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Wild Hearts is an action RPG set in the fictional world of Azuma, a land inspired by feudal Japan. In Azuma, you will take on the role of a hunter, tasked with hunting giant Kemono, or beasts that have undergone elemental changes due to their environment.

Related: Wild Hearts: Ragetail Boss Fight Guide

Wild Hearts is a difficult game; many of its beasts are aggressive and leave little room for error. However, by utilizing the following tips, you may just be able to gain the upper hand. Below, you can find several tips and tricks for making your start in Wild Hearts a bit easier.

Scavenge For Food

eating food

Eating food is one of the most important things you can do to stay alive during a hunt. Many of the Kemono in Wild Hearts have high-damage attacks, which can knock you out in just a few hits if you aren't careful. To prevent this, search around the map for some food, preferably ones that can boost your health and defense.

As you progress through the game, you will reach new areas, which means new food. Plus, you'll eventually gain the ability to cook and cure your food, increasing the bonuses they provide. Always remember to look for new food when you reach a new location, and always eat before fighting a Kemono.

Develop The Land

camp in the great tree

In Wild Hearts, the world is your playground. Using Dragon Karakuri, you can create a number of useful facilities around the world, like camps that you can fast travel to, zip lines that will help you move quickly around the map, a radar to locate Kemono easier, and even crafting stations for upgrading and forging new equipment.

By developing the map, you can turn a hunt in your favor before it's even begun. Make new campsites near the hunt location for a quick way back if you fall in battle, or create wind machines to carry you up cliffs with ease.

However, in order to construct these Karakuri, you will first need to find and upgrade the Dragon Veins throughout the map. By upgrading these, you can increase the capacity to create Karakuri of each element. If you have no stock of that element left, you won't be able to make more. In this case, run around the map, find crystals, and upgrade your Dragon Veins to construct additional Karakuri.

Stay On Top Of Upgrades

basara armor crafted from kingtusk materials

As you fight new Kemono, you will gain access to new weapons and armor sets. Typically, as you progress, these armor sets will only get stronger as their defense stats increase. Because of this, you'll want to always be crafting new armor sets when you can, as the Kemono you face later will deal more and more damage with their attacks.

Similarly, upgrading your weapon is essential for hunting a Kemono before it hunts you. Each of the eight weapons in Wild Hearts has several upgrade paths, so you'll want to constantly be crafting new weapons through the different paths for different bonuses and elemental stats.

Additionally, some armor sets have the option to upgrade into Human-path or Kemono-path, increasing their stats slightly and increasing your overall Human or Kemono points. At certain thresholds of these points, the armor's greyed-out skills that may be present will unlock. If you have the materials, these upgrades are definitely worth it.

Utilize Karakuri

hunter conjuring crate karakuri

Karakuri are handy tools that will aid you immensely on your hunts. By conjuring Karakuri, you can make crates to jump off of, gliders to fly you to safety, torches to light your weapon on fire, and many more through the various fusion Karakuri, like the crossbow or healing mist.

By hunting Kemono and earning Kemono Orbs, you can upgrade the effectiveness of your Karakuri and even unlock new ones.

Each Kemono also has particular weaknesses to certain Karakuri. For example, Kingtusk is especially weak to the Bulwark fusion Karakuri which stops its charge attacks in its tracks and flings the Kemono into the air. Determine each Kemono's weakness, and equip your Karakuri accordingly for each battle.

Practice On A Training Bear

practicing against a training bear

Each of the eight weapons in Wild Hearts has a range of attacks, abilities, and special effects that you should learn before heading into a hunt. To that end, we recommend completing the weapon's training regimen on a Training Bear. Through this short tutorial, you will learn the weapon's main attacks, combos, and capabilities.

However, this tutorial doesn't teach you everything you need to know about your weapon; that knowledge only comes from hours of practice. The Training Bear is great for getting down the basics, but if you're planning on really diving into a weapon's complexities, practice against real Kemono will provide a better teacher.

Learn The Hunter's Arm

using the hunter's arm technique on a ragetail

The Hunter's Arm Technique is a special attack you can perform on Kemono that have exposed their weak points. These are glowing blue spots that are found in various places around the Kemono's body after you have damaged it enough. By jumping onto the side of the Kemono, you can climb around it, then execute the Hunter's Arm Technique when you're positioned on top of one of these weak points.

This technique draws out Karakuri Thread from the Kemono and stuns it for a short duration, giving you a massive advantage. While the Kemono is reeling from your Hunter Arm, go on the offensive with your Karakuri devices.

Search Out Tsukumo

befriending a wild tsukumo in Wild Hearts

Tsukumo are mysterious creatures that can be found around the world of Azuma. Near the start of the game, one of them will follow you around, aiding you in battle. By finding the various Tsukumo hidden around the world, you can earn Old Cogs to upgrade your helper's parameters.

By upgrading your Tsukumo, it will gain the ability to heal you in battle, draw the attention of the Kemono, and attack on its own. If you're struggling with a particularly challenging fight, we recommend taking some time to seek out Tsukumo around the world and upgrade your hunting buddy.

Next: Wild Hearts: Sapscourge Boss Fight Guide