Vampire Survivors has been one of the biggest mobile hits of 2023, and ever since bringing home the BAFTA Game of the Year award, more players than ever are going to be enjoying one of the best games for Android on their new phones. On its surface, Vampire Survivors is a simple game: kill the monsters before they kill you, but just underneath the surface is a web of complex mechanics that can make the difference between being a mere survivor and being an overpowered, monster-slaying beast. Read on, and we'll help you achieve the latter with the best weapon evolutions available.
1 Thousand Edge
How to get it
Power up the Knife to level 8 and equip the Bracer as one of your passive items.
What it does
The only thing more fun than a knife is endless knives. Thousand Edge launches an infinite stream of knives in whichever direction your character is facing. Each blade in the unending torrent deals 16.5 damage and passes through two enemies before stopping.
How to use Thousand Edge in a build
Because Thousand Edge only ever faces in the direction you’re facing, it’s best to pair it with an area-denial weapon like King Bible/Unholy Vespers, Garlic/Soul Eater, or Mannajja. For Arcana, choose either Slash or Iron Blue Will (reach level 50 with Gennaro). Slash will give you a 30% chance to land a critical hit for 99 damage, and Iron Blue Will lets your knives ricochet off the enemies and the edge of the screen. These two Arcanas also buff Axe/Death Spiral, so it’s a good complement to Thousand Edge.
2 La Borra
How to get it
Level Santa Water to level 8 and equip Attractorb as one of your passive items.
What it does
Much like Santa Water from which La Borra is evolved, it falls from the top of the screen creating five pale blue zones that deal 40 damage to any enemy they touch every half second. These zones grow and move toward the player over five seconds before disappearing. There is a four-second interval between each barrage.
How to use La Borra in a build
La Borra is an area-of-effect weapon with a random affected area, so it pairs well with weapons you can control the directionality of (like the Whip or the Knife) to cover your weak spots. The best Arcana to use with it is Tragic Princess (reach level 50 with Porta), which will let you use La Borra more often while you’re moving. Couple this combo with a weapon like the Shadow Pinion, which requires movement to fire. The rate of growth of La Borra and how fast it moves is a function of your character’s movement speed, so the Wings are a good passive item to pick up (they also evolve the Shadow Pinion into the Valkyrie Turner).
3 Fuwalafuwaloo
How to get it
Level Vento Sacro up to level 8 and equip Bloody Tear (evolved from level 8 Whip and Hollow Heart) as one of your other weapons.
What it does
Superficially, Fuwalafuwaloo is very similar to Vento Sacro, creating a flurry of eight slashes in front of the character inflicting 20 damage each. It also produces a circle of slashes all the way around you, damaging anything that gets too close. There’s a 5% chance to land a critical hit which deals double damage, heals 8 HP, and triggers explosive damage. Fuwalafuwaloo also grants a damage buff based on continuous movement.
How to use Fuwalafuwaloo in a build
Because Fuwalafuwaloo benefits from continuous movement, it doesn’t pair well with Shadow Pinion which requires you to move and stop to use. The chance to score a critical hit is impacted by Luck so picking up a Clover is a good idea. Clover pairs with the Cross, a ranged weapon, which will help you get to the spots Fuwalafuwaloo can’t reach on its own. Use Slash (reach level 50 with Lama) and Sarabande of Healing (unlocked with the Arcana) in the Arcana. Slash will double the damage of your critical hits, not just for Fuwalafuwaloo, but for the evolved Cross (Heaven Sword) as well.
4 Unholy Vespers
How to get it
Power up King Bible to level 8 and equip Spellbinder as one of your passive items.
What it does
Unholy Vespers encircles your character in spinning books, each book distributing 30 damage to enemies. It only hits every 1.7 seconds, but with the potential to have up to 20 books spinning around you, that’s a maximum of 600 damage every 1.7 seconds. Unholy Vespers also offers a knockback effect, so it’s harder for mobs to push through your shield of books.
How to use Unholy Vespers in a build
Because Unholy Vespers is an area-of-effect weapon, it can be beneficial to pair it with a ranged weapon like the Knife or Bone. It’s also a good idea to increase its speed with the Bracer, which just so happens to be the requirement for the Knife to evolve. For the Arcana, you’ll want to use Twilight Requiem (reach level 50 with Dommario), which will cause Unholy Vespers to generate explosions every time it cycles. Bone and Lightning Ring are also good additional weapons because they’re affected by Twilight Requiem as well.
5 Death Spiral
How to get it
Power up the Axe to level 8 and equip Candelabrador as one of your passive items.
What it does
Unlike the Axe, which flies up a short distance before falling past the bottom of the screen, Death Spiral radiates out from the character in all directions, passing through enemies and dealing 60 damage along the way.
How to use Death Spiral in a build
Death Spiral has a high cooldown (the time it takes to launch another barrage of scythes), so it helps to pick up the Empty Tome (needed to evolve the Magic Wand) as one of your passive items. This will reduce your cooldown from 4 seconds to 2.4 seconds, making Death Spiral much more effective. Pair it with the Arcana Slash or Iron Blue Will. Slash gives every hit a 30% chance to inflict 240 damage, and Iron Blue Will allows the scythes to bounce off the edge of the screen one time.
6 Thunder Loop
How to get it
Power up the Lightning Ring to level 8 and equip the Duplicator as one of your passive items.
What it does
Much like the Lightning Ring, Thunder Loop calls down bolts of lightning on random enemies creating a damaging area of effect around unlucky mobs. Unlike the Lightning Ring, The Thunder Loop always calls down lightning in pairs, doubling damage.
How to use Thunder Loop in a build
Due to the Thunder Loop’s random nature, it’s best to pair it with a weapon you can control more, such as Shadow Pinion/Valkyrie Turner or Knife/Thousand Edge. It has a natural synergy with King Bible/Unholy Vespers since both benefit from the Twilight Requiem Aracana, which causes additional explosion damage on top of normal damage. It also pairs well with Santa Water/La Borra when used with Tragic Princess, which lowers the cooldown as long as you’re moving.
7 No Future
How to get it
Power up Runetracer to level 8 and equip Armor as one of your passive items.
What it does
No Future fires a blue laser that bounces around the screen, passing through enemies and inflicting 30 damage as it passes. Each time it bounces off the edge of the screen, it causes a large explosion for extra damage. Each time something damages you, expect more explosion damage.
How to use No Future in a build
There’s really no wrong way to use No Future since it benefits from nearly every passive item. A good companion weapon is the Magic Wand/Holy Wand. Both can benefit from the Jail of Crystal Arcana (reach level 50 with Pasqualina), which gives you a 25% chance to freeze enemies. King Bible/Unholy Vespers or Lightning Ring/Thunder Loop are also good choices because No Future benefits from their required evolution items which boost duration and amount, respectively.
8 Mannajja
How to get it
Power up Song of Mana to level 8 and have Skull O’Maniac as one of your passive items.
What it does
Mannajja is an area-of-effect weapon that is always centered on the player. It extends from the top of the screen to the bottom and is over 300% wider than Song of Mana’s area of effect. Although each hit only inflicts 40 damage (not a lot in the late game), it also permanently slows down an enemy’s movement speed by 5% for each hit.
How to use Mannajja in a build
The most important stats for Mannajja are its area, cooldown, and duration. To maximize its effectiveness, you’ll want to pick up the Candelabrador, Empty Tome, and Spellbinder. Fully maxed out, these items will give you 50% more area, fire every 2.7 seconds, and persist for 3 seconds, meaning you won’t have to worry about a gap in your offense. Using the Arcana Blood Astronomia (reaching level 50 with Poe) will cause Mannajja to generate mini planets that spin into enemies, damaging them.
9 Gorgeous Moon
How to get it
Power up the Pentagram to level 8 and equip the Crown as one of your passive items.
What it does
Gorgeous Moon operates in three phases. The first kills the closest 20 enemies over a nine-second period. Three seconds later, it kills every enemy on screen (except for a few bosses), causing them to drop extra experience gems. Last, it pulls all experience gems on the level to your character. Unlike the Pentagram from which it evolves, Gorgeous Moon cannot destroy on-screen items.
How to use Gorgeous Moon in a build
Because Pentagram and Gorgeous Moon have a cooldown between 90 and 60 seconds, you’re going to want to get another weapon to keep you safe while you’re waiting for it to trigger again. Powering up the Empty Tome (which evolves the Magic Wand) to max-level will reduce that time by 40%. The only Arcana that directly affects Gorgeous Moon is Blood Astronomia which will place numerous instant-kill zones on the screen.
10 Infinite Corridor
How to get it
Level the Clock Lancet up to level 8 and equip both the Silver and Gold Rings at level 9
What it does
Infinite Corridor fires one beam per second across the screen, freezing anything it touches for 6 seconds. The beams fire in 12 different directions, rotating around the player like a clock. Every 12 seconds (when the beam reaches the 12 o’clock position), it reduces the health of every enemy on screen by half.
How to use Infinite Corridor in a build
This is the Death killer. When Death shows up at the 30-minute mark, it has over 650,000 HP, so killing it isn’t usually an option, but with Infinite Corridor, it becomes a possibility. The trick is to stay alive long enough to reduce its health to a manageable level. To pull this off, you’ll need to be fast (Wings), you’ll need to have a few Revives (the item Tiragisú and Awake from the Arcana [reach level 50 with Krochi]), and you’ll need a weapon (your choice). If you want to make it easier, you’ll want to evolve the Crimson Shroud, which limits enemy damage to 10, making the whole encounter almost trivial.
11 Muramasa
How to get it
Level up the Night Sword and Stone Mask to their max levels.
What it does
Muramasa is very similar to Sigma's starting weapon Victory Sword. It slashes at nearby enemies and inflicts damage on enemies that damage you. It also has a 10% chance to both deal a critical hit for double damage, and spawn a heart that heals 1 HP of damage. Oh yeah, Muramasa also slowly eats away at your life.
How to use Muramasa in a build
The key to successfully using Muramasa is to not just compensate for the constant health loss, but to turn it into an advantage. Using the Arcana Sarabande of Healing will not only double your health recovery, it will cause area-of-effect damage whenever you heal. Pair this with a weapon like Fuwalafuwaloo which restores health on critical hits and Soul Eater which inflicts more damage the more you heal, and your constant health loss will quickly turn into an asset.
12 Echo Night
How to get it
Power up Summon Night and Duplicator to their max levels
What it does
Echo Night summons claws above and below your character that tear across the screen, leaving lingering black clouds that damage any monster they touch. The attack persists for one second and repeats every three seconds.
How to use Echo Night in a build
Because Echo Night is an area-of-effect weapon, it helps to pair it with a weapon that can be more surgical like the Knife or the Whip. Echo Night benefits most from buffing the Amount and Area stats. Amount will affect how wide the attack is, and Area will affect its height. Use a character like Concetta paired with the Arcana Boogaloo of Illusions which both add +1% bonus to Area for every level to really maximize this effect. Because you need the Duplicator ring to evolve Echo Night, it already has an inherent amount bonus, but to fully take advantage of it, use a character like Gav'Et-Oni which gets up to a +4 bonus to Amount and the Arcana Beginning which confers an additional +1 Amount.
How to evolve weapons in Vampire Survivors
If you're still new to Vampire Survivors, you may be wondering how to evolve your weapons past their basic forms. Once you've upgraded your weapon to its highest level and have the correct companion item at the required level, the evolution will be awarded to you in the next Treasure Chest (some exceptions apply), replacing the original weapon in your inventory.
These picks aren't even half of the weapon options available in Vampire Survivors. Taking into account all the possible weapon evolutions, there are hundreds of millions of weapon combinations to choose from. Couple that with the tens of millions of potential Arcana combinations and you have a recipe for infinite replayability. That should keep you busy while you wait for Tides of the Foscari to drop.