Game Guides

How to Sharpen Weapons in Monster Hunter World

29 January 2018

If you’re new to the franchise, Monster Hunter World has a lot of new systems and nuances for you to wrap your head around.

Some of these systems – like how to sharpen weapons – are very simple once you know how, but can be absolutely baffling to a newcomer. Rather than your weapons breaking, Breath of the Wild style, in Monster Hunter World, they become blunt after so many attacks on monsters. It’s up to you to keep it sharpened in order to do the maximum amount of damage to those beasties.

How to see when your weapon needs sharpening in Monster Hunter World

Your weapon sharpness is shown with a gauge at the top of your screen. It’s the short green-coloured sword seen in the image below. This depletes as you carry out more attacks. As your weapon gets more blunt, the gauge will turn orange. Keep an eye on it, as it’ll deplete fairly quickly – especially in your first few hours!

How to sharpen weapons in Monster Hunter World

Sharpening weapons is easy — and you have the ability to do it straight away without needing to craft or find any special gear. In your inventory, you have an item called “Whetstone”. It’s unlimited, meaning it never depletes or runs out. Hoorah!

Here’s how to use it:

When out in the field, hold down the left trigger (LB/L1) to access your inventory wheel
While still holding LB, Press X and B (or square/circle on PS4) to cycle through your inventory until you reach Whetstone.
Let go of the left trigger.
Hold down X (square on PS4) to use the Whetstone and sharpen your weapon. You’ll see your character do a little sharpening animation, and the bar at the top of your screen will replenish.

It’s as simple as that! Remember though, if you’re in the middle of a battle, you’ll need to find a safe area in order to sharpen your weapon as it leaves you vulnerable to attack for 5-10 seconds. Once it’s done though, you’re ready to run back into the fray with a nice sharp weapon.

Happy monster hunting!