Monster Hunter WildsCharge Blade Guide

The Charge Blade is a versatile weapon that morphs between a Sword and Shield mode and an Axe mode. The Sword mode allows for high maneuverability and blocking, whereas the Axe mode can dish out immense damage.

Players who want the best of both a Sword and Axe in the same weapon, and are looking for a more tactical and complex playstyle will fall in love with the Charge Blade, as it allows for deep skill expression and can function well in any given situation.

The Charge Blade has various mechanics and gimmicks that revolve around powering up the Sword and the Shield through phials, obtained on hitting monsters, and unleashing devastating Axe attacks to consume phials.

For a similar weapon vibe, be sure to check out the Switch Axe as well. Or check out all 14 weapons in our "Choose a Weapon" guide.

This article was written by @dxvis.

Strengths

• It features rewarding mechanics and a broad move set that can adapt to any given situation.
• Sword, Shield, and Axe can be boosted to offer various benefits.
• It can block and offset attacks, and trigger Power Clashes with monsters.

Weaknesses

• Its mechanics and gimmicks —such as phials and powering up Sword and Axe mode— are essential to the weapon, but they can be difficult to understand without help.
• It features the most complex playstyle out of any weapon. It has two different forms, each with its own move set and various morphing attacks.
• Axe attacks, the biggest source of damage to the weapon, are slow and leave the player immobile and exposed.

In addition to the new moves disclosed in this section, a few Charge Blade moves have seen notable changes, including the SAED and the “Savage Axe” mode.

Please refer to the “Moveset highlights” section for more information.

The Charge Blade has some new moves and mechanics in Monster Hunter Wilds:

• Phials can be overcharged, dealing more damage.
• There is a follow-up move after the Amped Element Discharge, allowing for longer combos within Axe mode.
• The Shield can be charged immediately after loading phials with the new ‘Shield Elemental Boost’
• Power Axe mode is now entered in different ways than previous games, and lowers phial consumption.
• SAED cannot be triggered from idle, only after Guards or other moves.
  
  

The Charge Blade has different moves and mechanics vital to piloting the weapon to the fullest. Even newcomers must understand how phials work and how to power the Sword and the Shield to boost their damage and unlock the weapon’s full potential.

You will want to use regular attacks in Sword mode, such as the Forward Slash (△ + ◯) to start combos, or the Charged Double Slash (Hold ◯ and release when the hunter glows red) to charge phials faster. Another handy move is the Shield Thrust (△ + ◯ after another move), which can be used after almost any Sword attack as an animation cancel and a way to go into an Amped Elemental Discharge by pressing (△ + ◯) again.

While Axe attacks are slower and hard-hitting, it is advised not to go into Axe mode unless you have phials loaded. Charging the Shield and Axe will further boost damage with Axe attacks. Axe mode’s main combo of attacks is called “Elemental Discharges”, done by pressing (◯) repeatedly. These are: Element Discharge I, Element Discharge II, Amped Element Discharge, and Amped Element Discharge Follow-Up.

See the Element Discharge Follow-up Move for more information.

When using the Charge Blade, your immediate goal is to charge your Shield mode and either the Sword or Axe depending on the situation. Once you’re powered up, you will want to charge and consume phials in Axe mode via the Elemental Discharge combo or SAEDs.

Phials

Phials are the main gimmick of the Charge Blade and all its mechanics and moves revolve around them. You can see your phials below your sharpness bar, they look like bottles.

You accumulate energy by attacking while in Sword Mode.  Eventually, the phial icons will glow yellow or red, signifying that you can store 3 or 5 phials, respectively.

You can Charge (R2 + ◯) phials, which will consume energy to turn them into loaded phials. You will see that the empty icons are now filled.

Phials can be consumed in three ways:

• To boost Elemental Discharge attacks in Axe mode. Consumes one phial per attack.
• To enter Power Shield Mode.
• To enter Power Sword Mode.

Attacking too much without loading phials will overcharge your weapon, making all attacks bounce off monsters. If this happens, Charge (R2 + ◯) as soon as possible to load phials and return to normal.

Impact VS Elemental Phials

Non-elemental Charge Blades always have “Impact” phials, unlike Elemental ones, which use phials corresponding to their element.

The difference between both phials happen when consuming them via Elemental Discharges:

• Impact phials deal raw damage and Blunt (K.O.) damage, which can stun monsters when hit on the head.
• Elemental phials deal elemental damage of the corresponding type.

So when using Impact phials, you will want to focus your Axe attacks on the monster’s head, whereas with Elemental phials you will want to focus parts weak to element.

When performing a SAED, Impact phials spread on a straight line forward, and Elemental ones make a “V” shape from the hit location.

Overcharged Phials

By loading phials when some are already stored, it is now possible to overcharge them.

Overcharged phials will deal significantly more damage when consumed, and they will also boost the charge duration of the Shield and Sword.

Power Shield Mode

Charging or Powering the Shield will:

• Boost blocking capabilities.
• Allow you to perform a Super Amped Element Discharge.
• Deal damage and Blunt (K.O.) damage when blocking with the Shield.

You can charge the Shield by performing the new Shield Elemental Boost move:

• From idle: Press (R2 + △ + ◯)
• After a Phial Charge (R2 + ◯): Press (◯)

Charging the Shield will consume all currently loaded phials. The more phials consumed, the longer the power-up will last.

Charging the Shield is also possible by canceling an AED or SAED with an Element Roundslash (R2), but this will be a rare use case.

The standard duration for the Power Shield mode is 125 seconds with 5 phials. It can go up to 200 seconds if all phials are overcharged when powering the Shield.

Power Sword Mode

The Power Sword mode will:

• Prevent your attacks from bouncing off monsters
• Add phial explosions to Sword Attacks, which deal Blunt (K.O.) if they’re Impact phials, or the corresponding Elemental damage.

Note that powering up the Sword is only possible when the Shield is already powered up.

You can power up the Sword by holding (△) right after Phial Charge (R2 + ◯), which will trigger a Condensed Elemental Slash.

Switching between Sword and Axe modes

The main way of switching between both modes is by performing a Morph Slash (R2 + △) in either mode.

It is also possible to quickly go from Sword Mode into an Amped Element Discharge, a powerful move in Axe Mode, by using a Shield Thrust (△ + ◯ after another move) and then pressing (△ + ◯) again.

Using a Super Amped Element Discharge will also put you back into Sword Mode.

Amped Element Discharge Follow-Up

As the name suggests, this move acts as a follow-up to the Amped Elemental Discharge, allowing for combos with the Axe. Pressing (◯) after an Amped Element Discharge will perform this move, which can combo into a SAED.

Super Amped Element Discharge

NOTE: Unlike in previous games, a SAED can no longer be performed after a Shield Thrust.

This is the Charge Blade’s signature move, dishing out huge damage and consuming all phials. The Super Amped Element Discharge (or SAED) can only be performed while the Shield is charged.

It can be performed with (△ + ◯) after various other moves:

• After a Guard, Perfect Guard, or Guard Point.
• After an Amped Element Discharge or Amped Element Discharge Follow-Up.

The SAED is especially deadly when all phials are loaded, as it boosts phial damage more than other attacks.

Since SAED has a long animation and keeps the player locked in place, use Focus Mode (L2) to change directions mid-attack if needed. It is possible to roll right after it to cancel the animation.

Guard Points

Many of the Charge Blade’s attacks while in Sword Mode offer “Guard Points” during their animation, which makes the Hunter auto-block attacks from the front while greatly reducing knockback.

Some of these cases are:

• At the start of a Sword Mode Morph Slash (R2 + △ while in Sword Mode)
• At the end of a Fade Slash (Sword Mode: Left Joystick in a direction + ◯)

The shield will glow white when Guard Points are active during animations.

Perfect Guards

By pressing (R1) as an incoming attack hits, the regular Guard will be transformed into a Perfect Guard, negating knockback and allowing you to combo into two powerful moves on top of your normal move set:

• Savage Axe Slash (△): This move allows you to enter Power Axe mode, described below.
• Super Amped Elemental Discharge (△ +◯): This is a very powerful move –described above– but can only be performed while the Shield is charged. If it isn’t, you will instead perform an Amped Elemental Discharge.

If you see an opening after a Perfect Guard and have Shield and phials charged, retaliating with a SAED can be a good idea. Otherwise, Savage Axe Slash will boost your Axe mode DPS for some time.

Fade Slash (Sword Mode: Left Joystick in a direction + ◯)

This move allows for quickly covering distance or repositioning for landing strong Axe Attacks. The direction of the slide can be controlled with the Left Joystick.

Focus Slash: Double Rend (L2 + R1)

The Charge Blade’s signature Focus Attack is called Double Rend. It will first do a regular slash, but if connecting with a monster wound, it will instead bring out the Axe and power it up in a chainsaw-like manner, dealing massive damage.

If the move successfully connects, you will enter the Power Axe mode, described in detail below.

Power Axe Mode

This mode is indicated by the glowing Axe symbol on the UI besides the phials, and lasts 2 minutes by default. There are various ways to enter the Power Axe mode:

• Using a Focus Attack (L2 + R1) on a monster wound.
• Using a weapon mount finisher (R1 while mounting a monster).
• Using a Savage Axe Slash (△) after a Perfect Guard (R1 as an attack hits) or Power Clash.

The Power Axe mode has two main benefits:

• It makes Element Discharge I and II not consume phials, while Amped Element Discharge and Amped Element Discharge Follow-Up use half a phial. This allows for staying in Axe mode longer and dishing out more phial damage.
• Attacks can tear through the monster's body in a chainsaw fashion, dealing multiple instances of damage. Holding down the specific attack button as the Axe connects with the body of the monster will do the tricks. This requires precise timing.

Phial Charge combo (Sword Mode: Hold ◯ → △ + ◯ → Hold ◯)

This combo quickly charges 5 phials by combining two Charged Double Slashes with a Shield Thrust in between. 

If you need to get closer before starting the combo, use either a Forward Slash (△ + ◯) or Fade Slash (Left Joystick in a direction + ◯).

Axe Elemental Discharges Combo (Axe Mode: ◯ → ◯ → ◯ → ◯)

This combo unleashes all the Elemental Discharges one after another for huge damage but leaves you immobile. Powering up Axe Mode and overcharging phials will make this combo shine.

This combo can loop into itself by pressing (◯) at the end, going back to Elemental Discharge I, or ending with a SAED with (△ + ◯).

Guard into SAED Combo (Sword Mode: R1 → △ + ◯)

The quickest way to unleash a SAED is to guard a monster’s attack. You need to be on Power Shield mode to be able to perform a SAED.

Depending on your Charge Blade build, here are the sort of skills you'll often see Charge Blade players using.

From the official Monster Hunter channel: