History Main / EvolvingWeapon

* In the ''VideoGame/BraveStory'' video game, the main character's [[CoolSword Traveler's Sword]] evolves and takes on new forms whenever he collects certain magical gems (after passing a test of strength and character).

* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': While all [[EmpathicWeapon buso renkin]] improve and change as their wielder grows in strength and experience, those wielded by warriors becoming a [[WalkingWasteland Victor]] do so to a far greater degree. In the second half of the series, this happens to [[spoiler:Kazuki's [[BladeOnAStick Sunlight Heart]] shrinks in size and weight, internalises its energy and becomes able to produce a size-changing [[LaserBlade energy blade]]]].

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': [[EmpathicWeapon Ddraig]] explains this is the case for [[AmplifierArtifact Boosted Gear]]. Only its most fundamental property - doubling the user's power every ten seconds - is consistent for every wielder, its other abilities depend on the needs and personality of the one wearing it. In Issei's case, early examples are developing Boosted Gear Gift to transfer the power boost to more capable allies (compensating for the fact he starts the series woefully underpowered), and then a second gem on the gauntlet itself that glows when he has enough Boosts saved up to overpower his current enemy (allowing Ddraig to easily help Issei along when he's still no good at sensing magic).

* The Legendary Weapons in ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' are capable of evolution. By feeding the gem of the weapon raw materials (stones, plants, bits of monsters, anything really) or copying an already existing version of the weapon, a new weapon form with new skills can be unlocked. By "mastering" each weapon form, the Heroes can use the various stats unlocked even while using other weapon forms. Naofumi the Shield Hero takes the time to max out every shield form he unlocks, including some more passive or supportive forms that make him an expert with potions and other items.

* The Devil Arms/Fell Arms in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' are recurring weapons that are initially the weakest weapons in the game at literally 0 attack power. However, after defeating the game's BonusBoss to unlock their full power, they will gain 1 attack power for every enemy killed by the wielder, [[MagikarpPower eventually ending up as the strongest weapons in the game]].

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* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has the Sword of Gryffindor, which takes in what makes it stronger. After Harry uses it to slay a basilisk, it's permanently imbued with basilisk venom.
* The SpeculativeFiction novel ''Literature/ThePracticeEffect'' 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.
** Very unusually for this trope, ''devolution'' is in full effect; any man-made object is slowly shifting back into its near useless "ground state" while it remains unused. For the hero who arrived with goods intended for use on day one this is only a mild inconvenience but craftsmanship and production is at paleolithic levels on this planet.This means if a building remains unoccupied or a tool remains unused they'll both devolve into the worthless poorly secured mud, leaves and sticks they started out as. Well "Practiced" items do tend to become rather specialized; a farmer's pruning shears will over years or centuries become an ultra sharp indefatigable mono-crystal capable of slashing into granite without damage and the hero's robot buddy who never turns off and is thus in constant "use" tends to lose functionality not related to executing its instructions while quickly gaining any abilities that might be helpful in doing its job.
* ''Literature/ThereIsNoEpicLootHereOnlyPuns'': From the chapter, [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/there-is-no-epic-loot-here-only-puns-dungeon.590739/page-443#post-58990471 "Delta,"]] when talking about a godly designed LivingWeapon that are this, called "growth weaponry" here:
--> “Anyone he cut, got their spore taken and he would grow in power. Everyone likes growth weapons!” he nodded and looked to Delta for agreement.\\
“I like… things that grow and don’t stab people, but sure,” she smiled weakly.
* In Literature/TheZombieKnight, The various weapons that [[ExtraOreDinary Hector]] summons up. They could be considered to be more of a representation of his increasing skills and powers as he gains the ability to more precisely summon metal and soul-strengthen it.
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** Conversely, the Tonberry's Knife/Grudge attacks in the Final Fantasy series have the ''enemy'' attack get stronger with each kill your characters make.

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* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the legendary demon slayer who once made the originator of all demons quake in fear had a black blade like the protagonist Tanjiro does, but unlike all normal demon slayers who permanently enhance the color of their blades due their Breath affinity for the first time they touch it, Yoriichi could make his black blade turn red at will when he engaged in battle, showcasing his Breath of the Sun skills.

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* 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 final 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.

* This is basically the entire premise of ''Manga/SoulEater''. Meisters and Weapons must harvest 99 Evil Humans' souls an one witch soul to forge the latter into Death Scythes and allowing them to be wielded by Shinigami. [[spoiler:By cousuming a witch soul, the Weapon gains magical-like abilities similar to those of the witch in question.]]

** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': The [[DemonOfHumanOrigin Daemon Prince]] of [[WarGod Khorne]], Mazarall TheButcher wields [[NamedWeapons Harrow Meat]], a [[AnAxeToGrind mighty axe]] that hungers for the souls of its victims, permanently increasing its in-game characteristics for every enemy it kills during a game.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaSkywardSword The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' revolves around this trope, with Link getting the Goddess Sword very early in the game. As the game progresses, you will evolve the sword, using flames from the three goddesses, turning the sword into the Goddess Longsword, then the Goddess White Sword, and then the Master Sword. Finally, Zelda will bestow Hylia's blessing, turning the weapon into the True Master Sword.

* In ''VideoGame/FableIII'', your starting weapons gradually evolve based on what you did in-game before levelling up the corresponding skill (melee or ranged), meaning that by the end of the game, every player will end up with a compeltely unique weapon. The problem is, you'll never actually ''use'' them, since all this does is change their appearance, it doesn't increase their stats or give them any special effects, so while they may end up looking fancy, they will still be the worst weapons in the game.

* Every weapon in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' can be upgraded along with your characters by feeding them crystal ores or other weapons, and most 3-star and above weapons' unique passives can be boosted by providing them with duplicates of that weapon or special items given out during events, up to 2x or 5x the base percentage. They will also subtlely change appearance after being evolved to Phase II.

* The Yearbook Club Camera from ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''. It's an accesory that does nothing at first, but gets stronger with each assigned monster defeated and the picture returned to the Yearbook Club the next day.

* ''Literature/ThereIsNoEpicLootHereOnlyPuns'': From the chapter, [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/there-is-no-epic-loot-here-only-puns-dungeon.590739/page-443#post-58990471 "Delta"]], when talking about a godly designed LivingWeapon that are this, called "growth weaponry" here:

** Late into the game, [[spoiler: Shulk loses the Monado and has to make do with replicas that have fixed damage like everyone else's weapons, instead of scaling. Depending on your level, this can be a minor or major power loss for Shulk, but fortunately he still has all of his Monado Arts from before. Even more fortunately, Shulk [[EleventhHourSuperpower gets a new Monado]] during the final boss fight that will [[{{Cap}} always hit the damage cap]] regardless of your level (making it [[InfinityPlusOneSword better than any of the previous Monados,]] real or replica), and can be taken into NewGamePlus.]]

** Riku is a straight-up example. Because of his Keyblade choosing Sora over him when he chose to open himself to darkness, he's had to compensate with a dark sword he manifested, called the Soul Eater, an EvilWeapon with the blade shaped like a devil wing. However, towards the end of Kingdom Hearts II, it has evolved into a proper Keyblade called Way to the Dawn, straightening and lengthening the wing plus adding angel wings to the design. The next chronological entry, however, shows that he is still able to summon the Soul Eater form, though no longer uses it, signifying his turn from the dark for good.

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* This is basically the entire premise of ''Manga/SoulEater''.
** Looking at what the Weapons can do to witches in the hands of meisters allied with Shibusen, one wonders what exactly Arachne was thinking. The 'Heretic' not only killed her fellow witches For Science (used the Book of Eibon to put into practice something that had never been done...for no clear reason), but gave one willing to wipe out almost her entire ''race'' for his own sense of justice (Shinigami might have fair reason, but his methods are questionable) a really effective way of doing so.
** Probably because the weapons are just as effective on ''anyone'', Witch or not. They just got [[GrandTheftPrototype hijacked by her enemy after she made the first few.]]

* 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.

* In ''VideoGame/FableIII'', the first weapons you got are evolving weapons (It's not even a secret) that change depending on what you've done before upgrading the skill (Ranged changed your gun). So every player ends up with a unique weapon by the end of the game.

* The Fell Arms in the ''VideoGame/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).

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} II: Lord of Destruction'' introduced several magic item properties that scale by character level, including bonuses to armor value, damage, and accuracy. Unfortunately, they're rarely worth keeping for very long, as something better will usually [[RandomlyDrops drop]].
* Items from Franchise/{{Disgaea}} are a borderline case. They can level up and improve, but only if the player ventures into Item World and subdues the inhabitants inside.

* ''Videogame/PathOfExile'' brings a twist to this trope. The weapons and armor stay the same over time (unless upgraded by other means, like the blacksmith's whetstone for weapons), but the ''[[SocketedEquipment gems]]'' inserted in their sockets level up after a sufficient number of monsters is killed while the weapons and armor are equipped (not just carried in the inventory, though), improving the skills granted by those gems.

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

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Soul Reaver 2'' has the named Soul Reaver - remnants of a powerful magic sword, fused with the protagonist. It becomes stronger when Raziel hits with it. It becomes ''much'' stronger when it consumes the soul of a killed enemy. It starts to eat the wielder's life when it becomes overpowered. And it slowly returns to its normal state when combat is over.

* Enserric, the vampiric sword in ''VideoGame/{{Neverwinter Nights}}'' expansion Hordes of the Underdark, gains the ability to drain its wielder's health to give itself a temporary boost.

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* Psyphers in ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' gain strength by absorbing Phozons, small bits of life force released whenever a living thing dies.

* The Legendary Weapons in ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' are capable of evolution. By feeding the gem of the weapon raw materials (stones, plants, bits of monsters, anything really), a new weapon form with new skills can be unlocked. By "mastering" each weapon form, the Heroes can use the various stats unlocked even while using other weapon forms. Naofumi the Shield Hero takes the time to max out every shield form he unlocks, including some more passive or supportive forms that make him an expert with potions and other items.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', the "Dream" weapons (such as the [[HeroesPreferSwords Dream Sword]]) used in the tutorial level are the only ones in the game that scale, with their ATK equal to Sora's level divided by 10. If Sora is at level 10 or 20, the Dream Sword's ATK is 1 or 2. But if Sora is at level 100, the sword has an ATK of 10, making it the most powerful weapon in the entire game, stronger than even [[InfinityPlusOneSword Ultima Weapon]]. Unfortunately, you don't get to keep the Dream Sword past the tutorial so you'll never see it at its full potential without either [[GameplayDerailment an absurd amount]] of LevelGrinding or hacking the game to get it back later.

* Every weapon in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' can be upgraded along with your characters by feeding them crystal ores or other weapons, and most 3-star and above weapons' unique passives can be boosted by providing them with duplicates of that weapon, up to 2x or 5x the base percentage. They will also subtlely change appearance after being evolved to Phase II.