What is Affinity in Monster Hunter: World

There are a lot of stats and things to take into account when playing Monster Hunter: World and knowing what everything does is important if you want to be the best hunter that you can be. Affinity in Monster Hunter: World is one of the most important stats that players should be aware of. A lot of people have been asking us exactly what is Affinity in Monster Hunter: World. Today we’ll go over everything you need to know about Affinity in Monster Hunter: World, including what it is, what it does, and why you should care about it.

Affinity Explained

In Monster Hunter: World, Affinity is a stat that determines the percentage of chance that a weapon has of dealing extra damage to enemies when you attack them. At the start of the game your Affinity % will usually be 0, though as you move further into the game and gain access to stronger weapons, you’ll find that the Affinity number will begin to rise, and it will start to play a more important role in how you choose your weapons.

Affinity can be both positive and negative, though, which means you will want to keep an eye on it. For some weapons the Affinity may be -15% or even +15%. What this means is that when attacking, fifteen percent of the time that your attacks land you will deal more or less damage, depending on the range of the Affinity.

Now, obviously, there are some things to keep in mind when looking for the ideal weapons for your hunter’s loadout. Just because a weapon has a negative Affinity doesn’t mean it is going to be bad. Most weapons that have a negative Affinity rating will often have a much higher damage overall, meaning that while 15% (or whatever the percentage is) of the time the damage will be less, the other 85% of the time it would be much higher than before.

Likewise, a weapon with a much higher Affinity is going to offer a lower damage stat overall, which is something to keep in mind if you’re looking to create a hunter that focuses on long-term damage over time. Affinity, is as we said before, an important stat to keep in mind when moving further into the game. Pay attention to the Affinity of the weapons that you choose for yourself and your Palico, and always remember that having a negative Affinity does not mean that your weapon is going to be useless.

You can learn more about Affinity and other stats and how they affect your hunter by heading over to our Monster Hunter: World guide, where we break down all the details you need to know about how to find Warped Bone, as well as in-depth guides on how to use the Hammer, and even a detailed guide that shows you how to capture monsters.