Research

While hunting monsters, and gathering resources, you will occasionally see them drop something that does not appear in any drop table.

This squiggly little ball of information is Research Essence, and you should not hesitate to pick it up whenever it drops.

Whether it comes from Monsters or Resources, collecting Research Essence will help fill in your Research Window [B] and provide you with a number of benefits.

Your completion progress is also tracked within the Research Window, so if you're interested in completing your compendium, go for it!

Monster Research

You gain compounding benefits after collecting 1, 5, 10, and 20 Research Essences for any give monster.

The amount of Research Essence you have is tracked, and you can collect more than 20, though it won't provide any further benefits.

Level 2 bonuses are shown in red. Level 3 bonuses are shown in purple. Level 4 bonuses are shown in blue!

Research Level 1 (1 essence):

• Acquiring your first Research Essence will register that monster into your Research Window, replacing its blacked out square with an image of said monster and displaying its current Research Level. Mousing over the monster will tell you how many essences for that monster that you have picked up, and how many more Research Essences you will need for the next level.

• Upon clicking on the monster's square, another window will appear called "Monster Info". At Research Level 1, Monster Info will mostly be filled with "???" but you will at least be shown the monster's name, how many of that monster you have killed, and even how many Shinies you have killed!

• The ???s will progressively be replaced with actual information after reaching the required Research Level.

Research level 2 (5 essence):

• After reaching Level 2, that monster's healthbar will now show for you whenever that monster takes damage.
• The Monster Info window will now include the monster's stats and element typing. You can mouse over the colored circle to be given the element in text.

Research level 3 (10 essence):

• Level 3 will apply a +5% bonus to Player EXP you gain from killing the monster.
• The Monster Info window will now provide you with that monster's drop table. Mousing over one of the items shown will tell you that item's drop rate.

Research level 4 (20 essence):

• And finally, at Research level 4, you have a +10% drop chance while hunting the monster.

Resource Research

Resources do not have a Research Level associated with them, and we have yet to receive any confirmation on whether that will change or not.

As of now, collecting even just one Research Essence will fill in that item's Research square and track both the amount you have gathered, and how many Research Essences you have collected.

Example of Gathering Research!