In Monster Hunter Wilds, the Switch Axe is a multi-purpose tool that can deal damage, create powerful destruction sequences, and even freeze monsters in their tracks. To help you get the most out of your endgame fights, we have put together a detailed guide on the best build for the Switch Axe, which centers on weapons, armor pieces, and decorations (decos). This guide is subject to changes and additions, so don't forget to visit us after every refresh for the most up-to-date suggestions.

• Overview of the Best Switch Axe Build
• Weapons
• Crafting the Mundus Altus
• Armor Pieces
• Set Bonuses
• Decorations (Decos)
• Armor Decorations
• Strengths of This Build
• Gameplay Strategy with This Build

↖ Overview of the Best Switch Axe Build

The Switch Axe has two distinct build options to choose from:

• High Affinity and Paralysis Build
• High Affinity and Explosion Build

Both builds capitalize on the Switch Axe's adaptability—Axe and Sword mode maneuvers—to increase damage potential. Since the weapon mode-changing sequence has some degree of delay, for this guide, we focus on the delay reduction—adding more affinity and attack, increasing paralysis, and other crowd control powers. If you prefer damage over control, consider choosing a more Explosion-centric build.

↖ Weapons

Primary Weapon: Mundus Altus (Artian Weapon)

Alternative Weapon: Eisengeist

↖ Crafting the Mundus Altus

To craft the Mundus Altus, you have to work towards obtaining specific MH Wilds materials and upgrades that will improve its versatility.

Here's what you should pay attention to:

Key Enhancements

• Affinity Infusion (1 Slot): Increases your weapon critical hit chance, ensuring a chance to deal damage consistently.
• Attack Infusions (2 Slots): Improving the base raw attack value adds more to overall damage and strengthens DPS.
• Element Selection: Paralysis is preferred. This status effect prevents monsters movement while you deal build up damage, opening primary destroy windows for you to unleash critical combos.

Phial Type

Power Phial is required for Mundus Altus. This is integral for dealing increased damage while in Morph mode, enforcing the tenets of this build.

Alternative Weapon Option

If you find yourself unable to farm the required materials or are having rough luck with reinforce bonuses on the Mundus Altus, try constructing the Eisengeist. This weapon can be crafted using parts from Gore Magala which makes it a decent substitute.

Secondary Weapon Choices

If you like to keep things fresh or simply want to have a backup option, take a look at these suggestions:

Sword & Shield: Balanced playstyle that allows for more aggressive offensive plays and buff distributions as well.

Heavy Bowgun: A new ranged option with the ability to deal great damage and provide support.

↖ Armor Pieces

The following armor set is optimized for this build:

SlotArmor Piece

↖ Set Bonuses

Gore Magala's Tyranny:

Black Frenzy I: Frenzy activates while battling big monsters.

Fulgur-Anjanaths Will:

Ascent I: Extra stamina bar is granted.

↖ Decorations (Decos)

Priorities of Weapon Reinforcements

Focus on the following bonuses in the outlined order when reinforcing your Artian weapon:

• Affinity
• Attack
• Sharpness
• Element

↖ Armor Decorations

In the Frenzy state, boosted attack power, affinity, and survivability are essential. Choose these decorations accordingly. Increasing the evasion distance is also beneficial. Below is the suggested configuration:

SlotDecoration

↖ Strengths of This Build

The build enhances the following two areas of the Switch Axe that require further optimizations:

Slow transitioning between Axe and Sword modes.

Evasion distance is significantly limited.

These elements are largely solved by equipping Morph and Evasion jewels. The rest of the build centers around maximizing damage output with high affinity, combining it with the Frenzy mechanic.

Key Features:

Extended Morph Mode: With weapon infusions and optimized decorations, you can now spend more time in Morph mode, furthering your DPS potential.

Crowd Control: Monsters are often paralyzed due to the paralysis element, giving you and your party plenty of breather windows to attack.

Offensive Resilience: Your attack power increases with the Counter Talisman, which is activated when you are knocked back. This is something that happens often when using the Switch Axe.

↖ Gameplay Strategy with This Build

To make the most out of this build, follow these steps:

Spend as much time as possible in Morph mode by managing the Morph gauge and executing combos.

Use paralysis at critical moments to set up creature rotation lock.

Use Frenzy mechanics to amplify critical damage and increase infection recovery speed.

Complex patterns of play based on prioritization of crowd control (paralysis) or raw damage (explosion).

The simplicity of this build along with its devastating effectiveness is brimming with countless options to pour more focus into the offensive without worrying too much about the weaknesses of the Switch Axe.

You should be able to deal with even the toughest monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds with this setup. Be sure to check back after updates to ensure your build is still optimized for the Monster Hunter Wilds meta.