Among the diverse arsenal available in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Sword and Shield stands out as a remarkably adaptable weapon. Its user-friendly nature, combined with its capability to complement various builds, solidifies its status as one of the most effective options for endgame encounters.
When constructing your build in Monster Hunter Wilds, aligning specific skills with your chosen weapon significantly enhances performance. While some skills are universally beneficial, others are tailored for specific weapons. In this context, let’s explore skills that amplify the Sword and Shield’s unique strengths.
Maximize Your Damage with Critical Boost
One of the key skills to consider for the Sword and Shield is Critical Boost. This skill enhances the damage of critical hits dealt to monsters. The likelihood of achieving a critical hit is determined by the weapon’s Affinity stat; thus, increasing the Affinity will lead to more frequent critical hits. Although the Critical Eye skill, which boosts overall Affinity, is beneficial, it should not take precedence over Critical Boost. Many elite Sword and Shields, particularly the renowned Artian Weapons, already possess high Affinity, making maximized damage from critical hits considerably advantageous.
Enhance Your Elemental Focus with Antivirus
For hunters aiming to develop an elemental build with the Sword and Shield, the Antivirus skill is essential. Best utilized with at least two pieces from the Gore Magala armor set, Antivirus boosts both attack and elemental damage during recovery from the Frenzy Virus.
The charm of Antivirus lies in its facilitation of recovery against the Frenzy Virus, subsequently enhancing Affinity. Given that the armor can induce the Frenzy Virus, you’ll consistently benefit from this buff in various hunts.
Capitalize on Perfect Guards with Offensive Guard
Complementing the defensive playstyle of the Sword and Shield is the Offensive Guard skill. This feature grants a damage boost after executing a perfect guard, which is performed by activating the guard button just as an enemy’s attack lands.
Additionally, successful perfect guards can lead to opportunities for power clashes with monsters. Mastering this aspect of combat not only enhances your survivability but also enables increased damage output, making Offensive Guard an invaluable skill for Sword and Shield users.
Maintain DPS with Master’s Touch
The fast-paced nature of the Sword and Shield benefits greatly from the Master’s Touch skill, which helps sustain your weapon’s sharpness during combat. This skill minimizes the depletion of sharpness as you attack, ensuring that you maintain optimal damage potential throughout encounters.
With greater sharpness translating to higher damage, preserving sharpness during battles prevents frequent sharpening sessions, allowing you to stay engaged and effective in fights.
Leverage Agitator for Passive Damage Enhancement
Finally, consider the benefits of the Agitator skill, which provides a significant passive damage boost during monster enragement. Monsters enter this state after sustaining damage over time, which can be tracked through the pulsing indicator on the mini-map. A red pulse indicates that the monster is enraged.
As Agitator offers a straightforward damage enhancement that occurs naturally during hunts, it integrates seamlessly into your build, making it an excellent choice.