Over the last few days, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance has released a slew of new weapon trailers showing off the new Boost Bracer mechanic’s enhancements for the Hammer, Light Bowgun, Charge Blade, and Sword & Shield weapon types.
Additionally, these trailers hint that some of these weapon types are receiving balance changes or even new mechanics unique to them (and not tied to this DLC expansion’s Boost Bracer gimmick). Here’s what we can gather from these trailers for one of my most anticipated Xbox games of 2027.
Hammer
First off, we have a new trailer for the Hammer, a simple yet effective weapon for cracking monsters’ skulls open. In Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the Boost Bracer will allow you to jump across the battlefield or lift off into the air to perform rocket-powered spinning attacks with the Hammer.
Additionally, the Hammer’s attacks will become faster and gain new combo paths once the Boost Gauge is activated.
Next up, we have the Light Bowgun, which has been given some drastic enhancements thanks to the Boost Bracer and possibly a balance change to one of its ammo types.
With the Boost Bracer, the Light Bowgun can fire bullets like an automatic machine gun via the Boost Driver attacks and phase through enemy attacks while the Boost Gauge is activated.
Additionally, while your Boost Gauge is active, you can jump on monsters to perform aerial shot attacks, you can side-step much farther after each shot, and even perform an Offset counter where you fire a grenade onto a monster.
On a side note, the trailer hints that we may be getting new Recoil mods for Bowguns. This is because the player is seen using Spread ammo (think of it like Shotgun ammo) at one point, and the recoil on it in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance is very light compared to how it is currently in the base game, where using Spread ammo on bowguns will send you flying backward.
Next trailer on the chopping block is the Charge Blade, a complex weapon type that transforms from a sword and shield into a two-handed battle axe that explodes with every hit.
Charge Blade’s main game plan revolves around building Phial energy by hitting enemies in sword and shield mode and unleashing that pent-up energy in axe mode. This normally slow playstyle is getting a massive speed boost in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, as the new Boost Bracer’s attacks will let you build energy for axe mode in mere seconds.
Plus, the Booster Bracer will grant the Charge Blade a new Offset counterattack in axe mode, new combo paths, and an enhanced version of the weapon’s ultimate attack, where it discharges all of its Phial energy into one massive yet swift explosion.
Finally, we have today’s trailer, which covers the classic Sword & Shield weapon type, and it’s the one I’m most excited for. The Sword & Shield is another simple yet effective weapon that slices enemies, blocks attacks with a shield, and bashes monsters’ faces in with said shield.
This agile weapon is now even faster thanks to Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance’s Boost Bracer mechanic. With it, Sword & Shield can dash across the battlefield to smack monsters in the face, open up new combo attack paths, and grapple hook onto a monster’s wounds to pop them just like the Clutch Claw mechanic from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
However, the most exciting change Sword & Shield is getting isn’t related to the Boost Bracer; it’s a brand-new attack called “Bladecoating Slash”. This attack has you destroy one of your items with the weapon and coat its properties onto the blade to give it unique effects; for example, smashing a healing potion will give Sword & Shield the ability to restore a player’s health with every hit.
Windows Central’s Take
Out of all the changes I’ve seen from these trailers, the Sword & Shield trailer has got me the most hyped because its new “Bladecoating Slash” attack marks the return of the Oil Coating mechanic from 2015’s Monster Hunter Generations.
It was an exclusive Sword & Shield mechanic where you coat the blade in oils to boost its attack, crit rate, or even grant it the ability to exhaust and stun monsters, kind of like The Witcher series.
It was so well received that fans have been begging Capcom to bring this mechanic back for Sword & Shield for nearly a decade because it was used in 2017’s Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, and now their wish is finally being granted.
Sword & Shield was one of my most used weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds’ base game, so I can’t wait to see how this new “Bladecoating Slash” will drastically alter its playstyle (like potentially coating my Sword & Shield in Gunpowder to give it explosion attacks with every swing) when Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance launches in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
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