The Charge Blade is arguably the most mechanical and rewarding weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds. Already a fan favorite for its depth and complexity, the addition of the new Power Axe mode makes it even more devastating than in previous entries. In this guide, you will find the best Charge Blade builds in Monster Hunter Wilds.
*This guide was updated for Title Update 4
Charge Blade Gameplay and Combo
Start by quickly filling your phials with this sequence:
Circle (hold) → Triangle + Circle → Circle (hold). Once full, charge your shield by pressing R2 + Circle → Circle.
Activating Power Axe Mode
With your shield charged, refill your phials again. Then activate Power Axe mode by either triggering a Focus Strike on a wound or performing a Perfect Guard (R2 → Triangle) while in Sword Mode. Either method will successfully activate Power Axe mode.
Power Axe Combo
Once Power Axe is active, the best combo is the Savage Axe: hold Circle → Circle → Triangle. This delivers massive elemental or impact phial damage without consuming your phials, making it the go-to combo for sustained damage.
Alternative Combo
Circle (hold) → Circle → Circle → Circle is another option, but it consumes one phial and takes longer to execute. Reserve this for when a monster is knocked down or exhausted to make the most of it safely.
SAED
The Super Amped Element Discharge was in a very poor state when Monster Hunter Wilds first launched. However, after Title Update 2, the move received significant buffs and is now far more powerful than before. Because of this, alternate between Savage Axe and SAED depending on the hunting situation.
Low Rank Charge Blade Build & Progression
Start with the default Hope Armor, which comes with Divine Blessing Level 3, a very helpful defensive skill for early progression that will carry you through the first portion of Low Rank.
After defeating Lala Barina, prioritize crafting the Barina Charge Blade as soon as possible, as it is the strongest option available in Low Rank. If you prefer an alternative, Hirabami’s Windthrash Charger I is a solid choice thanks to its built-in Focus skill.
Once you have defeated Guardian Doshaguma and Guardian Rathalos, craft their respective armor sets. This upgrade provides significantly improved defense along with the Weakness Exploit skill, giving you a meaningful damage boost heading into High Rank content.
Best Charge Blades for Low Rank
- Barina Bouclier II
- Winthrash Charger I
- Rey Astrapi I
- Arachnoscale I
Early High Rank Charge Blade Build & Progression
The Low Rank set will comfortably carry you into early High Rank, up until you face Guardian Fulgur Anjanath, Guardian Rathalos, and Blangonga. After defeating them, craft their armor sets immediately.
This setup provides Weakness Exploit (Level 4), Agitator (Level 4), and Maximum Might (Level 3), a strong combination that significantly boosts both damage and critical hit chance, which are essential for the Savage Axe playstyle.
This is also a good time to start crafting the Exploiter Charm, as it becomes increasingly important for later progression and is well worth prioritizing early.
Continue upgrading the Barina Charge Blade up to Level IV, as it remains one of the strongest options at this stage. If you want alternatives, the Chthonian Flame II offers the Offensive Guard skill, while the Axelion Blade I provides Critical Boost.
Best Charge Blades for Early High Rank
- Barina Bouclier IV
- Chthonian Flame II
- Axelion Blade I
- Rey Astrapi III
Best High Rank to Endgame Charge Blade Builds
These builds are the best options to carry you from the end of the story quests and help increase your HR until you reach true endgame monsters, such as arch-tempered dragons and Gogmazios.
Gore Elemental CB Build
If you enjoy the classic and stylish SAED playstyle and want to maximize elemental damage, this build is the perfect fit.
Burst, Load Shells, and Coalescence form the elemental damage foundation of this build, significantly boosting your elemental output. Raw damage is also well covered through Agitator, Maximum Might, and Antivirus, ensuring you hit hard regardless of the situation.
For the elemental Artian Charge Blades, use full Attack infusion and reinforce with 4 Element Boost + 1 Sharpness, the optimal configuration for maximizing elemental damage output while maintaining reliable sharpness.
Raw Savage CB Build
If you prefer to focus purely on raw damage over elemental output, this build delivers the highest possible attack and critical hit damage the Charge Blade can offer.
Maximum levels of Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Agitator, Counterstrike, and Maximum Might work together to push both attack power and affinity to their absolute limits.
It is worth noting that SAED is significantly less effective in this build compared to the elemental setup. This build is fully optimized around the Savage Axe playstyle rather than SAED-focused gameplay.
For the Artian Charge Blade, use an elementless setup with full Attack infusion and full Attack reinforcement for maximum raw damage output.
Best Endgame Charge Blade Builds in MH Wilds
The builds below are the best options for Charge Blade for endgame content in the latest update. Choose the one that best fits your playstyle.
Endgame Gogmagore Elemental CB Build
Let’s be frank, Charge Blade performs at its best when built around elemental damage, and this build represents the strongest overall setup currently available, optimized for both SAED and Savage Axe playstyles.
The build revolves around the 4-piece Gogmazios set bonus, which activates Mutual Hostility, and the 2-piece Gore set bonus for Black Eclipse. To activate the 4-piece Gogmazios bonus, make sure Gogmapocalypse is active on your Gogmartian weapon.
Load Shells, Agitator, Burst, Coalescence, and Antivirus are the non-negotiable core skills of this build and should never be replaced. Together, they push elemental damage and overall offensive output to their highest possible levels.
Beyond its impressive damage output, the 4-piece Gogmazios armor also provides meaningful defensive utility, giving this build a well-rounded balance of offense and protection that makes it the strongest all-around Charge Blade setup right now.
For the Gogmartian Charge Blade, reinforce with 4 Element Boost + 1 Sharpness to maximize elemental damage output.
The only notable downside to this build is that you need to craft a separate Gogmartian weapon for each element to effectively hunt different monsters. This can be time-consuming due to the RNG involved in getting the right reinforcements for each one.
Endgame Raw Latent CB Build
If crafting multiple elemental Gogmartian CB feels too tedious, this raw damage build is the perfect alternative, requiring only a single Gogmartian Charge Blade regardless of what monster you are hunting.
The build maximizes Critical Boost, Weakness Exploit, Latent Power, Counterstrike, and Maximum Might to push attack power and affinity as high as possible. Activating Odogaron’s skill on your Gogmartian weapon adds a further Burst boost, bringing total affinity to a strong 85%.
This build is designed exclusively around the Savage Axe playstyle. SAED should only be used situationally, specifically when a monster is attempting to move to a different area, and you want to land some final hits before it leaves.
Currently, these are the best Charge Blade builds in Monster Hunter Wilds as of the latest update (TU 4). This page will be updated as new meta builds emerge in future updates.