Better Know a Weapon Part 2-Great Sword

BY ZANZIBAR

The Great Sword (GS) is an extremely powerful weapon in Monster Hunter Tri with tremendous reach. This is counterbalanced by it's slow attack spead and the slow movement rate that comes with the weapon when drawn. It also has a block function that works well in providing some defense. It's attacks aren't varied but they all have a function. The overhead swing is the default attack and can be charged for alot of damage if it connects. The 2nd blow is an attack with the flat side of the blade and causes blunt damage that will go towards making the target dizzy. Finally the end of the 3 hit combo is a horizontal slash that hits a wide radius around the hunter, great for getting little jaggi off of you. The other combo is to start with a kick, this is done with the plus button on the classic controller and then hit x this brings up the flat side attack and can be used quicker than if you did an over head swing to flat blade combo.  The final attack is a rising slash that is done with a combo of X+A on the classic controller, great for floating Qurupeco's,it can be combo-ed into from the overhead slash.

Great Sword tip, you can roll at the end of any of your swings to cancel much of the time that you would be stuck waiting to return to a neutral state, this is great for repositioning yourself, evading an attack or cancelling a misjudged swing.  The underwater attack are identical to their land based counter parts.  


Happy Hunting!

Better Know a Weapon Part 1-Sword and Board

BY ZANZIBAR

1st in a 9 Part Series

The sword and shield (S&S)is the go to weapon set for versatility in melee combat. It sports the fastest attack speed of any weapon in the game along with having the fastest walking speed while the weapon is drawn as well. This is balanced out by having one of the lower attack power, 4 or 5 swings with the sword and shield combo is roughly equivalent to one swing of the great sword.

S&S has a basic 4 hit combo with 3 sword swings and a shield bash to it, there is also a horizontal slice to vertical ascending that is good for hitting things overhead. The shield can even provide some offense with a 2 hit combo . Underwater things change a little with a 3 hit combo or a shield hit followed by vertical slash that makes you rise up.  The thing to note is any time you connect with the shield it counts as blunt damage rather than slicing, if you can get some head shot with it then it will daze your quarry giving you time to get some extra damage in.

On the defensive side you do have your shield which you can use to block with, it's not as complete as the lance's shield and you will stagger and take a hit to your stamina so watch out! You can attack out from behind your shield but it's only one hit and it leaves you open. The last thing to note with this weapon set is that you don't have to sheath your weapon to use most items, simply block like normal and use your potion or trap at the right time and your ready to go.  Happy Hunting!