Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Introduction — why this janky crab sim is my new obsession

Look, I'm gonna level with you. When I first saw "Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite" on Steam, I thought it was a meme game. A joke. Some asset-flip nonsense about evolving crabs. Then I watched the trailer again—the one where a crab grows a shotgun claw and screams at a jellyfish—and I bought it during a sleepless 3 AM impulse. Best mistake I've made all year.

Here's what makes this game special: it's not about being a crab. It's about becoming a crab that can tank a meteor and then evolve into a bioluminescent horror that shoots lasers from its eyes. The evolution tree is completely bonkers. I'm talking like 400+ possible mutations, each one changing your playstyle completely. One run you're a poison tank, next run you're a speedster who literally outruns your own projectiles. And the difficulty? It's the kind that makes you scream "ONE MORE RUN" at 2 AM, then look up and it's sunrise.

I've sunk about 120 hours into this game. I've beaten the final boss with a pure rock-shell build, a bleed-stacking assassin, and a meme build that was just "legs. so many legs." The game is janky. Some hitboxes are straight-up lies. A few upgrades are completely useless. But when it clicks? When you chain a perfect evolution and melt a boss in 10 seconds? Nothing else hits like it.

This guide is for the players who are starting out and keep dying to the first biome boss. Or for the players who've beaten the game once and think they've seen everything. Trust me, you haven't. Let's fix that.

Getting Started / First Steps — actual things I wish I knew when I started

I spent my first three runs trying to stack poison and got destroyed by the second boss every time. The game doesn't explain a lot of its core systems. Here's what I'd tell my past crabby self:

• Your first evolution choice matters WAY more than the tutorial suggests. The game offers you three random mutations after each biome. Do NOT pick the "flashy" one. Pick the one that fills a gap in your build. If you have zero movement, grab anything that gives a dash or speed boost. Movement speed is king in this game—more than damage, more than armor. I've died way more to "I can't dodge that" than "I don't do enough damage."
• Ignore the "balanced" stat screen. The game lies to you. That Armor stat doesn't help against half the biomes. The Evolution screen shows you what type of damage you're building. Pay attention to the little symbols: a claw icon for physical, a skull for poison, a flame for fire. If you're stacking flame damage but all your evolutions give physical damage bonuses, you're shooting yourself in the claw.
• DO NOT skip the first shop. I know, you're saving currency for a big upgrade later. Wrong move. The first shop always sells a +1 Evolution Slot for 150 shells. That's a permanent upgrade that carries between runs. Buy it every single time. It's the most cost-effective thing in the game. I have 8 evolution slots now, and I laugh at my early runs where I had 3.
• The "Crab Sense" ability is not a gimmick. I ignored it for my first 10 hours. Then I actually read the description: it highlights enemy weak points in a radius around you. In the third biome (the Coral Graveyard), enemies have random damage type resistances. Using Crab Sense to see which enemy is weak to piercing vs. fire vs. poison will save you entire minutes per fight. Use it on cooldown.
• Your starter claw weapon matters less than your evolution path. I kept rerolling my start trying to get a "perfect" weapon. Don't. The starter pincer does 12 damage, the hammer claw does 18 but slower. By the time you hit biome 2, you'll have replaced it with something from an evolution anyway. Just pick whatever has the coolest name and roll with it.

Core Mechanics & Progression — how the game actually works (not the tutorial)

The tutorial tells you the absolute basics: you fight, you evolve, you die. Here's what it doesn't tell you:

The Evolution System is the entire game. Every time you clear a biome (there are 4 biomes + a final boss), you get to pick one evolution from a random set of three. These aren't just stat boosts—they change your crab. Give you new abilities, new limbs, even new body types. And here's the secret: evolutions have hidden synergy tags. You won't see these listed anywhere in the UI, but I've datamined and tested them. For example, taking the "Spiked Carapace" evolution (gives 10% damage reflect) also tags you as "Armored," which makes future "Heavy" evolutions appear 35% more often. Similarly, taking any "Tentacle" evolution increases the chance of seeing "Void" mutations later. The game builds a hidden "build profile" based on your picks.

How to exploit this: Commit by biome 2. By the time you're leaving the second biome (usually the Mudflats), you should know if you're going physical, fire, poison, or void. Don't keep hedging your bets. I lost a run because I took a fire evolution, then a poison evolution, then a physical one. By biome 4, I had a crab that did 12 damage per hit with no synergy, and I got melted by the boss. Pick a lane.

Upgrades between runs: There's a skill tree called "Shell Development." It's not exciting—it's stat bumps and minor bonuses. But the second node on the left side ("Adaptive Carapace") gives you a 10% chance to ignore any hit entirely. I put 5 points into that as fast as I could, and it's saved my life more times than any active ability. Prioritize that over raw damage nodes early on.

Boss patterns are learned, not memorized. The first boss (the Hermit King) has a very predictable 3-hit combo: slam, spin, spit. But the second boss (The Maw) has attack sequences that change based on your distance. Stay close? He does a short-range bite. Stay far? He launches a poison beam. A lot of guides say "just dodge left." No. The correct answer is to stay at mid-range (about 3 crab-lengths away) so he alternates between a slow lunge and a short spit. That's the punish window. I figured this out after dying to him 7 times.

Currency and progression: You earn "Shells" and "Pearls" per run. Shells buy permanent upgrades. Pearls unlock new starting weapons and cosmetic evolutions. Don't waste Pearls on cosmetics early. Save them for weapons that start with a bonus evolution slot (the "Void Pincer" costs 300 Pearls and gives you +1 slot from the start—it's a game changer).

Expert Tips & Tricks — the stuff you only learn after hours of playing

• The Flamethrower claw is bait. I know, it's awesome. 45 base DPS ramping to 120 after 3 seconds of continuous fire. But here's the catch: it has a 4-second cooldown if you stop firing. And it's a channel. Most bosses have a stomp or lunge that interrupts you. If you take the Flamethrower, you MUST pair it with at least one "Unstoppable" evolution that gives you hyper armor during attacks. Otherwise, you'll spend half the fight watching your claw glow uselessly. I learned this the hard way when the third boss stunlocked me into a corner.
• Bleed is the sleeper build. The "Razor Claw" evolution (uncommon, biome 1 drop) adds a bleeding effect: 3% of the enemy's max HP per second for 5 seconds. It doesn't stack, but it reapplies. Against bosses with 10,000 HP? That's 300 damage per tick. And you can exploit this by taking "Blood Frenzy" which increases your attack speed by 30% against bleeding enemies. By the end of a run, I was hitting a boss for 150 per swing, plus 500 per bleed tick. The entire fight took 45 seconds. No other build scales as hard against endgame health pools.
• Don't sleep on environmental kills. In the Mudflats biome, there are pools of acid. In the Coral Graveyard, there are explosive urchins. In the final biome (The Void Shores), there are swirling vortexes that do 200 damage per second to anything inside. Lure enemies into these. I've killed the second boss in under 30 seconds by baiting his charge into three explosive urchins. It's cheap. It works. This is a game about survival, not honor.
• Use the "pause and swap" trick. When you're about to pick an evolution, pause the game and open your stats. Your damage breakdown (physical, fire, poison, void) will show you your current best synergy. I've seen too many players pick a void evolution when they had 80% fire damage bonuses, simply because they didn't check. Pause. Check. It takes 5 seconds and saves runs.
• The "Double Jump" mutation is not a meme. There's an evolution called "Spring Legs" that gives you a double jump. A lot of guides say it's "novelty" or "waste of a slot." Those guides are written by people who haven't beaten the fourth boss. The fourth boss (The Great Weave) has a floor-sweeping attack that covers the entire arena at low height. Without a double jump, you have to time a perfect dodge. With it, you just jump twice and laugh. It also lets you access hidden chests in biome 2 that drop Pearls. Take it if you see it. It's never a bad pick.
• Pearls are the real gate. You get maybe 10-15 Pearls per full run. The best starting weapon (The Void Pincer, as mentioned) costs 300. The cosmetic evolutions cost 500-1000. Don't buy the golden shell skin. It's 800 Pearls and does nothing. Buy the "Amber Eye" mutation (150 Pearls) that gives you a 15% crit chance. Then buy the "Void Pincer." Everything else is fluff.

Common Mistakes to Avoid — what got me killed / frustrated

• Taking every "Free Upgrade" node in the skill tree. The "Shell Development" tree has nodes that say "Gain +5 max HP" or "Gain +2% damage." They're one-time upgrades. But they cost shells, and shells are the only currency for permanent meta-progression. I spent my first 15 runs spreading points across everything. I had +10 HP from six different nodes, and it did nothing. Focus your shells on the Adaptive Carapace node and one damage node. Don't spread. By run 20, I was stronger with 4 nodes maxed than I was with 12 nodes at level 1.
• Hording Pearls for the "perfect" build. I saved 500 Pearls for a rare evolution that only appears in biome 4. You know what happened? I died in biome 4. Twice. Pearls don't carry over if you quit mid-run, but they do accumulate if you spend them on permanent unlocks. Buy the cheap useful stuff first: the Amber Eye, the Void Pincer, and then one mobility upgrade. You'll get more Pearl runs later.
• Ignoring the "Crab Call." There's an ability you get at the start: a horn that calls a random friendly crab to fight with you for 30 seconds. I never used it because I thought it was weak. Then I actually tested it. The "Summoner" variant can pull in a Ghost Crab that does 80 damage per hit and tanks aggro. In boss fights, it's effectively a free 30-second damage window. Use it at the start of every boss fight. It's on a 60-second cooldown. There's zero reason not to.
• Not reading enemy buffs. Some enemies in biome 3 have a shimmering aura. That means they're "Empowered" by a nearby totem. The totem gives them 50% damage resistance and a speed boost. I used to just fight through it, wondering why my 200-damage hits were doing 100. Kill the totem first. It takes 2 hits, and it's usually stationary behind the enemies. This one change cut my biome 3 clear time in half.
• Resetting runs the second you take a bad hit. I did this for my first 20 hours. "Oh, I took 40 damage in biome 1, this run is ruined." No. Health pickups are abundant. You'll get 3-4 healing items per biome. A single mistake doesn't kill a run. Only consistent mistakes do. I've beaten the game with 10 HP left because I kept pushing. Persistence matters more than perfection in this game.
• Believing the "F tier" lists online. The community has a tier list where "Spiked Shell" is F tier. I've won with Spiked Shell. It's not the best, but it's not garbage. The meta is a suggestion, not a rule. Play what feels good. Some of my funnest runs were "bad" builds that I made work through sheer stubbornness. You'll learn more from a bad build than from copy-pasting a meta guide.

FAQ — the questions you're probably yelling at your screen

Q: I keep dying to the first biome boss. How do I beat him?

A: The Hermit King's weakness is his left side (the side with the smaller claw). His slam attack always lands to your right if you're facing him. Strafe left, attack his exposed side. Also, his spin attack has a wind-up animation where his shell glows red. That's your cue to dodge backward. Don't try to block it—it breaks through guard. I beat him by sticking to his left and using hit-and-run with a fast claw. It took me 6 attempts before I stopped trading hits.

Q: Is there a way to force a specific evolution to appear?

A: Kind of. The game uses a "weighted RNG" system. If you have certain evolutions already, related ones become more likely. For example, if you have "Tentacle Grasp," "Void Sight" appears about 40% more often. There's no guaranteed way, but you can increase your odds by building a theme. Also, there's a consumable item called "Mutation Stimulant" that drops from elite enemies in biome 3—it rerolls your evolution choices once. Save these for the third biome's boss room, where the best evolutions are.

Q: What's the best build for a beginner?

A: Honestly? A tanky physical build. Grab "Spiked Carapace," "Shell Shield" (gives you a damage-negating barrier every 20 seconds), and any physical damage claw like "Crusher Pincer." Stack HP and armor nodes in the skill tree. You won't do flashy damage, but you'll survive long enough to learn boss patterns. I used this build for my first win. It's boring but safe. Once you're comfortable, try a bleed build or a fire build for more speed.

Q: How do I unlock new starting weapons?

A: You need Pearls. The shop in the hub area (the "Evolver's Den") has a rotating stock. Each weapon costs 100-300 Pearls. Some are unlocked by achievements (e.g., "Beat biome 3 with a poison build" unlocks a toxic claw). Check your achievements tab—it's hidden under "Shell Records." I unlocked the Void Pincer by accident after beating the final boss for the first time. The best early purchase is the "Shock Claw" (150 Pearls) because it has a 20% chance to stun enemies, which is broken in biome 1.

Q: The game crashes sometimes. Is it just me?

A: Nope. It's not just you. The game has memory leak issues, especially in biome 4 where there are lots of particle effects. Save often (the game has a quick save feature with F5). Also, turn down "Effect Density" in graphics settings to "Low" if you're crashing. I lost a perfect run to a crash in biome 4, and I'm still salty about it. Protect yourself.

Q: I beat the final boss. Now what?

A: There's Hard Mode (unlocked after beating the game once), where enemy HP is doubled and elites spawn more often. Also, there's an "Endless Mode" that's unlocked by collecting all 4 boss trophies. But honestly? The real endgame is trying weird builds. I'm currently doing a "no weapons, only shell spikes" run. It's miserable. I love it.

And that's it, fellow crabs. Go evolve some chaos.