Best Monster Hunter World weapons

1860 duels later, Sword and Shield is still #1 in the Monster Hunter World weapon ranking, with Lance close behind.

A 36 ELO point gap separates Sword and Shield from Lance at the top, the sharpest divide in the entire ranking. The versatile Sword and Shield claims the crown with 1290 points over 84 duels, while Lance follows at 1254 points with a 61% win rate across 61 duels. Bow secures third place at 1241 points after 71 duels, narrowly edging out Hammer by just 3 points. Long Sword rounds out the top 5 at 1235 points, proving the community values mobility and adaptability across different playstyles. At the bottom, Heavy Bowgun languishes at 1038 points with only a 26% win rate over 43 duels, suggesting hunters overwhelmingly prefer close combat encounters over ranged artillery support. Light Bowgun and Hunting Horn also struggle near the bottom, both sitting at 37% win rates.

This ranking draws from 1860 duels submitted by 52 players across all 14 weapon types in the game. The data was updated on 12 October 2026. Cast your vote now in head-to-head matchups and help shape the weapon hierarchy that reflects what Monster Hunter World players truly favor when heading out on hunts.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →