Wild Hearts Kingtusk weaknesses and boss fight guide

Guides
By last updated

How to beat the Kingtusk in Wild Hearts, with weaknesses, tips and strategies

Wild Hearts screenshot
(Image credit: EA)

The Wild Hearts Kingtusk weakness is fire, but head and tail attacks also wouldn't hurt (not you, at least). The Kingtusk is the third Kemono you'll encounter in Wild Hearts, but it's also a massive step up in terms of power, a big boss fight that serves as the final exam before entering the full game properly, and one that'll come back a few times across the game itself. This guide will take you through the Wild Hearts Kingtusk boss fight, including weaknesses, resistances, tips, tricks and more.

Kingtusk weaknesses in Wild Hearts

Wild Hearts kingtusk weaknesses

(Image credit: EA)

The main Wild Hearts Kingtusk weaknesses are as follows:

  • Headshots. Every other part of the Kingtusk's body is only three stars for damage (and one star for tusks). The head is five stars, so target the face for the highest damage possible.
  • Fire damage. You probably won't have any weapons that can exploit this the first time around, but if you've unlocked the torch Karakuri, you can add some burning effects to it.
  • Slashing and Piercing weapons. It's not a huge difference - four stars versus three - but the Kingtusk takes more damage from slashing and piercing weapons than blunt ones. Don't use the Wild Hearts Maul or Wild Hearts Hand Cannon if you can avoid it, basically.
  • All ailments except poison. The Kingtusk is incredibly susceptible to the Ablaze, Fatigued, Frozen and Entangled effects (though it shrugs off poison pretty well). If you've unlocked any of these, they'll serve you well.
  • Weak spots. The Kingtusk has multiple blue weak spots across its body. Damage these until they're exposed and visible even from a distance, then leap onto them, grab on with R1/RB, and try to rip them out with the "Hunter's Arm" ability. All Kemono have these weak spots, but the Kingtusk's large size, prominent locations and slow motions make it easier to exploit them.

How to beat the Kingtusk in Wild Hearts

How to beat Wild Hearts kingtusk

(Image credit: EA)

To beat the Kingtusk in Wild Hearts will require patience and no small amount of courage. This giant pig is a brute, with far more health than anything you've fought so far, so play more defensively than offensively, as you'll need to endure for a long time. Here's some tips and tricks to keep in mind along the way.

  • The Karakuri Crate isn't much use here. Before it was a great help, but considering the Kingtusk's height, you won't be able to vault over it.
  • The Spring is fantastic on the other hand. The Kingtusk's charge attacks mean moving around it is a great advantage, so throw one down and you should be able to clear most attacks if aimed right.
  • Kingtusk's ground-pound attacks - especially the one where it stands up on two feet - all have a much bigger area of effect than you think, especially at the front. If you're not sure if you're out of range, you probably aren't.
  • Halfway through the fight you should unlock the Bulwark, made of six crates in two adjacent stacks of three. If you see the Kingtusk pawing the ground and lowering its head, it's about to charge - put the Bulwark in its path to stagger it.
  • Target the aforementioned blue weak spots. Ripping one out will not only hurt it, but massively increase your Thread storage.
  • Eat some food! We mentioned it in our Wild Hearts tips, but eating in advance of the fight will provide some buffs.
  • Throw down the occasional torch to ignite your weapon. It's especially good if the Kingtusk is stunned or knocked over, really giving you the chance to have at it.

Keep this up and you'll eventually claim victory, though nobody's expecting this to be easy.

The Kingtusk is the first big Wall you'll face in Wild Hearts, so it's appropriate that you should use your own wall - the Bulwark - to help beat it, but even that's just an assistance and not a gamechanger. Bring this big pig down and you'll be able to access Minato village for the first time, the game's hub area, and unlock the next major phase of the game. Consider this the end of the tutorial - you're a proper Kemono hunter now.

Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

Back To Top