Sword and Shield Guide and Best Combos in Monster Hunter Wilds

The Sword and Shield is Monster Hunter Wild's most versatile weapons, being the ultimate swiss army knife to bring something for every situation. It is ideal for hunters who are looking for something that can stay on the move while using items and apply status effects to monsters rapidly.

The Sword and Shield is one of the most rounded weapons, bringing both sever and blunt damage at the same time and boasting an incredibly fast attack speed. It has very high mobility while attacking, can perform strong stunning attacks on monsters, and builds up element damage and status effects rapidly. It is also the only weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds that can use any item without sheathing your weapon, allowing you to stay on the offensive while pulling from your bag of tricks.

This guide covers everything you need to know about the Sword and Shield in Monster Hunter Wilds, from its mechanics and best combos to its strengths, weaknesses, and how to use it during hunts.

In the event you are looking for our Sword and Shield builds, please click the link below.

Strengths

• Very Accessible - Simple but versatile combos that are easy to use
• Status Buildup - Fast attack speed make it one of the fastest weapons to apply statuses
• Strong Defense - Between mobility and its shield can defend against almost any monster attack
• Great Mobility - Lots of movement built into swings and can use items without sheathing

Weaknesses

• Low Damage - The cost for its fast attack speed is every hit is weaker
• Short Range - Requires you to stay up close and personal with a monster to build up damage
• Sharpness - Fast attack speed chews through sharpness quickly
• Weaker Shield - Block potency isn't as high as other shield weapons available

Title Update 2 came with a number of balance changes to many weapons, including the Sword and Shield. While a few things were slightly changed, none of the affected abilities have altered the playstyle in a meaningful way. Quick notes of changes are:

• Counter Slash, Chop and Side Slash have had their damage slightly reduced, but still remain core abilities.
• Perfect Rush, Scaling Slash and the Shield Combo have all had their damage slightly increased, but do not require a playstyle shift toward them.
• Sliding Swipe has had its iframe buffer reduced by roughly 25%, making it slightly harder to use to avoid attacks. This still remains a good tool for evading attacks and positioning around a monster.

In addition to your trusty Sword used for slashing attacks, the Sword and Shield can make use of the Shield portion to go on the offensive. A number of your follow-up strikes and the Shield Attack 3 move combo will use this to engage, significantly increasing the amount of stun buildup you cause on a monster.

These attacks do not cause element or status buildup however, so these are optional additions to your toolkit to try and bring your prey down and create an opening. Try to mix them in especially when attacking a monster's head to make use of the entire Sword and Shield toolkit.

Sword and Shield is unique in Monster Hunter Wilds as it is the only weapon that can make use of items without sheathing your weapon. This includes Whetstones, Bombs, Traps and Potions, so you can dynamically make use of them without needing to pause and sheathe. This makes Sword and Shield very mobile, and an excellent addition to group hunts as a more supportive member.

To perform this, while holding / / to Guard, press / / . This will use the item currently queued up on your hotbar.

Like all shield weapons, the Sword and Shield also has access to Guard, raising your shield by pressing / / to reduce damage at the cost of stamina. If this is timed perfectly with a monster strike it will trigger Perfect Guard, massively reducing the damage you take and allowing you to immediately follow-up with Counter Slash by pressing / / .

These also have a chance to trigger a Power Clash with the attacking monster, requiring you to rapidly tap / / . If successful, you will topple the monster and can follow up with Counter Slash to get back in range and capitalize on the opening.

Focus mode is a new feature in Monster Hunter wilds that lets you aim your strikes by holding / / . Your strikes will aim toward your camera while using this, allowing you to target wounds or specific monster areas.

The Sword and Shield can use this to great effect, using it to side-step during its Standard Combo with / / while retaining monster facing. More importantly, it also allows you to enter into a Backstep from neutral by holding Backward + / / . This sets you up for a follow-up Charged Slash into Rising Slash or Falling Bash, one of your strongest moves.

In Monster Hunter Wilds you have access to your very own Seikret mount, and comes with its own attacks both while mounted and when dismounting. You can perform a Standard Attack swinging to the side with your Sword using / / .

You also have two different dismounting options when engaging a monster from your Seikret:

• Jumping Slash Dismount: Pressing / / followed by either / / or / / .
• Dismount Attack: Pressing + / + / + will dismount your Seikret and perform a downward strike using your sword.

Lastly, while mounted on a monster, after a wound is created you can execute a powerful finishing strike by pressing / / .

The Sword and Shield has a fairly basic core move set, but a lot of options in how it transitions between each move and combo. It is intuitive to switch it up when the situation demands it, and longer combo strings can be interrupted quickly with Guards or side-steps if you get into trouble.

Basic combos are easy to pull off, and make up the core of Sword and Shield's damage. A lot of these lead into more advanced finishing combos, so knowing how to pull them off is an important part of getting started.

Chop ➜ Side Slash ➜ Diagonal Rising Slash
This is your most basic attack string. You will be using this as a fast way to deal damage with your Sword.

1. Chop: Press / /
2. Side Slash: Press / /
3. Diagonal Rising Slash: Press / /

Shield Attack ➜ Shield Bash ➜ Hard Bash
This is your basic Shield attack string, dealing high impact damage with a lunging step.

1. Shield Attack: Forward + Press / /
2. Shield Bash: Forward + Press / /
3. Hard Bash: Forward + Press / /

Advanced combos are longer attack strings that often require you the monster to be in a good position to execute them. With good positioning between strikes and good awareness however, finding ways to squeeze this in will drastically reduce the time of your hunts.

Lateral Slash ➜ Return Stroke ➜ Spinning Rising Slash ➜ Spinning Reaper ➜ Charged Chop
This is a longer combo string to be used during extended periods of a monster being immobile.

1. Lateral Slash: Press / /
2. Return Stroke: Press / /
3. Spinning Rising Slash: Press / /
4. Spinning Reaper: Press + / + / +
5. Charged Chop: Hold + / + / +

This is a stationary combo without much room to manoeuvrer during it outside of the final Charged Chop, so make sure to position well before initiating it.

Backstep ➜ Leaping Slash ➜ Perfect Rush ➜ Scaling Slash ➜ Jumping Slash
This is an extended attack string that incorporates some movement to leap into the air to deal heavy damage.

1. Backstep: Press Backward + / /
2. Leaping Slash: Press / /
3. Perfect Rush: Press / /
4. Scaling Slash: Press / /
5. Jumping Slash: Press / /

This is Sword and Shield's strongest attack string, leaping backward into an extended chain that jumps into the air. You can initiate it from neutral in Focus Mode by holding / / .

Backstep ➜ Charged Slash ➜ Falling Bash
This is another high movement attack that leads into a heavy hit with your Shield.

1. Backstep: Press Backward + / /
2. Charged Slash: Press / /
3. Falling Bash: Press / /

This deals a large amount of stun buildup if you connect with the monster's head, so position correctly both in the Backstep and when leaping into the air. You can initiate it from neutral in Focus Mode by holding / / .