What's Your Favorite Weapon In Monster Hunter: World?

Monster Hunter: World is a game of many deep components, and one of the most complex is the weapon system. Weapons, just as much as armor and perhaps even more, define your character in Monster Hunter: World, and there are 14 of them to choose from. Each weapon is viable for both solo and squad play, but each one is also vastly different from the next, leading many players to choose a "main" weapon that they primarily focus on throughout the course of the game.

Two Monster Hunter fans can talk for hours upon hours of the merits of one weapon and the drawbacks of another, and with Monster Hunter: World launching on PC last week, now is as good a time as any to revive this debate. It's a question that's been asked many times since the very first Monster Hunter game launched in 2004, so I want to know: What is your favorite weapon in Monster Hunter: World?

When I first played the game on PlayStation 4 earlier this year, my favorite weapon almost immediately became the Insect Glaive. I can say now that I probably didn't spent as much time with each of World's weapons as I should have, but I was nonetheless happy with the weapon I chose. I loved the fluid, acrobatic playstyle the Insect Glaive offered, and once I figured out how to properly use Kinsects – flying bug companions you target at monsters to generate essence that provide a variety of buffs – I became even more enamored with the weapon.

Now that Monster Hunter: World has arrived on PC, I've been forcing myself to take a closer look at all of the weapons, but the Insect Glaive will always be one of my favorites. After all, it's a weapon that allows you to be very mobile on the battlefield, and it's the easiest weapon to use if you're looking to mount a monster and bring them down to the ground. Both of those things are very important when you're hunting monsters, especially the mobility part as the Insect Glaive doesn't allow for very much in the way of defense.

However, I've come to realize that other weapons offer very enjoyable playstyles of their own. One weapon I've found myself using more and more is the Lance. This is one I personally don't hear about all that often, and I think it's because it isn't a particularly flashy weapon.

No, the Lance is all about waiting behind a wall of steel for the right opening to dish out your damage. It's slow to attack, and you definitely don't have the mobility afforded by lighter weapons like the Dual Blades or the Insect Glaive when you have your Lance drawn, but you don't need to be mobile when you're an unmoving bastion of defense.

The Lance offers defensive capabilities that are seemingly unrivaled. While other players might be diving out of the way of a monster's attacks, you stand firm in its path and you invite that beast to try making you move. While the Lance's shield can't quite defend against every attack in the game, it can defend against most of them, especially when you manage to pull off a Power Guard. For my money, landing a Power Guard at the perfect moment is one of the most satisfying things in the game, and it makes wrapping your head around a slow and clunky weapon like the Lance entirely worth it.

Another weapon I've been considering is the Charge Blade. I've tried the Charge Blade a few times in the past, but I was never able to get a handle on its long list of combos, its phial charging system, and when you should switch between its sword and shield form and its axe form. When Monster Hunter: World came out on PC, I started doing some digging and I found an expertly-crafted Charge Blade walkthrough Arekkz Gaming on YouTube, which you can see below.

The walkthrough is exhaustive, and it's one of the most in-depth explanations of the weapon I've encountered so far. It helped me realize just how complex the Charge Blade is, but it also made it seem a lot less intimidating. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot there, and I've had to watch this video a few times now, but it's definitely helping me learn the Charge Blade inside and out.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking of going whole hog with the Charge Blade, but that's a big commitment to make because it's going to take quite some time to actually become proficient with it. Still, the tutorial you see above makes a great case for the weapon, and it's worth pointing out that Arekkz Gaming has made a video like this for every weapon in the game, so be sure to check out his content if you're planning on trying something new.

Maybe I'll keep plugging away at learning the Charge Blade and eventually master it, or maybe I'll go back to the Insect Glaive – a weapon I already have a decent amount of experience with – and continue perfecting my technique with that. Maybe, though, I'm not ready to commit to one weapon just yet, and it's only a matter of time before I bounce to a new weapon to see what it offers.

So, I want to know what you're favorite Monster Hunter: World weapon is and why? Make a case for your weapon of choice, in part because I love talking about the weapons system in Monster Hunter: World, but also because I'm still on the hunt for my own main. Head down to the comments section to share your thoughts!