Warhammer Survivors Evolutions: All Weapon Evolution Recipes

Warhammer Survivors evolutions need a max-level weapon, its paired passive and a boss chest, and launch has 21 recipes for 40K and 18 for Age of Sigmar. Both full lists are below, plus the five passives that have to be fully upgraded before their evolution will appear.

I most certainly would play Warhammer Survivors. I recently got back into the miniatures themselves and have been painting them. I even bought one in a completely different style I’d never seen before, where the pieces screw in rather than stick together, and it’s only made of about four pieces.

Key takeaways

• Max the weapon (level 8 for most), hold the paired passive, then open a chest from a boss or elite enemy.
• Five evolutions need their passive at max level, including both steps of the two-stage Ghal Maraz.
• Lightning Bolt is the one 40K passive that evolves two weapons, the Storm Bolter and the Crozius Arcanum.
• Nuln Oil and D6 Dice evolve the same way in both universes.

How do weapon evolutions work in Warhammer Survivors?

The game launched on 10 November with an arsenal of 75+ weapons across Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar, and plenty of them evolve. The rules work like this:

• Level the base weapon to its maximum, which is level 8 for most weapons.
• Hold the paired passive in the same run. Most passives only need to be in your inventory at any level.
• Open a chest that can grant an evolution. These drop from bosses and elite enemies.

The passive isn’t used up when the weapon evolves, so you keep its bonus for the rest of the run. Most evolutions replace the base weapon, but a few hand you something new and leave the original in place. Frag Grenade plus Bandolier adds the Ripper Pistol as an extra weapon, and Rope & Grapnel plus White Dwarf adds the Ghost of Rhea the same way.

If you don’t meet any recipe when the chest opens, you get a normal weapon upgrade instead. That’s why the order matters: grab the passive before your weapon hits max level, so the next boss chest isn’t spent on a plain upgrade.

All Warhammer 40,000 evolutions

There are 21 recipes on the 40K side. Weapon first, then the passive, then what it becomes:

• Chainsword + Tape Measure = Eviscerator Chainsword
• Lasgun + Gauntlet = Meltagun
• Boltgun + Dice Cube = Heavy Bolter
• Shield of Faith + Bugman’s Tankard = Emperor’s Wrath
• Flamer + Glue = Heavy Flamer
• Combat Shotgun + Magnet = Executioner Shotgun
• Whirlwind Battery + Liquid Green Stuff = Orbital Bombardment
• Frag Grenade + Bandolier = Ripper Pistol
• Mechanical Bite + Sabaton = Remote Detonation
• Power Klaw + Da Lucky Stikk (max level) = Bale Eye
• Ardent Blade + Tactical Rock (max level) = Weapon of the Matriarch
• Power Fist + Codex Astartes (max level) = Gauntlets of Ultramar
• Storm Bolter + Lightning Bolt = Assault Cannon
• Battle Cannon + Figure Case = Side Sponsons
• Spear of the Faithful + Chaos Sigil = Thorn of the White Rose
• Crozius Arcanum + Lightning Bolt = Benediction of Fury
• Smite + Ardcoat = Fury of the Ancients
• Fidelis + Golden Demon = Purgator Mirabilis
• Storm Eagle Rocket + White Dwarf = Deathstrike Missile
• Nuln Oil + Hourglass = Mordant Earth
• D6 Dice + Scatter Die = Sustained Fire Dice

Several 40K champions start with a weapon on this list. Malum Caedo, who comes over from Boltgun, starts with the Chainsword. Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski has the Lasgun, Brother Luca Amasius has the Boltgun, and The Legend of Catachan starts with Frag Grenades. For any of them, the first evolution is about finding one passive. If you want more of Malum after this, here’s the Boltgun 2 release date.

All Age of Sigmar evolutions

The Age of Sigmar side has 18 recipes, including the only two-stage evolution on either list:

• Tempest Axes + Sabaton = Whirlwind Axes
• Brace of Pistols + Bandolier = Duelling Pistols
• Nebulous Sea-Fog + Bugman’s Tankard = Aquatic Illusions
• Boltstorm Pistol + Dice Cube = Typhoon Crossbow
• Grandblade + Tape Measure = Celestial Greatsword
• Cyclone Sword + Magnet = Voice of the God-King
• Flintlock Pistols + Ardcoat = Anti-Wizard Flintlock
• Fyrestorm Greataxe + Kragg Blackhammer’s Master Rune = Zangrom-Thaz
• Stormcharged Warhammer + Tactical Rock (max level) = Uskavar the Sunderer
• Uskavar the Sunderer + Null Pendant (max level) = Ghal Maraz
• Brazier Staff + Liquid Green Stuff = Master of Runes
• Twin-Tailed Cat + Golden Demon = Enchanted Glove
• Blade of the High Heavens + Figure Case = Thengavar
• Poisoned Throwing Knives + Gauntlet = Bladed Vortex
• Rope & Grapnel + White Dwarf = Ghost of Rhea
• Mystical Ward + Glue = Warding Lantern
• Nuln Oil + Hourglass = Mordant Earth
• D6 Dice + Scatter Die = Sustained Fire Dice

Ghal Maraz is the one to plan for. You need Uskavar the Sunderer first, which already takes a maxed Tactical Rock, and then a maxed Null Pendant on top. That’s two passives at full level in one run, so you’d want to commit to it early rather than hope it comes together.

• Da Lucky Stikk for Bale Eye
• Tactical Rock for Weapon of the Matriarch
• Codex Astartes for Gauntlets of Ultramar
• Tactical Rock for Uskavar the Sunderer
• Null Pendant for Ghal Maraz

If your weapon is maxed, you’re holding the right passive and the chest still gives you a normal upgrade, check this list first. It’s an easy one to miss, because every other recipe works with the passive at level 1.

Which passives feed more than one evolution?

Almost every passive pulls double duty, with one recipe in each universe. Tape Measure evolves the Chainsword in 40K and the Grandblade in Age of Sigmar. Dice Cube does the Boltgun and the Boltstorm Pistol. The same pattern holds for Gauntlet, Glue, Magnet, Bandolier, Sabaton, Bugman’s Tankard, Liquid Green Stuff, Figure Case, Golden Demon, White Dwarf, Ardcoat and Tactical Rock.

Inside a single 40K run, Lightning Bolt is the passive that stands out. It evolves the Storm Bolter into the Assault Cannon and the Crozius Arcanum into the Benediction of Fury. Carry both weapons and one passive slot gets you two evolutions. Nuln Oil and D6 Dice are the other way round: they’re weapons you can pick up in either universe, with the same recipe both times.

Can you evolve more than one weapon in a run?

Yes. Every weapon you carry can evolve, as long as it’s at max level and you hold its passive, and each one needs its own evolution chest. In a 40K run, that’s where Lightning Bolt earns its slot, since one pick covers two recipes. Stacking two or three evolutions is what you’ll want for the Extremis Bosses, which the developers pitch as a challenge even for players who know the genre well.

Tips for getting your first evolution

You just need to stop spreading upgrades across every weapon. Pick one weapon early, push it to level 8, and take its passive the first time it’s offered. Three half-levelled weapons give you nothing to evolve when the boss chest drops.

Check the passive before you take it, too. A passive that doesn’t feed anything you’re carrying is a slot you can’t use for an evolution later. If you’ve played the Vampire Crawlers evolutions, the rules will feel familiar, since poncle partnered on this game.

Pick your universe with the evolutions in mind. Each side has its own weapon pool, so a 40K run can never build Ghal Maraz, and an Age of Sigmar run never sees the Heavy Bolter. If you’re coming from other survivors games, the Megabonk weapon tier list is a good comparison for how much one strong weapon can carry a run.

The full recipe list is likely to grow as more players reach the late game, especially once players open up the character forms that paint pots unlock.

If you like Warhammer Survivors, Pathogenic is in the same vein.