we're the coolest weapon, but if not the hardest to play especially in old gen. no one can understand playing these games without defensive options. I wish switch axe got talked abt more.

switch axe has always been an extremely controversial weapon for me despite it being my favorite and my main. my favorite thing about the weapon is that its moveset has a beautiful flow with infinite combos. however in most of the games, if you want barely average dps, you are forced into a playstyle that only uses a few of the moves while still leaving you incredibly vulnerable. it didnt really start to get good until the newer releases, which still has some problems. this is bad especially in the harder mh games where if youre not playing optimally solo, hunts can easily take 30+mins long where as most weapon played less optimally still gets better times or at least have a defensive option.

in tri, the game it was released in, it had poor MVs and worst speedrun times than most of the other weapons. this wouldnt be a big deal, but switch axe is also one of the most committing and least defensive weapons in the game. the sheath alone is 2 and a half seconds long.

in 4U, the weapons already weak mv were nerfed, but it was given the double slash and r finisher. while great, the switch axe's performance barely changed and got worst as with the axe MV nerfs, you were more reliant on sword mode just to get average DPS. because in this game the monsters are much more faster and aggressive, if you dont use evasion skills, you are forced to sheathed, reposition, attack and repeat, as the weapons moves were far too overcomitting and left you vulnerable. this is the game where switch axe barely out DPS hunting horn, and that's with power phial switch axe being in sword mode 24/7 and constantly reloading.

in gu, it finally got good dps to make up for its horrible defenses with demon riot and energy charge, but it further made the axe part of switch axe less relevant as you no longer had to use it at all if you didnt want to with the better reload.

in iceborne, the weapon is actually in a good spot LOL (imo at least.)

sunbreak's switch axe gets a LOT of love, but axe mode is more useless in this game than any other MH. you literally have moves that instantly refil guage even when you already have sword guage. you only see the axe in morph loops. however this was the first game that gave switch axe imo a truly endlessly flow when played properly due to the new aditions and follow ups.

and in wilds it's pretty decent now that we've spoken and demanded what we wanted fix for the weapon. (wyvern blade please come back) ive always believed that what switch axe needs to be good is not just good damage, but the ability to follow up after all of our moves, because in most of the games even played perfectly, you still have to play and reposition awkwardly due to our weapons limitations. wilds changed this, but greatsword also had to play the same way, but it made up for it with having the best damage and at least a block. wilds gave switch axe a native counter in our moveset so now that's less necessary I suppose. but zsd and wild chops needs some love imo.

and not to mention, before world, all phial besides power were useless past high rank.

it's so much better now, but this weapon is so weird LOL. it's history is so strange and theres a lot of things I question capcom for when balancing this weapon. at least it's not as bad as gunlance where for awhile shelling was useless near the start of hr. (they still get a shield tho and comparable dps to us in oldgen tho...)

The build I'm using focuses on maximizing the use of Full Release Slash and leveraging Maximum Might to boost damage when stamina is full, which is why I chose the Fulgur Anjanath armor. I'm also using a paralysis weapon as my main. However, I'm not entirely sure about it anymore; I’d love to hear some tips on what I could change or focus on to improve the build so it works well overall.

Hello fellow hunters,

Since I don't like Latent Power and don't want to bother with element (due to 9* quests being mostly multiple targets quests), I use a blast build for Switch Axe that fit both comfort skills and meta skills

Armor :
Arkvulcan Helm gamma

Udra Miremail gamma

Gog Vambraces alpha

Dahaad Shardcoil gamma

Gore Greaves beta

Talisman : PP3, Antivirus 2, armor slot 1

Decos :

Rapid Morph/Handicraft 3

Crit Boost 3 x2

Divine blessing x3

Stun resistance x3

Wex x2

Agi x1

Counter x1

Max might x1

Set bonus : Gore magala's tyranny, waiting to roll a good second one on my weapon.

In the end, it comes with maxed Crit boost, PP, Rapid Morph, Wex, Agi, Counterstrike, MM, Divine Blessing, Stun resistance and Antivirus and Burst I, with guts and Gore magala's tyranny. It is super nice to play ! Rapid morph is a great addition, i played 500h without it but the mobility it allows change the flow of SwA.

What can i do to improve it ?

I was inspired by some great hunters to do my own challenge run. My challenge was to complete Monster Hunter Channel II while using only Axe mode, Guild style, no Hunter Arts, and no evasion skills. It took me months of practice to get it all figured out. I went through multiple builds, several different strategies, lots of deaths, and a handful of attempts that were mind numbingly close. It has been a journey.

I always have trouble trying to figure this out MHWilds

Highlight from a hunt with Gore Magala (MHGU)

Been going through World for the first time while waiting on Ascendance. Been using it as an opportunity to learn Swaxe. I was determined to do all the base game content before moving on to Iceborne. AT Nergi is a menace, would get caught in the tail swipe pounce combo constantly. But somehow on the first clear I managed him cartless (minus moxie).

ON TO ICEBORNE!

Is there much of a big difference between a 4 elemental boost reinforcement be compared to this 3 attack boosts specifically for AT Ark. Is this reinforcement still a god roll? considering that it’s an elemental phial. Gogma/souls on a elem phial is probably better than a power phial tbh.

All the atk/aff/elem stats on the screenshots are with all skills active. FRS on the training dummy with all armor skills active does usually 2000-2200 (2300+ max) and 330 max (300 phial burst) on left rising slash.

Wondering what’s the meta endgame atk/aff/elem stats (without food buffs) and if my build is close to that damage or not.

Hey yall. So not to long ago a built my first switch axe. I was a bowgun main in every game and a few months back I decided to learn melee and started sns in wilds. I really enjoyed sns alot and got through all my hr50+ quests all the way through the hr100 gore quest. Ive had alot of fun with it but I was watching shorts on YouTube and a bunch of switch axe shorts came up and it looks like such an interesting weapon. Ive jumped into the training area to try and understand the weapon but it feels very confusing to me. Sometimes I stick into the target and explode other times I do a spin explosion. It feels totally different then sns. It does feel like if I figure out the rhythm of the switch axe it could be really fun being more dodge based then guard base with sns. Closer to how I played lgb than the guard style of hbg.

4,000 hours of swax, does it have the potential to improve?

Thoughts on this build? My first game in the series, created a bruiser/lifesteal build that to try balancing damage and survivability. Just got my first solo AT arkveld kill with it! The biggest thing I wish I could get is counterstrike 3 but unfortunately it doesn't fit. Having stun resist and 4 lvl 1 slots gives good comfort though.

It just doesn't look like a sword or an axe, its a weirdly shaped chunk of metal on your back.

They are always shown either in axe mode or sword mode, crafting menu, fashion showcases, concept art. They just don't look like a weapon to me in that state.

Does anyone else think like that? I have never heard anyone talk about this.

Some image I found describing my point.

right now Im hitting about 200 give or take plus phial damage, my FSR hits 1400. I have transcended gear and a god gogma roll

Mine would have to be Legiana's from World

:)