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While you are raising your monsters in Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, you'll likely soon find your assistant informs you that your monster is stressed out now and again. This is something you want to avoid, as when your monster is stressed, its lifespan will be reduced, meaning you'll have less time to work your way up through those ranked tournaments.

RELATED: Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX: Beginner Tips

So what causes stress, how can you avoid it, and how do you reduce your monster's stress? This guide covers everything you need to know about stress in both Monster Rancher and Monster Rancher 2.

What Causes Stress?

Monster Rancher 2 monster is stressed

Putting your monster through too many drills without resting will cause stress and fatigue. Additionally, feeding a monster food that it does not like will also cause its stress levels to rise.

Unlike other measurable factors in the game, you cannot see your monster's current stress levels in the menu. However, your assistant will tell you each week how your monster is doing.

What Happens When Monsters Are Stressed?

Monster Rancher 2 monster has runaway

Whenever your monster is stressed, it decreases its life span so it won't live as long as it potentially would have done otherwise. Your monster is also more likely to run away when stressed — not only will you lose valuable training time, but in the first Monster Rancher game, this is also a costly problem. Not only do you have to pay to search for your monster, but if the monster damaged your stables when it fled, you'll have to pay to repair that too.

How Do You Avoid And Relieve Stress?

Monster Rancher 1 Mint leaf in the item shop

Ideally, you want to avoid stressing your monster out as each time this happens its life span reduces. To avoid stress, don't be so hard on it when training, so don't put it through too many drills and pre-emptively let it rest before your assistant tells you it is tired. When you are told your monster "seems well", this is when you let it rest for the week.

If your monster is already stressed, you can give it a Mint Leaf (which you can purchase from the Item Store) to reduce its stress levels.

For Monster Rancher 2 specifically, another good but rather costly way to manage your monster's stress levels is to feed it tablets each week. Even if it dislikes eating these, its stress levels will reduce each time.

Next: Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX: How To Transfer Monsters Between Games