Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons: pick your main
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Short answer
Monster Hunter Outlanders has eight weapon types at launch: Great Sword, Long Sword, Dual Blades, Hammer, Lance, Charge Blade, Heavy Bowgun and Bow. Game8 ranks Long Sword, Heavy Bowgun and Charge Blade highest. Beginners should start with Long Sword or Heavy Bowgun, both rated easiest to use.
This guide to Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons covers the full roster, the only weapon tier list published so far, which adventurers carry each weapon, and a four-question picker for choosing a main.
Find your main in four questions
Pick an answer for any question and the result updates as you go. It scores range, hit rhythm, guarding and experience against the traits of the Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons in the table below.
Answer any question to see the weapon that fits you best.
All 8 Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons compared
| Weapon | How it works | Difficulty | Range | Good first weapon | Game8 tier | Game8 ease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Sword | Attacks fill a Spirit Gauge, and well-timed Foresight Slash counters fill it faster. No guard, so you survive by dodging. | Easy | Melee | Yes | S | 5/5 |
| Dual Blades | Fast short-range combos build the Demon Gauge for Demon Mode, which leads into Archdemon Mode. Low damage per hit, no blocking. | Easy | Melee | Yes | A | 4/5 |
| Lance | A big shield for guarding and counter-attacks, plus dash and rush attacks. Slow to reposition. | Medium | Melee | Yes | B | 4/5 |
| Great Sword | Charge attacks deal more damage the longer you charge. Can tank hits while attacking, but timing takes practice. | Medium | Melee | — | A | 4/5 |
| Hammer | Charge attacks that stun when a full charge lands on the head. Taking a hit resets your charge, and you can't guard. | Medium | Melee | — | B | 3/5 |
| Charge Blade | Switches between Sword Mode and Axe Mode. Axe Mode has a very high damage ceiling, with a steeper learning curve. Game8 says only the Fated Adventurer can use it. | Hard | Melee | — | S | 3/5 |
| Heavy Bowgun | Ranged weapon with several ammo types, plus special ammo that refills over time and on hits, and a Wyvernheart mode. | Easy | Ranged | Yes | S | 5/5 |
| Bow | Ranged weapon that builds a charge gauge by evading. Coatings let you exploit weaknesses. Watch your stamina and positioning. | Easy | Ranged | Yes | A | 4/5 |
Difficulty combines Game8's ease score with the beginner-fit rating on mhoutlanders.wiki.
How many weapons are there: seven or eight?
The roster grew in steps before launch. At Tokyo Game Show 2025 the developers showed five types and said they would bring back weapons from earlier games rather than invent new ones. Pocket Tactics listed six in February 2026. The official site's showcase lists seven. BlueStacks reports that producer Dong Huang confirmed the Charge Blade for launch, and Game8's launch-day list counts eight. The mainline games have 14 types, so more are likely later, but no date has been announced.
Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons tier list: what the rankings say
Only one site has published a weapon tier list so far. Game8 puts Long Sword, Heavy Bowgun and Charge Blade in S, Great Sword, Dual Blades and Bow in A, and Hammer and Lance in B. Two details matter: it ranks each weapon as used by the Fated Adventurer, and it is a launch-day read. BlueStacks' weapon guide deliberately skips tiers until the live game has been tested, and Pocket Tactics describes playstyles without ranking. mhoutlanders.wiki argues no weapon is better outright, because strength depends on which adventurer you pull.
Read the grid by row and column. Long Sword and Heavy Bowgun sit in the sweet spot: top tier and easiest to use. Charge Blade matches them on power but asks for more practice. For adventurer rankings, which matter more in a gacha game, see the adventurer tier list.
Can you switch weapons? Your character vs adventurers
Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons are tied to characters in a way the mainline games never were. Your customizable Fated Adventurer can equip every weapon type. Story adventurers you recruit are each locked to one weapon and class, and each pairing has its own follow-up moves, so Midori's Long Sword plays differently from Ryunosuke's. Weapons themselves are crafted through play, not pulled from recruitment (BlueStacks). You change weapons by changing characters.
Which adventurers use each weapon
| Weapon | Released adventurers | Free options |
|---|---|---|
| Long Sword | Midori (SSR), Ryunosuke (SR) | Ryunosuke |
| Dual Blades | Keres (SSR), Haze (SSR), Raya (SR) | Raya |
| Lance | Arkaya (SSR), Ouyang Varen (SR) | — |
| Great Sword | Pyro (SSR), Luxheart (SR) | Pyro, Luxheart |
| Hammer | Rhodes (SSR) | — |
| Charge Blade | None yet: Fated Adventurer only | — |
| Heavy Bowgun | Pepper (SSR) | — |
| Bow | Luka (SSR), Madelyn (SR) | Luka, Madelyn |
Announced but not released: Freya (Great Sword).
If you are deciding who to pull for, the reroll guide lists the adventurers worth restarting for.
Best weapon for beginners: a starting path
New players get the most room for error from range or a shield, according to BlueStacks. Game8 adds that the Long Sword's Foresight Slash has a forgiving parry window. Follow the chart, then the steps below.
- Start on an easy weapon. Give your Fated Adventurer a weapon Game8 rates 5/5 for ease of use: Long Sword up close or Heavy Bowgun at range.
- Try the free adventurers. Use the free adventurers to test other weapons without spending: Luka or Madelyn (Bow), Raya (Dual Blades), Pyro or Luxheart (Great Sword), Ryunosuke (Long Sword).
- Keep the rhythm you enjoy. Answer the four picker questions and keep the weapon whose pace feels natural after a few hunts, not the one with the highest tier.
- Graduate to the hard hitters. Once you can read monster attacks, try Great Sword, Hammer or the Charge Blade, which reward timing and patience.
Solo vs co-op weapon picks
Hunts take up to four players. mhoutlanders.wiki warns that solo and co-op picks may not match, but no source ranks them separately, so the table below is our reading of the sourced weapon traits.
| Situation | Good picks | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, learning | Heavy Bowgun, Bow, Lance | Range or a shield keeps you alive while you learn attacks. |
| Solo, damage | Long Sword, Charge Blade | Both S tier; counters and Axe Mode reward clean play. |
| Co-op support | Hammer, Lance | Hammer is the only Stun source; Arkaya's Lance shields the party. |
| Co-op healing | Bow (Madelyn), Long Sword (Ryunosuke) | Both adventurers heal, and both are free. |
Common mistakes when picking a main
- Treating one tier list as final. Game8's is the only weapon ranking, made on launch day for the Fated Adventurer.
- Pulling for a weapon. Recruitment gives you an adventurer with a fixed weapon; weapons themselves are crafted.
- Starting on Charge Blade because it is S tier. It scores 3/5 for ease and only your own character can use it.
- Skipping the free adventurers. Luka, Madelyn, Raya, Pyro, Ryunosuke and Luxheart let you try four weapons for free.
- Writing off the Hammer. Its B rank reflects solo difficulty; its stuns help any group.
- Using Wilds or World tier lists. Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons are reworked for touch controls, so mainline rankings don't carry over.
Before your first hunt, grab free rewards from the codes page, check monster weaknesses, or see how to play on a PC emulator. Back to the MHO Field Kit home.
Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons FAQ
How many weapons are in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
There are eight Monster Hunter Outlanders weapons at launch, according to Game8 and BlueStacks: Great Sword, Long Sword, Dual Blades, Hammer, Lance, Charge Blade, Heavy Bowgun and Bow. The official site's weapon showcase still shows seven, without the Charge Blade.
What is the best weapon in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Game8 ranks Long Sword, Heavy Bowgun and Charge Blade as S tier, but that list ranks weapons for the Fated Adventurer only. It is the only published weapon tier list so far; BlueStacks and Pocket Tactics do not rank weapons.
What is the best weapon for beginners?
Long Sword or Heavy Bowgun. Both score 5/5 for ease of use on Game8, and the Heavy Bowgun is rated a high beginner fit on mhoutlanders.wiki. Bow and Lance are good alternatives if you want range or a shield.
Can you switch weapons in Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Only on your own character. The Fated Adventurer can use every weapon type, while each story adventurer is locked to one weapon (BlueStacks). To play a different weapon, switch characters or change the Fated Adventurer's weapon.
Who can use the Charge Blade in Outlanders?
Game8 says only the Fated Adventurer can use it right now. No released adventurer in our data carries a Charge Blade, and mhoutlanders.wiki still lists its mechanics as unconfirmed.
Is the Hammer worth using if it is B tier?
Yes in a group. Game8 calls it the only weapon that can apply Stun, which helps the whole party. It ranks low because attacks are slow and a hit resets your charge.