The Great Sword in *Monster Hunter Now* is a powerhouse, capable of delivering massive damage with each swing, though its size can make it tricky to wield. To craft a formidable Great Sword build, you'll need to slow down your opponents, and the latest game updates have introduced sleep-based weaponry that can help you do just that. However, maximizing sleep effects requires the right skills and gear, which we'll detail below.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
While the Long Sword build in *Monster Hunter Now* excels with poison, the Great Sword thrives with sleep-inducing capabilities. To fully assemble this build, you'll need to encounter the elusive Somnacanth, but the majority of the equipment can be gathered from more common monsters.
Full Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Build
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Frilled Blade - Element: Sleep - Evade Extender I (Grade 8) |
| Helmet | Nightshade Paolumu Helmet - Rude Awakener I (Grade 5) - Rude Awakener II (Grade 8) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 8) |
| Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Mail - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 2) - Artful Dodger (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) | |
| Vambraces | Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Vambraces - Status Sneak Attack I (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack II (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Coil | Tzitzi-Ya-Ku Coil - Evade Extender (Grade 2) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 4) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
| Greaves | Nightshade Paolumu Greaves - Rude Awakener (Grade 5) - Status Sneak Attack (Grade 6) - Driftstone Slot (Grade 5) |
Weapon
The Frilled Blade is your go-to sleep-based Great Sword in *Monster Hunter Now*. It comes equipped with the Evade Extender skill, which enhances your ability to create distance after dodging an attack. While not essential for the build, this skill significantly improves your defensive capabilities with the Great Sword. To craft this weapon, you'll need to hunt Somnacanth for its unique materials.
Helmet & Greaves
The core of this build is derived from the Nightshade Paolumu, introduced during the first paid event. This monster provides critical parts and skills, including all three levels of Rude Awakener, which boosts your damage by 100% for the initial attack on a sleeping monster. Although Nightshade Paolumu are more frequently encountered now, they may still require patience to find during events or as rare spawns post-main story.
Mail, Gauntlets, & Coil
The remainder of the build concentrates on maximizing the Status Sneak Attack skill, ensuring sleep buildup when attacking from behind. You'll also gain additional points in Evade Extender and Artful Dodger, enhancing your evasion. The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, easily located with the paintball tracker, is your primary source for these components.
Best Monster Hunter Now Great Sword Driftstone Slots
This build offers a low threshold for unlocking its Driftstone slots. Ideally, you'd want five slots dedicated to Sleep Attack to maximize sleep buildup. Alternatively, you could enhance your dodging with Artful Dodger and Evade Extender or boost the damage from sneak attacks with Sneak Attack.
- Sleep Attack - Increases the weapon's sleep buildup value. 50 at rank 1 and 150 at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Sneak Attack - Increases the damage dealt to a monster when attacked from behind. 10% at rank 1 and 30% at rank 5. (Pale only)
- Artful Dodger - Makes evading easier to perform. Slightly easier at rank 1 and significantly so at rank 5. (Azure only)
- Evade Extender - Extends evasion distance. Very slightly at rank 1 and massively at rank 5. (Pale only)
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