What is affinity on weapons?

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When looking at weapons I could use/craft/upgrade/etc. A stat I can see is "affinity" and some of them have + or - a percentage. What is affinity and what does it affect? Can it be increased in any way?
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How do you use weapon affinity?
You unlock the ability to change a weapon's affinity when you obtain your first Whetstone Knife. Using a whetstone, you can apply Ashes of War to your weapons to upgrade them with affinities and other special status effects, according to the type of Ashes you use.How do you increase affinity on a weapon?
How to Increase AffinityWhat is affinity attack?
What is affinity (affinity vs attack)? Affinity is a value that determines how likely you are to land a powerful or weak attack. This stat is similar to a critical hit chance in other games, but with a Monster Hunter twist. Affinity can be either positive or negative.What is weapon affinity MHW?
Affinity is a statistic that helps determine how much chance a weapon has to deal additional damage in Monster Hunter World. It's really important to the meta of balance and has a larger impact on the tail end of the game and the high-end, high-rank hunts in particular.Elden Ring - How to Swap Arts of War \u0026 Weapon Affinity
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