The full evolution route — where the NPC is, the exact material and Gem bill for all 12 weapons, and which farm fills several recipes at once. Last verified on October 10, 2026.
The route, in order
Open Areas in the lobby. It is the same menu the story chapters and modes are launched from.
Pick the Evolution NPC. The menu lists every weapon you own and what each one still needs.
Clear the material list. The table below shows the per-material amounts and which chapter drops them.
Pay the Gems and confirm. The ultimate unlocks immediately — it is bound to that weapon, not to your account.
Evolution unlocks the fourth skill (the ultimate) for a weapon. Use the Areas button to reach the Evolution NPC. The Evolution menu is the authority on cost; the numbers here are transcribed from published tables, so re-check the menu after a patch.
Reference
Every evolution cost
Sorted by Gem cost, because Gems are the currency that gates you — materials only decide how long the farming takes. Raid-locked recipes need the Nightmare-only Spirit’s Bathtub raid, which no amount of Story farming replaces.
20× Fine Cloth, 8× Magic Pendants, 25× Ghosts, 10× Staffs of Homa, 1000000× Gold, 10000× Gems
Yes
Farming
One farm, several evolutions
Materials are grouped by where they drop, and each material lists which weapons want it. Read it in reverse before you start a session: pick the two weapons you are working toward, then run only the chapters that feed both.
Chapter 1
feeds Cursed King (34), Immortal Sovereign (21), Dragon Eclipse (21), Cataclysm (16), Twisted Agony (15), Flame Director (8), Rubber Man (3), Cosmic Warrior (3)
Eyeballs — Cursed King 20, Immortal Sovereign 12, Dragon Eclipse 12, Twisted Agony 10, Rubber Man 3, Cosmic Warrior 3
feeds Flame Director (1010000), Cataclysm (3000), Cursed King (1750), Divine Emperor (1750), Immortal Sovereign (1250), Dragon Eclipse (1250), Lights of Divinity (1250), Kings Gambit (750), Twisted Agony (750), Rubber Man (200), Cosmic Warrior (200), Thunder Prodigy (200)
Gold — Flame Director 1000000
Gems — Cataclysm 3000, Flame Director 10000, Cursed King 1750, Immortal Sovereign 1250, Dragon Eclipse 1250, Divine Emperor 1750, Lights of Divinity 1250, Kings Gambit 750, Twisted Agony 750, Rubber Man 200, Cosmic Warrior 200, Thunder Prodigy 200
Decide
Where to start
Take the cheapest weapon you are actually using first. Rubber Man needs only 200 Gems, while Flame Director needs 10,000 plus raid-only materials. Evolving a cheap weapon you will keep as your second slot is worth more than saving for a top-rarity weapon that stays unevolved.
The recorded Gem bill across all 12 weapons is 22,350 which is far past what one Nightmare weekend pays out — so treat evolution as a sequence, not a shopping list. Plan the order with the evolution budget tool and check the tier list before you commit to a weapon you will replace.
Raid note: Flame Director is the only evolution that requires raid-only materials (Ghosts and Staffs of Homa from the Nightmare-only Spirit’s Bathtub raid). Ghosts and Staffs of Homa are not obtainable from Story chapters, so no amount of material farming substitutes for queuing that raid.
Common questions
FAQ
How do you evolve a weapon in Anime Zero?
Evolution is the step that unlocks a weapon’s fourth skill, the ultimate. Open the Areas button in the lobby, pick the Evolution NPC, and select the weapon you want to awaken. The menu lists the exact materials and Gems it wants, so you can check the bill before you commit anything.
What does evolving actually change?
It adds the ultimate skill and nothing else. That single skill is the largest power spike available to an account, which is why evolution comes before accessory crafting and before chasing a second high-rarity weapon — an unevolved LYTH weapon loses to a cheaper weapon that already has its ultimate.
Which weapon should I evolve first?
Cataclysm is the usual answer: 3,000 Gems and no raid materials, so it is finishable from Story and Infinite farming alone. Flame Director hits harder but costs 10,000 Gems plus two materials that only drop in the Nightmare-only Spirit’s Bathtub raid, so it is a second target rather than a first one.
Do I need Gold and Gems for every evolution?
Every evolution costs Gems, and the recorded Gems total across all 12 weapons is 22,350. Gold only appears in the Flame Director recipe. Gems come from Nightmare stages, achievements and raid clears, so the Gem bill is the part that actually paces you.
Can I farm materials for several evolutions at once?
Yes, and that is the efficient way to do it. Chapter 1 alone feeds most mid-tier recipes, and Fine Cloth drops in every chapter and in Infinite mode. Pick two weapons you want and farm the shared chapters once rather than running a separate route per weapon.
Does the ultimate need a Trait to be good?
It helps a lot. Flame Director’s ultimate one-shots bosses when Deadeye is equipped because Deadeye adds +50% Critical Damage, and Fuga-style skill damage builds prefer Overkill. The ultimate is strong on its own, but a critical-damage Trait is what turns it into a boss opener.
Reference trail
Sources and verification
References for this page are listed below with their scope. Community rankings and estimates are not developer announcements; check the relevant source before relying on a value that may have changed.
VacancyBee Flame Director guide(Independent) — The Flame Director / Hu Tao / Paramita Pyre naming chain, the solo raid route and the October 5 damage buffs
