Switches between Axe Mode, for fluid mobility and hefty single hits, and Sword Mode, for quicker strikes. Phial effects activated by the sword persist in axe form. - Official Switch Axe Description

The Switch Axe, also known as the Slash Axe in Japan (スラッシュアックス Surasshuakkusu) was first added to Monster Hunter in Monster Hunter 3 in 2009. It has been slowly grown stronger in every title since it's addition, eventually reaching where it is now in Rise, years later.

Lore-wise, the Switch Axe is a morpher-class weapon, meaning it has the ability to change it's own properties during combat. Other morphers include insect glaive, charge blade, and Frontier's tonfas and magnet spikes. In World, it is considered to be one of the more technical weapons, not only with other morphers, but Hunting Horn and Bow as well.

It truly is a combination of two differently functioning weapons, it's Axe Form, a slower, more mobile form, and it's Sword Form, it's far stronger, faster form. The Sword Form, while much stronger, only has a limited amount of uses before needing to be recharged. This charge belongs to it's Phial, a battery-like device that offers additional effects and attributes to it's sword form, giving the weapon far stronger power. Learning both and how they flow together will easily help in learning how to master the Switch Axe.

Switch Axe, as stated before, is a combination of two weapons, a quick moving axe, and a stronger, slower sword. Both forms have pros and cons:

Axe Form Pros

• Higher reach than almost all other blademaster weapons
  
• Easier mobility when rolling than with sword
  
• Can enter Maximum Potency, to charge Sword Form's Amped State faster
  
• Can gain bonus chip damage from Sword Form's Amped State

Axe Form Cons

• Attacks are slower
  
• Does not gain additional effects from Phials when in Amped State
  
• Transition Attacks to axe form are significantly weaker

Sword Form Pros

• Stronger and faster attacks than axe form
  
• Gains boosts from Phial
  
• Can entered Amped State for bonus chip damage, which can be used in Axe Form
  
• Has the skill "Mind's Eye" built in, meaning no bouncing on attacks that would normally bounce for blademasters

Sword Form Cons

• Much more limited mobility
  
• Sword form is limited to a certain amount of swings before needing to be recharged
  
• Chip damage from Amped State can quickly drain sharpness

As you can see, both Axe and Sword Forms must to used to maintain the true power of Switch Axe's offensive capabilities. Axe is for your support, Sword is your strength. In past games, Sword was your primary form, but with Rise's changes, both forms are a must to maintain and learn.
While knowing how to use your Axe and Sword Forms are extremely important, there is one more part to Switch Axe that can completely change not only your armor sets' skills, but possibly even your playstyle. And that is the Switch Axe Phial.


Phials are a unique thing to Switch Axe, which drastically change what bonus effects your Sword Form gains during combat. While other weapons, like Charge Blade, also have Phials, these function differently from Switch Axe's singular Phial, and should not be treated the same way.

Switch Axe currently has six different Phial types. Each phial has different abilities and rate of charge, which I'm simply calling "Amp", which is the internal name for Amped State's charge. This is going to be a bit confusing, as this is translating math into something much more understandable.


In Sword Form, every attack charges Amp, with certain attacks charging more Amp than others. This allows for some move combos to be more useful in charging Amped State, where others are more useful in dealing damage while in Amped State.
Amped State is a mode Sword Form can go into after dealing enough damage in Sword Form. The Sword glows with a pulsing energy, and all sword form attacks land a second, weaker hit. This extra hit offers bonus chip damage, allowing for more damage, sometimes to multiple monsters at once.
Amped State also allows players to latch onto monsters while doing an elemental discharge attack, allowing for increased damaged to be output with Zero Sum Discharge. However, this is also called a "Noob Killer", as while latched on, the player will take damage from the monster's movements, and can easily kill a novice player. It's important to learn when it's safe to attach to the monster.
Luckily, you can detonate the Discharge early, which not only can save your skin, it also will put you right next to the monster in sword form, or allow you to combo into a Soaring Wyvern Blade Silkbind Move (if you have enough sword form charge available). This can be very useful for dealing a powerful, quick, burst of damage without needing to waste too much time. However, detonating early will result in a weaker finishing explosion.
While in Amped State, your Axe Form will also gain bonus chip damage. Keep in mind, your Axe DOES NOT gain Phial effects, only bonus chip damage and effects.

Silkbind Attacks are special moves that revolve around Rise's new combat mechanic, Wirebugs. Silkbind Attacks give users new, powerful attacks or abilities that can help better control the flow of combat.
There are currently 3 Silkbind Attacks for Switch in Monster Hunter Rise:

Switch Charger
"Let the silk breathe life into your sword!
Uses a Wirebug to launch you forward while quickly regenerating your Switch Gauge. In addition, the Switch Gauge won't decrease for a short period of time."

This move is your bread and butter for Switch Axe. Performing this move allows you to instantly recharge your Switch Gauge, as well as giving it a short period where no Sword Form attacks drain the Switch Gauge. This move will also reposition you with a slide, and with correct timing, can give you brief invincibility, making it a great option to dodge attacks.

Invincible Gambit
"Advance with a body of steel!
A forward-moving spinning attack. Fortifies the user, making them immune to flinching or being knocked back by even the fiercest of attacks."

Those of you that have played the Rise demo more than likely know this move. This move has you performing two spinning axe attacks while launching forward, finishing with a power overhead chop. While using this move, you gain hyper armor, making you immune to any sort of flinching, as well as taking reduced damage. Keep in mind, you will still take damage, so be careful when using this. An additional note, you have some control in your turn radius with each spin, so try to aim yourself at weak spots.

Soaring Wyvern Blade
"Uses a Wirebug to fly up while slashing, ending with a Forward Slash from midair. If the Forward Slash is successful, the weapon's Activation Gauge fills up, a large explosion goes off where it connected."

Soaring Wyvern Blade is a move that lacks lacks horizontal movement, but makes up for this iwth vertical movement, launching the hunter up into the air. This allows the hunter to perform a downward trust, with either axe or sword form, followed by a short slide for recovery. When in sword form, this move will also give an extra burst of damage, as long as there is enough Switch Gauge. Finally, the biggest draw with this Wirebug Move is that it can be comboed with the Zero Sum Discharge's Finisher, allowing you to essentially negate the immobility and cooldown period after using ZSD, allowing you to quickly get back into the fight. A fully finished ZSD, combined with a successful Soaring Wyvern Blade, is your strongest attack combo in the game. Hitting multiple monsters can result in even more damage.


Now, onto Switch Skills. Switch Skills are a newly introduced mechanic in Rise, allowing the player to switch out a few moves for other moves, allowing users to change key parts of their combat into something more to their style. For those of you who played Generations or Generations Ultimate on 3DS or Switch, they're similar to Arts.

Forward Overhead Slash
"A lunging attack performed by winding up the axe and smashing it down.
Difficult to pull off but delivers good damage. A subsequent Sword Mode attack will turn into a Double Slash."

Once this move is unlocked, it will be a very basic component of your combos. It's much better than the standard Overhead Slash, as it allows you to close into your attacking spot, while also putting you immediately into a strong combo. Plus it deals more damage, making this almost mandatory for high damaging SA play.

Compressed Elemental Discharge
"A finishing blow for the Element Discharge.
Puts you into a knockdown-resistant stance and delivers a swift strike accompanied by an elemental explosion.
The Activation Gauge has no effect on this action."

This move is a very interesting swap out for the Elemental Discharge. Instead of latching onto the monster, you instead stay on the ground, dealing a quick, massive discharge. This discharge, while dealing less overall damage compared to ZSD, can charge a massive chunk of your Amp Gauge, and has a much faster recovery time vs an Elemental Discharge or a Zero Sum Discharge. However, as interesting as it is, this move is not worth the hassle. It has a long animation that makes you a sitting duck, and does next to no damage vs the traditional ZSD, so don't feel bad if you skip over this.

Every weapon in Rise has one set of swappable Silkbind Moves, and two sets of regular moves. These moves must be unlocked by completing a specific quest or other requirements. This table lists moves than can be swapped, as well as unlocking requirements.


When it comes to Switch Skills, I use "Forward Overhead Slash" and "Finishing Discharge" all the time, and switch between "Invincible Gambit" and "Soaring Wyvern Blade". "Compressed Finishing Discharge" just lacks power for it's long animations, and Forward Slash, while an okay move, can just be switched out for a much stronger, and in my opinion, better move.

So now with technicalities and formalities out of the way, let's start getting into the nitty-gritty. Armor Set Skills are a core staple for Monster Hunter, and with Rise, it's no different. However, Rise brings a lot more to the table for Switch Axe this time around.
As a note, I'd like to add this section is a bit outdated. When originally writing this guide, this was with base Rise in mind, and as the game has gotten updates and new skills, a lot of the "basics" have been replaced with more advanced skills.

Rapid Morph
This skill should always be your #1 priority. This skill allows you to morph from Axe to Sword, and vice versa, significantly faster, with up to +30% Morph Speed at level 3. Not only that, but both level 2 and 3 also give a damage boost to all morphing attacks, with +20% increased damage for Morph Attacks. Combine this with the fact your Morph Attacks are your strongest attacks in your arsenal, leads this to be your #1 skill.

https://youtu.be/WEWpo-1p5Do

Power Prolonger
This skill is more of a nice support skill, but definitely something to keep an eye out for and use if you have the room on your armor set. Power Prolonger is a skill that on Switch Axe, will increase the time your Amp State is charged for up to 90 seconds at level 3. While all phials will gain a boost from PP3, it shines most for SAs with Power and Paralysis Phials for their extremely long Amped State charge time, allowing you to worry less about charging Amped, and focus more on dealing chip damage.

https://youtu.be/MGLE82JAP4Y

Weakness Exploit
Another bread and butter skill. Weakness Exploit is a powerful skill that will give you 50% crit rate increase on a monster's weakspots at level 3. Since you're goal to aim for weak spots on monsters, like the head, tail, and any other squishy parts, this skill is a must have to simply boost your damage. This skill should be your #2 priority.

Attack Boost
Attack Boost is a great skill that increases your raw damage output for attacks. You're going to want levels 4 - 7 though, because this will also give you a percentage based increase in raw damage, which in come cases can give a weapon an extra +70 raw damage increase. The higher you can get Attack Boost, the better.

Evade Extender
In the past, I've been against relying on this skill, but with changes in Rise, this is a VERY nice skill to have. It's simple, when you roll or dive, this skill increases the distance you move. For Switch Axe, you don't want to use more than level 1, as it can easily mess up your positioning. Level 1 is plenty.

Speed Sharpener
This skill is essentially a free skill for any open level 1 gem slots. It shortens the weapon sharpening animation by one cycle for each level. Level 3 is obviously ideal, however, the item Great Whetfish can remove the need for this skill.

Critical Skills in base Rise are not very efficient, simply due to critical skills taking up valuable slot space. However, once getting into the end game, slots are much more plentiful, allowing for you to slot in skills like Crit Eye and Crit Boost to give you a healthy boost of damage.

NEVER use Focus on Switch Axe. It does borderline nothing to charge your amped state. If you see anywhere saying to use focus, never trust that source for anything Monster Hunter related.

You might be thinking to yourself "Well, Switch Axe seems very interesting, what armor should I start out focusing on?" Luckily, Rise thought this out, and a few armor sets are designed with learning certain weapons in mind.

Almudron
Almudron is your Switch Axe God. His armor and Switch Axe were also not only featured in the demo, but his armor is catered towards Switch Axe. Both Low Rank and High Rank have Rapid Morph, as well as Power Prolonger, your two key SA skills. It also has Razor Sharp, an okay skill to help with managing sharpness, and evade window, to make dodging easier. His gear is more for late Low Rank and getting into End Game High Rank, so keep that in mind when going for his gear. When entering Master Rank, Almudron is encountered earlier on, allowing for you to get this more much quicker.

Mixed Sets
When it comes to mixed sets, it's obviously whatever you're wanting. For Base Rise, armor sets like Almudron and Volvidon, have a few pieces worth using. later into Sunbreak, monsters like the magalas can provide skills like Coalescence to give you a bigger damage boost. But why bother guessing when tools exist to make your life easier?
Quite a few sites have their own Armor Set Searches, allowing you to input skills, and have it build a set for you, based on what charms, augmentations, and weapons you're using.
Here's a link to the Set Search: https://mhrise.wiki-db.com/sim/?hl=en

As for resources for good Switch Axe mixed sets, it's, in my opinion, hard to find an actual good source. The r/monsterhuntermeta subreddit, unfortunately, is just trash. Game8 is another poor source of information.
A few Youtubers, like FoxInvictus and Aifrit, have strong mixes, but usually arent as good as they're made out to be. Their set's are better for thinking outside of the box, but again, the damage is lacking.
The source I've found that has the strongest meta sets, is Sasch's sets from the Monster Hunter Guild Hall. The discord itself is horrendous, but the sets are good. From personal experience, I have been able to match the damage of gunners with these sets.
{LINK REMOVED}https://tinyurl.com/TU5-Swaxe

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The Kamura Ninja Axe is a surprisingly strong option for Switch Axe. It has good raw, good slots, and good, blue sharpness. It, unfortunately, doesn't have any amazing Ramp Ups, the only real good one being Master Rider, allowing Wyvern Riding to deal more damage and have more health.

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Parting Slice is similar to the Kamura Ninja Axe, same raw, very similar blue sharpness, but some less slots. However, you do get an additional 29 Water element, making this weapon great for fighting anything weak to water element. The only Ramp Up you would really want to focus on is Attack Boost III, because of this Switch Axe's Power Phial.

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Rath Blaze Splitter is a great Switch Axe for dealing with fire weak monsters, thanks to that 30 Fire coupled with it's great 210 Raw. While it does have blue sharpness, it's not a lot, and Protective Polish is a must when using this weapon. While Attack Boost III is a good option, your best bet is Element Exploit, allowing you to deal additional elemental damage to Fire Weak enemies. Plus, there's some bonus level 1 slots, to slot in something like Speed Sharpener, to help maintain sharpness.

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Axe of Wisdom is a personal favorite, and it's another good all-arounder. Great raw, good blue sharpness, and a level 3 slot. It also has a Dragon Phial, meaning an extremely fast Amped State charge, easily boosting this Switch Axe's damage. For a Ramp Up, either Boost Equipped Coating or Silkbind Boost. Boost Equipped Coating gives your phial an additional +10, giving you +35 Dragon Element when in Sword form. Silkbind Boost roughly boosts damage from Silkbind Moves by 15%. Either way, this is an overall good Switch Axe, and rather easy to make early on.

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Amber Hoarfrost is your best option for an Element Phial for an Ice Element Switch Axe. Good Raw, combined with a 30% Affinity, and 29 Ice element makes this great for a crit-based mix. It's blue sharpness is unfortunately on the lower side, needing sharpness-related skills to work really well. For Ramp Ups, Attack Boost IV is your best bet, as the Affinity Boost won't do much, and Iceblight Exploit requires Snowbeetles, and is why it's not the meta pick vs Ice-Weak Monsters.

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As is tradition with Monster Hunter, the rathian's Switch Axe is a great option. Griõr's Landmaker offers 210 Raw, blue sharpness, and an Element Phial, allowing you to get a lot of damage off fairly quickly. It's blue sharpness is lower, so sharpness skills will be needed.
There's a few things that make this Switch Axe very unique from others. First is the combination of status and an Element Phial. While this occurs on a few Switch Axes, poison in Rise has changed, allowing you to constantly apply procs for poison while the monster itself is poisoned, meaning you can apply poison rather quickly and constantly. Poison Boost I also increases the poison a good amount.
The other unique thing is that it's best Ramp Up isn't even a Ramp Up it can actively get. You need Silkbind Boost, which can be obtained from Elite Switch Axe II, and upgrading to Griõr's Landmaker. Take these into consideration when using this Switch Axe.

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Conqueress is THE dedicated Exhaust Phial-based Switch Axe. It has a natural Exhaust of 30, which can be made even stronger with Stamina Thief 3, which can be fully slotted into the slots on the axe itself. It's strong Raw also makes this a great overall hard hitter, and the bonus +10 defense is nice as well, as it's hard to make a high defense mix without a godcharm for exhaust. It's blue could use a little help, so be sure to get your sharpness skills.
Keep in mind exhaust will NOT work on elder dragons or apexes, making this really only work well for any non-end game monsters. Boost Equipped Coating or Silkbind Boost are your best Ramp Up options, depending if you want more exhaust, or more damage on your Silkbind Moves.

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Fall Drache was a personal favorite for me in the base release of Rise. Great raw, blue sharpness, good dragon element, little bit of affinity and defense, level 3 slot, it's essentially a great all-arounder. It's Ramp Ups aren't anything amazing, so pick either Affinity Boost III or Dragon Boost II. Alternatively, you could get Master Rider from The Shredder I and upgrade it into Fall Drache, but it isn't a massive boost. Plus, it's Power Phial takes a long while to charge, making it tricky to pull off well.

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As is tradition for 5th Generation Monster Hunter, Switch Axe gets some stupidly good Water Element Switch Axe. From Taroth Axe "Water" in World, Deep Lagoon II in Iceborne, Doom Bringer Axe brings the pain to anything weak to water element, posting an amazing 42 Water element. Combined with it's Element Phial and the Element Exploit Ramp Up, this is not a tank, it's a submarine. It also comes with some good slots, a level 2 and a level 1, allowing for a bit more freedom with mixes, and blue sharpness, which will need Sharpness skills to maintain effectively.

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While it's Raw is low, and it's sharpness isn't the best, this weapon is a great option for putting monsters to sleep. The Element Phial significantly boosts the amount of sleep you deal, resulting putting a monster to sleep quickly, and numerous times. While sleep isn't the best for Blademaster weapons in Rise, Switch Axe shows that it can rule the battlefield with status, sleep being no exception. Sleep Boost II is your go-to.

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Gnashing Flammenbeil is the strongest choice for a Fire element-driven set. Very strong raw, blue sharpness, good element, element phial, decent slots, it's rather similar to the Doom Bringer Axe. The blue is EXTREMELY low, so as per usual, sharpness skills are required. For Ramp Ups, either Affinity Boost II or Fire Boost III are you best choices, Affinity Boost II being the more preferred option due to it being able to negate the -20% Affinity a bit. However, meta pick is Fire Boost III, due to it's elemental damage outdamaging it's negative affinity.

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Rex Gnasher is considered the meta option for Rise. Even though it is a great option, it's not really meta, this idea being pushed by people who think crits are the meta choice for Switch Axe. It has amazing Raw, natural white sharpness, and an Exhaust Phial, meaning it's great for non-end game. It, again, needs sharpness skills, but luckily it doesn't need to be boosted to white. Attack Boost III or Affinity Boost II are going to be your best options for Ramp Ups, with either one working well.
It's a great Switch Axe, but it is definitely not meta. Be wary of any sources saying it is.

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Grand Chaos is a VERY weird Switch Axe. Overall it is an amazing Switch Axe. Highest raw, Exhaust Phial for KOs and Exhaust, a nice bonus defense of +15, even a level 1 slot. Even it's -15% Affinity is negligible. It's sharpness though is some of the weirdest in the game, as you have two options to make it good.
Sticking to Green means using the Dulling Strike Ramp Up, and combining it with Bludgeoner. This makes it quite strong, especially when paired high levels of Attack Boost. The other option is using Handicraft 3 and Protective Polish, in conjecture with Affinity Boost III, making it another alternatively strong option. The latter is more used by speed runners, with the former being easier to pull off without a god charm.
Either way, it is a very good option for those wanting to be more creative with their mixed sets.

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Night's Crescent is another Switch Axe claimed to be meta, while lacking anything that really make it meta. It's 180 Raw, natural white sharpness, and 40% Affinity are great, but again, you need to maintain sharpness. While you'd think it would be best to use Master's Touch, due to how Master's Touch works in Rise, and combined with crits not boosting your hardest hitting attacks, Protective Polish wins again. Everything else on this Switch Axe is pretty basic. Level 2 slot is nice, and due to changes to how Poison works in Rise, Poison Phial is a good option.
The best Ramp Ups are Attack Boost III or Boost Equipped Coating, depending if you want more Raw or Poison.
While it looks like it has a lot going for it, Night's Crescent just doesn't deal out the numbers to make it remotely meta. Sorry crit chasers, this really isn't great for meta.

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Vermilingua is another 200 Raw and Blue sharpness Switch Axe. While it's natural 16 Paralysis doesn't seem that great, the Element Phial helps this a lot, making it an amazing paralysis option. Use the Attack Boost IV Ramp Up to make a great damage-dealing paralysis Switch Axe.

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Despot's Cloudburst is another weird Switch Axe. It's not it's 200 Raw, natural Blue sharpness, or 32 Thunder element that make it such a strong option, and used by speed runners (even though this does make it a very strong option). It's not it's bonus +15 Defense, or it's two level 1 slots. No. The thing that makes a strong choice is the Ramp Up Anti-aquatic Species.
Anti-Aquatic Species is powerful Ramp Up that deals an extra 10% damage to any Leviathans, Piscine Wyverns, or Amphibians, and making it the speedrunner's choice in most situations against these monster types. Not saying it isn't strong outside of these monsters, but it really shines here when fishing.

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The Sinister Shadowslice is a fairly good Switch Axe. Has the standard 200 Raw, blue sharpness that needs protective polish, good slots, etc. What makes this axe unique, however, is the blast element, being one of the few blast weapons this game, allowing for a bit of extra damage. Combining this with Attack Boost III is your best bet.
You can also run this with Magnamalo Soul, but this is really only usefull with wearing 4+ armor pieces from Magnamalo's matching armor. Which can combo with Hellfire Cloak, and Resuscitate, allowing for a boost in damage. Keep in mind, this isn't meta, it's more for funsies and being flashy.

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Undying Light is another odd Switch Axe. It has rather high raw, combined with good Thunder Element and Element Phial. The thing that really balances out this weapon is the sharpness. Similar to Grand Chaos, you can really go for White Sharpness, or stick with the Green Sharpness, and combine it with Bludgeoner and the Dulling Strike Ramp Up. Either way, Thunder Boost II will be a better Ramp Up to go for.

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Abyssal Gale is a great option. While it's not the meta Dragon Switch Axe, it's a VERY good second choice, it's biggest selling feature being it's absurdly high blue sharpness. If you hate Sharpness management, this weapon is perfect for you.
For Ramp Ups, while Ibushi Soul is tempting, Narwa's Armor isn't good, making it a waste of skill, even with Allmother upgrades. The Ramp Up you're going to want is Anti-aerial species. It's a 10% damage increase to all Flying Wyverns, and any monster that can fly, excluding Bishaten and Tobi-Kadachi. This makes for a VERY strong Switch Axe.
I, personally, also prefer this for hunting Narwa, as it's the only Dragon element Switch Axe to get Anti-aerial. Really just shreds through her, talk about a lover's quarrel.

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For the first time in Monster Hunter history, the final boss' Switch Axe is a meta pick. Abyssal Storm Axe is one of two Switch Axes debated as "the best" Switch Axe for Monster Hunter Rise. It has a great raw, an actually decent chunk of blue sharpness, very high Thunder Element (an element many monsters have some sort of weakness to), on top of having the coveted Anti-Aerial Species Ramp Up.
Just like Ibushi, Narwa Soul is not a good Ramp Up, due to Ibushi's armor not being that great. Alternatively, Attack Boost III is better Ramp Up for any fights with monsters that aren't effected by the bonus 10% from Anti-Aerial.

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This weapon is better used as a tutorial weapon. It's not some great end game choice, but it has a few Quality of Life additions that make things a bit easier. Decent slots, natural white sharpness, a and a fast charging Dragon Phial. It also has the rare Ramp Up Coating Switch Boost. What this special Ramp Up does, is that any morphs to axe form restore a good chunk of your Sword Meter, meaning you can consistently stay in Sword Form, theoretically, forever. All of these combined stats make this a much easier to use Switch Axe for less damage. Plus it's one of the very few "Blacksmith Tree" Switch Axe designs the series has, making this easily a weapon to go after.

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These sections are simply called the DLC Trees, as these were Switch Axe trees added after updates to the Switch Version of Monster Hunter Rise. These in particular were added in update 2.0.

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Balor's Mirage is the first Switch Axe of the post-narwa grind. It has good raw, blue sharpness, good slots and good poison, making it for a good alternative to Rathian's Switch Axe. The biggest draw with this Switch Axe is the Ramp Up, Chameleos Soul. Chameleos Soul is basically the ultimate gambler's perk, but with no downsides. About every minute or so, you can proc one of four random effects: Defense Boost, Attack Boost, Faster Stamina Regeneration, and Health Restoration. These buffs have an internal cool down and cannot activate while another boost from the Ramp Up is in effect. It's definitely not a hardcore meta pick, but from my using of it, it has helped a lot and makes for a fun weapon.

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Daora's Janah is another switch axe that get's debated heavily for being "the best". While it is extremely strong, good raw, natural white extremely high ice element, it is not the best. It is, however, the best ice switch axe, rivaling Barioth's. The biggest draw that pushes this, however, is the Kushala Daora Soul. As you land attacks, your affinity will slowly rise, capping at 40%. However, over time, this will decrease, meaning you need to constantly land hits to gain this boost. A very unique and fun choice of Switch Axe that can be quite powerful.

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Teostra's Castle is a weapon that I've heard described as "pretty good, but it's not meta". It's basically like a lot of the other choices I've listed, good raw blue sharpness, blah blah. However, it's a blast Switch Axe with Element Phial, meaning you'll get bonus bursts of damage nonstop. This weapon can apply a lot of blast damage, especially with the Teostra Soul Ramp Up. If you don't wanna focus blast, Attack Boost III is another good option.

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As with the previous section, these are Switch Axes added with the free content updates added to the Switch Version, post release. This section covers the last Switch Axe added with 2.0, as well as 3.0.

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Really, Bazelrush Rookslayer is another blue sharpness with high raw option. Another blast option, giving good bonus damage. This is good alternative to Teostra's Switch Axe, giving more raw at the cost of blast status. It also doesn't have the best Ramp Ups, so either Defense Boost II or Blast Boost II are going to be your go-to's.

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Reddnaught Dunat is considered THE meta Switch Axe, rivaled only by Narwa's axe. While it has good raw and very nice dragon element combined with an Element Phial, it has a very unique aspect that many new players may be surprised about. It has a lot of natural white sharpness, and then drops immediately to red sharpness. This means a lot less sharpness management, but you still want to maintain the sharpness, as a drop to red is a MASSIVE drop in damage.
As for Ramp Ups, all three are good choices for different scenarios. Attack Boost III is your general, all purpose choice, giving a flat boost to raw. Wyvern Exploit is your more specialized Ramp Up, giving a 5% increase of raw damage towards any sort of Wyvern (bird wyvern, flying wyvern, etc) and Leviathans, as they are "Sea Wyverns" in Japanese. This is usually the speedrunner's choice.
Valstrax Soul is your element-driven option. It's rather simple, you get an increase of dragon element damage while you have Dragonblight afflicted. This is meant to be combined with Valstrax's armor's unique skill, Dragonheart. Dragonheart applies you with dragonblight when you're below a certain amount of health. However, if your weapon is dragon element, you don't lose your elemental attacks. This means it's perfect with Reddnaught Dunat, especially since Full Valstrax Armor is a highly recommended option for the endgame grind.
You can see why this is considered the meta choice.

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The Rampage weapons are a new type of weapon that revolves around Ramp Ups. Originally, it was a weapon only obtainable from the Rampage, as Apex monsters were only in Rampages. However, since then, Apexes have their own quests, making them a bit less time consuming to grind. But what makes Rampage Weapons special?
Well, they are rather customizable. By default, they're your standard issue "high raw + blue sharpness" weapons, making for a rather engaging option. But through Ramp Ups, you can change certain stats, and make a weapon a bit more tuned to your play style. These Ramp Ups are sorted into 3 separate groups.

The first group is more general purpose changes, basic stat changes like raw, affinity, sharpness, etc. It's difficult to explain the sharpness changes without a lot of pictures, but I'll explain what to specifically look out for below.

Next, we have elemental changes. This section allows for you to change your weapon's element or status.

Finally, we have the weapon-specific changes. These here have either general overall changes to the weapon's stats, or changes the Phials to something other than Power.

Now really, you could do whatever you wanted with Rampage Weapons, in terms of customization. However, my key recommendations are:

• Sharpness Type I
  
• Non-element Boost
  
• Phial: Poison/Paralysis/Dragon/Exhaust III

With Sharpness Type I, you can easily boost your sharpness to White with just one level of handicraft, which can last a while with Protective Polish. Non-element Boost gives you a flat +10 to Raw, which is always nice. Finally, the Phial really just depends on what you want. I personally have 4 Rampage Switch Axes, each with one of my recommended Phial types, just because it really allows for Phials to shine outside of weapons that aren't the strongest.
I've also seen Attack Surge used as well, giving a massive boost to Raw, making it for a very strong Raw weapon. These also work for easy to make elemental Switch Axes, relying less on RNG drops. Really, the opportunities are endless with these, and they're very fun to play with.

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Just like World, the Defender Tree is designed for players to quickly get to the Master Rank content. This is hands down one of the best Switch Axes in base Rise, simply because it's designed to be that way. Despite this, it's not horribly broken later on, and does get outclassed by other Switch Axes in later High Rank. Nothing really beats how easy it is to make and upgrade, making it a strong choice.
It lacks white sharpness and slots, which do hinder the weapon a bit. It also being an exhaust phial makes it a bit less useful towards the end game of Rise, with elders being immune to exhaust. It's still beefy though, it's Defender.

As to be expected, Sunbreak has brought us two more Silkbind attacks, as well as one new Switch Skill.

Elemental Burst Counter
"Compresses Switch Gauge energy, that can be released as an Elemental Burst.
If the burst is released right as a monster attacks, you'll perform a Power Finisher and your switch axe will go into an Amped State."

This new Silkbind is a VERY good option to roll with, replacing your Switch Charger. Instead of getting that reload, you instead get a powerful combo attack, that upon a successful counter, you'll not only land multiple, devastating hits on the monster, you'll also instantly charge your Amped State, making this an amazing opener for when a monster roars at the start of the fight.
Another observation I've noticed is that while the counter can be picky, it does give hyper armor if the counter doesn't correct activate. I've been able to stop stun from roars and knockback from quite a few attacks by using the move "incorrectly". This is more than likely a bug, but I feel it's worth mentioning, as quite a few player believe this to be a hoax.
Now, a word of warning. While this Silkbind is the bread and butter for many speedrunners, it does have it's drawbacks. First off, it's only really going to work if you can practice the timing. It's not like Longsword where you get auto counters, you'll need to learn monsters' movesets to really get the most out of it. Second, it's only really useful for Paralysis and Power Phials. While other phials gain the same instant amp, Power and Paralysis take the longest to charge outside of the counter, making them reliant on good counters to get that Amp boost quickly. Finally, it's A LOT harder to use this effectively in multiplayer. This is simply due to the monster constantly changing targets away from you, making counters harder to pull off.

Ironsilk Step
"This skill isn't actually listed on the Sunbreak official website, as it was a secret reveal. But with how the guide is set up, this looks mystical. Fun fact, Frontier was the first MH title to give Switch Axe a counter, however, it was a lot faster, and could be used to charge your phial."

This is more of a utility silkbind. Ironsilk Step gives you a very quick dodge hop to the side, allowing you to quickly reposition yourself out of harm's way. The dodge distance, as well as the i-frames can be further increased, via Evade Extender and Evasion, meaning you can sort of customize this move further to your liking.
While this is a popular skill for more casual play, I Personally am not a fan of it due to it taking the same slot as the Soaring Wyvern Blade. I like my damage too much.

Okay, so Sunbreak only added one new Switch Skill. But I have it formatted like this to look like the base Rise version.

2-Staged Morph Slash Combo
"A two-staged Morph Slash attack that follows an Axe: Wild Swing.
1st Stage: Morphs into Sword Mode.
2nd Stage: Morphs into Axe Mode.
During this combo, the power of Sword Mode attacks increase and Axe Mode attacks fill the Switch Gauge faster."

This Switch Skill is a personal favorite of mine. It changes the Wild Swing's finisher into a much faster, more damaging combo. The best part, is that it can charge restore a good portion of your phial, and even get you into sword form if you're below the proper threshold.
Combing this with the Switcher Rampage Deco restores a ton of phial, making it a staple for Switch Axe.

To no one's surprise, Sunbreak has brought us more armor and skills to look at and pick apart. Switch Axe didn't get a whole lot, but a few things were added to keep an eye out when it comes to mixed sets.
As a note, this section was written when base Sunbreak was released, meaning skills from the Title Updates aren't going to be included.

Burst
Burst is a skill that as you deal damage, you gain a buff to your attack and elemental attack. At level 3, you gain a +15 Raw Attack, and a +15 Elemental Attack upon landing successful, repetitive hits.
On Switch Axe, this skill is amazing, as Switch Axe has a lot of fast, hitting attacks, as well as Rapid Morph, which speeds up your morphing attacks. These two skills combined allow for you to quickly dish out damage and get a juicy boost.

New to Sunbreak, Rampage Decorations essentially replace the Rampage Skill system, by turning Rampage skills into decorations. These decorations have a special slot, and provide weapons with various bonuses.

Switcher
Switch Axe gets a special decoration, and it is Switcher! When morphing from Sword to Axe, a large chunk of your gauge is restored, allowing for near infinite meter when morphing. When morphing from Axe to Sword, you deal an increased 10% phial damage. Unfortunately, Power Phial is the only phial that really gets a massive boost from this, meaning no other phials get the damage boost. Another downside is that it is a level 3 decoration, meaning not a lot of weapons can use it. Still, an amazing deco to use when you can.

For this section, I'm only including new armor sets. Armor sets and pieces mentioned in the base Rise portion of the game have direct upgrades in Master Rank, meaning your Almudron Helmet will be replaced by the Almudron Helmet X, etc.

Dignified Armor
Better known as Rhondine's armor, this armor set is chock full of Switch Axe-y goodness. Rapid Morph, Power Prolonger, Evade Extender, this set is designed exclusively with supporting Switch Axe's game play, making it the perfect armor for learning the weapon. Fitting, as Rondine is a Switch Axe main, SA Bros stay winning.

Astalos Armor
This set is pretty good for more combat-based Switch Axe play. It comes with Burst, as well as Power Prolonger and stamina skills. This set is definitely better off for mixing, but gives you a bit of an edge with combat.

Archfiend Armor
This is a very interesting set of armor. It features some good Switch Axe skills, like Chain Crit and Weakness Exploit, but also features a few others, like Dereliction, which grant you some bonuses for skill swapping. Another set that's better off mixing, but the full set gives you an interesting change of pace, especially for Switch Axe.

Mixed Sets and Resources
https://www.youtube.com/c/FoxInvictus/videos
FoxInvictus is really the best option for Switch Axe knowledge. I've been working with him talking about Switch Axe meta, as well as possible off-meta options. A large chunk of Meta Switch Axes will essentially be regurgitated info from his research, so please give him some love, he really deserves it.

So, I'm writing this foreword as a word of warning, so to speak. So Sunbreak does an EXTREMELY good job at balancing Switch Axes across the board. While certain ones will do better than others, like how Magma Almudron's Switch Axe is a direct upgrade in stats vs Espinas', Espinas' Switch Axe is still pretty damn good. So, keep in mind, a vast majority of Switch Axes in Sunbreak are really strong, I'm just listing, like, the top contenders.
The meta picks are decided by quite a few factors. Usually, 330 Raw is a must, but there are a handful of exceptions. Then a strong element, as element is meta for Switch Axe. Then, sharpness is usually purple, or can easily be boosted to purple. Finally, Rampage Decoration slots. You will not see any Switch Axe here listed with a level 1 Rampage Decoration slot unless it is an absolutely nutty weapon.
With Title Update 1, Qurio Augmentation was added. This guide will not give suggestions on what to augment, as it's kind of a free for all. Same with armor, the augments are RNG, so that's on you. With Title Update 5, not only has Quiro Augmentation been greatly expanded, charms are now crazier than ever before, and on top of that, Augmentation allows for you to use basically any Switch Axe in the late game and hit hard. So why have this guide then? Well, I still wanted to point out what are the Best in Show performers for Switch Axe, and explain why these are strong Switch Axes, as many players don't seem to know why things are good or not.
Now then, onto the guide!

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To no one's surprise, Almudron's cousin's Switch Axe is a meta pick. Volcanic Switch is by far one of the nuttiest Switch Axes the series has seen, for the main reason being that natural 78 Fire combined with an elemental phial. Given the right boosts, just as Fire Attack Up, Chain Crit, etc, I've seen this thing hit 100+ Fire element, being absolutely nutty in Fire-weak match ups. Combine that with it's 320 Raw, and good slots, Volcanic Switch really earns it's crown for being the king of fire.
Now, despite all of this, Volcanic Switch still has two downsides. The first being it requires Handicraft lvl 3 to really hit it's hardest. This removes a lot of flexibility, especially when balancing a lot of elemental damaging boosting skills, and sharpness. The other downside is that it really only shines vs monsters weak to fire. The rule fo thumb is usually 25 or higher fire weakness for most parks on the monster to be effective. Keep these in mind when using this weapon.

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Also to no one's surprise, Almudron's Switch Axe returns in Sunbreak to be the commander of the seas with it's water power. Doom Bringer is an apt name for anything weak to water, hitting a natural 74 water element with an elemental phial. This can get boosted to 100+ with the right skills, making it a hard hitter combined with it's 320 raw and amazing slot set up.
Just like Volcanic Switch, Doombringer suffers fromt he same two downsides. The first being needing Handicraft 3 and being able to maintain purple sharpness. The other being that monster needs to be especially weak to water for it to really shine. Nevertheless, you can feel like Poseidon using Doom Bringer.

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Megatalon Shears are usually seen as an alternative option to Void Bringer. Due to being a Power Phial, the element isn't as important, and it makes up in this with Raw. Combo that with it's good slots, and Handicraft +3 allowing you to hit Purple sharpness, and you have a very powerful Water option.

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Once again, Narwa's Switch Axe is the prime pick for Thunder Element. A fearsome 74 Thunder element, combined with 310 Raw, and elemental phial, meaning anything weak to thunder will crumble easily. Plus, unlike other high element weapons, you only heed handicraft lvl 1 to hit purple, meaning you get much more flexibility.
However, Thunderclap's downside is slots. It has no slots, and only has a lvl 2 Rampage Slot. Granted, having a lvl 2 Rampage is a must have, but it means you cant use Switcher. However, Thunderclap is still one of the strongest picks in the game.


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Oppressor's Torrent is your best bet for a Power Phial Thunder option. It has a high raw and strong element, which combined with natural purple and a power phial make it very strong. While it has a level 2 slot, allowing for "Anti-" decos, obviously you can get Switcher, meaning you miss out on the boosts from that. Still, a strong Thunder option.

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Many people recommend Fullmark+ as the go-to Thunder option for players that have not yet gotten to MR Allmother. It has good element, sharpness and raw, combined with slots even better than Thunderclap's, making it a very powerful choice. With augmentation, Fullmark+ greatly outclasses Narwa's Switch Axe, making it the best Thunder option.

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Once again, Kushala's Switch Axe is the go-to pick for Ice meta. Daora's Ajniha boasts high raw, high element, and natural purple sharpness, making it a very power option right out the gate. It also comes with a level 3 Rampage deco, which allows for Switcher with it's power phial, meaning you'll get to hit even harder than before.
It's only big downside is it's single, level 1 slot, allowing for less customization. However, it's natural purple even this out by a long shot.

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Purnima Icechopper is seen as an alternative to Daora's Ajniha. It has a higher raw than Ajniha, but lower element, while still having a natural purple, meaning more raw but less element. Icechopper's downside is it's two level 1 slots, not allowing a lot of room, and it's level 2 Rampage slot, which isn't bad, as you can use "Anti-" decos, but Switcher is just so much stronger.

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Splitear Weiss is, surprisingly, the meta go-to Switch Axe for ice. Like most element phial switch axes, it boasts high element, on top of having an element phial. Combo that with getting purple through two levels of handicraft, and having a 330 Raw, this thing is a powerful beast. Let's not forget the level 3 slot, as well as the level 3 rampage slot. Who'd think a weapon made from a cute bunny would be so deadly? This is the best Ice option available.

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Calamitous Axe is described as being a "crazy" Switch Axe, for apt reasoning. 330 Raw with 60 dragon element, combined with two lvl 2 slots, and a level 3 rampage slot is a very deadly combination. Combine this with it's Element Phial, and this thing earns the name "Calamitous", especially vs anything weak to dragon.
Now, it's one balancing factor is it needs handicraft +3 to reach purple. This, however, isn't new to elemental phials, so this shouldn't be too much a surprise.

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Funnily enough, the only reason why Wing of Sanctity is on here is it's insane white sharpness. It has very good raw, high element, good slots, the works, but it's big draw is it's high white sharpness. Great for if you don't wanna deal with sharpness management.

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The Great Gorgon Battleaxe is a very beefy Switch Axe, bringing a LOT of power. That 360 raw is nothing to scoff at, tying it for first place as highest raw Switch Axe in the game. It's next impressive feature is it's decorations, featuring level 4, 2 and 1 decoration slots, allowing for a lot play room with sets. It also has a level 3 rampage slot, allowing for flexibility with the rampage slots. Finally, it's an Exhaust Phial, allowing you to tire most monsters out rather quickly, and this can be boosted further by slotting in a Hard Drain Jewel 4 right in the weapon, giving you Stamina Drain +3 for no effort.
Now, the big downside is the sharpness. You'll need handicraft +4 at least to reach only white sharpness, and you cant reach purple, meaning you'll lose out on that boost. However, this also means that you don't have to worry a lot over sharpness, giving you more freedom.

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An odd choice, but Reconqueress has taken the Japanese playerbase of Sunbreak by storm, and for good reason. It has a good raw, 340, with 36 Exhaust, which, thanks to it's three level 1 slots, allow you to gem in Stamina Thief 3. As a bonus, you also get an extra +30 Defense, as well as the ability to use Switcher, giving you some nice QoL boosts!
Really, the reason why this weapon is so heavily used, especially in the late game, is due to Afflicted Monsters. Afflicted monsters when they aren't in their glowing red state, are susceptible to Exhaust. And due to how much afflicted monsters like to move, Exhaust is great, allowing you to stagger monsters more easily. The ability to KO is also a great help as well.

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Vengeful Fellcleave is from the powerful Scorned Magnamalo, found at MR100, and it's power reflects Scorned pretty well. 340 Raw combined with Power Phial means it'll be dealing out a lot of damage, especially with it's natural white sharpness. It also has very good slots, featuring a level 3 and a level 2, allowing you to have more play room with your mixes. Finally it's blast element gives you some bonus damage, making this probably the best raw option in Sunbreak so far.
It's only downside is really is that it has a level 2 rampage slot, rather than a level 3, so you don't get the damage boost from Switcher on it's Power Phial. Beyond that, it's still a heavy hitter.

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On the 10th of August, 2022, Title Update 1 released for Sunbreak, bring forth four new monsters to the game. This section will cover the best options from this update. Not saying the ones not listed aren't good, just that these are your best go-tos.

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Bazelheart is made from Seething Bazelguese, and it's pure power reflects that. 360 Raw, White Sharpness, and a Power Phial. The white sharpness can also be buffed to purple with just Handicraft +1, meaning even more damage. Plus, there's blast damage, meaning bonus bursts of damage.

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Mizar's Asterism is a great weapon. High raw, natural purple, really good slots, power phial, bonus poison, overall, a strong choice. It's only flaw really is it's level 1 Rampage Slot, which isn't the most useful. I personally use Buddy Rally, as buddies are pretty strong.

On the 29th of September, 2022, Title Update 2 released for Sunbreak, adding not only two new monsters to the franchise, but also it's first Risen Elder (similar to Arch Tempereds in World). With this update, both new Switch Axes are pretty beefy, so let's take a look at them.

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Kaktusprion is the Switch Axe belonging to Flaming Espinas, better known as Espinas Subspecies from Frontier. Overall, it has pretty decent stats, Fire 49, Purple Sharpness, and Element Phial means that anything weak to fire is going to have a bad time. Plus, with it's deco slots, you can easily get to Fire Attack 5, and you can put in either Switcher or Elembane for more QoL or Damage.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "But JPM! Volcanic Switch is the best Firre Switch Axe, hands down! Especially Element Phial!" Which, normally I would say "Yeah..." However! If you look back at that fancy little table I made, you'll see (Poison 28). That is because Kaktusprion has a hidden Poison Attack stat! Meaning, this, just like in Frontier, has dual Elements, Fire and Poison!
While it doesn't seem like a big addition, due to how many status-related skills there are in Sunbreak, Foray, Build Up, etc, you can easily boost the damage of this weapon further. Kaktusprion is easily the best "All-Arounder" Switch Axe. And while it's Raw is rather low versus other top SAs, it still can make up for that with how flexible it is.

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Mikado is our second contender this update, and made from the Violet Mizutsune, a very flashy, hard-hitting monster. And sure enough, Mikado hits hard too. 320 Raw, natural Purple, and a Power Phial easily make this the best Power Phial Fire Weapon Sunbreak offers (sorry Aknosom). Plus with a bonus three level 2 slots means a lot of beefy skills can get thrown in, like Attack 3. The Fire 22 and 10% affinity are really, just minor bonuses for such a stacked weapon.
Now, for downsides, the 320 Raw isnt great, especially when comboed with a Power Phial. It's not horrible by any means, by higher raw is usually better. The level 1 Rampage slot also isn't doing a lot of favors, meaning you'll need to use up Augment slots for to get better decos. Which, isn't a terrible thing, but you'll miss out on either other Augment options, or other Rampage Skills.

On November 24, 2023, Title Update 3 released, bringing two powerful Risen Elders, and the ever popular, highly demanded, and highly expected, Chaotic Gore Magala. And while only one Switch Axe was added, it was a pretty good one.

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Frevel/Sursis is the Switch Axe made from the might Chaotic Gore Magala, a poor monster who's purpose in life is to die. It has a very beefy 340 Raw, 44 Dragon element, good slots, and a Power Phial. A great pick for those wanting a Dragon Element Power Phial SA, this is your go to!
While it's stats are nothing too too crazy, it does have a very unique attribute to it, which is it has two listed Affinity Values. The first being the -30%, which is what the weapon's affinity is by default. However, in cases where you overcome the Frenzy, self inflicted or otherwise, it jumps to +15% affinity. While it's not a lot, if you use crit skills or augments to boost to 0% Affinity, you'll gain 45% affinity for overcoming the frenzy. So while crits are not the meta option for Switch Axe with Rise/Sunbreak, those of you out there still using critmixes would want to definitely use Frevel/Sursis, as it can easily outclass Narga's SA with crit%.

On February 6th, 2023, Title Update 4 came, and so did the player base. We saw the return of the drama queen, Velkhana, as well as the introduction of Super Risen Elders, Hazards, and the dreaded Risen Valstrax. So, with all that said and done, only one new Switch Axe was added, and while it's not a meta pick, it's a strong Switch Axe in and of itself.

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Wicked Niddoq is very odd weapon. It's an "okay +1" kind of weapon. It has many similar stats to Kushala's, 340 raw, purple sharpness, a level 3 slot and a level 3 rampage. Plus, it's also a Power Phial, which works with it's high raw. Now, what it does have over Kushala for sure is it's affinity with Frostcraft.
Frostcraft is a special skill with Velkhana's gear, adding a special meter to your UI. It increases the damage you deal, with each attack draining the bar. As you don't attack or sheathe, the bar slowly recharges. Using Velkhana weapon increases the charge rate, allowing for for much faster charging. Meaning, this is great for Frostcraft-designed mixes.
Now, for downsides, they're actually rather harsh. The first one is that Frostcraft and Switch Axe don't really work too well, due to Switch Axe basically shredding through the Frostcraft bar far faster than it can recharge. Plus, the sheathing style of the skill just doesn't work. The other downside is the severe lack of element. 29 element is rather weak, and really takes those late game augments to buff it up to speed.

On April 20th, Title Update 5 was announced, bringing forth Amatsu and Risen Shageru Magala, two deadly monsters that challenge even the most of skilled of players. With this, a new Switch Axe was added to the game that has earned it's place in my guide.

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Cloudburst Axe is a very good axe, plain and simple. It's not meta (Almudron's Switch Axe will never be dethroned), but it can pack a beefy punch, and works great if you use a lot of wirebug moves when you play.
Starting off, Cloudburst has 360 Raw and Purple Sharpness, so right out of the gate, lots of power. Then, you add on the 47 Water, a powerful bonus, and a level 3 Rampage Slot, giving you even more options to use. While it takes longer to charge, a Power Phial is always nice to have, and that -25% Affinity means nothing, especially if you're using Wirebug moves.
You might have noticed how I'm specifically mentioning Wirebug moves a lot. Well that's because Cloudburst gives a 10% increase in damage to all Wirebug attacks. So, if you use Wirebug moves a ton, this is definitely the choice for you.
Now for downsides, the biggest one is simply you don't have any slots, meaning you're a little restricted in what you can do. Aaaand that's really it. Sure, Almudron heavily beats Amatsu in the wetworks, but with a Power Phial, Raw is your main focus.

On June 7th, Sunbreak's final update released, bring us the devastating Primordial Malzeno. And with that, we got a VERY nice Switch Axe, one that allows for a shift in meta, maybe not to a massive degree, but opens up more freedom.

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Silver Slasher is a VERY nice Switch Axe to have, boasting natural Purple Sharpness, and THREE level 4 slots, as well as a level 3 Rampage Slot, making for quite a bit of freedom when making a mixed set. It's element is also pretty decent, 49 Dragon with Element Phial. While not as strong as other Dragon options, it still allows for a strong Dragon Element Mix.
The big draw with Silver Slasher, is that it increases how much Health you get back if using the Blood Rite skill or if you're infected with Bloodblight. While usually this skill isn't as practical with other Switch Axe options, due to the slots available, it's much more lucrative to use Blood Rite. Not only that, it's much easier to break parts with Switch Axe, due to Amped State giving you bonus chip damage, allowing you to more easily break parts. Overall, a great final Switch Axe for the long Afflicted Grind.

Thank you for spending the time to check out this guide! I really enjoyed the making of my last Switch Axe Guide for Monster Hunter World, and Rise did Switch Axe real justice. Like seriously, it feels like who ever balanced Switch Axe tapped my mic when I talk to my friends about weapon balancing, it's weird. If you see any errors or have any quests, please feel free to ask in the comments below! My plan is to update with when Sunbreak releases, as well as all of it's post-release content, so stay tuned!
Happy hunting!
~ JPM
Switch Axe Enthusiast

- FoxInvictus. He has a good understanding of how Switch Axe works, but his sets are not as good as he claims. Still a good source.
https://www.youtube.com/c/FoxInvictus/videos
- Monster Hunter Guild Hall. A terrible, horrible server, genuinely don't go there, but they have some eggheads that effectively break down the meta.

v 1.8.1 - 24 December, 2023 - Clean Up
- I decided to go through and clean up some information, per user request. Merry Christmas!

v 1.8.0 - 29 September, 2023 - The Finally Finished Update
- Added Silver Slasher, and I can finally say I have finished this guide!

v 1.7.0 - 30 April, 2023 - Rainy Season Update
- Added Cloudburst, Amatsu's SA. Great for wirebug lovers!
- Added Lagombi's SA. It's meta, IDK why it's taken me so long to add it.

v 1.6.0 - 9 March, 2023 - Chill Season Update
- Added Velkhana's SA. It's an okay/10, but does deserve to be shown.

v 1.5.0 - 28 October, 2023 - The Chaotically Late Update
- Added a section about C. G. M.'s SA. It's not a massive gamechanger, but still rather strong. I'm sorry I've been late with this.

v. 1.4.0 - 1 October, 2022 - Flaming Update
- Added Mikado and Kaktusprion Switch Axes, added with Title Update 2
- Pictures will be added as soon as theyre available.

v. 1.3.0 - 16 August, 2022 - Title Update 1 Update Update
- Replaced Tigrex SA with Reconqueress. It really is the better option.
- Added Title Update 1 info, check it out!

v. 1.2.0 - 9 August, 2022 - Catch Up Update
- Finally caught up with base Sunbreak. Check out all the meta options!

v. 1.1.0 - 15 March, 2022 - Spring Cleaning Update
- Updated some descriptions of weapons, cleaned things up to be easier to read.
- added Great Baggi's SA. It's actually really good.

v. 1.0.0 - 19 January, 2022 - Guide is released!