Guides
Monster Hunter World: Complete Switch Axe Build Guide
Why pick between an axe or a sword when you can have both?
Monster Hunter: World has many unique weapon types to choose from and build for, with the Switch Axe being one of the most versatile ones.
Switch Axes can, as their name implies, switch from an axe form to a sword form. This essentially gives you two different and powerful movesets to hunt monsters with!
In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know to make the most of a Switch Axe build in World and its Iceborne expansion!
Complete Switch Axe Build Guide
Understanding Switch Axe’s Phials
Switch Axes have a unique effect as part of their stats, known as Phials. Phials offer a variety of extremely powerful effects specifically for the Switch Axe’s Sword Form.
Choosing the right Phial for you will be one of the most important things to keep in mind whenever you upgrade or craft a Switch Axe.
The fun thing is, all of the Phial types are powerful and useful! Which one you choose to focus on will depend entirely on your personal playstyle and preference.
Nonetheless, here are the different Phial types, their effects, and what they excel at:
- Power – Increases the damage dealt in Sword Form by 17%. By far the best choice for high DPS playstyles.
- Power Elemental – Boosts the damage of all elemental types by 45%. If you’re focusing on any particular element, this is your best choice.
- Dragon – Gives the Sword Form extra Dragon-element damage and allows you to apply the Elderseal status effect. Situational, but very powerful when facing Elder Dragons.
- Poison – Allows the Sword Form to apply the Poison status effect, dealing damage over time. Decent if you favor a hit-and-run playstyle, but generally considered the weakest Phial type.
- Exhaust – Drains monsters’ stamina, making them tire out quickly. It’s particularly useful for solo Hunters, as it makes monsters more manageable.
- Paralysis – Makes the Sword Form deal extra Paralysis build-up, allowing you to paralyze monsters more easily. Great for both solo and multiplayer, but exclusive to the Barroth Switch Axe line.
Most players favor Power Phials, due to their overall versatility. Overall, though, you can’t really go wrong with any of them as long as they benefit your playstyle!
Best Skills – Switch Axe Builds
The Switch Axe is, thankfully, very lenient when it comes to which skills you should use. You’ll find that a lot of general-use skills work perfectly fine!
The main ones you will want, though, are Evade Extender and Evade Window. They will greatly increase your survivability, as the Switch Axe’s only real defensive option is the standard evade.
Also, it’s a good idea to get the Earplugs skill, as always. It’s especially important as you will be entirely melee-focused and very susceptible to monsters’ screams staggering you!
For offense, you will want to make sure to have high Critical Eye and Critical Boost. You will increase the amount of Critical Hits you deal, and the damage each one dishes out.
Additionally, the standard Attack Boost skill is always nice to have for some extra oomph, if you have the space for it. Weakness Exploit is a similarly useful skill for some extra damage.
Besides that, though, you have free reign to choose any skills you want. Ideally, try to get some important Quality of Life skills such as Handicraft and Fortify.
Truth be told, your must-have skills are going to just be Critical Eye, Earplugs, and Evade Extender. Make sure you get these as your top priority, then get the others we recommended!
Recommended Switch Axes to Get
Now, with there being dozens and dozens of Switch Axes at your disposal, you might wonder which ones you should invest in! Well, that’s what this section will cover.
These are our recommended Switch Axes to build and what makes them stand out:
- Jagras Raider III – Best early Exhaust weapon. It has a natural Sleep element, which pairs up really well with the Exhaust Phial. Great for tiring monsters out, and also pretty easy to craft.
- Dying Light – Best Dragon weapon. Has a natural Dragon element paired with a Power Phial, allowing it to be extremely effective against any Elder Dragon you face.
- Barroth Grinder III – Best early Paralysis weapon. This weapon has high raw damage paired with a natural Paralysis element and a Paralysis Phial.
- Axe of Demons – Most damaging base-game Switch Axe. The Axe of Demons has, by far, the highest raw damage potential of all Switch Axes in the base game!
- Safi’s Axes – Potentially strongest and most customizable. Exclusive to the Safi’jiiva’s Siege from the Iceborne DLC, this weapon can be leveled and customized. If you invest enough into it, it’s potentially one of the strongest and most versatile Switch Axe in the game!
- Taroth Axe “Horn” – Highest raw damage in Iceborne. This particular Switch Axe will require you to choose specific skills to make up for its poor Affinity and lack of slots. Nonetheless, it has the highest raw damage of all Switch Axes even in the Iceborne DLC.
So, there you have it, you can’t really go wrong when you use any of these powerful Switch Axes in your build.
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