Wondering how to get started with Monstrology? Not sure how it even really works? Look no farther!
We've covered everything from where to begin, to levelling up and even badge collecting within the side system!
We've covered everything from where to begin, to levelling up and even badge collecting within the side system!
What is Monstrology?
The Basics:
Monstrology is the practice of taking the "animus" of a creature when you defeat it, using special spell modifiers.
Where most people use Enchants like Epic on their hits for extra damage, Monstrologists use Extracts. Each Extract attaches to a hit just like any other enchant, and can pull a specific category of Animus. |
Once you defeat a creature with an Extract-Enhanced Hit, you will collect its animus alongside your drops from the fight.
You can access all of your animus in the Monstrology Tome in your Spellbook - Just press T to open it. With the animus you've collected, there are three types of items you can create: Summons, House Guests, and Expels. |
What can I make with animus?
But those days are gone! Monstrology lets you summon minions that will actually help you in a fight. Using your animus, you can create a treasure card to summon the creature you extracted.
For only two pips, it will be summoned with same health, spells, stats, and aggression they had against you! The only thing that WON'T transfer to a summon is the creature's cheats, if it had any. You can summon a regular minion, AND a Monstrology Minion side-by-side. However, most wizards can only have one of each. If you're a Myth Wizard, though, you can summon up to three Monstrology Minions to the field at once. |
When you create a House Guest and place it, the creature will walk around just like a pet or a mount when you place it.
You can attach it to Bread Crumbs, to keep it still, make it play its battle animations, or put it on a walking path. They can be grown or shrunk with Advanced Move, and all sorts of Castle Magic works on them too! Ever wanted a Golden Dragon to guard your gold piles? Check! |
This is helpful in boss fights like Medulla. While he isn't extractable, Pork and Beans are! You can wipe them out quickly to make dealing with the boss easier.
As a general rule, only mobs are eligible for Creature Expels. Bosses are not meant to have them, and in most cases that option will be absent from the creature's Tome Page if they're a boss. That doesn't mean they don't exist, though! Kingsisle's made slip-ups in the past where bosses have had expels available for a short time, and people have made those items. These cards are considered retired, now, but they still work fine if you're lucky enough to have one. Some noteworthy boss expels that people made plenty of are Sir Greggor and Squire Greggor. Some rarer examples include the Bane Wyrm, Banrigh Sluagh, and even The Devourer! |
Every dome has four empty slots for Summon Cards. Any extractable creature can be placed in the dome, making for any number of devastating combinations!
These duels are purely for fun with friends - They do not drop the items they normally would in their respective dungeons. They are, however, a great source of entertainment, fantastic challenges, and even gold farming! |
How do I start getting animus? How do I use it?
Extract Spells:
First things first: You'll need to train your Extract Spells to gather animus. You can get your first spell for free by visiting Monstrologist Burke outside of the Myth School in Ravenwood!
After completing a short tutorial quest, he'll give you Extract Undead. Then, you can start purchasing spells from him in other worlds across the Spiral, for gold! See the table below for a list of his locations, spells, and their costs. For a list of EVERYTHING you can extract on a creature-by-creature basis, Cody RavenTamer over at Final Basion put this hub list together! Check it out! |
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Collecting Animus and Experience:
Next thing to be aware of is that gaining Animus and Experience are tied to your Monstrology Level, and the Opponent's Rank.
If your level is too much lower than the enemy's rank, you won't get animus or experience.
If your level is too much higher than an enemy's rank, you'll still get animus, but you'll stop getting experience.
You can see a table of the Monstrology Levels and the Titles that go along with each below.
If your level is too much lower than the enemy's rank, you won't get animus or experience.
If your level is too much higher than an enemy's rank, you'll still get animus, but you'll stop getting experience.
You can see a table of the Monstrology Levels and the Titles that go along with each below.
Milestones:-The current maximum Monstrology Level is 29.
-You can start gaining Animus and XP from an enemy when your level is equal to an enemy's rank. -Once your level is equal to the enemy's rank, you are guaranteed one animus for hitting the creature. -You're also guaranteed a second animus for killing it. -You have a small chance to gain a second animus for hitting the creature (for a total of 3, if you kill). -That small chance increases the higher your Monstrology Level climbs. -You will be guaranteed all 3 animus on a creature's defeat once you are 6 levels above the enemy's rank. -Six levels above the enemy's rank is also when you will stop gaining Monstrology XP. |
Using Animus:Now that you've learned how to gain animus, and level yourself up enough to gain it from the creatures you want, lets talk about using the animus you've gained.
As we saw before, each creature in the tome can have up to three item types: Summons, Housing Guests, and Expels (Which Bosses typically won't have.) With a few exceptions (Namely, Malistaire the Undying in Darkmoor), all creatures usually require the same amount of animus to create certain items. You can use your animus on these items in your Monstrology Tome by pressing "T" to open it, locating the creature you're interested in, selecting the proper item tab and clickng "Create Item".
Keep in mind, creating Monstrological Items also takes a small amount of gold. |
Can I speed this up a bit?In fact, yes! There are a few ways to multiply your progress. The easiest and most inexpensive is the Triple Animus Elixir.
You can find this in the crowns shop for 150 crowns per hour, and it does exactly what the name suggests! Any animus and monstrology experience you gain while using this elixir will be tripled! The other multiplier is the Member Benefit, Double Animus. This only doubles your animus and experience. There is an elixir version of this benefit as well, like with all Member Benefits, but they are quite rare. You can most often find them on Crowns Rewards Event Tiers. The Member Benefit may seem underwhelming compared to the Triple Elixir, but they DO stack! This means with both active, you can gain a whopping six times multiplier on your animus gain and experience gain! |
Badges!
Below is a list of all the badges you can earn through Monstrology, and how to achieve them!
Badge Title |
Monstrology Level or Achievement |
Rookie Monstrologist |
Level 1 |
Novice Monstrologist |
Level 2 |
Tenderfoot Monstrologist |
Level 3 |
Neophyte Monstrologist |
Level 4 |
Apprentice Monstrologist |
Level 5 |
Initiate Monstrologist |
Level 6 |
Intermediate Monstrologist |
Level 7 |
Journeyman Monstrologist |
Level 8 |
Monstrology Specialist |
Level 9 |
Adept Monstrologist |
Level 10 |
Monstrology Whiz |
Level 11 |
Hotshot Monstrologist |
Level 12 |
Dexterous Monstrologist |
Level 13 |
Monstrology Virtuoso |
Level 14 |
Master Monstrologist |
Level 15 |
Grandmaster Monstrologist |
Level 16 |
Legendary Monstrologist |
Level 17 |
Gifted Monstrologist |
Level 18 |
Transcendent Monstrologist |
Level 19 |
Archmage Monstrologist |
Level 20 |
Promethean Monstrologist |
Level 21 |
Superior Monstrologist |
Level 22 |
Renowned Monstrologist |
Level 23 |
Illustrious Monstrologist |
Level 24 |
Exalted Monstrologist |
Level 25 |
Elevated Monstrologist |
Level 26 |
Grand Monstrologist |
Level 27 |
Prestigious Monstrologist |
Level 28 |
Superlative Monstrologist |
Level 29 |
Plenty of Animus |
Collect a total of 100 Animus |
Oodles of Animus |
Collect a total of 1,000 Animus |
Value |
Collect a total of 10,000 Animus |
Pockets Full of Animus |
Collect a total of 20,000 Animus |
What should I farm to level up?