The Charge Blade is a weapon type that might look fairly simple at first. At its core, it’s a Sword and Shield that can be combined into an axe for slower, more powerful attacks. But spend a little more time with this explosive hybrid and you’ll quickly learn why many hunters consider it the most difficult weapon to learn–and one of the most fun to master.
Here are 5 builds that explore the real power of the Charge Blade in Monster Hunter Rise:
5. Elemental Somnacanth
Starting out our list is one of the most unique-looking weapons in Monster Hunter Rise–the Armordraad Charge Blade crafted from Somnacanth. This build focuses primarily on dealing massive damage through elemental weaknesses and armor-boosting skills.
What We Love About This Build:
Swappable weapons
- Can easily swap between the Armordraad and Flicker Blizzard Wail Charge Blades depending on your target’s weakness. Either way, the Kushala Blessing armor skill boosts Water and Ice attacks by an additional 10%.
Makes good use of less “meta” attacks
- Shield Thrust is an attack that works particularly well with elemental Charge Blades like those obtained from Somnacanth. When the shield is charged, Shield Thrust gets increased elemental damage and attacks can be quickly chained together for big damage.
Plenty of room for comfort skills
- Agitator and Bloodrite provide nice bonuses to an already powerful build, and there’s plenty of room for other skills if you feel like switching it up.
The Nitty Gritty:
Equipment:
Weapon: Armordraad (320 Attack, 57 Water, 0% Affinity)
- Element Phial
Head: Astalos Helm
- Chain Crit (1), Stun Resistance (2)
Chest: Malzeno Mail
- Blood Rite (1), Weakness Exploit (1), Partbreaker (1)
Arms: Kushala Grip X
- Kushala Blessing (2), Agitator (2)
Waist: Archfiend Armor Ura
- Weakness Exploit (1), Chain Crit (2)
Legs: Malzeno Greaves
- Blight Resistance (2), Weakness Exploit (1), Attack Boost (1)
Talisman: Best available. Refer to recommended skills below.
Petalace: Absolute Petalace
Armor Skills:
Water/Ice Attack (5), Guard (5), Weakness Exploit (3), Stun Resistance (3), Speed Sharpening (3), Rapid Morph (3), Chain Crit (3), Agitator (2), Load Shells (2), Blight Resistance (2), Kushala Blessing (2), Attack Boost (1), Guard Up (1), Muck Resistance (1), Partbreaker (1), Flinch Free (1), Blood Rite (1)
Deco Jewels:
2x Ironwall 3, 1x Ironwall, 1x Shield, 2x Magazine, 1x Tenderizer, 1x Quickswitch, 3x Grinder
Rampage Slots:
Elembane Jewel 3
Switch Skills:
Counter Morph Slash, Condensed Element Slash, Firing Pin, Axe Hopper, Morphing Advance
Build Playstyle:
Somnacanth Charge Blades are some of the coolest-looking weapons available, and a build focused on boosting elemental attack fits their style perfectly. Make use of the increased Water and Ice damage by using Shield Thrust and SAEDs and keep your shield charged for maximum damage.
4. Savage Axe Magnamalo
With high attack and extra slots for skills, it’s no surprise that Scorned Magnamalo weapons continue to find their way into top builds. The Vengeful Broadfeller is no different, and Savage Axe mode combines its high power with a fun, engaging playstyle.
What We Love About This Build:
Packed with comfy skills
- Windproof, Stun Resistance, Coalescence, Muck Resistance and Flinch Free provide needed comfort for some of the more difficult Master Rank hunts.
Savage Axe counters Bloodlust
- While Bloodlust does steadily drain HP, the heavy damage from Savage Axe mode vastly reduces the risk factor.
Extra slots skill swaps
- Using the Vengeful Broadfeller in this build gives you an extra slot that can be used for quality of life skills like Protective Polish or Guard Up.
The Nitty Gritty:
Equipment:
Weapon: Vengeful Broadfeller (330 Attack, 32 Blast, 0% Affinity)
- Impact Phial
Head: Arc Helm
- Bloodlust (1), Coalescence (2)
Chest: Malzeno Mail
- Blood Rite (1), Weakness Exploit (1), Partbreaker (1)
Arms: Death Stench Grip X
- Maximum Might (2), Attack Boost (1)
Waist: Rathalos Coil X
- Attack Boost (2), Windproof (3), Critical Boost (1)
Legs: Ingot Greaves X
- Attack Boost (2), Critical Eye (2)
Talisman: Best available. Refer to recommended skills below.
Petalace: Absolute Petalace
Armor Skills:
Attack Boost (7), Critical Boost (3), Weakness Exploit (3), Windproof (3), Stun Resistance (3), Critical Eye (2), Maximum Might (2), Rapid Morph (2), Coalescence (2), Muck Resistance (1), Partbreaker (1), Flinch Free (1), Blood Rite (1), Bloodlust (1)
Deco Jewels:
2x Attack, 2x Tenderizer, 2x Critical, 3x Steadfast, 1x Brace, 1x Sharp Jewel
Rampage Slots:
Daora Soul Jewel 3
Switch Skills:
Counter Morph Slash, Condensed Spinning Slash, Firing Pin, Counter Peak Performance, Morphing Advance
Build Playstyle:
Stay in Savage Axe mode as much as possible to deal consistently high damage while keeping your target pinned down. Don’t worry too much about healing via items–the combination of Bloodlust + Coalescence will keep you from getting too low.
3. Raw Diablos
If you want to deal insanely high damage while maintaining a good balance of attack and defense, the Diablos Charge Blade is an excellent choice. This build focuses on taking phial damage to the max.
What We Love About This Build:
Highest impact phial damage
- The Raw Diablos build offers the highest possible phial damage outside of using specialized skills like Dereliction or Heroic. It does insane damage without having the “dangerous” feel of more risky builds.
SUPER high raw attack
- 370 attack and purple sharpness easily makes up for the -30% affinity. This build doesn’t need high crits to pump out massive dps.
Good balance of offense and defense
- Guard (5) and Guard Up (1) allow you to comfortably block any attack without having to sacrifice the damage boost from Attack (7).
The Nitty Gritty:
Equipment:
Weapon: Cera Cediment+ (370 Attack, -30% Affinity)
- Impact Phial
Head: Guild Palace Helm
- Agitator (1), Offensive Guard (2)
Chest: Archfiend Armor Baulo
- Weakness Exploit (1), Resentment (1), Chain Crit (1)
Arms: Bazelgeuse Braces X
- Guard Up (1), Guard (1), Agitator (2)
Waist: Bazelgeuse Coil X
- Load Shells (2), Guard (1), Razor Sharp (1)
Legs: Bazelgeuse Greaves X
- Artillery (2), Guard (1), Agitator (1)
Talisman: Best available. Refer to recommended skills below.
Petalace: Absolute Petalace
Armor Skills:
Attack Boost (7), Agitator (5), Guard (5), Bludgeoner (3), Offensive Guard (3), Artillery (3), Load Shells (2), Resentment (1), Weakness Exploit (1), Razor Sharp (1), Guard Up (1), Punishing Draw (1), Chain Crit (1)
Deco Jewels:
7x Attack, 1x Ironwall 3, 1x Guardian, 1x Challenger, 1x Artillery, 1x Brace
Rampage Slots:
Anti-Dragon Jewel 2 (swap when appropriate)
Switch Skills:
Counter Morphing Slash, Condensed Element Slash, Firing Pin, Axe Hopper, Morphing Advance
Build Playstyle:
Making the best use of this build requires you to take advantage of Super Amped Elemental Discharges (SAED) whenever you can. Multiple skills gained through armor and decorations result in insanely high phial damage–especially when targeting weak zones.
2. Impact Gaismagorm
Who says Hammers are the only weapon that can K/O monsters? This impact build using the Gaismagorm Charge Blade is packed with armor skills that continue to keep monsters pinned down.
What We Love About This Build:
Easily keep sharpness topped off
- Taking Defense Master 3 restores a little sharpness every time you block an attack. And since you want to block as often as you can, keeping the Abyssal Splitter sharp is easy.
Monsters flinch often and are easily knocked out
- Maxing out the Slugger and Partbreaker skills increase KO damage so you can land more SAEDs without worrying about your target moving at the last second.
Very low decoration requirements
- Stormsoul (5) gives a +2 boost to ANY skill that is already part of armor pieces. This gives the Raw Diablos build a variety of skills without relying on too many decorations.
The Nitty Gritty:
Equipment:
Weapon: Abyssal Splitter (350 Attack, 17 Dragon, -25% Affinity)
- Impact Phial
Head: Narwa’s Pure Helm
- Thunder Alignment (1), Rapid Morph (1), Offensive Guard (1), Stormsoul (1)
Chest: Ibushi’s Pure Breastplate
- Wind Alignment (1), Guard (1), Flinch Free (1), Stormsoul (1)
Arms: Narwa’s Pure Pauldrons
- Thunder Alignment (1), Guard (1), Partbreaker (1), Stormsoul (1)
Waist: Narwa’s Pure Fauld
- Thunder Alignment (1), Guard (1), Artillery (1), Stormsoul (1)
Legs: Ibushi’s Pure Foot
- Wind Alignment (1), Slugger (1), Guard Up (1), Stormsoul (1)
Talisman: Best available. Refer to recommended skills below.
Petalace: Absolute Petalace
Armor Skills:
Attack Boost (6), Guard (5), Thunder Alignment (5), Stormsoul (5), Wind Alignment (4), Guard Up (3), Offensive Guard (3), Slugger (3), Artillery (3), Partbreaker (3), Flinch Free (3), Rapid Morph (3), Resentment (2), Load Shells (2), Stamina Thief (1)
Deco Jewels:
3x Attack, 2x Magazine, 1x Drain
Rampage Slots:
Defense Master Jewel 3
Switch Skills:
Counter Morphing Slash, Condensed Spinning Slash, Firing Pin, Counter Peak Performance, Morphing Advance
Build Playstyle:
Focus on filling phials as quickly as possible to maximize the amount of SAEDs you use. When possible, aim for the monster’s head to deal KO damage. Keep the pressure on and this build will take down your target before they have a chance to recover!
1. Hybrid Gold Rathian
Hybrid builds are great for players who are looking for an all-around set that doesn’t have to be adjusted based on the monster. And with the release of Gold Rathian and the Luna Eostre Charge Blade, we’ve been given one of the strongest hybrid options in the game.
What We Love About This Build:
Makes good use of both SAED and Savage Axe modes
- If you like the idea of having an all-around hybrid build that seamlessly mixes both playstyles, this is perfect.
HUGE variety of armor skills
- Focusing on SAED and Savage-Axe mode requires a lot of skills, and this build gives you plenty.
Poison + Foray
- Combining Foray (3) with Poison Attack (3) gives a +15 attack and +20% affinity boost with little effort. And since the Luna Eostre makes back-to-back poisoning easy, you’ll have an almost permanent stat boost.
The Nitty Gritty:
Equipment:
Weapon: Luna Eostre (330 Attack, 46 Poison, 10% Affinity)
- Impact Phial
Head: Golden Lunehelm
- Status Trigger (2), Foray (1), Chain Crit (2)
Chest: Archfiend Armor Baulo
- Weakness Exploit (1), Resentment (1), Chain Crit (1)
Arms: Bazelgeuse Braces X
- Guard Up (1), Guard (1), Agitator (2)
Waist: Bazelgeuse Coil X
- Load Shells (2), Guard (1), Razor Sharp (1)
Legs: Espinas Heel
- Foray (1), Flinch Free (2), Poison Attack (3)
Talisman: Best available. Refer to recommended skills below.
Petalace: Absolute Petalace
Armor Skills:
Attack Boost (7), Guard (5), Critical Boost (3), Weakness Exploit (3), Poison Attack (3), Razor Sharp (3), Artillery (3), Foray (3), Chain Crit (3), Agitator (2), Load Shells (2), Flinch Free (2), Status Trigger (2), Thunder Attack (1), Guard Up (1), Offensive Guard (1), Defense Boost (1), Stun Resistance (1), Spiribird’s Call (1)
Deco Jewels:
5x Attack, 1x Artillery+ 4, 1x Ironwall+ 3, 1x Ironwall 2, 2x Critical, 1x Razor+ 4, 1x Steadfast, 1x Spiribird’s Call
Rampage Slots:
Anti-Dragon Jewel 2 (swap when appropriate)
Switch Skills:
Counter Morphing Slash, Condensed Spinning Slash, Firing Pin, Axe Hopper, Morphing Advance
Build Playstyle:
Poison your target quickly by making use of rapid hits from Savage Axe mode so you get the damage boost from Foray as often as you can. Target the head with SAEDs for potential knock-outs, and swap to Savage Axe mode for huge damage. If you get bored (unlikely), focus on weak spots to take advantage of this build’s incredibly high affinity.
Charge Blade Recommended Skills:
Rapid Morph:
- Reduces morphing time for Charge Blade. Provides a 30% speed boost and buffs morphing attack damage by 20% at level 3. Great skill for making Charge Blade’s morphing feel more smooth.
Attack Boost:
- Increases overall attack power. At level 7, this means a 10% attack boost and a bonus +10 attack. A must-have for any Charge Blade build.
Weakness Exploit:
- Increases affinity of attacks that target a monster’s weak zone. At level 3, this boosts affinity by 50%. Great skill for critical hit damage.
Load Shells:
- Increases Charge Blade phial capacity. If this skill is taken (which it should be), level 2 is a MUST. Two levels of Load Shells boosts Charge Blade phials by +1.
Guard:
- Reduces knockback and stamina depletion when blocking attacks. This reduces stamina consumption by 30% at level 5, and greatly decreases knockback from attacks.
Artillery:
- Strengthens phial attacks. At level 3 this means a 30% boost to SAEDS and other phial attacks. Great quality-of-life skill to boost overall performance.
Critical Eye:
- Increases affinity. Level 1 gives a +5% affinity boost, while level 7 gives you an additional +40%. Not completely necessary to max out, but more affinity never hurts.
Critical Boost:
- Critical hit damage is increased. At level 3, this skill boosts damage from critical hits by 40%. When coupled with Critical Eye and Weakness Exploit, Critical Boost can provide a massive increase in damage.
