Read this Monster Hunter World: Iceborne guide to know the best & recommended armor skills for the melee weapon - Long Sword!!!
Table of Contents
Related Long Sword Articles
 How To Use | Best Builds |
| Best Skills | Endgame Tier List |
Long Sword Features & Overview
Great For Continuous Damage
The Long Sword is extremely mobile and can deal continuous damage with its slashes and counters. You can continue attacking even when taking monster hits, making it easy for you to build up enough damage to defeat a monsters.
Stronger Attack Power Via Spirit Gauge
Every Long Sword comes with a Spirit Gauge that amps up its physical attack power every time it levels up. Build up your Spirit Gauge to a variety of levels to do more damage with every slash or thrust.
Recommended Skill List For Long Sword
| Skill | Recommendation Criteria |
|---|---|
| Attack Boost | Increases attack power and affinity at later level, allowing you to deal more damage to the monster |
| Maximum Might | Since this weapon doesn't readily consume stamina, you'll have increased affinity rates when your HP bar is full |
| Weakness Exploit | You'll deal more damage and have increased affinity rate when landing hits on monster weak spots |
| Handicraft | Longer sharpness gauge will let you sharpen less & prevent damage loss when weapon becomes blunt |
| Critical Boost | Damage of critical hits is increased, letting you deal more damage to monster's health when landing critical hits |
| Agitator | Attack & affinity increases when monster is enraged which lets your attacks hit harder than when monsters are calm |
| Critical Eye | Increases affinity rate, allowing for more chances of making critical hits |
| Focus | Charges gauge up faster to deal more devastating attacks |
| Evade Window | Elongates your rolls & dodges, helping you miss enemy attacks or place yourself properly for an attack opening |
| Protective Polish | Negates sharpness loss for a time after sharpening, letting you hit targets harder for a short period |
| Speed Sharpening | Lessens sharpening time with a whetstone & keeps you from being too vulnerable to monster attacks |
| Master's Touch | Lessens sharpness loss when landing critical hits, allowing you to retain weapon sharpness longer in hunts |
| Razor Sharp/Spare Shot | Halves the loss of weapon sharpness, reducing need to sharpen or chance of attacks to deflect on monsters |
| Earplugs | This prevents you from being stunned for too long from monster roars, allowing you to move away from monster attacks |
Best Long Sword Skills To Equip
Attack Boost
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Attack +3 |
| 2 | Attack +6 |
| 3 | Attack +9 |
| 4 | Attack +12 and Affinity +5% |
| 5 | Attack +15 and Affinity +5% |
| 6 | Attack +18 and Affinity +5% |
| 7 | Attack +21 and Affinity +5% |
Critical Skill To Have For Any Weapon
Since this skill increases a weapon's raw physical damage and then increases affinity rate at later levels, it's a very important basic skill to have in any loadout or build.
Maximum Might
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | While active, increases affinity by 10% |
| 2 | While active, increases affinity by 20% |
| 3 | While active, increases affinity by 30% |
Best For Weapons That Don't Consume Stamina
Since the Long Sword doesn't consume that much stamina except for dodging, this skill will help you increase your affinity rate. You'll be able to deal more damage when your stamina bar is full.
Weakness Exploit
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Attacks that hit weak spots have 15% increased affinity |
| 2 | Attacks that hit weak spots have 30% increased affinity |
| 3 | Attacks that hit weak spots have 50% increased affinity |
Allows For Efficient Hunting
Weakness Exploit gives you bigger chances to deal more damage to monster weak spots, making it easier for you to break monster parts or lower monster health. Utilize the Long Sword's reach to target weak spots & make for efficient hunts.
Handicraft
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Weapon sharpness +10 |
| 2 | Weapon sharpness +20 |
| 3 | Weapon sharpness +30 |
| 4 | Weapon sharpness +40 |
| 5 | Weapon sharpness +50 |
Elongates Your Sharpness Gauge
Having the Handicraft increases your weapon sharpness. This lessens your need to sharpen your weapon and prevents you from being open to monster attacks.
Alternative Sword And Shield Skill List
Critical Boost
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Increases damage dealt by critical hits by 30% |
| 2 | Increases damage dealt by critical hits by 35% |
| 3 | Increases damage dealt by critical hits by 40% |
Combine With Attack Boost & Weakness Exploit
When you combine this skill with Attack Boost, Weakness Exploit, and Critical Eye, you'll be dealing a whole lot of damage to any monster you encounter in any hunt.
Agitator
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | While active, grants attack +4 and increases affinity by 3% |
| 2 | While active, grants attack +8 and increases affinity by 6% |
| 3 | While active, grants attack +12 and increases affinity by 9% |
| 4 | While active, grants attack +16 and increases affinity by 12% |
| 5 | While active, grants attack +20 and increases affinity by 15% |
Deal More Damage When Monster Is Enraged
The Agitator skill boosts your attack and affinity rate when the monster is enraged. Since monsters enrage multiple times during a fight, you'll be able to do more damage to it and defeat it more easily.
Critical Eye
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Affinity +3% |
| 2 | Affinity +6% |
| 3 | Affinity +10% |
| 4 | Affinity +15% |
| 5 | Affinity +20% |
| 6 | Affinity +25% |
| 7 | Affinity +30% |
Skill To Increase Damage
Critical Eye essentially increases your affinity rate. Having a higher affinity rate allows you to deal more damage with weapons, letting you kill monsters faster.
Focus
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Increases gauge fill rate by 5% and reduces charge times by 5% |
| 2 | Increases gauge fill rate by 10% and reduces charge times by 10% |
| 3 | Increases gauge fill rate by 20% and reduces charge times by 20% |
Useful To Increase Spirit Gauge Faster
Maximum Might is extremely helpful in raising your Spirit Gauge faster, letting you deal more devastating attacks to any target monster.
Evade Window
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Very slightly increases invulnerability window |
| 2 | Slightly increases invulnerability window |
| 3 | Increases invulnerability window |
| 4 | Greatly increases invulnerability window |
| 5 | Massively increases invulnerability window |
Increases Invincibility When Dodging
Since the Long Sword can only dodge through attacks, Evade Window is a good skill to have. With this skill, you can dodge right through perilous monster attacks due to the enlarged invincibility window.
Protective Polish
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Weapon sharpness does not decrease for a set time after sharpening |
Keeps Weapon Sharpness Up For A Time
Protective Polish negates weapon sharpness after you use a Whetstone to sharpen a weapon. Having this skill lets you jump into the hunt faster and will help your weapon's sharpness last longer in the fight.
Speed Sharpening
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Removes one cycle from the sharpening process |
| 2 | Removes two cycles from the sharpening process |
| 3 | Removes three cycles from the sharpening process |
Recommended For Weapons That Lose Sharpness Fast
Since the Long Sword does a lot of hits, it can lose sharpness fast. Speed Sharpening will help you sharpen faster, allowing you to go back into the hunt quickly without making yourself too vulnerable.
Master's Touch
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Prevents your weapon from losing sharpness during critical hits |
Heavily Prevents Sharpness Loss On Critical Hits
With this skill, if you keep landing critical hits, you will greatly lessen your need to sharpen. This is a perfect skill to combine with Critical Eye & Critical Boost.
Razor Sharp / Spare Shot
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Halves shaprness loss. For bows and bowguns, shots have a chance not to expend coatings or ammo |
Lessens Need To Sharpen
With this skill, you'll need to sharpen less during the hunt. When you sharpen less, you'll have more time to deal continuous damage to the monster and complete the hunt faster.
Earplugs
| Lvl | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Slightly reduces the effects of weak monster roars |
| 2 | Reduces the effects of weak monster roars |
| 3 | Nullifies weak monster roars |
| 4 | Nullifies weak monster roars and reduces the effects of strong monster roars |
| 5 | Nullifies weak & strong monster roars |
Disable Roars To Continue Attacking
With the Earplugs skill, you'll be able to attack through monster roars without being stunned. This allows you to keep yourself safe or still deal continuous damage.
