Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming

What is Affinity in Monster Hunter Rise?

Jesse Lennox
By

Monster Hunter games have only gotten more and more user-friendly with each release. The oldest games were nearly impenetrable (even for dedicated players) to fully understand without outside help. Monster Hunter: World helped streamline many systems, and the latest game for the Nintendo Switch, Monster Hunter: Rise, goes a step further toward letting players skip all the confusing inventory and system management so they can get right to the good stuff: Hunting giant monsters.

That said, each new game does need to add some new systems and mechanics in order to keep things fresh for those who are dedicated to the series. Monster Hunter: Rise’s most flashy and featured additions were the new ride-able pets, but there was plenty more added under the hood. Affinity, for one, is a stat that isn’t easily decoded just by the name alone, unlike attack, for example. Add in the fact that there are dozens of skills to keep track of, and it can be easy to just ignore Affinity. However, this isn’t a stat you should ignore. Here’s everything you need to know about what Affinity is and how to improve it in Monster Hunter: Rise. 

Recommended Videos

Further reading

What is Affinity, and what does it do?

A hunter fighting a big dragon.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Let’s get the basics out of the way first and define exactly what Affinity is and what it does for your hunter in Monster Hunter: Rise. In short, Affinity is the stat that dictates your chances of any attack being a critical strike. Other games have this exact same stat, usually called crit chance or something of the like, but it isn’t exactly the same in this game. Critical hits in Monster Hunter: Rise have a few unique aspects. First, Affinity functions as the percentage chance you have of any attack being a critical hit. The higher the number, the more likely you are to deal bonus damage. However, Affinity can actually be a negative number. If it is, there’s a chance your attack will be a weak attack and deal less damage than a normal strike.

Critical and weak attacks are both static increases and decreases in damage based on your weapon and stats. Landing a critical hit will deal 25% more damage, and a weak attack will deal 25% less damage. You know you hit a critical strike when the big red slash effect appears on a hit. Every weapon comes with its own Affinity stat number you can see just below the element, with positive numbers displayed in green and negative in red.

How to raise Affinity

Unfortunately, you can’t raise a weapon’s Affinity just by upgrading it, but there are other ways you can boost this stat. If you have a weapon with low — or negative — Affinity, you can boost it in two primary ways. The first is to get specific armor skills when you’re forging your armor. The armor skills you should look for are:

  • Affinity Sliding: Sliding will boost your Affinity for a short time.
  • Critical Eye: Raises your base Affinity.
  • Weakness Exploit: Hitting a monster’s weak point will raise your Affinity for a time.
  • Latent Power: Temporarily raises your Affinity and reduces stamina drain when certain conditions are met.
  • Agitator: Buffs Affinity when a monster is enraged.
  • Critical Draw: Affinity increases after a draw attack.
  • Maximum Might: While your stamina is full, your Affinity will rise.

The final way to squeeze out a bit more Affinity is through decorations. Forging certain decorations for your armor, such as the slider jewel and mighty jewel, can also give your Affinity an extra push. Look for the best decorations that align with the specific armor skills you have to maximize your buffs.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
Detective Pikachu Returns: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Pikachu with detective cap smiling and drinking coffee cup

One of the more forgotten entries in the monster-catching franchise is also the most unique. Detective Pikachu was originally a 3DS game (and a feature film) that cast Pikachu as a smooth-talking (that's right, he talks!) detective who teams up with a kid named Tim Goodman to solve various mysteries. Rather than play like an RPG, this entry was more of an adventure game, focusing on story and, naturally, solving mysteries. After the success of the game and film, it was only a matter of time before a sequel game was announced. The wait turned out to be quite a bit longer than many expected, but now that Detective Pikachu Returns has been officially announced, we've put on our caps and collected all the clues about this upcoming adventure.
Release date

Detective Pikachu Returns is right around the corner. The game will launch on October 6, 2023.
Platform

Read more
What the Mirror of Loss is and how to use it in Baldur’s Gate 3
A wizard talking to a big magic mirror.

In The Forgotten Realms, you can never be sure what to expect from even the most normal character or object. Baldur's Gate 3 loves to subvert your expectations, but also reward you for paying attention and experimenting. If you spot something that looks important, like the Mirror of Loss, it probably is. In this case, when you find the magical mirror, you won't be able to do anything substantial with it. However, keeping it in mind and returning to it could be just what you need to buff up your character's stats a bit more - but it will come at a cost. It's called the Mirror of Loss for a reason, so let's reflect on what it is and how to use it.
Where to find the Mirror of Loss

The massive circular mirror is something you will naturally come across if you're following Shadowheart's companion questline. Starting in Act 2, you will be able to go find it in the Underdark, more specifically the Temple of Shar's Chamber of Loss. It will cost you 1,000 gold to enter, so it's best to know what you're getting for such a steep price.
How to use the Mirror of Loss

Read more
How to read the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3 and what it does
A book with an evil face in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 is filled to the brim with mysterious and magical objects to find. Some, like scrolls, are obviously beneficial to you, while others are a little more obscure. If you've gotten far enough into the game to get the Necromancy of Thay, then you should already understand that Baldur's Gate 3 isn't afraid to give you choices that have serious and lasting consequences. At the same time, you went through a lot of trouble just to get this clearly evil-looking tome so you may have attempted to give it a little peak already, only to see that it is locked shut and requires a special item to open. We'll show you where to find the special item you need to open the Necromancy of Thay, but more importantly, what should happen if you choose to indulge your curiosity and read it?
How to open the Necromancy of Thay

The item you're after to crack this book open is called a Dark Amythyst. This gemstone is located not terribly far from where you pick up the book itself. First, go into the middle of the Blighted Village and investigate the well. Make sure you either use Investigation or toss a coin in to get the option to climb down yourself. This will bring you into the Whispering Depths. Choose to fight or bypass the Phase Spiders here by sneaking or turning invisible if that's an option for you and make your way to the northwest end. You'll know you're in the right spot if you see the Phase Spider Matriarch. Unless you're a high level, we advise avoiding this boss and finding a pile of bones on the western edge of the area. Next to them, you will see the purple Dark Amythyst.

Read more