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Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is giving the already unstoppable longsword yet more disgustingly cool attacks, and some fans of other weapons aren’t thrilled to see so much of the expansion’s power budget seemingly funneled into what is widely considered the strongest weapon in the game.
This storm has been brewing for a while – arguably since Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate and its Valor counter began turning the longsword into the best thing since sliced bread – but it was the latest batch of Sunbreak teaser trailers that really moved the needle.
Capcom has been releasing a few Sunbreak weapon trailers each day, and it dropped the longsword (opens in new tab) and lance (opens in new tab) trailers yesterday. Longsword is getting a new AoE field that buffs its iconic counter attacks, as well as a charged combo which can give the greatsword a run for its money. We don’t have exact damage values for these new moves, but coupled with the weapon’s absurd arsenal of counters and combos, it’s clear longsword will be better than ever in Sunbreak.
So, what did the lance get? Well, it got a shield tackle that seems functionally identical to the heavy charge that it already had – which is extra redundant since Sunbreak is adding the ability to swap weapon skills on the fly – and a silkbind art that’s literally identical to an existing insect glaive art, only with less flexibility.
Subjective play styles and power levels can be debated until the end of time, but longsword has unquestionably overtaken lance as the go-to weapon for countering attacks, and its over-the-top silkbind arts make it one of the most lethal options for basically every hunt. It’s the bow that often posts the fastest clear times in speedrun communities, but longsword is peerlessly safe. And there’s a glaring gulf between lance and longsword’s new tricks, plus it doesn’t help that Rise previously disappointed many lance fans with awkward special attacks, new-fangled combos that minimize the weapon’s iconic thrusts, and little love for the great shield.
Many players were hoping to see the lance and other non-longsword weapons regain some ground in Sunbreak, and given the longsword’s reputation, it felt like it didn’t need much of a boost. Instead, the longsword got even better and the lance, especially, looks worse still by comparison. Hence the meltdown playing out on the official Monster Hunter subreddit (opens in new tab), and the supremely negative reactions to the lance and longsword trailers. Lance has racked up 7,500 dislikes to just 3,200 likes, and even the beloved longsword has nearly even dislikes and likes, with 5,700 to 6,200 respectively.
capcom_mobile_team_finding_out_people_use_weapons from r/MonsterHunter
cries from r/MonsterHunter
To be fair, Capcom may be hiding some other weapon arts, and we don’t know how much damage all of these arts deal. We also don’t have the full balance patch notes for Sunbreak. If Monster Hunter World’s Iceborne expansion is any indication, Sunbreak will make some big fundamental changes to the weapons in Rise, so it’s possible non-longsword options will get other boosts. That said, it’s looking less and less likely that anything will even approach the longsword’s throne.
At least Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak lets you go hunting with your favorite story characters, so you can commiserate with Minoto about the lance changes.
