Check your Item Box in Monster Hunter Rise, and you’ll see that every weapon has Switch Skills. There are three Switch Skills set to each weapon, and you’ll have to complete special quests to unlock the third skill on each set. There are two Switch Skills in each tier, and you’ll only be able to equip one of the two at any given time — that’s why they’re called Switch Skills!
Unlocking Switch Skills is straightforward, but it takes a little time. You’ll eventually get quests to unlock those Switch Skills by talking to your favorite quest-giver Master Utsushi at the Gathering Hub. A yellow quest notification will appear over his head — and that means you need to visit the ninja master. Here, we’re going to break down how to complete all the Switch Skill quests so you can slice up monsters even more efficiently.
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How To Unlock Tier 1 Switch Skills
Switch Skills won’t unlock until you’ve reached at least 4 Star quests and completed your first Rampage quest. At that point, you’ll be able to travel to Master Utsushi in the Gathering Hub.
- Tier 1 Switch Skills: Talk to Master Utsushi after completing your first Rampage quest. Then you’ll unlock all Tier 1 Switch Skills for all weapons — all 16, even if you’ve never used the weapon.
You’ll automatically unlock all the Tier 1 Switch Skills for every weapon, so you can give them a try, experiment, and see which ones you like the most. The main story is all about helping you learn to be the best Monster Hunter you can be, after all!
How To Unlock Tier 2 Switch Skills
Tier 2 Switch Skills are unlocked through Weapon Crafting. The more you craft a weapon, the more you’ll complete an invisible crafting requirement — you need to craft multiple weapons to reach Tier 3 / 4 / 5.
- Tier 2 Switch Skills: Once you craft 3~ different weapons (of the same type) to Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5, Master Utsushi will give you the Tier 2 Switch Skill for that particular weapon.
You need to craft three or more different weapons of the same type to about three different tiers. So, you’ll need to craft three different Charge Blades (for example), crafting one to Tier 4/5, and two completely different Charge Blades to Tier 3/4. It isn’t totally clear, but you’ll want to craft multiple weapons to High Level of the same type.
How To Unlock Tier 3 Switch Skills
Once you begin 4 Star quests, Master Utsushi will give you requests that allow you to unlock Tier 3 Switch Skills — these switch skills change your Wirebug Attack. Once you’ve got access to 4 Star quests, talk to Master Utsushi in the Gathering Hub to begin your first Tier 3 Switch Skill quests.
- Initial Tier 3 Switch Skills: Once you unlock 4 Star quests, the following quests will appear at the Gathering Hub for Tier 3 Switch Skills.
- Sword & Shield
- Hunting Horn
- Switch Axe
- Light Bowgun
All of these quests involve hunting two animals. Nothing too complicated — the quest will tell you where to go, and which two monsters to hunt.
- Intermediate Tier 3 Switch Skills: These Tier 3 Switch Skill quests will only appear after you’ve unlocked 5 Star quests.
- Great Sword
- Hammer
- Lance
- Charge Blade
- Heavy Bowgun
Like the other quests, it’s all about hunting big monsters. Like the rest of the quests, you don’t need to actually use the weapon. You just need to complete the quest — using any weapon. If you want to unlock all the Switch Skills, even for weapons you don’t use, you’re free to do so.
- Advanced Tier 3 Switch Skills: The last set of weapons can unlock Switch Skills through quests at 6 Star difficulty.
- Long Swords
- Dual Blades
- Gunlance
- Insect Glaive
- Bow
