As a professional Monster Hunter gamer with over 2000 hours played, the Long Sword has always been my go-to weapon. I love its elegant combos and massive damage potential in the hands of a skilled hunter.
In this detailed guide, I‘ll share everything you need to truly master the Long Sword in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak – from essential combos and switch skills to gear builds and advanced techniques.
Understanding the Spirit Gauge
The key to mastering the Long Sword lies in managing your Spirit Gauge – the sword-shaped meter underneath your sharpness gauge.
Landing hits will automatically fill the Spirit Gauge. Once full, you can unleash the Spirit Blade combo:
ZR → ZR → ZR → ZR The final strike – Spirit Roundslash – will increase your Spirit level, visible by the gauge color:
| Color | Bonus |
|---|---|
| White | None |
| Yellow | +10% Affinity |
| Red | +20% Affinity, +10 Attack |
The #1 priority is keeping your Spirit Gauge red for its substantial attack and affinity boosts that amplify all your damage.
Many novice Long Sword users neglect their gauge, severely hindering their DPS. Don‘t be that hunter!
Essential Long Sword Combos
These core combos should become second nature through repeated practice:
Spirit Blade Combo
ZR → ZR → ZR → ZR - Your Spirit gauge builder.
- Ends in Roundslash which raises your Spirit level.
Fade Slash Combo
X+A → ZR → ZR → ZR- Reposition while attacking.
- Still builds Spirit gauge.
Plunging Thrust
ZL+X → ZR - Soaring Kick into aerial Spirit Helm Breaker.
- One of your highest damage combos.
Iai Spirit Slash
ZR+B → ZR - Strong counterattack from Special Sheathe.
- Increases Spirit gauge level.
As a general combo priority:
- Use Spirit Blade when the monster is open or downed to build Spirit gauge.
- Employ Fade Slash combo to reposition and evade attacks.
- Save Plunging Thrust for large openings and knockdowns.
- Iai counter when you need to stay aggressive or regain Spirit gauge levels.
Through relentless training, these core combos will become muscle memory to form the foundation of all your hunts.
Silkbinds – Soaring Kick and Sakura Slash
Two silkbinds moves dramatically expand your Long Sword toolkit:
Soaring Kick (ZL + X)
- Launch into the air to mount monsters or reposition.
- Links into deadly Spirit Helm Breaker. One of your highest damage moves – save it until you have red Spirit gauge for maximum damage.
Sakura Slash (ZL +X)
- Spinning spirit slash hitting multiple times.
- Grants one level of Spirit gauge with each use. Excellent for building meter.
Use Soaring Kick as your main silkbind attack – its versatility and high damage output from the helm breaker finisher is too good to pass up.
However, Sakura Slash can still be useful as an alternate Switch Skill when you need to build Spirit gauge or deal elemental/status damage.
Switch Skills – Customize Your Playstyle
Using Switch Skills, you can customize the Long Sword moveset:
- Step Slash → Double Slash
- Spirit Thrust → Spirit Reckoning
- Soaring Kick → Sakura Slash
- Serene Pose → Harvest Moon
As you progress, tailor your Switch Skill loadout to match your preferred style:
- Speedrunners emphasize Sakura Slash for gauge building and reckless Spirit Helm Breaker play.
- Comfort players enjoy the safety of Harvest Moon‘s ring providing health regeneration and infinite Spirit gauge.
- Raw damage builds maximize Soaring Kick into the punishing Spirit Helm Breaker.
Don‘t be afraid to experiment to find combinations that best complement your hunting flowstate.
Advanced Moves – Foresight Slash and Iai Counters
Once you have the core combos internalized, it‘s time to add advanced techniques:
Foresight Slash
Activating Foresight Slash (ZR + A) triggers a lightning-quick counterattack evasion. Precisely timed counters will instantly fill your Spirit gauge.
This opens huge windows to aggressively capitalize on the monster‘s recovery with zero downtime. Devastating in the right hands.
Iai Slash
Iai Slash is executed from Special Sheathe stance (ZR + B → X). With master-level timing, you can briefly slide through attacks while delivering a powerful spirit slash that increases your gauge.
Both Foresight Slash and Iai Slash require tremendous accuracy to leverage their offensive potential. Expect to cart many times while learning them!
Best Long Sword Gear
While there are many viable Long Sword builds, here is the setup I use to destroy Advanced Quests and deviants:
Late Game Build
- Hayabusa Feather – Critical Eye 2, Quick Sheathe 1
- Silver Solmail – Critical Eye 3, Quick Sheathe 2
- Rathalos Braces – Critical Eye 1
- Squire‘s Belt – Critical Eye 1
- Ingot Greaves – Critical Eye 2
Key Skills
- Quick Sheathe 3 – Faster special sheathe combos
- Critical Eye 7 – Improve affinity
- Critical Boost 3 – Increase critical damage
- Weakness Exploit 3 – More affinity against weak zones
You can swap pieces to match your available charms and decorations, but the core skillset dramatically improves Long Sword‘s lethal counters and combos.
Monster icon pack by Nexus
Fundamentals – Core Longsword Tips
Follow these essential Longsword tips to start unleashing its full potential:
- Live in the Practice Area until your muscle memory locks in essential Spirit combos. Otherwise, you‘re just mashing buttons during hunts!
- Obsess over keeping your Spirit gauge charged red using Fade or Sakura as needed. Remember, red gives a 20% affinity and 10 attack boost!
- Special Sheathe (ZR + B) mid-combo whenever there‘s a large opening – this sets up high-damage Iai counters.
- Monster down? Soaring Kick (ZL + X) into the devastating Spirit Helm Breaker. Massive damage, especially if red gauge. Just don‘t get greedy!
- Initially avoid Silkbind Sakura and Harvest Moon. Soaring Kick‘s versatility and helm breaker is too useful while learning.
- Pick one or two Long Sword switch skills at first. Too many options can overwhelm novice hunters
- Serene Pose and Iai counters will wreck you…until you master timing. Expect lots of carts during the learning process – stick with it!
Keep these principles front of mind throughout your Longsword journey. Now get out there and unleash that inner samurai!
Happy Hunting,
Ren – @PerfectRushGaming
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