Genetics: effects, unlock evidence and starting choices

Version 1.1 gives Darwin +15 Max HP with Standard.

Standard is available in the reviewed Codex image, but that image is not a fresh save and does not establish its initial unlock state.

The extra health increases the amount you can lose before dying; it is not a healing effect. Use the opening margin to learn attack cues and food routes, then choose movement or defense for the threats you actually face.

The patch documents the starting-health change. It does not establish which route is best for a first win.

• Version 1.1: Standard starting health

In a v1.0.1 evaluation, megad16 reports a 50% increase in Point of Interest (POI) appearance for Pioneer.

Pioneer's current unlock condition has not been independently confirmed. Check its locked Genetics card before starting a Pressure run specifically to unlock it.

Compare reachable points of interest before committing to a detour. More opportunities help only when their rewards fit the run and you can reach them safely.

Map and POI choices

Food and leveling

The June 3 player evaluation describes v1.0.1 event appearance. It does not guarantee a fixed count or a particular reward on each map, and it does not establish the unlock requirement.

Beginner First Clear Build: Choose a Working Setup · Slithery Slide POI Build Guide

• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation

Patient can skip an Evolution choice for a rarity bonus on the next choice, as described by megad16 in v1.0.1. Version 1.1 increased the bonus for each skip.

Patient's current unlock requirement has not been independently confirmed. Check its locked Genetics card before planning an attempt.

Skipping postpones an immediate upgrade: take a useful attack or defense when reaching the next level matters more than later rarity. A rarity bonus guarantees no particular Evolution. The June 3 evaluation and official patch give no complete probability formula and do not confirm a single-hit damage unlock requirement.

• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation
• Version 1.1: Patient skip bonus

In megad16’s v1.0.1 evaluation, Bullseye makes attacks use the higher of Physical or Ability.

In the demo-era discussion, developer OddDreamsDigital says to finish a boss with your stone in a regular run; Challenges and Exploration Mode do not qualify in that explanation.

The stone must deliver the last hit, not poison, another enemy or attack. Stat substitution helps attacks using the lower attribute, not those already using the higher one; still compare reach, cooldown and aim. Stoner Convert reports a Pressure 12 clear with Legendary Stoner and Bullseye/Chosen after early struggles. That post-unlock example establishes neither an unlock method nor a success rate.

Read next: Stone Bullseye, Bullseye.

Stoner build and stone achievements in Everything is Crab

• OddDreamsDigital: stone last hit and demo modes
• OddDreamsDigital: pre-release context
• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation
• Stoner Convert: Pressure 12 player result

Version 1.1 gives Simple 200 starting Mutagen Points. In v1.0.1, megad16 reported two fewer Evolution choices per level-up.

Simple's current unlock requirement has not been independently confirmed. Check its locked Genetics card before choosing a Pressure specifically to unlock it.

Compare reroll or rarity-upgrade costs with the current offer; extra spending guarantees no particular ability. The official patch establishes the 200-point start. megad16’s evaluation and Synchro Star’s June 2 discussion predate that increase: their 100-point start and proposed redesign are not the Version 1.1 rule. Neither confirms the unlock.

• Synchro Star: June 2 Simple discussion
• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation
• Version 1.1: Simple starting Mutagen

In a v1.0.1 player evaluation, megad16 reports +30% damage to Alphas and +30% Alpha appearance for Challenger.

Challenger's current unlock requirement has not been independently confirmed. Check its locked Genetics card before planning an Alpha-hunting run; the reported Alpha bonuses do not establish an unlock count.

More Alphas can offer more fights, but also make an unsafe opening harder. Choose fights that your current attack, movement and recovery can sustain; the reported damage bonus is specific to Alphas.

The linked player evaluation reports both bonuses for v1.0.1. It is not a measured current-version spawn table or proof of a win rate, and does not confirm the unlock.

• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation (Japanese)

Formerly Grandiose. Retains the size-based evolution rarity trait; Version 1.1 added a Mutagen multiplier for small builds, based on how small Darwin is.

Ambivalent's current unlock requirement has not been independently confirmed. Check the locked Genetics card; the size-based effect does not establish a size threshold for unlocking it.

Choose a size direction: larger bodies benefit from rarity, while smaller bodies benefit from Mutagen. Check size-changing picks against that goal.

megad16’s v1.0.1 evaluation describes Grandiose’s size-based rarity trait. Version 1.1 retains the old trait, renames the genetic Ambivalent and adds the small-body Mutagen benefit. The sources give neither a complete multiplier formula nor a confirmed unlock threshold.

• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation
• Version 1.1: Grandiose becomes Ambivalent

In a v1.0.1 player evaluation, megad16 reports that Picky reduces reroll cost by 1.

Steam lists the Picky achievement as rerolling 100 times. Its description does not specify the counting modes or confirm the genetic reward; check the locked Genetics card for the current unlock requirement.

Check the displayed reroll price before spending Mutagen. A lower cost can help search for a useful Evolution, but it does not guarantee a particular choice or make every reroll free.

megad16’s evaluation describes the v1.0.1 cost reduction, not every interaction with Pressure modifiers. Steam separately lists the 100-reroll achievement; its short description does not specify cross-run counting, all eligible modes or the genetic reward.

• megad16: v1.0.1 genetic evaluation (Japanese)
• Steam achievement descriptions