There’s nothing quite like the Dual Blades in a Monster Hunter title. Theoretically at least, they’re a very simple weapon; dash close to a squishy spot, do as much damage as you can, then dash back out to safety. As you might imagine, this being a Monster Hunter game things aren’t quite that simple. You have a gauge to look after, a changing move set depending on it’s usage and the quickest stamina depletion of any weapon to deal with. That being the case, it’s best to be swinging the best possible weapon at all times, including Low Rank.
Which should you use then? The Dual Blades tend to have the same goal – doing as much damage as possible to a squishy spot – so why not just get the strongest raw damage option and get on with it? Well, at least in terms of Low Rank options, you may want to rethink that strategy. Join us as we list out our top 3 Low Rank Dual Blade options.
Dual Blades #3: Pulsar Hatchets
If you’ve read our Long Sword article, you’ll be well aware of the advantage that can be gained by taking Thunder weapons to your hunts. In short, quite a lot of your opponents are weak to the element, so it’s always worth getting some weapons that align. That being the case, the first set of Dual Blades that we’re going to recommend are the Pulsar Hatchets, gained mainly through taking down Tobi-Kadachi, a monster you’ll face very early on.
Not only do you get the valuable Thunder element, which works very well with a quick hitting weapon such as this, but you’ll also get yourself a respectable set of DB in their own right. They come with reasonable amounts of raw damage, a good load of green sharpness to start you off with, and the usual additional 10% affinity to help you start pumping out the DPS. They’ll even age well, gaining slots and even a poison version change as you progress through the Iceborne content, which we’d recommend you go with (don’t worry, we’ll detail their replacement below).
Early Features
- Thunder element is a great investment, especially in a quick hitting weapon.
- Well balanced weapon, with good sharpness and raw damage, along with 10% affinity.
- Great upgrade options as you progress, especially the Crimson Viperclaws in Master Rank.
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Dual Blades #2: Sworn Rapiers
Much like the Dual Blades mentioned above, the Sworn Rapiers come with a very useful element, this time Water. This element is also tremendously useful, and tends to work well against most monsters that are not weak to Thunder, a great example being Zorah Magdaros. You’ll also find that they scale very well, thanks to Iceborne content featuring quite a few monsters weak to the element, such as Yian Garuga, Silver Rathalos and Brute Tigrex.
Why choose these over the Jyuratodus Water DB’s then? Well, they’re better in almost every way, and certainly so once you upgrade them. The raw damage is good at first and takes a big jump once you upgrade them a few times, the sharpness is better at every point and they eventually feature a level 3 slot. The Jyura version does have slightly higher Water damage, but this is offset by the other benefits that the Sworn Rapiers come with.
Early Features
- Excellent sharpness levels, maintained when upgraded.
- Water element is very useful.
- Scales well into Master Rank content in Iceborne.
- Distinct weapon models are very different to the usual Bone or Ore choices.
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Dual Blades #1: Monarch
By now you’ll be aware that we like the Water and Thunder element for Dual Blades, and that we’ve recommended a set of each, so why are we picking yet another set of Thunder DB for you? Well, we recommended that your Pulsar Hatchets eventually become Crimson Viperclaws, which is an excellent set of Poison Dual Blades, which leaves a gap in your Thunder repertoire. What better way to replace them than with the strongest Thunder element DB in the entire game?
Up steps the Monarch Dual Blades then, and you’re bound to note two things about this set. Firstly, you’ll need to fight Kirin – more than once – to craft and upgrade these bad boys. This may seem like a daunting task, certainly to the first time Kirin fighter, but you’d be surprised how simple it can be with a bit of patience. Secondly it has a huge amount of Thunder damage. This is the main reason we’re here, thanks to our prior upgrading choices, and whilst it doesn’t have a great deal of raw damage to pair with it, the sharpness is very good and the element itself will rise to an insane 450 by the time it’s fully upgraded to Rare 11. Plus, we just love that weapon model, and the nostalgia that comes with it.
Early Features
- Huge Thunder damage.
- Scales very well into the late game.
- Big chunk of white sharpness at max level.
- Plenty of tougher monsters are weak to Thunder, body part depending.
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Categories: Monster Hunter World, Top 5