Monster Hunter Wilds Switch Axe In-Depth Analysis | tested on Gamescom

[@BloodyWyverian]

Important Switch Axe Infos: Yes, ZSD is back! (but you have to hold the button prompts down in amped state for you to actually attach... so you can CHOOSE between attaching to the monster or staying on the ground now!) Yes, you can fade slash out of Focus mode! Yes, you can dodge out of wild swing! Yes, you can morph attack from neutral! (dodge roll begone!) The gameplay is more like Iceborne, less than Rise but we do have a few moves from Rise and Sunbreak. Fade slashes are faster and more reliable for evading attacks. The new compressed slash (Full release slash in amped state) has hyperarmor, you can't be knocked out of it... but you can still faint of course! Invincible gambit is ONLY accessible after a successfull offset slash AND you can actually dodge out of Invincible gambit and you are not forced to commit! The offset slash is axemode only and the counter is sword mode only! Consider joining the Discord! discord.gg/pp5gcEBZ8g Moveset screenshots: www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/comments/1eyfexi/new_switch_axe_in_game_controls_descriptions/ Weapon control Overview: capcom.ws-l.ink/monsterhunter/en/ Wilds Switch Axe Gameplay: IGN Japan kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5CrdGuKp91maqs Fighting Cowboy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3a1YmdoebylhrM

[@jungchoothian2039]

I heard ZSD is only the mount finishing move. That is a wrong information, right? I can ZSD like before but I just have to hold down the button? Pressing the prompt will go to compressed discharge?

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@jungchoothian2039 Yes, ZSD is still possible and is a "hold button" prompt now!

[@paulroche6969]

​@@BloodyWyverian I've seen it said axe mode doesn't benefit from phial explosions, is this true? Thanks in advance.

[@ChrisPerrault]

Thank you so much for the info, Swagaxe is one of my main weapons (right next to Charge Blade) so this has me even more hyped

[@NightshadeDE]

More like world less like ride is all I needed to hear (haven’t been able to word why swaxe didn’t feel right to me in rise)

[@Redjack23]

For anyone coming to the comment section his guides are amazing and they the reason I started maining SwAxe. Give his content a look

[@BloodyWyverian]

Thank you very much for the support! You guys are the best!

[@keretaman]

Thanks for this comment. Gonna check them out. I recently starting trying switchaxe in iceborne.

[@TheKisj]

Indeed, everything i know about switch axe, i learned from bloody wyverian

[@voidkirb5477]

As someone whose fave games are sunbreak and frontier, this swaxe has me absolutely hyped beyond belief! The sword mode parry reminds me a lot of frontier's swaxe flow, which is by far my favorite flow of switch axe ever as you're constantly attacking, guarding, and regaining meter over and over and over again after charging the sword up. And I'm so glad they combined the icebreak and sunbreak features of power axe mode. This is looking to be the best switchaxe ever.

[@Jpmrocks7]

The Lightsaber move everyone is hyped for is actually Trance Slash from Generations, but with the Demon riot boost! Glad to see theyre looking at the best 3 games with SA's moveset.

[@Tsuru8688]

Valor SA was wild. I want a double explosion lol.

[@Gemini_Godhand]

OH THANK GOD! I've been wanting a ZSD update and footage for awhile and I got the info I needed and more with the Invincible Gambit changes. Thanks 😊 Wyverian!

[@deushayatur0301]

One thing to change. The focus attack from sword mode is also wild swings but in sword. Wich also gives u amp charge and can chain into the axe or zsd finisher !

[@BloodyWyverian]

Yes, that is true! I didn't get it right in my own playtime but I saw it by now. It is pretty much the same move but in sword mode though if I saw it correctly.

[@tomweber8482]

2 questions here. Do you know if the focus attack drains gauge in sword mode? Does the amped sword focus strike also crit on explosions?

[@frixaco]

Super happy Axe mode will be even better now! Thank you for the video! And of course can't wait to see your guides next year)

[@lukeshannahan2099]

Quite a bit of false information coming out around movesets at the moment, especially SA, so thank you so much for clearing all of it up! Think I'll be sticking with my mix of IG, SA and SnS based on everything I've seen so far

[@meekumanu]

Hahah those are my main 3 as well.

[@lukeshannahan2099]

@@meekumanu That’s cool mate! I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt like you’ve got everything you need between those three. I sometimes challenge myself to do a whole GS or DB play through or whatever, but I always end up sneaking in one of my holy trinity at some point

[@XenosenSTH]

Morph attacks from neutral! I’m so glad this is coming back. It’s the one thing I miss when switching between Iceborne/Sunbreak SwAxe. Sounds like the best of both worlds

[@XenoDBlade]

That was my only concern I had for the game and now I'm elevated. This is gonna be the best MH game by far

[@shutters3406]

You're the reason I started playing Switch Axe in Rise and Iceborne, thanks for the info!

[@BloodyWyverian]

Thank you very much for the kind words!

[@FoxInvictus]

Großartiges Video! Danke Sehr für die Mühe, schaut ganz so aus als wird Power Axe mode ein Wichtiger Bestandteil des Gameplays werden, was sehr zu loben ist.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Danke Dir! Ja, ich glaube die Balance zwischen Axt- und Schwert-modus wird ganz gut sein, dank den Änderungen zu der Switch Gauge und den Buffs durch Power Axe mode.

[@Yoollloooo1]

Amazing video! As always, very concise, straight to the point and very clear. I love the changes to the switch axe so far. Also, during the 3rd devstream yesterday (around 1h30), I am not sure but think I saw that during a "focus strike" on a wound, you can morph at any time between axe and sword mode! This might mean that depending on your needs, you can build up the switch gauge or the amp gauge, no matter which mode you started the focus strike with. So for example, you could start the focus strike on sword mode, immediately switch to axe mode to build switch gauge, and finish with an elemental discharge !

[@BloodyWyverian]

Thank you for the feedback! The focus strike seems to have way more than it leads on for Switch Axe! I have to check the devstream again. I think we really many things to learn about Swaxe in Wilds even though the moveset seems so similar to Iceborne on the outside!

[@Alexander57739]

So exciting to see! Hope you had fun at the event

[@BloodyWyverian]

yes, it was nice playing for the first time! Really cool. And it got me even more hyped for the release!

[@Terron29]

Been sticking with switch axe since tri on wii. Looks like nothing is changing lol. Bring on wilds!

[@BloodyWyverian]

Hell yeah! I've been sticking to it since Tri as well! Switch Axe supremacy all the way!

[@XenoDBlade]

Tri-SwitchAxe-brother supremacy!

[@ultimasurge]

ty for the info

[@MonstahHuntah741]

All the changes seem so cool!! It's a bummer that amped state doesn't affect axe mode, but with this new power axe mode buff, I think it'll be balanced to use the two modes, we can only confirm that when a demo comes out unfortunately.

[@Hydraclone]

I don't think it'll be as much of an issue. In Rise, it made axe mode somewhat viable. Else it was completely pointless. Whereas here, Axe mode actually has a purpose now. It recharges your switch gauge, so it plays a part in the ebb and flow of the Swaxe move set. I would still like phials to affect axe mode, but I think it's less of an issue in Wilds than it was in Rise.

[@Evrimomono]

This is absolutely poggers and a massive W. I love how they just added new stuff, didn't take away

[@EACru2002]

In fighting games, I feel like you can often tell if a person on the balance team plays a character or not because certain characters will be given all the tools in the world while others languish. With Wilds, it feels like every weapon has someone who “mains it” in the design team and they know exactly what the weapon needs (except maybe Insect Glaive rip). With Gunlance shelling finally scaling off Atk for example or all the Switch Axe changes, it’s just a bunch of things that just “make sense.” For instance even though we’re not sure if it’s even technically a buff, the concept of your Sword gauge having to be refilled by Axe attacks instead of time based just “makes sense.” The ability to morph at any time, something they picked up from Rise, just “makes sense” for a weapon whose identity is switching. Having “soft” counters makes sense to give to Switch Axe since it was the weapon with literally the poorest defense in World, but at the same time not going too far and giving us the Rise counter (which I love for how OP it is, but I agree wasn’t really good overall for the health of the game and weapon) was a choice that “makes sense.” Capcom is just hitting it out of the park with its weapon redesigns in Wilds.

[@BloodyWyverian]

That's a really interesting approach, I really do feel like the devs are actually playing anf enjoying their own game while also listening to the community and just improve and improve all the time.

[@Werkvuur]

Really nice video! Swaxe is one of my mains and it looks fantastic again in Wilds. Glad the ZSD is back too.

[@BloodyWyverian]

It really plays amazing. And we didn't lose anything compared to Iceborne, we only gained new abilities and moves. It'll be great!

[@xJonfi]

THANK YOU. This is the video I was looking for.

[@TrySomeFish]

Hell yeah swag axe be looking better than ever! I'm so excited to be a swaxe main

[@Bdannn1]

First time peeping your channel and yes I’m subscribing to watch your future stuff

[@BloodyWyverian]

Thank you very much! That really means a lot to me!

[@andresr1999]

So excited for this game, I started monster hunter with rise I’m going to miss those op counters but the SA looks amazing and so smooth in wilds

[@jason_a_rodriguez]

I am loving how they found a middle point between worlds and rise when it comes to the moveset and speed. I also love the two parries/counters in that they seem a lot smoother and combo extender rather than an opening tool in sunbreak. They fit the switch axes identity of being a “reckless” weapon with them rewarding you nicely while giving up something.

[@Hunterwoot]

Nice video and thanks for actually having the correct information about ZSD. Sad to see that there's misinformation being spread about it currently.

[@Hunterwoot]

On that note, is there any info on whether ZSD has innate rocksteady properties like in Rise?

[@BloodyWyverian]

You can tank some hits in ZSD but really powerful attacks will knock you off!

[@Hunterwoot]

@@BloodyWyverian Thank you for this info 🙏🙏🙏

[@solomon9655]

I really REALLY like the design philosophy for both SA and CB in Wilds. It seems to be an attempt to really encourage using both modes of the weapon instead of just picking one which makes for a much more interesting playstyle.

[@Historia_Cat]

Do we have spinning morph attack

[@BloodyWyverian]

The morph sweep from Wild Swing is back, yes!

[@Historia_Cat]

@@BloodyWyverian thank you good sir

[@Gigi4u]

I today played the demo and it was magical. My first MH game was Rise so i thought it might not fit my taste but it ended up surprising me with how fun it is. The slinger took some time to get used same for focus mode but everything else slipped on like a glove. The switch axe is feals great and the stab explosion is saunds like a a real explosion. Focus mode was quite surprisingly fun. I also didn't expect that you could mount monsters to strike them with your sword but you can. My only complaint is that the Seikret couldn't manually jump so you would need to now rely on auto jump which i dont like to do in rise. Bonus i encountered a comical visual glich the turns the girl you save in the beginning invisible. Dont know how i did that but it happened.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Nice, I'm very glad that people enjoy the demo and Switch Axe! I'm sure the game will be amazing and once we get used to the new mechanics it feel great!

[@lonradb]

This might just be the best iteration of Swax yet. It seems to be carrying over the fluidity of Rise’s SA with the nuance of World’s, all while giving axe mode more agency and not allowing you to have 100% sword/amp uptime, which by proxy, also means no ZSD spam. I’m kind of glad it’s retaining counters too? You know, with it having no form of defense whatsoever prior. Looking forward to switching the axe in this game!

[@BloodyWyverian]

It really looks like we have the best of both worlds here. The flow is even better, the counter isn't op and won't be the main source of DPS. ZSD Spam may actually take a step back and give room for proper usage of both modes. I can't wait for a public demo

[@lonradb]

@@BloodyWyverian Same here! And one more question, if you tested it - is it worth spamming morph double slash for DPS (like in Sunbreak) or not? Sword attacks seem to be far more gauge-intensive this time around, so I was just wondering. I hope not, because it really streamlined the weapon in that game for me.

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@lonradb I think there will be very interesting changes to our DPS chains, maybe they will focus around the new discharge into full release slash chain, or the morph sweep from Iceborne has another say in the matter of DPS since axe damage can be boosted by heavy slam. As of now I can't say but the typical DPS chain from Sunbreak is certainly gone

[@alex-p5]

No lightsword mode :( BUT the parry is soothing my broken, frontier obsessed heart. It looks very responsive and helpful for flow! Really looking forward to parrying entire monster combos in wilds

[@BloodyWyverian]

The parry works really well and has a pretty big window to time it right from my experience. I really can't wait to play more.

[@ECI5858]

Good thing to know that the flow of combos is much better now and with the improvements to axe mode and different morph slashes it looks like wilds switch axe will be more fun and fluid as well as more versatile than the iceborne version. The thing that i always loved about the switch axe is that it had different combos that are suited for different scenarios/openings and now with that plus multiple pokes/gap closing attacks as well as a faster fading slash plush parries/counters the weapon seems so versatile. It makes me wonder though if a combo finisher of grounded sword combos then finished by a ZSD would still be the best dps option or would a combo that ends with elemental discharge followed by compressed elemental discharged better and probably even safer but we should know the best combos for different scenarios once we get the official demo.

[@criticalmass7841]

Thank you for the Moga village music

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@criticalmass7841 tri was my first MH game so this theme will always be special to me... Also the title that introduced Switch Axe! Moga village forever!

[@Tsuru8688]

I'm glad i get to see some decent SA stuff. Thx!

[@kingdice6768]

Thank you for answering Zsd Because I’m been seeing footage of players playing switch axe, but then they never able to do not to attach the monster. Thank you for letting us know. We can attach the monster. It’ll be nice to still see footage of that though Because it will be infuriating if every other weapon gets their iconic moves and then we don’t have ours

[@BloodyWyverian]

It is now a "hold button prompt" when you are in amped state, which is probably why many fail to attach to the monster and think it is gone! We can actually choose now whether we want to attach or not (in amped state) but yeah I really want some footage too just to clarify things!

[@cruzerion]

I was a bit worried when I first saw the topple and counter moves, but with the topple being a specific general mechanic and the counter still having you take damage (= you still have to respect the attacks and they won't have to add cheap multihits or higher tracking just to make up for the existence of the counters) I am now more hyped than every for wilds especially since swaxe was my fave in worlds and looks even better here

[@acer8123]

This is the first weapon I'm gonna pick up once wilds comes out. Some time in 2025 I'll wake up one day and chose pure violence

[@enemystando]

Did they take out rapid morph? It made the weapon so smooth in Rise. After trying World SA again, it just felt so clunky and slow

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@enemystando we don't know anything about skills yet. But overall Switch Axe feels more responsive and quick in general.

[@PapitoWason]

I can't wait for the game release. My hype is over 9000

[@spark9189]

out of curiosity, what makes you say this is closer to world switch axe than rise? because when i think of rise switch axe, i think of stuff like forward overhead slash, morph double rising slash, that leading into sword triple slash, and morph double slash, all of which are coming back in wilds and were not in world.

[@BloodyWyverian]

It certainly is a good mix of both, but the basic moveset is very close to Iceborne, some motion values seem also to be closer to what was found in Iceborne (with the Morph sweep for example) and the combat overall is a lot more grounded than in Sunbreak I'd say.

[@Bones_Ex]

hey man was wondering if you could do an in depth video about Swaxe positioning in world. I have about 200 hours with the weapon and still get hit constantly. much appreciated.

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@Bones_Ex sure thing! I'll get to work on it as soon as I can!

[@scolioreset]

I’ve been interested in both Lance and Bow as I was already efficient using them in Iceborne (first MH game). But the Switch Axe is something I loved almost immediately but I never got good at it… yet. Working on a fresh playthrough to relearn the basics. A greater emphasis on meter management/swap is what I can appreciate in Rise, but the main mechanic from Rise prevents me from enjoying any weapon on their own. On an aesthetic point, the morphing animation is something I love. The mechanical aspect of the weapon is why I like it. Hopefully the designs will be good and have a little more variety.

[@BloodyWyverian]

It's the perfect time to start a new playthrough and learn a new weapon. It will also certainly pay off, since the moveset is closer to Iceborne than to Rise or Sunbreak. Although there is a decent mix of both worlds.

[@Magicandybar]

Nice to finally find some good info on the SA! Does latching on with ZSD give rocksteady like it did in rise?

[@BloodyWyverian]

I don't know about the real big attacks but most attacks can just be shrugged off while in ZSD!

[@Rexy2552]

Paralysis phials are gonna be insane

[@superdude3457]

So theres 5 different variations of the elemental discharge now? Standard, compressed, amped compressed (lightsaber), zero sum, and focus mode discharge.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Yes, pretty much.. and you can even chain the discharge and the full release slash (compressed lightsaber) together... pretty crazy.

[@Lolhatestorm]

Why would I need to have a primary and secondary weapon equipped when I could just play Switch Axe? (I guess Charge Blade as well by that logic, but this isn’t about Charge Blade). So many good changes. While Elemental Burst Counter was amazing, it was also incredibly broken. Not having it while also still having a counter move is all I really wanted, since defensive options outside of reposition hops/morphs and fade slashes were very limited before.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Only thing I see is a primary and secondary Switch Axe lol One with status or element and one with raw damage and power phial! Yeah I'm really glad they worked on defensive options!

[@addie1198]

Hello, can we morph without animation lock just like in Rise ? in Worldborne you always have to dodge roll or attack for morphing smoothly otherwise you are locked at the same spot while morphing which made it clunky.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Hello there, you can morph attack at any time! Even from neutral, so in a standard position you can start attacking with a morph attack. You don't have to dodge or attack first.

[@jamesnewman7509]

Sooo, this is going to be a super-subjective question, so I'm not sure if you can reasonably answer, but I thought I'd ask. I loved SA in Icebourne, but I simply could not handle the lack of defensive tools once I got to higher levels - I would just get bodied over and over (not saying that there were none, just that there weren't enough for me to cope). However, in Sunbreak, I really enjoyed it - I used the counter when I saw an attack coming, and the 'zipwire 90 degrees to the side' move when I needed to get out of the way *right now*, and I was able to handle pretty much everything the game threw at me. It seems like we've lost a lot of Sunbreak defensive options, but also gained new ones, but I am unclear how easily accessible/usable they are. So, like, on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is 'Iceborne' and 10 is 'Sunbreak', how would you rate the defensive options we have in Wilds?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Very good question and I would personally say it's a 7. The fade slashes are much quicker now, which allow you to get out of harms way, you can cancel a lot more moves with dodges, so there is less commitment overall. The sword counter works literally any time, mid chain, neutral, after a chain finisher, doesn't matter. The axe mode "offset slash" is a bit different but it lets you counter the most dangerous attacks which is very important. I'd say our defense is much better than in Iceborne but not as crazy good as in Sunbreak with all the wirebug moves.

[@jamesnewman7509]

@@BloodyWyverian Oh, wow. That sounds much better than I'd feared. Definitely sounds like it'll be worth a punt. Thanks for the info!

[@Ryumaro]

Evade Extander is the only defensive skill needed

[@yourdad5799]

I really hope they keep the rapid morph skill from rise

[@BloodyWyverian]

I gotta say I prefer a more heavy feel to switch axe, rapid morph certainly was amazing in Rise and I wouldn't mind if it returned, but another skill exclusively for Switch Axe would be really nice as well.

[@RenoKyrie]

From someone who enjoyed Iceborne Swaxe more than Rise Swaxe, this is a good change I think the way Wilds Swaxe work is, its leading WAY more on how Swaxe is a hyper combo weapon, where it need to use both modes at the same time to be strong since now Axe Mode hits builds Energy rather than waiting or happen during Morph attacks I think the Counter is a good thing since its just a way to keep up Combo with some energy Recovery rather than being overtuned like Sunbreak's Elemental Burst Counter completely skipping Amped State build up(Despite said build up was nerfed in Rise) ZSD absolutely deserved getting nerfed, its actually a strong move but people mistake it as the weapons whole identity in World when Swaxe main selling point is supposed to be the opposite to Chargeblade, a Active DPS rather than Burst, ZSD is just alternate playstyle like how Savage Axe is to Chargeblade

[@trikytile9789]

That zsd rant is spot on man. I honestly believe that once mh world truly fizzles out in the comming years due to time and new monster hunter games taking the spotlight a majority of people will remember swaxe as that one weapon where you pop rocksteady and whail on a monsters head doing guaranteed but mediocre damage effectively reducing the weapon to a cheese strat. IMO it sucks that that's our TCS, helmbreaker, saed, or big bang

[@BloodyWyverian]

Those are reall good points I completely agree with. The fact that ZSD spam was a whole playstyle thanks to rocksteady and temporal really took the spotlight from this incredible weapon. I honestly think it would be more popular if it wasn't known for the no brain ZSD strat... even speedruns are mostly ZSD spam since it's simply the highest DPS possible. Wilds seems to be changing that for the better and putting more emphasis on the SWITCH in Switch Axe.

[@mhbloodsurge]

Very happy about the counter not being as op as sun breaks, that counter kinda made me quite rise

[@BloodyWyverian]

yeah, Switch Axe shouldn't be a counter heavy weapon so this addition is really nice to just keep the flow up and running. I can't wait to play more!

[@benturtl9076]

At 3:12 when you amp your sword you get back energy o:

[@BloodyWyverian]

Nice catch! I didn't metnion it. The counter in sword mode and entering Sword mode give back some switch gauge! Maybe there are other moves as well but I can't tell at the moment.

[@CalebHoss37804]

Is that pseudo mount you could use by using elemental discharge that’s in World and Rise back? It was always cool someone else could mount the monster and then I could pseudo mount right next to them to then blow my discharge load and go flying backwards.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Yes, that is back! You can still do it, when Switch Axe is in amped state.

[@shadowbolthaseo1861]

Given the heavy nerf to the power axe and counter of removing there way if filling up amp gauge it sounds like power prolonger will no longer be a utility skill but a mandatory skill for switch axe as well and if focus helps it then maybe that one as well

[@BloodyWyverian]

I'm not sure if I'd call the changes to power axe mode a nerf, but power prolonger was already a popular skill in Iceborne and it'll certainly still be around no matter what, but maybe there will be even better options.

[@shadowbolthaseo1861]

@BloodyWyverian true I hope they at least give the sword counter a least a little bit of a boost to amp meter because so far that counter feels a bit underwhelming and not completely useful

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@shadowbolthaseo1861 The counter does boost amped meter and gives switch gauge back. I can already confirm that. It isn't as powerful as in Sunbreak but it is way quicker and more reliable.

[@shadowbolthaseo1861]

@BloodyWyverian from what I saw it was a tiny amount if I had to guess the same as a few sword swings maybe I am salty because I love how it worked in sunbreak but to me it feels like it's missing something I don't know if it's increase the damage reduction a bit more or slightly increasing how much amp you get from the 2 swings after the successful counter or something

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@shadowbolthaseo1861 understandable. There are more changes than meets the eye... entering amped state actually also now gives you a decent chunk of switch gauge back for example! We have to get some more time into the weapon with all these changes and see how it works I guess.

[@simonachberger4480]

Draw attack is also an overhead slash now i think

[@BloodyWyverian]

yes that's right! We have a different axe draw attack. So the basic chain now always starts with the overhead slash.

[@tristanwilliams4180]

The thumbnail got me dead 😭😭

[@dr_jalux]

i played both quests at gamescom, the second one was a multiplayer expedition and you were able to fight rey dao, we almost got him and then he left lmao

[@BloodyWyverian]

Rey Dau was a serious challenge. I haven't heard of anybody who actually beat it lol

[@dr_jalux]

@@BloodyWyverian i was using a hammer and a hunting horn to buff myself and the others, that combo went pretty crazy. we also used flash pods and traps but he just had too much health

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@dr_jalux yeah I can't wait for the crazy combos people bring to their hunts, different elements, ailments, weapons and what not.

[@Sadcatblake]

Yes switch axe!

[@Ryugi-pf1hu]

So the rise loop combo is gone right?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Yep, that one's gone unfortunately.

[@Ryugi-pf1hu]

I'll see how I'll adept to this iteration of swaxe

[@sal_vulcano_maybe6873]

Hey man, what are your thoughts on the rarity twelve Lunastra swaxes? I have the mats for any of the rarity 8 ones, but I wanted to decide based on which rarity 12 was best. Luna/Nergi looks pretty solid, styx looks pretty sick too with the razor sharp. I’m new to the series though so I figured I’d ask a true swaxe master.

[@BloodyWyverian]

I'd go for the Styx variation. Switch Axe suffers from a lot of sharpness consumption so having a built in skill that helps dampen sharpness loss is pretty good! But you will have better options for Switch Axes in Master Rank pretty quickly. But you can make some interesting builds with it!

[@lunadial7117]

Quick question, if you're in sword mode and hold forward and attack, do you do a little step forward like in World and all the old gen games? I don't believe it had the step forward in Rise

[@BloodyWyverian]

You do move a bit forward but it really only is a small step.

[@hakankarahan2349]

I am a bit confused about the rising slash, in the weapon showcase its replaced by two fast attacks(side slash into rising) but here u offset slash and it starts as a rising slash. Can we do both ?

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@hakankarahan2349 it is a difference whether it is mid-chain or from neutral. From neutral it is this very quick rising slash. But in a chain it is the side slash into rising.

[@hakankarahan2349]

Oh i see thanks for the reply :)

[@spark9189]

one final question, does zsd have built in rocksteady like in rise?

[@BloodyWyverian]

As far as I have experienced and seen it, you cannot be knocked off in ZSD.

[@randomdude856]

One thing I haven't seen confirmed or denied does the axe do phial damage if you charged the sword all the way like it does in rise?

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@randomdude856 nope. Amped state only applies to sword mode. Heavy slam however increases the damage of all attacks in axe mode.

[@isshin_kuro]

Thank you so much for the info on ZSD, but the last thing i wanna know is the sword to axe to sword to axe loop combo still available?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Thank you! And Nope I guess you are talking about the two staged morph slash? That one is not there anymore..

[@isshin_kuro]

​@@BloodyWyverian thanks for replying. I mean the loop combo that is most used by switch axe players that has the highest dps.

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@isshin_kuro ah yes, that is actually gone. I can confirm that. It looks like we are back to the good ol' iceborne DPS chains but we of course have to wait for some actual values!

[@isshin_kuro]

​@@BloodyWyverian this is the answer i wanted to read. Thanks so much. That loop combo would just fill sword mode endlessly because it goes both modes.

[@TheDiggus]

At which point into the sword mode combo can you access the parry? Are there shortcuts? Because it seems like you have to be swinging for a good bit and might not be able to access the parry any time you want.

[@BloodyWyverian]

You can access the parry literally anytime, even from neutral. As long as you aren't stuck in an animation you can parry an incoming attack!

[@TheDiggus]

Wow that is amazing. Many thanks for the response!

[@TwinklingEmissary]

Iirc heavy slam can be performed after 1 swing if timed correctly. Thank you for this video I was deftly afraid the Switchaxe move set was going to be destroyed.

[@BloodyWyverian]

I definetely tried to do just one wild swing in the demo but it resulted in the simple overhead slash. Maybe I didn't time it right though.

[@TwinklingEmissary]

​@@BloodyWyverian It has to be timed correctly. It's easier to pull off with a few swings.

[@dojoboy89]

Do you stay latched on during ZSD if the monster does an attack like in Rise? Or do you get knocked off like in World???

[@BloodyWyverian]

I think that will depend on the severity of the attack. Heavy attacks will knock you down but as far as I tested it you aren't just thrown off by any attack the monster does

[@deathsythe238]

"Standard poke from Iceborne" Sir, SA has had that poke since it was introduced as a weapon.

[@BloodyWyverian]

True, I guess I was too focused on the last generation.

[@isitdark]

Thanks for the great informative video. Just one question, which move is the highest damage so far? Is it lightsaber move or other?

[@BloodyWyverian]

I think it is either the lightsaber move or the good ol' discharge... we don't have exact numbers at the moment and I think we have to wait for the public demo to really get our hands on the numbers

[@isitdark]

@BloodyWyverian Thanks for the reply. I hope we can get more info on this after public demo. Also I hope I can get answer about if u successfully pull counter move in sword mode near death situation, will u cart or they let have 1 hp instead of carting? Same with offset move in axe mode?

[@epzilon3836]

After a dodge in sword mode can you do a full 180 degrees switch attack like in rise or can we only go forward like in world.

[@BloodyWyverian]

I think we can do a proper spin attack like rise but I can't say for sure at the moment.

[@stormslug]

2 step morph combo from rise? is it back or nah? :o also: does heavy slam buff ONLY increase axe mode damage + sword gauge gain, or does it still give the partbreak damage for axe mode??? also also: rapid morph? switcher deco? anything similar? 🤔

[@BloodyWyverian]

2 step morph chain is gone... sadly... heavy slam does NOT buff partbreak damage and currently we have no idea about Swaxe specific decos.

[@riverstarmusic8656]

What song is this?! I wanna do a remix of it!!

[@BloodyWyverian]

That is the "Moga village theme (day)" from monster hunter tri! Here's a link to the full version. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHOlmXV_lLmhl5Y

[@riverstarmusic8656]

@@BloodyWyverian THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[@zohlus6728]

Is there any way to sidestep from neutral? For example in World you can hold your slinger aim and sidestep, can you do something similar with focus mode or something? Also the sidestep seems to be a bit shorter in distance (2:10, but this might just be the terrain) Overall a bit bummed that there are no Axe Mode Phials and we lost the old Rising Slash but everything else we got seems really, really good

[@BloodyWyverian]

I think you can sidestep from Focus mode... so literally the same as the slingerhop in World! Personally I am just happy that we didn't lose anything from iceborne and only got new additional stuff! But sure, some more changes to axe mode maybe would have been great!

[@EACru2002]

They have to give Sword Mode something like Phials to still hang their hat on because otherwise, if they did similar or comparable damage/phials, people would just use Axe mode all the some since it’s faster, more mobile, and has longer reach.

[@spark9189]

one question that i have, can an attack kill you if you have used offset or counter slash?

[@BloodyWyverian]

You don't take damage from successful offset slashes but you do take a bit of damage from the sword mode counter, which can actually kill you!

[@spark9189]

@@BloodyWyverian wait, what? in the japanese ign footage and the dev stream today they took damage after offset slash.

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@spark9189 what the hell... you're right. Both moves still take damage. My bad, sorry! I knew the counter was taking reduced damage but I actually thought the offset slash completely negated the monster's attack... I must admit I'm not sure if both kill you but I would say so! I don't think you can survive it, unless they introduce a skill maybe.

[@spark9189]

@@BloodyWyverian i definitely hope there's a skill like that. from all the footage i've seen, it's definitely looking like this is pretty much my ideal switch axe, with just a few small things that could be added (being able to survive if you keep countering, frontier's fade slash, and the zsd follow up from rise being the only things i can think of).

[@thepowerfulpaet4937]

@@BloodyWyverian Perhaps better timing negates the damage more.

[@dralakba-dusk31]

after the parry do you need to do the sword attack? or can you just dodge away or switch to axe?

[@BloodyWyverian]

You can continue with sword attacks, you can morph slash back to axe mode, dodge, fade slash... almost anything I think. The counter is designed to let you continue your flow however you want or need to as it seems with lots of freedom!

[@AskWaffles]

Hello! I only ever played Rise, and only picked up swaxe during Sunbreak. Do you think it'd be a tough adjustment going from Sunbreak swaxe to Wilds swaxe? I pretty much know nothing about Worlds/Iceborne swaxe.

[@BloodyWyverian]

Hello! I think it would be a rough trip for you... Wilds' Switch Axe is much more like Iceborne with a bit of Rise/Sunbreak dipped into it... if you can or want you can get World and Iceborne... there's a big sale going on right now! but Wilds still has two "counters" and more defensive options than Iceborne but Axe mode will be more important than in Sunbreak..

[@EACru2002]

I love Rise SA and World SA but they are two different things. Rise, you’re just kinda a tornado. You’re not even a switching dual weapon or anything honestly, you’re just a tornado attack lol. In World, it’s much more, you are two weapons you can switch back and forth from. You do attacks in one mode for a while, then switch to the other, attack attack attack, switch back, etc. I actually like both styles so you maybe should try give World a try, it’s a great game.

[@thenonexistinghero]

Well, there's 1 thing that I kinda dislike already. It's nice that they try to encourage more axe mode usage, but in order to achieve that they basically gimped sword mode. It's pretty likely that this puts it at a major dps advantage compared to other weapons when really it should have some of the highest dps of all melee weapons in the game. Of course this is just speculation, but I know for a fact that Capcom hates the SA. It didn't get a single unique one from an event in World/Iceborne. Don't think it got one in Rise/Sunbreak either, though I think most weapons didn't get one in that game.

[@BloodyWyverian]

I don't know if I'd say they nerfed anything at all. As you said, this is just speculation, but sword mode got so many new additions and we basically didn't loose anything. Sword mode was too strong and literally the only form that was relevant in Rise and Sunbreak. The meta in iceborne was ZSD spam, which is pretty damn boring so by having sword mode rely on axe mode and making heavy slam benefiting both modes we have to wait for actual values and run times compared to anything else. The damagepotential in the demo was still pretty much there but who knows how endgame weapons will compare.

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@BloodyWyverian I agree that Sword mode is too strong, but Sword mode has always been too strong and I don't think that gimping sword mode is a good way to make the axe stand out. Axe mode itself just needs a good rework. At least in the last few games it provided good mobility, because before World that wasn't the case at all. But good mobility doesn't mean all that much if it's slower than sword mode while also weaker per hit. You can run up to the enemies, but they'll move away before you hit them unless you hit them with a very weak poke. But still, this way Axe mode is mostly 'only use it if you can't use sword mode or need to move around'. Most certainly doesn't help when the game itself straight up tells you that through design since Axe mode's heavily slam charges the sword gauge faster. That's the game saying that Axe mode is garbage once more. And while SA is getting some nerfs to make up for some of the OP stuff from Rise/Sunbreak making it over, I don't really think that's the case for most weapons. Of course I could be wrong. This is just based on my impression of Capcom hating the SA ever since they came out with the Charge Blade. You'd think Switch Axe would be the one getting a DMC weapon, but nope.

[@stavroskots5652]

Although its a minor thing, does the damage multiplyer on wild swing now happen on 2 swings or still on three?

[@BloodyWyverian]

I can't confirm it to 100% but I am pretty sure we still have damage modifiers on wild swing!

[@alex-p5]

@@stavroskots5652 I think it’s 2, like Rise

[@slowchamp6009]

thanks for many confirmation! glad SA just gets more tools now. One question, is it possible to morph attack out of side hop?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Well.. you can morph attack from neutral so after a sidehop it is certainly possible but not a unique hop attack or something like that.

[@risitasjesus4114]

Does ZSD have super armor ?

[@BloodyWyverian]

at this moment... we don't know. I've only seen the ZSD being used on a downed monster or during a weak monster attack.

[@joemency2242]

its sad you couldn't save any footage. I was sure that you would be very thorough at testing out the swaxe so I was waiting for your coverage. But this video is fine too

[@BloodyWyverian]

Man I REALLY wanted to give Swaxe a proper try and record some footage... maybe one day I'm big enough to get the big boi KZbinr treatment lol Guess I have to wait for the public demo now

[@Arimokita]

No Morph Sweep?

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@Arimokita Morph sweep is back and seems to have better motion values similar to Iceborne, certainly better than Sunbreak.

[@walrus5839]

Can you still cancel ZSD early to avoid the recovery animation?

[@BloodyWyverian]

The recovery animation itself is actually a lot shorter now but yeah you can still cancel out of it!

[@walrus5839]

@@BloodyWyverian I'm glad to hear that fully committing has less downtime whilst cancelling still remains as an option. Thanks for all the information, you've been amazing for Switch Axe information.

[@KnightCrown]

I've literally never touched any other weapon, I'm faithful to the swax

[@BloodyWyverian]

That's the spirit!

[@Notme-rd2xz]

I think with them taking away my loop combo from rise I’ll prb main LS now 😢

[@BloodyWyverian]

At least try Swaxe as your secondary. It is really fun to play!

[@reakion_]

Where blast phial?

[@BloodyWyverian]

I wish, but we don't get one, sadly.

[@1meyzee]

can we refresh amp state somehow?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Nope... we can probably prolong it with power prolonger as a skill but I don't think you can refresh it.. have to work to get into it again!

[@amonskiamarthski4233]

Will be vieble status efect with SA?

[@BloodyWyverian]

we didn't see any status weapons in depth so far but I am sure Switch Axe will be an elemental and status powerhouse once again!

[@amonskiamarthski4233]

@@BloodyWyverian thanks

[@Historia_Cat]

Does amped state effect axe mode ?

[@BloodyWyverian]

Nope! Amped state only affects sword mode. But you still need axe mode to regain Switch gauge.

[@Historia_Cat]

@@BloodyWyverian it would be cool if it affected axe mode, waste of amp state

[@BloodyWyverian]

@@Historia_Cat yeah it would have been nice but I think both modes will get their usage and have their strongpoints!

[@fishnutz5196]

Really glad its more like World Swax and not Rise.

[@BloodyWyverian]

yeah me too, I enjoy rise but world still has some weight to it and the weapons, which I really like. Wilds seems to be the perfect middleground.

[@Ian-rx7bg]

Thanks god that they parry isn't going to be part of the main rotation, that's what i found most boring about LS, too many parrys needed

[@patto3652]

This new focus mode attack makes me feel bad for monsters now. Getting you face sawed through alive doesn’t look very fun..For them.

[@BloodyWyverian]

It's crazy yeah.. you almost feel bad for them, if it wasn't so much fun... for us.

[@RauschenPauli]

i kinda hope the gauge managment is not as fucked as it was in rise. shit made me hate switchaxe even tho it was my favorite in iceborn and second favorite in GU.

[@BloodyWyverian]

yeah it looks like proper gauge management is back with some nice tweaks! Next week we'll know for sure!

[@1handzen]

fuck yeah

[@xander0901]

Really hope Rapid Morph comes back. Makes the flow feel amazing for.

[@ohmygoddiosmio9138]

shame that dragon and poison fials are probably still useless

[@BloodyWyverian]

I mean we have to wait and see I guess... but in terms of DPS dragon and poison will probably be niche at best...

[@Lolmanman-wm6xt]

Thank you so much for this video ! I'm new to the MH games and i've been enjoying World and Rise SwAxe so much and now that i know Wilds will have a move set with combination of both i feel super hyped to get my hands on it ! Also my biggest complain was the Morph attack in World it's so annoying when you press the morph button and the character completely stops to morph the weapon and you have to dodge morph instead , while in Rise its convenient and makes the weapon feel so much better , im happy Wild will have morph attacks again !

[@BloodyWyverian]

I'm glad that you enjoy Swaxe and yes we got a few nice QoL improvements! I can't wait for more!