Weapons, naturally, play a key role in dispatching the many beasts in the Monster Hunter franchise. Some, however, are a little impractical.

In Monster Hunter, players usually fight and hunt down the living manifestations of raw, primordial nature called, well, monsters. Unlike most games, it treats its players as the ants they are when fighting against something a hundred times their size. Players get to control their fragile meat bag of a human character, but felling these monsters will require extensive and agonizing effort.

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The good news is that the game readily gives players some nifty tools to hunt down these monsters. The not-so-good news is that around half of them look more fit for human-sized enemies rather than hulking behemoths. That won't hinder players gameplay-wise, but it won't stop anyone from questioning the practical logic behind these weapons or how well they hold up in gameplay.

Often touted as one of — if not the most complicated weapons in the franchise, the Charge Blade typically requires a semester of learning before one becomes masterful with it. Specializing or training with this weapon is almost like a rhythm game. Players will have to manage their phials and their guard counters in order for the Charge Blade to excel.

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Once players have gotten acquainted with this weapon, they'll easily notice that it's one of the most versatile. But of course, this versatility comes at a cost. It's not really a recommended weapon for newbies. One also has to question the engineering reasoning behind designing a weapon that can turn into a sword, and then a shield, and then an axe.

The Insect Glaive isn't too bad. It's actually one of the coolest-looking weapons in the game and also comes with the flashiest aerial moves. In practice, however, a lot of new Insect Glaive users spend more time bouncing around mid-air than actually fighting the monster. A few wrong button presses and the character becomes a makeshift helicopter.

It also doesn't help that the Insect Glaive requires some rather tedious form of micromanagement with the Kinsect. Players will have to shoot the Kinsect and switch between its different modes, often disrupting the combat rhythm and dodge timings if the wielder is not well-adjusted.

Someone thought that musical instruments other than guitars make for good weapons, so here's the Hunting Horn. It's not the flashiest nor the most intimidating weapon in Monster Hunter. The community often considers it as their least favorite weapon to wield because if the melee weapons are the jocks, and the ranged weapons are the cheering squad, then the Hunting Horn is the band geek.

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It's mostly considered as a support weapon and as always, everyone likes the support but no one wants to play the role. There's also the fact that players will have to resign with the knowledge that they brought a musical instrument to a hunt. They often end up pummeling the monsters with the Hunting Horn like a caveman anyway.

The Sword and Shield are one of the most newbie-friendly weapons in the game because it's one of the few weapon choices that allow for blocking or defense roles. But more often than not, the Sword part of the Sword and Shield can leave the players wanting in terms of aesthetics.

It barely passes as a sword and looks more like an oversized dagger. The shield doesn't fare better either. Most variants look like bucklers that really wouldn't be able to block a monster maw the size of a house. Sure enough, at most Sword and Shield players end up chipping away at the monster's toes with their letter openers. Not exactly the best way to give the monsters a pedicure.

One would think that the Long Sword, a.k.a. the Weebstick, has no drawbacks but this newbie-friendly weapon also comes at a cost. The moves are simple enough and the weapon has innate defensive capabilities but it's a rather selfish tool in Monster Hunter. Because in some of the latest titles and even in the old ones, the Long Sword can easily interrupt allies.

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It won't damage them, thankfully. But the Long Sword's wide, sweeping attacks will flinch and disrupt most allies' actions. Other melee weapons also do this but the Long Sword's length makes it more unfriendly. This can even result in some ally deaths, especially when paired with some tightly-timed dodge windows. So, the Long Sword user in multiplayer will have to confine themselves to the monster's tail if they want to play nice with others in co-op.

Duel Blade users are known for their edginess: they literally brought two or more edges to the hunt. Their weapons are flashy, sure, but these usually come at the price of defense. Dual Blades are some of the least defensive weapon categories in the game. They often prompt players to adopt an aggressive and relentless playstyle.

Moreover, the Dual Blades don't have the best melee range and the Demon mode consumes too much stamina, further making its playstyle riskier compared to other weapons that hit harder. On the other hand, landing a spinal roll attack is one of the most satisfying weapon moments in Monster Hunter. But other than that and the Narutorun, Dual Blades don't get many playstyle quirks and advantages.

The Greatsword is easily the biggest weapon in Monster Hunter and it's also probably one of the earliest as far as the lore goes. It's literally just an oversized caveman bludgeon with later versions taking advantage of metals and whetstones. Regardless, the Greatsword is too cumbersome and unwieldy to swing.

Their attacks have longer animation frames and can easily deny their wielder some life-saving dodges. Despite the simple look, the Greatsword is far from being a newbie-friendly weapon or an accessible one.

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Sid was born, did some stuff, then decided to become a writer. He finds respite in the sweet embrace of mass media escapism after having risked his life too many times as a journalist covering warzones and depressed areas. Nowadays he mostly risks his bladder as he tries to hold his urine waiting for those precious post-credits scenes at the movies or trying to kill Souls-like bosses. So far it's going well. Probably.