Aniimo's early hours can feel overwhelming with so many systems unlocking at once. Here's the fastest, most efficient way to get through the early game: what to prioritize, which Aniimo to bring along, and how to use your first Lumin Amber and Aniipods.
Follow the Main Story First
New content keeps unlocking as you progress through the main story, so it's the best compass for what to do next. If you ever get stuck because your Aniimo are under-leveled, head out and explore the map instead: catching Aniimo you haven't caught yet is one of the fastest ways to gain Character Level EXP.
Unlock Blooms as You Explore
Touching a Bloom lets you fast-travel there later and reveals the surrounding terrain on the map. Since Blooms are marked on the map, it's worth unlocking them as you pass by rather than going out of your way for them later.
Raising your exploration progress in an area also increases your capture rate there, raises the odds of finding Aniimo with better Innate Potential, and lets you pick up eggs and treasure chests, so it's worth thoroughly exploring each new area you enter.
Catch Every New Aniimo You See
Aniimo you haven't caught before are marked "New" next to their name, and catching one is an efficient way to earn Character Level EXP. Make it a habit to catch anything marked New when you see it.
Some Aniimo only appear during specific times of day or weather. If you stop finding new Aniimo in an area, try coming back at a different time or waiting for the weather to change.
Build a Team for Exploration and Battle
You link with an Aniimo to explore and fight, so it pays to keep a few purpose-built Aniimo on hand. Climbing, swimming, and flying all have up to 3 skill levels, and a higher level means faster movement.
| Aniimo | Ability | Why it's good | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pranky | Swim | Swim Lv2 lets you swim faster and it's easy to get in the early areas. | Catch around Nimbus Fields and other early areas |
| Cornet | Fly | Fly Lv2 lets you fly faster, and it evolves from the easy-to-get Chirpi. | Evolves from Chirpi at Lv 18 |
| Bolty | Climb | Climb Lv2 lets you climb faster, and it's common in Blitzwood. | Catch in Blitzwood |
| Shrubclaw | BREAK | Its skill and Ultimate make it easy to BREAK enemies with. It evolves from Budclaw. | Evolves from Budclaw at Lv 21 |
| Glynsera | Attacker | It can move with Hustle while still dealing damage, and a strong individual can be found at Beast Fang Ridge. | Defeat and catch an Alpha at Beast Fang Ridge, or evolves from Fenrier at Lv 34 |
BREAK-focused Aniimo are especially valuable in battle: they whittle down an enemy's BREAK gauge efficiently. Breaking an enemy raises your capture rate, and breaking an Alpha leaves it unable to act for a while, opening a window for a huge hit.
Level Up Your Character Level
Progressing the main story requires a certain Character Level, so it's worth raising alongside your exploration. Daily Quests and catching new Aniimo are both efficient sources of EXP.
| How to level up | Recommended | EXP gained |
|---|---|---|
| Progress the story | ★★★★★ | ~1,000–1,200 EXP |
| Catch a new Aniimo | ★★★★★ | 300 EXP (first catch only) |
| Daily Quests | ★★★★☆ | Up to 3,000 EXP per day |
| Complete Elite Training | ★★★★☆ | 100–500 EXP |
| Quests and Journeys | ★★★☆☆ | ~300–1,000 EXP |
Early on, focus on progressing the story while catching new Aniimo and leveling up along the way. Pick up any quests you come across, too: clearing them in your spare moments adds up to faster leveling overall.
Reach Wayfarer I to Start the Prismana Pact
Once your Character Level reaches 40 and you finish the associated story quest, you'll be promoted to Wayfarer I. That unlocks the Prismana Pact event, where you can pick any one Prismana Aniimo you like from a set of candidates.
Not sure which one to take? See our picks for the best Prismana Aniimo to choose
Level Up and Evolve Your Aniimo
Leveling up boosts an Aniimo's stats, and raising its Resonance Star Rank (a Star-Up) also requires a certain level, so keep feeding it growth items or battle experience from the field.
Evolving an Aniimo under the right conditions changes its appearance and gives a big stat boost, along with a higher element level, so it's worth evolving your Aniimo whenever you can. Some Aniimo have special evolution conditions or branching evolutions, so check the Evolution tab in your Aniimo management screen first.
Each Aniimo you catch also has its own Personality, Innate Potential, and rarer traits like Sparkling and Umbral coloring. None of these can be changed once caught, except Personality (which can be rerolled with an item). See our Personality guide for the full breakdown. Personality (MBTI)
Feed Lumin Amber to Branches
Feeding Lumin Amber to a Branch unlocks a growing set of area-wide perks as your total climbs, from more stamina to better capture rates. Collect Lumin Amber whenever you see it and feed it to a Branch regularly.
| Lumin Amber fed | Effect |
|---|---|
| 10 | Breezy Plains capture rate +10% |
| 20 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 30 | +10 to Breezy Plains' daily ecosystem-activation uses |
| 40 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 50 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 60 | Can change the weather in Breezy Plains |
| 70 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 80 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 90 | An egg appears on a Branch limb every Monday at 4 AM |
| 100 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 110 | Stamina cap +10% |
| 120 | A new cave appears |
| 130 | Stamina cost in Breezy Plains -10% |
| 140 | Stamina cost in Breezy Plains -10% |
| 150 | No longer consumes stamina in Breezy Plains |
For more on where to find Lumin Amber, see our Lumin Amber Guide for the details.
Use Your Aniipods Wisely
Throwing an Aniipod from behind an Aniimo boosts your capture rate by 1.5x. Catching also gets easier while an Aniimo is asleep, BREAKing, or at low HP, so look for those openings.
Don't be shy about using regular Aniipods: you'll get plenty from Elite Training, quest rewards, Wayfarer promotion rewards, and treasure chests, and the higher-tier Aniipod Pro and Aniipod Mega are also fairly easy to come by. Save your rarest pods, like Aniipod Ultra, for an Aniimo you really want, rather than spending them on ordinary encounters.
The same goes for the Sparkling Cube: it's your best shot at catching a specific Sparkling Aniimo, so save it for one you really want rather than using it on the first Aniimo you see.
Hatch Eggs and Level Up Your RV
Set an egg in a Hatchinator at your camp and wait for the timer to finish to hatch it. You can set up to 3 eggs at once, so hatch them in batches as you collect them. Petting a Hatchinator also speeds up its hatching time, so don't forget to give it a pat.
As your RV Level rises, you can place far more Hatchinators (especially inside the RV), so egg hatching gets even faster as you upgrade.
Each extra Hatchinator you place in the RV costs 300 Bud Tickets and holds one egg at a time, so budget for it as your RV grows.
The Dance Pad Polisher, a Home facility, lets you craft growth items for your Aniimo. It's the only place that produces them endlessly, so it's worth placing and running as soon as you can afford it.
Raising your RV Level also unlocks new facilities and lets you place more Aniimo to work them. Just make sure the Aniimo you assign meet each facility's ability requirements.