History Main / EvolvingWeapon

* The Fell Arms in the ''Franchise/TalesSeries'' are recurring weapons that gain attack power for every enemy their wielder defeats and are by far the strongest weapons available once they're at maximum power (And usually well before that, too).

* [[RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou]] [[RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]] can visit [[LargeHam affable]] [[MadScientist Dr. Victor]] to reforge his swords: in the first game, he will fuse a demon into the sword, granting it powerups based on the demon's level and abilities, and in the second, a special crystal will be fused into the sword, changing its attributes depending on the used crystal.

* ''VideoGame/MagicKnightRayearth'' showcases this trope in its first season, in the form of the three main characters' Escudo weapons.

Just as characters can get stronger by killing things and leveling up, so too can their weapons. Absolutely no modifications are made to the weapon, they just get stronger over time. Usually justified with a LivingWeapon or EmpathicWeapon or a weapon [[SpontaneousWEaponCreation born of it's user's power]]. Occasionally the weapon has a sort of [[VampiricDraining vampiric nature]], and gets stronger by drinking the blood of it's enemies.

Having an evolving weapon allows the hero to carry it throughout extended lengths of gameplay without the weapon becoming obsolete and [[CantCatchUp underpowered compared to your hero]], thus making it a bit of a trademark of the hero and highlighting how awesome it is. By unlocking its powers bit by bit, you also avoid having a [[DiscOneNuke too good weapon early on]].

* The Protoss Vindicator (also known as the Soul Hunter) in the ''{{Starcraft}} II'' beta had a weapon that leveled up as it killed enemies. It was cut due to a number of difficulties -- it was hard to indicate when (and why) Vindicators leveled up, it was too random in large-scale battles, and it was basically impossible to balance; its reliance on kills made it much more powerful against [[ZergRush the Zerg]].

Just as characters can get stronger by killing things and leveling up, so too can their weapons. Absolutely no modifications are made to the weapon, they just get stronger over time.

Which makes no sense without some kind of AppliedPhlebotinum at work. Usually justified with a LivingWeapon or EmpathicWeapon or having a weapon [[SpontaneousWEaponCreation born of it's user's power]]. Occasionally the weapon has a sort of [[VampiricDraining vampiric nature]], and gets stronger by drinking the blood of it's enemies.

Just as characters can get stronger by killing things and leveling up, so too can their weapons. Absolutely no modifications are made to the weapon, they just get stronger over time. Which makes no sense without some kind of AppliedPhlebotinum at work. Usually justified with a LivingWeapon or EmpathicWeapon. It's occasionally [[HandWave handwaved]] that the weapon has a sort of [[VampiricDraining vampiric nature]], or that killing a certain creature for so long has made it more effective against them.

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* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Demoman has a sword called the Eyelander which he can use to decapitate enemies. Each head gives him extra health and boosts his speed � at least, until he dies.

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* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Demoman has a sword called the Eyelander which he can use to decapitate enemies. Each head gives him extra health and boosts his speed — at least, until he dies.

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* Torg's sword, Chaz, from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' will become powerful and able to talk once it has come into contact with the blood of an "innocent" person.

* DoubleSubverted with the Keyblade form the ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' series, while the weapon doesn't grow itself, you can attach various keychains (or gears in days) to it in order to alter its form and properties such as strength and magic bonuses in (almost) all the games, extra abilities in II, days and Birth by Sleep, attack patterns in Days and Clock gauges in Re:coded. The double subversion in this example, is that the keychains used to modify the keyblade are essentially memories of people and locations used to modify the [[EmpathicWeapon keyblade's form]], the keyblade itself doesn't change, only its form.
** In the first game, Sora's strongest keyblade, [[InfinityPlusOneSword Ultima Weapon,]] has the same color scheme as both the Dream Sword (see above on this page) and [[StarterEquipment the Kingdom Key he started with]].

Just as characters can get stronger by killing things (leveling up), so too can their weapons. Absolutely no modifications are made to the weapon, they just get stronger by killing things. Which makes no sense without some kind of AppliedPhlebotinum at work. It's occasionally [[HandWave handwaved]] that the weapon has a sort of [[VampiricDraining vampiric nature]], or that killing a certain creature for so long has made it more effective against them.

In fairness to this trope, there are [[TropesAreNotBad some good reasons for it]]. Having an evolving weapon allows the hero to carry it throughout extended lengths of gameplay without the weapon becoming obsolete and [[CantCatchUp underpowered compared to your hero]], thus making it a bit of a trademark of the hero and highlighting how awesome it is. By unlocking its powers bit by bit, you also avoid having a [[DiscOneNuke too good weapon early on]].

* In the PS2 game ''{{Shinobi}}'', enemies you kill with Akujiki take a few seconds to actually fall over dead. During this time, Akujiki glows with power and does more damage, allowing to kill more enemies in rapid succession to further extend the time before they die. It is possible to one-hit kill every boss in the game if you kill their [[FlunkyBoss minions]] fast enough first.

* In The Shivering Isles, an ExpansionPack to VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion, the Dawnfang/Duskfang sword becomes the 'Dawnfang Superior' or 'Duskfang Superior', with additional, life-stealing powers if you've killed 12 enemies with it.

* The fourth edition of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' features some magical items -- most notably rings -- with abilities that only become available once their would-be user has reached a 'milestone', i.e. has made it through two encounters without taking an extended rest in between. (Perhaps less directly applicable to this trope, the game also features a limit on how many magic item daily abilities a character can use per day regardless of the number of items available. Each milestone reached extends this limit by one for the current day, thus potentially 'unlocking' item powers that the character could not have used otherwise.)

* It occurs before the timeline of the games, but ''Soul Edge'' from the ''SoulCalibur'' series of games began as a normal sword, and eventually gained its demonic nature by being bathed in the blood of countless victims.

** This trooper remembers that named sword was at least in first part of the game and possibly other games of the series, but cannot remember if it has similar properties there.

* The Marker in ''{{Qix}}++'' can be upgraded in four features using points earned in the stages. Its appearance changes the more upgrades you get. Unfortunately, it's only good in the section you're playing. Start a new section, and you're back to the crappy Marker you started with.

* DoubleSubverted with the Keyblade form the ''KingdomHearts'' series, while the weapon doesn't grow itself, you can attach various keychains (or gears in days) to it in order to alter its form and properties such as strength and magic bonuses in (almost) all the games, extra abilities in II, days and Birth by Sleep, attack patterns in Days and Clock gauges in Re:coded. The double subversion in this example, is that the keychains used to modify the keyblade are essentially memories of people and locations used to modify the [[EmpathicWeapon keyblade's form]], the keyblade itself doesn't change, only its form.

* In the third VideoGame/{{Resistance}} game, all the weapons upgrade with use. Said game is also made by the creators of the RatchetAndClank series.

* Every weapon used in the ''RatchetAndClank'' series from ''[[RatchetAndClankGoingCommando Going Commando]]'' on, and in the [[NewGamePlus Challenge Mode]] of the first game, if you've collected enough Gold Bolts.

* The SpeculativeFiction novel ''The Practice Effect'' has a world where all tools follow this trope. The hero is from "the real world" and figures out that already well-made items from his world have a huge headstart.

* Manga/InuYasha's sword, Tessaiga, explicitly has the ability to get stronger by killing things and gaining related abilities. [[note]]It has to be a strong opponent though. After mastering the Backlash Wave, all of the Tessaiga upgrades were based on this, one way or another.[[/note]]

* In ''Manga/Bleach'', Ichigo's [[EmpathicWeapon zanpakuto]] Zangetsu keeps evolving since the ''Deicide'' arc. When he learns his ultimate attack, the form of his Bankai changed. Then, when Ichigo got his power back, Zangetsu's appearance changed completely in both, his Shikai and Bankai form. And in the current arc, when Ichigo knows the origin of his zanpakuto and gained his own asauchi, he got Zangetsu's true form, [[spoiler:a pair of a short sword and a long sword.]] Notably, it's only in Ichigo's case because zanpakuto usually don't evolve at all, they just have two released forms, Shikai and Bankai.