Aethermancer Guide: Best Monsters, Teams, & Starters

If you’ve just booted up Aethermancer and thought, “wow, this is Monster Sanctuary with a side of Darkest Dungeon, and I’m getting wrecked,” you’re not alone.

The game throws status effects, Poise diamonds, and cryptic mementos at you like you’re supposed to be some veteran monster wrangler.

I’ve been there, I’ve made the bad drafts, and I’ve stared down Star Spawn’s space laser with a team built for a beauty contest. This guide fixes that. We’ll cover starters, captures, upgrades, merchants, monsters, and the teams that actually work.

Best Starter

In my experience, the starter that always gets me past the early stages of each Aethermancer run is Nixe.

This monster gets an ability to heal all allies pretty early on, plus stacks Poison like there is no tomorrow.

Let’s go over each option:

Starter	Why it’s best-in-slot	Pitfalls
Jotunn	Shields, reflect/retaliate, comfy Poise control; most forgiving first clears.	Can stall if you never draft damage.
Nixe	Healing that converts into Poison pressure; safe captures.	Slower to spike damage.
Minokawa	Speed + multi-hit tempo for Poise melts and sidekick lines.	Squishy if you whiff dodge lines.
Cherufe	Burn engine + Purge interactions delete Poise when fueled.	Needs Fire Aether economy to not sputter.

How to Stagger & Capture Monsters

You don’t always want to kill the enemy. Sometimes, you want to snag them for your team.

To stagger monsters in Aethermancer, you’ve got to break the enemy’s Poise diamond. This indicator is displayed next to their health bar, and there’s two things you should notice:

1. It’s tied to a number. That’s the number of times you’re meant to deal damage to break the Poise diamond.
2. It’s tied to an element. Hit with the element on the diamond to reduce Poise; Wild always counts; multi-hits are king. Stagger = stun + +50% damage taken.

Once a monster is staggered, use a Blank Memento to add it to your altar pool in future areas. (You’ll find/purchase more between fights.)

Now that you’ve got the basics, here are two things I wish I’d known earlier:

• Jumping off taller platforms with Void Blitz will contribute to staggering a foe.
• Don’t chain staggers unless you can capitalize; Recover actions can punish over-commit.

All Merchants & NPCs

Here’s a table with every NPC I’ve run into in Aethermancer.

NPC	What they do	Why it matters
Sir Tiberion	Gives/swaps equipment (base effects + affixes, e.g., +1 hit staves).	Equipment can hard-carry a comp.
Mayor	Permanent meta-progression upgrades that improve future runs.	Gives a sense of progression.
Lily	Reroll action/trait/perk; in hub sells soulbonds.	Fix bad rolls; expand starter pool.
Alioth	Sells artifacts; in hub unlocks rerolls + Worthiness boosts.	Panic buttons & meta power.
Myrne	Feeds for XP or cleanses corruption.	Stabilizes bruised teams.
Merchant (+Sally)	General shop, Blank Mementos show up here.	Needed for captures mid-run.

All Monsters

Here’s a table with every Monster in Aethermancer:

Monster	Elements	Types / Attacks
Ammit	Earth, Fire	• Tank • Summon • Regeneration
Catzerker	Earth, Wind	• Critical • Regeneration • Sidekick
Cherufe	Earth, Fire	• Critical • Purge • Burn
Cockatrice	Fire, Wind	• Tank • Burn • Dodge
Dark Elder	Earth, Water	• Age • Summon • Terror
Djinn	Fire, Aether	• Dodge • Force • Aether
Domovoy	Fire, Water	• Heal • Regeneration • Burn
Gargoyle	Earth, Wind	• Sidekick • Shield • Power
Grimoire	Aether, Fire	• Purge • Burn • Aether
Hecatoncheires	Earth, Wind	• Age • Weakness • Summon
Jotunn	Earth, Wind	• Tank • Shield • Age
Mandragora	Earth, Water	• Heal • Regeneration • Weakness
Medusa	Earth, Water	• Poison • Affliction • Terror
Mephisto	Fire, Water	• Affliction • Terror • Burn
Minokawa	Fire, Wind	• Sidekick • Dodge • Force
Naga	Fire, Water	• Tank • Shield • Force
Nixe	Earth, Water	• Heal • Aether • Poison
Nosferatu	Water, Wind	• Dodge • Heal • Terror
Ooze	Earth, Water	• Poison • Tank • Affliction
Orthrus	Fire, Water	• Sidekick • Power • Heal
Serket	Earth, Wind	• Poison • Shield • Force
Shambler	Water, Wind	• Tank • Aether • Age
Sphinx	Earth, Wind	• Sidekick • Heal • Summon
Star Spawn	Fire, Water	• Aether • Power • Age
Tatzelwurm	Fire, Earth	• Critical • Regeneration • Poison
Warden	Earth, Wind	• Tank • Weakness • Purge
Wolpertinger	Fire, Wind	• Critical • Purge • Sidekick
Wyrmling	Fire, Aether	• Heal • Aether • Power

Best Teams

I’ve got three favorite teams that have gotten me to the end of Aethermancer:

Team #1: Burn–Purge Engine

Cherufe + Mephisto + Cockatrice

The synergy keeps enemies locked, interrupts big moves with Purge, and turns bosses into Burn detonators that melt under compounded status damage.

Cockatrice generates free Fire Aether, letting Cherufe consistently use Ignite to apply and trigger Burn while shredding Poise. Mephisto stacks debuffs like Terror that accelerate staggers.

Team #2: Shield–Sidekick Cannon

Gargoyle + Wyrmling + Mandragora

The trio scales defense into overwhelming offense, turning safety nets into finishing blows.

Gargoyle builds Sidekick stacks through shields and temporary power, then converts them into heavy retaliation damage. Wyrmling doubles any power buffs, amplifying Gargoyle’s bursts. Mandragora sustains the group with healing and Weakness while enabling further shield triggers.

Team #3:Toxic Shield Engine

Nixe + Gargoyle + Wyrmling

This trio turns sustain into offense.

Nixe’s heals continuously stack Poison thanks to Toxic Tides, pressuring enemies every turn. Gargoyle converts shields into Sidekick bursts, protecting allies while punishing foes. Wyrmling amplifies power buffs and healing, doubling the value of both sustain and burst. Together, they grind opponents down.

How to get More Aether Crystals

You’ll soon notice Aether Crystal is the most important currency in Aethermancer.

• Where they drop: found via exploring the maps, looking for equipment or chests sparkling with purple glitter.
• What to spend on: Soulbonds (Lily), then Rerolls/Worthiness (Alioth). These have the highest ROI on run consistency.

How to Cleanse Corruption

Corruption feels brutal when your monsters start every fight already limping, but there are plenty of ways to clear it if you know where to look.

Some skills and perks trigger automatic cleanses after combat, while equipment like Salves or artifacts such as the Hourglass of Undying wipe stacks consistently.

Events also matter: refusing Myrne’s risky deal, feeding your monsters at a rest site, or paying into a Blessed Pond will all clear corruption.

For more cozy games, check out our guide for Strange Antiquities or dive into our newest Bonus Action Radar.