Monster Hunter Stories 3 Guide: All Weapon Recipe and How to Unlock Them

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection gives you access to six distinct weapon types, each with dozens of individual recipes tied to specific monsters or hidden treasure chests. Knowing exactly which monstie to hunt, or which chest to crack open, saves you hours of guesswork and keeps your gear ahead of whatever the story throws at you next.

How Does Weapon Crafting Work in MHS3?

Before you can forge a single blade, you need to clear the opening tutorial mission where recruit Thea gets a crash course in ranger duties. Once that's done and you're back at the Azuria Kingdom Castle, the blacksmith shop opens up in the courtyard. From that point forward, a blacksmith (or a traveling cat merchant at campsites) is always nearby.

Every weapon has three upgrade levels. Forging the weapon itself counts as level one, and each subsequent upgrade boosts its stats. Some upgrade ingredients only become available after you've progressed further into the story or obtained specific materials, so don't be surprised if a weapon you've already forged can't be upgraded right away.

Weapons also carry elemental attributes (Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Dragon, or Normal), which makes certain weapons far more effective against monsters weak to that element. Matching your weapon element to a monster's weakness is one of the fastest ways to clear fights.

Blacksmith forge menu in MHS3

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How Do You Unlock Weapon Recipes?

Most recipes unlock automatically when you defeat the target monster and collect its materials. A handful are found inside Treasure Chests scattered across the world, and a small number are available from the very start as default unlocks. The tables below organize every weapon by type so you can plan your farming runs efficiently.

Great Sword Recipes

The Great Sword hits hard and covers a wide range of elements. Several of its strongest options come from late-game monsters like Arkveld and the Ibushi and Narwa duo battle.

Long Sword Recipes

The Long Sword offers the widest variety of elemental options of any weapon type. Water-element Long Swords are particularly well-stocked, giving you plenty of choices for fire-weak monsters.

Long Sword selection screen

Hammer Recipes

The Hammer has the largest overall recipe pool, with strong Fire and Thunder options from monsters like Brachydios and Zinogre. The default Bone Hammer gets you started immediately.

Hunting Horn Recipes

The Hunting Horn is the most support-oriented weapon in the game, and its recipe list reflects that variety. The Bnahabra monster is uniquely tied to multiple Hunting Horn recipes across different elements (the Vicello Nulo series in Green, Black, Yellow, and Red variants).

Bow Recipes

The Bow is a versatile ranged weapon with solid coverage across all elements. The Arko Nulo series (Black, Yellow, White, Red) mirrors the Bnahabra-linked Hunting Horn pattern, giving you element-specific options from a single monster type.

Gunlance Recipes

The Gunlance rounds out the weapon roster with a strong mix of elemental and Normal options. The Fiore Nulo series (Green, Black, Red) follows the Bnahabra pattern seen in Bows and Hunting Horns.

What Are the Best Weapons to Prioritize?

With so many options on the table, here's a quick framework for deciding where to focus your crafting energy.

• Element matching matters most. Forging a Fire weapon before fighting a fire-weak monster will always outperform a higher-tier Normal weapon with no elemental advantage.
• Arkveld weapons are top-tier. The Veldian series (Veldian Gladius, Veldian Ensis, Veldian Malleus, Veldian Sibilus, Veldian Arcum, Veldian Hasta) covers all six weapon types and carries Dragon element, making them strong end-game options.
• Magnamalo weapons are reliable mid-game picks. The Sinister series spans every weapon type and unlocks from the same monster, so a single focused hunt can gear up your entire loadout.
• Treasure Chest weapons fill gaps. Weapons like the Frozen Speartuna (Great Sword, Ice) and Crystalline Flower (Bow, Ice) can't be obtained from monsters at all, so keep an eye on every chest you find.
• Battle variants unlock special weapons. The Azure Elder series requires defeating the combined Ibushi and Narwa battle, not just one of them individually.