The Long Sword is one of fourteen weapons at the player’s disposal in Monster Hunter Rise/Sunbreak. It is effective in virtually any scenario and, in the hands of a skilled hunter, can output some incredibly high DPS. Its vast array of counters make this weapon one of the most satisfying to master.

Strengths of the Long Sword:

• It has many incredibly useful counters, allowing skilled hunters to seamlessly avoid damage while maintaining their offensive.
• Extremely stylish with attacks such as “Iai Spirit Slash” and “Helm Splitter”.
• “High risk, high reward” playstyle is incredibly satisfying to master.
• Highly versatile in the hands of a skilled hunter.
• While difficult to master, its iteration in Rise/Sunbreak makes managing aspects of the weapon like the Spirit Gauge much easier thanks to switch skills like “Silkbind Sakura Slash”, making it very approachable.

While there are countless builds out there, most of which are entirely viable and very effective, I have narrowed down three which I find to be particularly excellent. Without further ado, here is my list of the top 3 Monster Hunter Rise/Sunbreak Long Sword builds.

3. Frostbite from “Yokai Nox”

The first of several builds described in Yokai Nox’s video, this build excels at outputting ice elemental damage. It is able to consistently deal insane damage numbers thanks to skills like Frostcraft alongside all of the general raw and elemental attack skills. I personally use this build to great success and find it extremely effective.

Build Strengths:

• Insanely high ice elemental damage thanks to both Ice Attack lv 5 and Kushala Blessing lv 2.
• The inclusion of Master’s Touch and Handicraft virtually remove the concern of losing sharpness during combat, meaning that the hunter only needs to sharpen when the monster has changed locations.
• While ice is absolutely this build’s greatest strength, it has the potential for good fire elemental damage thanks to the presence of Teostra Blessing lv 2, allowing it to function well against monsters that may be resistant to ice damage.
• Frostcraft lv 3 allows for insane damage on unsheathing attacks such as the Sacred Sheath Combo.
• This build has 100% affinity on weak spots, allowing for consistently high damage numbers.

Build Components:

• Flicker Blizzard Slash
  • Augments:
    • Attack Boost lv 4
    • Element Boost lv 2
• Risen Kushala Glare
  • Augments:
    • Frostcraft lv 1
• Rimeguard Mail
  • Augments:
    • Powder Mantle lv 1
• Risen Kaiser Braces
  • Augments:
    • Frostcraft lv 1
• Virtue Coil
  • Augments:
    • Wind Mantle lv 1
• Rimeguard Greaves
  • Augments:
    • Wind Mantle lv 1
• Critical Eye lv 3 Talisman
  • Should have at least three lv 2 decoration slots

Decorations:

• 2x Ironshell 1
• 1x Chain 2
• 1x Handicraft+ 4
• 1x Handicraft 3
• 1x Tenderizer 2
• 1x Expert+ 4
• 1x Expert 2
• 3x Critical 2
• 2x Attack+ 4
• 1x Mastery+ 4
• 2x Intrepid 1
• 1x Shockproof 1

Core Skills:

• Critical Eye lv 7
• Ice Attack lv 5
• Attack Boost lv 4
• Critical Boost lv 3
• Weakness Exploit lv 3
• Critical Element lv 3
• Master’s Touch lv 3
• Handicraft lv 3
• Kushala Blessing lv 2
• Teostra Blessing lv 2
• Wind Mantle lv 3
• Frostcraft lv 3
• Intrepid Heart lv 2
• Quick Sheath lv 3

2. Comfy Frostcraft Long Sword by “Darcblade”

In Monster Hunter, it is not always necessary to have the absolute maximum DPS possible, and this build is an excellent example as to why. While it is not capable of outputting as much damage as the other two builds on this list, it is still quite powerful and allows for the use of several comfort skills such as Evade Extender which make combat much less stressful for the player. Thus, its ease of use cannot be discounted since it is still capable of good DPS.

Build Strengths:

• The inclusion of Evade Extender allows the hunter to avoid taking damage much more easily without having to rely on countless, often difficult to time correctly, counters.
• While its damage output is not as high as the other builds on this list, it still has tremendous DPS potential while providing the hunter with several comfort skills.
• Heaven-Sent allows the hunter to practically ignore their weapon's sharpness, allowing them to maintain their offensive without having to pause.
• This build’s lack of an elemental focus means that it requires minimal changes to be effective against any monster.
• The inclusion of Stun Resistance lv 3 prevents the hunter from ever being stunned by the monster, thus allowing them to more consistently maintain their offense.

Build Components:

• Silver Severer
  • Augments:
    • Attack Boost lv 4
    • Element Boost lv 2
• Risen Kushala Glare
  • Augments:
    • Wind Mantle lv 1
• Tempest Robe
  • Augments:
    • Upgrade lv 1 decoration slot to lv 2
• Tempest Sleeves
  • Augments:
    • Weakness Exploit lv 1
• Rimeguard Coil
  • Augments:
    • Frostcraft lv 1
• Tempest Hakama
  • Augments:
    • Evade Extender lv 1
• Any comfort skill Talisman
  • Should have at least one lv 4 decoration Slot

Decorations:

• 3x Attack Jewel+ 4
• 1x Attack Jewel 2
• 2x Tenderizer Jewel 2
• 1x Shockproof Jewel 1
• 3x Expert Jewel+ 4
• 1x Sheath Jewel+ 4
• 1x Intrepid Jewel 1
• 1x Expert Jewel 2
• 1x Sheath Jewel 2
• 1x Wirebug Jewel 2
• 1x Hard Steadfast Jewel 4
• 1x Jumping Jewel+ 4
• 1x Redirection Jewel+ 4

Core Skills:

• Attack Boost lv 7
• Critical Eye lv 7
• Critical Boost lv 3
• Weakness Exploit lv 3
• Quick Sheath lv 3
• Evade Extender lv 3
• Stun Resistance lv 3
• Wirebug Whisperer lv 3
• Wind Mantle lv 3
• Frostcraft lv 3
• Heaven-Sent lv 3
• Focus lv 2
• Redirection lv 2
• Intrepid Heart lv 1
• Shock Absorber lv 1

1. Augmented Poison Long Sword Build by “LordViettner”

The example augmented set showcased in Lord Viettner’s video, this build is capable of both outputting incredible DPS and being quite versatile. While poison is not necessarily the strongest element/status to build around in this game, this build still manages to make it excel with the inclusion of numerous status boosting skills like Poison Attack and Chameleos Blessing coupled with the increase in damage from Buildup Boost. Its incredible raw damage output coupled with its maximization of poison damage just barely put this build over the other two.

Build Strengths:

• Several of the core skills in this build greatly enhance the speed at which poison procs and the overall effectiveness of the ailment.
• The increased poison buildup also provides passive dps to the target monster, increasing the hunter’s total DPS dramatically over time.
• Many monsters are vulnerable to poison damage making this build extremely versatile.
• This build is also capable of outputting some serious raw damage as well.
• The inclusion of Foray allows the hunter to deal even more damage and have even greater affinity while the target monster is inflicted with poison.

Build Components:

• Wyvern Blade “Luna”
  • Augments:
    • Attack Boost lv 3
    • Sharpness Boost lv 1
• Risen Kushala Glare
  • Augments:
    • Burst lv 1
    • Bloodlust lv 1
• Rimeguard Mail
  • Augments:
    • Wirebug Whisperer lv1
• Prudence Braces:
  • Augments:
    • Powder Mantle lv 1
• Risen Kaiser Coil
  • Augments:
    • Critical Boost lv 1
• Valstrax Greaves - Epoch
  • Augments:
    • Blood Rite lv 1
• Buildup Boost lv 3 Talisman
  • Should have at least three lv 2 decoration slots

Decorations:

• 2x Handicraft Jewel 3
• 1x Intrepid Jewel+ 3
• 1x Critical Jewel 2
• 1x Shockproof Jewel 1
• 1x Attack Jewel+ 4
• 3x Haze Jewel 1
• 1x Mastery Jewel 2
• 1x Foray Jewel+ 4
• 1x Hard Venom Jewel 4
• 1x Cornerstone Jewel 1
• 3x Tenderizer Jewel 2
•  
• Core Skills:
• Attack Boost lv 7
• Wirebug Whisperer lv 3
• Critical Boost lv 3
• Weakness Exploit lv 3
• Master’s Touch lv 3
• Poison Attack lv 3
• Quick Sheath lv 3
• Chameleos Blessing lv 3
• Coalescence lv 3
• Foray lv 3
• Buildup Boost lv 3
• Handicraft lv 2
• Intrepid Heart lv 2

Sources:

• “MHR: Sunbreak | NEW Best Longsword Builds | TU5” YouTube, uploaded by Yokai Nox, 18 May, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_PfzBlqhxo&t=332s
• “BEST ENDGAME BUILDS : COMFY FROSTCRAFT LONG SWORD : MHR SUNBREAK”, YouTube, uploaded by Darcblade, 8 July, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRsUSLMIMcA
• “Sunbreak - END GAME LONG SWORD GUIDE | BEST WEAPONS, SKILLS, AND EXAMPLE SETS” YouTube, uploaded by LordViettner, 23 April, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phaaefLwJDY&t=117s

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