Weapon Mechanics

Raw Damage
Raw damage is the pure damage done without the aid of elements or secondary status effects. In comparison to elemental damage and secondary status', it is most important to favor raw damage.

Elements
Elements is the secondary damage that is done. Like raw damage, it is done directly. How much the element effects a monster is dependant on whether they are weak to the element or not. The elements are fire, water, thunder, dragon and ice.



Fire Element
Fire is a common element found in nature. Many species of wyverns are imbued with it, including the Rathalos, Teo Teskatory, Yian Kut-Ku and Gravios.

Using Flame Sacs or other flammable materials, hunters can forge weapons with fire element, as well as armor.



Water Element
Water is an element that is extremely abundant in nature. Water creatures are weak to the thunder element. Some of the water-based creatures include Plesioth, Cephadrome and Zazami.

Weapons and armor can be imbued with the element of water.



Thunder Element
Thunder is an element that is rarely found in nature. Thunder is usually effective against water creatures. An example of monsters with thunder element are the Khezu, White Fatalis and Kirin.



Dragon Element
Dragon element is special in the sense that it can be devastating only to monsters that are dragons or have dragon lineage. The only monster that fully resists the element is the Kirin. As to all others, dragon damage varies with each monster. Examples of monsters that cause dragon damage are Fatalis and Lao Shan-Lung.



Ice Element
A new element that was first introduced in Monster Hunter 2. Ice is mostly used by snow monsters like Kusha and Dodobrango.

Secondary Status
Secondary status effects is indirect damage done to a living thing, hunter or monster, that cause it to react in a certain way. The secondary status' are poison, sleep, stun, knock out, and freeze.

Poison


Poison is a secondary status effect that affects monsters or you by gradually losing health over a certain amount of time. Different monsters are affected differently by it. Poison time can be increased or decreased by wearing armors that allow you to do so.

You can tell a monster is poisoned by seeing purple bubbles arising from atop its head.

You can implement the poison from a monster into your weapons.

Monsters

 * Flying Creatures
 * Ioprey


 * Iodrome


 * Gypceros


 * Basarios


 * Rathalos


 * Rathian


 * Oonazuchi


 * Yian Garuga

Sleep


Some monsters have the potential to send you into sleep. This allows them to get a extra hit off you. The effects of sleeping can be increased or decreased if you have armor that allows you to do so. Being interacted with, either hit by a monster or a hunter during a sleep will wake you up again.

Sleep is also a secondary status effect that you can cause to your enemies by the use of weapons or items. While an enemy sleeps, you can do necessary things such as sharpening your weapon, drinking potions, eating meat, or even taking advantage of the sleeping monster and attacking it.

Monsters

 * Gravios


 * Basarios


 * Hypnock


 * Babakonga

Stun


Paralysis is a secondary status effect. Also known as stun, this immobilizes you or the monster for an amount of time, allowing for free hits without fear of getting hit from either side.

You can see that yourself, or another hunter is stunned by them falling down frantically and having yellow shockwaves pass throughout your body. Stun duration can be increased or decreased by wearing armor.

You can see a creature is stunned by it being hunched over, and yellow shocks going around its body. You can stun a monster using a weapon or an item. Each monster has their own resistance to paralysis, and some stay longer than others in the stunned state.

Monsters

 * Genprey


 * Gendrome


 * Cephalos


 * Cephadrome


 * Khezu


 * Kirin

Knock-Out


Also called dizzied or KO'd. When a monster hits you several times in succession you have a high chance of getting knocked out. This is when you become immobile for a short time, allowing the monster to get a free hit off of you. You know you are knocked out when you stand unbalanced and you have several stars circling your head. The knock out time can be diminished if you rapidly rotate the analog stick. If the monster is capable of attacking you several times in succession, then the monster has an advantage of knocking you out.

In Monster Hunter 2, CAPCOM have implemented the knockout skill in Hammers. After hitting a monster repeatedly with a hammer on a monsters head, you have a chance of dizzying it.