With Monster Hunter Wilds due to release next year, you may be interested in picking it up when the time comes, or trying out the more recent entries like Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter World to get ready for Wilds.

In either case, picking a weapon type is one of the first and most important decisions you’ll make, determining your basic strategy when playing alone or with others.

With 14 different classes of weapons in the recent titles, it can be a tough subject to approach. Below are a few general questions and suggestions to consider that may streamline the process.

Familiarize yourself with the basics.

Before you dive right into a hunt, it’s good to get accustomed to the basics of the game. This includes the control scheme, movement, and item usage. You’ll be drawing and sheathing your weapon a lot to run around the map, pick up and use items, and more.

Getting used to that in a relative vacuum is helpful, as trying to figure out not only your basic controls, but the weapon controls simultaneously might leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Do you prefer hard hitting but slow attacks, or light but swift attacks?

Any weapon in Monster Hunter can do good damage, but a big question is whether you want to spread your damage out evenly, or do it in large chunks.

With swift weapons such as the Dual Blades, Insect Glaive, or Sword and Shield, there’s little to be lost if you miss an attack. You’ll be back on the offensive in no time.

However, weapons such as the Greatsword, Chargeblade, and Gunlance can dish out massive amounts of damage in seconds. There’s more to lose, but you’re great at capitalizing on opportunities in the middle of a hunt.

If your target is asleep, caught in a trap, or stunned, you can use your strongest attacks without hesitation.

Do you like high risk and high reward, or do you prefer to play it safe?

When you deal damage to the monster, it’s going to fight back. What you’ll do about that is where this question comes in.

Certain weapons afford you the ability to block attacks, whether that be with the massive shield that comes with the lance, or putting the sheer weight of the greatsword between you and your opponent. Not all attacks can be blocked, and you’ll take a little bit of chip damage, but both of those factors can be mitigated as you obtain new equipment.

Some weapons offer different defensive options; The longsword in modern games comes with a number of counter attacks, while the Insect Glaive allows you to vault into the air to avoid attacks in a way nothing else can.

Alternatively, you may want to pick up one of the ranged weapons in the game, and try to stay out of the monster’s reach as much as possible. And if a weapon lacks in defensive options, it usually packs a punch in another area.

Learn the weapon’s unique factors.

While the weapons can vary on the surface in terms of how complex they appear to be, every weapon has a unique trait or two that sets it apart, or gives it a different focus.

The Light and Heavy Bowguns have different types of ammunition to load, that carry different effects. The hammer, while fairly straightforward, is an incredible weapon for stunning a monster due to its bludgeoning abilities.

If you don’t figure out how to string notes together on a Hunting Horn, your performance with it will be a little flat.

The lance doesn’t hit the hardest, but it’s variety of defensive options means that you can power through monster attacks, and remain on the offensive when everyone else is running for cover.

Don’t be afraid to experiment or mix things up.

Apart from just learning your weapon, you need to figure out your own playstyle with that weapon.

As you progress in the game and craft new equipment, you’ll gain skills that open up new strategies. Creating a loadout that’s entirely focused on a hit and run playstyle, or supporting your allies, or staying in the thick of combat no matter how much you get hurt, are all viable ways to play the game.

And because of that, don’t discount a weapon if you don’t enjoy it at first. If you’re struggling with a certain monster, try using a weapon that capitalizes on its weaknesses. You may find yourself enjoying what you can do with it in the right circumstances.

And, Most Importantly…

Have fun!

Every weapon has something interesting to offer, and the game starts you out with a free weapon of each type.

Movesets are identical among all weapons in the same class, so it doesn’t hurt to give each weapon a shot in training, or against an easy monster. With that said, happy hunting!

If you’re heading to PAX West, you can get a first look at Monster Hunter Wilds at the Capcom table. Boss Rush Network will be there and providing coverage throughout the weekend.

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Featured Image: Capcom (via Monster Hunter Archive)

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