One of the strongest monsters in Koei Tecmo’s latest spin on the monster-hunting genre, Wild Hearts, is the majestic and terrifying Amaterasu. A symbol of both hope and fear, this bird-like Kemono boasts the power to wield sunlight, weaving it into deadly attacks that can leave even the most seasoned Hunters flawed.
The fight you’ll have with Amaterasu will test every facet of knowledge and skill you have about Hunting. You’ll contend with the Bird of Auspice’s relentless attacks and mobile airborne fighting style while trying to survive. There’s a lot to learn about this Kemono and going into the fight unprepared may lead to ruin.
Here’s the Monster Guide for fighting the Bird of Auspice, Amaterasu, in Wild Hearts. This will include looking at Amaterasu’s strengths and weaknesses, what weapons and elements work best against it and its complete moveset so you can learn and counter whatever it can throw at you.
Want more Wild Hearts content and articles? You can find more here on KeenGamer:
- Wild Hearts | Human-Path and Kemono-Path Affinity Explained
- Wild Hearts | How to Craft the Best Weapons (Weapon Upgrade Guide)
- Wild Hearts | Sapscourge Monster Guide
- Wild Hearts | Master of the Skies Achievement/Trophy Guide
Amaterasu Information
Also called the Bird of Auspice, Amaterasu is a massive bird Kemono that used to be revered in the town of Minato. After years of peaceful coexistence, it finally attacked in an attempt to take the land over into its own territory, forcing the Hunter’s hand. Amaterasu serves as the main enemy monster for Chapter 3, Crimson Doom, of Wild Hearts’ main story.
Despite how it appears during its Enraged state and name related to the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu is a Wood Attribute monster like Ragetail and Kingtusk. While not Enraged, the bird is a mix of forest greens and purples, which sharply changed to a more fitting red colour scheme once that Enrage occurs.
Amaterasu has a particular distaste for the Poison and Burning Ailments (being highly effective) but a strong resistance to Fatigue and Frozen and an outright immunity to Entangle. As for how it deals with various Elements, here is how effective each one is against the Bird of Auspice:
- Wood: 2-Stars (Not Very Effective)
- Fire: 3-Stars (Effective)
- Water: 2-Stars (Not Very Effective)
- Wind: 4-Stars (Very Effective)
- Earth: 3-Stars (Effective)
Amaterasu Bio
In terms of Physical Effectiveness, Amaterasu will take the most damage from Slash (Karakuri Katana, Nodachi, etc.) and Pummel (Maul, Hand Cannon) weapons. Plunging weapons like the Bow and Wagasa are still effective, but less so than either of the other two damage types. Out of these, consider trying out the Hand Cannon if you’re having trouble with the fight, as its long range and ability to deal Pummel damage make it an excellent counter to Amaterasu’s airborne playstyle.
Amaterasu’s softest body part is its Head: any damage you deal will be highly effective against the head, dealing damage equivalent to 5-star effectiveness. Following that are Amaterasu’s Wings and Body, both of which take decent damage, whereas the Hind Legs and Tail are not worth hitting at all. Interestingly, when Amaterasu enters the Enraged State, its Wings increase softness from 3-Stars to 4-Stars, so be sure to focus on the Wings once that Enrage hits.
Amaterasu Attributes
Amaterasu Parts
There are 7 Kemono Parts (and one Commodity) that Amaterasu can drop as part of your Hunt:
- Amaterasu Bast
- Diabolic Amaterasu Talon
- Diabolic Amaterasu Tail
- Amaterasu Backbone
- Diabolic Amaterasu Pinion
- Diabolic Amaterasu Horn
- Diabolic Amaterasu Beak
- Amaterasu Pinion
By breaking certain parts of this Kemono, you can guarantee certain parts to drop or be carvable. These will either appear as bisected or broken pieces from the monster, such as horns or tails, or as glowing green pick-ups for smaller body parts.
If you want the Amaterasu Bast, focus on trying to hit Amaterasu’s body. For the Talons and Tail, go for the Hind Legs and Tail respectively, and the Amaterasu Backbone asks you to focus on the monster’s wings. The Backbone and Horns will both drop as broken pieces from the monster, meaning that you will have to carve them to obtain their bounty.
Additionally, Amaterasu will also drop the Dawn Guard Teardrops or the Dawn Guard Kemono Blood upon being defeated. These are used to transform Amaterasu’s Dawn Guard armour into either its Human-Path or Kemono-Path state: considering that the Dawn Guard set has access to both a very powerful Pure Human-Path and Pure Kemono-Path skill, you’ll want to get a lot of these to make building affinity easier.
Monster Parts
Amaterasu’s Dawn Guard Armour
You use Amaterasu’s Kemono parts to craft the Dawn Guard armour set. At base, all pieces have at least 48 Defence with at least 2 different skills on them.
- Dawn Guard Helm: Tangle Resilience (26%), Ukemi Art, Fusion Boost: Fury (12%)
- Dawn Guard Body Armour: Health Boost (+5), Eagle Eye (2%)
- Dawn Guard Gauntlets: Karakuri Coordination: Remedy (+2), Celestial Breath [Pure Human-Path]
- Dawn Guard Haidate: Health Boost (+5), Karakuri Coordination: Remedy (+2), Slight of Hand: Fury (10%)
- Dawn Guard Sune-ate: Tangle Resilience (26%), Eagle Eye (2%), Sprint Master [Pure Kemono-Path]
The armour set as a whole revolves a lot around health and healing, either by granting you healing when using a Karakuri with Karakari Coordination: Remedy or just by giving you more base health with Health Boost. Using Karakuri is another important feature of this set, with Eagle Eye boosting attack and defence upon deflecting a Kemono with a fusion Karakuri, and Fusion Art: Fury granting a bonus to attacks based on that same fusion Karakuri. It’s a set heavily set to keep you both alive and in the fray, with a lot of ways to gain health and Celestial Thread to keep pushing you towards using Karakuri.
The most interesting Skills, though, are Celestial Breath and Sprint Master. They can only be activated once you reach either the Pure Human state or Pure Kemono state, respectively, meaning that you can only have one active at any one time. Celestial Breath ties perfectly into the rest of the Dawn Gaurd set by automatically regenerating Karakuri Threads without needing to pick up or salvage them. Sprint Master, on the other hand, works to keep you fighting by allowing you to regain stamina while sprinting. Both of these skills are top-notch and, seeing as they only appear on the Gauntlets or footwear, are easy to slot into a variety of mixed sets.
Dawn Guard Chest Armour
How to Hunt Amaterasu Again
After you first confront Amaterasu at the end of Chapter 3, you may be wondering how you can challenge the beast again.
The answer lies back in Minato. After completing the quest, visit the upper level of the city to find a woman called Otoha. You may have previously encountered her after you beat Chapter 1 and completed the Hunt for the Earthbreaker, where she would offer you a chance to revisit and battle the beast again in the form of a retelling.
She will do the same thing for Amaterasu. After speaking to her, she will give you the request “Hunting Song – Risen Glissando.” This is a near-exact replica of your first fight with Amaterasu and, upon completing it once more and reporting back to Otoha, you will be able to challenge the beast whenever you want to farm materials.
Monster Moveset
The next section will be a detailed description of Amaterasu’s moveset and abilities. As one of the main foes in Wild Hearts, Amaterasu boasts some truly impressive (and terrifying) moves that you’ll want to know and master if you ever want a chance at beating this Kemono.
Celestial Thread Thief: Amaterasu will begin to drain the nearby area of Celestial Thread, casting an area directly around it in green-blue light. Explosions of energy will go off at random around the arena, dealing moderate damage if you get hit. This state lasts for about 10 seconds and, if Amaterasu is allowed to get it off, she will cause a massive explosion which will deal high damage if you’re too close. You can interrupt this attack by using the Harpoon Karakuri, regardless of whether she is flying or on the ground.
Leaping Pounce: Amaterasu will screech before taking to the skies and out of your view. After about a second, she will come crashing down on your location, dealing significant damage if you do not get out of the way. The best way to time this attack is to listen to the audio: dodge just as her screech is ending and you should narrowly avoid damage (you can also parry this attack using the Wagasa using the same telegraph).
Beak Smash: Amaterasu performs two attacks with her beak, smashing it into the ground directly in front of her. Dodge to the side to avoid to this attack.
Forward Charge: Amaterasu will rear back and unleash another screech before rapidly charging forward, damaging anything in her path. This attack deals high damage and comes very quickly, so be prepared to slide dodge as soon as you hear that screech and have recognised that it isn’t the screech from Leaping Pounce (it’s the same sound so you’ll have to watch Amaterasu herself for the telegraph).
Stealing Celestial Thread
Kicking Charge Combo: Amaterasu leans back, then she dashes in and before a quick uppercut kick with her talons. Then, near immediately afterwards, she will rapidly descend on the area she just attacked, dealing damage to anything still there. This attack is especially dangerous as, if you get hit by the first attack and roll too early, you will get caught in the second and likely cart. Getting as far away from Amaterasu as you can during this attack is the safest bet if you aren’t confident in timing your dodges.
Feather Throw, Homing: This is one of Amaterasu’s feather attacks where she will send out a series of sharp feathers that deal high damage on impact. The homing variant of these attacks involves Amaterasu doing a full spin before throwing her wings out wide, at which point a series of red feathers will come bursting out towards the player. These will track you, forcing you to dodge or parry to avoid taking damage.
Feather Throw, Barrage: This is the second of Amaterasu’s feather attacks. This time, she will raise her wings one at a time while in flight, sending out a horizontal line of feathers twice, one with each wing. Depending on your distance from the Kemono, you can either avoid the attack entirely or get caught in both bits of damage, so be careful when playing at close range.
Wing Beat: Amaterasu swings forward with right-wing first, slashing anybody near her right side, before repeating the process with her left wing. The attack has a deceptively long range and has a high likelihood of hitting, even if you are standing behind her. The best bet for her is to dodge the first attack and wait out the second swing before pushing back in.
Grab: Amaterasu also happens to have a grab. The telegraph here is that Amaterasu will screech while standing on the ground. Then she will swoop backwards into the air and rush toward her target about 2 seconds later, grabbing them in a nasty attack if it connects. When you see her dash backwards, put your weapon away and start sprinting, ready to do a sliding dodge on the first instance of movement from the Kemono.
Feather Throw
Enraged
Amaterasu will enter her Enraged State after performing Celestial Thread Thief. Once she has finished draining the area, she will fly into the sky and begin to conjure a series of trees to spawn around her: the screen will shift to greyscale and the audio will become muted as she transforms, letting you know to get out of dodge. While in the Enrage State, Amaterasu has a series of new sun-based attacks, as well as some changes to her existing moveset.
Leaping Pounce Extended: This is a repeat of the original Leaping Pounce attack where Amaterasu will jump into the air and come crashing down a second later. The difference here is that Amaterasu will do a second jump after she comes down from her first, meaning that you have to prepare to either dodge or parry for a second time. While not a big change, it is easy to forget and can cause you to take some damage if you aren’t prepped for that second dodge.
Sunbeam: Amaterasu will open her beak and shoot out a beam of sunlight in a semi-circle in front of her. A moment later, the area she hit with the beam will detonate into an arch of explosions, followed up by one large explosion in the centre. This attack can be devastating, and you can even be hit by the initial beam, leaving you open for later attacks. Run as far away as you can if you see this attack coming and begin to push back in once you see the central explosion begin to start.
Calm vs Enrage
Sun Bomb: Amaterasu shoots a massive shot of sunlight, causing a gigantic explosion in the area of impact. This attack honestly isn’t too hard to avoid, just make sure to dodge away when you see the initial beam coming in.
Sunlight Forward Charge: This attack is similar to the original Forward Charge attack where Amaterasu will dash forward at high speeds. While Enraged, Amaterasu will still charge, but it will then be followed by a second in the opposite direction and closed out by a dive bomb. This attack is pretty relentless, so stay on your toes when you begin to see it coming.
Charged Sun Bomb: This is one of Amaterasu’s strongest attacks. She will fly into the air and begin building up a lot of energy around her mouth, the progress of which can be tracked by the number of white rings behind her. If left unchecked, she will unleash a gigantic explosion across the majority of the arena. You can escape this by running, but the best way to deal with it is to use the Harpoon Karakuri.
Wrath of the Sun: This attack occurs whenever Amaterasu is about to exit the Enrage State. She will float up into the air with her wings crossed as random explosions of sunlight will begin to appear on the surrounding earth. After a few moments, she will unfurl her wings and the area will be blanketed by an explosion, dealing very high damage to anyone and everyone within.
Enraged Transformation
Amaterasu Strategy
Amaterasu is easily one of the most difficult Kemono to hunt in all of Wild Hearts. She is fast, relentless, has a lot of different attacks to keep track of and can deal enough damage to cart you in only a few hits (sometimes even just one combo can take you from full to nothing in a moment).
One saving grace, though, is the Harpoon Karakuri. You’ll learn how to make this during your fight with Amaterasu. This Karakuri will imbed itself in any nearby Kemono, pulling them to the ground if they happen to be airborne. As a monster that primarily fights in the air, this can repeatedly stun and down Amaterasu, giving you ample time to wail on her up close without fear of death. This Karakuri is especially effective, so make sure you always have enough Celestial Threads to spawn it.
Fall From The Sky
As for weapons, the Hand Cannon is likely the best for overall effectiveness. It has enough range to always be attacking Amaterasu, even while it is airborne, while still having enough damage to remain competitive. Pair that with the Pummel damage bonus on the Bird of Auspice and the Hand Cannon’s ease of use, and you have a winning weapon that is sure to help out anyone struggling on this boss (especially if you can get your hands on a Wind Attribute one). The Bow is also a good option, but slightly less so thanks to being a Plunging Weapon.
If you’re stubborn or want to use another weapon, there are still plenty of viable picks. The Claw Blades allow you to stay in the fight for much longer, keeping yourself close to the Kemono without the need to disengage as much as some other weapons. Additionally, the Wagasa, despite being a Plunging Weapon, is an excellent pick so long as you can master Amatersu’s timing. The speed and airborne potential of the weapon allow you to be very offensive, matching Amaterasu’s relentlessness with your own, with the parry mechanic allowing you to defend against most of her attacks rather well.
Focus primarily on the wings when using Slashing weapons (Karakuri Katana, Nodachi, etc.). They are a wider target that can be easily reached with this kind of weapon, reducing Amaterasu’s effectiveness significantly. Pummel weapons should aim for the head in hopes of getting a nice stun and high damage, whereas Plunging weapons should just try and focus on one part at a time to steadily wear down the Kemono.
This fight is a true test of skill and mastery of Wild Hearts’ various systems and mechanics. If you cannot use the Karakuri effectively (and with a good degree of pace) then you will repeatedly lose out on free damage from the Harpoon and the guaranteed stun it inflicts on flying targets, all the while Amaterasu continues to relentlessly bug and pester you from the air. Additionally, if you cannot grasp the timing of certain moves – knowing when to stay on the floor instead of instantly rolling, for example – you will continuously leave yourself open for a combo: this is especially problematic when most of Amaterasu’s combos will take you from full to zero quite easily.
The Hunt Begins
Amaterasu will be long, gruelling and quite frustrating as you come to learn the timing. However, learn to balance the relentless aggression you need to keep up with the Kemono with the patience needed to spot openings in the duel, and you will eventually conquer the Bird of Auspice. Good luck, Hunters!
