Check out this Monster Hunter Rise (Switch) guide on the high rank Switch Axe builds. Includes recommended equipment, skills, best armor and endgame builds in MH Rise.
Table of Contents
| Switch Axe Related Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
 Sunbreak | Best Build | Early Game Build |
| Rise | High Rank Build | Best Switch Axe |
Best Switch Axe Endgame Builds 3.0 Update
| Build | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| ▼Full Valstrax (Dragonheart) | ★★★★ |
| ▼Nargacuga (Dragonheart) | ★★★★ |
| ▼Tigrex Exhaut Build | ★★★★ |
| ▼Rampage Paralysis | ★★★・ |
| ▼All-Around Elemental | ★★★・ |
| ▼Blast Switch Axe | ★★・・ |
Full Valstrax Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reddnaught Dunat | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 180 | Dragon 37 | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | Critical Jewel 2 | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Valstrax Soul | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
Build Materials List| Part | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Gleaming Shell x5 Crimson Liquid x2 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Rakna-Kadaki Glowgut x2 |
| Chest | Valstrax Spineshell x2 Shimmering Scale x6 Rouge Spikewing x2 Magna Soulprism x2 |
| Arm | Shimmering Scale x6 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Valstrax Spineshell x2 Teostra Powder x2 |
| Waist | Gleaming Shell x6 Crimson Liquid x2 Rouge Spikewing x2 Bazelgeuse Fuse x2 |
| Legs | Gleaming Shell x5 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Valstrax Tail x2 Red Serpent Orb x1 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Requires less than 80% HP to fight effectively ・Dragonheart, Resentment, Resuscitate greatly increase Attack ・Incredibly effective against monsters weak against the dragon element |
Narga + Valstrax Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night's Crescent | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 188 | - | 40% | - | |
| Decoration | Jumping Jewel 2 | |||
| Phial | Poison Phial (Poison 17) | |||
| Rampage Skill | Attack Boost III | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
Build Materials List| Part | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Gleaming Shell x5 Crimson Liquid x2 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Rakna-Kadaki Glowgut x2 |
| Chest | Valstrax Spineshell x2 Shimmering Scale x6 Rouge Spikewing x2 Magna Soulprism x2 |
| Arm | Shimmering Scale x6 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Valstrax Spineshell x2 Teostra Powder x2 |
| Waist | Gleaming Shell x6 Crimson Liquid x2 Rouge Spikewing x2 Bazelgeuse Fuse x2 |
| Legs | Gleaming Shell x5 Valstrax Claw+ x2 Valstrax Tail x2 Red Serpent Orb x1 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Requires less than 80% of your maximum HP to work ・Dragon Heart, Resuscitate, and Resentment can increase your attack greatly ・Night's Crescent has a good Phial and Affinity ・Dragonblight removes poison |
Tigrex Exhaust Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rex Gnasher | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 228 | - | -20% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Exhaust Phial (Exhaust 24) | |||
| Rampage Skill | Attack Boost III | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
Build Materials List| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Protective Polish maintains the white sharpness gauge ・Negative Affinity is negated by Critical Eye ・Required skills like Evade Extender and Stun Resistance are included |
Rampage Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rampage Slicer S | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 220 | - | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Paralysis Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | 1: Sharpness Type II 2: Non-Elemental Boost 3: Phial: Paralysis III | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
Build Materials List| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Sharpness Type II extends the weapon's green sharpness gauge ・Can paralyze monsters ・Can use Exhaust Phial if you prefer building up the gauge |
All-Around Elemental Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abyssal Storm Axe | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 198 | Thunder 43 | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Attack Boost III | |||
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gnashing Flammenbeil | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 230 | Fire 28 | -20% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Fire Boost III | |||
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doom Bringer Axe | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 180 | Water 42 | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Element Exploit | |||
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Hoarfrost | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 200 | Ice 29 | 30% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Attack Boost IV | |||
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reddnaught Dunat | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 188 | Dragon 37 | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Attack Boost III | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
| Equipment | Decoration | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Barroth Helm S | Attack Boost 2 | |||||||||
| Chest | Vaik Mail S | Attack Boost 2 Razor Jewel 2 Any Elemental Attack 1 | |||||||||
| Arms | Barroth Vambraces S | Steadfast Jewel 1 Steadfast Jewel 1 | |||||||||
| Waist | Anjanath Coil S | Jumping Jewel 1 Any Elemental Attack 1 Any Elemental Attack 1 | |||||||||
| Legs | Volvidon Greaves S | Any Elemental Attack 1 Any Elemental Attack 1 | |||||||||
| Talisman | Rapid Morph Lv. 2 | Razor Jewel 2 Razor Jewel 2 | |||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Attack Boost Lv. 7, Lv. 5, Rapid Morph Lv. 3, Evade Extender Lv. 3, Stun Resistance Lv. 3, Razor Sharp Lv. 3, Defense Boost Lv. 1, Offensive Guard Lv. 1, Affinity Sliding Lv. 1 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 262 | -1 | -5 | 3 | -5 | 1 | ||||||
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Change the elemental decorations to fit your needs ・Preserve sharpness using Razor Sharp ・You can change the weapon for one with slots for more skills |
Blast Switch Axe Build
Recommended Weapons
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teostra's Castle | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 210 | Blast 36 | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | Attack Jewel 2 | |||
| Phial | Element Phial | |||
| Rampage Skill | Teostra Soul | |||
Recommended Armor & Skills
Build Materials List| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| ・Use Teostra Soul Rampage Skill to increase Blast damage ・Even if the monster's resistance against blast increases, the physical attack of this blade is more than enough to make up for it ・Protective Polish maintains the blue sharpness gauge ・No Focus so use Wirebug moves to compensate ・If you have a Talisman with good slots, use Power Prolonger Lv. 3 or Flinch Free Lv. 1 |
Update 2.0 Best Switch Axe Builds
View Older (Pre 3.0) Endgame BuildsRapid Morph Build W/ Talisman
↓ This build requires the use of a Talisman to acquire additional skills.
Recommended Weapon
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night's Crescent | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 180 | None | 40% | - | |
| Decoration | Attack Jewel 2 | |||
| Phial | Poison Phial | |||
Recommended Armor
| Equipment | Decoration | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Almudron Helm S | Quickswitch Jewel 2 Enhancer Jewel 2 | |||||||||
| Chest | Jyuratodus Mail | Grinder Jewel 1 Grinder Jewel 1 Grinder Jewel 1 | |||||||||
| Arms | Rathalos Braces S | Attack Jewel 2 | |||||||||
| Waist | Spio Elytra S | - | |||||||||
| Legs | Golden Hakama | Steadfast Jewel 1 Steadfast Jewel 1 | |||||||||
| Talisman | Weakness Exploit Lvl 1 or higher | Any | |||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Attack Boost Lv 4, Rapid Morph Lv 3, Weakness Exploit Lv 3, Critical Boost LV 2, Stun Resistance Lv 3, Speed Sharpening Lv 3, Evade Extender Lv 1, Latent Power Lv 1 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 276 | 3 | 6 | 0 | -7 | 0 | ||||||
| Slot | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Almudron Whiskers+ x2 Almudron Scale+ x4 Almudron Shell+ x1 Rich Mud x2 |
| Chest | Jyuratodus Carapace x4 Jyuratodus Scale+ x1 Jyuratodus Fin+ x1 Gajau Scale x2 |
| Arms | Rathian Scale+ x4 Rath Wingtalon+ x1 Inferno Sac x3 Firecell Stone x2 |
| Waist | Toxic Kumori x1 Quality Stomach x2 Almudron Plate x1 |
| Legs | Rajang Blackfur x3 Gold Rajang Pelt x1 Rajang Claw+ x2 Beast Gem x2 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| The Narga weapon here not only has very high crit, but has a super easy time filling up your gauge thanks to the extra poison damage. This build doesn't rely on having Focus. |
Rapid Morph Build With No Talisman
↓ This build does not require the use of a Talisman.
Recommended Weapon
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night's Crescent | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 180 | None | 40% | - | |
| Decoration | Enhancer Jewel 2 | |||
| Phial | Poison Phial | |||
Recommended Armor
| Equipment | Decoration | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Almudron Helm S | Enhancer Jewel 2 Enhancer Jewel 2 | |||||||||
| Chest | Zinogre Mail S | Grinder Jewel 1 | |||||||||
| Arms | Rathalos Braces S | Quickswitch Jewel 2 | |||||||||
| Waist | Spio Elytra S | - | |||||||||
| Legs | Golden Hakama | Grinder Jewel 1 Steadfast Jewel 1 | |||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Rapid Morph Lv 3, Latent Power Lv 2, Weakness Exploit Lv 3, Attack Boost Lv 2, Critical Boost Lv 2, Power Prolonger Lv 3, Speed Sharpening Lv 3 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 290 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -11 | 1 | ||||||
| Slot | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Almudron Whiskers+ x2 Almudron Scale+ x4 Almudron Shell+ x1 Rich Mud x2 |
| Chest | Zinogre Electrofur x3 Zinogre Carapace x3 Zinogre Claw+ x1 Zinogre Plate x1 |
| Arms | Rathian Scale+ x4 Rath Wingtalon+ x1 Inferno Sac x3 Firecell Stone x2 |
| Waist | Toxic Kumori x1 Quality Stomach x2 Almudron Plate x1 |
| Legs | Rajang Blackfur x3 Gold Rajang Pelt x1 Rajang Claw+ x2 Beast Gem x2 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| Since this build doesn't use a Talisman, it has slightly lower Critical Eye. You'll want to use the Melding Pot to get a Talisman as soon as possible. |
Best Switch Axe Builds For High Ranks
Gear Craftable For 4★
Recommended Weapon
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Switch Axe II | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 160 | None | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Paralysis Phial (Paralysis 18) | |||
Recommended Armor
| Equipment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Khezu Helm S | ||||||||||
| Chest | Izuchi Mail S | ||||||||||
| Arm | Lagombi Vambraces S | ||||||||||
| Waist | Khezu Coil S | ||||||||||
| Legs | Khezu Greaves S | ||||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Critical Eye Lvl 4, Focus Lvl 3, Slugger Lvl 2, Recovery Speed Lvl 2, Ice Attack Lvl 1, Recovery Up Lvl 1 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 186 | -12 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 4 | ||||||
| Slot | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Pearl Hide x4 Monster Keenbone x1 Dragonite Ore x2 Quality Bone x1 |
| Chest | Great Izuchi Hide+ x3 Great Izuchi Pelt+ x2 Monster Bone+ x1 Izuchi Tail x1 |
| Arm | Lagombi Plastron x3 Lagombi Iceclaw x2 Gracium x3 Beast Gem x3 |
| Waist | Pearl Hide x3 Suspicious Fang+ x2 High-quality Pelt x1 Dragonite Ore x2 |
| Legs | Suspicious Fang+ x4 Pearl Hide x1 Thunder Sac x2 Pale Steak x1 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| The Switch Axe's overall performance is greatly affected by having the Focus skill active. We think having it at level 3 will really help you out in the early stages of High Rank quests. |
Best Switch Axe Builds For Low Ranks
Early Game High Dps Build
Recommended Weapon
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Switch Axe II | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 160 | None | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Paralysis Phial (Paralysis 18) | |||
Recommended Armor
| Equipment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Izuchi Helm | ||||||||||
| Chest | Hunter's Mail | ||||||||||
| Arm | Alloy Vambraces | ||||||||||
| Waist | Alloy Coil | ||||||||||
| Legs | Baggi Greaves | ||||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Attack Boost Lvl 2, Critical Eye Lvl 3, Water Attack Lvl 1 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 44 | -4 | -2 | -5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Slot | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Great Izuchi Pelt x2 Monster Bone S x1 Izuchi Pelt x1 |
| Chest | Remobra Hide x1 Iron Ore x1 |
| Arm | Machalite Ore x2 Iron Ore x3 Earth Crystal x1 |
| Waist | Machalite Ore x2 Earth Crystal x2 Iron Ore x1 |
| Legs | Great Baggi Claw x2 Sleep Sac x1 Baggi Scale x1 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| There aren't many skills that work well with the Switch Axe in the early game, so going full DPS is your best bet. It's also possible to activate Focus by equipping a Bone Coil instead. |
Build Craftable For ★4 Quests
Recommended Weapon
| Weapon Name | Sharpness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Steel Axe | | |||
| Attack | Element | Affinity | Defense | |
| 110 | None | 0% | - | |
| Decoration | - | |||
| Phial | Paralysis Phial (Paralysis 14) | |||
Recommended Armor
| Equipment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Barroth Helm | ||||||||||
| Chest | Volvidon Mail | ||||||||||
| Arm | Bnahabra Gloves | ||||||||||
| Waist | Volvidon Coil | ||||||||||
| Legs | Volvidon Greaves | ||||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||||
| Rapid Morph Lvl 2, Attack Boost Lvl 1, Evade Window Lvl 1, Evade Extender Lvl 1 | |||||||||||
| Defense | | | | | | ||||||
| 92 | 2 | -9 | 4 | -3 | 6 | ||||||
| Slot | Materials |
|---|---|
| Head | Barroth Carapace x2 Barroth Claw x2 Barroth Tail x1 Monster Bone M x1 |
| Chest | Volvidon Shell x2 Volvidon Claw x2 Dragonite Ore x2 Great Izuchi Hide x1 |
| Arm | Bnahabra Shell x1 Altaroth Stomach x1 Bnahabra Wing x2 |
| Waist | Volvidon Rickrack x2 Volvidon Shell x2 Jumbo Bone x2 Warm Pelt x2 |
| Legs | Volvidon Shell x2 Volvidon Claw x1 Paralysis Sac x2 Dragonite Ore x2 |
| Key Points About This Build | |
|---|---|
| This set will get the new Rapid Morph skill up to level 2. For a weapon you can basically use whatvever you want, but we recommend the Improved Steel Axe for its overall versatility and its bonus paralysis damage |
Switch Axe Update 3.0 Recommended Skills
| Skill Name | Effect / Reason |
|---|---|
| Rapid Morph (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Increases switch speed and power for switch axes and charge blades. 【Reason】 Greatly speeds up the Switch Axe's transformation. A definite must-have for any build. |
| Evade Extender (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Increases evade distance. 【Reason】 Greatly increases your mobility, allowing you to easily move around the field. Lv. 1 is enough for this. |
| Attack Boost (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Increases your overall attack. Also affects your critical rate as you level up 【Reason】 A simple DPS increase skill. Try to get this to at least level 4! |
| Weakness Exploit (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Increases the affinity of attacks that exploit a monster weak spot. 【Reason】 Increases your chances of inflicting critical hits when striking weak spots |
| Critical Boost (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Increases the damage of critical hits. 【Reason】 Greatly increases damage output especially when used with high affinity builds |
| Stun Resistance (Priority: ★★★) | 【Effect】 Reduces stun duration. 【Reason】 Compressed Finishing Discharge adds a bit of stun so Lv.3 is a must. |
| Focus (Priority: ★★☆) | 【Effect】 Increases the fill rate for weapons with gauges and the charge rate for weapons with charge attacks. 【Reason】 Increases the charge speed of the Phials. Highly recommended when using slow Phials. |
| Power Prolonger (Priority: ★★☆) | 【Effect】 Long swords, dual blades, insect glaives, switch axes, and charge blades stay powered up longer. 【Reason】 Lenghtens the empowered duration. Having Lv. 2 is recommended |
MH Rise Sunbreak - Weapon Related Articles
Weapon Articles
| Great Sword | Best Build | Early Game Builds |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Long Sword | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Sword & Shield | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Dual Blades | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Hammer | Best Build | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Hunting Horn | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Lance | Best Build | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Gunlance | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Switch Axe | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Charge Blade | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Insect Glaive | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Light Bowgun | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Heavy Bowgun | Best Builds | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill | |
| Bow | Best Build | Early Game Builds |
| Weapon Tree | Switch Skill |
