Monster Hunter Wilds Weapon Types

All 14 weapon types in Monster Hunter Wilds – from the Great Sword to the Light Bowgun – with how each one plays and who it suits.

Updated 3 November 2026Checked for patch Ver. 1.0423 sources
GS Great Sword Melee · Heavy SnS Sword & Shield Melee · Light DB Dual Blades Melee · Light LS Long Sword Melee · Medium Ha Hammer Melee · Heavy HH Hunting Horn Melee · Heavy La Lance Melee · Heavy GL Gunlance Melee · Heavy SA Switch Axe Melee · Heavy CB Charge Blade Melee · Heavy IG Insect Glaive Melee · Medium Bo Bow Ranged · Light HBG Heavy Bowgun Ranged · Heavy LBG Light Bowgun Ranged · Light
Image: Monster Hunter / YouTube

Monster Hunter Wilds has 14 weapon types: 11 melee weapons and 3 ranged weapons. Every one of them can beat every monster – what changes is how you fight. New in Wilds, your Seikret can carry a second weapon, so you can bring two types on a hunt and switch in the field.

Pick a weapon below to see how it plays.

Weapon families

Light meleeSword & Shield and Dual Blades – fast, mobile and easy to start with.
Heavy meleeGreat Sword, Hammer and Hunting Horn – slow but huge hits.
Guard weaponsLance and Gunlance – big shields to stand your ground.
TechnicalLong Sword, Switch Axe, Charge Blade and Insect Glaive – deeper combos and gauges.
RangedBow, Light Bowgun and Heavy Bowgun – fight from a distance.

All weapons at a glance

WeaponTypeTypeWeight
Great SwordMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
Sword & ShieldMelee (Type)MeleeLight
Dual BladesMelee (Type)MeleeLight
Long SwordMelee (Type)MeleeMedium
HammerMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
Hunting HornMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
LanceMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
GunlanceMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
Switch AxeMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
Charge BladeMelee (Type)MeleeHeavy
Insect GlaiveMelee (Type)MeleeMedium
BowRanged (Type)RangedLight
Heavy BowgunRanged (Type)RangedHeavy
Light BowgunRanged (Type)RangedLight

Tips

Carry two weaponsYour Seikret can carry a second weapon, so you can swap between two types during a hunt.
Focus Mode for everyoneEvery weapon can aim at wounds with Focus Mode and land a Focus Strike.
Try them allThe Training Area and the free Prologue Demo let you test all 14 weapons.
No wrong choiceEvery weapon can beat every monster. Pick the one that's the most fun for you.

Our Monster Hunter Wilds articles on this

Reference page written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games change with every patch – the patch this page was last checked for is shown at the top.