Monster Hunter Now - Basic Long Sword guide and set recommendations

Special thanks to dylan for being so cool with me using his clips!
Dylan's youtube: / @dylanlrk
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Referral code: CM8TH3V9
Friend code: 5034 5512 8128
Armour set builder: mhn.quest/
Come say hi in discord! / discord
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Video chapters
00:00 Video starts
01:07 Spirit Gauge
01:43 Basic moves and Spirit blade combo
02:25 Counter/Parry
03:57 Iai slash into Spirit helm breaker
04:29 Special Attack
05:00 Comparison of special attack(with/without spirit buff)
05:17 Build set recommendations
05:53 Early-mid game
06:55 Transitioning to mid game
07:25 End game - Raw
08:13 Poison
08:33 Fire
09:34 Water
09:51 Thunder
10:05 Ice
10:20 Whining and my words for you :)

[@shawnzyplays]

I keep saying that the weapon turns red but it doesn't actually turn red. Sorry. It's just that the hunter has some red aura. I'm an idiot. Someone report this channel for false information pls.

[@KBDToSafety]

reported. ty for your service

[@chan6565]

i can see why you said that, cuz the bar down there turns red as you attack and the bar itself is in the shape of the sword

[@babyplex2489]

reported for fake news

[@Zypherfox1]

XD

[@kylemckinnon5192]

😊

[@ImmortalManji]

Thank you for the guide! LS is my favorite weapon, but I'm really bad in timming, so I switched my Kulu LS to a Diablos Bow 😂 And to add to your guide, 2 more info about the LS: - After using Fade Slash, you can go immediately to Spirit Combo; - After using your SP skill, your Spirit Gauge will fill automatically for a few seconds! Hope this can help everyone! Happy hunting!

[@jorgedeltacoo]

Very helpful that you offered different armour pieces for players at different stages of the game. Gained a sub!

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks for the sub!

[@numbersoul]

Thank you for all the videos! I was able to do the 5* Rathalos urgent on my first try after watching your video a few times to learn his tells

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks for watching my videos!

[@b_baban]

Looking around for good armor sets and these recommendations are pretty neat! Just unlocked Rathian earlier today and I’m pretty hyped to build your recommended mid-game armor set : )

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks! Feel free to make the sets your own by adjusting whatever fits your playstyle

[@peterly185]

Great job thanks for the tips, much appreciated!

[@arisumainland687]

We'll wait for your GS guide! Can't wait to hear your insights about GS. Keep it up!

[@shawnzyplays]

nooooooo

[@andikachandra1822]

GS FTW pleaseee that's my reason to continue this game

[@shawnzyplays]

@@andikachandra1822 _plays with leaf on the roadside_

[@HandfulofComments]

Great video, I’m a hammer user and tip pretty much helps me as well

[@The_Wanderer3301]

I've been waiting for this Thanks

[@shawnzyplays]

Sorry to keep you waiting! Thanks for watching

[@AifritGaming]

Wow this must have taken a ton of work! Awesome video thank you!

[@shawnzyplays]

Used quite a number of potions.. but it's ok because the referrals mainly come from you guys anyway!

[@mavisvermillion9212]

Thank you for the video!

[@shawnzyplays]

U requested it!

[@christopherdamron269]

Thanks for this, I had no idea fade slash had I-frames and could be used for perfect evades. Now I'm just working on my iai timing, longsword feels so good in this game

[@shawnzyplays]

Glad the video helped!

[@johnwhalen7579]

The game itself didn’t show me this at all! So thank you!

[@shawnzyplays]

You're welcome!

[@Lask]

Thank you for another great video. I've mostly been playing longsword and had no idea the fade slash could also parry (was mostly using it as a way to gingerly back up) or that the sheathing could be "canceled" as a parry! Also, good chuckle every time you mention how 'anime' the longsword is, it's good to have a sense of humor about these sorts of things haha

[@shawnzyplays]

Hey Lask, glad you like the vid!

[@elioalbertopereyra4702]

without realizing it i made the mid game set recently! Stuck in Diablos until i can Over5 my kulu katana. After that ill see if i can work on poison setup. Also didnt know i could do the backward dodge while sheating the sword so thats new to me! Thanks a lot for the tips!

[@shawnzyplays]

you're welcome! hope you'll scale that wall soon!

[@DABOSSEMPRAH]

yeeeh boi! daz it! what a wholesome guide...😊👍

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks for your kind words!!

[@XxXRageXxX]

This was great ty

[@DreamxEater87]

Great video I totally overlooked leather armor on accident and have been focusing on a focus build but, I didn't realize there was a swipe while charged thanks for all the tips

[@shawnzyplays]

You're welcome! Glad this low quality video helped!

[@Zivhayr]

Love the guide!! I just wanted to write out my thoughts on Anja vs Rath weapons based on the research and testing I've been doing: Raw and Elemental is additive. Elemental attack does not activate on a monster that is not weak to the elemental damage type of your weapon. Rathalos longsword has 1,221 raw and 1,142 fire. This means it has an effective attack of 2,363 against fire-weak monsters. Anjanath longsword has 1,293 and 910 fire. This means it has an effective attack of 2,203 against fire-weak monsters. It's up to you whether the 160 effective attack loss is worth it. As for materials being more accessible, Anjanath weapon uses Monster Bones as it's gathered upgrade materials. The best thunder weapon at the moment, Tobi, and the best water weapon at the moment, jyura, both use bones as well. Thus if you're making multiple elemental sets (you should be due to how elemental works in this game) Rathalos is the superior choice, as it uses Ore instead of Bones. Upgrading 3 weapons which all use bones is a huge bottleneck. (It's my hope that the Zinogre weapons will use bugs, as a reference to fulgurbugs, then we'll have three different materials for three different elements!) But what about rising tide? Preliminary testing suggests it's about a 5% damage increase per tier. Unfounded napkin math: That means AFTER 25 seconds of a hunt (during which you've been doing 160 less damage due to an inferior weapon) you gain about 110 attack. You're still not up to the Rathalos weapon. This of course does NOT factor in additional attack boosts, and we still don't know the full maths behind Rising Tide, so take that with a grain of salt. Point is, during that initial 25 seconds, rising tide has no effect, during the next 25 seconds, it's still weaker, and it has to do some SERIOUS catching up in the last 25 seconds of a hunt in order to equal the Rathalos weapon in overall damage (it won't). If you have armor pieces to get rising tide to a higher level, maybe it's worth it? Further testing required, but that's a lot of investment that you could be putting toward an efficient skill like fire attack which has plain and simple huge boosts. Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. If anything I've said is incorrect or outdated information, please let me know and show me the source, thank you :) I should also note, if you already have an Anja weapon built and upgraded, I don't think it's worth crafting the rath weapons, unless you feel like making a different weapon type. This was more for people deciding which one to craft in the first place :)

[@billynikakis8532]

I have been looking everywhere for this , and it kinda agrees with my thoughs and rough estimations. While earplugs is useless since is does not protect agains big monster roars , the difference is raw dmg is small, while in fire dmg is huge. For me , a bow user , the charge atk type also plays a significant role tho so I am still unsure what to do , but since the anja bow does the work for now , i will craft the rathalos armor first, and I will decide my main fire bow later , when we hopefully have more info.

[@Zivhayr]

@@billynikakis8532 Bow definitely has more to consider! Anjanath being the very consistent up close spread bow at all charge levels makes it pretty easy to use. Rathalos changing shot type at higher charge levels could take some getting used to, but with high levels of Focus skill should be not very noticeable. Not sure if rapid/pierce have a different effective range?

[@billynikakis8532]

@@Zivhayr I think there is a small difference in range, not sure,but what's more important is that rapid is very effective for multiple breaks, depending on positioning. It's also easier because since the arrows don't spread you can shoot from further away and still get all the hits on the same spot, unlike spread that needs you to almost be in melee range.

[@Zivhayr]

@@billynikakis8532 critical distance bonus damage for spread is definitely super close to the monster. So potentially rathalos would let you play safer. But spread is also more versatile than pierce imo since it doesn't rely on monster to be facing you or positioned in a way that your pierce can do multiple hits. I would recommend thinking about the monsters you will be fighting with fire: legiana, barroth, jagras and paolumu. I've had good results against all of these monsters with spread. No experience with rath bow though

[@milandas410]

As a LS main...I am really great full...And great vid as always

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks for watching!

[@qwzcr]

W guide tysm shawnzy and also ur friend dylan

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks for watching !

[@qwzcr]

@@shawnzyplays what are your opinions on burst?

[@shawnzyplays]

@@qwzcr its good if you have your essentials down (elements, focus) and have extra space to squeeze it in. dont use it on rapid bows tho.

[@qwzcr]

@@shawnzyplays ok ty

[@JanusHoW]

Things have changed quite a bit, and power creep has set in with the addition of new monsters. While the sets in this video will probably work for people who are still working through the Pre-Season Story and/or don't have access to subspecies or the recent event monsters, the optimal current endgame meta sets have changed. As of this comment, the following sets are the meta, with all armors being G6 and weapon is G8 unless otherwise noted - sets are weapon/head/chest/arms/waist/legs: Raw: Pink Rathian/G8 Coral Pukei/Rathalos/Azure Rathalos/Pink Rathian/Kulu-Ya-Ku This set gives you Critical Eye 4, Weakness Exploit 4, Critical Boost 2, Evade Extender 1 and Lock-On. The Kulu Longsword has more Affinity, but Pink Rathian's higher raw and its additional Poison wins out. You can also use Banbaro's LS. Fire: Rathalos/G8 Coral Pukei/Azure Rathalos/Anjanath/Rathalos/Azure Rathalos This set gives you Fire Attack 5, Earplugs 3, Weakness Exploit 2, Focus 1 and Lock-On. Water: Jyuratodus/G8 Coral Pukei/Jyuratodus/Jyuratodus/Pink Rathian/Great Jagras This set gives you Water Attack 5, Last Stand 1, Weakness Exploit 2, Critical Eye 2 and Lock-On. Ice: Legiana/G8 Coral Pukei/Barioth/Barioth/Legiana/Kulu-Ya-Ku This set gives you Ice Attack 5, Weakness Exploit 2, Critical Eye 2, Divine Blessing 2 and Lock-On. Unfortunately, Barioth is unavailable at the moment, but will likely return this winter. Thunder: Actually has two optimal sets, depending on which weapon you go with: Tobi Kadachi or Tzitzi-Ya-Ku/Tzitzi-Ya-Ku/Rathalos/Rathian/Tobi Kadachi/Zinogre This set gives you Thunder Attack 5, Weakness Exploit 2, Evade Extender 1, Burst 3, and Lock-On. Tzitzi's weapons actually get Lock-On at G8, but the fact that the Rathian gloves give you two ranks in Burst makes it still worth using, as of this comment. Tobi's weapon gives you a second rank in Evade Extender at G8. Zinogre/G8 Coral Pukei/Odogaron/Zinogre/Tobi Kadachi/Zinogre This set gives you Thunder Attack 5, Critical Eye 2, Artful Dodger 1, Weakness Exploit 2, Burst 1 and Lock-On. For those of you who missed out on Coral Pukei-Pukei, you can just keep using the Kulu-Ya-Ku helmet.

[@lecheff4836]

❤❤❤❤ love it bro

[@shawnzyplays]

Thanks 🔥

[@jacksjap]

thanks a lot man n.n

[@shawnzyplays]

You're welcome :)

[@junkboys7675]

Wow thanks for guide Maybe next guide to perfect counter all attack Monster 😄

[@shawnzyplays]

I need alot more potions for such video haha

[@jakeabejero9955]

Thanks a lot I've been struggling because of this anjanath my damage is low and cant kill him fast enough for the time. Now i think with few more moves I can make it! Also I will try the build for the thunder one 🥰

[@shawnzyplays]

Anjanath is not weak to thunder so it may not be useful...

[@jakeabejero9955]

Its not useful but defeated it after watch the video because of the moves you show thanks anyway!!

[@shawnzyplays]

@@jakeabejero9955 np and congrats Jake!

[@xagaraexag5291]

gaaahh finally thankyou

[@shawnzyplays]

sorry it took so long :(

[@xagaraexag5291]

@@shawnzyplays ohw dude its fine..just super happy its here :D thanks sure that a lot of hunters will take note of this one!

[@Spacetrap]

Hello i have defeated legiana recently I have also been thinking and i eprsonaly decided on legiana longsword as my main weapon soon not only it looks cool but will help me when i encounter diablos and after update with zinogre guide helped me thinking of my build and overall gameplay

[@shawnzyplays]

Hey Spacetrap! Glad it helped! Yeah there are some rumors of upcoming monsters being weak to ice too. Not a bad idea to get an ice weapon now.

[@Ramingor]

Sword and shield deserves a guide as well!

[@Chineseisntalanguageapparently]

You don’t need a guide for the easiest and most overpowered weapon to use

[@mistakulrizal728]

Yes sir

[@vaapad3092]

@@Chineseisntalanguageapparently will it hold up until endgame? i have seen mostly either bow or LS gameplay on youtube for 8 and 9 stars content

[@Chineseisntalanguageapparently]

@@vaapad3092 being that it’s the middle ground in terms of weapons, I’d say it’s versatile enough to be good throughout every game, it’s literally just overlooked all the time

[@MichaelRainboy]

He will make one

[@zihaojia2117]

an excellent video, thank you for the content. I have two questions: 1\ What is the grade&level of that fire ls in the gameplay from dylanlrk? I just want to compare the dps between ls and bow in endgame. 2\ I have heard about two playstyles on ls. First one is similar to dylanlrk here, attack + 1 or 2 counter. I also play this way. The other is counter + helm breaker all the time. I am not sure if there is any pro have tried that? Will the 2nd playstyle produce higher dps?

[@shawnzyplays]

I don't think even Dylan recalls the grade of the weapon. It was some time ago... As for playstyle. Highly recommend you NOT to use that non-special helm breaker all the time as you are vulnerable to taking hits while in the air. It is situational really.

[@halfblue2678]

2:19 pretty vague, eh. Do you know where you get stuck on a long animation when using LS? It's on spirite blade III 2:39 upward slash? Where did you get that? 2:45 Fade slash isn't used for parrying, it's mostly done for repositioning or to deal a bit more damage. I guess people really think that they are doing a fade slash on LS during perfect dodge. But as you have said earlier, we are actually doing a foresight slash during perfect dodge. Fade slash doesn't have any follow up, foresight slash does, which is the spirit round slash. 3:05 I guess that's the alternative to the "while standing" foresight slash prep

[@shawnzyplays]

Sorry man. Should've been clearer.

[@SpaceAndyx]

What about the Anjanath pants for Peak Performance or the Jyoratodus pants for Focus lvl 1? How do they compare against crit eye

[@shawnzyplays]

Yeah peak is great! Great if you know your way around the monsters. It's bad if you get hit alot

[@Steven-xf8mz]

Probably the most challenging and/or costly play considering the current potion setup. lol.

[@willyZhang-wt8rb]

Since fade slash and iai slash are considered evade, does artful dodge also increase the ? Thus making it easier to perform perfect iai slash? Increasing the damage output

[@shawnzyplays]

No idea man! But it's a good theory!

[@TheProGamerable]

Got a question! You said the Kulu Longsword is pretty nice to early to mid game? How long can I use the sword or when I am supposed to switch it with a different one?

[@shawnzyplays]

Tbh if u want u can use it till 9* or so but later on you'll need heroic build. Just that it is way easier to go with elemental build for monsters starting from 8*. Easier but just more expensive since you'll need 1 weapon per element.

[@MrB711]

How important is Focus vs Critical Eye for LS? I'm wearing the Pink Rath coil for Citical Eye and Kulu boots for Critical Eye but should I switch to Jyrura Boots for Focus?

[@shawnzyplays]

if you can maintain ur hits consistently, then u probably dont need much focus to keep ur spirit gauge up.

[@pookie6659]

PROTIP: if you dont mind utilizing the gyro controls, you dont need lock-on at all. essentially free aiming with it, you need a bit of skill aiming the body parts you wanna hit. gives more possibilities for skill slot than using it for lock-on.

[@shawnzyplays]

This is a real pro tip!

[@emingeming4860]

My phone not suport it

[@doctachi]

When is sheathe + fade slash preferred over sheathe + iai counter? the latter seems superior almost always (assuming you're efficient at timing it)

[@shawnzyplays]

No idea! ill go for iai counter any day haha!

[@arpitez]

Can you parry every attack using the iai slash? I thought some were unblockable but maybe I just had a bad timing and got hit

[@shawnzyplays]

Yeah seems like everything can be parried. Even roars!

[@thomaswalsh4700]

Great Video! You think crit+2 kulu pants better than focus+2 jyura pants?

[@shawnzyplays]

hmm the jyura pants if you're a LS newbie, and kulu pants if you can keep attacking the monster without stopping much so that you can constantly keep your spirit gauge up.

[@thomaswalsh4700]

Thanks! I was trying to justify using Jyura cause they look cooler than the Kulu JNCOs

[@shawnzyplays]

@@thomaswalsh4700 get your hands on pink rathian waist if you can. upgrade it to g6 for crit eye 2

[@aziefsaiyan]

Im lacking monster bone+ should i focus to upgrade my raw ls or thunder ls ?

[@shawnzyplays]

raw is fine if u want to be resource efficient. But later on in the game you'll have to pivot to element because raw's dmg just cant keep up.

[@bboy458]

What do you consider Midgame/Endgame?

[@ryanstover2]

Didnt realize until 10 mins in this is MH theme song 😆

[@shawnzyplays]

Haha it's actually the music from the shop in game!

[@JeannieLove]

I got my Iron Katana upgraded enough that now I need 8 star mats, but I only have 6 star. I'm trying to get my Rathian and Rathalos katanas leveled. Along with Tobi and Legiana. But I go with Rule of Cool and would rather not use the Tobi and Legi. For the Rathian I need the plates, I hope they're easier to come by with 7 stars.

[@shawnzyplays]

I'm curious, why iron katana over kulu?

[@JeannieLove]

@@shawnzyplays G7 L5 Iron vs G5 L4 Kulu, you tell me

[@nxtrm9326]

ive been maining bow and ls for like years but now i can only play bows cause theres no way i can make all elemental weapons and sets... even just for one weapon type its way too expensive with the zenny, i hope in future updates they give us more and better ways to farm it man

[@shawnzyplays]

Yeah! Also perhaps you could have a mix. Maybe water ls, fire bow etc

[@Equizition21]

There's gonna be more weapons in this game than monsters

[@FFAIZISA]

Would love to create elemental weapons but it’s damn expensive 😭

[@shawnzyplays]

Yeah tell me about it...currently stuck at progression and had to slowly upgrade weapons :/

[@lemonadepencil2109]

Yes ! Yeeessss ! Join the weeb !! With longsword !!

[@Heipooo]

I cant wait to see 9999 damage of GS!!

[@shawnzyplays]

sorry mate, i dont think i have the resources to upgrade a GS to show that kind of dmg.

[@PetTalkk]

Is it good if my armour set maxes out divine blessing?😅

[@shawnzyplays]

maxing out divine blessing also means your build may not have much dmg. The problem here is the 75s timer :/

[@qwzcr]

just dodge 💀

[@emingeming4860]

If spirit gague was full how much we get power up?

[@shawnzyplays]

sorry man i didnt test that..

[@LucentCross]

This help lot however i realize my own downside of using longsword... Low performance mobile phone 😢 Guessni stick to bow for now until i can upgraded my phone

[@shawnzyplays]

oh no im sorry to hear that! Have you lowered the quality to Low?

[@LucentCross]

@@shawnzyplays yeah it is on low and i don't have the 60 fps. But it tend to lag out sometimes to point i miss dodge or missed timed, so i stick to bow since at least i can be bit safe from the range

[@timr.2257]

Wait, so LS’s perfect evade is pretty weak?

[@shawnzyplays]

Its okay. But iai slash is better since it gives you a huge chunk of spirit gauge. (Also you can cosplay as sephiroth)

[@TheWererapter92]

I've had nothing but Sword n shield since I started because the long sword is too slow, the Dualblades have no interrupt to evade option and there's no Insect glaives or heavybowgun yet, plus the Prime drop rates for monsters I need parts from are pure garbage

[@shawnzyplays]

Yeah I guess if you want weapons it's just sns and db. Just stick with sns if you want. Don't feel pressured to play a different weapon

[@KitsuJade_]

I like your video and I will wait SNS,

[@shawnzyplays]

ummm... :/

[@orachi6224]

Sns pls

[@MHJay01]

Hammer guide please

[@shawnzyplays]

bruhh.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHK3q2BoaNGXnMk

[@reploid001]

Too late.. I'm on 8 star using LS.. I was looking for something like these last week

[@shawnzyplays]

Oh you don't need such a guide. You're at 8* already!

[@reploid001]

@@shawnzyplays yes, last week I was like, how am I gonna get through this from tap & swipe lol

[@javeh6022]

In raw builds I prefeer to use kulu helm, rath chest, kulu arms, rathian waist, kulu boots for almost always crit

[@shawnzyplays]

yeah this looks like a really good crit build!

[@Zypherfox1]

That's what that dash slash is called xD iv called it the weeb slash.

[@shawnzyplays]

That doesnt sound too bad. dangit i shouldve called it weeb slash.

[@Zypherfox1]

@@shawnzyplays haha that woulda been funny too

[@shawnzyplays]

@@Zypherfox1 missed opportunity :(

[@geosama1317]

i don't like crit build in any game because.. this traumatic experience that i had.. i have 75% crit chance, but i didn't crit for 10+ hits in a row, resulting me to get flamed by my teammates for "no damage" 😢😢 never again..

[@kingfinallycome8763]

Don't worry, it's not gonna waste your time and effort to build crit, i heard that they are adding decorations in the future, high affinity based weapon is gonna benefits the most out of it after we have crit boost deco (Actually I'm also trying to convince myself because i also build crit, and my damage is now falling off 😢)

[@shawnzyplays]

gotta pivot to element. How far are you into the game @kingfinallycome8763?

[@shawnzyplays]

you need better teammates!

[@kingfinallycome8763]

@@shawnzyplays Hr 45, second round of chapter 5, Kulu longsword G65

[@kingfinallycome8763]

Elemental weapons still seem impractical for me, there's no way i can upgrade at least two elemental weapons (thunder & water) to G65, even if i did, what if I'm fighting monster that's not weak to water & thunder? In that case the atk power will be way lower than my high affinity Kulu longsword

[@datpi0718]

why you afraid of GS xD

[@shawnzyplays]

i think i'll need way more potions then hahahaha!

[@OscarAlv947]

Gran espada pls :3

[@shawnzyplays]

nooooooo

[@OscarAlv947]

@@shawnzyplays why not ;,/

[@bakedmomo5693]

you didn't exactly "tell/show" how to do the helmbreaker. you/your video basically says "just do it" without showing/telling... smh

[@shawnzyplays]

Hey man I realised it too. My bad. Will make sure everything's super clear next time. Thanks for your feedback!