Contents 1 Weapon Overview 2 Weapon Traits 3 Spirit Bar 4 Advantages 5 Disadvantages 6 Game Changes 6.1 Additions in MH3 6.2 Changes in MH3Prd 7 Videos 7.1 PS2 Controls 7.2 Wii Controls (MH Tri) 7.3 PSP Controls 7.4 PSP Controls (MHP3)

Weapon Overview

The Long Sword (weapon class) is a relatively fresh addition to the roster of weapons available in the Monster Hunter series of games. Originally, Long Swords (Also called tachi blades) were Great Swords that resembled katanas, becoming an independent weapon class in Monster Hunter Freedom 2. Since then, they have become a very popular choice amongst the player base, having comparatively swift attacks, fluid controls, and relatively high damage potential with the addition of the Spirit combo.

Having moderately high attack power combined with mobility means having some drawbacks, however. Since its departure from the Great Sword family, the Long Sword has no ability to guard against attacks by any means, aside from the standard dodge rolls. Thus, the hunter must be aggressive enough to know when and where to attack, while being cautious enough to know when to cease attacks and dodge. The Long Sword has a short delay after most attacks, but balances this with a back-hop/wide swing attack (Known officially as the "Fade Slash") which can be performed after any attack, allowing fluidity. The hunter must take some risks, in order to fill up his Spirit Gauge, which, once full, increases damage dealt and enables the long sword to unleash a powerful Spirit Combo, a fast combo with 5 attacks that can be extended for up to 7 hits, and can be canceled out of at any time with a Fade Slash.

Table of Contents: Traits, Spirit Bar, Videos, Movements

Weapon Traits

Long Swords are very versatile weapons. Their handling is quite different from the Great Swords', even though they come from the same branch. Hunters will find that one can often upgrade a Great Sword into a Longsword, but almost never vice-versa.

• Long Swords are very fast compared to Great Swords and can land hits much faster.
• You can chain your attacks together very easily. For example, triangle, triangle, circle, triangle is loopable and helps fill your spirit bar very quickly.
• Long Swords have 2 main branches, Bone and Iron Katana. As per usual, the bone path favors elements and status effects while the Iron path favors raw damage and sharpness, though both have multiple branches.
• Long Swords have the "Spirit Blade" ability, represented as a Spirit Gauge below the Stamina bar. Every time you land a hit, the Spirit bar fills, based on the power of the attack. You can perform a "Spirit Blade Attack" with the R button. Performing a Spirit Attack drains some Spirit from your Spirit gauge. The first part of the Spirit Combo can be performed without Spirit, while the 2nd and 3rd swings can only performed if you have sufficient Spirit. A full Spirit Combo consumes a little over half the Spirit Gauge.
• Spirit Attacks can be extended for no addition Spirit cost, by pressing triangle after performing a Spirit Attack.
• Spirit Attacks have ESP and do not bounce, regardless of weapon sharpness and monster armor.
• When not full, the Spirit Gauge will drain over time. Once the Spirit Gauge has been filled, you gain an increase to attack power and Spirit will not drain for 30 seconds. The duration of this effect is refreshed every time you land an attack and persists when the weapon is sheathed.

Spirit Bar

The Long Swords most defining trait is the Spirit Gauge. Using it correctly, is vital to mastering the weapon. To perform a Spirit Attack, press the R button.

• When the Spirit Gauge is full, the hunter receives a 12% increase to attack power.
• Once the Spirit Gauge is full, it will last 30 seconds while flashing and giving the increased attack effect.
• After 30 seconds without hitting an enemy, the Spirit Gauge will stop blinking and begin to drain. This also removes the 12% attack increase.

• Once the Spirit Gauge starts decreasing, it will take approximately 35 seconds before emptying itself.
• Each Spirit attack will slightly deplete the Spirit Gauge but deal extra damage. In addition, Spirit Attacks have auto-ESP and do not bounce, regardless of weapon sharpness and hit location. Please note that ONLY Spirit Attacks gain ESP.
• Pressing triangle or circle after the first and second attacks of Spirit Combo will perform an additional, unboosted attack without interrupting the Spirit Combo.

• The final attack of the Spirit attack combo unleashes 3 consecutive slashes. These 3 hits are all part of a single attack and cannot be interrupted. The only possible follow-up actions after the 3rd attack of a Spirit Combo are the Fade Slash or a dodge roll.
• It is possible to unsheathe directly into a Spirit Combo by pressing triangle and circle simultaeneously, while sprinting.

Advantages

• Good power
• Great speed
• Perfect for breaking monster parts and severing tails
• Spirit gauge leads to powerful and sharp attacks
• Good agility while unsheathed
• Long range
• Most times has the greatest elemental attack from other weapon types

Disadvantages

• Cannot block
• Running Speed is not as good as Sword and Shields or Dual Swords
• Cannot cancel and roll quickly during a combo
• Weaker than the heavier Great Swords(In terms of the damage done in a single hit, that is.)
• Gets Dull faster then most other weapons

Game Changes

Additions in MH3

• Spirit Blade Attacks consume Spirit if it's bar isn't full. If it is full, however, the bar will not decrease.
• The Spirit Combo has an additional attack after performing a Spirit combo, called the Spirit Roundslash. The Spirit Roundslash is a lunging sweep attack with a wide area of effect. The hunter automatically sheathes the weapon after performing a Spirit Roundslash and gains a minor damage boost.
• The Spirit Meter also has different levels of power, starting with the regular level. Each time you land a Spirit Roundslash, your meter is charged up another level. There are three different levels: white (which decreases slowly) and yellow (decreases a little bit faster compared to white). Red is a temporary buff, but is the strongest level. Each level gives a more powerful attack buff, with red giving the most benefit. When the red charge runs out, it will revert to the regular level. Landing more spin slashes can allow the red charge to stay on longer.
• The Fade Slash is able to hop to either side, not just backwards. Holding the control stick to the left or the right (with the Classic Controller) or tilting the remote on its side (Wiimote and Nunchuck) when performing a Fade Slash will move the hunter in that direction.

Changes in MH3Prd

• It should be first noted that the changes to the long sword do carry over to Monster Hunter Tri-Ultimate, and may also carry over to Monster Hunter 4.
• Spirit Blade Attacks now consume spirit regardless if the bar was full or not, requiring that a hunter will have to refill it or use normal attacks between some Spirit Blade Attacks to sustain a high enough Spirit Gauge to complete another Spirit Blade Combo.
• Performing the "Roundslash" at the end of your Spirit Combo will increase the charge level of your Long Sword, from white, to yellow, then red, no differently from before. However, in Monster Hunter Tri, if a Roundslash wasn't performed quickly enough, time and time again, your Long Sword charge would drop to none, leaving the hunter with little choice but to start all over again. In Portable 3rd and Tri-Ultimate, the Spirit Gauge has been reworked to show a bit more information. Not only can you clearly see the level of your charge, but how much time until that charge is lost. Secondly, and more favorably for hunters, when a charge is lost, instead of having to start from scratch, you simply lose one level of charge (going from red to yellow, or yellow to white, etc.).
• Due to the changes made, the Long Sword has a more consistent damage than it did in Tri. Not only is it more consistent, but for skilled players, it's relatively easy to stay at a yellow or red charge for an entire hunt, after achieving it of course.

Videos

The Monster Hunter Wikia does not take credit for these videos.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Epic Moments (Longsword, Hammer, Great Sword and Bow) ~Ultimate Art(09:20) 1,058 views

PS2 Controls

In PS2's Monster Hunters Weapon Attack with the Right Pad

Weapon Sheathed

 = Unsheathe Weapon
(Moving) = Vertical upward slash

Weapon Unsheathed

 = Roll
 or  or  = Sheathe the sword
(Up) = Vertical upward slash
(Press) () = Frontal Stab
(Left or Right) =  Horizontal Slash + Small Back Jump
 = Horizontal Slash

Combos

(Up) + (Up) = Double Vertical upward slash
(Up),(Up),,(Up),(Up),... = Infinity Combo

Empty Spirit Gauge

 + (Up) = Horizontal Slash + Frontal Stab
 +  (Left or Right) = Horizontal Slash + Dodge Slash
 + (Up) + (Left or Right)= Horizontal Slash + Frontal Stab + Dodge Slash

Need at least 2/3 Spirit Gauge

 +  +  = Spirit combo
 +   +  + (Left or Right) =  Spirit combo + Dodge Slash

Need at least 1/3 Spirit Gauge (Hiting a monster, if you fail the (Up) attacks
need same Spirit than "Spirit combo" like (2/3 Spirit Gauge))

 + (Up) +  + (Up) +  = Full Spirit combo
 + (Up) +  + (Up) +  + (Left or Right)=  Full Spirit combo
+ Dodge Slash

Wii Controls (MH Tri)

【MH3】Monster Hunter 3(tri) wii controls 『LongSword』(00:53) 698 views

PSP Controls

Weapon Sheathed

(While Standing)
 = Draw weapon
 = Crouch
R +  = Quick Draw + Spirit Slash Attack

(While Moving)
 = Quick Draw
R +  = Quick Draw
 = Roll
[R +  ] +  = Quick Draw + Spirit Slash Attack (character will twirl the sword once 
                 before hitting the target)

Weapon Drawn

= Vertical Slash

 = Second Vertical Slash
 = Frontal Stab

= Forward Stab

 = Vertical upward slash

+ = Horizontal Slash + Small back Jump
The Horizontal Slash & small back jump can be chained after almost every attack, almost like a finishing attack.

Infinte Combo!

,,,,,...

R = Spirit Slash attack (Can be Used up to 3 times)

R,R,,R
= full spirit combo
 = Frontal Stab (regardless its triangle it will be a frontal stab)

NOTE: The Spirit attack can be used 3 times by itself, and the third attack will always be the finishing slash, using 3 slash attacks instead of 1. Also, only the first and second attacks can be chained to an extra attack with the circle button, while the third attack can only be followed by a roll (like all the other attacks) or a Horizontal slash and a small jump back (also just like all the other attacks).

PSP Controls (MHP3)

Weapon Sheathed

 = Unsheathe Weapon
D-Pad +  = Vertical upward slash

Weapon Unsheathed

 = Roll
 = Vertical upward slash
 = Frontal Stab
R =  Horizontal Slash

Dodge Slash

( + ) = Horizontal Slash + Small Back Jump
D-Pad (Left or Right)+( + ) = Horizontal Slash + Left or Right Small Jump

Combos

 +   = Double Vertical upward slash
,,,,,... = Infinity Combo

Empty Spirit Gauge

R +  = Horizontal Slash + Frontal Stab
R +( + ) = Horizontal Slash + Dodge Slash
R +  +( + ) = Horizontal Slash + Frontal Stab + Dodge Slash

Need at least 2/3 Spirit Gauge

R + R  + R = Spirit combo
R + R  + R +( + ) = Spirit combo + Dodge Slash

Need at least 1/3 Spirit (Hiting a monster, if you fail the  attacks
need same Spirit than "Spirit combo" like (2/3 Spirit Gauge))

R +  + R +  + R = Full Spirit combo
R +  + R +  + R +( + )= Full Spirit combo + Dodge Slash

Edge Increase Power

White Edge Yellow Edge Red Edge 1 of 3 Add photo

Need at Least 5/6 Spirit Gauge (Almost Full)

R + R + R + R = Spirit combo + Giant Slash