Only a handful of Queen's Domain weapons ever evolve, and each one evolves at level 10. Most weapons simply reach their cap and sit there. The four you are most likely to see change are the Rusty Sword, the Rusty Spear, the Wooden Club and the Rusted Longhammer — the four you carry earliest, which is why evolution tends to happen while you are still learning the areas.
Only a handful of weapons evolve
Weapons level on their own, each with its own maximum level, generally 10, and the experience comes from the damage you deal with it rather than from the number of hits. So a weapon you actually use will hit its cap; a weapon you swap away from may never get there.
Because the experience is tied to damage dealt, a weapon that keeps its charge attacks and lands heavy hits levels noticeably faster than one you swing at full speed with no charge.
Queen's Domain weapon evolution at level 10, weapon by weapon
| Original | Evolved form | Damage | Speed | Type | What the secondary does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusty Sword | Sipeha's Twisted Heart | 14 | Average | physical | A secondary that charges slowly over time and has a long wind-up |
| Rusty Spear | Jigeki's Serpent Thrust | 11 | Fast | Pierce | Charges based on damage dealt and lashes out as a snake bite that hits harder than a fully charged normal swing and applies a damage-over-time effect that can also stun |
| Wooden Club | Puwema's Blessed Orb | 18 | Slow | Impact | Not an attack at all: the main attack builds a charge you can spend casting a self-healing spell |
| Rusted Longhammer | Sipeha's Void Maul | 12 | Average | Impact | Holds three charges and fires a slowly homing void sphere that pierces enemies and most terrain, explodes in an eye shape and can repeat up to three times |
The Rusted Greatsword and the Rusty Morning Star evolve as well, though they carry less distinctive secondaries than the four above.
When a weapon evolves, the shopkeeper stocks a replacement of the original rusted weapon, so you can keep using the starting form afterwards if you preferred it. What to carry into the endgame once these are unlocked is in the endgame weapons guide.
The weapons that break instead of evolving
Not everything transforms. The Ceremonial Trident breaks apart at weapon level 5 instead of evolving, and the broken-off piece is the second Trident Emblem. If you would rather not level it that far, Spirit Oil breaks it instantly.
The Cestus is the other exception: it never evolves, but it does have an upgrade path through the mid-game, and its heavy attack remains the mid-air uppercut that makes late platforming possible.
That Trident Emblem is one of five keys rather than a trophy, and all five are covered in the Trident Emblem guide.
The Holy Sword has its own path
The Holy Sword Endu is the exception to the level 10 rule and has a three-step path of its own: Endu to Soul Bound Endu to True Holy Sword Akunra, with the final step needing its own set of items. Each step extends the flight distance, and the fully upgraded sword lets you dash ten times.
The full three steps are in the Holy Sword upgrade guide, and the evolved set's place in a late-game loadout is in the endgame weapons guide.