Long Sword Guide

Long Sword builds momentum by converting one resource into the next. Ordinary hits fill the inner gauge, finishers and counters turn that gauge into colored spirit levels, and red unlocks a faster Crimson move set. Keep red with short Crimson pressure, flow into Foresight when an attack reaches you, and spend levels on Spirit Helm Breaker → Spirit Release Slash only when the opening is long enough and you are ready to rebuild. Read the monster while keeping a counter available so attack and defense stay connected.

An open wound can raise Spirit level faster. Focus Strike: Unbound Thrust, the weapon's Focus Strike, grants one spirit level for every wound it destroys. Once you reach red, the compact Crimson Slash Combo → Spirit Blade I loop keeps pressure flexible while the full Crimson chain and Helm Breaker route demand progressively longer openings.

Long Sword has no shield, Offset attack, or Power Clash. Its defense comes from positioning and the Foresight and Iai counters.

This guide reflects Title Update 4. Use the in-game Hunter's Notes for the complete weapon controls; the official manual covers general controls and Focus Mode. Combat Mechanics explains why the same swing produces different damage numbers. Every move is listed in Motion Values.

If this weapon is new to you, try it in the Training Area first. Use the in-game Hunter's Notes to practice its basic attacks; this guide explains how to connect them into a hunt.

Two gauges

The inner Spirit Gauge fills when eligible attacks connect. Spirit Blade attacks spend it; for example, Spirit Blade I, II, III, and Roundslash cost 10, 15, 25, and 20 gauge. A full inner gauge does not create a colored level by itself.

The separate Spirit level is none, white, yellow, or red. Landing Spirit Roundslash raises it by one, as does a successful Iai Spirit Slash before red. Unbound Thrust raises it once per wound destroyed.

Red drains in about 50 seconds if nothing replenishes it. At red, Roundslash and Spinning Crimson Slash restore progressively less duration each time during that red period: their gauge generation steps through 10, 5, 3, and then 0. Power Prolonger lengthens the powered-up state; it does not fill the inner gauge or remove the level cost of finishers.

Spirit Helm Breaker spends one level, and its red follow-up, Spirit Release Slash, spends another. Using both from red leaves you at white and removes the Crimson move set. Spirit Release Slash refills the inner gauge when it lands, but that inner gauge still has to be converted into colored levels. This is why a long opening is not only a chance to deal damage; it is also a choice to leave red and begin another climb.

Thrust

Thrust and Rising Slash each generate 23 inner gauge without consuming any. Alternating them gives you a simple gauge-building loop while you watch for the monster's next action.

At red, Crimson I is the more productive pressure starter: its two hits total 49 raw motion value and lead back into Spirit Blade I. Thrust still matters as the short attack that gives a stationary hunter an attack to precede Foresight.

Foresight Slash

Foresight starts after another attack and spends the inner gauge. A successful counter fills the inner gauge; avoiding the hit is only the first half of the route. To raise a spirit level, the return slash must connect and the following Roundslash must also land.

The backstep does not force the return slash. Once the incoming attack has passed, choose the follow-up that matches the opening:

• Let the return slash connect, then use Spirit Roundslash to raise a level.
• Skip the return slash and use Spirit Thrust → Spirit Helm Breaker when you already have a colored level and the monster has left a longer opening. The backstep can also turn you toward a target that moved behind you before the vault begins.
• Enter Special Sheathe when you expect another attack and want to prepare the Iai counter instead of committing to either damage route.

At red, Foresight becomes Foresight Whirl Slash. Follow a successful Whirl Slash with Roundslash → Spinning Crimson Slash: those follow-ups return red duration while carrying you back into Crimson pressure.

Evade Window extends invulnerability while evading. Its description does not extend the timing window of the Iai or Foresight counters, so do not select it as a counter-window skill.

Special Sheathe and Iai

Special Sheathe changes your next decision from a free-flowing attack into one of two draw attacks. Title Update 4 lengthened the time before the stance deactivates automatically, giving you more time to wait for the attack you predicted.

• Iai Slash is the basic draw attack and starts gradual inner-gauge recovery when it connects.
• Iai Spirit Slash is the counter. A successful counter raises a level before red and gains an additional hit whose raw motion value rises from 55 at white to 72 at yellow and 86 at red.

That difference explains when to sheathe: Foresight is available during your attack flow, whereas Iai asks you to predict the next attack early enough to enter Special Sheathe first. Quick Sheathe speeds up sheathing and belongs to the armor-skill budget, so it supports that predictive route without competing with weapon skills.

After Spirit Helm Breaker lands, you can enter Special Sheathe instead of waiting through the full recovery. If the monster moves away during the vault, sheathe in the air to abort the descending attack; this preserves the spirit level that Helm Breaker would have spent on landing.

Spirit Blade III has three hits. When the monster is about to interrupt it, Special Sheathe can cancel the remaining attack and prepare an Iai response.

Crimson, Helm Breaker, Release

At red, the overhead chain becomes Crimson Slash Combo. Crimson I → Spirit Blade I → Crimson I is the short loop: it keeps each decision compact, and Spirit Blade I can turn your facing before the next Crimson I. Completing Crimson I, II, and III concentrates more of the chain's damage in its later hits, including Crimson III's 55-motion-value final hit. Commit to the full chain only when the monster will remain in range.

At red, Roundslash gains Spinning Crimson Slash as a 60-motion-value follow-up. Both moves replenish red with the diminishing 10, 5, 3, and 0 sequence described above. After Foresight Whirl Slash, Roundslash → Spinning Crimson Slash is therefore both a counter payoff and a route back to your Crimson loop.

You can aim Helm Breaker in Focus Mode. Spirit Release Slash follows a red Helm Breaker, spends the second level, and refills the inner gauge if it lands. Start that sequence when the monster is committed to a long recovery or knockdown; otherwise, keep red and continue the shorter Crimson loop.

Focus Strike: Unbound Thrust

Focus Strike: Unbound Thrust requires an open wound because it is Long Sword's Focus Strike. It grants one Spirit level for every wound it destroys, so one thrust can cross multiple levels when its path intersects multiple wounds. Aim along the monster rather than merely at the nearest wound. In multiplayer, take another hunter's position into account because every hunter can consume the same wounds.

Destroying a wound has a build-specific tradeoff. At Lv 5, Weakness Exploit grants 30% affinity on a weak point and a further 20% while that point is wounded. If you use the skill, Unbound Thrust exchanges that extra wound affinity for immediate spirit levels. Make the exchange when the faster route to red matters more than preserving the wound for later hits.

Building a level

The standard route is Spirit Blade I → Spirit Blade II → Spirit Blade III → Spirit Roundslash. The four attacks consume 70 inner gauge in total, and only Roundslash raises the colored level.

Fade Slash repositions without ending the route. Its lateral version leads into Spirit Step Slash → Spirit Blade III → Roundslash. Those Spirit attacks consume 65 inner gauge in total, five less than the complete standard route, while skipping Spirit Blade I and II.

The Overhead Slash sequence uses Overhead Slash I → Crescent Slash → Overhead Slash I. Those attacks build inner gauge without spending it, so this route prepares a later Spirit combo rather than raising a colored level itself.

Spirit Charge is the direct shortcut. Releasing it at different charge points enters later stages of the Spirit combo, and a full charge goes to Roundslash. Before the sword rises past the shoulders, you can cancel the charge into Foresight or Special Sheathe. That cancel gives a missed Iai Spirit Slash, an Iai Slash, or a roll a route back into a counter; holding a direction during the charge prevents the cancel.

If the inner gauge cannot pay for the next Spirit Blade, add a gauge-building hit before continuing.

Fight loop

Build toward red without treating one route as mandatory. Thrust builds inner gauge and gives Foresight a short starter when you are standing still. Roundslash converts a normal Spirit combo into a level; a counter converts the monster's attack into one; Spirit Charge trades time for a direct climb; and Focus Strike: Unbound Thrust trades wounds for one or more levels.

Once red, let the size of the opening decide the move:

• During short exchanges, repeat the opening of Crimson Slash Combo: Crimson I → Spirit Blade I, and keep watching for the next attack.
• When an attack reaches you mid-combo, use Foresight Whirl Slash and, on success, Roundslash → Spinning Crimson Slash to replenish red.
• When you predict an attack before it begins, enter Special Sheathe and answer with Iai Spirit Slash.
• During a long recovery or knockdown, choose between completing the Crimson chain and spending two levels on Helm Breaker → Spirit Release Slash. The latter pays out more of the opening now but returns you to white.

At the start of a hunt, create a wound on a part you can continue reaching. Against Chatacabra, the tongue has an 85 slash hitzone and the head has 60, so those are productive targets whenever they are exposed. If a wound on that line opens before you reach red, Focus Strike: Unbound Thrust can exchange it for the remaining climb.

When an attack threatens, choose Iai only if you entered Special Sheathe in time. Otherwise, use Foresight from your current attack or move clear; Long Sword has no guard action to rescue a late commitment.

Skills

Choose skills to reinforce the decisions you actually make. A Spirit Charge route values charge speed, an Iai-heavy route values sheathing speed, and a hunter who struggles to keep red can buy more time instead of pretending every slot must increase damage. Getting Started covers meals, armor upgrades, and pouch preparation. Combat Mechanics explains wounds, affinity, sharpness, and the separate weapon and armor skill budgets.

Core

There is no universal Core list. Start with the weapon mechanics you want to support, then add conditional damage only when your play satisfies its condition.

Defense remains part of the build. Divine Blessing can reduce an incoming hit, while Stun Resistance Lv 3 prevents stun. In a group, Shock Absorber disables damage reactions between hunters; Flinch Free covers knockbacks and tripping instead, so it is not the same multiplayer effect.

Skills that look better than they are

• Focus shortens Spirit Charge and speeds gauge fill, but successful counters and Spirit Release Slash already supply large amounts of gauge. Take it when charge routes are central, not because every Long Sword set must run it.
• Airborne does not increase Spirit Helm Breaker.
• Guard, Guard Up, and Offensive Guard do not turn Foresight Slash or Iai Spirit Slash into a guard.
• Mind's Eye stops ordinary bouncing, but Spirit Blade attacks already resist bounce. It does not make a hard part a good target.
• Bludgeoner raises Attack as sharpness falls, while Long Sword normally protects white sharpness for its stronger damage multiplier. Building around both goals is a contradiction.
• Heroics requires dangerously low health. A mistimed counter or a lingering hitbox that outlasts Iai Spirit Slash's invulnerability can still reach you, so committing to that counter near the activation threshold creates an immediate faint risk.
• Stamina Thief improves exhaust buildup, but Long Sword does not build exhaust.
• Master Mounter improves mounting, but Spirit Helm Breaker does not deal mounting damage.

Settings

Set automatic sheathe to Manual so the game does not sheathe merely because you stopped attacking. The Manual setting does not remove the built-in sheathe of Spirit Roundslash; Special Sheathe is the deliberate replacement when you want an Iai answer.

The wide arcs of Long Sword flinch teammates. Their Flinch Free protects them; Shock Absorber on your set covers a different multiplayer interaction and does not stop you from causing those flinches.