Wild Hearts: Ragetail boss guide, tips and strategies

Looking for tips on how to beat the Ragetail in Wild Hearts? Like its closest rival in the Monster Hunter genre, Omega Force's new RPG Wild Hearts lets players loose in a world overrun with giant monstrous creatures that need hunting and killing to protect the safety of the archipelago's inhabitants. And the first step for every play is to defeat the Ragetail, an overgrown rat with a massive bulbous maul of a tail that it loves to swing in your direction.

While the Ragetail's aggression can spell doom for players still getting to grips with Wild Hearts, once you know how to defeat it, this boss becomes quite straightforward. Read on to find out exactly how to beat the Ragetail in Wild Hearts, and what you'll earn for doing so.

Wild Hearts Ragetail overview

The Ragetail in Wild Hearts is a giant rat with long teeth and claws, and a very bulbous tail that it uses as a mace to smash into its prey or would-be attackers. It can be found in Harugasumi Way, the starting region of the game, and often it can be seen wandering about the ruins down the steps from the starting campsite.

Here is a quick overview of the Ragetail, including the weapon and attribute types which are best suited against it, and important body parts to target:

• Attribute: Wood
• Slash Effectiveness: 4
• Pummel Effectiveness: 4
• Lunge Effectiveness: 3
• Effective Attributes: Fire
• Effective Ailments: Ablaze, Frozen, Entangled
• Weak parts: Head
• Severable parts: Tail

The Ragetail is the weakest of all the Kemono you'll encounter in Wild Hearts, but a new player with just the basic gear may still have a bit of trouble defeating it thanks to its aggressive swipes and tail attacks. In its second phase it can also conjure vines and roots from the ground, which can damage you and interrupt your flow if you're not careful.

If you're struggling to kill the Ragetail, then check out this video for an insight into how it can be done, and read our tips below on how to beat the Ragetail quickly and cleanly.

How to beat the Ragetail

Here are the biggest tips and advice we can give new players on how to beat the Ragetail in Wild Hearts:

1. Use Crates and Bulwarks to stop the Ragetail's attacks
2. Aim for the head to inflict maximum damage
3. Sever the tail to remove the Ragetail's main weapon
4. Keep up the pressure with consistent attacks
5. Use Flying Vines to pursue the Ragetail if it tries to escape

1. Use Crates and Bulwarks to stop the Ragetail's attacks

The Ragetail likes to lunge forward when it attacks, but the lack of strength behind those attacks means it can be easily stunned if it hits a tower of Crate Karakuri. And a Bulwark is even better, able to soak up multiple hits from the Ragetail before being destroyed.

Each time a Ragetail attacks one of these obstacles, it will be momentarily stunned, giving you a good opportunity to safely deal damage. If it's preparing to attack and you have a chargeable weapon like the Maul or Nodachi, you can wait behind your Karakuri and emerge once it's stunned for a huge amount of easy damage.

2. Aim for the head to inflict maximum damage

The Ragetail's head is its weakest spot, so if you want to put one down quickly you should focus on its head above all else. This can be hard to do considering how readily the Ragetail likes to bite and swipe at whatever's in front of it, but if you're following the advice above and stunning the Ragetail with Karakuri, then the head will be left vulnerable for your strongest attacks.

3. Sever the tail to remove the Ragetail's main weapon

While attacking the tail won't deal as much damage as attacking the head, it can be a good idea to take a blade to the tail where possible. With enough damage, you can sever the Ragetail's tail entirely, which not only means an extra piece of loot you can harvest (the Ragetail Plum at the end of the tail is a valuable early resource for crafting and improving weapons), but the Ragetail's most dangerous attack - the tail whip - will no longer be an issue.

4. Keep up the pressure with consistent attacks

The Ragetail's attacks are all fairly straightforward and easy to read once you've got a bit of practice in. Once you're at this stage, you should try to stay as up close and personal as possible (unless you're using a ranged weapon of course), and keep up the pressure with consistent damage. The faster you cut the Ragetail down, the less time it has to damage you.

5. Use Flying Vines to pursue the Ragetail if it tries to escape

Ragetails can run quite fast when they want to, and you'll see this when the Ragetail first tries to retreat. If you have Flying Vines unlocked, it's a good idea to use one to quickly catch up to the Ragetail. Once it reaches its next location, it will immediately begin to heal until you engage it in combat once more, so the faster you catch up to it, the easier it'll be to finish the Ragetail off.

Ragetail materials: What loot does it drop?

Here are the possible hunting rewards for the Ragetail:

• Ragetail Plum (tail)
• Ragetail Pelt (head)
• Ragetail Fang (head once enraged)
• Ragetail Claw
• Rare Ragetail Pip
• Young Warrior Teardrops
• Young Warrior Kemono Blood
• Small Plum Scent Crystal

That's pretty much everything you need to know in order to beat the Ragetail, the first major Kemono boss of Wild Hearts. If you want to give yourself the best chance of victory, make sure you also learn how to unlock new weapons in Wild Hearts early on.