throughout the entirety of MHGU.
Weapon Benefits
- The usual self sharpening benefit of Seregios weapons.
- Great raw damage, sharpness and Affinity!
- Upgrades give you a chance to visit the wonderful Seregios hunt more!
Charge Blade: Mizuniya Drill
Next up in the ‘Transform-a-weapon’ section is the Charge Blade. Whilst it’s not quite the beast that it was in MH4U – the damage values have been nerfed somewhat, and justifiably so – it’s still capable of outputting huge lumps of damage and it retains those critical guard points too, letting true veterans make certain encounters look deceptively easy.
For our Low Rank choice we’ve gone with the Mizuniya Drill. Realistically we could have chosen any number of those on offer, mainly because of the traits you’re looking for; high raw damage, good sharpness and an Impact Phial for that sweet KO damage. This one stood out a little more for us because on top of this you get a jewel slot and upgrading it felt easier than the others! We found it was outclassed towards the end of High Rank and into G, but it will last you a good while regardless.
Weapon Benefits
- Great raw damage for Low Rank.
- Pairs it’s damage with the Impact Phial, which can KO.
- Good upgrade route, thanks to requiring Fated Four loot.
- Having a slot is a bonus.
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Insect Glaive: Astalos Cudgel
The Insect Glaive has always been such an interesting weapon. At any point it can feel like multiple other blademaster weapons at once. The draw attack feels a bit like a lunging great sword, yet once you’re there it turns into a set of dual blades, letting you slash away in quick succession. In MHGU it may have had some of it’s identity stolen by Aerial Style, but it’s still super effective and a very fun weapon to play with.
We’ve chosen the Astalos Cudgel because well… It’s just really good at everything. The raw damage is nice and high, the sharpness is plentiful and it comes with 15% affinity. It also has an open jewel slot and it comes with some Thunder element damage, which is largely considered to be the best element due to extensive monster weaknesses. Hard to go wrong with this one then, and you’ll be facing plenty of Astalos during your key quests to keep it upgraded.
Weapon Benefits
- Reasonable level of raw damage.
- This raw damage is balanced by 15% Affinity.
- Good amount of green sharpness.
- Slot is a nice bonus, and it upgrades well, at least until Deviant pieces.
Bow: Hidden Bow
The bow has always been such a stalwart in the Monster Hunter series. In our experience it’s relatively rare to come across an archer during multiplayer sessions. Whilst this may be the case, we should preface our statement by saying that when we do bump into them, they’re all rather good at their job. They fire out their charged shots, take little if any damage and generally tend to be quite helpful. It’s a strange phenomenon and it’s one that continues in MHGU, despite it being a very powerful weapon choice.
Help us remedy this then, by picking up the Hidden Bow. This weapon is by far our favourite option for Low Rank archers. It comes with reasonable raw damage and a huge 25% affinity. Power Lv.1 coating, which this bow comes with, might not sound like the best but combined with the other stats it’ll suffice. Upgrading it is quite easy too, which always helps!
Weapon Benefits
- Huge 25% Affinity.
- Good level of raw damage.
- Good choice of coatings, including Power 1, Paralysis and Poison.
- Coating will eventually level up to Power 2, and the affinity scales up to 40%!
Light Bowgun: Hidden Eye
Completing our duo of Nargacuga weapons is the Light Bowgun, Hidden Eye. To understand the value of this weapon you must first understand one thing: Pierce ammo has the ability to output tremendous amounts of damage. Alongside this, the LBG in MHGU retain their rapid fire ability, which itself allows them to put out big damage. So why not combine the two?
Yes the Hidden Eye is a Low Rank Light Bowgun that has the ability to rapid fire Pierce Lv. 1 ammo. Of course it has other benefits; the raw damage is good, it has affinity as standard and it has various ammo choices. All of this pales in comparison to the rapid fire option however. Get this LBG, stock up on Pierce ammo and watch your targets fall over. It’ll even keep going all the way into the end game – they don’t come much better than this.
Weapon Benefits
- Rapid Fire’s Pierce Lv. 1 Ammo.
- Massive 40% Affinity, which works well with the Pierce Ammo.
- Great upgrades that retain their power.
- Probably one of the best & easiest to use weapons in MHGU as a whole.
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Heavy Bowgun: Daora’s Delphinidae
The Heavy Bowgun, along with the Long Sword, home to one of the most powerful Style and weapon combinations in the game. Valor Style transforms this weapon into a swift and agile Bowgun capably of putting out incredible amounts of damage with it’s Siege mode. In fact it’s so powerful and without negatives that you’d be foolish not to use it. In a way it’s a shame that one Style dominates the others, but we will admit it feels a lot of fun…
Anyway, as we’ve established with the LBG, Pierce ammo is incredibly powerful. That being the case, why not pick up a HBG that’s capable of Siege firing Pierce ammo? Look no further than the Daora’s Delphinidae. It comes with big raw damage, a bit of affinity and a big load of Pierce ammo capacity. On top of this it’s quite easy to upgrade, and in doing so you’ll end up with one of the best end game HBG available.
Weapon Benefits
- Can Siege Mode Pierce Lv. 1, which is very powerful.
- Good raw damage.
- Combined with Valor Mode, it’s Siege Mode is tremendously powerful.
- Comes with a Slot and 10% Affinity!
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