Sword and Shield [SnS]
The fastest weapon in the game currently, this weapon excels at getting multiple hits in while being able to dodge comfortably.
Notes Armor marked by a 🔸 indicate that the piece is optional, and adds either minimal offensive power to your set or has competition in the same slot. These sets are created to maximize offensive firepower without many difficult-to-activate conditional skills. The listed grades will be the minimum required to obtain the offensive skills, and it is recommend you upgrade them further than listed if you find the need for more defense. The build site shows max armor skills.
Other weapon builds
Early Game (Pre-Anjanath)
| Head | Kulu Headpiece (Grade 2) |
| Body Armor | Leather Mail (Grade 2) |
| Vambraces | Girros Vambraces (Grade 2) 🔸 |
| Belt | Leather Belt (Grade 2) 🔸 |
| Greaves | Kulu Greaves (Grade 2) |
There are few options this early on. The Kulu Headpiece and Greaves are the most important, as they translate well even into late-game. The Girros Vambraces may be substituted for Kulu Vambraces, although the Crit Eye is unlocked at Grade 4.
Mid-Game (Pre-Diablos)
| Head | Kulu Headpiece (Grade 4) |
| Body Armor | Leather Mail (Grade 2) 🔸 |
| Vambraces | Kulu Vambraces (Grade 4) |
| Belt | Jagras Coil (Grade 4) 🔸 |
| Greaves | Kulu Greaves (Grade 2) |
Once again, the options can feel quite limited. Consider the Anja Mail instead of the Leather Mail for special boost, and the Jagras Coil is entirely optional. The Lumu Coil and Leather Belt are both viable defensive options, as Rising Tide 1 gives very little benefits.
End Game (Pre-Rathalos)
| Head | Rathalos Helm (Grade 6) |
| Body Armor | Rathalos Mail (Grade 6) |
| Vambraces | Rathian Vambraces (Grade 6) |
| Belt | Rathian Coil (Grade 6) 🔸 |
| Greaves | Kulu Greaves (Grade 6) |
Anja Coil boosts Perfect Rush damage, but Rathian Coil is generally stronger due to SnS having reduced Special Gauge buildup, meaning most of your time will be spent doing regular attacks.
Sword and Shield (SnS) Weapon Choice
| Blooming Knife (Pukei) | the uncontested champion of early progression. Identical raw damage to the Ore tree, with added poison on top that acts as extra damage universally. |
| Jagras Edge (Jagras) | a decent choice for upgrade early on, as it hits Kulu, Girros, Tobi, and Anja effectively. It falls off later and is superceded by the Jyuratodus tree, though. |
| Lumu Knife (Paolumu) | stacks raw and nothing but raw. Effective, but a questionable choice given how irritating the Paolumu fight can be with SnS. |
| Aqua Messer (Jyuratodus) | the stronger Water SnS. Simply statistically better than Jagras. |
| Thunder Edge (Tobi-Kadachi) | your only Thunder SnS, and it does its job well enough. May be needed to progress past Raths. |
| Glacial Grace (Legiana) | your only Ice SnS. Good stats, and you might need it to get past Diablos |
| Flame Knife (Rathalos) | your main Fire SnS. Good stats, and shreds fire-weak monsters. No reason to use Anja over this, Rathalos is statistically better. |
