Long Sword

Earth Style is the standard

Heaven Style replaces the Fade Slashes with Evade Slashes, which cancel any ongoing combo, similar to a roll but with an added attack. Although you lose the ability to freely perform Sidestep Slashes, they remain available as part of a Spirit Combo.

Storm Style builds on Heaven Style by replacing the Thrust motion with a Piercing Stab. This attack's damage scales with the amount of Spirit Meter you have when executing it. Although it’s a slower move, it has a significant total motion value of 116 (or 154 with a

Extreme Style introduces a range of new mechanics, incorporating elements from both Heaven and Storm styles. The most notable addition is the Parry, allowing you to guard against attacks and counter with either a Teleport—dealing damage along the teleport path and providing iframes—or a Piercing Stab, similar to the one in Storm Style.

A new Blade Meter is also introduced, filling up in the same way as the Spirit Meter, but it also increases through the Parry action, functioning similarly to the

While running, you can initiate a charge, dragging your sword behind you. Releasing this charge unleashes a single slash that deals 18 motion if not fully charged but increases to 70 when fully charged. The charged slash consumes some Spirit, but the increase in damage makes it worthwhile. Additionally, you can perform a downslash or upslash from the dash without charging.

Parrying is an instant guard action that can chain into various actions, most notably a teleport that covers a long distance and performs either a slash or a piercing stab with the same values as the Storm Style move.

The Blade Release consumes your Blade Meter to perform a series of slashes ending in an explosive strike. The motion values depend on the meter's build-up, with a full meter resulting in a sequence of 5-5-5-180. This attack involves up to three quick swipes before turning away, after which the final motion triggers. However, if you're interrupted during the animation, the final motion won't occur, and your Blade Meter will still be depleted.

Full spirit bar buff effect increased (from +10 attack to +40 attack).

• There is no spirit level mechanic like in MH3 and later games. Filling up the bar completely grants a temporary raw damage bonus.

• The choice of length is largely personal preference. Keep in mind that

  Weapon
  Long Sword has various slashes that attack in different directions.

• Mastering the Evasion Slash is good practice, as it can also reset combos. The invincibility frames start at the beginning but don’t last long.

• Piercing stabs from parries are powerful but require good positioning to land effectively.

• You can perform an upswing from a roll. The parry from a sheathed state has a different button combination (Triangle + Circle) than other weapons due to the unsheathe > spirit slash mechanic.

• The orange/white bar below the spirit meter charges up a stronger multi-hit attack, which can be unleashed when the bar is halfway filled or maxed out. Otherwise, it depletes when you sheathe or are forced to (e.g., due to tremors).

• Weapon
  Long Sword receives the smallest raw boost from
  Armor Skill
  Obscurity , but it’s still significant.

• If you really miss the Fade Slash, you might want to consider using

  Weapon
  Switch Axe F instead.