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Image via Capcom

Monster Hunter Now: Best Weapons Tier List

Equip your hunter only with the best weapons using our tier list guide for Monster Hunter Now.

There are six types of weapons in Monster Hunter Now, including several hundred versions that can be forged with different elements, skills, and types of ammo. At the beginning of the game, you can use only one of them, but the more you progress through the ranks, the more weapons you can unlock. Our guide will provide you with a tier list of the best weapons in Monster Hunter Now, including some of their finest versions.

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Best Weapons Tier List in Monster Hunter Now

Here’s a quick breakdown of our tier list of the best weapons in Monster Hunter Now:

S-Tier Weapons

Long Sword

Image via Capcom

Long Sword has one serious advantage over all other melee weapons: the Spirit Gauge. The more successful hits you deliver, the more this gauge fills up. This makes it the one of the very best weapons in Monster Hunter Now.

Once it’s full and glowing red, you can deal the most damage to monsters in the game. You can easily build up all that damage with a series of quick slashing combos. However, I must warn you that if your attack pattern gets interrupted, you’ll lose all that gauge juice instantly. But if you use the special Long Sword skill Spirit Helm Breaker, then the gauge won’t be affected.

Note that Long Swords are unlocked after reaching Hunter Rank 15, and here are some of the best swords you can forge in Monster Hunter Now:

  • Kadachi Fang (Thunder Damage, Evade Extender).
  • Dipterus (Water Damage, Last Stand).
  • Wyvern Blade “Verde” (Poison Damage, Health Boost).
  • Stealer (Ice Damage, Divine Blessing).
  • Wyvern Blade “Blood” (Fire Damage, Earplugs).

Bow

Image via Capcom

The Bow is an exceptional weapon that has several different charged shots. The charged side shot with a perfect dodge is the most effective. That’s when your charge gauge instantly fills up, delivering the highest possible damage.

Its special attack, “Dragon Piercer,” is really powerful and can shoot through any type of monster. Of course, all these moves require high mastery, so it’s not the kind of weapon I’d recommend for beginners.

Just like Long Sword, this type of weapon unlocks at Hunter Rank 15. Each type of Bow shoots different arrows, and the best ones are the following:

  • Kadachi Strikebow (Pierce Shots, Thunder Damage, Evade Extender).
  • Water Shot (Spread Shots, Water Damage, Last Stand).
  • Anja Arch (Spread Shots, Fire Damage, Rising Tide).
  • Princess Arrow (Spread Shots, Poison Coating, Health Boost).
  • Snow Fletcher (Pierce Shots, Ice Damage, Divine Blessing).

Related: All Monsters List and How to Beat Them in Monster Hunter Now

A-Tier Weapons

Sword and Shield

Image via Capcom

This is the best starting weapon in Monster Hunter Now, having both solid offense and defense. You can also use the shield as a weapon by shield-bashing monsters, which makes it one of the most versatile weapons in the game.

All you need to do is tap the screen for the normal combo, then tap and hold for the guarding animation, and finally, pull your finger down the screen to activate the bashing animation, which can be quite strong. If you need to finish off monsters, then use the Perfect Rush special skill.

This weapon is unlocked right after the tutorial, but you can forge different versions along the way, the best of which are:

  • Malady’s Tabar (Paralysis Effect, Sneak Attack).
  • Lightning Nemesis (Thunder Damage, Evade Extender).
  • Rogue Wave (Water Damage, Last Stand).
  • Queen Rapier (Poison Damage, Health Boost).
  • Rimespire (Ice Damage, Divine Blessing).
  • Heat Edge (Fire Damage, Earplugs).

Light Bowgun

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The Light Bowgun is similar in its application to the Bow, but it has a longer range, although it’s not as versatile as the Bow. The good thing about the LBG is that you don’t need to reload your shots manually. However, there’s a hefty amount of recoil when shooting, so in this regard, LBG isn’t terribly convenient. Despite all that, I was really impressed with its Wyvernblast Counter skill, which shoots a single large projectile that ends up exploding on impact for tons of damage.

The LBG can be unlocked after reaching Hunter Rank 15, and here’s a short list of some of the finest types of Bowguns in the game:

  • Jagras Fire (Slicing Water Ammo, Health Boost).
  • Lightning Blitz (Slicing Thunder Ammo, Evade Extender).
  • Jyura Bullet (Sticky Water Ammo, Last Stand).
  • Anja Buster (Sticky Fire Ammo, Rising Tide).
  • Frost Blitz (Spread Ice Ammo, Divine Blessing).
  • Rathbuster (Piercing Fire Ammo, Earplugs).

B-Tier Weapons

Hammer

Image via Capcom

The Hammer is a heavy blunt melee weapon that does deal a ton of damage, but it’s slow and clumsy (as expected). Its Spinning Bludgeon skill is quite good, though, allowing you to deal constant damage while spinning around with your hammer.

It’s also available only after you reach Hunter Rank 15, which offers much better options. But if you still want one, then here are a few decent options:

  • Crushing Break (Affinity, Fortify).
  • Lightning Bash (Thunder Damage, Evade Extender).
  • Water Basher (Water Damage, Last Stand).
  • Anja Striker (Fire Damage, Rising Tide).

Great Sword

Image via Capcom

The Great Sword is even heavier, slower, and clumsier than the Hammer. The only attacks worth dealing are charged hits. But those take so long to trigger that a monster can easily cancel them with a single strike. Of course, you can find a way to use it relatively effectively, so it’s definitely more of an acquired taste than an objective choice.

You can unlock Great Sword at Hunter Rank 11 already, and here are some of my favorites:

  • Lightning Punisher (Thunder Damage, Evade Extender).
  • Water Golem (Water Damage, Last Stand).
  • Frost Blaze (Ice Damage, Divine Blessing).
  • Red Wing (Fire Damage, Earplugs).

That’s it for our tier list of the best weapons in Monster Hunter Now, including tips on how to beat them all. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks articles right here.


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Author
Image of Serhii Patskan
Serhii Patskan
Contributing Writer
Serhii is the Writer at GameSkinny. He's been writing for GameSkinny since 2015. Before that, he's been writing for various outlets and playing video games, which eventually turned into a passion. The video games that have contributed the most to his enthusiasm for writing about this industry are Magic: The Gathering, Dark Souls, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.