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Monster Rancher 4 Lifespans, Life Stages, and Growths

 

Growth Periods
Each monster goes through 4 stages of growth/aging until they are forced to retired a few months afterwards. It is important to take note of this so you know how to manage your monster statgains when they begin to peak, and knowing when to prioritize or prepare for freezing/combining when they're getting old. The four stages can be identified when Rio starts the week by talking about your monster:
Growth PeriodRio says...
1st Growth/AdolescentThe way we raise 'Monster'...
2nd Growth/Mature'Monster' is Mature...
3rd Growth/Late-age'Monster' is pretty Old...
4th Growth/Old'Monster' is becoming pretty weak...
Lifespan Ends/Retirement'Monster' cannot control body...

Here's a table for each Purebred monster's lifespan for each period. To calculate a sub-breed's lifespan, the lifespan formula is Main + Main + Sub = #, then #/3. This should be number of weeks and works at every stage.

Monster1st Growth2nd Growth3rd Growth4th GrowthRetirementTotal Weeks
Antlan10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 0 Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.208
Ape10Mo 4Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.210
Baku11Mo. 2Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 3Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 7Mo. 1Wk.220
Beaklon11Mo. 1Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 6Mo. 1Wk.216
Dragon10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 9Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.196
Ducken10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.207.2 [208]
Durahan11Mo. 1Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 6Mo. 1Wk.216
Garu10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.209.6 [210]
Gitan10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 9Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.196
Golem11Mo. 2Wk.2Yr. 2Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 5Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 8Mo. 1Wk.224
Hare10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.208
Henger10Mo. 2Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.208
Jell10Mo. 2Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 1Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 11Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 3Mo. 1Wk.204
Joker8Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 6Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 5Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.158.4 [159]
Koropendora10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 1Wk.212
Lesione10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 1Wk.211.2 [212]
Madillo10Mo. 2Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 10Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 1Wk.200
Mew11Mo. 1Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 6Mo. 1Wk.216
Mocchi10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.209.6 [210]
Mogi10Mo. 2Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 11Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.201.6 [202]
Naga10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 10Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 1Wk.199.2 [200]
Ogyo10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 3Wk.213.6 [214]
Pancho11Mo. 2Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 3Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 7Mo. 1Wk.220
Phoenix8Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 6Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 5Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 4Mo. 1Wk.160
Pixie10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 10Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 1Wk.200
Plant11Mo. 1Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 6Mo. 1Wk.216
Raiden10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 1Wk.212
Rhinoroller10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 3Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 4Mo. 3Wk.209.6 [210]
Ripper10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 9Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.196
Suezo10Mo. 3Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 2Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 0Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 3Mo. 4Wk.206.4 [207]
Suzurin10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 1Mo. 2Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 4Wk.214.4 [215]
Tiger10Mo. 2Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 11Mo. 2Wk.4Yr. 2Mo. 3Wk.201.6 [202]
Zan10Mo. 1Wk.1Yr. 11Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 0Mo. 1Wk.3Yr. 9Mo. 4Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 1Wk.196
Zuum10Mo. 4Wk.2Yr. 0Mo. 4Wk.3Yr. 3Mo. 1Wk.4Yr. 1Mo. 3Wk.4Yr. 5Mo. 1Wk.212

 

Life Types
Each unique monster also has a moment in which they gain an incredible amount of stats or 'peak' during training. There are 6 different growth types: Premature Weak, Premature Strong, Normal, Consistent, Late-bloomer Weak, and Late-bloomer Strong.

Life Types by Main Breed (See Monster Data to view sub-breed variations in Life Type)
Life TypesMonsters
Premature WeakPixie, Ripper
Premature StrongMogi, Naga, Plant, Rhinoroller, Suezo, Tiger
NormalDragon, Garu, Hare, Jell, Mocchi, Ogyo, Suzurin, Zan, Zuum
ConsistentDucken, Durahan, Henger, Joker, Madillo, Mew
Late-bloomer WeakAntlan, Beaklon, Gitan, Koropendora, Pancho, Raiden
Late-bloomer StrongBaku, Golem, Lesione

 

Heatmap guide to life types. Darkest green indicates the best gains.
Monster Rancher 4 Life Stage heat map comparison

Expand explanations of the Heat Map:

Premature Weak Type
  • Rises fast during childhood
  • Peaks just before reaching 1st Growth/Adolescence
  • Drops gains until reaching 2nd Growth/Mature
  • Drops gains again until it’s time to retire
Premature Strong Type
  • Rises pretty fast during childhood
  • Peaks when it reaches 1st Growth/Adolescence
  • Drops at a steady rate until it’s time to retire
Normal Type
  • Rises at a good pace during childhood and 1st Growth/Adolescence
  • Peaks halfway into 1st Growth/Adolescence
  • Drops at a steady rate until it’s time to retire
Consistent Type
  • Rises at a good rate during childhood
  • Will peak during 1st Growth/Adolescence, but never hit high numbers like other age types
  • Consistent high gains until midway through 2rd Growth/Mature
  • Steady drops into retirement
Late-bloomer Weak Type
  • Rises a pretty slow during childhood
  • Begins to pick up pacing during 1st Growth/Adolescence.
  • Peaks during 2nd Growth/Mature.
  • Drops at a slow and steady rate until it’s time to retire
Late-bloomer Strong Type
  • Rises slowly childhood
  • Begins to pick up pacing slowly during 1st Growth/Adolescence.
  • Rises better during 2nd Growth/Mature and peaks during later half.
  • Drops at steady rate at 3rd Growth/Late-age into until it’s time to retire

 

Monster Type Food/Item Interests

Every monster one category of food and items they will "Really Like", "Like", "Dislike", "Really Dislike", and "Hate". The table below shows how it affects them when you feed/give them one that fits the category. Food and Items NEVER raises stress! There's a bug in the game when your monster's hunger status over-prioritizes stress. Once hunger has been lowered, the game will show if it is currently stressed.

If the monster is a sub-breed of another type, it will use that sub-breed monster type for its Likes/Dislikes. If the monster is a rare/special breed, then it will usually have its own distinct set of Likes/Dislikes. If the monster is a rare/special breed, then it will usually have its own distinct set of Likes/Dislikes.
Example: Datonare (Tiger/Zuum) will not use Tiger's Interests, but instead use Zuum's Interests.

This can be very helpful if trying to maintain normal policy as often as possible! It may seem a little cruel, but your monster will have a much easier raising style in the middle

Food Interests
Really LikeLikeDislikeReally DislikeHate
Fullness Multiplier1.25x1.125x0.875x0.75x0 (Refuses Food!)
Policy Change21-2-40 (Refuses Food!)

Gift Item
Really LikeLikeDislikeReally DislikeHate
Policy Change21-2-40 (Refuses Gift!)

 

Monster Temperament
(Translated by ADC*Ken from JP Guides)

Monster Temperaments

When a monster is created from the shrine or through combining, they are also given a temperament, or "personality". There are 15 different temperaments. Each one can influence the way how a monster trains (please view "Raising Monsters" section for more info). Or can influence the way how your monster fights using CPU attack types and monster compatibilities in battle. In addition, each breed can only be assigned a specific set of temperaments. Such as Zuum only having the choices of "Normal" or "Passionate" temperament, but it cannot have a "Cheerful" or "Lazy" temperament. You can view which sets of temperaments a monster can learn on the Monster Data page.

List of Temperaments
BraveLazyPassionate
CheerfulNervousSerious
CoolNiceShort Temper
High PrideNormalSpoiled
Hot BloodedNot SeriousTimid

Attack Types

When a monster is given the choice to fight on its own, its temperament will determine which attack type it will use against enemies AND the change to fail when attempting counters. An offensive monster may attack often, but has a high risk of failing counters compared to monsters that are more defensive. The attack type pattern is also used with enemy tournament/wild monsters. You can view the four different attack types below:

Attack TypeUsed TemperamentsDescription
Attack-Attack (A/A)Hot Blooded, Short Temper, PassionateAttacks no matter what. Even when it is ahead, it will perform skills.
Attack-Wait (A/W)Normal, Cool, Serious, BraveAttacks with effort, then becomes defensive when ahead.
It's behavior changes when it's ahead or behind in life.
Wait-Attack (W/A)Nervous, Cheerful, High Pride, NiceAttacks with a big skill after collecting as much guts as possible.
Changes behavior depending on guts.
Wait-Wait (W/W)Lazy, Spoiled, Not Serious, TimidA type that concentrates on collecting guts and defending/avoiding.

Attack Type Move Determination
 Life Gauge DifferencePlayer Guts AmountEnemy Guts AmountPlayer Status ConditionTime Remaining
 Player BehindPlayer AheadOffensive StateWaiting StateOver 50Below 50Positive StatusNegative StatusAbove 5050 - 20Below 20
Attack-AttackAttackAttackAttackAttackAttackAttackWaitAttackAttackAttackAttack
Attack-WaitWaitAttackAttackAttackAttackAttackWaitAttackAttackAttackAttack
Wait-AttackWaitAttackAttackWaitWaitAttackWaitAttackAttackAttackAttack
Wait-WaitWaitWaitWaitWaitWaitWaitWaitAttackWaitWaitAttack

Button & Counter Rate
Counter
Failure
Attack-Attack60%10%30%30%
Attack-Wait30%20%50%20%
Wait-Attack20%30%50%10%
Wait-Wait10%60%30%0%

Temperament Compatibility

Temperament compatibility affects how often a monster can use Team Up Skill and increases initial spirit for adventure. By having a high compatibility, it makes it easier to to form high friendships/affinities with other monsters. Gaining fame from tournaments also makes it easier to raise friendship/affinity. And finally fame can be passed down to the child to make it easier to gain friendship for the next generation!

The chart below is temperament compatibility from 1st Monster using 2nd Monster as assist when building friendship gauge(hidden value in battle) to use team up attack:

1st Monster to
2nd Monster Combo
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
Normal A222222222222222
Cool B240221122224222
Passionate C204112312113314
Lazy D221412132333141
Nervous E221041114024232
Cheerful F213124321323222
Short Temper G214023402123423
Spoiled H221423032233041
Serious I212121114024233
Not Serious J221313220422222
Timid K220421042241042
High Pride L111111111112101
Hot Blooded M223222212203402
Nice N333333333333333
Brave O223122213024224

ValueCompatibility
4Best
3Good
2Okay
1Bad
0Worst

Friendship & Team Up Attacks

Monsters and their partners can naturally build up the Team Up gauge over time, but certain actions can make it occur faster. Monsters that avoid attacks, successfully counter attacks, or successfully hit the opponent will shorten the time needed for Team Up to proc. Below is also a chart for a monster's friendship and how long it takes to build over time.

FriendshipTeam Up Rate
Friends25 seconds
Good Friends22 seconds
Great Friends20 seconds
Best Friends17 seconds
Inseparable15 seconds

 

Credits: ADC*Ken's MR4 guide
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