HR41+ Max DPS Counter Chad Switch Axe

Gear Choices

For the Mundus Altus we want 6-7 Attack Lines and 1-2 Sharpness Lines. Made up of your choice of either Blast or Paralysis Parts depending on if you want more crowd controlled DPS windows, or more reliable DPS. Attack is always more beneficial then affinity when it comes to Artian Bonuses, even if you don't reach 100% Affinity. To Maximize the Critical Hit Chance we do have however, we're running Critical Jewel III & Critical Jewel II raising our Critical Damage Bonus from 25% to 40% for a substantial DPS increase. The final Decoration socket is taken by Enhancer/Handicraft Jwl, which is absolutely mandatory as it DOUBLES the duration of our Amped duration greatly improving our overall damage and the feel of the weapon, the extra 10 Sharpness from Handicraft is a nice bonus on top, especially because we have no room for a more impactful Razor Sharp or Master's Touch sharpness mitigator.

Corrupted Mantle is by far the best mantle in the game and it's not close, Putting the mantle on increases your Raw Attack by 10, and grants you 10% Affinity at the cost of draining your health, when charged up after a few hits however, it adds an extra hit to your attacks, gives you 20 extra Raw Attack, and 20% affinity functioning as the largest DPS increase in the entire game besides your weapon itself. It lasts for 120 seconds with an 8 minute cooldown, meaning there is alot of downtime however if you're spamming hunts.

G. Fulgur Helm β gives us alot of value in the form of 2/5 Agitator, one of the highest raw attack boosts available with some additional affinity on top with decent uptime, and a level 2 decoration socket we spend on a Counter Jewel for our first point of Counterstrike, Counterstrike is activated by any monster attack that would normally send your hunter flying, but with the Switch Axe's Offset Rising Slash, we can stay on our feet through these attacks while still activating the Attack Boost from Counterstrike for some unmatched synergy. Counterstrike lasts for 45 seconds at 3/3 which we'll be achieving in this build, meaning as long as you are hitting your offset counters semi-regularly, you'll be benefitting consistently from a Raw Attack Increase on par with a 5/5 Attack Boost from an armor skill!

Arkvulcan Mail β Gets us our first point of Weakness Exploit, one of the most consistent improvements to affinity you can find, as well as two sockets we'll be filling with a Chain Jewel & Mighty Jewel. 1/5 Burst is a one point wonder that gets us 8 extra raw attack that only requires hitting the monster to keep active, and Maximum Might is a high uptime Affinity Boost we'll be keeping active the majority of the fight, as it's only briefly disabled by over dodging.

G. Fulgur Vambraces β Not only gives us 2/3 Maximum Might and 3/3 Counterstrike thanks to it's two level two decoration sockets we fill with Counter Jewel. But also completes the Fulgur Anjanath's Will set bonus giving us Second Wind I. This gives us a small additional stamina bar that we can freely use as much as we like without disabling our Maximum Might, and with Switch Axe's near non existent usage of stamina, this basically insures it's Perfect Uptime.

Gore Coil β assists us in further maintaining Maximum Might by reducing our stamina costs by 20% with 2/5 Constitution, making that small additional stamina bar 20% more reliable. While also giving us Decoration Sockets for a Challenger Jewel & Mighty Jewel, getting us up to 3/5 Agitator and 3/3 Maximum Might.

Gore Greaves β is our lowest value piece innately due to only providing a level of Flinch Free & Antivirus with Decoration sockets for aTenderizer Jewel and two Antivirus. But with this piece equipped we activate our second most powerful set bonus from Gore Magala's Tyranny called Black Eclipse I. Throughout every large monster fight you'll be afflicted with Frenzy, hitting the monster enough will cleanse the status and between the buff provided by curing Frenzy and your 3/3 Antivirus your Affinity will increase by an additional 25% bringing our final total Affinity to 60% without Corrupted Mantle and 90% with it.

Challenger Charm II finishes the build up nicely getting us our desired 5/5 Agitator.

If you're able to maintain your Counterstrike, Cleanse your Frenzy, and lock in with this build you'll be benefitting from 53 bonus Raw Attack and 60% Affinity with your Corrupted Mantle off, and 73 bonus Raw Attack and 90% Affinity while it's active for some truly disgusting damage potential.

Consumables

The best meal for damage is Meat + Airy Egg + Wild Seed Oil
Meat gives +2 Attack, Airy Eggs gives Caprice Meal (Hi) for 10 extra Raw Attack while it's active, and Wild Seed Oil increases your Blast or Paralysis build up.

Make regular usage of Mega Demondrug and Mega Armorskin for +7 Raw Attack & +25 Defense lasting 30 minutes base, or 45 minutes if you use Item Prolonger 3/3 in town before switching to your main gear set.
You can also pop Demon Powder for 10 more Raw Attack lasting 3 minutes, and Might Seed for another 10 Raw Attack for 3 minutes.
Might Pill overwrites Might Seed while active giving 20 Raw Attack for a brief 20 seconds best used in your opener.

Carry Shock and Pitfall traps as well as a tranquilizer consumable to utilize when you hear the call out informing you the monster is getting weak or when you see a skull icon on the monster on the minimap indicating it can be captured ending the hunt quicker then slaying it.