The intricate world of "Everything is Crab" offers players a profound depth of customization through its unique Evolution system, granting Darwin a staggering 121 distinct transformations. These Evolutions act as potent modifiers, fundamentally altering Darwin’s capabilities and strategic approaches during each gameplay run. While the full spectrum of these transformative buffs remains a mystery until unlocked, this guide aims to demystify the process, providing a comprehensive overview of every known Evolution in the current build of the game.
Understanding the Evolution Mechanic
At its core, the Evolution system in "Everything is Crab" is designed to imbue Darwin with temporary or permanent advantages that shape his survival and combat effectiveness. Each Evolution represents a distinct buff, ranging from enhanced physical prowess and defensive capabilities to specialized sensory improvements and unique movement abilities. The synergistic application of these Evolutions, often influenced by Darwin’s inherent Affinities, can lead to dramatically different playthroughs, encouraging experimentation and strategic adaptation.
The game progresses through Darwin’s consumption of various forms of sustenance. With each significant level-up, achieved through consistent feeding, players are presented with a selection of three potential Evolutions. The first instance of acquiring a specific Evolution serves to permanently unlock it within the player’s account. Subsequently, these unlocked Evolutions have a higher probability of appearing during subsequent runs, allowing players to further enhance their chosen traits through a leveling system. This iterative process of unlocking and upgrading is central to mastering Darwin’s adaptive potential.
Disclaimer: This guide represents the most current understanding of Evolutions available in the game’s present iteration. The development landscape is dynamic, and future updates may introduce new Evolutions or modify existing ones.
Common Evolutions: The Building Blocks of Adaptation
The foundation of Darwin’s adaptive arsenal lies within the Common tier of Evolutions. These are typically the first transformations players encounter, offering foundational buffs that are crucial for early-game survival and progression.
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agile | Increases Dodge, Reduces Attack Penalty | Trickster | 5 | Passive |
| Antlers | Causes self-damage but deals high Physical damage | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Beak | Raises Feeding Speed, Deals Ability Damage at range | Prey, Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Carapace | Raises Damage Resistance, Grants Plating | Imposing, Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Chonky | Raises Size and Physical | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Claws | Deals quick Physical Damage | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| Cortex | Increases Ability | Trickster | 5 | Passive |
| Dexterous | Reduces cooldowns, Raises Ability | Predator, Trickster | 5 | Passive |
| Elusive | Reduces size, Increases dodge | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Fur | Raises Damage Resistance and Cold Adaptation | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Jaws | Deals Physical Damage, Increased Physical Damage to stunned enemies | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| More Eyes | Increases dodge and Senses | Gregarious, Prey | 5 | Passive |
| More Mass | Increases Max HP, Physical, and Size | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Muscular Tissue | Increases Physical | Predator | 5 | Passive |
| Pincer | Deals Ability Damage | Carcinisation, Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Plated | Raises Plating | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Reach | Raises the range of attacks | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Regenerative Tissue | Raises regeneration | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Saliva | Raises feeding speed and regeneration | Predator, Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Scales | Raises Damage Resistance and Heat Adaptation | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Slide | Dash over a long distance | Prey, Trickster | 3 | Movement |
| Spit | Deals low Ability Damage at range | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Stomach | Raises feeding speed | Imposing, Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Tail | Increases Ability and Social | Gregarious | 5 | Passive |
The "Common" Evolutions form the bedrock of Darwin’s adaptive potential. For instance, Agile offers a dual benefit of increased dodge chance and a reduction in attack penalties, making Darwin more evasive and efficient in combat. Carapace and Plated directly bolster defensive capabilities, providing crucial damage resistance and the coveted "Plating" status, which can absorb a portion of incoming damage. Offensive options like Claws and Jaws focus on direct physical damage, with Jaws offering a significant advantage against stunned opponents, highlighting the importance of crowd control.
The "Trickster" Affinity frequently appears in these Common Evolutions, suggesting that cunning and strategic evasion are key early-game survival traits. Evolutions like Reach and Spit empower Darwin with ranged attack options, allowing players to engage threats from a safer distance, a valuable tactic in the often-overwhelming early stages of a run. Conversely, Chonky and More Mass emphasize brute force and survivability through increased size and health, catering to a more direct combat approach.
Rare Evolutions: Unlocking Potent Synergies
As players progress and Darwin gains experience, "Rare" Evolutions become available, introducing more specialized and powerful abilities that can significantly alter a run’s trajectory. These often unlock more complex synergies and offer unique strategic advantages.
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antennae | Raises Senses and Social | Carcinisation, Gregarious | 5 | Passive |
| Body Slam | Deals Physical Damage at close range, Damage scales with Max HP | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Carnivore | Raises the progress gained from eating meat, Reduces Prey affinity | Predator | 5 | Passive |
| Cheek Pouch | Stores Food, which can be eaten passively | Gregarious, Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Constriction | Temporarily stuns nearby enemies and deals Physical Damage over time | Trickster | 5 | Ultimate |
| Detachable Tail | Leave a fake trail when damaged by an enemy | Prey, Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Exoskeleton | Raises Damage Resistance and Social | Carcinisation, Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Forager | Raises the frequency of Food drops being turned into Health Food, Raises Poison Resistance | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Fungoid | Generates Mushrooms around you | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Herbivore | Raises Vegetation Progress, Reduces Predator Affinity | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Horns | Lands a Headbutt that does Physical Damage and bypasses Plating | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Leap | Jump over enemies and obstacles and avoid all damage in the process. | Predator | 3 | Movement |
| Leech | Deals short-range attacks that deal Ability Damage and drain HP | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Nomadic | Gain Progress when you discover a Place of Interest | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Omnivore | Raises Food Progress | N/A | 5 | Passive |
| Pack | Raises attack based on the number of charmed animals | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Piscivore | Raises Fish Food Progress | NA | 5 | Passive |
| Poisonous Saliva | Apply poison to the Beak, Jaws, and Spit Attack | Trickster | 1 | Passive |
| Poisonous Spores | Inflict Poison on nearby enemies upon hit | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Prehensile Tail | Raises Feeding Distance | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Revenge | Raises Physical and Ability temporarily when damaged | Imposing, Predator | 3 | Passive |
| Scavenger | Grant extra progress on food from animals that you haven’t killed | Gregarious, Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Shell | Raises Damage Resistance | Carcinisation, Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Smol | Raises Speed, Reduces Size and Imposing Affinity | Prey | 5 | Rare |
| Spines | Reflects back a percentage of the damage upon contact | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Sprint | Raises Speed | Predator | 3 | Movement |
| Spur | Deals low Physical Damage that’s triggered automatically after a basic attack | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| Stoner | Performs a ranged attack that uses Stone Ammo and deals a lot of damage | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Subcutaneous Fat | Raises Cold and Heat Adaptation, Raises Max HP | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Synapse | Reduces all cooldowns | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Tail Wag | Make attempts to charm nearby animals once every five seconds | Gregarious | 5 | Passive |
| Toe Beans | Social attack with a chance to charm a nearby animal | Gregarious | 5 | Attack |
| Turtle Down | Gain a temporary shield | Imposing | 3 | Movement |
| Whining | Tries to charm nearby animals after taking damage | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
The "Rare" tier introduces more strategic depth. Constriction, a powerful ultimate ability, offers crowd control by stunning enemies and dealing damage over time. Carnivore and Herbivore significantly impact resource management and progression, allowing for specialization in diet and potentially influencing Affinity gains. The presence of Poisonous Saliva and Poisonous Spores introduces a damage-over-time debuff that can be devastating against larger groups of enemies or tougher foes.
The "Gregarious" Affinity becomes more prominent here, with abilities like Tail Wag, Toe Beans, and Whining focusing on charming or manipulating other creatures. This suggests a playstyle that leverages alliances or distracts enemies. Movement abilities like Leap and Sprint offer increased mobility, crucial for evading threats or positioning for attacks.
Epic Evolutions: Game-Changing Transformations
The "Epic" tier represents a significant leap in power and strategic impact. These Evolutions often possess the potential to define an entire run, offering potent buffs that can turn the tide of difficult encounters or unlock entirely new playstyles.
| Name | Effects | Abilities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courting | Charms nearest enemy | Gregarious | 3 | Ultimate |
| Diurnal | Raises all damage dealt during the day, Reduces all damage dealt during the night | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Hollow Bones | Raises Speed, Reduces Damage Resistance | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Impervious | Take half of the damage immediately, and the other half after a second, Raises Max HP | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| More Legs | Raises Speed | Carcinisation | 3 | Passive |
| Nocturnal | Deal more damage during the night, Raises Senses | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Outlier | Get a random Legendary Evolution, Raises the chance of Legendary-only Evolutions | N/A | 1 | Passive |
| Overwhelm | Deal additional damage based on active Plating | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Pistol Pincer | Deal massive damage based on the higher Physical/Ability Damage value, Push the target | Carcinisation, Trickster | 3 | Ultimate |
| Sharpen | Raises the damage of attacks based on Predator Affinity levels | Predator | 3 | Ultimate |
| Slow Metabolism | Reduces Speed, Reduces the progress requirement to evolve | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Stinger | Deal Physical Damage and Poison that deals Ability Damage over five seconds | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Vegan | Raises Vegetation Progress, but you can’t have meat or fish, Reduces Predator Affinity | N/A | 3 | Passive |
"Epic" Evolutions introduce significant strategic considerations. Courting offers a powerful ultimate ability that can turn an enemy into an ally, providing invaluable support. Diurnal and Nocturnal introduce a day/night cycle mechanic that can be exploited for significant damage buffs, encouraging players to plan their activities around these environmental shifts. Impervious provides a unique defensive mechanic, splitting damage over time, which can be crucial against overwhelming damage spikes.
The "Predator" Affinity’s influence is felt with Sharpen, a potent ultimate that scales damage based on Affinity levels. This encourages players to invest heavily in the Predator path for maximum offensive output. Pistol Pincer is another ultimate that offers immense damage potential and a tactical repositioning effect. The presence of Outlier is particularly noteworthy, as it acts as a gateway to the rarest tier, significantly increasing the chances of acquiring Legendary Evolutions.
Legendary and Branching Evolutions: The Pinnacle of Adaptation
The "Legendary" tier represents the apex of Darwin’s transformative potential. These Evolutions are exceptionally rare and offer unparalleled advantages, capable of fundamentally redefining what is possible within a single run. Branching Evolutions, often found within this tier, can unlock further specialized pathways.
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Raises Gregarious Affinity, Raises Max HP, Size, and Social | Gregarious, Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Arms | Raises Ability, Physical, and Feeding distance | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Legs | Raises your Speed | Predator, Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Pollinator | Raises the Vegetation Rate when you find a Point of Interest, Gain a random bonus after you discover four Points of Interest | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Robust | Max HP scales with Size | Imposing | 1 | Passive |
| Ruminant | Gain Progress based on Prey Affinity | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Shifty | Negative size modifiers raise Dodge | Prey, Trickster | 3 | Movement |
| Slithery | Raises Terrain Adaptation and Speed | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Tentacles | Raises your speed and ability, Unlocks arm-based Evolutions at Level 3 | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Wings | Raises Terrain Adaptation and Speed | Predator, Prey | 3 | Passive |
Legendary Evolutions are designed to be game-defining. Alpha, for instance, significantly boosts multiple aspects of Darwin’s power while also enhancing the Gregarious Affinity, suggesting a focus on social dominance. Robust offers a direct scaling of health with size, making larger Darwins incredibly resilient. Tentacles and Wings provide significant boosts to speed and terrain adaptation, allowing for unparalleled mobility and access to previously unreachable areas.
The "Branching" aspect, hinted at with Tentacles unlocking arm-based Evolutions at higher levels, suggests a system where acquiring certain Evolutions can open up entirely new sub-trees of potential transformations, further deepening the game’s replayability and strategic complexity. The rarity of these Evolutions underscores the importance of the Outlier Evolution and the overall progression system in "Everything is Crab."
The Mechanics of Acquisition and Progression
The acquisition of Evolutions in "Everything is Crab" is intrinsically tied to Darwin’s growth and the player’s actions. As Darwin consumes food, he progresses through leveling intervals. Upon reaching these intervals, players are presented with a choice of three Evolutions. The initial discovery of an Evolution permanently unlocks it for future runs.
The system is designed to reward consistent gameplay and exploration. Once an Evolution is unlocked, it becomes available for leveling up during subsequent runs. The probability of encountering an unlocked Evolution increases, allowing players to further refine Darwin’s capabilities. This iterative process of unlocking, upgrading, and strategizing around acquired traits is central to mastering the game’s adaptive mechanics.
Players are also encouraged to pay close attention to the "Genetics" system. These are pre-run buffs that offer persistent advantages, providing a foundational boost before the start of any given playthrough. The interplay between Genetics and Evolutions creates a layered system of progression, where both long-term strategic choices and in-run tactical decisions are paramount to success.
The ongoing development of "Everything is Crab" suggests that the Evolution system, along with Genetics, will continue to evolve. Developers may introduce new Evolutions, rebalance existing ones, or even alter the fundamental mechanics of acquisition and progression, ensuring a perpetually dynamic and engaging player experience. The current comprehensive list provides a robust foundation for players seeking to understand and exploit the full adaptive potential of Darwin.