If you’ve always fantasized about running with your arms behind you like Naruto while taking down a gigantic monster in a style similar to Eren from Attack on Titan, then bless your little weeb heart, because your dreams are about to come true!

Dual Blades have a fairly straightforward way of building in Iceborne. Since there are a lot of skills Dual Blades need in order to keep their damage high, running Master’s Touch can be too expensive. If you prefer more comfort than damage then Master’s Touch will be the way to go. But if you prefer more damage, then you’ll usually see better numbers with True Critical Element and Protective Polish.

With that in mind, here are the top 5 Dual Blades - one for each element! 

5. Kadachi Greathawks II

【MHWI】特殊闘技場：獄狼竜マスター編 ジンオウガ亜種 双剣 03'49"06 TA wiki Rules/Stygian Zinogre Dual Blades

Wundurkirins can also do the trick here, but Kadachi Greathawks II have the benefit of just having more effective element when you finish creating the build. I’d recommend Wundurkirins if you’re looking for something more comfortable. 

If you’re going for raw damage output, I recommend your build to look like this:

This build maximizes the sharpness of the Kadachi Greathawks, while also keeping your damage high through Critical Eye, Thunder Attack, and Agitator.

What's Great About Kadachi Greathawks II

• Lots of lightning element after you get purple sharpness and full custom mods.
• Protective Polish, purple sharpness, and a 10% base critical gives this weapon a lot of sustained damage.
• Since you’re a light weapon, Agitator is going to be active fairly often  Since you need to hit the monster three times with your claw before you do a dismounting attack to create a weak spot. This will also usually enrage the monster too.

Kadachi Greathawk II Stats

• Rarity: 10
• Sharpness:
  • Handicraft 4: 40 hits of purple, 40 hits of white.
  • 40 hits of white sharpness
  • 50 hits of blue sharpness
• Raw Damage: 322 (343 Effective Raw)(Handicraft 4: 361 Effective Raw).
• Affinity: 10%.
• Element: 330 Lightning (Effective Element: 57) (Handicraft 4, Effective Element: 62).
• Slots:
  • 1x Level 1.

4. Jyura Keenblades II

MHWI Teostra Dual Blades TA + Clutch Claw - 4’38”60

Holy Guild Knight blades can also work here, but just like with our lightning set, Jyura Keenblades edge out if you’re looking for more damage in your builds.

If you’re looking for maximum damage, I’d recommend a set like this:

This build loses the Agitator, but instead just runs full critical hit. If you’re hitting a weakspot, then you should be at 100% critical hit rate. If you wanted to you could drop the 4 levels of attack for 4 levels of Agitator if you have the jewels.

What's Great About Jyura Keenblades II

• While it can’t hit purple, what matters more is 1 level of Handicraft so you can get white sharpness, and then using Protective Polish so you never lose it.
• Since these weapons rely on Protective Polish instead of Master’s Touch, you can afford to lose an augment in Affinity to put in Health Regen. This can result in more comfy hunts.
• An impressive amount of raw for an elemental weapon.

Jyura Keenblades Stats

• Rarity: 10
• Sharpness:
  • Handicraft 1: 10 hits of white, 40 hits of white.
  • 80 hits of blue sharpness.
  • 50 hits of green sharpness.
• Raw Damage: 364 (338 Effective Raw)(Handicraft 1: 372 Effective Raw).
• Affinity: 0%.
• Element: 330 Lightning (Effective Element: 57) (Handicraft 1, Effective Element: 54.05).
• Slots:
  • 1x Level 3.
  • 1x Level 1.

3. Beo Hatchets II

【MHWI】力こそラージャン 双剣ソロ 04'03"83(捕獲) / Rajang Dual Blades Solo

While the other weapons may have a comfier suggestion, honestly, Beotodus’ Dual Blades are going to be your best option here since Ice really only took off in Iceborne. A build that mixes damage and comfort would look like this:

Just like with the first set, this build runs Agitator to take advantage of the fact that you’ll be keeping the monster almost permanently enraged. Since this weapon also has lots of natural white sharpness, you can replace Protective Polish with Razor Sharp.

What's Great About Beo Hatchets II

• Lots of natural white.
• These weapons are flexible to build with thanks to their high element, high base sharpness, and flexible jewel slots.
• Doesn’t need handicraft and pretty lenient on Protective Polish and Razor Sharp.

Beo Hatchets II Stats

• Rarity: 10
• Sharpness:
  • 70 hits of white sharpness.
  • 40 hits of blue sharpness.
• Raw Damage: 350 (362 Effective Raw).
• Affinity: 0%.
• Element: 360 Ice (Effective Element: 60.95).
• Slots:
  • 1x Level 2.
  • 1x Level 1.

2. Anja Twinrippers II

【MHWI 】イヴェルカーナ 双剣ソロ 3'42"28 TA wiki Rules Velkhana Dual Blades solo

The Anja Twinrippers II should be your go-to weapon for fire damage. Shattering Flames is a solid second if you’re looking for either an alternative or more comfort.

I recommend this build since it trades some points of Agitator for Handicraft, and still has room for Protective Polish and full crit.

What's Great About Anja Twinrippers II

• Lots of blue sharpness if you don’t want to run handicraft.
• With Handicraft, you get a decent sliver of white sharpness and a huge damage bump.
• You can get these blades fairly early.

Anja Twinrippers II Stats

• Rarity: 10
• Sharpness:
  • 70 hits of white sharpness.
  • 40 hits of blue sharpness.
• Raw Damage: 378 (370.91 Effective Raw).
• Affinity: -20%.
• Element: 360 Fire (Effective Element: 60.95).
• Slots:
  • none.

1. Enduring Surrender

【MHWI】特殊闘技場：火竜マスター編　リオレウス　なしなし双剣ソロ　03'35"88　TA wiki rules/Rathalos Dual Blades solo

Enduring Surrender is not only one of the sexiest looking Dual Blades out there, but it’s also one of the best Dragon dual blades around. If you’re looking for more comfort, then I recommend Death Row. 

Just like the previous build, this build can run a lot of damage through full crit, two levels of Handicraft, and two levels of Agitator.

What's Great About Enduring Surrender

• Protective Polish and two levels of Handicraft aren’t too hard to build.
• Handicraft 2 lets you hit white sharpness, which is a huge damage increase.
• Protective Polish also keeps your damage up since you won’t have too much sharpness to play with.

Enduring Surrender Stats

• Rarity: 10.
• Sharpness:
  • Handicraft 2: 10 hits of white, 90 hits of blue.
  • 80 hits of blue sharpness.
  • 20 hits of green sharpness.
• Raw Damage: 336 (306 Effective Raw)(Handicraft 2, Effective Raw: 336.6).
• Affinity: 0%.
• Element: 510 Dragons (Effective Element: 66.94) (Handicraft 2, Effective Element: 72.45).
• Slots:
  • 2x Level 1 Jewels.

If you want to see an album of some of the best builds in Monster Hunter for Dual Blades, I recommend visiting this link.

What about Safi'Jiiva?

When this article was written, Safi'Jiiva hadn't been released yet. 

Once Safi is released though, the Dual Blades are going to stick to the same game plan as the current meta - go heavy into element and never look back. You'll want to pick up all of the elemental Safi Dual Blades and awaken for elemental damage. 

The biggest changes happen for its armor builds. While Silver Rathalos is still good, it will get outdamaged by Safi'Jiiva + 2 pc of Velkhana gear by 1%-2%. 

If you want to read the builds for Dual Blades post-Safi'Jiiva or the math behind it, then please visit this album. 

Thanks for reading!

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