Wild Hearts Karakuri guide: All abilities and how to unlock them

Koei Tecmo took a lot of inspiration for its latest action role-playing title, Wild Hearts, from Capcom's very popular action RPG series, Monster Hunter. Although the former plays and looks very much like the modern Monster Hunter games, it features its own unique spin to the traditional hunting formula, by way of the Karakuri.

The ancient technology only accessible to a select few chosen warriors of Azuma, the Karakuri allows hunters to build wooden constructs that aid them in slaying the deadly Kemono. Players can use the said techniques to craft some really useful structures, tools, and contraptions to give them an edge over the monsters roaming the land of Azuma.

From offensive tools like a giant hammer, Pounder, to traversal variants like the Glider, the Karakuri technology allows players to craft unique and very useful materials on the fly during combat. Here's a comprehensive guide regarding it, going over all the offered abilities and how to unlock them in Wild Hearts.

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What Basic, Fusion, and Dragon Karakuri abilites do in Wild Hearts and how to unlock them

There are a total of three different Karakuri types in Wild Hearts - Basic, Fusion, and Dragon. All of them come with their own set of different structures that players can build, along with various usage scenarios.

1) Basic Karakuri

The Basic Karakuri comes with abilities that let players build structures. These grant access to hard-to-reach places on the map or allow them aerial advantage during battles against the Kemono in Wild Hearts. The builds created usually get destroyed after use or from a single hit from the Kemono.

Building structures and tools using the Basic Karakuri requires Karakuri Thread, which can be mined across from Thread rocks. Here are all the constructs that players can create using it in Wild Hearts:

• Crate: The crates can be stacked, with a max of three. These can be used to climb up a vertical surface i.e., a wall, or to initiate aerial attacks against the Kemono. It is unlocked after completing the tutorial.
• Bounce Pad: The Bounce Pads can be used to gain aerial advantage over the monsters during combat or to gain height during traversal. They are unlocked after defeating the Ragetail in the story.
• Torch: The Torch allows players to illuminate their surroundings during the night or to temporarily imbue their weapons on fire during combat. It is unlocked by defeating Kingtusk in the story.
• Glider: The Glider is an unique tool that allows players to launch up in the air and control their descent while going down a high surface, i.e., a hill or a cliff. It is unlocked by defeating the Spineglider in the story.
• Stake: Crafting the Stake allows players to create a platform that fires a grapple hook in front of it, which sticks to whatever surface it is facing. It is best used to latch onto a surface during traversal or to a Kemono during combat, to target specific parts of the monsters. The Stake is unlocked by purchasing it with Kemono Orbs from the Karakuri menu.
• Celestial Anchor: The Celestial Anchor allows players to tether themself onto a structure and swing around it to easily close the distance between them and a Kemono. It is unlocked by purchasing it with Kemono Orbs from the Karakuri menu.

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2) Fusion Karakuri

The Fusion Karakuri are more geared towards actively assisting players during the hunt. They either allow players to create defenses that also act as passive damage-dealers or cause direct harm to the Kemono.

To unlock the Fusion Karakuri in Wild Hearts, gamers will need to trigger a "Flash of Inspiration" during battle against a Kemono, which happens only if they meet the following criteria:

• Have the right Basic Karakuri equipped to build the new Fusion
• On a hunt of a specific Kemono
• The Kemono uses a specific move
• The player has enough Thread to build the Fusion

After triggering a Flash of Inspiration, they will be able to craft the more powerful Fusion Karakuri by selecting them from their tab in the Karakuri menu. Here are the different types that players can craft in Wild Hearts:

• Bulwark: The Bulwark is a defensive structure that players can craft after unlocking Fusion Karakuri. It can be used to counter charge attacks or to block incoming moves from a Kemono. The Bulwark also acts as a passive damage-dealer and can be used to stun a monster by luring it to crash head-on against the structure. It gets unlocked during the first fight against Kingtusk in the story.
• Pounder: The Pounder is essentially a heavy weapon that players can use to inflict massive blunt damage on the Kemono or stun them. It gets unlocked during the first encounter against the Spineglider during the main story.
• Star Bomb: As the name suggests, the Star Bomb is a giant explosive structure that players can use to inflict massive damage. It is unlocked during the first fight against a Kemono in Wild Hearts.

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3) Dragon Karakuri

Dragon Karakuri's abilities and constructs only aid in traversal of the map of Azuma and are rarely useful during combat. This type is very useful as it helps players travel across the vast open land in search of rare resources or Kemono, which can be a hassle to get to on foot.

There are a number of Dragon Karakuri structures in Wild Hearts that players can create. However, only a handful of them are of the most importance when it comes to traversing different biomes in Azuma. Here are the most useful types that players should unlock in Wild Hearts:

• Flying Vine: The Flying Vine allows gamers to create ziplines to easily traverse across different zones of the map. It gets unlocked by purchasing it with resources at a Dragon Pit.
• Roller: The Roller is a vehicle that can be created to traverse across Azume at blazing fast speeds. It gets unlocked by purchasing it with resources at a Dragon Pit.
• Hunting Tower: The Hunting Tower essentially allows players to scout an area for a Kemono to hunt as well as rare resources to gather. Gamers can unlock it by purchasing it with resources at a Dragon Pit.
• Paddle Scoop: Players can use the Paddle Scoop to automatically catch fish, which can be used to gain addtional buffs before setting out on a hunt. Interested gamers can unlock it by purchasing it at a Dragon Pit.

All three Karakuri types, i.e., Basic, Fusion, and Dragon, are useful for different scenarios. Players can mix and match between different abilities to gain the upper hand while going up against the Kemono.

The Karakuri in Wild Hearts is easily one of the most innovative new additions that Koei Tecmo has brought to the monster-hunting sub-genre of action RPG games.