There are many methods that can give you an edge over your opponent in Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire. Good players know that it takes a strategic combination of monsters, equipment, gems, research, troop type, and now even the Crystal Nexus plays an important role in winning battles.
Today, having the Monster Pen (originally Monster Farm) unlocked and leveled up is as much an essential part of the game as gems or even using the right gear. The player who approaches the Monster Pen with the mentality, “I just need to unlock the strongest monster,” will surely lose every time to the player who asks himself, “Which monster is best for this situation?”`
This guide is perfect for anyone who wants to gain more insight into the Monster Pen, those who only recently unlocked their Monster Pen or players that want to upgrade their Monster Pen, but are unsure how many Monster Pen Blueprints to get, what level to upgrade it to and which monster will work best for them. In this guide, you will find things like…
- All Monster Hatching Stone Requirements
- All Monster Pen Blueprint Requirements
- Which monsters get unlocked at each Monster Pen level
- A list of boosts for every type of monster
- Where to get each type of monster egg.
- Combat uses for each type of monster
- Monster Pen level 10 Update
Upgrading Monster Pen
As the monsters that become available in the Monster Pen become progressively stronger, you will need to periodically upgrade your Monster Pen. If you are new to the Monster Pen or if you still haven’t unlocked it, you can find more info about upgrading your Monster Pen in our original article here.
Here are the Monster Pen Blueprint requirements for each level:
- Level 1 – Monster Pen Unlock
- Level 2 – 200 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 3 – 400 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 4 – 600 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 5 – 800 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 6 – 1600 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 7 – 2400 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 8 – 3200 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 9 – 3600 Monster Pen Blueprints
- Level 10 – 22000 Monster Pen Blueprints
Hatching Stones
Monsters that can be used with a level 1-5 Monster Pen will have the same boosts regardless of which type of egg you hatch. At Monster Pen level 6, we start to see that hatching better quality monster eggs will give us monsters with better boosts. Better quality monster eggs will also require a significantly larger amount of Hatching Stones to hatch before we can use them.
This is the general guideline for how many hatching stones are required to hatch most monsters. Not every egg you hatch will follow the same hatching stone requirements, but a majority of them can be hatched as such:
- Common Monster Egg – 1,500 Hatching Stones
- Rare Monster Egg – 6,000 Hatching Stones
- Epic Monster Egg – 12,000 Hatching Stones
- Legendary Monster Egg – 20,000 Hatching Stones
Using this Guide
In the table below, we list every monster that is currently available in the Monster Pen (new monsters will be added in future updates). Monsters are divided by the quality of their boosts, which is determined by the quality of the monster egg you hatch, be it Common, Rare, Epic, or Legendary.
Lastly, you can always click on the link for any of the highlighted monsters to go directly to that article, where you’ll find out more tips about hatching that monster, as well as our suggested use cases for each specific boost.
All Monster Pen Monster Boosts
| NAME | LEVEL | COMMON | RARE | EPIC | LEGENDARY* |
| Chocobo | 1 | +88% Troop Attack | +88% Troop Attack | +88% Troop Attack | +88% Troop Attack |
| Cryonade | 2 | +120% Cavalry Attack | +120% Cavalry Attack | +120% Cavalry Attack | +120% Cavalry Attack |
| Galvanade | 2 | +120% Mage Attack | +120% Mage Attack | +120% Mage Attack | +120% Mage Attack |
| Grenade | 2 | +120% Warrior Attack | +120% Warrior Attack | +120% Warrior Attack | +120% Warrior Attack |
| Marlboro | 3 | +100% Troop HP | +100% Troop HP | +100% Troop HP | +100% Troop HP |
| Yojimbo | 4 | +60% Warrior HP +60% Warrior Armor +60^ Warrior Attack |
+60% Warrior HP +60% Warrior Armor +60^ Warrior Attack |
+60% Warrior HP +60% Warrior Armor +60^ Warrior Attack |
+60% Warrior HP +60% Warrior Armor +60^ Warrior Attack |
| Tonberry | 4 | +200% Armor Piercing | +200% Armor Piercing | +200% Armor Piercing | +200% Armor Piercing |
| Wyvern | 5 | +100% Troop Attack | +100% Troop Attack | +100% Troop Attack | +100% Troop Attack |
| Spiracorn | 5 | +50% City Assault Attack +50% City Assault Armor +50% City Assault HP |
+50% City Assault Attack +50% City Assault Armor +50% City Assault HP |
+50% City Assault Attack +50% City Assault Armor +50% City Assault HP |
+50% City Assault Attack +50% City Assault Armor +50% City Assault HP |
| Valentine’s Flan | 5 | +50% Attack Resistance | +50% Attack Resistance | +50% Attack Resistance | +50% Attack Resistance |
| Griffon | 5 | +50% Airship Attack +90% Troop Attack |
+50% Airship Attack +90% Troop Attack |
+50% Airship Attack +90% Troop Attack |
+50% Airship Attack +90% Troop Attack |
| Ronin | 6 | +150% Samurai Attack +50% Armor Piercing |
+150% Samurai Attack +50% Armor Piercing |
+150% Samurai Attack +50% Armor Piercing |
+150% Samurai Attack +50% Armor Piercing |
| Magic Pot Goblin | 6 | +125% Troop Attack +25% War Spoils |
+125% Troop Attack +25% War Spoils |
+125% Troop Attack +25% War Spoils |
+125% Troop Attack +25% War Spoils |
| St. Patrick’s Day Jackpot Goblin* | 6 | +250% Troop Attack +75% War Spoils |
+250% Troop Attack +75% War Spoils |
+250% Troop Attack +75% War Spoils |
+250% Troop Attack +75% War Spoils |
| St. Patrick’s Day Chocobo* | 6 | +300% Troop Attack | +300% Troop Attack | +300% Troop Attack | +300% Troop Attack |
| St. Patrick’s Day Flan* | 6 | +200% Attack Resistance | +200% Attack Resistance | +200% Attack Resistance | +200% Attack Resistance |
| St. Patrick’s Day Tonberry* | 6 | +400% Armor Piercing | +400% Armor Piercing | +400% Armor Piercing | +400% Armor Piercing |
| Iron Giant | 6 | +75% Troop Attack +75% Attack Resistance +75% Juggernaut Attack |
+90% Troop Attack +90% Attack Resistance +90% Juggernaut Attack |
+115% Troop Attack +115% Attack Resistance +115% Juggernaut Attack |
+225% Troop Attack +225% Attack Resistance +225% Juggernaut Attack |
| Regaltrice | 6 | +140% Cavalry Attack | +160% Cavalry Attack | +250% Cavalry Attack | +400% Cavalry Attack |
| Master Tonberry | 7 | +120% Cripple HP | +120% Cripple HP | +120% Cripple HP | +120% Cripple HP |
| Wraith | 7 | +60% Troop Attack +60% Armor Piercing +30% Cripple HP |
+80% Troop Attack +80% Armor Piercing +40% Cripple HP |
+100% Troop Attack +100% Armor Piercing +40% Cripple HP |
+150% Troop Attack +150% Armor Piercing +75% Cripple HP |
| Gigatoad | 7 | +75% Troop HP | +150% Troop HP | +250% Troop HP | +300% Troop HP |
| Cactuar | 7 | +5% Armor Shredding | +7% Armor Shredding | +10% Armor Shredding | +15% Armor Shredding |
| Flan | 8 | +75% City Assault Attack +15% Attack Resistance |
+100% City Assault Attack +30% Attack Resistance |
+150% City Assault Attack +60% Attack Resistance |
+250% City Assault Attack +120% Attack Resistance |
| Mandrake | 8 | +125% Mercenary Attack | +175% Mercenary Attack | +250% Mercenary Attack | +350% Mercenary Attack |
| Hecteyes | 8 | +25% Armor Piercing +150% Mage Attack |
+50% Armor Piercing +175% Mage Attack |
+75% Armor Piercing +200% Mage Attack |
+150% Armor Piercing +300% Mage Attack |
| Memorial Flan* | 8 | +250% Troop Attack | +250% Troop Attack | +250% Troop Attack | +400% Troop Attack |
| Dualhorn | 8 | +175% Cavalry Attack | +225% Cavalry Attack | +300% Cavalry Attack | +400% Cavalry Attack |
| Naga | 9 | +150% Warrior Attack +50% Cripple HP |
+175% Warrior Attack +75% Cripple HP |
+200% Warrior Attack +125% Cripple HP |
+300% Warrior Attack +200% Cripple HP |
| Mindflayer | 9 | +150% Cripple Mage HP | +300% Cripple Mage HP | +600% Cripple Mage HP | +1,000% Cripple Mage HP |
| Treant | 9 | +150% Troop HP | +200% Troop HP | +300% Troop HP | +450% Troop HP |
| Midgardsormr | 9 | +75% City Assault Attack +5% Armor Shredding |
+100%City Assault Attack +7% Armor Shredding |
+150%City Assault Attack +10% Armor Shredding |
+250%City Assault Attack +15% Armor Shredding |
| Killer Wasp | 9 | +120% Armor Piercing +75% Mercenary Attack |
+200% Armor Piercing +100% Mercenary Attack |
+300% Armor Piercing +150% Mercenary Attack |
+400% Armor Piercing +250% Mercenary Attack |
| Quetzalcoatl | 10 | +500% Cavalry Attack +750% Airship Attack |
+750% Cavalry Attack +1250% Airship Attack |
+1250% Cavalry Attack +1750% Airship Attack |
+2000% Cavalry Attack +3000% Airship Attack |
| Karlabos | 10 | +13 Attack per Enemy Armor (Max: +2500%) +750% Troop Armor |
+19 Attack per Enemy Armor (Max: +4167%) +1250% Troop Armor |
+31 Attack per Enemy Armor (Max: +5833%) +1750% Troop Armor |
+50% Attack per Enemy Armor (Max: 10,000%) +3000% Troop Armor |
*Monsters that appear with an asterisk were available during special events only and cannot be obtained conventionally.
Which Monster is Best?
This is a question as old as the Monster Pen itself. When we compared all of the level 1-5 Monster Pen monsters head-to-head in our first Monster Farm Comparison Guide, we found that the Galvanade would often perform best, followed by the Tonberry in a close second.
Our second Monster Farm Comparison, which included level 6-8 monsters, found it was the Master Tonberry who pulled out ahead with his +120% Cripple HP boost. Now that the Monster Pen has even stronger monsters with bigger and badder boosts, we will be doing another Monster Pen Comparison sometime in the near future.
There are a number of variables that will affect how many kills you get, so it’s never easy to point to one specific monster as a favorite. Depending on your equipment, troop type, and active boosts, as well as those of your enemy, you’ll be able to get significantly more kills with pretty much any monster.
Monster Pen Level 10 Update!
The Monster Pen was upgraded to a maximum of level 10 as of August 2018. With this update we can now send up to two monsters in a single march in addition to sending monsters in solo marches without a hero! This is kind of groundbreaking, as it makes hero-less marches so much more powerful. For those who have yet to upgrade their Monster Pen to level 10 to try this out, it is definitely worth it!
Here are some of our favorite dynamic duos from the Monster Pen:
- Master Tonberry (120% Cripple HP) & Legendary Cactuar (15% Armor Shredding)
- Naga (200% Cripple HP, 300% Warrior Attack) & Mindflayer (1000% Cripple Mage HP)
- Flan (250% City Assault Attack, 120% Attack Resistance) & Treant (450% Troop HP)
- Quetzalcoatl (2000% Cavalry Attack) & Karlabos (50% Attack per Enemy Armor, 3000% Troop Armor)
If you have a favorite 2 monsters you frequently send into battle together, post them below in the comments.
Conclusion
Monsters are best selected based on your specific situation and use, which is why we strongly recommend leveling up your Monster Pen to its maximum level. That way, not only will you have a variety of monsters to choose from for any given situation, but you’ll also stay ahead of the curve and have access to the newest, strongest monsters as soon as they become available.
Can anybody explain what attack resistance is?
Attack Resistance lowers the enemy’s attack toward your troops. For example, including the Flan in an assault on another empire will give all of the troops in your army +120% Attack Resistance as well as +250% City Assault Attack. Now, let’s say the person you are attacking has a combined total of +5,000% attack and 1,000,000 troops. When your army hits that empire with your Flan leading the charge, the 1,000,000 troops defending will hit your army with an attack the equivalent of +4,880% instead of +5,000% because of your attack resistance.
Okay, I may have overcomplicated the answer to your question with that explanation, but I hope it helps! 😉
Great article except you left out where to find each monster egg. Whoops
Article was written well, with accurate information, but at the release of the article, monster farm level 10 has been released, with the ability to march with 2 monsters at once, or send heroless monster marches. Thats the information I was expecting.
Hi Matt. We’ve since updated this article with the latest information and will do our best to keep it up-to-date whenever changes are made to the Monster Farm or new monsters are added. Thanks.