Every time you take part in a battle with a recruitable monster you have a chance to obtain their monster crystal, except if you already have their crystal. The exception to this is chocobo's. Once done, you can add them to your party through the Paradigm Pack and then insert them into your Paradigm Shifts.
If you find you don't like how a tamed monster is being developed and want to start fresh, there is an option to release them. The only problem with this is unique monsters that you only get once such as Gigantuar, Twilight Odin, Golden Chocobo, and all seven crystal obtained from Moogle Throw. Be smart if you choose to develop these characters.
Monster Development
Like Serah and Noel, the monsters all have their own Crystarium that you invest using Monster Materials. Each has at least one expansion, giving a bonus or extra ATB gauge, that you should consider carefully. Here are some suggestion.
Commandos and Ravagers
This really depends on the individual monster. Take into account the speed of it. Faster monsters could always use more ATB gauge, while slower monsters take so long to fill that the bonus is usually more beneficial.
Sentinels and Saboteurs
You should almost always pick the bonus for these since it will improved their overall use in battle.
Synergists and Medics
Always pick an extra ATB for these guys first expansion so they can do more in battle, since they can cast more than just one 2 segment spell. The second expansion, if they have one, is less critical.
In order to determine how many expansions your monster will have, you need to take into account what level they can reach. You can tell this by the monsters description, in the status window. See the following:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Early Peaker | Reaches a maximum level of 20. |
| Well-Grown | Reaches a maximum level of 30-60. |
| Late Bloomer | Reaches a maximum level of 70-99. |
| Hearty | High HP growth. |
| Strong | High Strength growth. |
| Magical | High Magic growth. |
| Balanced | Balanced parameter growth. |
| Brainy | Learns many abilities. |
| Flameprone | Weak against Fire. |
| Frostprone | Weak against Ice. |
| Sparkprone | Weak against Lightning. |
| Windprone | Weak against Wind. |
| Flameproof | Strong Fire resistance or learns Fire resistance abilities. |
| Frostproof | Strong Ice resistance or learns Ice resistance abilities. |
| Thunderproof | Strong Lightning resistance or learns Lightning resistance abilities. |
| Windproof | Strong Wind resistance or learns Wind resistance abilities. |
| Meleeproof | Strong Physical resistance or learns Physical resistance abilities. |
| Manaproof | Strong Magic resistance or learns Magic resistance abilities. |
| Venomproof | Strong Poison resistance or learns Poison resistance abilities. |
| Fogproof | Strong Fog resistance or learns Fog resistance abilities. |
| Painproof | Strong Pain resistance or learns Pain resistance abilities. |
| Hexproof | Strong Curse resistance or learns Curse resistance abilities. |
| Wimpy | Has multiple weaknesses. |
| Stoic | Has multiple resistances or learns multiple resistance-based abilities. |
| Resourceful | Learns abilities that improve post-battle rewards. |
| Pinch Hitter | Learns abilities that can be activated when in danger. |
| Loyal | Learn abilities that will be activated when allies are in danger. |
| Zippy | Speedy monster with abilities such as Auto-Haste or Critical: Haste. |
| Rare | Difficult to encounter or recruit. |
When using Monster Materials to develop your tamed monsters, you need to take into account which materials and which nodes you will be using them on. In general, Potent items are just plain BETTER than all the other materials. The reason for this is that the bonus it gives is for ALL stats versus any one stat. In other words, say you want to improve Magic. Using Potent items you can do this and also improve HP, Strength, etc.
This isn't to say that non-Potent materials aren't useful. Here are some cases where they are:
- Sentinels do not have need for any bonus except HP, so Vitality materials are best here.
- There is no need to spend Potent materials on a monster you only plan on using for infusion purposes.
Monster Abilities and Infusion
Because certain monsters can learn only certain abilities, the use of infusing another crystal into them to gain those abilities is desired. There are two types of abilities that you can infuse: Role Abilities and Passive Abilities.
Infusion of Role Abilities
By default, every monster grants at least one role ability. You should always prioritize and avoid certain skills and not just infuse everything. Decide what kind of role they will be, for example an Offensive Synergist versus a Defensive one. This keeps your Paradigm Pack very specific and makes sure they cast exactly what you desire when bringing them out.
Make sure you note that infusing monsters of different roles will not result in the infusion of role abilities. This does not mean you will never infuse across roles, as passive abilities can be infused.
The following is a list recommended Role Abilities you may want to infuse:
| Role | Ability | Best Infusion Source |
|---|---|---|
| Commando | Ruinga | Scutari (20) |
| Adrenaline | Orion (13), Dragoon (18) | |
| Blindside | Dragoon (2), Frag Leech (12), Goblin (19) | |
| Scourge | Goblin (20), Orion (16) | |
| Ravager | Fire | Garchimacera (1), Tabasco Toad (1) |
| Blizzard | Buccaboo (1), Gremlin (1), Nekton (1) | |
| Thunder | Pleuston (1), Zwerg Scandroid (8) | |
| Aero | Spiceacilian (1) | |
| Fira | Bomb (1), Koboldroid Yang (5) | |
| Blizzara | Buccaboo (10), Buccaboo Ace (10), Cryohedron (1) | |
| Thundara | Apotamkin (17), Circuitron (1) | |
| Aerora | Koboldroid Yin (8), Tempest (1) | |
| Firaga | Bomb (12), Grenade (15) | |
| Blizzaga | Cryohedron (15) | |
| Thundaga | Circuitron (15) | |
| Aeroga | Tempest (15) | |
| Flamestrike | Fencer (4), Garchimacera (3), Tabasco Toad (3) | |
| Froststrike | Buccaboo (1), Ceratoraptor (1), Gremlin (3), Zwerg Metrodroid (1) | |
| Sparkstrike | Circuitron (5), Zwerg Scandroid (1) | |
| Galestrike | Fencer (1), Spiceacilian (3) | |
| Fearsiphon | Flanbanero (10), Garchimacera (6), Gremlin (6) | |
| Overwhelm | Flanbanero (3), Zwerg Metrodroid (5) | |
| Sentinel | Challenge | Lancer (16), Navidon (1) |
| Mediguard | Pulsework Knight (12) | |
| Saboteur | Deprotect | Breshan Bass (1), Pantopoda (1), Schrodinger (1), Unsaganashi (1) |
| Deshell | Breshan Bass (5), Forked Cat (1), Mimi (1) | |
| Wound | Pantopoda (1), Viking (1) | |
| Poison | Dendrobium (1) | |
| Imperil | Ahriman (1), Black Chocobo (7), Chelicerata (12) | |
| Dispel | Mimi (8) | |
| Pain | Dendrobium (56) | |
| Fog | Viking (20) | |
| Curse | Ahriman (4) | |
| Synergist | Bravery | Clione (1) |
| Faith | Oannes (1) | |
| Bravega | Testudo (14), Yakshini (13) | |
| Faithga | Testudo (18), Yakshini (26) | |
| Enfire | Amanojaku (1), Mewmao (3) | |
| Enfrost | Amanojaku (2), Gancanagh Ace (6), Luminous Puma (7) | |
| Enthunder | Amanojaku (1), Oannes (20), Miquiztli (11) | |
| Enaero | Gancanagh Ace (1), Miquiztli (2) | |
| Medic | Cura | Exoray (8) |
| Esunada | Flanitor (34) |
The following is the few hidden Role Abilities that can be passed on:
| Role | Ability | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Commando | Jeopardize | Infuse a COM with a developed RAV with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
| Ravager | Vigor | Infuse a RAV with a developed COM with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
| Sentinel | Reprieve | Infuse a SEN with a developed MED with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
| Medic | Curaja | Infuse a MED with a developed SEN with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
| Sabotuer | Jinx | Infuse a SAB with a developed SYN with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
| Synergist | Boon | Infuse a SYN with a developed SAB with a cumulative total of at least 99 levels. |
The following is the non-infusable Role Abilities that you may want to take note of for certain battle strategies:
| Role | Ability | Learned by | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commando | Armor Breaker | Chichu, Dragoon, Dreadnought, Flanborg, Gandayaks, Golden Chocobo, Hoplite, Meonekton, Narasimha, Proto-Behemoth, Scutari | A useful ability that allows your pet to penetrate enemy physical resistance. |
| Mind Piercer | Goblin, Metallicactuar, Seeping Brie, Shaguma | Magic version of above. | |
| Stagger: Drain | Cactuaroni, Crawler, Flanborg, Golden Chocobo, Mandrake, Miniflan, Twilight Odin | Recovers a portion of the HP loss inflicted on a staggered enemy. Useful for maintaining an offensive strike with less healing. | |
| Deprotect Chaser | Cactuar, Don Toberry, Flanborg, Mandrake, Orion, Shaguma, Tonberry | Boosts damage against enemy inflicted with the status ailment. | |
| Deshell Chaser | Chunerpetron, Don Tonberry, Metallicactuar, Miniflan, Tonberry, Vouivre | Same as above. | |
| Imperil Chaser | Chocobo, Don Tonberry, Managarmr, Seeping Brie, Tonberry | Same as above. | |
| Poison Chaser | Don Tonberry, Gorgonopsid, Mandrake, Tonberry, Twilight Odin, Uridimmu, Vouivre | Same as above. | |
| Ravager | Felflame | Bomb, Debris, Grenade | Boosts that elemental damage of that type on enemies weak to that element. |
| Felfrost | Cloudburst, Cryohedron | Same as above. | |
| Felspark | Circuitron, Debris | Same as above. | |
| Felgust | Cloudburst, Tempest | Same as above. | |
| Saboteur | Endless Nightmare | Black Chocobo, Illuyankas, Rangda, Samovira | Allows the SAB to refresh existing status ailments without applying them individually. Not overly useful, but handy in long fights with enemies susceptible to multiple debuffs. |
| Synergist | Endless Blessings | Gigantuar, Leyak, Micochu, Miquiztli, Purple Chocobo, Testudo, Triffid | Same as above, but with buffs. |
| Medic | Cheer | All Medics except Exoray, Haguma, White Chocobo | Boosts the Feral Link gauge. |
Note: If you are leveling a monster purely for infusion, don't use Potent materials. You need these for your final monsters.
Infusion of Passive Abilities
Unlike Noel and Serah, who only learn passive abilities through equipment, your pets can be infused with passive abilities to help boost their overall usefulness. Make sure you note that monsters can only possess 10 passive abilities at a time.
While they can generally be passed on freely between any two monsters, there are certain rules and restrictions:
- Red-locked abilities can not be infused and take up those vital 10 slots.
- Every passive ability has a hidden rank. This is used to replace low ranked abilities with higher ones if you reach the max 10 slots and try and overwrite abilities.
- It is possible to lock passive abilities from being erased during infusion by inheriting them multiple times. This will cause them to be yellow-locked. Yellow-locked abilities can't be inherited, but will remain and cannot be replaced.
Noteworthy Monsters
Before I start, let me take a moment to address chocobos. With the exception of Gold and Silver, these are the only monsters you can have more than one crystal of. With true Late-Bloomer stats and level 99 caps, they can give any Paradign Pack configuration a run for its money. If you choose your best two chocobos and infuse them with Pack Mentality, via the one time use Chichu and Nanochu, they will get added stat boosts when in a Paradigm Pack together.
Commandos
Chichu
- A popular choice based on the GameFAQ forums, this guy has extraordinary high raw Strength stats, fast attacks, and the Armor Breaker ability.
Dragoon
- The most cost-effective monster in the entire game, this guy comes with Adrenaline, Blindside, Feral Speed II, Attack: ATB Charge II, and Armor Breaker. While not great for ultimate bosses, he is great at keeping your Chain Gauge charged while your main members do other things. You will probably want to use Power items to increase its Strength for part of its crystarium.
Red Chocobo/Golden Chocobo
- Great base for infusing whatever and both have great potential and different advantages. These are only really useful if you are going for the chocobo set. Golden Chocobo is also the second best chocobo for racing.
Tonberry/Don Tonberry
- Amazing balanced COMs, they can be good for both magic and melee damage. They also have high resistances that make up for their low HP. Add onto the fact that they have a low cost (unlike Odin) and speedy attacks, these guys can be great COM's. Of the two, the regular Tonberry is slightly better, due to Don Tonberry's Perpetual Poison (which has annoyed many people on the forums).
Twilight Odin
- Possibly the most costly crystarium, it is extremely expensive to max out. Once maxed though, his raw stats are almost the best. On the other hand, his awful cast speed makes him a poor Magic-based COM and you will probably want a backup for Physical resistant enemies (since he doesn't have Armor Breaker).
Ravagers
Apotamkin
- Extremely useful with decent stats for when it becomes available. With all the basic elemental spells and access to the top tier spells as well, in addition to Item Collector and Gilfinder II, it is extremely useful.
Blue Chocobo
- You should infuse it with anything it doesn't inherently learn, including the passive Role Resonance (and Pack Mentality if you plan to make a chocobo-based Paradigm Pack).
Cloudburst/Debris
- The best overall RAVs, make sure you get the ATB +1 on them at some point (preferably first). Cloudburst has good HP growth, while Debris takes half damage from physical attacks and all elements. Cloudburst is the better of the two, with access to Friendly Fire (Feral Link), which you will love for low damage enemies. In the end, you will probably want to use Cloudburst for Ice and Wind, while using Debris for Fire and Lightning. Make sure to infuse both with Chain Bonus Boost II (from Pink Lily).
Sentinels
Pulsework Knight
- Easy to max out and will probably be your first SEN. It comes with HP +25% which you can infuse to your later SEN. Not as useful in later gameplay, especially when you have access to the Armadillos.
Bunkerbeast
- Probably your best choice for a long-term SEN, it learns Challenge early and has a final high raw HP. You should infuse it with Mediguard asap from the Pulsework Knight.
Sabotuers
Black Chocobo/Chelicerata/Necrosis/Dendrobium
- Improved Debuffing is the reason these guys are worthwhile, but Dendrobium is cheaper to level. Simply infuse any status ailments missing from their learned abilities and you will have an all-around good SAB. Not that you will be using them much.
Synergists
Amanojaku
- Infusion fodder for En-type spells. Make sure you re-catch this guy each time you use him so you can be ready to infuse him whenever.
Yakshini
- Your best choice for an offensive SYN, its fairly cheap. Infuse it with all the En-type spells from Amanojaku to increase its ability set. This is a good final SYN if you don't plan to do chocobos (or if you do and just don't care about having all chocobos for all Paradigm Shift sets.
Thexteron/Gancanagh Ace
- Similar monsters except that Thexteron learns Bravery and Bravega, while Gancanagh Ace has Faith and Faithga. This allows you to enhance a single damage type depending on your party. In general, having two separate SYN for magic or melee buffs will help you get the specific buffs you want for certain weakness enemies.
Purple Chocobo
- If you're going for the chocobo set, this will be your choice for SYN, but given the advantage of narrowing your SYN's buffs you will probably want to keep one of the previous SYN.
Medics
Caterchipillar
- This is the sole natural bearer of the passive skill Resist Elements +30% and therefore infusion fodder. Believe me, this is really useful.
Flanitor
- This will become your first MED of any real use. It learns Cura, Esunada, and Improved Cure II.
Green Chocobo
- This is the best candidate for a top tier MED. Be sure to infuse it with Esuna and Esunada from Flanitor. You should also infuse it with Feral Speed II.
