Monster Hunter World (MHW) features 14 different weapon types, with the Switch Axe being one of them. In this Guide we’ll take a look at exactly how to use this Weapon to its fullest, as well as show you some things you may not know about it. If you’re new to the game or you are a veteran of the franchise and just need a quick refresher, this Guide is for you.

Switch Axe Guide

The Switch Axe is an extremely versatile weapon, but is a bit more complicated than most and as such isn’t recommended for brand new players. The Switch Axe uses a Phial system that fills while the players is wielding the Axe form of the weapon, which then allows this to be used in Sword form for increased effectiveness and damage. Both forms of the weapon are extremely good, with the Axe having excellent reach and the Sword having excellent damage. In short this is the weapon for the player who wants the best of both worlds.

Basic Combos

• While in Axe form pressing , , will perform a slash, side slash and then rising slash. This is great for hitting monsters in the head or for hitting flying monsters.
• While in Axe form pressing repeatedly will do Wild Swings over and over as long as you wish, but it drains a healthy amount of Stamina. You can press at any time during this to morph to Sword form.
• Much like the Dual Blade, in Sword form you can pretty chain and attacks together seemlessly for near infinite combos. For this reason I did not list all the possibilities here. Play around with them and see what works for you.

Special Attacks and Things of Interest

While in Axe form you fill your Switch Gauge naturally over time, which is important because you cannot do attacks with the Sword form if you don’t have enough energy stored in your Gauge. Attacks with the Sword deplete this energy, making it so that you must alternate between the two forms somewhat regularly if you wish to use the Sword.

While in Sword form  +  produces an Element Discharge. Thrust the sword forward, spam to build up energy and unleash it in an explosion.It costs a lot of the Switch Gauge, but can be used mid combo.

Causing repeated damage with your Sword can put you into an Amped State where you deal additional damage. You can track this by looking at the Switch Gauge on the top left-hand side of the screen and when the outside if its glowing different colors you are in this state.

While in an Amped State if you press + you will perform a Zero Sum Discharge, which stabs the monster with the sword and climbs onto it to unleash the Phial’s explosion like normal Elemental Discharge, but with an even more bad ass animation and more damage.

Final Tips

Hunters using the Switch Axe have much better mobility in Axe form than Sword. Keep this in mind when fighting and try to stay on the Axe when you need to move around a lot. You also cannot block, like you can with the Charge Blade, so you’ll have to learn to Evade with this weapon.

Sharpness on this weapon is generally pretty decent but it can deteriorate rather rapidly when using Element Discharge, which you will. So be sure to keep an eye out and use a Whetstone if needed, especially if you have used this move a lot rather recently.

As mentioned above, attacks in Sword form utilize the effects of the Switch Axe’s Phials, making them much harder to deflect. This makes Sword form useful for targeting tough body parts that would be otherwise hard to strike.

Lastly, if you are new to the game and have a bit of experience under your belt, and are at the point where you are ready to try something more complicated, I highly recommend this weapon. It isn’t as challenging to learn as the Charge Blade, does tons of damage with an amazing moveset and won’t take as long to master.

Be sure to check out our other Weapon and Monster Guides for all your needs and if you have specific questions be sure to check out the Monster Hunter World Wiki. Good Luck Hunters! May the furs be with you!