"Monster Hunter Now: Top Great Sword Build for Max Damage"

In the arsenal of Monster Hunter Now, the Great Sword stands out as a formidable weapon, capable of delivering devastating blows to monsters. However, mastering this large and somewhat unwieldy weapon requires strategic planning, particularly in slowing down your targets. Recent updates have introduced sleep-based weapons, which, when paired with the right skills, can significantly enhance your gameplay. Here's how to craft the ultimate Monster Hunter Now Great Sword build focused on sleep.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

While the Long Sword thrives on poison, the Great Sword excels with sleep. To fully realize this build, you'll need to hunt a rare monster, but the majority of the gear can be sourced from more common foes.

Full Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build

Weapon

The Frilled Blade is your go-to sleep-based Great Sword in Monster Hunter Now. It comes equipped with the Evade Extender skill, which is handy for creating distance after dodging. While not crucial for the build, it enhances your defensive capabilities. To craft this weapon, you'll need to hunt Somnacanth for the necessary materials.

Helmet & Greaves

The core of this build is sourced from the Nightmare Paolumu, introduced in the first paid event. This monster provides essential parts and skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, which boosts your damage by 100% on the first hit to a sleeping monster. Although Nightmare Paolumu are more common now, they might still require patience to encounter, either through events or as rare spawns post-main story.

Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil

The remainder of the build focuses on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, ensuring sleep buildup when attacking from behind. You'll also gain points in Evade Extender and Artful Dodger, aiding in evasion. Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, a more common monster thanks to the paintball tracker, is your target for these parts.

Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftstone Slots

This build benefits from a relatively low requirement to unlock all its Driftstone slots. Ideally, you should aim for five slots in Sleep Attack to maximize sleep buildup. Alternatively, you can enhance your dodging with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender or boost your damage with Sneak Attack when striking from behind.

• Sleep Attack - increases the weapon's sleep buildup value. 50 at rank 1 and 150 at rank 5. (Azure only)
• Sneak Attack - increases the damage dealt to a monster when attacked from behind. 10% at rank 1 and 30% at rank 5. (Pale only)
• Artful Dodger - makes evading easier to perform. Slightly easier at rank 1 and significantly so at rank 5. (Azure only)
• Evade Extender - extends evasion distance. Very slightly at rank 1 and massively at rank 5. (Pale only)