Combat in Monster Hunter Wilds is all about understanding the flow of battle. Button mashing and spamming simple attack combos can get the job done, but the game rewards players who take a beat to understand and master the ins and outs of their weapons.
One action that’s crucial to learn is the ability to Guard against incoming damage, allowing players to negate a portion of the damage taken from enemy attacks. Better yet, Perfect Guards allow Hunters to stand their ground with zero repercussions, shrugging off earth-shattering blows with ease. Here is the breakdown.
Related
Monster Hunter Wilds: 10 Beginner Tips And Tricks
Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in Capcom’s classic Action RPG series. Here are some beginner tips to help you start this new journey right!
How to Guard in Monster Hunter Wilds
To perform a Block/Guard in Monster Hunter Wilds, press and hold R (PC), R2 (PlayStation), or RT (Xbox). If you have a weapon capable of blocking equipped and ready, your Hunter will perform a Guard with that weapon, blocking incoming damage to an extent.
Only certain weapons can be used to perform a Guard action, and if you have something like the Insect Glaive equipped, pressing the Guard hotkey won’t work. Your Hunter will instead perform another action pertaining to that weapon type.
The Charge Blade has a unique mechanic called Guard Points that’s a part of its attack combo. Whenever a Hunter wielding a Charge Blade brings its shield form up during a combo, and a monster attacks it, the shield auto guards. Guard Points function as regular Guards, not Perfect Guards. Taking advantage of this mechanic requires an excellent sense of timing and memorizing monster attack patterns.
Related
How to Have the Best Possible Start in Monster Hunter Wilds
Getting the best possible start in Monster Hunter Wilds can make a huge difference to one’s playthrough while also saving a fair bit of time.
How to Perfect Guard in Monster Hunter Wilds
To perform a Perfect Guard, press the Guard hotkey just before a monster attack. If done correctly, there will be a white flash in front of your shield.
Benefits of a Perfect Guard
- Perfect Guards negate all incoming damage.
- Perfect Guards negate weapon sharpening reduction.
- Perfect Guards negate stagger and knockback.
- Perfect Guards can be chained into a counterattack.
- Perfect Guards are the best way to perform Power Clashes with monsters. Only certain monsters can be Power Clashed with.
Power Clashes are extremely useful in co-op battles, as they can prevent a monster from moving or attacking other team members for as long as it is locked in a Power Clash with you.
If you fail to perform a Perfect Guard—i.e., you bring up your Guard too early—it will still count as a regular Guard. Therefore, there are no downsides to trying to perform a Perfect Guard.
All Guard Weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds
The Guard mechanic only works with certain weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, meaning only the weapons with a shield or a shield-like armament have the ability to Guard. Of the 14 total weapons in the game, only six of them can be used to Guard and Perfect Guard. They are:
- Great Sword
- Sword & Shield
- Lance
- Gunlance
- Charge Blade (Sword Mode)
- Heavy Bowgun (Auto Guard in some Stances)
You can easily tell which weapon has a Guarding function by looking at the weapon’s description in the Change Equipment menu.
The regular method of Guarding explained in the section above works for all weapons except the Heavy Bowgun. To Guard (and Perfect Guard) with a Heavy Bowgun, press and hold R + F (PC), Triangle + Circle (PlayStation), or Y + B (Xbox).
- Released
-
February 28, 2025
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty