With the arrival of the Kulve Taroth weapons, the goal of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne has been partially turned upside down. Let's find out which weapons to use between Kjarr, Taroth, Safi and Brachydios
After our guide on how to deal with the new version of the Kulve Taroth GM, certainly could not miss a look at the Kjarr and Taroth weapons that can be upgraded thanks to the materials of the Kulve. In this article, we will show you some sets to use as a "base" for your hunts, always keeping in mind that they are just tips, not rules. It is good to prepare properly, since the mother Capcom definitely has a Alatreon capable of destroying us completely.
The Kjarr revolution
Duty premise: Monster Hunter: Iceborne's Kulve Taroth weapons are available from the High Rank of the base game. The new Kulve has brought with it the possibility of upgrading those weapons up to rarity 12, allowing a twist of the meta. The Kjarr weapons, in fact, are equipped with the base of the "Elemental Critic", the two-piece skill of the Velkhana set. So let's see which weapons will be invigorated by this ability.
Long Sword - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
Long Swords have always been a purely Raw or Status type of weapon. In fact, the elemental damage on the Helmbreaker does not scale particularly well, as already mentioned in the guide for the Safi'jiiva. Therefore, there is not a sufficiently appreciable return of element to justify the investment in a non-status or raw weapon. Unfortunately, the Kjarrs follow the same rule, with the exception of that fire, which thanks to the fairly high statistics can be useful against creatures weak to fire, but resistant to blast and poison.
Safi'jiiva's poisonous Longsword and Brachydios Furioso's Dawnblade remain the best choices, along with Kjarr fire. You can also avoid crafting the rest of the swords. The situation is different for the swords. For sharpening, since you will start with white sharpness, remember to bring knife + fish scales, which will make you sharpen your weapon immediately.
Spadasce - Monster Hunter: Kulve weapons guide
In fact, the Swords (or Switch-ax) are usually not recommended elementals, since the elemental discharge does not offer considerable damage. However, thanks to the elemental weapon critic Kjarr (with white sharpness), the elemental attack reaches some interesting peaks. Using full-safi armor, impressive stats can be achieved, although (especially if you are short of "protective layer") for the quality of life it would be more advisable to use a mixture of Teostra and Brachydios. Touch of the Master and Instigator 7 compensate sufficiently.
The elemental Swords, however, are not played in the same way as the dawn one of Brachydios Furioso. In fact, it is better not to use the elemental discharge and to hit as much as possible with the sword, so as to have a higher dps on enemies weak to the element. In the build, if you don't have the Teostra armor, consider slotting "Item Extension" rather than "Power Extension", as it will increase the duration of the Protective Layer.
Double Blades - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
The Double Blades (or Dual Blades) are purely elemental weapons. The blast version of the Kulve is rather ridiculous, given the blue sharpness, but for the elemental weapons Kjarr with white sharpness we are finally faced with a new goal. Well, Thanks to the Elemental Critic already present in the weapon, it is possible to play full-safi with a Protective Layer jewel. By adding the element to your set, you can achieve damage far superior to that of Safi weapons.
The statistics, thanks to the Optimizations available only on weapons of rarity 10 and on Kulve weapons, allow you to reach considerable figures. In addition, the high affinity of Kulve weapons also allows you to reach 100% Affinity without using Weak Point. This will allow you to perform critical wherever you hit, dealing tremendous damage.
Kjarr weapons have not only blessed Double Blades, as many other weapons have undergone considerable upgrades.
Hunting Horns - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
The Hunting Horns are special weapons. Their rather simple move-set is cursed by many micro-optimizations, which control the rate of the songs to be played and the various shortcuts to speed up the attacks. Beyond mere damage, the Horns get their value from the songs. The horn meta wanted the Safi Hunting Horn Blast to have an XL attack tune with it, as damage is the most considered factor in the meta.
However, Kjarr weapons revolutionize this concept, with incredible elemental outputs. Indeed, Although the Horn does not apply the element with every attack, it has much higher scaling than its sibling Martello. This allows him to enhance the Elemental Critic of Kjarr weapons and to do a lot of damage with attached melodies much more useful to improve the quality of life, while not giving up the bonus to the dps.
The Ice and Water Hunting Horns are the most favored by the Kulve. These two elements, in Kjarr weapons, are generally the most interesting. The Kjarr horn is not bad either, and the Taroth Dream horn, with the hidden element. However, due to the Non-Elemental Bonus debuff, Taroth weapons aren't as interesting as they once were. For the elemental horn, the full-Safi set is valid, while for the Raw the usual Teostra-Brachydios.
Charged Blades - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
Charged Blades (or Charge Blades) are another type of weapon that received the blessing of the Kulve. The Kjarr in fact have a higher basic and elemental attack than that of Safi weapons, with the addition of an affinity that oscillates between the 10 and 15%. As with the duals, the Elemental Critic dominates everything, allowing you to have a full-Safi set with Affinity to 100%.
The Schnegel Abyssal Charge Blade, which until now dominated the ice, has finally been dethroned. All elemental Charge Blade Kjarrs are the new meta. Also, as regards that thunder, the choice becomes difficult and goes to preference, thanks to the Loaded Blade of the Furioso Rajang, which offers a substantial dps also thanks to the long purple bar.
But the purple sharpness won't help you when you go to unload your vials. Also, Elemental Charge Blade Artillery is definitely to be avoided. Load your vials and download them with the SAED as soon as you can. For the status version, the Brachydios lama dominates, and in that case a Teostra-Brachy set is fine as usual, since the raw damage you do will always be important.
Greatsword - Monster Hunter: Kulve weapons guide
The Great Sword of Brachydios remains the best, together with the Safi one. The set does not change, always Teostra mixed with Brachy, even if in the broadsword it is more difficult to lose acuity. The number of shots is significantly lower than that of any other weapon. In any case, the meta prefers that.
Always favor Concentration over other skills, as you will have more chances to land your final hits, reducing the reload time of the various attacks.
Hammer - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
As regards the Hammer, due to its low scaling there have been no major renovations. The Ice Kjarr, thanks to its pretty good stats and Elemental Critic, is a more than decent weapon to use like other elemental weapons. However, the Brachydios' weapon remains superior.
The build is very similar to that of the longsword, as Concentration can even be detrimental to the timing of some charged attacks, such as the uppercut.
Spear and Shotgun Launcher - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
The Rifle Launcher hasn't received any major upgrades. Ultimately, Brachydios' Gunlance play remains the best due to its off-scale stats. For the Brachydios spear, a full-set Brachydios Furioso is the most mundane and recommended set, although for the last piece you could go as you please, grabbing equipment that maybe covers you for skills that you don't have the jewels for. Artillery, for example, is crucial.
The sling capacity, for the Gunlance, is quite important due to the rifle's reloading mechanism. Therefore, prioritize collecting castables according to their importance and the upgrade they offer.
For Lancia, in terms of numbers thanks to Elemental Critic there has actually been an improvement. Kjarrs are no longer toothpicks like other weapons, but they can lead to clean and efficient runs, even against the toughest monsters. Perfect Guard and at least three points per Block are essential.
Other than that, upgrade the element as much as possible and stock up on scales of "Mackerel knives +" thanks to the new event mission.
Insect Glaive - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
For the insect glaive, being a weapon that focuses relatively little on elemental damage, there aren't many interesting weapons. That ice may be a good alternative to the Safi one, but the meta still remains on the Brachydios glaive. However, there is a little surprise: the Kjarr Paralysis Insect Falcion could be fun to use due to the frequency with which the status activates.
In a solo hunt, paralyzing the monster three or four times can lead to some interesting advantages. The damage is substantial, and it's a good alternative for blast resistant monsters. Like the other weapons, Brachydios and Teostra are the best combination. For elementals, the usual full-set Safi'jiiva. If you play a lot of air, the “Aerial Threat” skill will come in handy, although not all airborne attacks have that bonus.
Crossbows - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
Lightweight crossbows haven't had a huge upgrade. Elementals are average, while Taroth Support disappoints a bit with relatively low damage. However, the utilities it carries with it in ammo level are considerable, and for a rapid-fire of Normal II bullets it is one of the better choices. Focus on increasing the raw damage.
On PC, the Kjarr Thunder light crossbow could be the solution you've been waiting for, while on PS4 the Stormslinger, born from the collaboration with Horizon: Zero Dawn, remains the best choice.
For heavy crossbows, the Kjarr elemental ones do a more than decent job, becoming solid alternatives to the current meta. As for the spreads and pierces, the Safi ones still dominate, so we don't have any real meta twists.. And speaking of that, as I promised you I propose a small alternative (absolutely not meta, but functional) to use the Kulve set together with the explosive bullets, with the Safi Aquatic Shot:
Bows - Monster Hunter: Kulve Weapons Guide
Last but not least, bows are another revolutionized type of weapon. With the high affinity, decent raw and superior element to that of Safi bows, the Kjarrs are better all around. Except that some of them (like the Water one) don't have the “Power” coating. This will decrease your dps, and turn those phenomenal paper arcs into simple "poor" alternatives.
However, Kjarr bows that possess the Power coating benefit fully from the Elemental Critic. Fire and Thunder in particular are able to reach quite high numbers, thanks also to the possibility of playing Full-Safi. The Safi'jiiva set will also allow you more freedom from a jewelry point of view.
However, even so, while evading the meta advice to put regeneration in the arc as an enhancement for those who do not feel like risking everything in every run. Remember that at least one “Fan Bonus” and the “Bow Load Bonus” are required for the weapon to function correctly. Taroth bows, outside of that Thunder if you really want to use it, aren't much at the level of numbers.
Good hunting
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