Monster Hunter Now: Dual Blades Explained [2024]

Miljan Sunjevic
Dual Blades cover image

Monster Hunter Now features various weapons found in other Monster Hunter Series. Among those weapons are my favorite Dual Blades. Since they are added in the latest update (December 2023), you can unlock it by playing the main quest in Chapter 2 even if you are a beginner in Monster Hunter Now. For players that passed Chapter 2 Dual Blades are shown in the weapon menu.

What are Dual Blades?

Dual Blades are one of many melee weapons found in Monster Hunter Now. They are swift and agile weapons for close combat. Dual Blades provides players with fast-hitting weapons that can easily create combos. Apart from other melee weapons, they are short and require for player to be very close to the monster. Due to their powerful nature and unlike other weapons, Dual Blades don’t have any special skill when you are holding the screen.

Dual Blades: Demon Mode Ability

The unique ability for Dual Blades is Demon Mode, it activates on a special attack button. Demon Mode gives player speed and power, allowing faster attacks and easier evasion. When in Demon Mode, the player gets to hit a monster while moving, of course, if you are close enough to it. Since this is a very powerful skill it is limited with a stamina bar. When you enter Demon Mode, your stamina starts to leek. If you remain with no stamina, your avatar will leave the mode. 

Dual Blades have a special skill called Heavenly Blade Dance. It is a series of powerful attacks, starting with one strong hit on the ground. The player is then sent to the air starting the attack on the monster’s back line. Usually hits start from the head towards the tail, but it depends on what is closer. The final hit is the strongest one and most of the time it ends with breaking the monster’s tail. As well as in any other weapon special skill use, you are also immune to monster’s attacks.

How to play Dual Blades in Monster Hunter Now

In Monster Hunter Now, Dual Blades are made to be simple and effective weapon. Dual Blades will most of the time create damage by tapping the screen and dodging monster attacks. To be able to hit the monsters you will need to be very close to the monster. To unlock the true power of this weapon, you have to activate Demon Mode and stay in it as long it is possible. In the Demon Mode dodging monster attacks will activate the evasive attacks, dealing extra damage to the monster.

13 Dual Blades Analyzed

For now, there are thirteen different Dual Blades to choose from. Each has different affinity and element strengths. Some of the mentioned weapons are found during special events, such are The Fortune Dragon Fans.

Matched Slicers

Matched Slicers are non-elemental Dual Blades. They are the first ones you can forge. In order to upgrade them you will only need materials found while walking around and Zenny. Matched Slicers don’t have any affinity, but have Poison Resistance skill (level 1 and 2).

Rending Beaks

Rending Beaks are also non-elemental Dual Blades. To forge and upgrade them you will need besides regular materials to fight Kulu-Ya-Ku and obtain its parts. Rendering Beaks have starting +10% Affinity, while at the final upgrade, it gets up to +30%. A unique skill that Rending Beaks have is Fortify (level 1 and 2).

Pulsar Hatchets

Pulsar Hatchets are thunder element Dual Blades. These blades are based on the monster Tobi-Kadachi. They are practical against the monster weak to thunder element. A special skill that Pulsar Hatchets has is the Evade Extender. These Dual Blades don’t have any affinity.

Madness Pangas

Madness Pangas are water element Dual Blades with no affinity. Upgrading these Dual Blades in Monster Hunter Now will require you to hunt Jyuratodus (Pulsar Hatchets are effective against it). Madness Pangas get at 8th-grade skill Last Stand (level 1).

Blazing Hatchets

Blazing Hatchets are fire element Dual Blades. Forging and upgrading Blazing Hatchets require Anjanath parts. Water-based Dual Blades are effective in this monster hunt. These blades don’t have any affinity, but they obtain Rising Tide skill at grade 8 (level 1).  

Freeze Daggers

Freeze Daggers are ice-element Dual Blades with no affinity. These Dual Blades are based on the Legiana parts. In Monster Hunter Now, Legiana is weak to fire element weapons. A special skill for Freeze Daggers is Divine Blessing (level 1 and 2).

Diablos Hatchets

Diablos Hatchets are non-elemental Dual Blades. And as its name says, it is forged by parts found killing Diablos. Diablos Hatchets don’t have an affinity, but they have high damage output. These blades get Heroics skill at grade 8 (level 1).

Thanatos Mauls

Thanatos Mauls are like many other Dual Blades non-elemental. These Dual Blades are one of the most powerful blades in the Monster Hunter Now series when you observe damage. The yin-yang equalizer for this weapon is the -30% affinity, giving them 30% less chances to do critical strikes. They are forged using the Black Diablos parts, which makes them very hard to obtain since this monster only appears at the selected events. Thanatos Mauls gets the Partbreaker skill at grade 8 (level 1).

Mammoth Direbones

Mammoth Direbones are also non-elemental Dual Blades. Upgrading and forging requires fighting with Banbaro and getting their parts. To be honest for me, these blades are nothing special, with attack power in a similar range to other Dual Blades, I would avoid them. I recommend using Banbaro parts on other weapon types. Mammoth Direbones have Firm Foothold skill (level 1 and 2).

Blizzarioths

Blizzarioths are ice-element Dual Blades. They are forged and upgraded with Barioth’s parts. Blizzarioths have a starting affinity at 5% going up to 20% as you upgrade your weapon. They don’t have very great damage, but their ice element attribution and affinity make them very effective against ice-weak monsters. Just like Pulsar Hatchets, they obtain Evade Extender level 1 at weapon grade 8.

Usurper’s Fulgur

Usurper’s Fulgur are thunder element Dual Blades. These blades don’t have very high damage or affinity but rather have high elemental damage. Usurper’s Fulgur is hard to obtain and upgrade since you have to get Zinogre parts. Knowing that in Monster Hunter Now, Zinogre appears only in Hunt-a-thons it is a hard mission. The special skill for Usurper’s Fulgur is Artful Dodger (level 1) which is obtainable at grade 8.

Bone Hatchets

Bone Hatchets are another non-elemental Dual Blades. They were obtainable during the New Year special event (A Happy Hunting New Year), where you would get weapon tickets needed to forge them. These Hatchets have medium damage output and no affinity. The good thing about Bone Hatchets is that you don’t need to hunt large monsters to upgrade them, they only use bones found walking around the map. Bone Hatchets get Concentration skill level 1 at grade 4.

Fortune Dragon Fans

Fortune Dragon Fans are dragon element Dual Blades. These blades are one of few dragon element weapons currently existing in the Monster Hunter Now. They are available to get through the Lucky Lunar New Year special event. To be able to forge them and to upgrade them you will need LNY 2024 Dual Blades tickets and Pink Rathian parts. Fortune Dragon Fans have medium damage and high dragon element damage, with no affinity. The unique skill is Devine Blessing level 1 at grade 5 and level 2 at grade 8.

Tips and tricks for Dual Blades

The Monster Hunter Now is different from other games in the Monster Hunter series. The fight with monsters is limited to 75 seconds, and you need to maximize your avatar’s damage before it runs out. Translated to the Dual Blades, you need to create as many as possible combo attacks. Combos can create chains of a maximum of seven strikes, while in Demon Mode it can go up to 11 hits. The recommendation for this type of weapon is to use gear containing Lock-On skill (Kulu Headpiece, Rathian Vambraces, and Diablos Nero Coil). The Lock-On skill helps maximize attack effectiveness. The use of the special skill Heavenly Blade Dance is especially impressive and influential against long monsters such are Anjanah and Rathalos. As the Dual Blades are fast-hitting weapon, I would recommend you to choose those blades that have higher affinity. The affinity will cause more often critical strikes and generally create more damage. I hope that you will enjoy using Dual Blades in Monster Hunter Now as I do.

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