By: Author Jeffrey Lerman
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Vampire Survivors is a difficult roguelite where it helps to know how to evolve items. This can make a huge difference since certain items gain new buffs as well as increased damage. And if you want to win a run, you’ll need to know the right combos for powerful builds. Continue reading our guide for how to evolve and every evolution available.
We try to update this guide as often as new evolutions are added to Vampire Survivors. Whether that’s one of the earliest patches introducing the Garlic evolution or the many new ones added in DLC. Check out our table to learn them all.
How to Evolve –
How to Evolve in Vampire Survivors
Combining the Garlic evolution with other strong area-based ones can lead to a fun run.
Whether you’ve just started playing or have been for a bit, it’s easy to not know item combinations exist. It relies on a few conditions and getting far enough with the right items to pull off. Fortunately, once you know what to do and what item synergies you need, it’s not too hard. First, you’ll need to make it past the 10-minute mark. You can keep an eye on how long you’ve been alive by checking the timer near the top of your screen.
If you’re struggling to make it this far, you may need to buy some power ups. I’d recommend getting Armor and Move Speed or doubling down on Greed to get coins. Also, you can check our guide on How to Reach Level 99 for some build recommendations. You’ll eventually need to if you want to unlock Arcana cards for unique buffs.
Enemies aren’t getting anywhere near you with this build using Soul Eater, Death Spiral, Unholy Vespers, and Holy Wand.
Second, you’ll need to completely max the level of the weapon you want to evolve. As previously mentioned, not every weapon has an evolution, so it’s important to check the list below. For example, you can evolve the Runetracer now but not the Bone.
Third, you’ll need the right item/power up that synergizes with your weapon. For example, the Whip requires the Hollow Heart power up. If you’re playing Vampire Survivors for the first time, you’ll need to survive at least one minute to unlock this item. The achievements list in-game is a good way to find the requirements for unlocking certain content.
While you might not get lucky with three items, you will need to find a chest to evolve your item. And if your luck chance is high, you may even evolve multiple items at once.
And finally, once you have the right items and are past the 10-minute mark, you’ll need to open a chest on the floor. You can get these by killing elite enemies that appear as you get further into a Vampire Survivors run. Such as a giant praying mantis in the Mad Forest or Medusa in the Inlaid Library.
As long as you’ve met the right conditions, the chest will immediately give you the evolved version. In the case of evolving the Whip, you’ll get the Bloody Tear which deals critical damage and leeches health from enemies.
Every Evolution in Vampire Survivors
The Bloody Tear is likely to be one of your first evolutions/item combos in Vampire Survivors since it’s an early weapon available.
While most evolutions typically require one item and a power up to combine, there are a few that are unique. One example is the Vandalier evolution where you need to reach max level with the Peachone and Ebony Wings. However, certain other evolutions known as Unions require one item and two power ups. Such as the Phieraggi evolution requiring the Phiera Der Tuphello, Eight The Sparrow, and the Tiragisú.
| Item | Power Up | Evolution | Description |
Whip | Hollow Heart | Bloody Tear | Evolved Whip. Can deal critical damage and absorb HP. |
Magic Wand | Empty Tome | Holy Wand | Evolved Magic Wand. Fires with no delay. |
Knife | Bracer | Thousand Edge | Evolved Knife. Fires with no delay. |
Axe | Candelabrador | Death Spiral | Evolved Axe. Passes through enemies. |
Cross | Clover | Heavenly Sword | Evolved Cross. Can deal critical damage. |
King Bible | Spellbinder | Unholy Vespers | Evolved King Bible. Never ends. |
Fire Wand | Spinach | Hellfire | Evolved Fire Wand. Passes through enemies. |
Garlic | Pummarola | Soul Eater | Evolved Garlic. Steals hearts. Power increases when recovering HP. |
Silver Wind | Pummarola (Max) | Festive Winds | Evolved Silver Wind. Weakens enemy defenses. |
Santa Water | Attractorb | La Borra | Evolved Santa Water. Damaging zones follow you and grow when they move. |
Lightning Ring | Duplicator | Thunder Loop | Evolved Lightning Ring. Projectiles strike twice. |
Summon Night | Duplicator (Max) | Echo Night | Evolved Summon Night. Also generates damaging zones below the character. (Legacy of the Moonspell DLC) |
Song of Mana | Skull O’Maniac | Mannajja | Evolved Song of Mana. Might slow enemies down. |
Pentagram | Crown | Gorgeous Moon | Evolved Pentagram. Generates extra gems and gathers all of them. |
Runetracer | Armor | No Future | Evolved Runetracer. Explodes when bouncing and in retaliation. |
Gatti Amari | Stone Mask | Vicious Hunger | Evolved Gatti Amari. Might turn anything into gold. |
Shadow Pinion | Wings | Valkyrie Turner | Evolved Shadow Pinion. Bigger, longer, faster, stronger. |
Peachone (max) | Ebony Wings (Max) | Vandalier | Union of Ebony Wings and Peachone. |
Bloody Tear | Vento Sacro | Fuwalafuwaloo | Union of Vento Sacro and Bloody Tear. Critical hits might generate explosions. |
Flames of Misspell | Torrona’s Box (Max) | Ashes of Muspell | Evolved Flames of Misspell. The more enemies are defeated, the stronger it grows. |
Mirage Robe | Attractorb (Max) | J’Odore | Evolved Mirage Robe. Projectiles move and confuse enemies. (Legacy of the Moonspell DLC) |
Night Sword | Stone Mask (Max) | Muramasa | Evolved Night Sword. Enables critical hits and combo finisher. Drains health. (Legacy of the Moonspell DLC) |
Mille Bolle Blu | Spellbinder | Boo Roo Boolle | Evolved Mille Bolle Blu. Projectiles can hit the same target more than once. (Legacy of Moonspell DLC) |
Eskizzibur | Armor (Max) | Legionnaire | Evolved Eskizzibur. Generates additional projectiles that deal retaliatory damage. (Tides of the Foscari DLC) |
Prismatic Missile | Crown (Max) | Luminaire | Evolved Prismatic Missile. Increases the value of gems and coins on the ground. (Tides of the Foscari DLC) |
Shadow Servant | Skull O’Maniac (Max) | Ophion | Evolved Shadow Servant. Has a chance to instantly kill enemies. (Tides of the Foscari DLC) |
Glass Fandango | Wings (Max) | Celestial Voulge | Evolved Glass Fandango. Might deal critical damage and freeze enemies. Turns Orologions into Starry Heavens. |
Report! | Mini Crewmate (Max) | Emergency Meeting | Evolved Report! Occasionally destroys all of one type of enemy. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Lifesign Scan | Mini Ghost (Max) | Paranormal Scan | Evolved Lifesign Scan. Periodically grants random stat boost for the rest of the run. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Clear Debris | Mini Guardian (Max) | Clear Asteroids | Evolved Clear Debris. Amount creates cluster explosions. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Sharp Tongue | Mini Imposter (Max) | Impostongue | Evolved Sharp Tongue. Deals high damage to the strongest enemy and anything in its path. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Lucky Swipe | Mini Engineer (Max) | Crossed Wires | Evolved Lucky Swipe. Attacks in up to four directions. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Science Rocks | Mini Scientist (Max) | Rocket Science | Evolved Science Rocks. Triggers a finisher when the right conditions are met. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Just Vent | Mini Shapeshifter (Max) | Unjust Ejection | Evolved Just Vent. Sucks in enemies. (Emergency Meeting DLC) |
Phiera Der Tuphello (Max) | Eight the Sparrow (Max) | Tiragisú | Phieraggi | Union of Phiera Der Tuphello and Eight the Sparrow. Scales with Revivals. |
Laurel | Metaglio Left (Max) | Metaglio Right (Max) | Crimson Shroud | Evolved Laurel. Caps incoming damage at 10. Retaliates when losing charges. |
Clock Lancet | Silver Ring (Max) | Gold Ring (Max) | Infinite Corridor | Evolved Clock Lancet. Halves enemies health. |
Four Seasons | Spinach (Max) | Candelabrador (Max) | Godai Shuffle | Evolved Four Seasons. Generates an additional explosion. (Legacy of the Moonspell DLC) |
SpellString | SpellStream | SpellStrike | SpellStrom | Union of Spellstring, SpellStream, and SpellStrike. Grows stronger after every singularity. (Tides of the Foscari DLC) |
Flash Arrow | Bracer (Max) | Clover (Max) | Millionaire | Evolved Flash Arrow. Fires additional projectiles based on Amount and when picking up gold coins. (Tides of the Foscari DLC) |
That’s all there is to this Vampire Survivors guide on how to evolve and every evolution. Feel free to comment below if you have some tips and tricks of your own for surviving the full 30 minutes. My favorite evolutions so far are Gorgeous Moon, Unholy Vespers, and Death Spiral.
- How to Unlock New Maps
- How to Get Arcanas
- How to Open Every Coffin
