At the start ofMonster Hunter NowSeason 4, hunters now have access to the Switch Axe, the last of the heavier melee weapons to be introduced. For beginners, it could be a difficult one to get used to as it mixes shorter slashes of a sword with big swings of a giant axe, infused with powerful phials of elemental power. In the right hands, though, it’s a lethal weapon.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the bestMonster Hunter NowCharge Blade buildwould be similar to this new weapon. While youcanbuild your hunter to take advantage of the same Partbreaking strategy, there’s actually a more effective element that you can exploit that will be more useful in when hunting with others. Below are all the suggestions for the bestMonster Hunter NowSwitch Axe build, including skills and Driftstone Ores you should equip.

A hunter using the best Monster Hunter Now Switch Axe build while wearing a jogging outfit to slash a giant rabbit in a snowy landscape.

Best Monster Hunter Now Switch Axe Build

For the bestMonster Hunter NowSwitch Axe build, the good news is that it’s a far less premium-rated build. That means no hunting for Elder Dragons or limited-time event monsters in order to get the requiredMonster Hunter Nowmaterial parts. The slight downside is that, unless you were farming materials from Rajang or Odogaron last season, you’re probably going to run into issues when trying to upgrade them right now.

This is because these two monsters have temporarily disappeared from the field at the beginning of the Season 4. However, there is a slim chance that Odogaron and Rajang will appear as part of the Season 4 story. If they do appear in any main quest, they will appear in the wild from that point onward.

Monster Hunter Now Switch Axe build: A Volvidon is roaring in a desert near some lights.

Weapon, Mail, & Greaves

Your main hunting target for this season is Volvidon, one of the new monsters that appears during Season 4. TheBinding Rolleris a potent Paralysis-based weapon that you can easily upgrade with the help of the Volvidon Mail and Great Girros Greaves, which are fairly common creatures and easy to hunt.

Coil

WhileRajang can be quite a tough monsterto beat, thankfully we’re only hunting it for one piece of equipment: the Rajang Coil. This grants up to three levels inFocus, which shortens the charging time of charge attacks by 15%, as well as the Switch Axe’s fill rate for the gauge by 15%. This helps you use your Power Element Phials quicker, which can be essential during a tough hunt.

Helmet & Vambraces

While Odogaron is the easier to hunt of the two beasts and is weak to the same Paralysis-based attacks this build focuses on, you will need to track down a lot of them to harvest enoughMonster Hunter Nowmonster materials to upgrade both the Odogaron Helmet and Odogaron Vambraces. However, there’s a good reason for this, and no, it’s not for the two points in Bleeding Resistance. Across both Odogaron equipment, you’ll get three points in Quick Work, which maximizes the speed at which the Switch Axe sheathes or transforms, making it far more efficient.

Best Switch Axe Build Driftsmelt Slots

The Switch Axe build doesn’t have a lot of slots that we can use, so the number of recommended Driftores will be limited to the total available. The main objective is to maximize the Paralysis Attack skill, but this only handles one of the four available slots. you may also try to increase Evade Extender up to Rank 4, or you can introduce other perks such as Divine Blessing for some protection against hits from monsters or Attack Boost for a flat boost to your attack.

Monster Hunter Now Switch Axe build: A Driftsmelting machine, some ore, and a piece of armor.

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