Preparing yourself to face the Kemonos is one of the biggest challenges in WILD HEARTS. Simply picking an overpowered weapon is not enough, as you have to take care of defense as well. Most of the Kemono have wide AOE attacks that are impossible to dodge, at least during the first few playthroughs. Without the right armor, a few consecutive attacks will easily put an end to your journey.
Some armors are meant to be upgraded throughout the game, while others should be discarded as soon as you get them. In this guide, we will be discussing which armors are the best and our reasons behind picking them. Let’s begin!
Hunters Garb
Starting from the beginning, you’ll start out with the default armor set. The stat distribution isn’t too impressive, and its defense numbers are next to none. There aren’t even any skills with this armor, making it the weakest in the game. Make it a priority to dump it as soon as possible once you have something better.
Fresh Fern Armor set
In addition to the defensive stats, armors in WILD HEARTS have unique skills that make it easier for you to survive enemy attacks. The Fresh Fern armor set is the first armor with an actual skill. The gauntlets and sune-ate have 13% Antitoxin skills, which shield you from poisonous effects. It isn’t a powerful ability, but is only meant to give you a glimpse at the capability of future armors.
Skills:
- Body – 13% Antitoxin
- Sune-ate – 13% Antitoxin
Young Samurai Garb
The Young Samurai Garb is one of the best early-game armors that offers powerful stats and skills. It’s also the first armor that you can use to develop a specific style (Kemono-path or Human-path). The armor is quite tanky and gives you a significant health boost. It’s only weak against fire-based attacks which isn’t an issue, since you can easily swap it out for another set when facing fire Kemonos. The powerful baseline defense combined with the resistances lets you use the Young Samurai Garb for a long time (with the right upgrades).
Skills:
(Base)
- Helmet – Threaphile (+1)
- Body Armor – Health Boost (+3)
- Gauntlets – Threadphile (+1)
- Haidate – Health Boost (+3)
- Sune-ate – 6% Sidestepper
(Human Path)
- Helmet – Threadphile
- Armor – Health Boost (+3)
- Sune-ate – 6% Sidestepper
(Kemono Path)
- Helmet – Threadphile (+1)
- Body Armor – Health Boost (+3)
- Haidate – Health Boost (+3)
Ocean Wave Armor
If you’re looking for a stealth build, then the Ocean Wave Armor is a perfect fit. The sneak attack opportunity makes up for the lack of defense. As you can reduce the HP of the Kemono with hidden attacks, the fight doesn’t continue for long. However, you should brush up on your movement skills. If the fight drags on, you won’t be able to take as many hits as you’d be able to in the Samurai Armor set.
Skills:
- Uwagi – Sealth Art 16%
- Momohiki – Sealth Art 16%
Basara Armor
The Basara Armor is possibly the best game in the game, ranking second to the Samurai set only in terms of pure defense. The elemental defenses on this armor is also quite impressive. What it lacks in defense, it makes up for in health gain (especially if you pick the Human-path). The armor is also capable of curing ailments, which is a lifesaver when you’re up against poison-type Kemonos. The Basara Armor is also capable of going down the two paths: Human and Kemono. However, the Kemono-path isn’t as effective or powerful as the Human-path, especially when it comes to health recovery.
(Base)
- Helm – Nostrum Water
- Body Armor – Strong Arm (+4)
- Gauntlets – Strong Arm Remedy (+22)
- Field Hakama – String Arm Remedy (+22)
- Sune-ate – Savage (+1)
(Human Path)
- Helm – Nostrum Water
- Body Armor – Strong Arm Thread (+4)
- Hakama – Strong Arm Remedy (+22)
(Kemono Path)
- Helm – Nostrum Water
- Body Armor – Strong Arm Thread (+4)