Summary
Thelatest entry in theMonster Hunterfranchisehas been the most popular to date — in terms of early sales numbers, at least.Monster Hunter Wildshas attracted a lot of attention with its seamless exploration and spectacular fights representing the visual peak of the series to date. Mechanically, the game retainsdepth and variety between its weapon types, while also streamlining some elements of skills and crafting.
The variety on offer inMonster Hunter Wildsmeans that there are plenty of play styles for players to try. Some weapons are nimble, others are hard-hitting; some are better on all-out-offense, and others are better at solid defense. For players who want to be able to take a hit, or keep aggro while their group handles damage, tanking is a solid option inMH Wilds.
There are three weapon types that are suitable for tanking: Lance, Gunlance, and Sword and Shield. Lance is the most defensive of the three, while Sword and Shield offers more mobility but relies on perfect blocks to negate damage. Focusing on endgame builds, for both solo and group play, these are the best tank builds to try inMonster Hunter Wilds.
Weapon:
Charm/Decorations:
This Sword and Shield build is designed to maintain monster aggro, while providing boosts to health recovery, affinity, and elemental damage. The main skill for players who want to be the main tank of a group for co-op play inMH Wildsis Diversion. This group skill is shared by a fewarmor setsand is provided here by the Arkvulcan pieces. This makes monsters more likely to attack players with the Diversion skill.
That means, in a group, players can hold the monster’s attention and let others focus on damage. Players can alsouse lure pods to refocus the monster’s attentionand keep it locked down. Sword and Shield players will need to have some skill with their perfect blocks to play this way, but this build offers enough damage with Agitator, Burst, and Weakness Exploit to mix in a little offense too.
ThisGunlance buildfocuses on holding monster aggro and shield-tanking, while being able to pull off hard-hitting counterattacks. Since this build is designed for holding aggro while playing in a group, the Diversion group skill is the most important part. That comes from theMizutsuneand Blango pieces in this set. The Zoh Shia set bonus Super Recovery will help take care of any chip damage that players sustain while defending.
With skills like Offensive Guard and Counterstrike also built in with decorations, players can effectively strike back after absorbing big hits. Players are also getting ranks in Agitator and Burst from these pieces, which will be highly beneficial if Gunlance players are aiming for big counterattacks and focus strikes while playing on the defensive.
ThisLance buildoffers an almost impenetrable defense and is perfect for holding a monster’s aggro while the player’s group deals damage. The Diversion group skill is used again, combining two pieces of Mizutsune’s set with the Blango Vambraces to benefit from the ranks in Constitution, Burst, and Counterstrike. The optimal defense of the Lance’s shield makes this the best weapon for pure tanking, or at least the easiest to take minimal damage from any monster attack.
With the Diversion skill andZoh Shia’s set bonus, players can literally sit behind their shield with this build and let the others do the work. They don’t have to, though, as they have enough damage coming from Agitator and Weakness Exploit to get in some high damage hits at opportune moments.
When playing solo inMonster Hunter Wilds, tanking works a little differently. Players can’t rely on others to do damage, so they’ll need a mix of offense and defense to survive. Thisbuild for the Sword and Shieldcombines the passive health recovery from Zoh Shia’s set with the Black Eclipse bonus from Gore Magala’s armor set to boost their damage.
This build also has multiple ranks in Burst, Agitator, and Weakness Exploit, which will keep affinity and elemental damage high throughouthigh-level fights. This build can’t sit back and just shield hits, but it has the option to negate damage with perfect guards, some evasive ability, and some excellent damage output for solo players who want a balance of offense and defense.
This Gunlance build combines high survivability and blocking potential with the ability to output huge damage with focus strikes and counterattacks. With ranks in Guard and Constitution, this build has the stamina to block most enemy attacks. The Zoh Shia set bonus provides health recovery, while thearch-tempered Rey Daupieces provide a bonus that increases attack unless players take a lethal hit.
Since this build can block most damage, the attack bonus from Guts (Tenacity) will always be active in most cases, giving around +12 to attack. With the extra damage from Agitator and Burst, players can execute a Wyrmstake full blast focus strike combo for big damage, even more so if players can pull it off after a well-timed block.
This Lance build provides excellent protection, even at endgame levels, while also allowing for consistent and hard-hitting critical strikes. Zoh Shia’s Super Recovery set bonus provides passive healing for the chip damage players will take while guarding, while ranks in Guard provide extra stamina cost reductions. Agitator, Weakness Exploit, and the bonus from Black Eclipse from theGore Magala setwill keep players at high affinity, while Burst and Critical Boost will add damage to the player’s critical hits.
The build is based on high raw damage, utilizing the Skyscraper Artian Lance with maximum attack infusions. Using a status like Paralysis for the weapon can make this build even safer, with more regular downtime for monsters. Offensive Guard can round out the build and verify players can still make the most of their well-timed blocks. For a solo build, this offers the best mix of tanking with big counter-hitting potential.
