Monster Hunter Rise: Overpowered Builds

One of the many joys of playing Monster Hunter is creating an unstoppable mixset to blitz through the endgame, and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is no different. This addition to the latest game in the Monster Hunter franchise comes with a bevy of new skills to hunt every monster in the catalog.

Great builds in this game range from the excellent Archfiend armor and its powerful Dereliction skill to more niche builds and complex mixsets like Narwa and Ibushi. If players want to find a powerful build to propel them through the endgame or are thinking of trying out a new weapon, read on for some of the best options.

Updated October 12, 2024, by Blaise Santi: The next chapter in the Monster Hunter franchise is only a few months away, as Monster Hunter Wild s is set to release on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 in February 2025. As a result, Monster Hunter fanatics may be wrapping up their time in the previous installment, Monster Hunter Rise, whether they're playing it on the go on Nintendo Switch or with other future Monster Hunter Wilds teammates on PC. For players who are looking for one last challenge before putting down Monster Hunter Rise, try putting together these two extra overpowered builds for weapons that are a little more niche: Insect Glaive and Hunting Horn.

Related

How Long It Takes to Beat Every Monster Hunter Game

The Monster Hunter franchise has been around for almost two decades, and while not every entry is equal, they've all offered decent runtimes.

Posts

By  Cameron Swan

20 Valstrax Rampage Insect Glaive

Fully Decked Out In Elder Dragon Gear

This build makes good use of the entire Crimson Valstrax set, which requires more than a few fights against one of the most brutal Elder Dragons in the game. However, the end result is an armor set that, when paired with Decorations boosting Attack, Critical Eye, and Sharpness, can be pretty useful for the very particular weapon, the Insect Glaive.

The recommended weapon for this set is in the build's name. The fully-upgraded Rampage Glaive trades in stellar Sharpness for a powerful attack stat, which will be even more impressive once those Attack Up decorations begin to stack.

19 Elemental Hunting Horn

Have Fun Making Music During Hunts

Hunting Horn builds are typically crafted for players to provide support for their fellow teammates by extending the time of buffs with skills like Horn Maestro. However, this set is for solo Hunting Horn users who want to take advantage of an underrated aspect of their weapons: elemental damage. This mixed armor pairs well with any elemental horn.

With skills like Partbreaker, Attack Up, and Stamina Surge, Hunting Horn users will find their attacks dealing massive amounts of damage against monsters. Latent Power is also helpful in unlocking the elements behind typically-elementless Hunting Horns. Dragon Conversion is also an overpowered skill that will help supplement elemental attacks.

18 Blood Awakening Long Sword

Feast Off A Monster's Damage

There are lots of pros and cons to using the Long Sword, particularly in online multiplayer in Monster Hunter Rise. On one hand, it's an incredibly powerful weapon when paired with an Armor set like this, which will increase the power of critical hits with Critical Boost. It can even target breakable monster parts, especially tails, with skills like Partbreaker and Weakness Exploit.

Long Sword users need to stay clear of tripping up their allies in the heat of battle. Fortunately, this Armor set also comes with the Blood Awakening skill, allowing Long Sword users to gain Attack boosts after recovering health from damaging a monster. It's smart to use a powerful and sharp weapon like the Silver Severer for the most benefits.

17 Pierce Heavy Bowgun

Combine With Pierce Jewels For A Sharp Weapon

The biggest downside of using Heavy Bowgun is its limited options for movement, as attacks often require hunters to stay in one place and fire. This build takes advantage of that aspect of the Heavy Bowgun, with maxed out Attack Boost, Weakness Exploit, and Pierce Up when paired with the right Armor Decorations.

One important skill in this build that make the Heavy Bowgun particularly over-powered is Dragonheart, which will boost elemental resistances when below 80% health, with the downside of inflicting hunters with Dragonblight. However, this won't be an issue with an element-less weapon like the Ursprung/Mort, forged from Shagaru Magala materials.

16 Silver Shooter Rapid Light Bowgun

Go Wild With A Wide Variety Of Slots

With this Light Bowgun build, even solo hunters will find themselves breezing through difficult quests. Made out of Armor pieces from all Elder Dragons (Teostra, Kushala Daora, Shagaru Magala, Primordial Malzeno, and Amatsu), this set with Decorations boasts universally powerful Skills like Attack Boost, Critical Eye, Weakness Exploit, and Critical Boost.

Additional skills like Reload Speed, Recoil Down, and Rapid Fire Up are all attainable thanks to its large number of slots (including three level 4 slots on the Silver Shooter weapon). With these skills, Light Bowgun users will find themselves faster, stronger, and more capable of avoiding incoming monster attacks at a moment's notice. Heavy Bowgun users cannot say the same.

15 Dragon Conversion Elemental Spread Bow

Take Elemental Damage To The Next Level

The benefit of this Bow set in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is that it only requires Armor pieces from the Crimson Glow Valstrax, a late-game Elder Dragon added via update. The Valstrax's Epoch Armor comes with the skill Dragon Conversion, which affects the player's blue and red Swap Scrolls, decreasing elemental resistance or boosting elemental attack.

When paired with a strong elemental bow like the Queen's Rhapsody or Crimson Plume, Bow users will excel with increased elemental damage, as well as additional skills like Attack Boost, Latent Power, and Stamina Surge. Plus, it can be boosted with the handy Bow skill Bow Charge Plus, which is a must-have for the weapon's users.

14 Lucent Raw Balanced Charge Blade

A Mixed Set With Guaranteed Potential

The Lucent Nargacuga was added to Monster Hunter Rise via an update in 2022, allowing fans to battle this superpowered version of the fan-favorite Nargacuga. This monster's materials also allow Charge Blade users to craft the Nunki's Asterism, one of the best poison-coated Charge Blades in the game, which can be improved with the right Armor.

Related

Monster Hunter World: Best Charge Blades, Ranked

Charge Blade users in Monster Hunter World have some great weapons to choose from in the game. Here are the best available.

Posts

By  Blaise Santi

This Armor set requires mixing of pieces from Astalos, Rathalos, Malzeno, and Gold Rathian. Among its acquired Armor Skills include Critical Boost, Burst, Windproof, and Weakness Exploit. With the help of Decorations and Charms, Charge Blade users can add must-have skills like Artillery, Rapid Morph, and Load Shells.

13 Heaven-Sent Embolden Sword & Shield

Generations Of Elder Dragons Combine To Form This

This Sword and Shield armor set will be a challenge to craft, as it requires armor pieces from Risen Elder Dragons as well as the formidable Amatsu. Altogether, it will result in some pretty useful skill bonuses, including fully upgraded Attack Boost, Critical Eye, and Critical Boost, as well as rare skills like Chameleos Blessing.

This build really comes to life with the rare skills Heaven-Sent and Embolden, which both help during confrontations with large monsters. Additionally, players will do well by equipping a fully-upgraded Phecda's Asterism, which boasts lots of purple Sharpness even without the Handicraft skill, though this can be remedied with its open slots.

12 Blood Awakening Hammer

Fear The Hammer's Bloodlust

Hammer users in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak can get a lot out of the armor and weapons available to them via DLC. However, the Magnamalo hammer, Devil's Die, makes for an incredibly strong tool boasting a large attack and a heavy dose of Blast element. Like the previous Sword and Shield set, its best-paired armor set requires some challenge.

With the fully assembled set, including Risen Kushala Daora and Risen Chameleos materials, Hammer users will inherit skills such as Attack Boost, Buildup Boost, Recovery Up, and Partbreaker. It also bestows the Blood Awakening skill, which boosts attack after regaining a certain amount of health through attacking monsters.

11 Amatsu Gunlance

A Gunlance Sent By The Gods

The Gunlance is one of the hardest weapons to master, especially in a title like Monster Hunter Rise, which emphasizes movement and verticality in fights. However, there are many armor sets and skills in the Sunbreak expansion which will give Gunlance users the opportunity to deal a lot of damage all at once, which is the case with this build.

Featuring armor pieces from the Amatsu and Risen Shagaru Magala sets, this build pairs skills like Weakness Exploit, Latent Power, and Bloodlust with the Amatsu Gunlance, which boasts 350 attack and strong sharpness. The armor pieces also include a vast amount of slots, which can be used to buff its Attack Boost skills for extra damage.