Monster guide for early/mid game players

The objective of this guide is to provide concise description of monsters for summoners at an early/mid game level who are focusing on efficiently progressing through the game. It will help with knowing what monsters are worth keeping, which are worth building, and where they are used. Unless you are able to get consistent arena wins at the 1200+ level, it is in your best interest to have a very weak defense allowing you to refresh for easy wins making building any pvp unit a significant drain on resources. PvP should not be focused on at all until all of Cairos is on farm (at a minimum). Most 2 stars will be omitted to conserve space since most of them are not worth building although special comments will be made for a few. I'm omitting nat 5's due to insane rarity for new players.

Yeti: The only one worth talking about is the wind yeti. He can be a powerful healer that is even used up in R5. The big problem with him is that his S1 slow only lasts for 1 turn meaning as soon as the boss takes a turn it's gone. You will never get a full turns slow with him due to this. He's not a terrible monster by any means but water fairy should cover your healing needs until you get Bella which takes over. He's not worth building early on (if ever).

Pixie: The wind is the one worth talking about here. S tier early game unit. Buffs and Debuffs are huge in this game and Shannon offers almost everything you want. AoE slow, AoE attack up, AoE defense boost, and glancing. She has horribly low base stats which means you need really nice runes to run her through content at 5 stars and she gets replaced which prevents people from wanting to 6 her. With as powerful as she is in GB10 as well as ToA, she really should be 6'd. I used her for the longest time in ToAH on the Artamiel stage, especially when it was on a high floor. Do yourself a favor and 6 her very early.

Hellhound: Fire is mainly a PvP unit but he is very powerful at helping you clear the scenarios. The first one you get is worth awakening and building up to 5 stars with the intent of sacrificing to 6 star your first unit. The water one is end game that is farmable from unknown scrolls making them safe to feed.

Fairy: Food. The water one seems like a great healer at the start of the game. She really isn't good once you progress. You can/should build her to 5 stars and use her to 6 your first monster.

Harpy: Fire/dark are usable in Necro but that is content you probably shouldn't be focusing on. She is safe to feed as harpys are farmable from scenarios if you eventually decide to build one (there are better units). The light Harpy is the fastest base speed ATB booster in the game and may have niche uses much later on.

Inugami: Fire (Raoq) is a very powerful farming monster. I used him as my first farmer while he was 5 star and farmed hard mode scenarios. 6ing him is unlikely to unlock him as a hell mode farmer for many players despite what some outdated guides recommend. He eventually is an incredibly strong unit for Necro but he's also farmable so you're safe to feed him if you prefer using Lapis as your farmer. I would get Raoq to 5 star to try him out. If you don't like him as a hard mode farmer you can always use him to 6 someone. The light one (Bella) should be your 2nd 6 star (after veromos). You will him everywhere. Defense break, heal, and ATB boost are powerful enough on their own even ignoring the ability to remove buffs. The others aren't worth building.

Salamander: Food. The light one can make a decent raid tank but he's farmable and there are 2 stars in the family meaning they're safe to feed.

Serpent: Dark is worth building if you can get him but the rest are food. Jewbagle talks about the water one being very good for ToA. I haven't invested in one to see it's use but there's likely better monsters for you to build.

Golem: Food

Griffon: Fire is an exceptionally strong unit for ToA and usable in some DB10 comps (not starter comps though). Almost all of the griffons are great meaning extras should only be used as food for other griffons as you want them skilled up. If you choose to build Shannon (you should) then Spectra loses a lot of value for ToA. He's a monster you will eventually want to build but not one of the key units to rush. The wind griffon is one of the first monsters you should be building. His power doesn't really come out until you awaken him. He's naturally tanky so if you get lucky with runes you may not need to 6 star him right away but you will always use this unit so 6ing him isn't a bad idea. I haven't played around with the light one but the dark griffon is also very powerful in ToA and GWO. He's a stun machine that brings armor break and has a passive that helps him tank light based teams. Skill up wind first, then fire, then dark, then possibly light. The water one is worthless.

Inferno: Food.

High Elemental: The fire/light ones are very powerful PvP units. Hold onto one (skillups are farmable) and feed the rest. You wont build him any time soon.

Bearman: Food. Do not build Ahman (light). The "holy trinity" (Ahman/Darion/Bella) is no longer a thing and you WILL regret 6ing Ahman. He's decent in the early game but if you 6 him he will only be providing company to the other neglected monsters in your storage.

Werewolf: Food. The light and dark ones are very strong PvP units. If you're lucky to get one then skill them up with extra WW's you find even though you're not prioritizing them. Water WW is strong on some ToA floors but is not something to worry about for you. He's safe to use as food.

Viking: Food.
Amazon: Food.
Martial Cat: Food

Vagabond: Darion (light) is an extremely strong unit that you will eventually build for raids (unless you pull dark death knight). The rest of the vagabonds have little or niche uses and are safe to feed. There are 2 stars in the family to use as skillups. He's not worth building early.

Magic Archer: Food. If you decide to build Ardella (wind) one day for raids in the very distant future, she has a secret dungeon to farm skillups. You're safe to feed.

Bounty Hunter: The fire one can be used in guild wars with Copper if you don't have wind Horus (Imesity) but that's a PvP focus. I wouldn't even keep one just in case, there's little point investing in a niche unit that will eventually be replaced. Food.

Imp Champion: Food.

Mystic Witch: Megan (the water one) is an incredible unit that you will be using. Save other elements to feed to Megan. The rest are not worth building.

Grim Reaper: You may see some videos of Sath (Fire reaper) being a very powerful farmer. By the time you get the runes you use him at his potential you will have little use for a farmer. He's not worth building. You should eventually build either the Dark or Water reaper for ToA. They're almost identical except the water can be used to "tank" leo floors and his CC is only 1 target but controllable. The dark can CC more targets but it's random. It's nothing to prioritize but I would save your reapers to skill one of those two up.

Living Armor: The fire one isn't great. The Dark and Wind ones are. I would save for skilling those two up.

Drunken Master: Food
Minotaur: Food
Lizardman: Food

Taoist: DO NOT FEED THE FIRE TAOIST. He's extremely valuable as he is the only nat 3 of his family and you will want to build up the Wind, Light, and either Water or Dark ones. The water/dark are strong in ToA when combod with fire griffon or light succubus. The light Taoist is one of the most sought after LD monsters due to his excellent protection of weaker dps units in HoH and PvP. The wind Taoist is very powerful in ToA especially on the boss waves (as opposed to water/dark combo which is better at trash).

Beast Hunter: Food.

Penguin Knight: The wind penguin is S tier for ToA. The Dark one has some PvP use until you find a Galleon but isn't anything to worry about. Save PK's for Mav skillups then you can feed.

Battle Mammoth: The Water and Dark ones are the two worth building for ToA. The Dark one is better than the Water one most of the time but if you decide to build a water one there are a few floors where he can be better (namely the leo floors). I would save a bunch for skilling one of those two up when you're at the point of deciding to build one.

Cow girl: Don't waste your points buying these. The biggest problem they have is skilling them up. They require a ton of skillups which means you have to spend a ton of glory points for skill ups or waste precious devilmon. 10/10 not worth.

Charger Shark: Food
Martial Artist: Food
Mummy: Food

Frankenstein: The fire is an extremely strong GWO unit. Skill the fire one up first then save skillups for water and light. None are worth building right away.

Elven Ranger: Keep a fire one and skill him up. He's an S tier unit for Necro. The rest are safe to feed.

Harg: Some people like the wind one for raids. I think he's really bad there. If you have some unquenchable desire to use the wind one for raids then save the 3 star family versions to skill him up. The whole family is pretty bad imo and you're able to feed.

9 tailed fox: The Fire and Water ones are very strong. The fire one is great in Necro. The water one is a strong Faimon Hell Farmer and can be used in PvP as a stripper (There are better options but she's still strong). If you pull the water one you may want to 6 her early on for her farming skills and being usable in GB10 and DB10.

Undine: The wind one is the best and is used in GWO comps with Copper and as a raid cleanser. I don't think any of the others in the family are worth building (You still shouldn't feed any nat 4+ that you don't have a copy of and ideally only feeding them to other members of the family for skillups).

Sylph: Be careful with the name as it's easy to get Sylph and Sylphid confused. Baretta (fire) is an S tier unit for ToA and Starting DB10 comps. He should be your 5th or 6th 6 star (GB10 team first then Baretta). You will eventually stop using him in DB10. You're unlikely to ever stop using him in ToA. He IS worth putting devilmon into after you have Veromos fully skilled. His S3 and S2 are very powerful abilities. The water one is a strong PvP unit that can be really good in ToA as well. The wind one has a potent speed lead ability for Arena if you're desperate for one but I haven't found much use from mine. I would save duplicates for fire first, then water. I regret 6ing my wind one.

Sylphid: PvP unit that I don't think is very good. You'll hear the water one can solo DB10 - that's only partially true. She can solo the boss after you clear the waves and have the next 20 minutes to spare. The wind one can be powerful in helping progress through GB10 but she gets replaced almost instantly making a very poor investment. I would save skillups for the light one. After that, I wouldn't really skill any of them up as none are worth building.

Succubus: The water one is used for arena speed lead. The Light one is an S tier unit in ToA. Save duplicates and skill up light first if/when you get her.

Joker: Use duplicates to skill up Lushen (wind one). Then save your other duplicates to skill up a 2nd Lushen. Then you can decide if you want a 3rd Lushen. Lushen is a game changing monster and needs skillups. For that reason I don't think the fire one is worth building. There's a reason the water one is a running joke with the game.

Ninja: The Water one can act is a faimon hell farmer but will be replaced and isn't really usable anywhere else in the game. The wind one can be used to help in GB10 and used in GWO and AO but I think the returns are too low to invest in him. There's better options. The fire one is bad. Invest duplicates in the wind one if you ever decide to build him. I wouldn't rush any of the ninjas.

Pierret: I don't have experience with the fire/wind ones. The water one is the really powerful one. Save duplicates for skilling up water. None are worth building in the early game.

Phantom Thief: PvP units. The water one can be used for AoE defense break but none of the family is worth rushing.

Vampire: Verdehille (Fire) is a game changing unit for DB10. He's built more supportive in the early game focusing on high crit and survival meaning skillups aren't that impactful. Ideally you want his first skill maxed and his S2 1 point short of being maxed but I don't think it's as big of a deal as people make it out to be as the +15% dmg you would be missing by not maxing his S1 is a sizeable chunk. He's certainly not worth investing devilmons into. The dark one is nearly impossible to get and the wind/water ones have very niche uses so extra vamps can be fed to Verde.

Epikion Priest: The fire one (Chloe) is a Strong PvP unit. Minor niche ToA use and low thoroughput means you shouldn't build this unit for PvE. A great PvP unit but hold off on building her. The Wind one has a niche ToA use for cheesing some of the hardest floors. In that context, she doesn't need to be 6 star at all but you want her skilled up. The water one is a trap for new players who don't have the options of killing her in an arena level where you shouldn't be trying to win defenses anyways. When you reach the C3+ area and you want to build her she's ideal for the last 10-20 minutes of the weeks arena. Save nat 3 epikion priests (The wind/water ones) for skilling up the fire first, then the wind, then the water. Do not feed epikion priests to other units until at least the first 2 are skilled up.

Rakshasa: The fire is an S tier unit in raids. Very powerful dps unit in ToA, DB10 and even speed GB10. The whole family is great but I would use duplicates to skill up Hwa first. You may want to build a 2nd Hwa for Necro.

Death Knight: The Wind one is extremely strong for HoH. You can even use him in ToA and Arena until you get better options. The Dark one is one of the best R5 tanks in the game. Save duplicates for Briand (Wind) first followed by Dias (Dark) next if you're lucky to pull him.

Lich: The wind one is the strongest of the family and is great in Necro and the new raids. Save duplicates for wind. The Water one might be worth building if you're ready for R5 but haven't pulled Wind or if you want to build a water based Necro comp. The Fire one is garbage.

Samurai: The Light/Dark ones are S tier AO units. They're all for PvP though so hold onto them. None are worth building early.

Kung Fu Girl: Recently buffed and very strong. The water and Dark ones are the best. They excel in the new raids and R5. The dark one excels pretty much everywhere. Not worth building in the early/mid game as they lose a lot of power against multiple targets and the fire isn't usable in GB10.

Brownie Magician: The fire is the weakest one. The Wind can be used if you have nothing else as a stripper for PvP. The Water one is the OP one in guild wars and arena. Save duplicates for skilling up water first.

Kobold Bombers: The fire can be used for Necro but it's the water/wind/light ones that you really want. Bombers can be great but really need a wind dragon (for ToA) or wind oracle (for PvP) to excel. I would skill up the water/light ones first.

Sky Dancer: It's unfair how good the wind one is. She is well worth putting devilmons into and is one of the highest thoroughput healers in the game. Max all of her skills, even her S1. When she's on GWD if the enemy has a theo and no other water units she will be attacking the theo putting glancing on him. If you get this unit early on I would build her immediately. The water one is also very strong in raids. The fire one isn't bad but I would save your duplicates to skill up chasun first.

Barbaric King: The light one is the best but the water is pretty good too. I wouldn't prioritize any in the early game. Save your extras in hopes of getting the light one.

Pirate Captain: The water is a game changing unit. The fire one is not a seara and I don't think he's worth building - nor the wind, especially not in the early game. Save duplicates for the water one. The water is worth investing devilmon into until you get S3 maxed. Despite how good Galleon is, he isn't worth building in the early game. Your initial GB10/DB10/ToA runs should focus on stability and then dps. Galleon is used when you're strong enough to power through content ignoring mechanics.

Mermaid: Save extras for the light/dark ones. You could build the fire one if you need a reviver for DB10 but I don't see her as a wise investment.

**Magic Knight: I personally think Veromos should be your first 6 star and used as a farmer. Lapis (water magic knight) isn't worth building because she falls off too quick and while she could farm Faimon Hell that doesn't mean she's optimal for it. Your success rate wont be 100% and you'll find that you will replace her relatively quickly. Use Veromos for your farmer and don't build Lapis. I don't know if any of the magic knights are worth building tbh.

Assassin: Save them for Stella (water). She's very powerful in r5, the new raids, and speed DB10/GB10. She's very stat hungry for runes you wont have in the early game so she may not be a wise unit to build early on but she's a monster you wont stop using. The wind/dark assassin is fun and powerful in GWO/AO. The fire one isn't worth building.

Neostone Fighter: The fire one is decent in GWO and he can farm the last scenario hell at 5 star with weak vampire runes (although it's slow ... 2-3m per run). He's not that difficult to deal with though and weak when at full hp. He's really not worth building in the early game. None of the neostone fighters are.

Neostone Agent: A very powerful family. The fire one is regarded as one of the best cleansers in R5, she reliably casts glancing, has a strip, and reduces your teams cooldowns. She's great in GWO! I used her in DB10 with positive results too. Despite how great she is, you have better options in the early game. The water one is very powerful in GWO as well. There's very few healers that also bring defense buff for defense based teams (bulldozer/copper/etc) and her ability to strip can cast glancing are great. The biggest drawback with her is devilmon/duplicate agents you invest in her aren't being invested into Lisa. If you don't mind that, she's great to build early on as she will help a lot in DB10/GB10. The wind one is outclassed by the water, imo.

Anubis: I haven't found a use for any of them.

Horus: The water one is used to combo with Katarina but the RNG existing with the power level makes that combo unattractive for me. It's a PvP unit. The wind one is excellent as well with Copper but you he isn't worth building in the early game.

Jack o Lantern: Geared players will complain about how slow the attack animation is but it's really not that bad - especially for an early player. The water one is the optimal one to build as he will help in DB10 and he can function as your +1 in GB10 (removing the attack buff is key and Bella will sometimes fail). The dark one is great in Necro if you're not using a fire based comp (Adrian is still better if you are). If you pull the water one early I would build him and use him as a 5th in your GB/DB10 runs.