Palamutes are a game-changer in Rise's hunting system. These combat-focused companions can contribute up to 30% of a monster's total HP in optimal setups, making them especially potent with fast-hitting weapons like Lance. While Palicos offer great utility through buffs and support abilities, double Palamute setups have become the go-to for pure damage output.

If you're not chasing speedrun times, a Fighter Palico (for Affinity buffs and extra Wirebugs) or Gathering Palico (for rare material farming) paired with a Palamute offers a solid balance of damage and utility.

With the silkbinder gun dog nerf and the chain buff in Title Update 3, the optimal palamute setup changed. The current meta revolves around Melee-centric builds utilizing Dual-bladed Chains, offering even higher damage potential through their unique mechanics.

Palamute attack patterns closely mirror hunter actions, fast-hitting weapons like Lance benefit tremendously from this mechanic, as each successful counter or offensive move can trigger companion attacks. In contrast, slower weapons like Greatsword see reduced Palamute damage output due to lower attack frequency.

The Whirlwind Spin Attack is by far the most damaging move in the Palamute arsenal. This op move can be triggered by specific hunter actions across various weapon types:

• 🛡️

  Lance: Anchor Rage counter, Spiral Thrust impact

• ⚔️

  Switch Axe: Element Burst Counter (EBC), Zero Sum Discharge (ZSD)

• 🔋

  Charge Blade: Super Amped Element Discharge (SAED)

• 🗡️

  Sword and Shield: Metsu Shoryugeki, Windmill

• 🔨

  Hammer: Courage Style combo loops

• 🔫

  Gunlance: Hailcutter Silkbind

Many speedrunners now prioritize moves that trigger the Palamute spins, even if these moves aren't typically optimal for pure hunter DPS.

Getting your Palamutes to use their chains quickly can make a big difference in hunt times. There are several ways to trigger the chains, and knowing these helps you start dealing good damage right from the start of a hunt.

• 💫

  Status effects like Paralysis, Sleep, Stun or Poison will trigger the chains

• 🪤

  Using Shock or Pitfall traps works great for activation

• 💡

  Flash bombs or Dung bombs will make them pull out the chains

• 🐛

  Using elemental beetles (fire/water/thunder/ice) on the monster triggers chain attacks

This is why you'll often see speedrunners start their hunts with a flash bomb or trap. These quick triggers get your Palamutes dealing high damage right away. Elemental beetles are especially handy since you can find them around the map and they're quick to use.

Let's look at what gear your Palamutes should use to deal the most damage.

Best Palamute Gear

Dual-bladed Chains

Healing Blade Scroll

The Dual-bladed Chains are your main damage dealer, while the Healing Blade Scroll keeps both you and your dogs healthy during fights.

The Dual-bladed Chains are the best dps option. For the second slot, I recommend the Healing Blade Scroll. It helps in two ways:

• 💚

  Heals everyone nearby, including you, which means less time using potions

• ⚔️

  Keeps your Palamutes healthy so they spend more time attacking and less time healing themselves

This becomes really important in higher-level hunts where monsters hit harder. Without healing support, your Palamutes might spend too much time trying to heal instead of helping you deal damage. The free healing also means you can stay aggressive instead of backing off to use potions.

Your Palamutes have 8 skill slots, and four of these should always be filled with core skills. Melee-Centric boosts your dog's physical attacks, Counter and Artful Dodger help them stay alive and fighting, and either Element Attack Up or Status Attack Up rounds out the core build depending on what weapon they're using.

Palamute Skills

Element

Status

The element build (left) focuses on raw damage with element boost, while the status build (right) trades some damage for status effects.

Some monsters matchups benefit from having specific defensive skills. If you're using a Water Palamute against Magnamalo, Deflagration Relief is worth considering, it stops your dog from jumping around with hellfire, keeping them in the fight. Similarly, when facing monsters like Chameleos or Gold Rathian with your Fire, Thunder, or Ice dogs, Negate Poison can help maintain consistent damage instead of having them waste time rolling around trying to cure poison.

The best way to get good damage from your Palamutes is to match their weapon's element to what the monster is weak to. While this means you'll need to swap weapons often, the damage boost is worth it. (I personally have 10 dogs, 2 for each element)

Here's something interesting: even monsters that seem resistant to elements often have weak spots on their legs. Since Palamutes mostly attack the legs, they can deal great elemental damage even when you wouldn't expect it. For example, Mizutsune's claws are weak to Thunder, Valstrax's legs are weak to Water, and Scorned Magnamalo's back legs are weak to Water.

Palamute Weapons

🔥 Fire

rathalos

💧 Water

almudron

⚡️ Thunder

zinogre

🧊 Ice

kushala daora

🐉 Dragon

primordial malzeno

If you don't want to swap weapons all the time, status weapons are a good alternative. They do less damage overall, but they work well against most monsters and can help create openings for your team.

Palamute Weapons

☠️ Poison

red

⚡⚡ Paralysis

jelly x

💤 Sleep

barking x

💥 Blast

seething bazelgeuse