The spinning, whirling dervish that is the Dual Blades are a Monster Hunter weapon quite like no other. On balance they’re probably the most mobile choice that a hunter can take, thanks in no small part to it’s dashes, and the advent of World brought an improved move set which Rise has happily retained. It flows better than ever, does a great deal of damage and whilst it doesn’t quite reach the heights of MHGU’s Adept Style, it’s tremendously safe. Happily, the release of Rise seems to have brought another improvement from the base release of World too; weapon diversity. Whilst it’s not going to approach the aforementioned celebration title for sheer numbers, there are quite a lot of options for the intrepid dual wielders out there, so once again we’re answering the question, which of these are worthy of your time?
Khezu Daggers
For countless Monster Hunter games, well three at least, we’ve extolled the virtues of Khezu based gear, though our recommendations always come with the same warning: You’ll need to fight the screaming white beast multiple times, something that most players will find less than enjoyable. The issue most had with taking him on previously was the seemingly endless health total and his propensity to leave areas multiple times, both of which seem to have been solved in the upgrade to Rise; players can now deal much more damage than usual and a fleeing monster simply requires a short chase, rather than multiple zone changes with loading times.
So powerful are the changes in fact, that taking down a 3-Star quest Khezu in Rise (3,400 HP) feels much, much easier than taking on a 3-Star quest Khezu in Generations Ultimate (~2,100 HP). The overall result of this is that taking on the screaming worm results in much less dread, and doesn’t require you to block out 20 minutes of your time to do so.
All of that said, we’re recommending that you take this particular monster down on multiple occasions to get your hands on the Khezu daggers. Don’t be put off by their slightly lower starting raw damage, the multitude of benefits that these offer will easily outweigh this. Not only do these come with both Thunder and Paralysis damage, making them a great combination versus certain opponents, but they also come with 10% Affinity, meaning you can expect some additional damage in the form of critical strikes. Further to this, they come with a good deal of green sharpness, something hunters will be thankful for in the early game, and eventually upgrade into the excellent Khezu Skards, replete with 3 decoration slots.
Early Features
- Good level of green sharpness.
- Combination of Thunder and Paralysis damage is useful, the latter especially beneficial in multiplayer Hub quests.
- 10% Affinity is a nice bonus in the early game.
- Either the Thunder or Paralysis can be boosted with the Rampage skills.
- Variety of benefits offset their middling raw damage.
Crafting Requirements
- Kamura Glintblades II
- Flabby Hide x 2
- Electro Sac x 2
- Malachite Ore x 3
There shouldn’t really be much of an issue here. Both the Flabby Hide and Electro Sac are likely to be found when taking on a Khezu, and in the case of the latter you can even grab these when taking on a Tobi Kadachi. The Electro Sac does have a lower drop rate, which can be increased by capturing rather than slaying, but this really shouldn’t be too much of a problem at all. The Malachite Ore can be gathered from a variety of mining spots, and also tends to crop up as rewards in a variety of Low Rank quests, so you’ll soon get plenty of these if you haven’t already.
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Hidden Gemeni
No doubt there will have been some of you that considered our first recommendation a little unusual; Khezu isn’t often considered a bastion of excellent loot, though we’d argue at least some of that comes from a reluctance to hunt it more than once. Conversely Hidden Gemeni, or the Nargacuga DB, will likely come as no surprise at all. The prickly tailed, jumping so-and-so has been a sure fire hit over the years, constantly supplying the would-be hunter with low raw but high affinity options. In this regard Rise is no different, though we’d argue that the Low Rank version of the beast feels easier than ever to take down, mainly thanks to the increased mobility options present here.
The actual item itself requires very little selling from us. It’s a set of DB that come with middling raw damage, but a positively massive amount of green sharpness and an almost comically large 40% Affinity! This will obviously lend itself well to builds that focus on Affinity, which are actually quite easy to attain in the Low Rank portion of Rise, to the point where you can find yourself cresting 50 to 60% with just a few bits of gear. It’s likely to take you quite a few attempts to gather everything required, but it’s worth noting that the upgraded versions of this introduce new levels of sharpness each time, and the final model is an excellent end game choice, so your investment is very much worthwhile now.
Early Features
- Whopping 40% Affinity.
- Massive amount of green sharpness.
- Middling raw damage, balanced by other benefits.
- It’s an old design, but these things still look seriously cool.
- Eventually reaches white sharpness, when fully upgraded.
Crafting Requirements
- Kulu’s Peck II
- Nargacuga Cutwing x 4
- Nargacuga Scale x 2
- Nargacuga Fang x 2
- Monster Bone+ x2
A little more awkward, this one. You’ll get Scales by the boatload simply by taking down the beast a few times, and if you’re targeting the head – which is generally a good idea – then you’ll likely get quite a few Fangs. As you progress up through Low Rank you’ll also start to get quite a few Monster Bone+, so that just leaves us with the awkward part: Cutwings. You’ll find that in order to get these, at least at a reasonable drop rate, you’ll need to break the target’s wings. This doesn’t sound like something all too difficult, but beware that these are quite a ‘hard’ body part, meaning lower sharpness will bounce, and they take quite a bit of work to actually break. Compounding this issue is the fact that you’ll need 4 of them, and you’ll potentially want to make the Nargacuga model of multiple weapon types, so expect to revisit this particular monster quite a few times..
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Sinister Blades
For long time fans of the series Monster Hunter Rise, and indeed one of the updates for Iceborne, indicated a return to form for a beloved part of the series’ rich history: Blast weapons. More so than any other type, these have been through quite a tumultuous history. Introduced in the variations of Monster Hunter 3 it was initially considered tremendously powerful, mainly because your targets had no defence to it, and whilst it retained some of this power in MH4, Generations, Ultimate and World saw it effectively removed from relevance. Part way through World it returned to form and despite a few clear tweaks, it’s considered a powerful alternative in Rise.
For those of you that have taken down Magnamalo – the monster you’ll need to hunt to get your hands on these – you’ll probably be aware that this is no easy task, at least at first. The battle seems to land somewhere between Zinogre and Nergigante on the experience meter, though the difficulty tends to end up closer to the former if we’re honest. Still, it’s worth it to get your hands on these excellent dual blades; not only do they come with a high amount of raw damage, but it’s accompanied by a massive amount of green sharpness and of course, a chunk of blast element. Were this not good enough, it’s Rampage Skills are excellent, allowing you to either push further down the raw damage route with Attack Boost II, or lean further into the Blast build up with Blast Boost I. We tend to favor the latter there, and certainly consider that both are better than the Magnamalo Soul third skill, though this is mainly because there are better raw-focused options available as you progress.
Early Features
- High raw damage.
- Comes with the Blast element, which is actually quite powerful in Rise.
- Huge amount of green sharpness.
- Great Rampage Skill choices, Blast Boost in particular.
- On balance, probably the best all round early Dual Blades available.
Crafting Requirements
- Magnamalo Blade x 4
- Magnamalo Shell x 2
- Magnamalo Scale x 2
- Magna Ghostprism x 2
Alright, so it’s pretty clear that you’re going to have to take the beast down more than once, and this is likely to either thrill you or fill you with dread. Either way it can take a while to get your hands on everything required. The Magnamalo Blade can be a little awkward, requiring you to break the Armblade for a reasonable chance at it dropping, but you should find that the Shell, Scale and Ghostprism drop in plentiful amounts. If you’re struggling with the latter there, be sure to take advantage of Wyvern Riding to get shiny drops; they’re more likely to appear there and well, it’s fun to see the purple lad floundering.
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Categories: Monster Hunter Rise, Top 5