Monster Hunter World: Ranking Every Weapon From Worst To Best

Pros: Well rounded, Spirit Guage provides progressive damage increases, long range

Cons: No block, counterproductive for teammates, Spirit Guage results in high damage variance

There's a certain degree of counterintuitiveness that hinders the Long Sword from reaching its full potential, most of which results from the Spirit Guage. Landing successive attacks will build its power over three progressive stages, but when not in combat, the meter goes into rapid decline.

Frustrating, as you can imagine, when you're hunting nimble prey with a penchant for roaring every thirty seconds, but the same problem rears its ugly head whenever your wounded target decides to flee (read: often). As it is, maintaining the guage weighs you down with constant pressure to keep it going, and just fluffing one combo will punish you with a sizeable damage penalty.

There's also the small matter of its irritating frequency to interrupt other Hunters in co-op, thanks to the long sword's wide range and sweeping gestures, so don't be surprised to see teammates ostracize you in the heat of battle.