When you start exploring the Hunter Manual in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, you’ll notice that many abilities include short tags like STR, BRK, or FLSH. These are called Skill Affinities, and they describe how a skill behaves in battle.
The problem is that the game only shows the acronym. Unless you remember what each one means, you may find yourself opening the manual repeatedly just to check a simple stat effect.
This guide puts all the Skill Affinities in one place, explained clearly so you can quickly understand what each tag does.
Skill Power Affinities
These affinities increase the damage or strength of a skill, usually at the cost of higher stamina usage or reduced Wyvernfell gain.
- STR – Slight increase to skill power, but the stamina cost increases slightly.
- ATK – Stronger increase to skill power, with a small stamina cost increase.
- SKL – Increases skill power but reduces the amount of Wyvernfell power generated.
- CRFT – Large increase to skill power, but Wyvernfell generation is reduced.
These affinities are commonly found on offensive abilities that focus on dealing damage quickly.
Wyvernfell Power Affinities
Wyvernfell power determines how quickly you can charge powerful abilities. These affinities increase that generation, though sometimes they reduce raw damage.
- BRK – Slightly increases Wyvernfell power generation but increases stamina cost.
- CRSH – Larger boost to Wyvernfell power generation with increased stamina cost.
- BLNT – Increases Wyvernfell generation but slightly lowers skill power.
- HVY – Strong boost to Wyvernfell generation but reduces skill power further.
These are useful if your build relies on charging special abilities quickly instead of dealing raw damage.
Critical Rate Affinities
Critical hits deal significantly more damage. These affinities improve the chance of landing critical strikes.
- STAB – Slight increase to critical hit rate but raises stamina cost.
- FLSH – Larger increase to critical hit rate, also with increased stamina cost.
Skills with these tags work best when combined with fast attacks or multi-hit abilities where each hit has a chance to crit.
Stamina Cost Affinities
These affinities reduce stamina usage, which can help during longer fights.
- XPRT – Slightly lowers stamina cost but slightly reduces skill power.
- TLNT – Stronger stamina reduction but lowers skill power more significantly.
These are helpful for sustained combat builds where stamina efficiency matters more than burst damage.
Effect Duration Affinities
Some abilities apply buffs, debuffs, or status effects. These affinities extend how long those effects remain active.
- LONG – Increases effect duration but raises stamina cost slightly.
- ARC – Greatly increases effect duration but costs more stamina to use.
These affinities are often found on support or status-based skills.
Recovery Affinities
Recovery affinities improve healing abilities.
- CURE – Slight increase to HP recovery, with a small stamina cost increase.
- HEAL – Larger increase to HP recovery, also with increased stamina cost.
These are ideal for support skills that restore health during battle.
Skill Affinities may look like small abbreviations, but they actually provide a lot of information about how a skill functions. Some boost raw power, others improve resource generation, while a few focus on efficiency or support.