Wild Hearts: How Armor Forging Works

Armor modification in Wild Hearts is slightly different than in the Monster Hunter games that inspired it. Here, there’s no upgrading of armor stats — what you see is what you get when it comes to the defenses of a particular piece of gear. What is different is the soft reputation system you get for wearing specific sets, and depending on which side of that coin you fall on, your armor can unlock additional, higher-powered Skills. We’ll explain how the armor forging system works in this guide.

Everything You Need to Know about Armor Modification in Wild Hearts

Image by GameSkinny

Armor Modification is a system unique to Wild Hearts and is one of the only ways to properly increase your gear’s stats or unlock some of the higher-power Skills on offer. To modify a piece of armor, you must first craft its base version, then earn additional materials from its associated kemono and harder-to-get materials from other kemono and the various zone.

A quick wrinkle: You’ll notice a progress bar at the bottom of the Armor crafting screen. On its left are blue and purple human head symbols. On its right are red monster icons. This is the soft reputation system we mentioned above.

How the Human and Kemono Path System Works in Wild Hearts

Depending on what you’re wearing, your character will move further toward the Human (left) path or the Kemono (right) path. You can tell which way you’re going based on the value given on the second line of the armor piece’s stats, with the purple samurai hat moving you toward Human and the red Kemono symbol moving you in that direction. A hash mark on the progress bar at the bottom of the screen shows how you’ll progress if you equip that gear.

If you want to make Human or Kemono-Path upgraded armor, you need a rare material only obtainable by hunting the monster whose armor you want to craft. For Human-Path gear, you need Teardrops; Kemono-Path needs Blood. These mats are single, random drops from the Kemono that bear their moniker. Each path of forging takes a single unit of Teardrops or Blood, so you’ll need at least two of each to make every set.

With enough progress toward either path, you’ll be able to use Skills that require a high Human or Kemono value.

Be aware that not every piece of armor in a set can be Modified, so you’ll have to check the Human or Kemono upgrade screens to see if what you’re crafting can be improved. For instance, the Basara Helm you can make using Kingtusk materials has the Nostrum Water Skill, which gives your healing water the ability to cure ailments. To use it, you need to have enough Human path rating. Without it, the Skill will be greyed out and won’t activate during a hunt.

Human and Kemono-Path gear has higher stats than the base versions of the armor. As there’s no way to improve lower-rarity gear, you’ll need to continuously craft and modify your equipment to stay competitive with the more difficult Kemono you hunt.

Those are the most important details about armor modification in Wild Hearts. It’s a little more involved than in other games of its kind, but there are some simplifications in other areas to make up for it. For more on Wild Hearts, including our review-in-progress and other content, see our hub to the game.

Featured image via Electronic Arts