Much like the elements, deviation, and Palico Gadgets, affinity is another part of Monster Hunter World that takes a bit of time to understand.
What Is Affinity In Monster Hunter World
Affinity in Monster Hunter World (MHW) is the possibility that a weapon may deal extra or less damage on each of your attacks.
Monster Hunter: World calculates affinity in percentages. For example, at -100% you are guaranteed to always deal less damage. This is sometimes referred to as negative affinity.
The opposite is also true. At 100% affinity, you will always deal extra damage on each strike. Think of it as critical damage. This would then be a positive affinity.
Each attack that “crits” deal +25% more damage, and on the contrary, -25% for negative affinity. MHW indicates successful critical strikes with a flashy slash animation and a special sound effect.
Affinity Booster
There are various Monster Hunter World Affinity boosters that can increase your chances of landing critical hits on monsters. They are as follows:
- Critical Eye
- Affinity Sliding
- Attack Boost
- Weakness Exploit
- Agitator
- Maximum Might
- Latent Power
- Critical Boost
- Critical Element (unlocks elemental criticals)
Please note that affinity applies to “Raw Damage”. For it to apply to Elemental Damage, you need to use the “Critical Element” skill.
Affinity Build
The following weapons have high affinity and are therefore good choices to construct an affinity build:
- Affinity Booster is a tool that creates an affinity cloud for you and fellow hunters.
- Aloy’s War Bow (30%)
- Garon Dharah (30%)
- Fate’s Ember (30%)
- Hate’s Undying Flame (25%)
- Dancing Duval (25%)
- Coral Chordmaker (25%)
- Crushing Beak (25%)
Attack vs. Affinity
The below table, as seen on Reddit, shows the various boosts given by attack and critical eye (affinity) respectively. Attack Up and Critical Eye gives:
| Level | Attack Up | Critical Eye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +3 Attack | +3% Affinity |
| 2 | +6 Attack | +6% Affinity |
| 3 | +9 Attack | +10% Affinity |
| 4 | +12 Attack +5% Affinity | +15% Affinity |
| 5 | +15 Attack +5% Affinity | +20% Affinity |
| 6 | +18 Attack +5% Affinity | +25% Affinity |
| 7 | +21 Attack +5% Affinity | +30% Affinity |
The Reddit user found that sometimes it is better to invest in attack over affinity to deal more raw damage. You can see his findings here. It helps you to understand which adds more damage.
Monster Hunter World: Affinity in-Depth Video
Additional Resources
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- How To Get Snuggles For All Achievement In Monster Hunter World
- MHW Bristles For All – 3 Easy Steps To Catch Bristly Crake
- How To Complete “A Living Fossil” Trophy In Monster Hunter World
- Rotten Vale Grimalkyne Quest: How To Get Plunderblade
- Monster Hunter World Pets List
- 4 Easy Steps To Capture Monsters In Monster Hunter World
- 5 Easy Ways To Increase Hunter Rank In Monster Hunter World