Monster Hunter Wilds Switch Axe Starter Guide | How to Switch Axe

[@qualitytikoyproductions]

Tap the vertical attack (triangle) after Full Release or Unbridled Slash. It goes into Spiral Burst Slash which recovers a lot of sword gauge

[@Zepotu]

Switch Axe was the first weapon I ever used when I started playing in 4U still one of my favorites even though I haven’t used it since, cause I wanted to try different weapons for future games (really enjoy the insect glaive and hunting horn now) but watching people use it makes me miss it so much, happy to say I’ll be going back to using it in the beta, I’ve relapsed

[@dirtydan4492]

dude, the offset strike for the axe mode and the counter in the sword mode are soooo fun. they add a whole new dimension to the weapon. welcome back.

[@kommissarleber8527]

Lifetime main swaxe user here. Feels pretty good but does need some getting used to it. Mouse and Keyboard is actually very viable, especially if you re-bind the morph key to something else. Preferably a mouse button. I was getting slapped around by Doshaguma the first time around. Good times. It's so rewarding to counter him with offset and go berserk with the follow-up. The counter slash in sword mode is a bit too finicky for normal inputs though. I'll probably re-bind this one to a hotkey. It's too easy to mess up and accidentally end up in axe mode.

[@maxmustermann3938]

He slapped me too when I tried this weapon on him. But honestly I feel like he still has some massively oversized hitboxes. 100% agree with the sword mode counter. When I tried it just hitting air I failed it 50% of the time. I thought it was hella dodgy. There is also another thing where RT+Y+B and RT(held)+Y+B can be input at the same point in a combo which is very sus

[@LeonV777]

Best weapon for me, just feels amazing to play. Plus it's an axe AND a sword, whats not to love.

[@franciscoranire6381]

I wish they had kept phial damage even in axe mode like in rise, it made me feel like both modes had more synergy. Overall, im feeling a bit mixed about switch axe in the beta. Im hoping that with armor skills it will feel much better in the full game. Good video 👍

[@imaginepigeons792]

Yeah the Rise, and specifically the Sunbreak, Swaxe just felt SO good

[@pastesir3025]

@franciscoranire6381 yeah Imo switch axe in rise is the best we've ever gotten. The flow in the switch moves fast good damage switch attacks from neutral. Explosions on axe attacks making both modes have uses. All of the wire bug skills were amazing and the soaring move after a zsd was the best thing ever for switch axe. Hopefully weapon skills make the weapon feel better because right now it's a massive step down from rise. Less time in sword mode axe mode less useful and less reason to flow between them because your switch attacks aren't as strong and don't build up as much meter.

[@daemonsquid3414]

@@pastesir3025 I kinda feel the same way. I've played roughly 600h of World and 80h of Rise but I've never found myself accidently reloading as frequently as I am, in Wilds. At the moment It feels clunky and I find myself fighting with the sword gauge more then the monster themselves. Rise Swaxe is by far the best version, I fully agree with that statement.

[@Evenmoresteven]

I agree, but you have to separate out Risebreak from the mainline games. They are made by two completely separate teams. If you are comparing this to World, it's a massive improvement.

[@franciscoranire6381]

@Evenmoresteven Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think axe mode gets increased flinch and part break damage like in iceborn anymore. If that's the case, apart from the clash from upward swing, it feels like axe's purpose has been relegated to just filling up the sword gauge. That's what doesn't feel right to me, but again, I'll stay optimistic for the full release of the game.

[@gameskyjumper1721]

I did some testing. So after you ran empty on sword gauge, you switched to Axe mode. You do not gain sword meter back automatically. You have to do damage with Axe to gain it back. Doing Focus mode on wound gain the most. HOWEVER, if you just sheath your weapon, the sword meter regenarates, pretty fast too. So in the case of when you cannot hit the monster, say, monster is flying. I'd argue, instead of just standing there holding out your axe, might as well sheath. Run. You can even pop a potion to heal in the mean time.

[@gegeplombier]

Amazing videos ! Very clear and thorough, can't wait to see the other ones. (You did get me hooked on Gunlance for quite a while but I think I'll explore some new weapons in Wilds)

[@johnhuddleston1986]

I always turn to Rurikhan for these MH weapon tutorials. Great job Ruri.

[@albertwolf6668]

Power axe mode not being able to better flinch and break parts like in iceborne is some bullshit, now it's basically a thing to get faster to sword mode instead of making axe mode actually useful and strong, as an axe moveset enjoyer, the weapon now seems way too focused on the sword side. At least in rise you had the thing where phials extra hits were also active in axe mode...

[@riverstarmusic8656]

Exactly what I’ve been saying!! They got rid of axe mode 😢

[@edxtrcrz]

Well put tutorial! Love how you explain the fundamentals

[@Zynnix]

Full Release Slash is sooooo cool. I did it accidentally a few times, but now I understand how it works. I forgot a surprising amount about Switch Axe even though it was the last major weapon I mained in Rise, but then again I never played Sunbreak so it has been longer for me. Forgot that Power Axe mode even existed. That would have certainly got me a faster Rey Dau kill... haha...

[@xander0901]

Swax looking super crisp in Wilds. All the preview videos I’ve seen gave me the impression that they wanted to bring back the impact and weight the weapon had in World/IB while retaining the superior flow it had in Rise/Sunbreak, and the beta pretty much confirmed that for me. Giving the element discharge a follow-up feels right after they gave zero-sum discharge a follow-up in Rise/Sunbreak. Now I’m really hoping rapid morph makes a return because that skill alone completely transformed swax gameplay into a thing of beauty.

[@Demirbaykus]

Idk if that would be a good skill to have around since you won't be using it regularly in your best combo, sadly.

[@louisb0808]

Thanks for telling us not to get discouraged on the offset because I was thinking that if I wasn’t hitting it all the time. I’m dropping the weapon. I’m a duel blades main but fell in love with SA in rise. Thanks for the tips!!

[@derrickthomasjr.7371]

I've been waiting for this series

[@RIP_ZYZZ1738]

I was losing my mind trying to figure out how to do the sword mode counter 😂

[@ATNdu85]

You forgot a move ! The wild morph, when you morph during the wild swings. Otherwise nice video, I have been trying the swaxe a lot during the beta and while it feels a bit slower it feels more deliberate. Love the fact that there are a lot more instances of damage, it will probably make elemental even more viable. A bit put off by two things, the unbriddled slash feels weak for the amount of gauge and windup/lag and amp meter gained (it deals about 50% more than a double sword slash...) and the double axe slash in the basic combo is a bit of a lousy move if you're just trying to stay out of commitment by doing the basic axe combo in order to pull off an offset. Maybe there is something else to do to stay out of commitment but I haven't found it yet. (Edit : I did not notice how much sword gauge the "lousy" double axe swing generated, so I guess it's better than what I initially thought.)

[@tygravius5]

Very nice video! I'm a SA main and didn't quite know all the little nuances of the new moves. This helped alot! And God damn Ruri, you ain't too shabby on the ol'switchy;)

[@mightyflyingmango3810]

I already chose switch axe as my main and hunted Rey Dau with it, but I feel like I did the least in the team so im just here to get better

[@hengkyleonhart]

It's not you, SA is descent in risebreak becomes worst in wilds even for me who main SA since tri feel very disappointed Currently trying to do speed run but without boulder and environment i dont think its possible to compete with the likes of bow or LS that how bad SA is right now 😢

[@Tech_D3mon]

Once you get the counters down this weapon feels literally unstoppable. Also, the third hit on the axe mode combo is not an offset unfortunately

[@rurikhan]

Ohh man…

[@dephtcore]

What third hit exactly?

[@lmpoknya]

Idk if its just me (skill issue), but I can never land the offset. I hit it once in like 50 attempts, the other times i just get smoked

[@dephtcore]

@@lmpoknya Its just practise and learning when to start the offset, i believe in u u cab dew it

[@originalbrawny5157]

as a switch axe main from world I am stoked to pair this with a ranged weapon

[@foremanhaste5464]

A few ideas for when you update the guides, edit in the button presses on screen when you talk about the moves and give pros and cons of the weapon. I am looking to explore more weapons in this version of the game, but one thing I have always struggled with for switch axe is, what is the switch axe's claim to fame? SnS and IG are the Lords of Mounting (less so for IG in Wilds.) Lance, GL, CB, GS, and SnS have varying qualities of 'imperfectly-timed block' that gives them defense other weapons can't claim. But what does Switch Axe have? Most people would say it has offset attack now, but it seems like all weapons have either offset, power clash guard, evading counter, or aerial evades (which Glaive is suppose to have.) At best, SA has vials that might give a little more status push than most other weapons, but DBs are still going to blow it out of the water. Also, with the 2nd weapon slot this becomes really weak as the 2nd slot can be your status inflicting weapon (looking at you Bow/LBG/HBG) that can be used before switching back to your 'pure damage' weapon when status build up tolerance. I am not looking at this from a Min/Max frame of mind, but from the joy of "I get to do MY thing." Like the joy you get when you bring a hammer and you KO the monster and the party just goes to town on the monster. Pure bliss. Those extra CCs are something not all of the weapons get to bring to the party so fancy attack animations aren't really the same "I get to do MY thing." Is there some pro of the SA that outweighs the legendary amount of flinches and trips this weapon inflicts on party members?

[@shadowbolthaseo1861]

Finally my favorite weapon

[@chrisharris7903]

Fantastic guide!

[@motivepigeon]

Something I noticed about the sword counter. It acts like a GS tackle kinda. You still take dmg, although it's reduced, and divine protection seems to proc 100% if it's a harder hitting attack. I countered Rey Dau's hardest hitting lightning strike and lived. It still did like 3/4s my health, but my bar went red which means if I didn't counter I was for sure going to cart.

[@lanthropy]

Used Bow, Insect Glaive, and then Long Sword for a long time thinking that would be my weapon. Finished World with it. But then I tried Switch Axe, it felt like a new game to me. With it's new moves, it'll be my main weapon for Wilds.

[@octiotti3806]

Played the switch axe today and couldn't figure out the zero sum. Thanks for clearing that up. Also the new moves are amazing and I'm looking forward to testing them!

[@Axolotlthing]

Man i love what they did with switch axe and charge blade definitely my two mains ... especially saying my actual second main became so bad *cough* insect glaive *cough* still got charge blade though :3

[@Datcassanova5]

SWAXE TIME BABY!!!

[@macroisdad8018]

Maybe I'll give Switch Axe a try looks pretty fun

[@maxmustermann3938]

This weapon made me realize that doshaguma needs some work. I fought him previously with Bow so lots of mobility, hard to get hit at all by a monster like that. With the low mobility some of the particularly bad hitboxes really became apparent. Theres also another issue that is more related to "Impact" where doshaguma tremors you at a pretty high distance but there wasn't really any impact to the attack to match that (using similar attacks in world as a reference).

[@Paul._.C._.B]

Ok so the equivalent of focus and power prolonger will not only be a useful thing but a necessity now, ok I don't mind, I'll get more phial procks and hopefully the charged finisher will have a good KO/Exhaustion build-up

[@Draec]

I usually swap weapons every playthrough, but even after using Swag Axe in Iceborne im tempted to go back to the king.

[@crono6874]

SA before Lance?! Wasn't expecting that Ruri.

[@statesminds]

We are so back

[@imperdus3502]

Cant wait for next tutorial: how to fps above 20

[@jamesraposa942]

Counter Thrust not being a counter attack.

[@atticlion7648]

Hope hunting horn is next. Trying to grok how it's supposed to work via the in-game move list makes my poor hammer main brain feel scrambled.

[@corbingovers7559]

Imo swaxe feels great because im actively making the decisions to be in axe or sword mode. Sometimes i want a bit more sword to pull off a down combo so i switch to axe for a couple of hits first. World felt like they were more separate than now where i feel like im flowing between them more.

[@Atypical_Typo]

Unrelated, but I heard that you would bring your palico along even on 4-hunter hunts, however, after trying out the beta, this isn't the case? Seemed to be like World where your palico shows up only for 2-hunter hunts? Maybe I missed something or heard wrong?

[@Demirbaykus]

Cat vanishes after the third hunter joins

[@jellyboy8191]

17:18 *somwhat fun???* Bro imma be chopping EVERYTHING out my way!!!!

[@Datcassanova5]

Also, you can morph during the focus strike

[@SpeshoFX]

You know how you aim for the focus mode? Sometimes during combat i end up shooting a pod instead of doing a focused attack. Is there a way to not accidentally shoot a pod?

[@riverstarmusic8656]

By holding your weapon

[@alecrizzle]

Did you end up showing the spiral burst slash after unbridled strike?

[@rickyrolls6460]

what did you press to trigger counter rising slash?

[@Demirbaykus]

@@rickyrolls6460 morph and right click ( triangle and r2/ y and rt)

[@rickyrolls6460]

@@Demirbaykus i got it yesterday after a good while haha it does not display as a move on the prompt so i was having a hard time figuring it out

[@Demirbaykus]

@@rickyrolls6460 yeah same, took me awhile too lol

[@Vitis-n2v]

In MH World in power axe mode you also had higher part break damage. Is that also the case in Wilds?

[@rurikhan]

Not according to the buff description on the weapon section. Just more damage and gauge buildup.

[@Demirbaykus]

It was clunky and not fun to play with at first, it got better in the end. Needs some buffs tho, better skills will help in full release

[@kharijordan6426]

That o movement is everything. I don't know wich weapon to start with.

[@Raika63]

I've been doing a lot of switchaxe, and it's kind of frustrating how when you break a wound or land your discharge the monsters tend to recoil too far away to land the follow up slash.

[@lasselen9448]

Not something I'll play early on due to the gauges making it clunky (it's fine on a harmless Chatacabra but good luck keeping those gauges and buffs up on something actually dangerous...), but I'll likely use it in the endgame when we (hopefully) have access to skills like Focus and Power Prolonger. I didn't know holding the trigger for the ED follow-up was possible, it makes that attack even more awesome!

[@adamcappella8088]

The gauges are easier to keep up than you think.

[@xavsneak8741]

The power axe mode still increase the part breaking too?

[@rurikhan]

There’s no indication of that in the notes so I assume no.

[@ThijsSchrijnemakers]

thanks

[@adamcappella8088]

I did not know about the unbridled slash or how to do the zero sum in this game. I grabbed on the monster once doing it and i lost my mind cause i didnt realize how to activate it in this game

[@M8a9G]

I couldn’t like this faster.

[@brownieman52]

Is there no way to fully latch onto the monster now with Zero Sum Discharge like in World/Rise and then leap off into the air(then followed up with wirebug dive in Rise)? I couldnt manage to do it and not sure if Im just missing something or not executing it right, or if they took it out. EDIT: Commented before watching the full video lmao, right at the very end it's showcased. But in that case, what are the prerequisites for it? I've hit the monster dead on with full red gauge and it's not latched on. Do you also need power axe? to latch on?

[@corbingovers7559]

No you hold the input in amped mode rather than just pressing.

[@brownieman52]

@@corbingovers7559 Ah okay, thank you. I'll give that a try. I think I was just pressing the input and them spamming the single input rather than holding them both

[@sansotandrea4063]

okay, i must be doing something wrong, Swaxe has been my main weapon in all the MH games i've played, I know how to ZSD, i see that for others it's working and they're succeeding to do it, in my case, i can't latch onto the montser? i have my sword mode fully amped, I go triangle + circle and shove it into the monster, but my character doesn't clutch onto the monter, then it just the average bunch of explosions + big explosion at the end... idk what i'm doing wrong

[@MisterPotats]

Hold down Triangle and Circle. Hold them down and you will do MH World ZSD Grab.

[@paulypipes3082]

I've been avoiding everything about this game. I'm confident in Capcom mastering the new Monster Hunter Wilds. When I play it for the first time it will literally be in uhhhmazzzin experience. I haven't previewed any videos, watched demos, or youtubers besides noticing from afar what u have been posting Rurikhan and u seem excited as hell so that's a good thing. Only thing I watched was the first teaser trailer we got. That's all I need with this franchise. Can't wait to hunt after this nice long break

[@Haldane1988]

Enjoy the videos but please script it a little more. You go off on tangents on guide aimed at n00bs. Just say you’ll explain something further in video but for now your skipping it etc

[@kingjabon]

Much love brother, but I'm sorry I can't watch your videos until after mhw releases. For me, anything about the game is a spoiler

[@rurikhan]

Going in Blind is glorious.

[@kingjabon]

@rurikhan exactly. Much love, though. You're in my top 5 favorite channels, but I must protect my eyes no argument but I didn't enjoy mh rise/ sunbreak so im seriously looking forward to this one. I want to be completely blind coming in

[@yarro7428]

Lifetime Swaxe main here with 14 hours of Beta, clarifying a couple of details as I need to. Spiral burst slash is not an offset, but the regular upswing (Triangle+Circle in axe mode) is. Spiral burst slash does, however, recover the most juice out of any axe move. Offset attacks only work against physical attacks from monsters, not projectiles. Also, only specific attacks where the monster puts themselves off balance (Doshaguma's rearing up onto its hind legs for a big slam, Balahara's dive out of sand, an alarming amout of Chatacabra's moves, and any move where Rey Dau drags its wing across the ground). Landing an offset attack against a physical attack that doesn't put the monster off balance will still prevent damage, but you will be locked into a stagger animation for so long after that it really isn't worth it. Friendship ended with Zero Sum Discharge, Full Release Slash is my new best friend. All in all, solid guide.

[@lift_4_pancakes339]

Swag!

[@LocherYT]

I am a bit confused, I love axes but all I am seeing are methods and a mindset to spent as little time in axe mode as possible because all good attacks are in sword mode like zero-sum discharge, elemental discharge or unbriddled slashes. I would even believe that players would feel annoyed and disappointed when accidentally morphing "back" to axe like it's the unloved twin of the weapon. Why not call this weapon Switch Sword?

[@TheActualVimple]

Sounds like you would prefer the Charge Blade, its most desired form / playstyle is in axe mode. I know the names are confusing, japanese devs tend to do that haha

[@NotOjazaki]

@Rurikhan im playing on pc right now, the ZSD holding triagle + circle, it will not attach to monster, it will do on the ground, but when you are in focus mode, it will attach to monster☺, I'm doing it right now but I notice sometimes it will not attach to monster☺

[@Castersvarog]

Oh this is nice to know, I was worried they removed the mechanic for a little because I loved that

[@kevadu]

This is false, ZSD does not require being in focus mode to attach. I have done it without that (on PC too). The important thing is just that you hold the buttons until you are attached. And of course like usual you have to be amped before it's even possible.

[@kevadu]

That poor frog

[@NSBWS]

I am thinking gunlance switchaxe atm

[@GradietPanda12345]

I really dislike how switch axe feels in this game

[@scragglie]

what have they done to my boy 😭 why does switchaxe feel like a worse longsword now😭 the damage and impact are sooooo bad...

[@zirkq]

Gayge Clap

[@Kingmaster64]

Numbers need to go up. It fairs rather weak compared to others. And bow needs nerf

[@LordRazer3]

So that's what the game actually looks like. My time was spent with the game looking like it launched off the PS1. Set all your options to low to see the funny mess I had to deal with..