The Long Sword is getting a second layer on top of its Spirit Gauge in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, and it comes from the Boost Bracer. Capcom’s new hunting action gives all 14 weapon types a temporary Boost state, and for the Long Sword that state speeds up the moves players already lean on while adding a sheathed counter that can topple a monster outright.
Quick answer: Stay aggressive to fill Boost Bracer energy, then land a Boost Driver to enter Boost. While boosted, Crimson Slash, the Spirit Roundslash finisher, and Foresight Whirl Slash all run faster with better follow-ups.
How the Boost Bracer and Boost Driver work on the Long Sword
Boost Bracer energy builds as you keep attacking. Once it is ready, you spend it on a Boost Driver, a powerful attack that switches Boost on. Capcom sums up the Long Sword’s version of Boosted Actions as slashing that builds the Spirit Gauge, enhanced combos and counters, and greater offset and stagger potential.
The Long Sword’s Boost Driver is not a simple lunge. It drops the hunter into a sheathed stance that you can walk around in, holding the position until you release a very fast offset counter. Landing that counter can topple the monster, push the Spirit Gauge up a level, and refill the spirit meter in one motion, so a single read on an incoming attack pays for the whole setup.
Because the stance is mobile, you can reposition while it is active instead of committing to a fixed spot, which makes it usable against monsters that reposition before they swing.
The Master Rank footage shows all of this on a hunter wearing the Rathalos Master Rank armor set, with wing-like sections on the back and a battle-worn waist piece, carrying a red Rathalos-themed Long Sword.
Every new Long Sword action in Ascendance
| Action | Needs Boost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Boost Driver Offset | Bracer energy | Mobile sheathed stance into a fast offset counter |
| Boosted Crimson Slash | Yes | Much faster Crimson Slash sequence |
| Boosted Spirit Roundslash Finisher | Yes | Rapid strikes into a sheathing counter stance |
| Boosted Foresight Whirl Slash | Yes | Faster recovery, straight into Spirit Roundslash |
| Empowered Iai Spirit Slash | Yes | Quicker Special Sheathe into a boosted Iai Spirit Slash |
| Dash Attacks | Yes | Very fast dashes in the middle of a combo |
| Double Slash | No | Sheathed-stance attack that builds spirit |
Basic attack strings also gain extra moves while the Boost Driver is active, which is why the boosted state reads as a different weapon rather than a damage buff.
What changes while the Long Sword is boosted
Boosted Crimson Slash
The Crimson moves already require a red Spirit Gauge. Under Boost, the Crimson Slash sequence runs noticeably faster, so the same combo lands more hits in the same window. That matters most on elemental Long Swords, where the value comes from hit count rather than single big numbers.
Boosted Spirit Roundslash Finisher
This is the standout. The boosted finisher delivers a burst of rapid strikes and then drops into a sheathing stance that doubles as a counter-attack. It also does not appear to drain the Spirit Gauge, so you can throw out the finisher and stay at red gauge instead of resetting your build-up.
Boosted Foresight Whirl Slash
Side by side with the normal version, the boosted Foresight Whirl Slash recovers much sooner. The hunter skips the usual slide-back animation and goes straight into a Spirit Roundslash the moment they touch the ground, which turns a defensive read into an immediate gauge level.
Double Slash: the sheathed-stance attack that does not need Boost
Double Slash is a new standard move performed straight out of the sheathed stance, and it works without Boost active. It quietly builds the spirit meter, leaves the sheath glowing with what looks like a buff, and lets you transition back into your defensive options afterwards.
In practice it gives the sheathed stance a use when you do not want to commit to the offset. You can poke, keep the gauge moving, and re-enter a counter instead of standing still.
Chaining the Boost Driver offset into counters and finishers
The Boost Driver offset is not only an opener. If you are already sitting on a red Spirit Gauge when you land it, you can skip ahead and go directly into the Boosted Finisher rather than rebuilding through the usual Spirit Blade chain.
Counters also link into each other. A successful Foresight Whirl Slash can flow straight into a Boost Driver Offset, so one defensive read sets up the next without dropping back to neutral. Strung together, that is a loop of offsets, staggers, and finishers that keeps the gauge topped up.
Every action above is pre-release Master Rank footage, so timings and gauge behavior can still shift before launch.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance release window and platforms
Ascendance is due out in 2027. The base game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, with a Switch 2 version in development. Capcom has been rolling out one Boosted Action breakdown per weapon, and the Long Sword is one of the 14 covered.
No specific launch date or time for the expansion has been confirmed beyond that 2027 window.
