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Feb 17, 2018 Monster Hunter World: How Sharpness Impacts Weapon Damage. Sharpness is a weapon stat in Monster Hunter World that can give players a tremendous boost in damage.
- I do not think that this one is misunderstood, in my opinion the ingame-definition is simply wrong. If you check the definition that says (at level 1) “increase BY 30%”, I simply presume that I have an additional 30% bonus damage to the already existing 25% extra damage when hitting critical. We were discussing this as well a lot today until we simply tried and found out that the critical.
- Feb 17, 2018 One of the most standard ways to maximize damage in Monster Hunter World is through weapon sharpness. Every melee weapon has a sharpness level with various tiers starting at the bottom with red, and going up to orange, yellow, green, blue, and (very rarely) white.
- Damage Type
- Sharpness
- Elemental Value
Damage Type
When attacks strike a monster, two types of damage are dealt: Physical (Raw) damage, and Elemental damage (but only if the weapon has an Elemental attribute).
Some weapons have an abnormal status attribute instead of an Elemental attribute. These weapons will Physical damage and apply Status damage.
Physical damage includes Severing-type damage, Blunt-type damage, and Projectile-type damage. Elemental damage includes Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, and Dragon. There are also other sources of damage such as Fixed damage and Status damage. All damage types are dealt independent of each other.
Severing
Severing (sometimes known as Cutting) damage is the primary damage type for the following weapons:
The following attacks also deal Severing damage:
- Hunting Horn's Handle Poke
- Bow's Melee Attack deals Severing damage
- Some Kinsects deal Severing damage
- Slicing shot from Bowguns
Tails can only be cut by Severing damage. This happens when sufficient Severing damage has been accumulated on the tail, which then severs it.
Blunt
Blunt damage is the primary damage type for the following weapons:
The following attacks also deal Blunt damage:
- Sword & Shield's shield-oriented attacks
- Sword/Shield Combo
- Shield Attack
- Shield Bash
- Hard Bash
- Falling Bash
- Lance's Shield Attack
- Kinsects with Blunt attribute
Blunt weapons deal Exhaust status when they hit a monster. If they hit a monster's head, they deal Stun damage.
Projectile
Projectile damage is the primary damage type for the following weapons:
Gunlance's Shelling attacks deal Fixed damage instead of Projectile damage.
Elemental
Elemental Attributes:
- Fire
- Water
- Thunder
- Ice
- Dragon
Blademaster weapons can have an Elemental attribute, a Status attribute, or neither. Some Dual Blades have two Elemental/Status attributes, one for each blade.
The Bow may have an Elemental attribute. The Bowguns do not have natural Elemental attributes, but they can load Elemental shots that effectively functions as dealing Elemental damage when it hits a monster.
Elemental damage is mainly affected by the weapon's Elemental value and the monster's Elemental Hitzone. Abnormal Status damage is not affected by the monster's Physical or Elemental Hitzone values. Blademaster weapons have a 1-in-3 chance per hit to apply Abnormal Status damage, while Gunner weapons always apply Abnormal Status damage.
If a monster has no weakness to a specific element on their Hitzone, then no Elemental damage is dealt. The Physical damage done by the weapon is not affected, as Elemental and Physical damage are calculated separately.
Status Attacks
Abnormal Status attributes:
- Poison
- Paralysis
- Sleep
- Blast
Blademaster weapons can have an Abnormal Status attribute instead of an Elemental attribute. Bows cannot have a natural Status attribute, but may equip Status Coatings to make fired arrows apply Status damage. Equipping Status Coatings will disable the Bow's Elemental attribute temporarily. The Bowguns do not have natural Abnormal Status attributes, but can load Status shots that apply Abnormal Status damage.
For Blademaster weapons, each time an attack lands, the attack has a 1-in-3 chance of applyingAbnormal Status damage. For Gunner weapons, a successful hit will always apply Abnormal Status damage.
Applying Abnormal Status damage to a monster does not instantly activate it's effect. Instead, monsters have an innate tolerance to Status Ailments. To trigger a Status Ailment, enough Status damage must be dealt to a monster to overcome its tolerance threshold. Once a monster is affilicted with the Ailment, the accumulated Status damage is reset to 0 and additional Status damage cannot be dealt until the monster recovers. The only exception to this is Poison.
After the monster recovers, its tolerance threshold for the Ailment increases. This means it takes more Status damage must be accumulated before being able to inflict the monster with the same Ailment.
For all Ailments (except Blast), the accumulated Status damage disappears gradually due to the monster's tolerances. Overcoming this gradual decay is necessary to successfully trigger a Status Ailment on a monster.
Icon | Status | Effect(s) |
---|---|---|
Poison | Slowly drain the monster's health | |
Paralysis | Temporarily immobilizes the monster and makes it take a bit more damage | |
Sleep | Put the monster to sleep | |
Stun | Stun/KO the monster, which topples and immobilizes it | |
Exhausted | Drain the monster's stamina, making it tired | |
Blast | Triggers an explosion on a specific monster part, which deals damage |
Factors for Damage Calculation
The following factors influence damage calculations:
BM = Blademaster
Factor | BM (Physical) | BM (Elemental) | Bowgun (Physical) | Bowgun (Elemental) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Attack Value | O | O | O | O |
Motion Value | O | O | ||
Sharpness | O | O | ||
Weapon Adjustment | O | O | O | O |
Sharpness Adjustment | O | |||
Critical Hit | O | O | ||
Monster Hitzone | O | O | O | O |
Elemental Value | O | O | ||
Projectile Adjustment | O | |||
Critical Distance | O | |||
Rapid Fire Adjustment | O | O |
Attack Value
The Attack value of the Hunter is calculated from the Hunter's equipped weapon, offensive boosts (e.g. being in DB's Archdemon Mode or having a HH attack buff), equipped skills, items, and Food skills. When damage is calculated, only True values are used, and the Displayed Attack value is adjusted down by the Display Multiplier.
Motion Values
All weapon attacks have a Motion Value (MV), which determines what proportion of the Attack value is used in damage calculations. For example, a weaker move with 40 MV uses applies 40% of the Attack Value in calculating damage, while a stronger move with 80 MV applies 80% of the Attack Value in calculating damage.
In general, slow weapons make up for their slower attacks with larger MVs, and fast weapons make up for their faster attacks with smaller MVs.
Sharpness
Sharpness describes how sharp a weapon is. Sharper weapons deal more damage and are less likely to bounce when hitting tough body parts.
Weapon Sharpness is split into discrete colors (see below). Different colors provide different multipliers to the damage dealt by the player.
Sharpness | Icon | Physical | Elemental |
---|---|---|---|
Red | x0.50 | x0.25 | |
Orange | x0.75 | x0.50 | |
Yellow | x1.00 | x0.75 | |
Green | x1.05 | x1.00 | |
Blue | x1.20 | x1.0625 | |
White | x1.32 | x1.125 |
In addition to lower damage, weaker Sharpness colors causes some weapons to lose functionality. For example, at Orange Sharpness, the Gunlance's shells will deal less damage, the Switch Axe may bounce while in Sword mode, and the Dual Blades will not complete its full Blade Dance animation. At Red Sharpness, the Gunlance cannot shell.
Sharpness Gauge and Consumption
Each weapon can only make a specific amount of hits in a specific sharpness color before it dulls and and the sharpness color is lowered. Sharpness is consumed when a player lands an attack, but some shield attacks from the SnS and Lance do not deplete Sharpness.
Although most attacks deplete Sharpness by one per hit, some weapons have attacks that deplete Sharpness faster:
Attack | Sharpness Cost |
---|---|
Normal Attacks Landing | 1 |
Normal Attacks Bounced | 2 |
Guarding with GS or CB*, small knockback | 1** |
Guarding with GS or CB*, medium knockback | 2** |
Guarding with GS or CB*, large knockback | 10** |
Gunlance Shell, Normal | 2 |
Gunlance Shell, Long | 2 |
Gunlance Shell, Spread | 3 |
Gunlance's Wyvern Fire | 10 |
Gunlance's Burst Fire | Shell Count x Shell Cost |
*Charge Blade with Elemental Boost doesn't lose Sharpness when guarding.** Doesn't lose sharpness when blocking roars, wind pressure, or tremors.
Sharpness can be restored by sharpening the weapon with a Whetstone.
Weapon Adjustment
Certain attacks have inherent damage bonuses:
Weapon | Attack Name | Physical Bonus | Elemental Bonus |
---|---|---|---|
SnS | Charged Slash | +XXL | |
Dual Blades | Demon Mode | +M | |
Dual Blades | When both blade strike at the same time | -L | |
Great Sword | Charged Slash Lv1 | +S | |
Great Sword | Charged Slash Lv2 | +M | |
Great Sword | Charged Slash Lv3 | +XL | |
Great Sword | Strong Charged Slash Lv1 | +XXL | |
Great Sword | Strong Charged Slash Lv2 | +XXL | |
Great Sword | Strong Charged Slash Lv3 | +XXL | |
Long Sword | White Spirit Gauge | +XS | |
Long Sword | Yellow Spirit Gauge | +S | |
Long Sword | Red Spirit Gauge | +M | |
Lance | Dash Attack | -XXL | |
Gunlance | Charged Shot (Normal/Long) | +M | |
Gunlance | Charged Shot (Spread) | +XL | |
Gunlance | Burst Fire (Normal) | +S | |
Gunlance | Burst Fire (Spread) | -S | |
Gunlance | Wyvern Fire (Long) | +M | |
Switch Axe | Power Phial | +M | |
Switch Axe | Elemental Phial | +L | |
Charge Blade | Elemental Phial | +XXL | |
Charge Blade | Elemental Boost (Axe Mode) | +M | |
Insect Glaive | Red+White | +M | |
Insect Glaive | Red+White+Orange | +M | |
Bow | Power Phial | +XL | |
Bow | Elemental Phial | +XL | |
Bow | Melee Attack | -XXL | |
Bow | Charge Lv 1 | -XXL | -L |
Bow | Charge Lv 2 | - M | |
Bow | Charge Lv 3 | +XL | |
Bow | Charge Lv 4 | +XXL | +M |
Bow | Arc Shot | -L | -L |
Bowgun | Normal | +L |
Sharpness Adjustment
Some moves modify Sharpness, which affects both damage output and the liklihood to bounce.
Weapon | Condition | Sharpness Adjustment |
---|---|---|
Blademaster weapon | Yellow Sharpness. At the start of weapon swing | -XL |
Blademaster weapon | Yellow Sharpness. At the end of weapon swing | -L |
All Melee Attack | Have the buff from Demon shot | +S |
Sword & Shield | All Attack | +XS |
Great Sword | All Charged Attack, Lv 1 | +S |
Great Sword | All Charged Attack, Lv 2 | +M |
Great Sword | All Charged Attack, Lv 3 | +L |
Great Sword | Hit with the middle of the blade | +XS |
Long Sword | Max Spirit Gauge | +S |
Long Sword | Hit with the middle of the blade | +XS |
Lance* | Damage based on Blunt Hitzone | -L |
Bow | Melee Attack with Close Range Coating | + L |
* Lance/Hitzone Selection
Critical Hits and Feeble Hits
When an attack makes a Critical Hit, additional damage is dealt. When an attack makes a Feeble Hit, damage is reduced.
Critical Hits occur when a weapon has a positive Affinity value. Positive Affinity refers to the probability of making a Critical Hit on an attack. For example, a weapon with 20% Affinity will have a 20% chance of dealing a Critical Hit on an attack. Higher Affinity values will increase the likelihood of dealing a Critical Hit. A successful Critical Hit applies a +25% bonus to the weapon's Attack Value when calculating damage.
Feeble Hits occur when a weapon has a negative Affinity value. Negative Affinity refers to the probability of making a Feeble Hit on an attack. For example, a weapon with -20% affinity has a 20% chance of dealing a Feeble Hit. Lower negative Affinity Values increase the likelihood of dealing Feeble Hits. A Feeble Hit applies a -25% debuff to the weapon's Attack Value when calculating damage.
The below table briefly illustrates the interaction between Affinity and the probability of making a Critical or Feeble Hit:
Affinity | Probability | Damage Multiplier |
---|---|---|
60% | 60% | x1.25 |
20% | 20% | x1.25 |
0% | 0% | x1.0 |
-20% | 20% | x0.75 |
-60% | 60% | x0.75 |
Some skills influence Affinity values:
Skill/Food Skill | Effects |
---|---|
Critical Eye 1 | +1% |
Monster Hitzone
Monsters are comprised of different body parts, and each part has has different weaknesses to Physical damage and Elemental damage. The Physical weakness of a Hitzone does not affect it's Elemental weakness, and vice versa. If a Hitzone is not weak to a specific Element (i.e. a Hitzone value of 0), then no Elemental damage is dealt, but Physical damage is not impacted.
The higher the Hitzone value, the weaker it is. For example, if a monster's head has Hitzone values of 20/50/40 (corresponding to the Severing, Blunt, and Projectile damage types respectively), then Severing-type attacks deal 20% of its damage, Blunt-type attacks deal 50% of its damage, and Projectile-type attacks deal 40% of its damage.
A Hitzone is generally considered vulnerable when its Physical Hitzone value is 45 or higher or when its Elemental Hitzone value is 20 or higher.
Elemental Value
When a weapon with an Elemental attribute lands an attack, the weapon will deal Elemental damage on top of the Physical damage it deals. Player-dealt Elemental damage does not inflict Elemental Blights on monsters.
Unlike Physical damage, Elemental damage is not affected by Motion Values. However, some weapons may confer a bonus to its Elemental damage on specific attack moves. In general, faster hitting weapons are better suited at dealing Elemental damage because they make multiple hits in the same time it takes a slower hitting weapon to make one hit.
Excluding Hunting Horn buffs, Elemental Attack buffs from Skills and Food skills are capped at a sum of +20%.
Elemental Crit Skill Adjustment
Weapon | Elemental Adjustment |
---|---|
Great Sword | +M |
Long Sword | +L |
Sword & Shield | +XL |
Dual Blades | +XL |
Hammer | +L |
Hunting Horn | +L |
Lance | +L |
Gunlance | +L |
Switch Axe | +L |
Charge Blade | +L |
Insect Glaive | +L |
Light Bowgun | +XL |
Heavy Bowgun | +XL |
Bow | +XL |
Projectile Adjustment
Skill/Food Skill | Affected Projectiles | Adjustment |
---|---|---|
Normal Up | Normal, Rapid | +S |
Pierce Up | Pierce | +S |
Spread Up | Spread Ammo | +M |
Spread Up | Spread Arrow | +L |
Critical Distance
For Gunner Weapons, Critical Distance (or Critical Range) refers to the distance at which a fired shot deals maximal damage. If the player is in Critical Distance, the aiming reticle will look like this:
Generally, being too close or too far away from the target will put the player outside of Critical Distance. Being too close or too far (i.e. outside of Critical Distance) will reduce the damage done by player Projectiles.
Critical Distance does not affect Affinity or Critical Hits.
Rapid Fire Adjustment
The Light Bowgun is capable of Rapid Fire, where the LBG shoots multiple shots in a single burst at the cost of 1 ammo. Each individual shot fired from Rapid Fire is weaker than a single shot of the same ammo type, but if most Rapid Fire shots land, their combined damage will exceed the damage done by firing just a single shot.
Rapid Fire Type | Adjustment |
---|---|
Lv 1 Normal x5 | -M |
Lv 2 Normal x3 | -M |
Lv 2 Normal x4 | -L |
Lv 1 Pierce x3 | -L |
Lv 2 Pierce x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Pellet x3 | -M |
Lv 2 Pellet x2 | -M |
Lv 1 Sticky x2 | -L |
Lv 2 Sticky x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Sticky x2 | -L |
Lv 2 Sticky x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Crag x2 | -L |
Lv 1 Fire x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Fire x4 | -XL |
Lv 1 Water x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Thunder x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Ice x3 | -L |
Lv 1 Dragon x2 | -XL |
Lv 1 Slicing x2 | -S |
Lv 2 Slicing x2 | -S |
Fixed Damage
Fixed damage is dealt directly to the monster and does not have a damage calculation. This means that Fixed damage attacks are not mitigated by the monster's Hitzone values or affected by the player's Attack value.
Some sources of Fixed damage, such as Gunlance shelling and Wyvern Fire, and Bowgun Sticky shot and Crag shot, also deal additional Fire damage. This additional Fire damage will be impacted by damage calculations.
Category | Damage Source | Damage Dealt |
---|---|---|
Slinger | Stone | 1 |
Slinger | Knife | 20 |
Slinger | Paralysis Knife | 5 |
Slinger | Poison Knife | 5 |
Slinger | Sleeping Knife | 5 |
Item | Small Barrel Bomb | 20 |
Item | Barrel Bomb | 80 |
Item | Barrel Bomb G | 150 |
Gunlance | Shelling | |
various other items | tbd | |
Charge Blade | Phial Burst - Counter | 3 |
Charge Blade | Phial Burst - ED | 5 |
Charge Blade | Phial Burst - AED | 10 |
Charge Blade | Phial Burst - SAED | 25 |
Bowgun | tbd |
Monster Hunter World mounts is one of the game's more advanced combat manoeuvres. It can be extremely useful during tougher fights, so it's well worth taking the time to learn.
As well as this article, we also have Monster Hunter World tips which can help you decide when to farm, what to forage and what to do between hunts, and our Monster Hunter World walkthrough and guide can help with main quest and story progress.
How to mount a monster in Monster Hunter World
Mounting is essentially the art of getting onto a monster's back and doing enough damage to knock it over. Generally speaking, a mounted rider's individual attacks won't do much - if any - damage, but a successful mount will end with the chance to perform a charged attack.
Not only will this do significant damage to the area currently being ridden (extremely handy if you're trying to break a specific body part to collect a particular material), it will stun the monster, giving the entire hunting party the chance to pile on additional strikes unhindered.
How to mount a monster
To mount a creature, you need to strike it with your weapon while you're in the air. This is a two-step process: first, you need to physically get above the monster, and secondly, you need to successfully time your attack to connect with its body as you leap toward it.
How Does Dmg Work In Monster Hunter World Gameplay
To break this down, you must:
- Find a way to launch yourself into the air (by running off a high ledge, for instance)
- Attack the monster's body, head, or tail while airborne (weapon dependent, but Circle / B, Triangle / Y or the right trigger)
- If successful, you will initiate a mount
Bear in mind that different monsters have different resistances to mounted attacks, so don't be discouraged if your first attempt doesn't immediately succeed - even if your launch and timing seem impeccable.
It's worth persevering though: there's a hidden gauge tied to each monster that gradually fills whenever your airborne strike connects. Once full (which could take one or multiple attempts, depending on the monster - and will take longer while using the Insect Glaive), you're guaranteed a successful mount.
Also be aware of diminishing returns: a monster's resistance to mounting increases every time you perform a successful mount during a hunt or expedition - so spamming a mounted attack on the same creature isn't a valid tactic for long. After even as few as two successful mounts, you might find it extremely difficult to initiate another.
Similarly, weapons such as the Insect Glaive, which are capable of dealing damage to a creature during a mount, will do significantly less damage on subsequent mounts.
How to find higher ground and begin a mount
To get above a creature in order to attempt a mount, you've two options.
Most hunters will need to use the environment to reach a higher vantage point. However, some weapons - namely Insect Glaives and Bows - feature attacks capable of launching you into the air from the ground. See below for more on using these weapons for mounting.
While in the air, strike a monster as usual to initiate a mount.
Those hunters relying on the environment to get airborne before attacking can:
- Hang onto a wall face and spring off
- Run up certain walls and leap away to attack
- Use the grappling hook to hoist up toward grapple-able overhangs
- Slide down a hill and hurl themselves at a target
- Swing on a tree vine and leap toward the monster at the optimum moment
- Find higher ground - a ledge or elevation - and run off
Depending on the monster, it mightn't require much height to initiate a mount at all.
You may need to lure a creature toward your higher vantage point before initiating a mount. If you're in a team, it's a good idea to divvy up the duties here; one player should act as the lure, guiding the monster to an agreed point on the map, as the others continue to pile on the damage. The mounter, meanwhile, should get into position, ready to pounce.
What to do once you've mounted a monster
Once you've successfully initiated a mount, and are on top of a monster, there are two parts to the rodeo sequence: attack and defence.
To attack the creature, simply spam Triangle / Y as shown on-screen. You can shift your position using the movement stick to focus your attacks on a specific area of a monster's body - handy if you're trying to break a certain part, such as the head or tail, to collect a specific reward for use at the smithy.
Watch out though: at regular intervals, the monster will attempt to buck you off - you can tell it's about to start bucking when the mini-map turns red.
Here, you'll need to hold the right bumper to brace and stop yourself from being thrown off. You might also need to shift to a different part of a creature's body if it starts trying to smash you into the scenery. Once the bucking subsides, it's safe to resume your strike.
If you mistime a brace and get thrown off, you've a small window in which to hit Triangle / Y to fire your grappling hook. If you're quick enough, you'll hoist yourself back on, ready to continue the rodeo. If you mess up completely, or run out of stamina, you'll dismount.
If all goes well, and sufficient damage is dealt during the attack stage, you'll get the opportunity to launch a final, powerful charged attack. Follow the prompt successfully and two things will happen: you'll deal significant damage to the area, and the creature will collapse on the ground, giving you and your teammates time to attack unhindered.
Iceborne has arrived! Here's how to start Monster Hunter World Iceborne and beat the first monster, Beotodus. Once you get settled into the world, learn about Layered Armour in Monster Hunter World and the various side-quests available - including Surveyor Set missions, Boaboa quests and finding Pearlspring Macaque locations. And, when you're ready to take it on, Shara Ishvalda. If you're crafting, then learning where to find rare materials such as Purecrystal and Monster Slogbone is useful. Been away from Monster Hunter for a while and need a refresher? Our pages on weapon changes and types, how to join friends and Squads in multiplayer plus how to capture monsters and mount monsters can help.
How Does Dmg Work In Monster Hunter World 2
Other ways to mount in Monster Hunter World
Certain hunters won't need to find higher ground in order to begin a mounting attempt.
This is because a handful of weapons - namely, the Insect Glaive and Bow - have a built in 'vault' move that enables hunters spring into the air from the ground, ready to launch a pre-mount strike. Once a mid-air attack connects, the mounting sequence will unfold as usual.
Mounting with the Insect Glaive
The Insect Glaive is one of the most effective weapons in terms of ease-of-mounting, purely because its vault move negates the need to find higher ground first.
Additionally, it's one of the few weapons that can perform above-negligible damage to a creature during a mount. To get into the air using the Insect Glaive, simply perform the R2 + Cross / X move with your weapon drawn.
As always, attack a creature while airborne to begin the mounting process for real.
Mounting with the Bow
Less well known is the fact that the Bow can also be used to initiate a mounting attack without needing to reach a higher vantage point first.
To start a mount from the ground, draw your weapon then begin a Charging Sidestep followed by a Lunging Melee Attack (that's L2 + Cross / X followed by triangle toward the end of the charge). If you're struggling with the timing, don't forget that you can speak to the Palico in your house to practice at the training area.
How Does Dmg Work In Monster Hunter World Reddit
This move doesn't actually get you very far off the ground but it's still sufficient to begin the mounting sequence, provided that your attack connects while airborne.
Mounting with the Glider Mantle
How Does Dmg Work In Monster Hunter World Free
Once you've completed the first story expedition in the Coral Highlands, you'll receive the Glider Mantle. Equip this cloak-like item and you'll gain the ability to drift slowly downwards, parachute-like, whenever you launch yourself off a high vantage point.
This makes it much easier to position yourself for a mounting attempt as you approach a monster, and offers a slightly longer window in which to initiate the first mounting strike too.
However, hunters who've become proficient at using the standard methods of mounting might choose to ignore the Glider Mantle altogether.
Skilled mounters will likely prefer to use their single mantle slot to equip other, notably more beneficial ones, such as the Rocksteady Mantle - which can prevent wind attack knockbacks, and stop stuns and staggers caused by monster roars and tremors.
Lobbing your teammates
In the mood for something a little flashier? Advanced (or at least, more adventurous) hunters can initiate a mount by getting a hunter friend to launch them into the air first. To launch another hunter skyward, simply run at them with an axe or hammer and strike them with a heavy blow. Just make sure they don't forget to hit their target on the way down.
It's extremely satisfying - not to mention hilarious - when done correctly, but is definitely one of the trickier ways to start a mount. Its success relies almost entirely on the accuracy, angle, and trajectory of the launcher's aim, but it's a fun trust-building exercise if nothing else.