Monster Hunter Rise Sword and Shield Guide: Tips, Controls, Combos and Silkbind Attacks

Monster Hunter Rise offers 14 different weapons to hunt its slate of monsters with. Each has a slightly different playstyle, offering real depth and variety in the ways you approach a hunt. The Sword and Shield benefits from allowing players to attack quickly and get up close to monsters while evading most incoming blows.

To help you get the most out of this weapon we’ve put together this Monster Hunter Rise Sword and Shield guide. We’ll give you some tips on using the Sword and Shield, break down those all-important controls you have to master, highlight some choice combos to execute, and walkthrough the new Silkbind attacks available too.

Read More: How to Sheathe your weapon in Monster Hunter Rise

Controls

• X = Chop
• X → X = Side Slash
• X → X → X = Sword & Shield Combo
• A = Lateral Slash
• A → A = Return Stroke
• A → A → A = Round Slash
• After Attacking, X + A = Super Round Slash
• left (d-pad) + A = Shield Attack
• X + A = Advancing Slash
• While Midair, X + A = Midair Rising Slash
• After Attack left (d-pad) + X + A = Round Slash
• ZR + X = Rising Slash
• ZR = Guard
• While Guarding, A = Guard Slash
• Hold ZR → A + Left d-pad Downwards
• A + Left d-pad Downwards = Backstep
• After Backstep Hold A = Falling Bash
• After Backstep X = Leaping Slash
• After Leaping Slash, X → X → X = Perfect Rush
• ZL + X = Falling Shadow
• ZL + A = Windmill

Combos

The best way to ensure maximum damage in Monster Hunter Rise is to string together combos. Here are all of the combos associated with the Sword and Shield.

Basic Combo

• X → Left d-pad Downwards + A

High Firepower Combo

•  A → A → A → X + A → Left d-pad Downwards + A → X → X → X → X → A

Roundslash Combo

• X → X → A → A → X + A → Repeat

Perfect Rush Loop

• Hold ZR → A + Left d-pad Downwards → X → X → X → A→ Left d-pad Downwards + A → X → X → X → A

Tips

• This weapon combo is a classic in the franchise, and for good reason – it's impressively adaptable.
• One of its biggest strengths is that it doesn't lose a great deal of mobility when drawn like plenty of others in the game. This makes player movement predictable, even in the middle of combat.
• While the sword is undoubtedly the main attacking option here, the shield can stun enemies. That means you can stun and sever with this combo, something few other weapons in the franchise offer.
• The Windmill Silkbind attack is handy for creating a brief window of invulnerability, too.

Silkbind Attacks

New to Monster Hunter Rise are Silkbind attacks. These will consume Wirebugs, and will deal damage indicated with blue circles. Build these up to tie down monsters and trigger mountable states.

Here are the Silkbind attacks for the Sword and Shield:

• ZL + X = Falling Shadow
• ZL + A = Windmill
• ZL + A = Metsu Shoryugeki

Now here's a bit more info on how each works:

• Falling Shadow - Dance through the sky and shatter the earth. A forward leaping attack. A successful hit will lead into a Scaling Slash. After that, you can follow up with a Falling Bash in midair.
• Windmill - A slicing gale that gives no quarter. Uses Ironsilk to swing your blade around. Its initial swing nullifies any monster's attack.
• Metsu Shoryugeki - Can be switched out with Windmill. A jumping Wirebug attack that uses your shield to uppercut your target. At the beginning of the attack, there is a moment where you can perform a Guard. A well-timed counter can further add to the damage dealt.

That's all you need to know about this weapon. Visit our Monster Hunter Rise Walkthrough to find all of our guides in one handy place.