The bestiary is both a combat tool and a collection goal. Most of this page is based on PovKetz's "Basic Complete Bestiary Guide" on Steam, written for players chasing 100%, with cross-checks from Digitol's 100% guide and Sdaknight's Chinese bestiary guide.
How does the bestiary work?
Open it from the Esc menu. Typo's beginner guide explains that an enemy's description, weaknesses and stats only appear after you have killed that type once. Each enemy has defenses against the three damage types, Slash, Pierce and Impact, so the entry tells you which weapon to switch to. TechRaptor adds that the bestiary also lists how much EXP each monster gives.
Knowledge Keeper Wourha, in a wing of the Tower of Knowledge, asks you to catalogue the island's monsters. SquidRadio received the book A History of Dragons from Wourha after enough entries, and Digitol lists the achievement "A Lifetimes Work" for finishing Wourha's research.
How many entries are there?
PovKetz numbers 188 entries, grouped by area:
| Area | Entries |
|---|---|
| Isle of Neasied | 1–15 |
| Obmuer Temple | 16–35 |
| Tower of Knowledge | 36–56 |
| Deimpo Mausoleum | 57–77 |
| Ancient World | 78–100 |
| Siraatsu Castle | 101–124 |
| Assorted dungeons and Verdant Hollow | 125–155 |
| Rotting Cavern | 156–171 |
| Record of Sin | 172–181 |
| Petrified Garden | 182–188 |
PovKetz notes that entry 121, the Soul of Sipeha, is not required for 100%, and that bold entries in the guide (secret enemies, bosses and loot lizards) never respawn.
Which enemies are easy to miss?
These are the one-time or hidden enemies PovKetz gives directions for, in the early areas:
- Mimic (Isle): disguised as a chest near the base of the center tower.
- Grave Guardian (Isle): a small stone building in the cemetery beside the Mausoleum; flip the lever by the door.
- Mossy Golem (Isle): beat the buried Chilopoda on the cliff over the starting beach, then hit the mossy stone.
- White Tree Guardian (Isle): needs all five Trident keys; see Keys.
- Forgotten Sentinel (Isle): on the bridge to the duck merchant's shop, on the island behind the Mausoleum.
- Rotten Thorny Gape (Obmuer): hidden wall on the lower back wall of the royal guards' area.
- Flesh Gargoyle (Obmuer): on top of the island above Erma, near a rock wrapped in cloth.
- Treacherous Sea Prince (Obmuer): appears after you deliver every Orbewa Egg to Erma and come back later.
- Iron Star Lizard (Tower): on a platform ringed with candles, about halfway up the open center.
- Docile Gargoyle (Tower): the monocled gargoyle by the wing portal; hit it to make it hostile.
- Bones of Archivist Inha (Tower): behind a hidden wall reached just after the trap door.
- Brass Drilling Unit (Tower) and Bone Machine (Mausoleum): both need the Flying Mushroom Fossil.
- Wandering Stalker (Mausoleum): invisible, beneath the injured knights by the supply chest.
- Bound Spiker (Mausoleum): ride the rising stone pillar in the spider cave down into a hidden room.
- Wodaso's Temple Keeper (Mausoleum): throw the Strange Stone Block at buttons on three cube pillars.
Later areas have many more, including the Strange Explorer (after handing Ossi 10 Data Modules), King Upobna (hidden wall by the upper fish pond in the Ancient World), and the Enraged Queen Siraatsu (second phase when you fight the Queen with the true holy sword Akunra). See Ancient World and Bosses.
Digitol and PovKetz agree on almost all of these locations. Sdaknight's Chinese guide lists the full bestiary too, for Chinese-speaking players.
What are loot lizards?
Star Lizards (and variants like the Learned, Grave and Aquatic Star Lizard) carry treasure and run away. SquidRadio's tip: catch them with throwing knives and the Wind Dash before they escape. Digitol's advice is the same: chase them as soon as they appear. The Iron Star Lizard is the exception: it does not run, but resists all three damage types.
Why does the bestiary matter for the endings?
Steam user thoughtlostme reports that Ending 3 requires the bestiary about 99.9% filled, plus all four lenses and every NPC collection quest, and calls the bestiary "by far" the most effort. Some late entries only appear after story events: PovKetz notes the Petrified Garden's Living Stone enemies stay inactive until you beat Lost King Ojjama and place all five Trident pieces. See Endings.