Theorizing on the Weapon Swap Mechanic (Part 1)
Monster Hunter Wilds is introducing a new mechanic to the series allowing the hunters to carry two weapons and switch between them. While the details of this are not yet known, there is a ton of potential to impact some major aspects of the game, such as elemental damage or sharpness. There is a lot to explore, so this article is split into two parts with part 1 focusing on more common applications and part 2 highlighting more niche uses.
Element Swapping
Monsters with shifting elemental hitzones have been a long running pain among elemental weapon users. For example, Barroth has two sets of hit zone values. When Barroth is covered in mud, it is immune to fire and weak to water, and when it isn’t covered in mud it is immune to water and weak to fire. While manageable, because the hunter can simply knock the mud off by doing damage, it is frustrating to have your build be less effective for portions of the fight. This is also true in hunts with multiple monsters, where depending on your weapon and the targets it may be necessary to go back to camp and change builds.
The weapon swapping mechanic has the chance to address these frustrations. Players can use their second weapon slot to bring a different element in order to deal with those differing values. Barroth covered itself in mud? Simply switch from your fire dual blades to your water dual blades. Have to hunt a Diablos (weak to ice) and a Mizutsune (weak to thunder)? Bring a fire switch axe and a thunder charge blade. These are simple examples, but they show the matchup potential that this mechanic will bring to this entry in the Monster Hunter series.
Blunt/Severing Swapping
In a similar vein to element swapping, bringing one blunt and one severing weapon could provide similar benefits. Even when hunting a single monster with static hit zones, being able to both cut a tail and knock out a monster provides a lot of utility to the hunter. These advantages can be extended to singleplayer as well, allowing a solo hunter to bring a severing weapon when they need to cut a monster's tail then swap back to their blunt or ranged weapon of choice.
Similarly, in a multi monster hunt where for example one is weaker to severing damage and the other is weak to blunt damage, it could be worthwhile to bring one of each damage type. This is not be as impactful as swapping between elements since monsters cannot be completely immune to any of severing, ranged, or blunt damage, but it can still help cut times on things like crown farming or grinding for that gem/mantle that just refuses to drop.
Sharpness Preservation
Hate having to sharpen in combat? Simply bring two of the same weapon and swap between them when sharpness drops below a level that you want. While you still have to sharpen after the fight, having twice as much sharpness gives you much more damage upkeep and a bit of a cushion to players who do not want to sharpen their weapon mid fight. This could be especially useful for weapons like gun lance or savage axe mode charge blade, which are notorious for eating through sharpness at an above average rate.
In Conclusion
There is a lot of potential in this mechanic to smooth out and enhance hunts. It also rewards players who have focused their gameplay on more than just their main weapon, which may encourage even more experimentation in the player base. Part 2 is coming soon with some more niche applications of weapon swapping.
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Written by: Brogangh
Reviewed by: Tenkiei
