Key Takeaway
To evolve free monsters (Digimon you recruit from Free Battles), you’ll need to use Enlightenment Slabs on them.
Sadly, you can’t evolve free monsters by simply leveling them up or reaching certain stat thresholds in Digimon Survive. Instead, you’ll need to obtain specific items that you can use on your formerly wild Digimon allies.
Table Of Contents
What You Need to Evolve Free Monsters
You need Enlightenment Slabs to evolve your free monsters. Furthermore, there are three kinds: Mature, Perfect, and Ultimate. Each type is needed for different reasons.
Here’s a breakdown of what each kind of slab does:
- Mature Enlightenment Slabs: evolves rookie-level monsters into champion-level monsters
- Perfect Enlightenment Slabs: evolves champion-level monsters into ultimate-level monsters
- Ultimate Enlightenment Slabs: evolves ultimate-level monsters into mega-level monsters
In addition to needing the right type of slab to evolve your free monsters, you’ll sometimes need more than one. This depends on which monster you are evolving. Additionally, keep in mind that you cannot undo such evolutions for free monsters.
While this is less complex than evolving Digimon in many other games in the franchise, getting the right slabs can be tough. This mechanic almost feels like something out of a Pokémon game more than a trait of a Digimon game.
Furthermore, comparing partner Digimon to free monsters in this way feels a bit odd. Yes, the partner Digimon in the game are connected to the human characters in a special way. However, it’s not clearly explained how slabs of stone function the same as a bond between two living creatures.
Why Wild Digimon Are Called Free Monsters
To the human characters in Digimon Survive, the word “Digimon” has no meaning. It isn’t even used in any dialogue. There is nothing digital about the setting besides the usage of smartphones. As such, the “Digi” part of “Digimon” isn’t relevant.
Instead, the “mon” part remains. But in its full form: “monster.” If you were transported to a different world, and strange creatures started attacking you, you’d likely refer to them as monsters as well.
Furthermore, the “free” part comes from the fact that free monsters are found in Free Battles. This is the only way you can recruit new Digimon to your team. As such, labeling these new allies “free monsters” makes sense.
In some past Digimon games, the term “Free” was used as an attribute attached to individual monsters. This existed alongside the Virus, Data, and Vaccine attributes.
These terms are meant to classify the general nature of a Digimon. However, this is not the case in Digimon Survive. The only ones used are Virus, Data, and Vaccine.
What Are Enlightenment Slabs?
They seem to be pieces of stone with writing on them. Neither the human characters nor their Digimon partners seem to be able to read the writing. However, it’s likely that these items have been filled with some sort of magical power.
Throughout the franchise, mysterious writing has appeared in many places. Most often, the unknown language was written on walls to record important events. As such, it’s possible that these slabs record how Digimon in the past evolved through developing a bond with a human partner.
This may be why such items allow monsters without true partners to evolve. Slabs may simulate a human-Digimon bond. There’s no proof for this, however. Therefore, such theories are merely speculation—albeit the kind based on logic.
