Every Aniimo has a set of skills you can check and swap between, but getting a new one isn't as simple as leveling up. Here's where to view an Aniimo's skills, how new ones actually unlock, and how to enhance a Core Skill with a contracted Legendary Held Item.
How to Check and Change Aniimo Skills
Open Aniimo Management from the main menu, select the Aniimo you want, and press Training to open its Skills tab. From there you can see every skill that Aniimo has unlocked and drag one into an active slot to swap it in.
How to Get New Aniimo Skills
New skills come from unlocking that Aniimo's specific forms, not from leveling up. For example, Flameruff needs its Highland Form unlocked before its skill Pebble Kick becomes available.
In this case, Pebble Kick is a Physical, Dodge-type move with 40 Might, 0 EP Cost, 100% BREAK, and a 15-second cooldown. It quickly leaps up with a brief Invincible state to dodge attacks, then wraps itself in rocks and dives down to attack, dealing damage to targets around the landing point. When it successfully dodges a target's attack, it deals 120% damage and applies [Lockdown] to targets hit for 8 seconds.
Can You Upgrade Aniimo Skills?
You can't level up Aniimo Skills directly, but you can enhance an eligible Core Skill by equipping the Aniimo with a contract-exclusive Held Item. Other skills stay as they are. To make an Aniimo stronger overall, Resonance Star-Up, unlocking Forms and Elements, and raising your Pathfinder Title still help.
How to Get a Contract-Exclusive Held Item
A contract-exclusive Held Item can only be made from a Legendary (gold) Held Item. Lv. 15 is the max enhancement level for a Legendary Held Item, and the Form Contract option only appears once the item reaches Lv. 15.
- Get a Legendary Held Item
Only Legendary (gold) Held Items can be contracted. Held Items drop from specific Alpha Aniimo (see the farming section below).
- Enhance it to Lv. 15
Raise the Held Item to its max level of Lv. 15. Getting there takes 6,750 Held Item EXP in total.
- Equip it and select Form Contract
Equip the Lv. 15 Held Item on an eligible Aniimo, open the Held Items tab, and select Form Contract in the bottom right.
- Check the preview
The Form Contract screen shows which Aniimo the Held Item will be bound to, along with that Aniimo's Core Skill before and after the enhancement.
- Spend 10 Mark of the Strong
Select Form Contract again to spend 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains and form the contract.
- Equip it on the matching Aniimo
Equip the contracted Held Item on the same kind of Aniimo to activate the Core Skill enhancement.
Mark of the Strong Cost for a Contract
Forming a contract costs 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains. This Mutation Mark is the material that establishes a contract between an Aniimo and its Held Item to enhance its Core Skill. You get it by reporting Alpha Aniimo at an Outpost and from the Holo-Battle Sim.
Every contract costs another 10 Marks, so save them for Aniimo whose Core Skill you actually want to enhance.
Held Item Max Enhancement Level by Rarity
Only Legendary Held Items go high enough to form a contract. Rare and Epic Held Items max out before Lv. 15, so they can never be contracted.
| Rarity | Max Level | Total EXP to Max | Can Form a Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rare (blue) | Lv. 5 | 1,000 | No |
| Epic (purple) | Lv. 10 | 3,250 | No |
| Legendary (gold) | Lv. 15 | 6,750 | Yes |
How the Pact Effect Enhances a Core Skill
The contract is attached to the Held Item itself. When the Held Item is equipped on the Aniimo it was contracted to, its Pact Effect activates and enhances that Aniimo's Core Skill. The Held Item still gives its normal stats and Core Effect on top of that.
For example, contracting a Lv. 15 Legendary Held Item with Infergon and equipping it on Infergon enhances Infergon's Core Skill Lava Breath: instead of 8 stacks of Fire Debuff, it applies 12. You can preview the enhanced Core Skill on the Form Contract screen before you confirm, so you know exactly what will change.
A contract covers every Aniimo of the same kind, not just one individual. A Held Item contracted to Infergon works on any Infergon you own, Sparkling or not, so you don't need a separate contract for each one. It does not carry over to a branching evolution, though: an Infergon contract won't work on Helgon.
What Happens If You Equip It on a Different Aniimo?
You can still equip a contracted Held Item on any Aniimo. Its normal effects work on all of them, but the Core Skill enhancement only activates on the Aniimo it was contracted to.
| Held Item contracted to Infergon, equipped on | Held Item effects | Core Skill enhancement |
|---|---|---|
| Infergon | Active | Active |
| Any other Aniimo (including Helgon) | Active | Inactive |
Can You Undo a Contract?
No. Once you form a contract, the Held Item stays bound to that Aniimo, and at the time of writing there's no known way to undo it or transfer it to a different Aniimo. Making a contract Held Item for a different Aniimo takes another Legendary Held Item and another 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains.
Before you spend the 10 Marks, check the Core Skill preview on the Form Contract screen and make sure it's the Aniimo you want.
Held Item Enhancement vs. Contract
Enhancing a Held Item and forming a contract are two separate systems. A Held Item doesn't need a contract to give its normal effects. The contract is only for the extra Core Skill enhancement.
| System | What it does |
|---|---|
| Held Item Enhancement | Raises the enhancement level, improves the base effect, and unlocks Advanced Effects at Lv. 10 and Lv. 15. |
| Contract | Needs a Lv. 15 Legendary Held Item and 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains, binds the Held Item to one kind of Aniimo, and enhances that Aniimo's Core Skill. |
How to Check If a Core Skill Can Be Enhanced
Open the Aniimo's skill list and select its Core Skill (the one with the Core tag). If the skill can be enhanced, its details show a Boost Preview button that switches to the enhanced version, plus a note telling you to equip the exclusive contract Held Item to activate the enhancement. Aniimo without an enhanceable Core Skill, such as Fentuft, have no Boost Preview, so there's nothing to contract for them.
Do Alpha Aniimo Have Enhanced Core Skills?
In our testing, Alpha Aniimo already had the enhanced version of their Core Skill without any contract Held Item. For example, an Alpha Magmarex with no Held Item equipped shows the enhancement marker on its Core Skill Lava Punch. A regular Aniimo needs a contract Held Item to unlock its enhanced Core Skill. In our testing, equipping a contract Held Item on an Alpha did not enhance its Core Skill a second time.
How to Farm Materials for a Contract Held Item
A contract Held Item takes two things: a Legendary Held Item to raise to Lv. 15, and 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains. Held Items and Held Item Cores drop from specific Alpha Aniimo. To see which ones, go to Institute Guide > Aniimo Challenge > Alpha Challenge (Held Item). Held Items and Legendary Cores are chance drops, while Rare and Epic Cores are guaranteed. Marks come from reporting Alpha Aniimo and from the Holo-Battle Sim.
- Defeat Alpha Aniimo
Farm the Alphas listed under Alpha Challenge (Held Item) for Held Items and Held Item Cores.
- Collect Mark of the Strong
Report Alpha Aniimo and play the Holo-Battle Sim until you have 10 Mark of the Strong: Breezy Plains.
- Enhance a Legendary Held Item to Lv. 15
Use Held Item EXP to raise a Legendary Held Item to its max level.
- Form the contract and equip it
Form the contract, then equip the Held Item on the matching Aniimo to activate its enhanced Core Skill.
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