The Monster Hunter franchise is known for having a variety of relatively outlandish weapons for players to use to combat the monsters they face. From ranged to melee weapons, the game’s arsenal covers nearly every base, allowing players to choose the weapon that best suits their playstyle. While many of the weapons seem unrealistic, the outlandish nature doesn’t mean that they are necessarily ineffective, at least when one assumes it is possible to wield the weapons properly, though not would realistically be able to get the job done.
The original Monster Hunter game released in 2004 with seven weapons, the great sword, sword and shield, lance, hammer, dual blades, light bowgun, and heavy bowgun. Since then, there have been nearly two dozen entries in the series, with the most recent being Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, which offers 14 weapons types for players to choose from as they hunt.
Some Monster Hunter Weapons Would Be Nearly Unusable
A handful of Monster Hunter‘s weapons would be almost useless when it comes to fighting monsters. While many weapons include some form of seemingly magical power, these are difficult to quantify, and it’s unclear why they only work for those weapons. The hunting horn would be one of the worst weapons for hunting monsters. Without any magical properties, it is simply a decently sized hammer built suboptimally so it can play music. This means the weapon will only cause superficial damage to the monster and is liable to break. The insect glaive is in the same boat. Even assuming the weapons aerial mobility isn’t magical, the weapon isn’t large enough to cause much more than surface-level wounds except in a few circumstances. On top of this, being in the air can leave a hunter vulnerable if they have no dodge left.
There are two more weapons that would be ill-suited for taking and monsters, and for similar reasons: the sword and shield and the dual blades. While both use decently sized swords by human standards, in the Monster Hunter world, they are pretty small. These blades would only be able to deal superficial damage in an attempt to take down a monster with death by 1000 cuts, which is ineffective when a monster could realistically take out a hunter with only a couple of hits.
On top of this, the sword and shield have their own problem, and that’s the shield. As is the case for all Monsster Hunter shields they would be relatively pointless under realistic circumstances. The sheer power behind most monsters’ attacks would render the shield useless and likely shatter one’s arm and send them flying. Removing the shield for either a larger weapon or more mobility is almost always the better choice.
Other Monster Hunter Weapons Have Potential
There are many weapons hunters can choose that realistically could do some damage to monsters, even if they aren’t the best options overall. Weapons such as the long sword and hammer are prime examples. While actual slashes with the long sword aren’t likely to do too much, a piercing jab with the blade could do serious damage if aimed correctly, though the blade may be too fragile to be properly effective. The hammer on the other hand could certainly crack bones with its heft, but rarely will this deal a swift death, which is essential to taking out a monster effectively.
Another set of weapons that could be good are the bow and the light bowgun. Each offer ranged attacks, which gives a huge advantage since attacking from a distance would be much safer for the hunter. The biggest problem comes from the fact that neither has quite the firepower to get through some of the toughest armor on monsters, making them pretty situational. Then, there are options like the switch axe and charge blade. The switch axe sword is worse than something such as the great sword, while the axe mode is worse than the charge blade axe, which already isn’t as good as the great sword. While both weapons could certainly deal some good damage to a monster, both are easily outclassed.
These Monster Hunter Weapons Would Prove Most Effective
One of the most iconic Monster Hunter weapons, the great sword, is also one of the most realistically useful — if one assumes it is actually possible to wield. Its immense size gives it amazing cutting power as well as concussive blows for heavily armored targets. Its slashes could quite possibly cut off a monster’s limbs, and a large blade provides flexibility, as the user could hit their target with any part of the blade. The heavy bowgun would also work very well, but for different reasons. The range mixed with the power put behind the large caliber bullets seen in certain models could easily pierce through even the toughest of hides and deal serious damage to a monster.
The final two weapons, the lance and gunlance, are effective for one major reason: their penetrating power. A well-placed attack from one of these weapons could be devastating for a monster, as they are large enough to reach deep into the monster and are sturdy enough to handle it. The gunlance even has explosive, shotgun-like, bullets that could also deal major damage, making it quite possibly the most effective weapon, if used properly.