Early Game Guide: How to Progress Efficiently

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.

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.

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 Train 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.

Evolving Raises Homeland Abilities

When you evolve an Aniimo, its Homeland Abilities rise as well. Because of this, prioritize evolving the Aniimo assigned to your Homeland facilities to maximize production efficiency.

In the image, Bonesky has Ice and Hauling at Level 1, while its evolution Fenrier has both at Level 2. At the Nova Stage, Glynsera has Ice and Hauling at Level 3.

Note: Different forms of the same Aniimo can have different Homeland Abilities. For example, Glynsera (Nighttime Form) has Dark at Level 2, while the base form of Glynsera does not.

Equip Held Items to Enhance Your Aniimo's Strength

Held Items are equipment you can equip on your Aniimo to boost their stats and add extra combat effects. Higher-rarity Held Items give stronger bonuses, and Legendary Held Items can be used to form a contract that enhances the Aniimo's Core Skill. The image shows a contracted Held Item that enhances Hexxin's Core Skill.

Note: Held Items unlock once you reach the III Student Pathfinder Rank.

Learn more: Best Held Items to Equip

Key Aniimo Traits and Min-Maxing Factors

Note: Gender, Personality, and Potential directly affect some evolution paths. Popota (Nighttime Form) needs certain Personality traits to evolve, and its Gender decides which Susuta can approach it. Chirpi's alternate evolution paths require a minimum Potential.

For a full breakdown of each Personality, see our guide: Personality (MBTI)

Understand Combat Systems such as Elemental Counters

To gain an edge in battle, especially in duels against other Pathfinders, it's essential to understand core combat mechanics such as the BREAK gauge and Elemental Counters. You can replay the in-game tutorials on the combat system anytime from Courses in the main menu.

Learn more: Combat Guide: BREAK, Elemental Counters, and Roles

Exploration Tips

Use Teleports for Faster Travel

When traveling long distances, use the teleport points scattered across the map. Blooms and Branches drastically cut travel time: open your map, select the Bloom or Branch you want to go to, and press Teleport.

Restore HP at Outposts, Bonfires, or the Fountain

You can restore your Aniimo's HP by talking to Healer Kim at an Outpost, resting at Bonfires in the open world, or drinking from the fountain in Astra. During combat, your Pathfinder's healing skill and healer Aniimo help keep your team topped up.

Learn more: How to Recover HP for You and Your Team

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.

In the early game, prioritize unlocking these high-value nodes:

• Lucky Encounter: +10% Aniimo capture rate across the region.
• Prismana Radiance: lets you change the weather to draw out rare Prismana Aniimo. You also need each region's Silver badge to change the weather there.

Note: Wanderer's Might removes Stamina use when moving outside combat, but it requires 150 Lumin Amber. Treat it as a long-term goal to work toward once your other early-game systems are in place.

For more on where to find Lumin Amber, see our Lumin Amber Guide for the details.

Use Your Aniipods Wisely

To make catching easier, use good positioning and higher-tier capture items:

• Catch from behind: throw your Aniipod at the Aniimo's back to trigger the x1.5 Backstab catch multiplier.
• Keep high-tier pods ready: save higher-tier Aniipods for difficult or rare targets. An Aniipod Ultra guarantees a catch, and the Aniimo's Potential is always Elite or better.
• Guaranteed Perfect Potential: a Sparkling Cube or a Legendary Aniipod guarantees a catch and locks the Aniimo's Potential at Perfect. The Sparkling Cube gives a random Sparkling effect, while a Legendary Aniipod gives a season-exclusive Sparkling effect.

Learn more: Aniipod Types & Catch Rate Guide

Upgrade Your RV Camper for Materials, Egg Hatching, and Buffs

The Homeland and RV systems give you a major edge in the early game.

Hatch Many Eggs at Once

• Each Hatchinator you place in your Homeland holds only one egg, but you can eventually build and run up to 10 Hatchinators at once.
• The Hatchinators at the Outpost and in Astra are limited to 3 slots in total (2 regular slots and 1 Legendary egg slot), so running 10 of your own becomes vital once you start playing Operation: Egg Heist.

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.

Learn more: How to Hatch Eggs

Get Endless Aniimo EXP Materials and Aniipods

• The Homeland has facilities that automatically craft Aniimo EXP materials and Aniipods.
• Once they unlock, assign 2 Lightning Aniimo to power the facilities. Common early picks like Bolty, Fentuft, or Nimbi (Rainfall Form) are enough to start production.

Note: Higher-tier recipes for Aniipods and EXP materials eventually require Lightning at Level 2 and Level 3, so your Level 1 Aniimo will need to be replaced or evolved. Bolty and Fentuft can evolve to reach higher levels, but Nimbi (Rainfall Form) tops out at Lightning Level 2, so you will need a dedicated higher-tier Lightning Aniimo for Level 3 recipes.

Raise Your Stamina Cap and Get Elemental Buffs

• Unlocking and upgrading the Rest Module through the RV system permanently raises your Stamina cap. Upgrading it requires Modification Toolkits, which you earn by leveling up your RV and from Home Index rewards.
• Crafting Elemental Essence facilities and placing them in your Platform Decorations gives up to a 7% Elemental Damage and Resistance buff.
• To activate the buff, place a terrace seat and sit on it. The buff is also shared with every Pathfinder in the same RV Park.
• Crafting Essence facilities requires Element Gems, which you get from Home Orders in the Homeland.

Note: Reaching the full 7% requires placing two tiers of Essence facilities. For example, Essence of Ice gives 2% and Pure Essence of Ice gives 5%, for 7% in total.

Learn more: RV System Guide

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