Wild Hearts: How to Beat Kingtusk Kemono

Knowing how to beat the Kingtusk kemono is your first significant challenge in Wild Hearts, and you won’t make it to the town of Minato unless you can take one of them down. The problem? They’re the size of a warehouse, hit like a truck, and have a health pool to match their physical size. However, you have some advantages going into the fight, and we’ll cover those and all the monster’s attacks in this guide.

Tips to Defeat Kingtusk in Wild Hearts

Kingtusk Kemono Weaknesses

• Fire ailment.
• Slash/Lunge damage.
  • Bulwark Fusion Karakuri.
  • Karakuri Katana. 
  • Bladed Wagasa.
  • Nodachi.
  • Bow.

You can use the Crate Basic Karakuri to launch yourself into the air for some big damage here, but you’ll want to spend some time whittling away at the Kingtusk’s toes to inflict the Fire ailment, dealing damage over time.

During the fight, you’ll also get the chance to unlock the Bulwark Fusion Karakuri, which you can use to stagger the beast if you use it to interrupt a charge. It can also buy you time to heal or reposition. Kingtusk will focus on destroying the Bulwark if you build one right in front of it. Don’t rely on the Bulwark to stop every attack, as the beast’s enraged attacks will effortlessly destroy it.

As for weapons, the Karakuri Katana is one of the best, as this Kemono is weak to slashing damage. You can also use the Bladed Wagasa, Nodachi, and Bow, as the kemono is also vulnerable to all their damage types.

Note: Avoid the Maul, not only because of its slow attack speed and ungainly movement but because, as a Blunt weapon, the Kingtusk has some extra resistance to it.

Calm Kingtusk Attacks

Shoulder Check: Kingtusk pulls back on its side legs, then lunges with its shoulder. This move has a long recovery.

Walking Smash: The monster rears onto its hind legs and walks forward a few steps before doing a belly flop that generates a large shockwave when the monster lands. The attack has a long recovery but even better tracking, so use everything you have to get away.

Rock Throw: Kingtusk digs its tusks into the ground, then throws three rocks in an arc in front of it. The Bulwark stops these rocks, and a well-timed dodge or ducking behind a tree are suitable substitutes.

Jumping Slam: After a brief windup, your foe jumps in the air, hangs for a moment, then comes crashing down, jumping one or two additional times to catch any bad rolls.

Destructive Charge: Not the monster’s full charge; it runs forward toward any Karakuri you’ve built, then shakes its tusks at the building, shattering it.

Big Charge: The monster taps at the ground with one of its front hooves, then charges straight toward you, goring with its tusks if it connects and sending you flying.

Enraged Kingtusk Attacks

Being enraged doesn’t add too many attacks to the Kemono’s repertoire, but it does increase its aggressiveness and the damage it deals.

Wood Eruption: Whenever the Kingtusk enters its Rage state, it’s surrounded by a red flash of energy, then huge amounts of tree roots erupt from the ground around it.

Roots Roar: The enraged enemy roars in a direction, sending out a line of roots that will send you flying and deal heavy damage if they connect.

Wood Stomp: The Kemono rears up slightly before slamming its front hooves down, causing a brief, smaller eruption of roots immediately around it.

Best Strategies to Defeat Kingtusk

Winning this fight is a matter of staying mobile. You can simply avoid some of the beast’s attacks (the rocks, the roots, the stomp, etc.) by running perpendicular to the attacks themselves. Use your Bulwark wisely, as making them is expensive, and you don’t want to be out of Karakuri Thread at a critical moment.

Make careful use of your Crate Karakuri to perform aerial attacks when openings present themselves; use the Spring to avoid some of the bigger ones, as you get a few invincibility frames every time you vault off of a Spring. When the Kingtusk transitions into Enrage mode, the AoE attack is unavailable, so your only choice is to run away.

If you’re out of Thread and need to avoid an attack, many of the Kingtusk’s larger moves have incredible tracking; avoiding them by running is a tall order. Instead, you’ll want to do a slide dodge, which you do by pressing the dodge button while you’re running. Make sure you have the stamina to do so, as getting caught with your pants down will cost you two-thirds of your health bar.

Don’t be afraid to nip at the monster’s toes, either, but use your Hunter’s Arm to refill your Karakuri Thread whenever you’re running low. More than that, taking down the Kingtusk is a matter of patience and measured aggression. Take a moment to watch it use its various moves so you know what to look for, and try not to get caught against a wall because the camera in Wild Hearts can be a special kind of hell.

With that, you know how to beat the Kingtusk Kemono in Wild Hearts. It’s not the toughest fight in the game by a long shot, but neither is it the easy, especially for being so early in the story. If you’re looking for more info on Wild Hearts, check out our guides hub for the action RPG from Koei Tecmo.

Featured image via EA.