In Wild Hearts, you need skill and practice to hunt Kemono. These beasts are the hardest to catch out of all the game’s monsters.
Fans of the famous Monster Hunter games have a lot to look forward to. Wild Hearts was made by Omega Force, who are best known for making the Dynasty Warriors games. Both critics and players have given the game high marks. Wild Hearts is the first game to expand the Monster Hunter formula into its own genre, which is now called “Hunting games.” It tries to capture the magic of Monster Hunter while adding a few twists to keep the game feeling new.
There are a lot of new things in Wild Hearts that make it stand out, like the ability to build structures in the middle of a battle and weapons that stay sharp. But the big monsters that players have to hunt are still the most important part of this type of game. They need to be intimidating, easy to remember, and most of all, hard. Wild Hearts does this well, thanks to a small number of monsters (also called Kemono) that push players to the edge of their skills. Here are the hardest monsters in the game and what players can do to beat them.
Gritdog
The Gritdog looks like a big tanuki, and it uses a magnetic field to control the ironsand in its environment. It then wraps itself in metal armor and fires ranged attacks at the player. But when the Gritdog runs out of ironsand, it will have to restock, giving other players a chance to attack.
The Gritdog’s most dangerous trait is that it can build karakuri-like structures like the ones the player can make. It can change the ground under the player to pull them in or make stalactites appear under their feet. When you add in its strong defense, the Gritdog can be a dangerous enemy for any player, no matter how much gear or experience they have.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Slash, Lunge
- Elemental: Wind, Wood
Venomglider
Early on in Basket Random game, players will run into the Spineglider. But when they meet Kemono’s cousin, the Venomglider, a long time after that, that will be the real challenge. This beast acts the same way as its weaker counterpart, but the spider lilies that cover its body will let off clouds of poison.
Like with the Spineglider, the best way to catch a Venomglider is to attack the rocky footholds it makes to climb up cliffs. The key to winning this fight is to avoid the poison clouds that the Kemono will often make around itself.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Pummel
- Elemental: Wood, Fire
Cobalt Lavaback
Even though the Cobalt Lavaback is still covered in magma like the regular Lavaback, it prefers to spend its time in cold, icy places, where it can use its magma to melt the ice around it and make hot springs that it can soak in.
The Cobalt Lavaback still uses attacks that erupt from the ground under the player, and it still runs around the map throwing magma at both long and short ranges. The most important difference between this version and the original is that it does more damage and lives in a more dangerous place.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Lunge
- Elemental: Water
Earthbreaker
Players will only be able to hunt this Kemono during campaign quests. It won’t show up during Free Hunt. But that doesn’t make it any less difficult. This huge creature is covered in rocks, which makes it hard to hurt with most weapons.
The good news is that the Earthbreaker has a lot of small weak spots that players can easily attack. Focusing on these weak spots and hurting them will open up other weak spots on its body, which will eventually let players kill it.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Pummel, Lunge
- Elemental: Wind
Sapscourge
This quiet Kemono, which looks like a beaver, doesn’t make much of an impression at first. It isn’t very small, but it’s not as big as some of the other animals in Azuma. The sap this creature shoots out is the biggest danger to players.
This sap can do one of two things. At worst, it can put people to sleep. If not, it will stick to the ground and make them hard to move, making them easy to attack. The best thing to do is use an old Monster Hunter trick and go for the Sapscourge‘s tail. It’s weaker than it looks and if you cut it off, it won’t be able to throw sap as far.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Slash
- Elemental: Fire
Onyxshard
The Onyxshard is another type of Kemono that players will run into early on. It is a stronger version of the Goldshard, which is a porcupine-like creature with stone-covered spines that can shoot out of its back and do a lot of damage to the player.
When it comes to the Onyxshard, it can also call up rocks from the ground. Players who try to stay away won’t be able to do so because the Onyxshard can summon rocks right under their feet or rip the ground apart, all from a distance where the Goldshard would be almost useless.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Pummel, Lunge
- Elemental: Wood, Wind
Pearlbeak
The Fumebeak, a Kemono that looks like a huge crow, is already a very tough creature to fight. The fact that it can fly gives it mobility and range that few other Kemono can match.
The Pearlbeak makes it harder for people to catch it by sending out rays of light that make people blind for a few moments if they get hit by one. It’s a powerful ability that makes players completely defenseless against Pearlbeak attacks. The only way to stop it is to find a natural barrier or make a karakuri that can block its light.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Pummel
- Elemental: Earth
Deathstalker
For those who have played Monster Hunter, the Deathstalker is like Nergigante in Wild Hearts. Early on in the campaign, players will run into this beast, but they will have to wait a while before they can hunt it.
This is because this Kemono is a strong opponent. It moves incredibly quickly and its attacks have a ridiculous amount of power. Once players anger it, the Deathstalker’s attack speed and range go up, making the hardest parts of this hunt even harder. On top of that, the Deathstalker wears icy armor that blocks most of the damage that players would normally do with their weapons.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Lunge
- Elemental: Fire
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, a Kemono that looks like a phoenix, will be a hunt that players do near the end of the story campaign, before they can find it on a Free Hunt in the wild. This beast can take in celestial thread from its surroundings and use it to power its huge AOE attacks.
When looking for Amaterasu, where the player stands and what’s around them are very important. Because it can do a lot of damage all at once, players who get too confident or get stuck on a part of the environment will take the full force of these attacks. During this hunt, it’s almost as important to keep a close eye on the area around the Kemono as it is to watch the Kemono itself.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Slash, Pummel
- Elemental: Wind
Golden Tempest
The Golden Tempest is a huge cat-like Kemono that lives far to the north of the Golden Sea. It can control the wind itself. It can hit players from almost any distance by throwing projectiles and lunging at them. It can also move players around the battlefield with whirlwinds.
The Golden Tempest is so big and moves so fast that if you try to fight it aggressively, it can almost instantly turn against you. It’s hard to avoid its attacks because of how big and fast they are. Because of this, it’s better for players to take their time and wait for the right moment to strike than to try to fight Golden Tempest head-on.
Weaknesses
- Physical: Lunge
- Elemental: Water
Wild Hearts came out on February 16, 2023, for the PS5, the Xbox Series X/S, and the PC.