Digimon Story: Time Stranger is the 2025 return of the Digimon Story line — a monster-collection JRPG with 42 main missions and the deepest digivolution system the series has shipped. Attributes (Vaccine, Data, Virus, Free, Variable), eight generations, DNA digivolutions, Armor and Hybrid branches — all in one planner.
Pick a Rookie-tier starter with clean digivolution paths. Agumon, Gabumon, and Guilmon all have Vaccine, Data, and Virus lines respectively. Play on Standard difficulty for the first playthrough; Hard rewards specific Digimon that only unlock late.
Best starter Digimon
- Agumon — leads to WarGreymon → Omnimon path. Vaccine.
- Gabumon — leads to MetalGarurumon → Omnimon. Data.
- Guilmon — leads to Beelzemon path. Virus.
- Terriermon — Data flex; unlocks Imperialdramon eventually.
You'll swap out your starter within the first ten hours — pick the digivolution chain you want to end at, then work backwards.
Difficulty settings
Time Stranger has three difficulty settings; changes affect enemy stats and specific Digimon drop tables. Play Standard on your first run. Hard adds ~30% enemy HP but unlocks exclusive Digimon in specific dungeons.
The training loop
Time Stranger runs on a training-camp loop:
- Explore a mission area, encounter wild Digimon.
- Battle → capture (via a percentage roll based on your team level).
- Level up in your camp with training exercises.
- Digivolve when you hit the stat threshold + item requirement.
Yen and EXP farm loops
Fast farming loops:
- EXP: Late-game Outer Dungeon boss reruns pay out 3–4x normal EXP.
- Yen: Sell surplus food items; Platinum Numemon spawn at specific coordinates in the mid-game.
- Digi-Eggs: Breed leveled Digimon in the DigiFarm.
Missables
Time Stranger has a handful of missables — one-time items and Digimon locked to specific mission windows. Consult a missables list before you complete Chapter 20, or plan for New Game+.
DLC picks
DLC packs add extra Digimon rosters. The best value pack is the Champions & Ultimates pack — dozens of species that unlock DNA digivolution routes missing from the base game.
For this guide we consulted the Game8 Digimon Story: Time Stranger wiki (starter roster, difficulty settings, missables list, DLC breakdown), and community discussion on Reddit and player Discords.