[Top 5] Monster Hunter World Best Greatswords (2020)

Monster Hunter World, Iceborne, Best Great Swords

Updated:

16 Feb 2021

Great Sword SMASH.

Other weapons can prance around and deal their tiny double (sometimes triple) digit hits. But for the adults in the room? They use Great Swords and deal out numbers large enough to cause another K/T extinction..

Great Swords are Monster Hunter’s greatest beat sticks. I’d argue the weapon’s entire purpose in life is to land massive, earth-shaking hits. There are a few different ways you can capitalize on this playstyle, but as far as weapons go, there are only a few you should be looking at. \

Long story short, raw is going to be your best friend. If you’re ever lost, just find the weapon with the largest raw numbers and roll with it.

But if you’re looking for a little bit more explanation than that, then here are the top 5 Best Great Swords in Iceborne.

5) Hidden Blade II

THE HIDDEN GREATSWORD | Masterrank Endgame Build DPS & Comfort | MHW Iceborne

The Hidden Blade II is the Nargacuga Great Sword. Since you fight that monster fairly early, you can build this weapon fairly early too. I personally recommend building this weapon as soon as possible after the Great Jagras Great Sword so you can enjoy the many benefits that come with this weapon.

What benefits you may ask? This Great Sword shines because of its solid raw damage, base 30 hits of purple sharpness, base 25% affinity, and, since it’s also a rarity 10 weapon, access to Custom Upgrades. For its upgrades, I recommend just increasing its raw since the base 25% affinity is more than enough to build Master’s Touch with this weapon and still save you a few slots to shove in other decorations.

While this weapon may have comfort in spades, the biggest flaw it has is, relative to the other Great Swords on this list, its raw is on the lower side. But if you’re looking for a pretty comfortable weapon to build around, then the Hidden Blade II is what you should be using.

What's Great About the Hidden Blade II

Nargacuga appears in the middle of the story, so you can make this weapon a little bit after the Great Jagras Great Sword.
Super comfortable to hunt with. Base purple sharpness and 25% affinity means you don’t have to run Handicraft and you can save yourself some slots by not having to run full Affinity.
Access to Custom Upgrades can help you tweak builds for this Great Sword, or help make up for its low raw attack compared to other Great Swords.

Hidden Blade II Stats (With full attack from Custom Upgrades)

Rarity: 10
Sharpness:
- 30 hits of purple sharpness.
- 30 hits of white sharpness.
Raw Damage: 1152(376.6 Effective Raw)
Affinity: 25%
Element: (660 Poison)(22 Effective Status)
Slots:
- 1x Level 1

4) Immovable Dharma

MHWI | Brute Tigrex Great Sword 05'45"01 Solo (TA wiki rules)

Shara’s Great Sword is on this list because it can strike a great balance between comfort and damage. This will also be the next Great Sword you should build after the Hidden Blade II since Shara will be the last boss you fight in the story.

Immovable Dharma makes it onto the list specifically because it has 1344 raw which will out-damage the 1152 (1190 with full attack Custom Upgrades) attack on the Hidden Blade II, and it can reach purple sharpness.

For this Great Sword, you’re going to want to run full Handicraft 4 to make it reach a comfortable amount of purple sharpness. However, you can also get away with Handicraft 3 if you’re fairly confident you can play with 10 hits of purple sharpness (which will be a useful skill for later).

What's Great About the Manifested Lotus

Since this weapon is built from Shara parts, you can use this for your first few adventures in the Guiding Lands, and then later to help you farm up MR faster.
It can hit purple sharpness with Handicraft Level 3. Handicraft Level 4 is advised for comfort.
2x level 1 slots can help make builds a little bit easier with this weapon. Since it has more raw than the Narga blade, you can use these slots to help make up for the lack of base Affinity.

Immovable Dharma Stats

Rarity: 12
Sharpness:
- Handicraft 4:
  - 20 hits of purple sharpness
  - 30 hits of white sharpness
- Without Handicraft:
  - 20 hits of white sharpness
  - 50 hits of blue sharpness
Raw Damage: 1344(389.4 Effective Raw) (With Handicraft: 410.05 Effective Raw)
Affinity: 0%
Element: (540 Dragon)(62.1 Effective Element)(With Handicraft: 67.5)
Slots:
- 2x Level 1

3) The Great Demon Rod

MHW Iceborne | The Highest Damage Number Ever

Rajang’s Great Sword won’t be the most comfortable build in the world, but it is damaging. With a few upgrades and augments, it should be able to out-damage the Immovable Dharma. Just make sure you find a way to make up for its negative affinity since that can hurt a lot of Master’s Touch builds.

Thanks to the built-in Thunder element, the Great Demon Rod still has a few niches it can perform extremely well in. Specifically, any match up where the monster is weak to lightning is where you should be switching over to the Demon Rod for additional damage.

If you want to see a comparison between the Great Demon Rod and some of the other meta choices, then give this video a watch.

What's Great About the Great Demon Rod

Crazy high raw stat.
With Handicraft, you can get a lot of white sharpness for comfort.
A level 4 slot and a minimum of two Handicraft levels for comfort can help builds be more damaging than the Immovable Dharma and Acidic Glavenus builds because of the spare slots.
Augmenting for Affinity helps fix its negative Affinity.

The Great Demon Rod Stats

Rarity: 12
Sharpness:
- Handicraft 2:
  - 20 hits of White sharpness.
- Without Handicraft:
  - 60 hits of blue sharpness.
  - 50 hits of green sharpness.
Raw Damage: 1488 (375.38 Effective Raw) (With Handicraft: 412.91 Effective Raw)
Affinity: -15%
Element: 180 Lightning (19.13 Effective Element)(With Handicraft: 20.7)
Slots:
- 1x Level 4

2) Royal Venus Blade

ROYAL VENUS BLADE | AMAZING GREATSWORD BUILD | MHW Iceborne

The Royal Venus Blade gets 2nd place because it can be a more comfortable and damaging version of the Shara and Rajang weapons while only barely falling behind the Acid Shredder II. However, you do gain more sharpness and a higher base affinity.

If you’re looking for a Great Sword to pick up and just hunt with your friends, then I would recommend you use this weapon - it strikes the best balance between comfort and damage.

What's Great About the Royal Venus Blade

Great raw and sharpness.
It can reach purple sharpness, which is a solid buff for damage and comfort.
Actually, at just two levels of Handicraft, you can get a pretty comfortable build out of this weapon.
A built-in level 3 slot can make builds a bit easier.

The Royal Venus Blade Stats

Rarity: 12
Sharpness:
- Handicraft 2:
  - 20 hits of purple sharpness.
- Without Handicraft:
  - 30 hits of white sharpness.
  - 50 hits of blue sharpness.
Raw Damage: 1296(390.31 Effective Raw) (With Handicraft: 411.08 Effective Raw)
Affinity: 15%
Element: (570 Water) (65.55 Effective Element)(With Handicraft: 71.25)
Slots:
- 1x Level 3

1) Acid Shredder II

【MHWI】OLAY大剣VS M5★ 4古龍 & ラージャン (死を纏うヴァルハザク/キリン/テオ・テスカトル/イヴェルカーナ)

Our first place Great Sword, the Acid Shredder II.

This weapon earns its spot from the crazy high raw attack the Acid Shredder sports (1392). I know that’s lower than the Rajang’s Great Sword, but the Acid Shredder II is able to out damage the Great Demon Rod because it has a level 4 slot, can reach purple sharpness, has access to Custom Upgrades, and unlike the Great Demon Rod, the Acid Shredder doesn’t have negative affinity.

The only weakness this weapon has is its extremely low sharpness. While it can hit purple sharpness to help its damage, with Handicraft 5, you’re looking at only 10 hits of purple. This can be extremely uncomfortable unless you’re used to playing with 10 hits, or if you don’t mind playing like a robot.

If you want to build this weapon, I recommend using a Master’s Touch build so you can put in as many swings as you can before its sharpness drops out of purple. This can also give you some comfort since, even if you hit a non-weak or tenderized spot, there’s a chance you’ll get a critical hit and lose no sharpness.

While it may not be comfortable, the Acid Shredder II still rises above the rest of the weapons as the best and most damaging Great Sword. If you want something more comfortable, however, I recommend using one of the other weapons I’ve listed in this article.

What's Great About the Acid Shredder II

HIGH RAW FOR HIGH DAMAGE.
It can reach purple sharpness for more DAMAGE.
A level 4 Jewel makes builds with this weapon a little bit more flexible.
Custom Upgrades lets its damage go even higher.

The Acid Shredder II Stats (WIth full attack Custom Upgrades)

Rarity: 11
Sharpness:
- Handicraft 5:
  - 10 hits of purple sharpness.
  - 20 hits of white sharpness.
  - 60 hits of blue sharpness.
- Without Handicraft:
  - 60 hits of blue sharpness.
  - 50 hits of green sharpness.
Raw Damage: 1392(375.6 Effective Raw) (With Handicraft: 435.07 Effective Raw)
Affinity: 0%
Element: (420 Paralysis) (14 Effective Element)(With Handicraft: 14)
Slots:
- 1x Level 4

If you’re interested in seeing the meta builds for Great Sword then please visit this link.

What about Safi'Jiiva Weapons?

At the time of this article's writing, Safi'Jiiva weapons haven't been released on the PC yet. But building the Greatsword with Safi'Jiiva weapons isn't the hardest thing in the world - just find the one with the biggest attack stat and roll with it.

You can't go wrong with Blast or Sleep element in this scenario. Sleep is preferred since it gives you another wake-up TCS or another wake-up wall slam. Blast is great if you just want straight damage.

If you're interested in finding out more about post-Safi'Jiiva builds for the Great Sword, then please visit this album. It has most of the build you're looking for and should give you a general idea of what you should be doing.

Thank you for reading!

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