All of the Wild Hearts Details We Know

Wild Hearts is an upcoming Hunter Style game. Players can group up in packs of three and head out on various expeditions to save the local village Minato, as well as gather resources to craft and upgrade equipment to take on larger monsters. Between some hands-on time and conversations with Lewis Harvey, EP at EA Originals, we've gathered up all of the Wild Hearts Details we know.

What is Wild Hearts and what story can players expect?

Wild Hearts is an upcoming ARPG Hunter Game that will release on February 17th, 2023. Wild Hearts will be available on PC via Origin, Steam, and the Epic Game Store, as well as on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game will take place in a fantasy feudal region called Azuma. Within Azuma, there is the central city of Minato and the surrounding four different regions, each based on a different season.

• Spring - A dense forest surrounding a Cherry Tree
• Summer - A secluded island filled with a variety of plants and wildlife
• Fall - The major set piece here is a large derelict fortress that's covered in fallen leaves
• Winter - You'll explore inside and around a large castle that has fallen to the elements

The City of Minato

Minato is a location that you will reach after your third main hunt against the Kingtusk. This will be your story hub where central events will take place. It will also be where you can pick up a variety of side-quests.

How long does Wild Hearts take to beat?

It should take an estimated 30 hours to get through the full story without getting too distracted by sidequests or working on upgrading your equipment. After you reach the conclusion of the story there's plenty more content to complete.

All about the Kemono of Wild Hearts

The Kemono are the large monsters that you will face playing Wild Hearts. Each is a different beast fused with an aspect of nature. The pieces that make up each Kemono will influence where you'll find it, what attacks it will have, and what elemental damage it will be able to deal.

How many Kemono are in Wild Hearts?

At the moment there are 7 Kemono that we know about:

• Deathstalker - Ice Wolf
• Lavaback - Fire Gorilla
• Ragetail - Flower Rat
• Sapscourge - Sap Tanuki
• Kingtusk - Tree Boar
• Earthbreaker - Rock Bear
• Unknown Hawk Kemono

Of the above six, there are three have appeared in the private press hands-on event while the rest have appeared in gameplay trailers.

Kemono will roam the Hunting Grounds, while there are ones that you might be specifically looking for there is a chance that you'll catch two Kemono interacting with one another. They are territorial creatures and will wander through a few areas but there's a chance for them to fight one another.

Enraged Kemono

During your fight with the Kemono once you lower their health past a certain threshold they will become Enraged. It's easy to tell when a Kemono is Enraged as they will gain new powerful attacks and certain body parts may begin to crack and glow red with energy, or change shape completely.

An example of this is the Kingtusk's regular Tusks growing to twice their length and sprouting extra limbs further reflecting the Kemono's nature as a Tree Boar

Kemono Variations

As you progress through the story you will revisit previously fought Kemono that will be much stronger and have other alterations to ensure they remain a challenge. This might mean you fight a few different forms of Ragetail.

Wild Hearts Multiplayer

Story progression

You can play Wild Hearts in a group of three players. If you group up in the camp you can play through the entire campaign together, this includes the full story, cutscenes, and side quests.

Loot that you gather is all instanced, there is no need for any player to rush to pick up more than the other. The loot rolls are unique to each player though, so while you're searching for a specific material you might not get it while someone you're partied up with will. 

Matchmaking

Wild Hearts has matchmaking. From the world map you can select an icon for a Kemono and you will immediately be able to matchmake with other Wild Hearts players who are on the same hunt to take it down together.

Hunter Gates can be interacted with in the environment. These gates will show you a list of other player's online hunts currently occurring so you can select one that you want to join in on

Crossplay

Yes, Wild Hearts supports Crossplay. Full crossplay is supported across all platforms.

Wild Hearts Combat

Weapons

There are eight unique weapon types that you will be able to create and power up in Wild Hearts. The weapons that we currently know about in Wild Hearts are as follows:

• Katana
• Bow
• Bladed Wagasa (Umbrella)
• Maul (Hammer)
• Nodachi
• Staff - Can transform into five different weapon types

Each weapon will have their own unique combo trees for pulling of devastating special attacks and will also have a unique finishing move to use on a Kemono as a final killing strike. Weapons will also react to different Karakuri so be sure to test out what you like and don't like to see if there's a better way to be using them.

Equipment

Your character will have equipment for the head, upper body, lower body, and footwear. There will be a variety of armor sets that you can choose to upgrade as you play, unlocking more options as you slay more Kemono and gain access to their materials.

Your equipment will not only alter your health or defense stats but there are also elemental weaknesses and resistances that you should pay attention to. An armor that is stronger might not be that much stronger if you're taking a lot more damage from a certain attack.

You can not only adjust the look of each armor set to look more modern, or closer to that of the bestial Kemono but there will also be a transmog system where you can style your outfit in any way while retaining the stats of other armor.

Upgrading your Gear

At any point in time you can approach a forge, or create a new forge, and upgrade your weapons and equipment. Each time you craft or upgrade your equipment it will require you to have the necessary materials to craft the creation.

Weapons that you upgrade will also have Inherent Skills and Inherited Skills. An Inherent Skill is one that is only applicable to the weapon when it is in it's current form. If you upgrade the weapon further or choose to downgrade it then you will lose the Inherent Skill. An Inherited Skill is one that will always be accessible as a potential skill to have equipped as you upgrade the Weapon. This means if you have a split upgrade path and one upgrades health, while the other allows you to dash faster if you upgrade into one, and then upgrade into the other your new weapon can have both Inherited Skills.

Avatar Creation

There is a full character creation system similar to Nioh allowing you to create a hunter unique to yourself.

Karakuri in Wild Hearts

Karakuri are the tools that you can craft that will allow you to get an edge up in battle, or better traverse the overworld. You will gain access to the ability to craft Karakuri early on in the game but as you explore the world, gather resources, and defeat Kemono you'll unlock more uses for them to add versatility to your hunting style.

Karakuri are forever persistent in your world, not matter how many times you leave or return these will remain in place allowing you to combine Karakuri to create trap areas, or set up a variety of tools that will assist in world traversal or defeating Kemono. Any player visiting your world will see how you have placed them.

Karakuri in Combat

The following Karakuri has been seen to be created immediately making them useful in combat

• Crate - Can be climbed up and jumped off to get away from danger, or to land a devastating aerial attack on a Kemono
• Spring - Boosts your hunter forward quickly, useful for making a quick getaway or for overworld traversal
• Torch - Used to light dark areas
• Glider - Allows you to lift off the ground and make slow traversal to safe terrain
• Feeding Trap

In order to create Karakuri you must spend Karakuri Threads. These items can be gathered by chopping down trees or mining rocks throughout the world, they can also be harvested off monsters and will even slowly gather as you deal damage to a Kemono.

Dragon Karakuri

Dragon Karakuri are Karakuri that need to be placed specifically through the world. These Karakuri take more time to place down and aren't all as linked to combat but will have a variety of positive effects in the overworld.

Dragon Karakuri includes:

• Zipline - Can create a zipline that can be ridden both ways allowing for fast traversal
• Tent - You can rest here to change the time of the day
• Fireplace - You can cook food for positive effects like increased health or damage
• Drying Rack -
• Forge - Craft and upgrade your Weapons and Equipment
• Hunting Tower - Allows you to see silhouettes of each Kemono in the region, if you have a quest associated to any Kemono that one will be targeted
• Paddle Scoop - This Karakuri can be created near a body of water, as time goes on it will move about the water collecting fish and other materials allowing you to farm resources

Each of these Karakuri are also upgradeable. You will be able to increase their health or build speed among other things allowing them to become more versatile in combat.

Cosmetic Karakuri

While they don't serve a functional purpose you'll also have a variety of Karakuri such as Lanterns and Benches that you can use to create a more friendly-looking Hunting Ground.

Combo Karakuri

Some Karakuri when used together can create a new effect entirely. They need to be built in the field and can't simply be deployed so getting these out is harder to do but could turn any situation in your favor.

• Wall - During your first fight with Kingtusk, you'll gain the ability to combine six Crates and create a reinforced wall. This can be climbed on but will block and stun a charging enemy.
• Giant Hammer - This trap will appear and can stun a Kemono
• Feeding Trap
• Flare - Combine three Torches to create this Karakuri. It can be used to stun Kemono or knock flying foes out of the air
• Bomb

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For now, that's everything we know about WILD HEARTS from EA Originals. As we find out more details, we'll make sure to update this guide!