When hunting kemonos, you want to use the best weapon for your preferred playstyle. This will increase your effectiveness and enjoyment of the game and let you bring home more materials than otherwise. If you prefer quick strikes and acrobatics, there’s no better weapon than the Clawblade in Wild Hearts.
Clawblade Basics
Like other weapons, you can attack using the Square/X and Triangle/Y buttons. The former can chain up to eight hits, and doing it in the air can go up to six in two sets of three. The latter makes your character slash with a backward jump, allowing you to disengage with the target.
These are your basic combos, but they behave differently when you guide them. With the ‘light’ attack (Square/X), you’ll do a Running Slash in the direction you’re pushing. The ‘heavy’ attack (Triangle/Y) is a Dive Slash, similar to the other movement attack, but covers a more significant distance. While airborne, you can use it to deliver a rolling plunge attack to get back down on the ground while dealing tons of damage.
The Clawblade also changes your jump action. You can use it mid-combo to do an Evasive Leap which launches you in the air in your chosen direction. It’s excellent for evading kemono attacks and repositioning yourself on the battlefield. You can only use it once in midair or twice in succession if you use one from the ground. You must land on the ground first to use it in midair again.
Lastly, the special move of the Clawblade is tethering yourself to the kemono. Use R2/RT to latch on to the target. A circle will appear, which tells you how long you have before the connection breaks. Moving and attacking will deplete the timer, moving you closer to disconnection. However, this is also when you can deal the most damage and do all kinds of acrobatics.
In this state, you have access to ‘Wingblade’ moves. The first is Wingblade Orbit (Circle/B), which lets you go around the target you’re latched onto. You can hold the button to extend the duration of your evade. Wingblade Power Lunge (R2/RT) lets you leap directly toward the enemy through the rope.
You can execute a light or heavy attack midway to transition to a few spinning moves. A light strike results in a Wingblade Spin Slash, a rolling slash followed by a backward strike. You can direct it horizontally or vertically, depending on the situation in the battle. A heavy one results in a Wingblade Crescent Slash, an upward spiral attack that transitions to your most decisive attack.
During this state, you’ll notice a glow around your character. Wingblade moves will charge up your Wingblade Crescent Slash, making it more powerful. The light starts with yellow, then orange, and finally red, the highest it can go. Using Crescent Slash when glowing red is one guaranteed way to deplete a significant portion of the kemono’s HP. However, using it will release the latch on your tether. It might be best to save it until the timer is almost out.
Karakuri Combinations
Of course, you can use Karakuri to execute different attacks. An attack from a crate will latch on the target when it lands. You can also use the glider to do that at a distance. With the spring, you do a series of slashes. Lastly, the torch sets your weapon on fire.
These attacks don’t increase your weapon gauge, so use them sparingly.
Clawblade’s Weapon Gauge
This unique gauge increases as you land attacks on the enemy. It fills faster when you do airborne combos. The higher the gauge when you start tethering, the longer you stay in that state. Filling it up before beginning the acrobatics is always a good idea.
Most Recommended Clawblade Builds and Skills
Forge a Minakatatomi with the skills Soaring Bird Tutelage and Hawk Eye. Inherit the bonuses from several other weapons to get:
- Tiger’s Den
- Hawk Eye (increases percentage)
- Aerial Strike: Fury
- Desperation
For your equipment:
- Garuda Hat (Fatigue Recovery, Deaf Ears, Solar Protection; Pure Kemono-Path)
- Draconic Back Guard (Rude Health, Hawk Eye; Pure Kemono-Path)
- Garuda Gauntlets (Strong Arm Spirit, Critical Draw, Desperation)
- Draconic Body Armor (Rude Health, Battle Spirit)
- Great Juniper Sune-ate (Savage, Health Boost Kemono-Path)
The combination of skills gives you some defense during your midair acrobatics while giving an attack boost. Though Tiger’s Den is there for more attack boosts, it hinders your recovery from ailments. However, that’s what the Rude Health is for.
Desperation is also for more attack boosts, but it also lowers your defense by that percentage. Stay airborne as much as possible to mitigate the lowered stats through Soaring Bird Tutelage. Hawk Eye is one of the most essential skills, as it increases the damage you deal on kemono weak spots. Battle Spirit seals the fate of any enraged creature you fight.
This raw damage build doesn’t rely on chance like Fury or Critical ones. It results in more consistent outputs and a steady DPS. Pick talismans that enhance or work with the abilities listed.
Tips and Tricks
Your first order of business is to fill up the gauge. Once that’s done, use the tether and go wild with light attacks. When the timer is almost out, use a heavy attack to use one of your most substantial moves. This often also allows you to use the finisher on the kemono. If not, repeat the whole thing again until it’s dead.
It can be easy to lose track of your positioning and location when zipping around with this weapon. Fortunately, you have the tether to orient you, at least when using it. Also, practice makes perfect, so the more you use the weapon, the better you get at controlling your movements. Even if landing all these combos is fun, leave some focus on the kemono’s moves so you know where to go to avoid them.
The Clawblade is a mobility weapon. Surprisingly, unless you evade normally, none of its attacks and moves use up stamina. You can reposition and dodge however you want; the blade allows you to move in 3D space.
Wingblade moves and attacks center around the tethered point of the kemono. To deal more damage to the kemono, attach to its weak point. That ensures that all your actions will hit the vulnerable part of the monster and increase the amount you can deduct from its HP bar, especially when landing your finisher.
If you ever need it, you can use R1/RB to release the tether early.
Enjoy Wild Hearts With the Clawblade!
The Clawblade is excellent for those who like staying mobile and zipping around the battlefield. It’s a speedy weapon whose damage may not be severe when counted individually. However, its combos and attacks stack up as fast as you can press the attack button. Also, you can cancel and evade anytime, even mid-combo.
Have fun using the Clawblade when hunting kemono!
